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readjapaneseliterature.com
Read Japanese Literature
@readjapaneseliterature.com
3.7K followers 69 following 1.5K posts
a podcast about Japanese fiction + some of its best works | posting updates on new Japanese fiction | apologies for the typos | blocking new follows that look like bots | DON’T buy or read AI translations | all stories are political
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Kanaya Brush is an "old fashioned brush shop"—in Asakusa, Tokyo instead of Kyoto.

Kanaya Brush sells an unbelievable number of brush types—brushes for scrubbing, brushes for makeup, brushes for calligraphy, brushes for art, brushes for clothes... They even sell brushes for brushes!
A photograph of goods at Kanya Brush in Asakusa, Tokyo, Japan. Brooms of various sizes hang from wire racks on the wall. Scrub brushes fill baskets along a low shelf.
July 11, 2025 at 2:26 PM
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Also observe this collection of cat magazines at Rarasand, a delightful little coffee shop near Gotoku-ji. (They make small, cat-shaped, Acakes as well as a mean matcha latte—just in case you're visiting Tokyo anytime soon!) These zasshi are evidence that Japanese people read about cats, too.
A photograph of a stack of Japanese-language, cat-related magazines at a cafe near Gotokuji Temple. The titles are written in the Roman alphabet (romaji) and include Nyaera and Brutus. All the covers show close-up photographs of house cats.
July 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
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It's true that cat books are over-represented in English translation. But it's also true that Japanese people love cats! Observe Gotoku-ji Temple, devoted to the maneki neko—the "welcome cat," known better as the "lucky cat" in English.
A photograph of maneki neko ("welcome cats" or "lucky cats") of different sizes from Gotoku-ji Temple near Tokyo, Japan. These traditional maneki neko are white cats with red collars and bells. The "whites" of their eyes are yellow and the insides of their ears are red. They have slightly-raised eyebrows, whiskers, and almost-neutral smiles. These particularly maneki neko range in size from the length of an adult's forearm to so small they can nestle between the ears of the largest cats. Some are new and clean; others show spots of mildew and/or chipped paint from exposure to the elements.
July 10, 2025 at 2:22 PM
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Okay. I know we love to hate these books, but… this seems *particularly* bad, no?

Like… I can vaguely imagine some trying to make “ikagi” into a (likely Orientalized) philosophy, but MANEKI NEKO?! How the heck is “welcome cat” a way to live your life?!
A cover of a hardcover book: Nobuo Suzuki Forward by Héctor Garcia Maneki Neko The Japanese Secret to Good Luck and Happiness Tuttle The cover also features a fairly abstract drawing of what English-speakers often call a “lucky cat” but what more literally translates as a “welcome cat”—a cat waving at the onlooker. It’s surrounded by other Japan-associated imagery, four drawn koi and a number of drawn pink sakura (cherry) blossoms.
July 6, 2025 at 7:13 AM
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So… This is a fun example of literature in public life.

These are characters from the 16th century CHINESE epic, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en providing feedback on how to behave on the Toei Line in Tokyo.

1/5
A photograph of a public service announcement poster from the Tokyo subway based on the Chinese classic, Journey to the West. It’s illustrated in light-hearted, comic style with soft tones highlighting important details. Several figures appear On the inside of a subway train. The Monkey King offers his seat to an elderly lady. She say, “Thanks!” Monkey’s ill-mannered companion Pigsy, an anthropomorphic pig, sits by and doesn’t help. A fourth figure stands benevolently at the left, holding up His hand in blessing. I *believe* he is dressed like a Buddhist monk. He is wearing a white robe, covered in a gold outer layer, as well as leggings and sandals. He carries a staff with three rings affixed. Perhaps it’s the monk Tang Sanzang from Journey to the West? A kappa, hangs out in the lower right, otherwise unrelated to the scene. He is green and almost duck-like, with an indentation on the top of his head, surrounded by a rim of straight black hair. He is also wearing a necklace of what appear to be human skulls. He holds up his hand like he’s offering a pointer. He says, “Let’s help each other.” (Happy to receive corrections.)
June 25, 2025 at 4:23 AM
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There is a character in Kotaro Isaka’s Bullet Train (trans Malissa) who loves world of Thomas the Train. Someone asked if that’s a localization—does the character actually like a Japanese kids’ show?

