Haruki Murakami Introduces the Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories | Hacker News Reader

Haruki Murakami Introduces the Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories

lithub.com

176 pointsThevet75 comments

If anyone is interested in reading Japanese short stories in native Japanese, even if you’re still learning the language, I’ve built an iOS app that collects various short-form reading materials and lets you tap words to look them up: https://reader.manabi.io

I appreciate any feedback. I have a steady base of users and am looking to expand it further with analytics and level-based recommendations based on the words you know/have read before.

I was really excited to try this, but then I realized it wasn't on Android :(

Sorry! I wanted to build a native app to provide the best experience possible. I do plan to bring it to desktop macOS though.

This is cool! I tried to set something similar up a while ago with a browser extension where you could click words to look them up, but it never worked nearly as well as this. I'd love to see a native iPad version.

iPad support is in the works, it’s nexessary for a reader app. I’ll bring it to desktop next year as well once Marzipan launches next WWDC.

This looks really nice ! I was just looking for something like this !

Please let me know how you like it and what could be improved!

Very nice. Have you thought about expanding it to more languages?

Thanks! I may much later on. First I want to build best-in-class tools for Japanese specifically because there are language-specific features and implementation details that other similar tools that target a broad set of languages do poorly at with Japanese.

Talk about serendipity: I finished reading Ryunosuke Akutagawa's story "The Hell Screen" just a couple of weeks ago! I also have two other short story collections (see below) by Japanese authors.

I have no knowledge of early 20th century (or current, except Murakami) Japanese literature; however, when I go to book sales (I particularly recommend the excellent one by Newberry Library) I look for foreign sort story collections. I also have to admit that my selections are also somewhat governed by the physical characteristics of the books: this Japanese short story collection, which was an old paperbacks, had great illustrative art.

Here are the story collections that I have:

1) Akutagawa (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ry%C5%ABnosuke_Akutagawa), Japanese Short Stories, translated by Takashi Kojima, beautifully illustrated by Masakazu Kuwata, Charles Tuttle Company, 1962. Akutagawa is mostly knows as the author of Rashomon, but all 10 of these stories are excellent. I mentioned "The Hell Screen" above, also want to mention "Otomi's Virginity". These stories are exercises in style .

2) Junichiro Tanizaki (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jun%27ichir%C5%8D_Tanizaki), Seven Japanese Tales, translated by Howard Hibbert, Berkley Publishing, 1963. Here, "The Tattoer" and " A Blind Man's Tale" were my favorites, really spellbinding stories.

3] Shusaku Endo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sh%C5%ABsaku_End%C5%8D), Five by Endo, translated by Van Gessel, New Directions, 1994

Thanks for the explicite references!

I’m a huge fan of Haruki Murakami and have been struggling to find other Japanese authors I might enjoy. I’m glad to hear he has some similar feelings. I’m looking forward to reading these other authors stories.

Can anyone recommend other Japanese authors?

It's hard to make specific recommendations without knowing what kinds of books you typically enjoy. That is, if you want "more like Murakami," that's one thing, but if you want "Japanese authors who write about things I normally enjoy," that's another. If you could explain what you enjoy, that would help us recommend more. :)

As a general shotgun approach at "who's who" in Japanese literature:

Kobo Abe's Woman in the Dunes is a story that's a bit bizarre/unreal; many people I know who like Murakami also like this.

Speaking of "bizarre," Yukio Mishima was quite a character -- aside from that, he was also quite a writer. Patriotism is a great short story from him that's pretty thought-provoking in a lot of ways.

Mishima's Confessions of a Mask is also another book I'd immediately recommend to people looking at Japanese literature. The protagonist is homosexual and somewhat deviant in a number of ways; the book looks at what it means to be "abnormal" and still have to fit into Japanese society (IIRC this was set in pre-war Imperial Japan).

