Books Set In Japan: Japanese Novels
I spent a few years living in Japan where I spent my weekends traversing the country by bullet train, absorbing myself in books set in Japan. These stories were filled with kimono, geisha and salarymen. I travelled through all 47 prefectures, reading these local tales along the way.
I read the poetic works of Yasunari Kawabata; Snow Country in the mountains of Nagano and The Dancing Girl of Izu along the Shizuoka coast. My favorite Haruki Murakami was ever present, and I loved his stories The Wind Up Bird Chronicle and Norwegian Wood whose strange stories conjure up images of cats and full-moons.
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Where To Read In Tokyo
My favorite bookstore in Tokyo (and maybe anywhere) is T Site Daikanyama, a sprawling collection of buildings filled with every publication you could ever dream of; the art and magazine selections are especially impressive. I was also a member of Kinokuniya, an eight floor bookstore in Shinjuku. It’s the first place I ever found manga translated into English and has a great selection of language learning books too.
Books Set In Japan
1.
Memoirs of a Geisha
By Arthur Golden, 1997
In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl’s virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction – at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful – and completely unforgettable.
2.
Norwegian Wood
By Haruki Murakami, 1987
Toru, a quiet and preternaturally serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. Toru begins to adapt to campus life and the loneliness and isolation he faces there, but Naoko finds the pressures and responsibilities of life unbearable. As she retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself reaching out to others and drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.
3.
The Wind Up Bird Chronicle
By Haruki Murakami, 1995
In a Tokyo suburb a young man named Toru Okada searches for his wife’s missing cat. Soon he finds himself looking for his wife as well in a netherworld that lies beneath the placid surface of Tokyo. As these searches intersect, Okada encounters a bizarre group of allies and antagonists: a psychic prostitute; a malevolent yet mediagenic politician; a cheerfully morbid sixteen-year-old-girl; and an aging war veteran who has been permanently changed by the hideous things he witnessed during Japan’s forgotten campaign in Manchuria.
4.
An Artist of the Floating World
By Kazuo Ishiguro, 1986
In An Artist of the Floating World, Kazuo Ishiguro offers readers of the English language an authentic look at postwar Japan, “a floating world” of changing cultural behaviors, shifting societal patterns and troubling questions. Ishiguro, who was born in Nagasaki in 1954 but moved to England in 1960, writes the story of Masuji Ono, a bohemian artist and purveyor of the night life who became a propagandist for Japanese imperialism during the war. But the war is over. Japan lost, Ono’s wife and son have been killed, and many young people blame the imperialists for leading the country to disaster. What’s left for Ono?
5.
1Q84
By Haruki Murakami, 2010
A young woman named Aomame follows a taxi driver’s enigmatic suggestion and begins to notice puzzling discrepancies in the world around her. She has entered, she realizes, a parallel existence, which she calls 1Q84 —“Q is for ‘question mark.’ A world that bears a question.” Meanwhile, an aspiring writer named Tengo takes on a suspect ghostwriting project. He becomes so wrapped up with the work and its unusual author that, soon, his previously placid life begins to come unraveled.
6.
Snow Country
By Yasunari Kawabata, 1937
At an isolated mountain hot spring, with snow blanketing every surface, Shimamura, a wealthy dilettante meets Komako, a lowly geisha. She gives herself to him fully and without remorse, despite knowing that their passion cannot last and that the affair can have only one outcome. In chronicling the course of this doomed romance, Kawabata has created a story for the ages — a stunning novel dense in implication and exalting in its sadness.
7.
Kafka On The Shore
By Haruki Murakami, 2002
Kafka on the Shore is powered by two remarkable characters: a teenage boy, Kafka Tamura, who runs away from home either to escape a gruesome oedipal prophecy or to search for his long-missing mother and sister; and an aging simpleton called Nakata, who never recovered from a wartime affliction and now is drawn toward Kafka for reasons that, like the most basic activities of daily life, he cannot fathom.
