Japanese Short Fiction

A new selection of 14 of Yukio Mishima's best short stories from the 1960s—his final decade—Voices of the Fallen Heroes offers a unique glimpse into the mind of one of Japan’s greatest writers. In the title story, "Voices of the Fallen Heroes," a séance brings forth the spirits of young officers in the Imperial Army and the kamikaze pilots of World War II, who reproach the Emperor and mourn Japan’s modern decline. In another, Mishima recounts the true story of the time a deranged fan broke into his home at dawn, insisting on meeting the author and imploring him to "tell the truth."

A new collection of stories from the cult author of Terminal Boredom: A philandering husband receives a bestial punishment from a wife with her own secrets to keep; a music lover finds herself in a timeline both familiar and as wrong as can be; idle high school students find adventure in another dimension but aren't all that impressed; a misfit band of space pirates discover a mysterious baby among the stars; Emma, the Bovary-like character from one of Suzuki's stories in Terminal Boredom, lands herself in a bizarre romantic pickle.

A Noir Mystery Collection by the Mysterious Thomas Temple Step into a world where darkness whispers your name, and reality twists beyond recognition. In Whispered Crimes, Thomas Temple masterfully weaves together noir mystery, psychological horror, and grotesque fiction in a collection of short stories that will leave you haunted. Inspired by the eerie allure of crime fiction and urban mysteries, Temple invites you to embrace the bizarre, the twisted, and the unknown.Prepare for a Literary Experience Like No Other If you're a fan of dark psychological thrillers, urban noir, or the surreal ...

Discover Japanese classics! This book contains four different short stories to introduce beginners to Japanese literature.

Divining the difference between reality and the fantastic may not be as simple as it seems. Because the world you think you know may not actually exist… STORIES is a collection of six short stories loosely based on legends and folklore. Each is set in a modern context, giving the reader an unusual take that yields interesting insight on these traditional tales. The Snow Woman: a spirit in Japanese folklore who traps people in snowstorms, then uses her icy breath to leave them frost-coated corpses. The Slit-Mouthed Woman: a figure from Japanese urban legends who, mutilated by her husband, ...

What History Forgets, Legend and Folklore Remember. An Enchanting Sumptuous Short Story inspired by Japanese and Shoshone Folklore. At the western edge of Japan's Shimane Peninsula lies Izumo, a place steeped in mystical legend. Here, nestled along the serene shoreline, one is welcomed by enchanting landscapes of sandy beaches and towering headlands reaching out into the vast sea, where breathtaking views of the sun setting await. Hidden deep within the soaring mountain sanctuaries, the Oni wields a mystical club glowing with amethyst hues, symbolizing his formidable control over thunder ...

From the unique standpoint of an American woman who married into a Japanese family and has lived in Japan for more than 30 years, Rebecca Otowa weaves enchanting tales of her adopted home that portray the perspective of both the Japanese and the foreigner on the universal issues that face us all - love, work, marriage, death, and family conflict.

In these 11 stories, the individuals who lift the curtains of their orderly homes and workplaces are confronted with the bizarre, the grotesque, the fantastic, the alien - and through it, find a way to liberation. The Lonesome Bodybuilder is the English-language debut of one of Japan's most fearlessly inventive young writers.

В этот сборник вошли как принесшие Акутагаве мировую славу и автоматически ассоциирующиеся с его именем исторические рассказы и новеллы (включая легендарную "В чаще", послужившую основой для сценария бессмертного фильма "Расёмон" Куросавы), так и менее известные западному читателю, но почитающиеся на родине автора еще выше рассказы, действие которых происходит на фоне современной автору реальности Японии начала ХХ века, еще сохраняющей немало черт национального своеобразия, но жадно и стремительно "европеизирующейся".

Seventeen Syllables and Other Stories brings together 15 stories that span Hisaye Yamamoto's 40-year career. It was her first book to be published in the United States. Yamamoto's themes include the cultural conflicts between the first generation, the Issei and their children, the Nisei; coping with prejudice; and the World War II internment of Japanese Americans.

Originally published in 1922 and translated by Takashi Kojima, this classic short story was the inspiration for Akira Kurosawa's 1950 film Rashomon, about the murder of a samurai. Told from the perspective of multiple witnesses.

A spiky, edgy collection of five wickedly funny stories spotlighting clear-eyed and “difficult” women who are navigating their identities as workers and women in contemporary Japan—a feminist, anti-capitalist modern classic published outside Asia and in English for the first time. The Dilemmas of Working Women is Fumio Yamamoto’s darkly witty look at modern Japanese women who are ambivalent about their lives and jobs

A collection of stories from the Land of the Rising Sun. The tales come from a rich folk tradition. Fantasy and horror intermingle in these imaginative narratives.

Five suitors, five impossible tasks–who will win the heart of the Moon Prince? In the enchanting kingdom of Moshotan, a childless bamboo cutter and his wife discover a glowing infant inside a bamboo shoot. Named Akihiko, the boy’s ethereal glow and prophetic visions set him apart, earning him the title of the Moon Prince. Five persistent suitors vie for his love, each tasked with retrieving an extraordinary object to present on his twentieth birthday.Embark on a magical journey where mythical creatures, divine secrets, and human hearts intertwine. Who will succeed in their quest and win...

"WA" is a Japanese word that describes, or encompasses, the “essence” of what it is to “be Japanese”. This spirit is intricately woven throughout these stories as fantastic creatures, fearsome monsters, animals that are all too human, and people that are, well, all too human too. They make choices and fateful decisions that'll take each character on journeys that are terrifying and miraculous, whimsical and thought-provoking, mysterious, magical, and uniquely Japanese. Come along and join them, as life’s lessons are learned, or sometimes not.

Jonathan is attracted to the ornate mirror from the first moment he sees it in the antique shop where he works after school. But there is something wrong with the mirror, something evil - as Jonathan will discover after he accidentally gets a trace of his blood on its surface in this disturbing tale of terror.

Mimei Ogawa, a prolific author of short stories nearly 100 years ago, is considered to be one of the founding figures of modern Japanese children’s literature. He has also been called the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan because of how his works were influenced by Andersen. This collection contains a fresh, modern translation of one of Mimei Ogawa’s most famous works, "The Mermaid and the Red Candles", as well as several other stories that have never been translated and published in English before.

Ocho escenas de Tokio reúne, por primera vez en castellano, nueve relatos de uno de los escritores con más talento de la literatura nipona del siglo XX.

Gary Pak has emerged as one of the most important Asian Hawaiian writers of our time. In this new collection, Pak expertly crafts a memorable cast of Hawai'i's Korean Americans, Chinese Americans, Japanese Americans, and Native Hawaiians, amplifying our cross-cultural understanding of Hawaiian life today.

Contos de guerreiros japoneses revelará aos seus ouvintes os mais preciosos valores japoneses: disciplina, lealdade, dedicação, perseverança, auto sacrifício, humildade e devoção. Tal arcabouço ético e narrativas envolventes recebem a ilustração de Shusui Okakura e outros artistas, fazendo ecoar da forma mais bela o passado e a memória japonesa.