I didn’t think so then. And here’s a Thomas ad that takes up three walls of a Tokyo subway car!
A badly-taken photo of an ad from the Tokyo subway that highlights the anthropomorphic train Gordon from the British TV show Thomas and Friends—“Gordon: The Big Express Engine”.
June 24, 2025 at 10:22 AM
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Celebrate LGBTQ+ Pride Month with RJL.

RJL has a 2-part series for you about LGBTQ+ Stories from Japan.

readjapaneseliterature.com/2024/10/30/e...
A collage of six images in the shape of a flower. In the center, “LGBTQ+ Stories from Japan.” Across the bottom, “RJL Episodes 39-40.” This episode’s artwork comes from multiple sources. Clockwise from “1:00”: A tryst between a samurai and his wakashu in a painting on silk by Issho Miyagawa, cs. 1750. (via Wikimedia Commons) The cover of Hana Monogatari, an edition of Nobuko Yoshiya’s early stories. (via HistoryIsGayPodcast.com) A photograph self-portrait of Yukio Mishima posing as Saint Sebastian. (widely available online) A print illustration from Nanshoku Yamaji no Tsuyu of a man kissing his young, male lover—presumably a kabuki actor—by Sukenobu Nishikawa from 1715. (via Timelessmoon) “Butterfly Hunting”, an illustration by Shigeru Shudo of a Class S story from 1926. (via Wikimedia Commons) An unattributed January 1928 issue of the Japanese journal Hentai Shiryo (via Wikimedia Commons). (The same illustration appears on the cover of Mark McLelland’s Queer Japan from the Pacific War to the Internet Age.)
June 13, 2025 at 7:47 PM
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RJL has received more than 75,000 episode downloads!

Thank you for your support!
RJL has received 75,00 podcast downloads! Congrats from [the podcast hosting service] Buzzsprout The image shows a shower of confetti over Read Japanese Literature’s logo, a picture of a Japanese god playing tag with a group of mice while a cat looks on. The logo is from “Playing Tag with Daikokuten and the Mice” by Kawanabe Kyosai (1831-1889).
March 17, 2025 at 2:32 PM
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Bonus pic of the official RJL cat that time she got herself stuck at the bottom of the collapsible laundry hamper…
A brown tabby cat with green looks up from the bottom of a collapsible white and black striped Ikea laundry hamper. She doesn’t seem bothered by the fact she doesn’t know how to remove herself from the laundry hamper.
February 22, 2025 at 3:05 AM
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Thank you so much for your support this year!

Year over year, RJL received 6k+ more downloads than 2023!

We missed the top 10% of podcasts by just over 20 downloads an episode!

Very proud of what RJL has accomplished and looking forward to more in 2025. I couldn't do it without you.
RJL's 2024 podcast stats: 26k downloads in 125 countries. 11 episodes. 559 minutes of content. Top 25% of podcasts. (Buzzsprout only notes 'top 50%', 'top 25%', 'top 10%', 'top 5%', and 'top 1%'.
December 13, 2024 at 9:38 PM
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Thinking about holiday shopping? RJL has ideas.

tinyurl.com/RJLgiftguide
A graphic for "RJL's Holiday Gift Guide from Read Japanese Literature, www.readjapaneseliterature.com". The graphic is a 5x3 collage of book covers from titles included on the list, topped with a bow.
November 9, 2024 at 11:50 PM
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RJL's last 2024 monthly update of new and upcoming from Japan.

Nov highlights inc Bullet Train's sequel (Kotaro Isaka's Hotel Lucky Seven, trans. Bergstrom), a new Murakami, (The City and Its Uncertain Walls, trans. Gabriel), and Hirano's Eclipse (trans. de Chene + de Wolf).