As their paths converge, and the reasons for that convergence become clear, Haruki Murakami enfolds readers in a world where cats talk, fish fall from the sky, and spirits slip out of their bodies to make love or commit murder. Kafka on the Shore displays one of the world’s great storytellers at the peak of his powers.
8.
A Tale for the Time Being
By Ruth Ozeki, 2013
In Tokyo, sixteen-year-old Nao has decided there’s only one escape from her aching loneliness and her classmates’ bullying, but before she ends it all, Nao plans to document the life of her great-grandmother, a Buddhist nun who’s lived more than a century. A diary is Nao’s only solace—and will touch lives in a ways she can scarcely imagine.
Across the Pacific, we meet Ruth, a novelist living on a remote island who discovers a collection of artifacts washed ashore in a Hello Kitty lunchbox—possibly debris from the devastating 2011 tsunami. As the mystery of its contents unfolds, Ruth is pulled into the past, into Nao’s drama and her unknown fate, and forward into her own future.
9.
Dance, Dance, Dance
By Haruki Murakami, 1988
As he searches for a mysteriously vanished girlfriend, Haruki Murakami’s protagonist plunges into a wind tunnel of sexual violence and metaphysical dread in which he collides with call girls; plays chaperone to a lovely teenaged psychic; and receives cryptic instructions from a shabby but oracular Sheep Man. Dance Dance Dance is a tense, poignant, and often hilarious ride through the cultural Cuisinart that is contemporary Japan, a place where everything that is not up for sale is up for grabs.
10.
Kitchen
By Banana Yoshimoto, 1988
Banana Yoshimoto’s novels have made her a sensation in Japan and all over the world, and Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, is an enchantingly original and deeply affecting book about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen and home in the lives of a pair of free-spirited young women in contemporary Japan. Mikage, the heroine of Kitchen, is an orphan raised by her grandmother, who has passed away. Grieving, she is taken in by her friend Yoichi and his mother (who was once his father), Eriko. As the three of them form an improvised family that soon weathers its own tragic losses, Yoshimoto spins a lovely, evocative tale that recalls early Marguerite Duras. Kitchen and its companion story, “Moonlight Shadow,” are elegant tales whose seeming simplicity is the ruse of a writer whose voice echoes in the mind and the soul.
11.
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
By Haruki Murakami, 2013
Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage is the long-awaited new novel– a book that sold more than a million copies the first week it went on sale in Japan–from the award-winning, internationally best-selling author Haruki Murakami.
Here he gives us the remarkable story of Tsukuru Tazaki, a young man haunted by a great loss; of dreams and nightmares that have unintended consequences for the world around us; and of a journey into the past that is necessary to mend the present. It is a story of love, friendship, and heartbreak for the ages.
12.
Kokoro
By Soseki Natsume, 1914
No collection of Japanese literature is complete without Natsume Soseki’s Kokoro, his most famous novel and the last he completed before his death. Published here in the first new translation in more than fifty years, Kokoro—meaning “heart”—is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls “Sensei”. Haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, confessing indiscretions from his own student days that have left him reeling with guilt, and revealing, in the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between his moral anguish and his student’s struggle to understand it, the profound cultural shift from one generation to the next that characterized Japan in the early twentieth century.
