Is Japan enjoying a new literary golden age?
With more and more Japanese novels in translation achieving commercial and critical success, Nicolas Gattig and Damian Flanagan argue over whether a new wave of writers are transcending Japan's literary ...
Want to know Japanese cinema? Get to know Mark Schilling
The Japan Times film critic Mark Schilling celebrates 30-plus years of reviewing Japanese cinema with his latest book, "Art, Cult and Commerce: Japanese Cinema Since 2000."
Rieko Nakagawa: From 'Guri and Gura' to Studio Ghibli
Rieko Nakagawa, born in 1935 in Sapporo, was working as a teacher in a small nursery school near Komazawa Park when she wrote her first children's book. It was the late ...
'Japanese Woodblock Prints': Mass entertainment began with the humble woodblock
"Japanese Woodblock Prints" exhibits classic ukiyo-e artwork in near-original size, allowing readers to examine them in all their splendid detail. Its 200 reproductions embrace the entire history of the genre and also cover the new print movements of the early 20th century.
'Childhood Years': Junichiro Tanizaki's precious memories of Tokyo
Autobiographies tend to reveal only as much as the subject chooses to share. Here, Junichiro Tanizaki is surprisingly forthright in detailing his inner life, especially those pertaining to the germination of his sexuality.
'The Honjin Murders': Japan's own Sherlock Holmes is on the case
"The Honjin Murders" is a classic murder mystery in which a newly married couple are found butchered by a Japanese sword inside a room locked from the inside.
The books and translations about Japan to watch out for in 2020
A new decade brings a whole host of translations from prize-winning Japanese authors and books about Japan, from detective fiction to geopolitical studies.
Books to get you in the mood for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics
In this grand year of Olympic celebration, here are the books that view sport authentically, acknowledging both the very best and worst of humanity.
The new Japanese Classics series from Vintage Classics presents five seminal Japanese novels, from Junichiro Tanizaki to Yoko Ozawa, with stunning cover art by Japanese illustrator Yuko Shimizu.
An invisible baseball curves through Japanese literature
There's a long history of pivotal baseball anecdotes in Japanese literature, with well-known writers such as Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami incorporating their love of the game into their work.
'The Pine Islands': No ordinary death is enough for two misfit souls
Marion Poschmann's "The Pine Islands" follows two haunted travelers on their journey across Japan, guided by the poems of Matsuo Basho.
'Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu': Japan's Shakespeare sheds light on the common man
Unrequited love, social obligation and human nature collide — with varying results — in "The Four Major Plays of Chikamatsu."