tinyurl.com/RJL2024
A graphic for "2024 New and Upcoming Releases from Japan: Updated for November—From Read Japanese Literature, www.readjapaneseliterature.com". The graphic also includes the Read Japanese Literature logo, based on the print "Playing Tag with Daikokuten and the Mice". The cover includes a collage of book covers: -Mina's Matchbox by Yoko Ogawa -Harlequin Butterfly by Toh Enjoe -No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (in it's new translation by Juliet Winters Carpenter) -Butter: A Novel of Food and Murder by Asako Yuzuki -Mysterious Setting by Kazushige Abe -Marshland by Kaga Otohiko -A Woman of Pleasure by Kiyoko Murata -Someone to Watch Over You by Kumi Kimura (This novel's release was actually pushed to 2025.) -The Night of Baba Yaga by Akira Otani -Eight Dogs, or Hakkenden: Part Two—His Masters Blade by Kyokutei Bakin -Self-Portraits: Stories by Osamu Dazai -Goodnight Tokyo by Atsuhiro Yoshida -and Point Zero by Seicho Matsumoto The covers then begin to repeat. I'm happy to describe any individual covers in the collage. Reply or DM.
November 4, 2024 at 4:39 PM
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Last day of #WITMonth!

In Li Kotomi (1989-)’s Solo Dance (trans Arthur Reiji Morris), Li, a lesbian, writes about a Taiwanese immigrant who finds it necessary to keep her lesbian identity a secret from her co-workers. It’s also a powerful (+ painful) reflection on death and what gives life meaning.
Li Kotomi takes a selfie in front of the New York (City) Public Library. She’s wearing a blousy, v-neck button down. Her dark brown hair falls well below her shoulders and her bangs/fringe almost covers her eyebrows. She’s smiling tightly, not showing her teeth.
August 31, 2024 at 8:01 PM
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Hiroko Oyamada (1983-)'s work at a car plant helped inspire her debut novel, The Factory (translated by David Boyd), a surrealist take on labor in late-stage capitalist societies. Her Akutagawa-winning The Hole (also Boyd) was based on her experience of moving to the country and feeling trapped.
Hiroko Oyamada in a candid shot at a speaking engagement. Her black hair is up in a bun. She's wearing black, thick-framed glasses and an over-the-ear microphone as well as a button-down, collared dress with splashes of pastel color. She's also holding a book.
August 30, 2024 at 5:40 PM
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Sayaka Murata (1979-)'s Convenience Store Woman won the 2016 Akutagawa Prize. It sold millions of copies worldwide. And it helped change the game for Japanese to English translation—especially for women’s writing—by proving how popular Japanese literature in translation could really be.
Sayaka Murata in a color photograph from a public talk. She's wearing a blousy, forest green top with a tie across her breastbone as well as a skin-colored microphone headset. She's looking away from the camera to her right.
August 29, 2024 at 9:32 PM
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Mieko Kawakami (1976- )'s Breasts and Eggs (trans Sam Bett and David Boyd) has drawn attention for its critique of the patriarchal system in Japan—it hits hard in many English-speaking countries, too. Still, Kawakami would prefer to be “understood as a human writer” rather than just as a feminist.
A extremely well-dressed Mieko Kawakami participates in a public talk.
August 28, 2024 at 5:35 PM
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Yu Miri (1968-)'s Gold Rush (trans Stephen Snyder) was the 1st full-length novel by a Zainichi Korean to appear in English. Her most famous novel in is Tokyo Ueno Station (trans Morgan Giles), the story of a homeless man whose ghost now haunts the area around the famous underground and park.
Yu Miri in what looks like a picture taken from a Zoom call. Yu is centered in the frame, looking directly into the camera, seeming very focused. She sits in front of uncluttered shelves of Japanese books. She's wearing a checkered sweater and purple, oval-shaped glasses. Her dark, wavy hair falls well past her shoulders, and her bangs/fringe are combed over only the left side of her face.
August 27, 2024 at 8:23 PM
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Although the name didn’t stick in the English-speaking world, Kaori Ekuni (1964- ) was known in Japan and Korea in the 1990s as “the female Murakami”. Her Twinkle Twinkle (trans Emi Shimokawa) is the story of a straight, asexual woman married to a gay man who is partnered to someone else.
Kaori Ekuni poses for a photograph and stares straight into the camera, a smile playing on her lips. She sits leaning forward, holding her face in her right hand. Her wavy, dark brown hair falls well below her shoulders. She's wearing a plain, heathered gray sweater and a swede bracelet looped around her right wrist. She's sitting on a patterned chair.
August 26, 2024 at 5:10 PM