Celebrated as the most successful geisha of her generation, Mineko Iwasaki was only five years old when she left her parents’ home for the world of the geisha. For the next twenty-five years, she would live a life filled with extraordinary professional demands and rich rewards. She would learn the formal customs and language of the geisha, and study the ancient arts of Japanese dance and music. She would enchant kings and princes, captains of industry, and titans of the entertainment world, some of whom would become her dearest friends. Through great pride and determination, she would be hailed as one of the most prized geishas in Japan’s history, and one of the last great practitioners of this now fading art form. I am a cat. As yet I have no name. So begins one of the most original and unforgettable works in Japanese literature. Richly allegorical and delightfully readable, I Am a Cat is the chronicle of an unloved, unwanted, wandering kitten who spends all his time observing human nature – from the dramas of businessmen and schoolteachers to the foibles of priests and potentates. From this unique perfective, author Sōseki Natsume offers a biting commentary – shaped by his training in Chinese philosophy – on the social upheaval of the Meiji era. At its center are two sisters—Eri, a fashion model slumbering her way into oblivion, and Mari, a young student soon led from solitary reading at an anonymous Denny’s toward people whose lives are radically alien to her own: a jazz trombonist who claims they’ve met before, a burly female “love hotel” manager and her maid staff, and a Chinese prostitute savagely brutalized by a businessman. These “night people” are haunted by secrets and needs that draw them together more powerfully than the differing circumstances that might keep them apart, and it soon becomes clear that Eri’s slumber—mysteriously tied to the businessman plagued by the mark of his crime—will either restore or annihilate her. Koushun Takami’s notorious high-octane thriller is based on an irresistible premise: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill one another until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan – where it then proceeded to become a runaway bestseller – Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world. Made into a controversial hit movie of the same name, Battle Royale is already a contemporary Japanese pulp classic, now available for the first time in the English language. Influential Japanese novelist Yasunari Kawabata has constructed an autobiography through his fiction with this new collection of stories that parallel major events and themes in his life. In the lyrical prose that is his signature, these 23 tales reflect Kawabata’s keen perception, deceptive simplicity, and the deep melancholy that characterizes much of his work. The marriage of Kaname and Misako is disintegrating: whilst seeking passion and fulfilment in the arms of others, they contemplate the humiliation of divorce. Misako’s father believes their relationship has been damaged by the influence of a new and alien culture, and so attempts to heal the breach by educating his son-in-law in the time-honoured Japanese traditions of aesthetic and sensual pleasure. The result is an absorbing, chilling conflict between ancient and modern, young and old. In 1799, Jacob de Zoet disembarks on the tiny island of Dejima, the Dutch East India Company’s remotest trading post in a Japan otherwise closed to the outside world. A junior clerk, his task is to uncover evidence of the previous Chief Resident’s corruption. Cold-shouldered by his compatriots, Jacob earns the trust of a local interpreter and, more dangerously, becomes intrigued by a rare woman—a midwife permitted to study on Dejima under the company physician. He cannot foresee how disastrously each will be betrayed by someone they trust, nor how intertwined and far-reaching the consequences. After missing the last bus home following a day trip to the seashore, an amateur entomologist is offered lodging for the night at the bottom of a vast sand pit. But when he attempts to leave the next morning, he quickly discovers that the locals have other plans. Held captive with seemingly no chance of escape, he is tasked with shoveling back the ever-advancing sand dunes that threaten to destroy the village. His only companion is an odd young woman. Together their fates become intertwined as they work side by side at this Sisyphean task. A bold English adventurer. An invincible Japanese warlord. A beautiful woman torn between two ways of life, two ways of love. All brought together in an extraordinary saga of a time and a place aflame with conflict, passion, ambition, lust, and the struggle for power. Natsuo Kirino’s novel tells a story of random violence in the staid Tokyo suburbs, as a young mother who works a night shift making boxed lunches brutally strangles her deadbeat husband and then seeks the help of her co-workers to dispose of the body and cover up her crime. This story is about a young Chinese man recovering from tuberculosis in Japan during the Sino-Japanese War. He develops a father/son relationship with his caretaker as his relationship with his own father comes into question. In Osaka in the years immediately before World War II, four aristocratic women try to preserve a way of life that is vanishing. As told by Junichiro Tanizaki, the story of the Makioka sisters forms what is arguably the greatest Japanese novel of the twentieth century, a poignant yet unsparing portrait of a family–and an entire society–sliding into the abyss of modernity. This one isn’t quite a novel, but notable nonetheless! Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo takes tidying to a whole new level, promising that if you properly simplify and organize your home once, you’ll never have to do it again. Most methods advocate a room-by-room or little-by-little approach, which doom you to pick away at your piles of stuff forever. The KonMari Method, with its revolutionary category-by-category system, leads to lasting results. In fact, none of Kondo’s clients have lapsed (and she still has a three-month waiting list). Have a great book recommendation I’ve missed? Have you visited Japan before? I’d love to hear more about your travels and books set in Japan in the comments below! These are just a few things I love using for reading and travel, which have special deals that I want to pass on to you! 🙌
13.
