Japanese Literature Challenge 19

Japanese Literature Challenge 19
hosted by Dolce Bellezza (details)
January 1 to March 31, 2026

The Amberglow Candy Store
by Hiyoko Kurisu
translated by Matt Treyvaud
Fantasy, Magic, Cozy, Candy, Japan | Published: 2025 | my rating: 5

Little Shrew
by Akiko Miyakoshi
Children's, Animal, Friendship, illustrated | Published: 2024

Hotel Iris
by Yoko Ogawa
translated by Stephen Snyder
Psychological, Erotic, Japan | Published: 1996 (first)

Nobu: a memoir
by Nobuyuki Matsuhisa
Memoir, Restauranteur, Japan | Published: 2017

Japanese Literature Challenge 18

Japanese Literature Challenge 18
hosted by Dolce Bellezza (details)
January 1 to March 31, 2025

Kanazawa
by David Joiner
Contemporary Fiction, Kanawawa, Japan | Published: 2022 | my rating: 4

Nails and Eyes
by Kaori Fujino
translated by Kendall Heitzmann
Horror, Short Stories, Japan | Published: 2013 (first) | my rating: 4

Lonely Planet Journeys: Lost Japan
by Alex Kerr
Travel, Memoir, Japan | Published: 2013 | my rating: 5

Under the Eye of the Big Bird
by Hiromi Kawakami
translated by Asa Yoneda
SciFi, Speculative, Japan | Published: 2016 (first)

Explore: Kyoto

Explore The World 2022
through books, films, etc. April: Kyoto

READ:

The Lady and the Monk:
Four Seasons in Kyoto
by Pico Iyer
Memoir, Travel, Japan | Published: 1991 | Goodreads
When Pico Iyer decided to go to Kyoto and live in a monastery, he did so to learn about Zen Buddhism from the inside, to get to know Kyoto, one of the loveliest old cities in the world, and to find out something about Japanese culture today -- not the world of businessmen and production lines, but the traditional world of changing seasons and the silence of temples, of the images woven through literature, of the lunar Japan that still lives on behind the rising sun of geopolitical power.

All this he did. And then he met Sachiko.

Vivacious, attractive, thoroughly educated, speaking English enthusiastically if eccentrically, the wife of a Japanese "salaryman" who seldom left the office before 10 P.M., Sachiko was as conversant with tea ceremony and classical Japanese literature as with rock music, Goethe, and Vivaldi. With the lightness of touch that made Video Night in Kathmandu so captivating, Pico Iyer fashions from their relationship a marvelously ironic yet heartfelt book that is at once a portrait of cross-cultural infatuation -- and misunderstanding -- and a delightfully fresh way of seeing both the old Japan and the very new.

AUDIOBOOK:

Cutting Back
My Apprenticeship in the Gardens of Kyoto
by Leslie Buck
Memoir, Japan | Published: 2017 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
At thirty-five, Leslie Buck made an impulsive decision to put her personal life on hold to pursue her passion. Leaving behind a full life of friends, love, and professional security, she became the first American woman to learn pruning from one of the most storied landscaping companies in Kyoto. Cutting Back recounts Buck’s bold journey and the revelations she has along the way. During her apprenticeship in Japan, she learns that the best Kyoto gardens look so natural they appear untouched by human hands, even though her crew spends hours meticulously cleaning every pebble in the streams. She is taught how to bring nature’s essence into a garden scene, how to design with native plants, and how to subtly direct a visitor through a landscape. But she learns the most important lessons from her fellow gardeners: how to balance strength with grace, seriousness with humor, and technique with heart.

WATCH:

The Makioka Sisters (1983)
Original title: Sasameyuki
Director/Writer: Kon Ichikawa
Writer: Shin'ya Hidaka
Based on book by: Jun'ichirô Tanizaki
Stars: Yoshiko Sakuma, Sayuri Yoshinaga, Yûko Kotegawa, Keiko Kishi
Drama, Romance, Japan | imdb | my rating: 5
This sensuously beautiful film chronicles the activities of four sisters who gather in Kyoto every year to view the cherry blossoms. It paints a vivid portrait of the pre-war lifestyle of the wealthy Makioka family from Osaka, and draws a parallel between their activities and the seasonal variations in Japan.

