Does anyone have any recommendations for books based in Japan? ☺️
Does anyone have any recommendations for books based in Japan? ☺️
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Does anyone have any recommendations for books based in Japan? ☺️
Shogun and Gai-Jin by James Clavell and The Nicholas Linnear Series by Eric van Lustbader.
Hiro Arikawa: The chronicles of travelling cat. Adorable & touching book. <3
Hiromi Kawakami: Strange weather in Tokyo. Slow burn romance, slice of life style.
Memoirs of a Geisha
Love this one?
This is the one I was going to suggest.
One of my top 5 favorite books ever.
Another favorite about Japanese internment camps, On the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
Almost all books of Haruki Murakami. The convenience store woman by Sayaka Murata. Pachinko by Min Lin Jee about a Korean family migrating to Japan.
The Devil is a Part-Timer (it’s a light novel series, but it’s based in Japan were the Devil works at a fast food restaurant).
Great choice if you’re looking for some humor!
Botchan by Natsume Soseki.
It’s a fantasy version of Japan, so I am not sure if you are into that, but I love Lian Hearn’s ‘Tales of the Otori’ series
Have you seen the prequel series for it yet? It’s pretty good, a lot more magic and divine intervention is involved.
@Chris no, I haven’t read that, didn’t even know it existed! Thanks for the tip ?
Hope you enjoy!
The tale of Shikanoko series by Gillian Rubinstein
Shogun. Oldie but excellent
Fiction or non?
Youth fiction there’s a Samurai Detective series by Dorothy Hoobler about a 12-16 year old boy who is adopted by a samurai judge after he helps him solve a case if I remember right. Then he ends up investigating most of the cases the judge takes on.
Tales of the Otori was a great feudal lord series complete with politics, religion, romance, and a touch of magic and ninjas. Set in a fictional version of Sengoku era Japan called “The eight islands” with fictional figures. By Lian Hearn.
There is a prequel series by Lian Hearn set in her own fictional Heian age called The Tale of Shikanoko. I’ve read the first two. The ending of the first book pissed me off(in a bad way, trigger warning). Did not want to read the rest(there are 8 if I’m not mistaken) but I’m a completionist so if I pick up a book I usually have to finish the entire series so I finally bought the second copy and it wasn’t as bad.
When I was very young, I read The Samurai’s Tale by Erik Christian Haugaard and later read Revenge of the Forty Seven Samurai, his own retelling of the incident. His work is fictional nonfiction in that he uses real people and events but personifies them in his own way.
I recently read the prologue to a book about Miyamoto Musashi told in a similar way to Haugaard’s work but didn’t have the money to purchase it at the time. I believe it is less than two years old and is about Musashi changing his name and his entire fate and value system to go on to become the greatest swordsman in history. It starts out with him trying to convince another samurai to not commit seppuku after a battle where everyone else died.
Author Laura Joh Rowland, Mysteries set in 17th century feudal Japan. Good series!
Haruki Murakami, Shogun by James Clavell, Silence by Endo… All good. Anything by Yoko Ogawa.
Be with You by Takuji Ichikawa
I am a big fan of Haruki Murakami and also of Ryu Murakami ?
Bridget Berry I’m reading Hardboiled Wonderland right now and read three other books from Murakami last year. He’s such an awesome author.
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata, also My Brother’s Husband vols. I & II by Gengoroh Tagame (if you like graphic novels).
The Devil of Nanking by Mo Hayder
I think that The Traveling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa is great. The story is partially told from the perspective of a cat, how awesome is that! ?
Not based in Japan…but very good…about Japanese interments here The Hotel Between Bitter and Sweet
@Janie such a good, powerful book.
Memoirs of a Geisha
@Marina Great recommendation!
“Now You’re One of Us” by Asa Nonami, “The Summer of the Ubume” by Natsuhiko Kyogoku, any of the Hiro Hattori mystery novels by Susan Spann, “Hiroshima Bugi” by Gerald Vizenor, or, for a classic, “The Tale of Genji” by Murasaki Shikibu.
Any book by Keigo Higashino (e.g. The Devotion of Suspect X)
Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama
The Devil of Nanking by mo Hayder. The graveyard apartment by Mariko Koike
Plum Wine – can’t remember the author. Beautifully woven story.
Memoirs of a geisha.
My Crimson Winter series
Kitchen, by Banana Yoshimoto (yes, that’s her name ?)
Shogun by James Clavell.
Norwegian Wood
Shogun
Confessions by Kanae Minato
@Dee this is one I put down a while ago because I was not in the right mood for it at the time but it was SO GOOD I didn’t want to ruin it by forcing myself to read it. I’m looking forward to finishing it soon.
Killing Commendatore
Pachinko by Min Jin Lee (though it’s told from the Korean perspective)
Shogun
Shogun
Traveling cat chronicles
1Q84
yes. Weird by good.
Memoirs of a Geisha
@Carlene LOVE IT!
Ooh yeah. This one! So good.
Author Eric Van Lustbader
Shogun.
Light novels (with some exceptions). Lots have been translated! 🙂 depends on the genre you like.
Missing is supernatural/suspense, Seraph of the End has vampires, I’m sick so my brain had stalled but there are lots. 🙂
I can heartfully recommend every single book of Yoshimoto Banana. I own all of her works as physical books. While I still studied Japanese studies I even did a big report on her work “Kitchen”.
“Kitchen” and “Tsugumi” are my favourite books of her.
The stories are all very thoughtful and deep but stil la light reading 🙂
New York library has a wide selection of her books I’m eager to try a few. Thanks!
I would like to know too
This intoxicating book, The Waiting Years, is written by a Japanese author. It paints a beautiful and heartbreaking picture of a Japanese houswife as she deals with changing times during pre-world war I Japan.
@Manal adding to my tbr
The Earthquake doll was good
Clavell’s “Shogun” and Lustbader’s “Ninja”
Pachinko
Warcross and Wildcard <3
Set half in Japan half in the U.S. – How to Be an American Housewife.
Series by Susan Spann.
Pachinko
Anything by Haruki Murakami. Wild Sheep Chase, or Wind Up Bird Chronicle…
There’s this really cool choose your own adventure called Samurai of Hyuga on Google play
Silk and song. Highly recommend ?
Memoirs of a Geisha
Shogun
I loved Musashi by Eiji Yoshikawa. Also, Yukio Mishima is a good writer. His Sea of Fertility tetralogy is really good, if you’re into intrigues, romance and historical fiction. The Tales of the Otori by Lian Hearn is also good, and is set in Japan, but with fictional places, not real ones.
Pachinko is good
Anything Haruki Murakami. Why not try Kafka On The Shore?
IQ84 by Haruki Murakami!
warcross is amazing!
‘Battle Royale’ by Koushun Takami
The Traveling Cat Chronicles