For more modern stuff, Taiyo Fujii's Gene Mapper was a great read and a look at a future where genetic engineering/manipulation is the norm, especially for foodstuffs.

It’s a good question “what do I like about him”. I like the magical realism and I like the bizarre and I like the Japanese themes. But I don’t necessarily need all three at once.

I really appreciate all the great suggestions in everyone’s responses. Many of the authors I’ve never heard of.

I'm a big fan of Kōbō Abe. The Woman In The Dunes is probably his most famous and easiest to read of the ones I've encountered. For a more dream-like, trippy experience, try The Box Man or The Ruined Map.

The movie for Woman in the Dunes is really great too!

Added to the list. Thanks!

砂の女 is a masterpiece of Japanese cinema as well

As others have noted, you'll likely find what you're looking for by finding other magical realism authors rather than other Japanese authors.

If looking for existentialist ennui authors, then Japan may offer other writers.

What about Murakami's works appeal to you in particular?

Yes, I like the magical realism of murakami. However I also enjoy the Japanese cultural references. Maybe it is the gaijin in me, but I feel that the mystery of Japanese culture (as seen from the eyes of a westerner) is a good match for magical realism.

I’ve often heard of murakami described as similar to Philip K Dick. Though I like Dick, I don’t really see the relation. (Though the second season of amazons Man in the Hogh Castle seems very Murakami-esque to me)

I’ve read a lot of French and German existential ennui authors and don’t get the same feelings (some I’ve read in both English translation and original text).

I do get some similar feelings from some Hemingway works, though clearly not magical realism.

Do you have any magical realism authors you can suggest?

I (along with some others here) highly recommend Yasunari Kawabata. In a way, he reminds me of Hemingway because he writes sparsely and with a deep sense of melancholy. He also was focused on preserving the "Japanese character" at a time when there was a lot of pressure to Westernize, so in a way he writing encapsulates a Japanese perspective of what makes Japan unique and interesting.

He is also just an amazing writer (he won the Nobel). Some interesting works by him: Master of Go, the novelization of a Go match between two masters (I barely understand how to play Go and still found it interesting) and Thousand Cranes, which centers around the tea ceremony. That story is interesting because a few old tea bowls are treated almost like characters that exert influence over some of the other characters whose lives are kind of intertwined almost like a Shakespearean drama. Anyway, a very interesting and unique author.

I also recommend Musashi from Eiji Yoshikawa. He writes big historical fiction novels that read like fantasy page-turners. Taiko is his lesser known novel in translation, but it is a really awesome overview of the Japanese feudal period and a fun read as well.

Will do! Thanks.

I agree with you that there's little resemblance between Murakami and PKD.

I think I know what you mean regarding Hemingway. I got that "feeling" as a reader reading For Whom The Bell Tolls.

I'd look at "the Surrendered" by Chang-rae Lee, a Korean American author and a Pulitzer finalist. I'm only halfway through the book but it's very much a Hemingway esque war book, and I think I get a similar feeling reading it. Maybe it has to do with being very deep inside the psyche of the existentially troubled, conflicted protagonist.

If you do read it and enjoy it, drop me a note at me email. Would love to hear what you think.

Funny, I’ve read all of Hemingway’s novels and the one I was explicitly thinking of was For Whom the Bell Tolls. Yes, that “feeling” was the one I was referring to.

I’ll try to check out that Korean American author too. I just finished “pachinko” by Min Jin Lee, another Korean American author. Definitely _not_ magical realism but a lot of enui.

For more magical realism, definitely give Gabriel Garcia Marquez a try. It doesn't feel quite as foreign as Japanese culture, but it definitely captures the same kind of mystery.

One Hundred Years of Solitude is generally regarded as a good place to start. It's one of my favorite books and has so much character and imagery that sticks in your head.

Not completely magical realism, but I would suggest Vonnegut. Murakami slightly reminds me of a younger version.

