Read Japanese Literature

Today, we’re talking about crime and mystery novels from Japan. We’ll start with the development of the crime and mystery genre in the English-speaking world. We’ll move on to Japanese crime and mystery writing—how it was inspired by Anglo-American crime and mystery writing and how it evolved in its own way. And we’ll end with the life and work of writer Seishi Yokomizo, especially his novel The Honjin Murders, translated into English by Louise Heal Kawai.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

CW: murder (obviously!) and a brief mention of a fictional character’s narcotics addiction

(Apologies for small pronunciation issues of English and French surnames. They’ve been corrected in the transcript.)

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This episode is marked mature.

In this episode, we take a look at Japanese writing about the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed as many as 215,000 people in August 1945. We’ll start with the history of the atomic bomb, its use, and its effects on the hibakusha who survived. Then we’ll take a look at atomic bomb literature itself. Our focus text is "Masks of Whatchamacallit" by Kyoko Hayashi (follow the link to read for free), translated by Kyoko Selden.

CW: war, illness (historical and fictional), suicide (historical), forced abortion (fictional), emotional abuse (fictional)

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

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In this episode, we take a look at the history of Koreans writing in Japan. We’ll start with the history of Koreans in Japan, including anti-Korean prejudice before and after WWII. We’ll move on to Zainichi Korean writing. And we’ll finish with a look at Kazuki Kaneshiro’s Go, translated into English by Takami Nieda.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

Correction: This episode claims Yi Kwang-su's book Ai Ka ("Is It Love?") does not appear in English translation. Ai Ka is actually a short story and Janet Poole's translation of "Is This Love?" appears in in Queer Subjects in Modern Japanese Literature: Male Love, Intimacy, and Erotics, 1886-2014, edited by Stephen D. Miller.

Please note that this is the final episode of season 3. RJL will be back in August 2024.

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In part three of this episode, we’ll finish our story of Japanese apocalyptic and dystopian fiction.

First, stories from the mid-90s and 20-aughts. Then, stories from after the March 2011 Triple Disasters.

We’ll end with a look at the life and work of author Yoko Tawada who has written several apocalyptic stories, including one of the most important works of post-3/11 apocalyptic fiction available in English translation—The Emissary, also known at The Last Children of Tokyo.

CW: brief mentions of historical and fictional violence and rape

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

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All content © 2024 Read Japanese Literature.

In part two of this three part episode, we're looking at the apocalyptic and dystopian fiction of Japan.

We'll begin with the evolution of the idea of "the end of the world" in Japan, especially after Japan started importing American and European science fiction. We'll move on to Japanese apocalyptic stories, especially between 1945 and the 1970s and then during the 1970s and 1980s.

CW: brief mentions of historical and fictional violence and rape

Part two mistakenly implies Jules Verne was an Anglo-American author.  As outlined in part one, he was French.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

This episode’s artwork is adapted from a photograph by Du Truong, “The Student of Gunkanjima”. Gunkanjima, also known as Hashima Island, is an abandoned island in Nagasaki Prefecture. Truong’s work is available under a Creative Commons license.

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In part one of this three part episode, we're looking at apocalyptic and dystopian fiction as genres. Their origins in Western and Central Asia. Their evolution in Western Europe. And a history of English-language apocalyptic and dystopian storytelling that will provide us with context and a basis for comparison when we turn to Japanese stories in part two.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

CW: brief mentions of historical and fictional violence and rape

This episode’s artwork is adapted from a photograph by Du Truong, “The Student of Gunkanjima”. Gunkanjima, also known as Hashima Island, is an abandoned island in Nagasaki Prefecture. Truong’s work is available under a Creative Commons license.

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All content © 2024 Read Japanese Literature.

In part two of this two-part episode on misogyny in Japanese literature, we're talking about the life and work of Yukio Mishima, especially by way of his I-Novel, Confessions of a Mask.

Check out part one for

• 400 years of attitudes about women in Japan
• Woman in modern Japanese literature, especially in the work of some of its most important writers

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

This episode is rated mature. 

CW: misogyny, fictional rape, internalized homophobia, suicide

Join Patreon to support the podcast and access bonus content.

Support Wajima and the urushi industry with the Matsuzawa Urushi Workshop.

Support this podcast by buying from Bookshop.org.

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Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com.
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All content © 2024 Read Japanese Literature.

In part one of this two-part episode, we're talking about misogyny in Japanese literature. 

• 400 years of attitudes about women in Japan
• Woman in modern Japanese literature, especially in the work of some of its most important writers
• Check out part two (coming soon) for the life and work of Yukio Mishima, especially by way of his I-Novel, Confessions of a Mask.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

This episode is rated mature. 

CW: misogyny, fictional rape, internalized homophobia, suicide

Join Patreon to support the podcast and access 10 minutes of bonus content.

Support Wajima and the urushi industry with the Matsuzawa Urushi Workshop.

Support this podcast by buying from Bookshop.org.

Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response.)

Please note that text messages are for feedback only. RJL can't respond directly.
Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com.
Support RJL on Patreon.com.
Buy your books from Bookshop.org.
All content © 2024 Read Japanese Literature.

There is no one quite like Kenji Miyazawa. Born into wealth, he longed to be “a real peasant”. One of Japan’s most influential children’s writers, he sold only one story during his lifetime.

Read Japanese Literature takes a look at Miyazawa's colorful biography through three of his beloved stories.

Miyazawa produced the artwork for this episode. It's a painted titled Power Pole in the Moonlight.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

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All content © 2024 Read Japanese Literature.

To celebrate the overseas release of The Boy and the Heron (aka How Do You Live?) RJL delves into the stories that inspire animator Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, especially

• Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
• Howl’s Moving Castle
• My Neighbor Totoro

We’ll end with a deep dive into Kiki’s Delivery Service—the Ghibli film and the novel by Eiko Kadano (as translated by Emily Balistrieri).

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

*25,000 total episode downloads! Thanks for your support!*

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