While June's (optional) theme for the Japanese Literature Challenge was children's books, let's make the theme for July Short Stories!
I have not read many collections of Japanese short stories, but through some research I offer up the following suggestions:
Lizard by Banana Yoshimoto: "A set of postmodern stories from young Japanese novelist Yoshimoto, blending urban anomie with themes of spiritual awakening." (amazon.com)
3 Strange Tales by Ryunosuke Akutagawa: "Ryunosuke Akutagawa is often referred to as the "Father of the Japanese Short Story" due to his prolific literary output in the medium. Born in 1892, he was a contemporary of other major figures of modern Japanese literature including Soseki Natsume and Junichiro Tanizaki. He is known for his inventive and playful languages, as well as his pessimistic and satirical eye for social commentary..." (amazon.com)
Five by Endo by Shusaku Endo: "Five wonderful stories by the Japanese master. Winner of every major Japanese literary prize, his work translated around the glove, Shusaku Endo (1923-1996) is a great and unique figure in the literature of the twentieth century. 'Irrevocably enmeshed in Japanese culture, he is by virtue of his religion (Roman Catholic) irrevocably alienated from it.' ~Geoffry O'Brien, Village Voice" (amazon.com)
Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman by Haruki Murakami: "From the surreal to the mundane, these stories exhibit (Murakami's) ability to transform the full range of human experience in ways that are instructive, surprising, and relentlessly entertaining. Here are animated crows, a criminal monkey, and an iceman, as well as the dreams that shape us and the things we might wish for. Whether during a chance reunion in Italy, a romantic exile in Greece, a holiday in Hawaii, or in the grip of everyday life, Murakami's characters confront grievous loss, or sexuality, or the glow of a firefly, or the impossible distances between those who ought to be closest of all" (amazon.com)
House of The Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories by Yasunari Kawabata: "From Japan's first Nobel laureate for literature, three superb stories exploring the interplay between erotic fantasy and reality in a loner's mind."
Rashoman and Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa "This collection of short stories includes "In a Grove", a psychologically sophisticated tale about murder, rape and suicide; "Rashomon", the story of a thief scared into honesty by an encounter with a ghoul; and "Kesa and Morito", the story of a man driven to kill someone he doesn't hate by a lover he doesn't love." (amazon.com)
The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa: "From Akutagawa Award-winning author Yoko Ogawa comes a haunting trio of novellas about love, fertility, obsession, and how even the most innocent gestures may contain a hairline crack of cruel intent." (amazon.com)
The Square Persimmon by Takashi Atoda: "The Square Persimmon and Other Stories is an introduction to one of Japan 's most popular and versatile writers of fiction . In these eleven stories, Takashi Atoda examines universal themes-first love, lost love, change, fate-through unmistakably Japanese eyes. The dreamlike quality of some stories invites the reader to draw his own conclusions in the denouement. Yet, in each one, Atoda brings to bear his precise style and his own unique vision, by turns mysterious, romantic, darkly humorous , and even bizarre."
Tales of Moonlight and Rain by Akinari Ueda: "First published in 1776, the nine gothic tales in this collection are Japan's finest and most celebrated examples of the literature of the occult. They subtly merge the world of reason with the realm of the uncanny and exemplify the period's fascination with the strange and the grotesque." (amazon.com)
Of course, there are many, many more short story collections available. Another I might recommend comes from Tony's suggestion entitled The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories. I hope you'll join us as we look into this genre in July!