FLIP THROUGH:

Soul of Kyoto:
A Guide to 30 Exceptional Experiences
by Thierry Teyssier
Travel, Guide, Japan | Published: 2021 | Goodreads

VISIT: someday...

Kyoto Okazaki TSUTAYA BOOKS
(details)
Kyoto, a city that breathes culture and history,
KYOTO OKAZAKI TSUTAYA BOOKS is a bookstore
dedicated to inspire and bring to you,
'things that move the soul'.

While we call ourselves a bookstore, our store is more than just books.
Our store features locally-made handcrafted goods and accessories,
a Starbucks Book&Café,
a Rent-a-Bike service for visitors to enjoy sightseeing in Kyoto,
a Café & Restaurant inspired by locally produced seasonal ingredients,
plus many more. The store is filled with many gems
to provide each and everyone a chance encounter with
'things that move the soul'.

~*~
* part of Explore the World (here)

TW Book Club 2022

TW Book Club
(Tokyo Weekender)
January to December 2022
details | Goodreads
~*~
JANUARY:

The Easy Life in Kamusari
by Shion Miura
translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter
YA, Contemporary, Japan | Published: 2021 (first 2009) | Goodreads | my rating: 5
FEBRUARY:

Colorful
by Eto Mori
YA, Fantasy, Japan | Published: 2021 (first 1998) | Goodreads | my rating: 5
MARCH:

March Was Made of Yarn
edited by David Karashima, Elmer Luke
Short Stories, Japan | Published: 2012 | Goodreads
APRIL:

Moshi Moshi
by Banana Yoshimoto
translated by Gala Maria Follaco
Literary, Japan | Published: 2012 (first 2010) | Goodreads
MAY:

The Woman in the Purple Skirt
by Natsuko Imamura
translated by Lucy North
Literary, Japan | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
strange, living vicariously, stalker-ish

JUNE:

There's No Such Thing as an Easy Job
by Kikuko Tsumura
translated by Polly Barton
Contemporary, Japan | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 5
try as she might...

JULY:

The Cat and The City
by Nick Bradley
illustrated by Mariko Aruga
Contemporary, Short Stories, Japan | Published: 2021 | Goodreads
AUGUST:

Before the Coffee Gets Cold:
Tales from the Café
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
translated by Geoffrey Trousselot
SciFi, Fantasy, Japan | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4

SEPTEMBER:

Terminal Boredom
by Izumi Suzuki
translated by Polly Barton, Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph, Aiko Masubuchi, Helen O'Horan
SciFi, Short Stories | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
OCTOBER:

Diary of a Void
by Emi Yagi
translated by David Boyd, Lucy North
Contemporary, Japan | Published: 2022 | Goodreads

NOVEMBER:

Where the Wild Ladies Are
by Aoko Matsuda
translated by Polly Barton
Short Stories, Feminism, Japan | Published: 2020 | Goodreads | my rating: 4
non-traditional female routes, sad and dark alternatives

DECEMBER:

n/a

Japanese Literature Challenge 15

Japanese Literature Challenge 15
hosted by Dolce Bellezza (details)
January 1 to March 31, 2022

The possiblities...

Automatic Eve
by Rokurō Inui
translated by Matt Treyvaud
SciFi, Steampunk, Japan | Published: 2019 | Goodreads

Before the Coffee Gets Cold:
Tales from the Café
by Toshikazu Kawaguchi
translated by Geoffrey Trousselot
SciFi, Fantasy, Japan | Published: 2021 | Goodreads | my rating: 4

Earthlings
by Sayaka Murata
translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori
Horror, Japan | Published: 2020 (first 2018) | Goodreads | my rating: 5
hooey! what a story, oh humanity

Last Winter We Parted
by Fuminori Nakamura
translated by Allison Markin Powell
Mystery, Japan | Published: 2014 | Goodreads | my rating: 4