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Banana Yoshimoto (1964-) adopted “Banana” as a pen name while she was still at university—“Banana” for the flower, not the fruit. Banana flowers are cute and “purposefully androgynous”. She wrote her most enduring novel, Kitchen (trans Megan Backus), in her early 20s while working as a waitress.
An early-career color photograph of young Banana Yoshimoto. She's facing away from the camera, but looking into the lens straight on with a wry expression. Her thick, black hair is bobbed close to her ears. She's wearing a gray-green lace-up dress or top over a black shirt and a ribbon choker with a large, translucent pendant. She's casually slinging a bag over her left shoulder using her left arm. Her thick, round, clear plastic glasses complete the look. The overall effect is of a woman with style and sass.
August 25, 2024 at 3:53 PM
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Yoko Ogawa (1962- ) writes across many genres. Many English-language readers first encounter her via the gentle The Housekeeper and the Professor (trans Stephen Snyder), the story of a woman + her son befriending a math professor with memory loss. Her latest is Mina's Matchbox (also trans Snyder).
Yoko Ogawa stares straight into the camera in what looks like a screenshot from a video call. She sits in front of shelves crammed with books. She's wearing a black blazer with a ruffled top underneath. Her thick, dark hair is bobbed and falls slightly below her shoulders.
August 24, 2024 at 2:12 PM
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Chiya Fujino (1962- ) is the only openly transgender writer to win the Akutagawa Prize. Her writings reflect how difficult life can be for people who don’t follow standard conventions of Japanese society. Her work appears in two English-language anthologies, inc Inside Out and Other Short Fiction.
A candid black-and-white photo of Chiya Fujino. She's wearing a lighter-colored cardigan over a black, v-neck top. She looks off camera to the left, gesturing with her right hand and clearly concentrating on what she's saying. Her dark hair, partially pulled back and with bangs/fringe, falls past her shoulders. She also wears a short, beaded necklace.
August 23, 2024 at 1:34 PM
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Yoko Tawada (1960-)’s undergraduate degree is in Russian literature. Today, she lives in Berlin, and produces literary fiction in both German and Japanese—sometimes at the same time via what she calls “continuous translation”. Other times, she translates her own Japanese-language work into German.
A candid shot of Yoko Tawada looking to the right, off camera. She's wearing a pair of headphones. Tawada's salt-and-pepper hair waves loosely past her shoulders. She's wearing a button up, blue floral top. She's smiling with her teeth and looks highly engaged.
August 22, 2024 at 1:58 PM
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Miyuki Miyabe (1960- ) writes in Japan’s SF genre, which is much broader than English-language “sci-fi”, encompassing not only sci-fi, but also speculative fiction, fantasy, horror, as well as mysteries—she has penned novels that are considered masterpieces of each.
A candid shot of Miyuki Miyabe. Miyabe's redish-brown hair is cut in a playful, short bob, side-parted, that frames her face. She wears a pair of rimless glasses. Her gaze is directed to the left of the camera, and she appears to be about to speak. She wears a dark, patterned top over a black turtle neck, as well as two necklaces, earrings, and a watch.
August 21, 2024 at 7:37 PM
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Reiko Matsuura (1958- ) was one of the most established out lesbian writers of the 80s and 90s. She’s best known for her novel The Apprenticeship of Big Toe P (translated by Michael Emmerich) about a woman who wakes up one morning to find the big toe on her right foot transformed into a penis.
Reiko Matsuura sits in the center of the frame against an off-white background. She wears a women's blazer that *almost* matches the background, buttoned all the way up, with 3/4-length sleeves. Underneath, she wears a purple top. Matsuura's hair is dark brown, parted to the side, and cut to shoulder length. Her gaze is directed away from the camera. A teacup sits on the table in front of her.
August 20, 2024 at 11:44 PM
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Hiromi Kawakami (1958- ) is one of the most-translated Japanese women available in English. Favorites include her May-December romance Strange Weather in Tokyo (trans Allison Markin Powell) and the collection of palm-of-the-hand vignettes People from My Neighborhood (trans Ted Goossen).
Hiromi Kawakami in a candid shot from a live talk. She looks off camera to the left and seems to be deeply engaged in the conversation. She has thick, black hair, barely streaked with gray, is but in a long, shoulder-length bob. Her skin has a sprinkling of freckles and deep laugh lines. She wears thick-framed, oval glasses. She also wears a lilac sweater vest over a white, long-sleeved button down shirt. She's also wearing a multicolored scared wrapped and tied tightly around her neck.
August 19, 2024 at 5:57 PM