Today we’re talking about the 1930s and 40s in Japan—fascism, World War Two, and the American Occupation. In particular, how did 20 years of censorship shape Japanese literature? We're also taking a look at the life and work of Akiyuki Nosaka, whose novella, "Grave of the Fireflies" inspired the classic anime film. We'll discuss his short story, "The Cake Tree in the Ruins". Notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

Today, we’re talking about the I-Novel—the highest form of literature in Japan in the 1910s and 20s. It’s a genre one American scholar describes as “perhaps the most striking feature of modern Japanese literature.” And it’s a genre Haruki Murakami claims to have an allergy to. We’ll also be looking at the life and work of Osamu Dazai and asking, “What does it take to get disqualified as a human being?” Content warning: This episode addresses addiction, rape, suicide, and misogyny. Notes and...

The father of the Japanese short story shares his dark vision about what it means to be an artist. We’re taking a look at Japan in the 1910s and 1920s, the era of the Taishō Democracy and the heyday of Japan’s literary magazines and serial novels. Content warning: This episode addresses addiction, suicide, and sexual assault. Notes and sources at the podcast episode website.

Last episode, we talked about the coming of the West and the way it impacted Japanese literature. This time we’re talking about women as they take up a prominent position in the story of Japanese literature for the first time in almost 1000 years. Special focus on Ichiyō Higuchi and her best-beloved story "Takekurabe". Notes and sources are available on the podcast episode webpage.

In this episode, we’re looking at the Meiji Era of Japanese history and its literature. The shogunate is replaced.Japan looks outward to the West and inward toward itself.And a man named Natsume Sōseki chronicles it all from the perspective of a stray cat.Notes and sources are available on the podcast episode webpage.

In this episode, we’ll be talking about Ueda Akinari and his Tales of Moonlight and Rain, some of the most influential Japanese ghost stories ever written. - A raging intellectual debate - A supernatural party game - And a friend just dying to keep his promises For notes, links to the suggested reading, and an illustration of Okiku, please visit the episode's webpage.

How does “this fleeting world” transform from a Buddhist precept to a name for the red-light district? What did reading look like in early Modern Japan? And how many dildos does a man need to pack for a trip to the Island of Women? For notes, links to the suggested reading, and an illustration of sailing to the Island of Women, please visit the episode's webpage.

Enjoy the story of a vengeful would-be lover who turns into a 40-foot snake, a sharp-witted woman with criticisms of her husband’s equipment, and a curmudgeonly Buddhist priest who learns to love poetry. In this episode, we’re talking about setsuwa—medieval Japanese anecdotes. Many of them originate as Buddhist preaching, so we’ll also take a look at “Kamakura Buddhisms”: Pure Land, Zen, and Nichiren.  For notes, links to the suggested reading, and a great picture of Kiyohime as a...

We're talking about two central genres of Medieval Japanese literature—the warrior ballad and Noh drama. We’ll see two characters from The Tale of the Heike again, including the valiant female warrior Tomoe. This time, she's a mournful ghost. https://readjapaneseliterature.com/2021/12/22/episode-4-yoshitsune-ballads-and-tomoe-drama/

The great samurai epic and the rise of the samurai class. Visit this episode's webpage for information on buying the book and resources for further reading.

The world's oldest novel. A hero who is a paragon of beauty with an extreme Oedipus complex. (CW: sex, rape, incest, pedophilia.)

Gods having sex, founding of the imperial dynasty, and some of the origins of WWII. Plus thoughts on the role of women in early Japanese history.