Geisha, A Life
By Mineko Iwasaki, 200214.
I Am a Cat
By Soseki Natsume, 190515.
After Dark
By Haruki Murakami, 200416.
Battle Royale
By Koushun Takami, 199917.
The Dancing Girl of Izu and Other Stories
By Yasunari Kawabata, 195318.
Some Prefer Nettles
By Junichiro Tanizaki, 192919.
The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet
By David Mitchell, 201020.
The Woman in the Dunes
By Abe Kobo, 196221.
Shogun
By James Clavell, 197522.
Out
By Natsuo Kirino, 199723.
The Samurai’s Garden
By Gail Tsukiyama, 199424.
The Makioka Sisters
By Junichiro Tanizaki, 194925.
The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
By Marie Kondo, 2011What do you think of these books set in Japan?
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10 comments
LOOOOVE your blog concept. Holy crap! I am always looking for books set around the world!
Thanks so much for your kind words Rosie! Happy Reading 🙂
I had decided to attempt the global book reading challenge 2018. I got the first book successfully but cannot find the second one anywhere at a reasonable price – I refuse to pay more for shipping than the book actually cost. I decided to look for another challenge and found your Books Set In Japan list so that’s going to be the one. Having been to Japan last October and fallen in love with it, this is definitely the list for me – arigato. I had already downloaded Memoirs of a Geisha to my kindle and was saving it for going on holiday next week so I think your list was meant to be. Also if I swap to your list i don’t have to read War and Peace!! Will hopefully be going back to Japan in 2019 – can’t wait.
Hi Cat, thanks so much for your comment! I’m working my way through the World Reading Challenge at the moment and totally understand, a few of the titles are a little difficult to find – but it makes it all part of the adventure! I’m really glad to hear you enjoyed your time in Japan; I lived there for a few years so it’s a special place that’s close to my heart. I really hope you find some great reads here to accompany and inspire your travels! ‘Snow Country‘ is one of my favorite titles on this list. 🙂
You can try I Want To Go Home by Wesley Aroozoo from Singapore.
Synopsis: On the 11th of March, 2011, Yasuo Takamatsu lost his wife to the tsunami during the Great East Japan earthquake. Since that fateful day, he has been diving in the sea every week in search for her. Compelled and inspired to share his story, I Want To Go Home is a journey from Singapore to Onagawa through the lens of the intrigued to meet him. Of unlikely friendships across borders and languages; to share a man’s loss, recovery and determination to reunite with his wife.
Hi Marl, thanks so much for the book suggestion. This sounds like an incredible and heartbreaking read, I’ve added it to my own to-read list!
I love your website SO MUCH, seriously. Don’t ever stop posting, please! 🙂 On books set in Japan, do try Sayaka Murata’s Convenience Store Woman! I’m also a huge fan of Keigo Higashino’s detective books (like The Devotion of Suspect X) and Kanae Minato’s thrillers (Confessions is AMAZING).
Thanks so much for your kind words Lea! You’ve reminded me that this post is definitely overdue for an update, I’ve since read Convenience Store Woman and absolutely loved it! It’s honestly a new favorite. Thanks for your additional suggestions too, I wasn’t familiar with these authors before. 🙂
The Final Yen, by R. Sebastian Bennett, a novel set in Tokyo, 1989 – the height of Japanese economic power. Has very interesting discussion of gai-jins in society and business (sales), and a compelling plot about false accusation for a crime…
Hi Zane, thanks so much for the recommendation – always love finding new titles set in Tokyo!