Lonely Castle in the Mirror
by Mizuki Tsujimura
translated by Philip Gabriel
Fantasy, YA, Japan | Published: 2021 (first 2017) | Goodreads | my rating: 4

My Annihilation
by Fuminori Nakamura
translated by Sam Bett
Thriller, Japan | Published: 2022 | Goodreads

Tokyo Ueno Station
by Miri Yū
translated by Morgan Giles
Historical, Japan | Published: 2019 | Goodreads | my rating: 4

Japanese Readathon

Japanese Readathon
hosted by @jplitreadathon
reading the group picks
check out their details for more
~*~
FEBRUARY:

Sweet Bean Paste
by Durian Sukegawa
translated by Alison Watts
Contemporary, Japan | Published: 2017 (for 2013) | Goodreads

APRIL:

The Old Capital
by Yasunari Kawabata
translated by J. Martin Holman and Vanja Lantz
Classic, Historical, Japan | Published: 2006 (first 1962) | Goodreads | my rating: 5
being a foundling, interesting concept
JUNE:

The Sound of Waves
by Yukio Mishima
Literary, Classic, Japan | Published: 1956 | Goodreads | my rating: 5

JULY:

Spring Snow
by Yukio Mishima
translated by Michael Gallagher
Literary, Historical, Japan | Goodreads

AUGUST:

Automatic Eve
by Rokurō Inui
translated by Matt Treyvaud
SciFi, Steampunk, Japan | Published: 2019 | Goodreads

OCTOBER:

Revenge
by Yoko Ogawa
translated by Stephen Snyder
Short Stories, Horror, Japan | Published: 2013 (first 1998) | Goodreads
DECEMBER:

The Great Passage
by Shion Miura
translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter
Literary, Writing, Japan | Published: 2017 (first 2011) | Goodreads

Japanese Readathon August

Japanese Readathon August
hosted by @jplitreadathon
#MiniMangaReadathon
Dates: August 20-22, your own timezone

Prompt: FREE CHOICE

Junji Ito's Cat Diary: Yon & Mu
by Junji Ito
Manga, Horror, Humor, Cats, Japan | Published: 2015 (first 2009) | Goodreads | my rating: tba

#JPLitReadathon
Dates: August 23-29, your own timezone

Prompts:

1. free choice

2. book that features cats (or any other kind of animal)

3. group pick:

Automatic Eve
by Rokurō Inui
translated by Matt Treyvaud
SciFi, Steampunk, Japan | Published: 2019 | Goodreads | my rating: tba

#MiniChallenges

Prompt: free choice
(e.g. making art/creativity [drawing/painting/calligraphy/diy], cooking, watching movie/anime adaptations, etc.)

Date: August 20-29 (entire duration of the readathon)

Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (2008)
Director/Writer: Paul Schrader
Writer: Leonard Schrader
Based on books by: Yukio Mishima
Stars: Ken Ogata, Masayuki Shionoya
Biography, Drama | imdb | my rating: tba
A look at acclaimed Japanese author and playwright Yukio Mishima, the impossible harmony he created between self, art, and society, and his famously committed public seppuku (ritual suicide). Includes interviews, commentary, documentary, and more.

Japanese Readathon July

Japanese Readathon
hosted by @jplitreadathon
July 1st-15th:

Spring Snow
by Yukio Mishima
translated by Michael Gallagher
Literary, Historical, Japan | Goodreads | my rating: tba

July 16th-31st:

Runaway Horses
by Yukio Mishima
translated by Michael Gallagher
Literary, Historical, Japan | Published: 1999 (first 1969) | Goodreads | my rating: tba

August 1st-15th:

The Temple of Dawn
by Yukio Mishima
translated by E. Dale Saunders, Cecilia Segawa Seigle
Literary, Historical, Japan | Published: 2001 (first 1970) | Goodreads | my rating: tba

August 16th-31st:

The Decay of the Angel
by Yukio Mishima
translated by Edward G. Seidensticker
Literary, Historical, Japan | Published: 2001 (first 1970) | Goodreads | my rating: tba