Interesting. I hadn’t made that connection before. I’ve ready 3-4 Vonnegut books but admittedly not since I was a kid. Maybe I was too young to understand. Or maybe I hadn’t yet identified the right feelings yet. I’ll give him another try.

Check out For the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki. It has magical realism elements, and half of it takes place in Japan. It definitely reminded me of Murakami.

I agree here: liking Murakami is no guarantee of liking other contemporary Japanese authors (as you can gather from the article in question).

Side question: re your username, are you a big haruki murakami fan or just a coincidence?

Those are my initials and my last name, which coincidentally resembles the author's name. My first name is the name of one of his protagonists, which adds to the mystery ;)

My college classmates would often ask if I was related, especially since he was a visiting lecturer back in the day.

Ha!

Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata might be up your alley. It's a (little) bit Murakami-esque, and I hear that her upcoming translations are even weirder, which I'm looking forward to.

Thanks! I’ll check it out ASAP.

All authors in the Penguin collection. Oe, Mishima, Akutagawa, Natsume, Shiga, Kawabata. Were deeply influenced by Japan's ancient folktales ;)

https://www.pitt.edu/~dash/japantales.html

Cool! Obviously the short stories in the collection are a place for me to start!

I enjoyed "Out" by Natsuo Kirino.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Out_(novel)

If you get into classic Japanese literature then have some fun and start at the beginning with Murasaki Shikibu's Tale of Genji written about a thousand years ago. From around 1905 after the Russo-Japanese war when Japan was starting to feel good about itself you have Natsume Sōseki's I am a Cat. As Yet I have No Name but it all depends on what genre you like.

I love Souseki. For me he's the Japanese Dickens. I highly recommend Botchan (spelling from google -- no idea what this book is called in English).

Right. Botchan (1906) (坊っちゃん明治三十九年) That was and probably still is a popular book, moreso at the time of its release when virtually all behavior was rigid and prescribed and you were expected to keep your thoughts to yourself and never volunteer them. There's even an .epub of Botchan on Project Gutenberg and aozora. As a Japanese friend who grew up in Japan observed, Botchan was like an alter ego. You know exactly what he is thinking, he had a short fuse, and talked with his fists with little regard as to how his actions were construed. Things at times which you would want to do yourself but wouldn't or couldn't. But like an Aesop's fable, ethics and morality win in the end.

- and the above is Kanji if you don't have the script ;-)

Akutagawa and Kawabata. But I don't believe Murakami is considered representative of Japanese literature, so you might just not like them.

Banana Yoshimoto (most known for the novel Kitchen [1]) is certainly very Murakamiesque when it comes to documenting the banalities of everyday life. Not magical realist, though.

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Banana-Yoshimoto/dp/057117104...

As others have said Kawabata is great. Banana Yoshimoto too. Personally I really enjoyed Fuminori Nakamura, especially The Thief.

Thanks for the suggestion

Two Japanese novels that I thoroughly enjoyed are Eiji Yoshikawa's Musashi and Osamu Dazai's No Longer Human.

Thanks! I’ll check them out.

Kenzaburo Oe, won the Nobel Prize for Literature. I've heard of him but have never read any of his books personally.

My coworker who likes Murakami recommended Kawabata and Ishiguro, but I haven't had a chance to read either yet.

All You Need Is Kill is a great read. The movie, Edge Of Tomorrow, was based on this book.

Not a Japanese author but you might like Jonathan Carroll.

I’m not tied to only Japanese authors. Thanks!

Can you tell me about why you suggest him?

The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino.

I really recommend Keigo. Malice is probably my favourite so far but only because I loved the TV series Shinzanmono.

I really enjoyed Norwegian Wood.

Would you recommend any particular order when approaching his other books?

I would recommend Kafka on the Shore if you liked Norwegian Wood. Both are less “bizarre”. On the more bizarre end of the spectrum I would say 1Q84 or Hardboiled Wonderland and the End of the World.

