Modern Japanese literature is rapidly growing in popularity in the west. Influenced heavily by Chinese literature because of cultural contact, Indian literature due to the rise of Buddhism in Japan and western literature during the Meiji period (1868-1912), Japanese writers have finally come into their own.
Utilising a fusion of literary concepts and techniques, along with stories about life in Japan, Japanese writers have their own distinct style.
Where to begin when approaching Japanese literature
Approaching Japanese literature for the first time can be daunting. There are so many titles to choose from and it can become overwhelming. The best way to begin is to try a renowned Japanese author.
Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is considered an important figure in not only Japanese literature, but postmodern literature.
His works range from the relatively normal to surreal, at times the two fuse together. He enjoys the use of metaphysics and metaphors, and his work often tackles big themes. Some of these themes include depression, the decline in human values, the struggle of processing a traumatic event, an impossible love affair and people who are 'lost' in life.
Murakami has written novels, collections of short stories and non-fiction.
Recommended Murakami novels
- A Wild Sheep Chase (Kodansaha,1989)
- Norwegian Wood (Kodansaha,1989)
- Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Kodansaha,1991)
- Dance Dance Dance (Kodansaha,1994)
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Vintage,1998)
- South of the Border, West of the Sun (Harvill Press, 2000)
- Kafka on the Shore (Alfred A. Knopf, 2005)
- After Dark (Alfred A. Knopf, 2007)
Natsuo Kirino
Natsuo Kirino is a leading figure in female Japanese fiction. Her novels are brutal and uncompromising, showing a raw view of the life of Japanese women. She does not shy away from difficult issues such as rape, abuse, murder and sexual degradation.
She has won the Japan's top literary award for her crime fiction novel, Out and three of her novels have been translated into English.
Recommended Kirino novels
- Out (Vintage, 2004)
- Grotesque (Vintage, 2007)
- Real World (Vintage, 2008)
Yoko Ogawa
Yoko Ogawa has published both fiction and non-fiction books. Her novel The Professor and his Beloved Equation (translated into English as The Housekeeper and the Professor) has received international acclaim and was made into a film.
Being a lover of mathematics, Ogawa co-published a non-fiction book called, An Introduction to the World's Most Elegant Mathematics with Masahiko Fujiwara. Here they expound on the beauty of numbers.
Recommended Ogawa novels
- The Diving pool: Three Novellas (Picador, 2008)
- The Housekeeper and the Professor (Picador, 2009)
- Hotel Iris (Picador, 2010)
Banana Yoshimoto
Banana Yoshimoto is the pseudonym of Mahoko Yoshimoto. A name she picked because she loves the "banana flower" and because it sounds androgynous.
Yoshimoto has won several literary prizes for her works of fiction. She writes about the way in which experience shapes a person's life and the exhaustion of the younger generation in modern day Japan.
Recommended Yoshimoto novels
- N.P: A Novel (Grove Press, 1994)
- Amrita (Washington Square Press, 1998)
- Asleep (Grove Press, 2001)
- Goodbye, Tsugumi (Grove Press, 2003)
Hitomi Kanehara
Hitomi Kanehara is a young Japanese novelist who won theAkutagawa Prize, in 2003, for her novel Snakes and Earrings. Her novels are hard-hitting and deal with Japanese youth culture.
Recommended Kanehara novels
- Snakes and Earrings (Plume, 2006)
- Autofiction (Vintage, 2008)
Kazuo Ishiguro
Kazuo Ishiguro was born in Japan yet raised in Britain. He has won several awards for his work and two of his novels have been made into movies. His novel, Never Let Me Go, is a bleak look at a dystopian future.
Recommended Ishiguro novels
- A Pale View of Hills (Faber and Faber, 1982)
- An Artist of the Floating World (Faber and Faber, 1986)
- The Remains of the Day (Faber and Faber, 1989)
- The Unconsoled (Faber and Faber, 1995)
- When We Were Orphans (Faber and Faber, 2000)
- Never Let Me Go (Faber and Faber, 2005)
Although not a definitive list of modern Japanese authors, these novels are a great place to start your journey into Japanese literature.
Rachel Ives - Rachel Ives is a writer from Sydney, Australia. She holds a bachelor degree in communications (journalism), a post graduate degree in ...
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