Kazuo Ishiguro - The Buried Giant

Yamada Taichi

If you like Murakami, you might also enjoy Ruth Ozeki, who is influenced by Murakami and also writes magical realism novels.

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15811545-a-tale-for-the-...

That sounds interesting. Thanks!

I have a theory that Japanese sense of humor is actually a lot more sophisticated than that of the west. In particular, I think movies like Zatoichi satirize westerners. It's a movie where the main character, who is a blind samurai, is shown to constantly know what people are doing and talk about it. It is supposed to show him as being ultra-perceptive to westerners, but in reality I think it was just a farce. Westerners always have to have things said explicitly, because we lack the ability to understand ishin-denshin.

Without giving away any spoilers, in Spirited Away, if you watch the Japanese version there is an entire uncovered story delivered in the last few minutes in just a few lines. In the English version, the same person just says “thanks!” I think I’d support the idea that generally speaking the Japanese pack a lot more into what you’re watching or reading.

That’s an interesting thesis. Was it intended as satire originally or just developed with a non-western eye?

Any Japanese in the crowd here that might be able to give an opinion?

A bit disappointed to not see any stories by Kenji Miyazawa [0]. I'd love to see him gain more recognition outside of Japan.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kenji_Miyazawa

I loved 'Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'. Do you have any book suggestions on that style? Japanese or not, I just wanted more of that weird cyberpunk/magic realism vibe.

Have you read the rest of his works yet? The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is a masterpiece in a similar tone to Hard-boiled Wonderland (but less cyberpunk)

I've read 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle' and 'Kafka on the Shore' but I didn't liked them as much as 'Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World'. I also have '1Q84' in my queue, maybe I'll give it a try.

I would recommend 1Q84. It has the same bizarreness but not cyberpunky.

I'd say the Wind Up Bird Chronicles is a lot closer to the Hard Boiled Wonderland.

1Q84, while it has an excellent rendition of a cult member, is a simpler story, and has a tendency to repeat itself quite a bit. I don't know if this was because it was originally printed as two books or not, that might just be a UK thing.

The Wind up Bird Chronicles starts on this relatively intriguing but normal sounding premise (a mans wife doesn't come home one day, and he finds a receipt for a dry cleaners in her pocket) and then just starts to go nuts, but with each fantastical step being laid on in a coherent enough fashion to take you along with it. Of course, all of this is just opinion.

I'd also recommend his book of short stories - I think it's "The Elephant Vanishes". They are some with really excellent premises.

In terms of other authors, maybe try Borge and A Universal History of Infamy. I think it has a similar level of fantastical whimsy and excellent language

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Universal_History_of_Infamy

Thanks for the recommendations, I'm a huge fan of Borges. However, 'The Wind Up Bird Chronicles' didn't fascinated me and it was somewhat a chore to finish it.

Ah, shame! I haven't read it in several years.

I have not found anything better then Borges. Actually, it's kind of annoying because somehow reading Borges appears to have become synonymous with pretentiousness, at least to my friends, and my earnest appeals to others to read his magnificent fiction have been poorly received. But he really is so damn good!

Let me know if there's anything you'd recommend.

I don't know if it really qualifies as magic realism but Gunter Grass is a very good writer that gives this weird fascinating vibe. 'The Tin Drum' and 'The Flounder' are very interesting books, highly recommend.

Awesome, I'll check them out.

The post title confused me a bit. The phrasing made me think that Murakami put together this collection and then "introduced" it to the world by publishing it. Actually, Murakami "introduces" this book in the sense that they have written an introduction for it.

That’s understandable. I think it’d be more clear as, “Murakami: introduction to the...”

Produced, edited or published would be better words than introduced if he’d compiled the book, so I did find the word “introduces” clear.

For anyone interested in a more thorough and well-introduced volume on Japanese literature, I’d recommend this two-volume work:

https://cup.columbia.edu/book/the-columbia-anthology-of-mode...

Reply on news.ycombinator.com