№ 18 reading list: Japanese literature II

New Year, new Japanese reading list, finally. Some of you have been waiting for this one. I had nailed down the list but had to make a couple of adjustments, as two English translations of books I wanted to read now were unavailable at the library; they will be on the third one. The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon is, like The Tale of Genji which was on the first, a classic by a Japanese lady of the court, written around the year 1000, during the Heian period in Japanese history. I know of an English translation by Ivan Morris, published in 1967, but I'm reading a newer one by Meredith McKinney, published by Penguin Classics.

№ 18 reading list:
1  The Pillow Book  by Sei Shonagon
2  No Longer Human  by Osamu Dazai
3  Scandal  by Shusaku Endo
4  The Old Capital  by Yasunari Kawabata
5  Quicksand  by Junichiro Tanizaki
6  Death in Midsummer and Other Stories  by Yukio Mishima
7  Lost Japan  by Alex Kerr

Translated by, in this order: 1) Meredith McKinney; 2) Donald Keene; 3) Van C. Gessel;

4) J. Martin Holman; 5) Howard Hibbett; 6) Edward G. Seidensticker, Ivan Morris et al.;

7) Alex Kerr and Bodhi Fishman.

The blog post title says Japanese literature but this time I had to add one non-fiction to the list, Lost Japan by Alex Kerr, originally written in Japanese. You may have seen it on my Instagram. It was a Christmas present from my oldest, who also gave me Edward W. Said's Orientalism. She chose well, right? Most of the books on the list are relatively short - I have almost finished three - so you can expect me sharing another reading list at the beginning of February.

Happy New Year!

Reading journal 2017: Japanese literature I

In the coming weeks I intend to do my best to wrap up my '2017 Reading journal' and today I'm sharing my thoughts on the books that appeared on my first list of Japanese literature. It always gives me pleasure learning that my blog readers are actually using my lists as a guide to books; even more so when they have read and enjoyed them. I have already been asked when I will be sharing the second Japanese list and my reason for postponing it is the fact that I still haven't finished The Tale of Genji (see below). The draft of my second list contains The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, another classic from a lady of the court, and I want to finish Genji before I read that one. This means that my blog readers will have to wait a little longer.

№ 9 reading list:

· First Snow on Fuji by Yasunari Kawabata. During the reading, I had the feeling that my limited knowledge of Japanese culture stood in the way of me fully enjoying this collection of stories. I also felt that I first should have read some of Kawabata's novels (one will appear on my second Japanese list, and some day I will very likely return to this story collection). There were mainly three stories that appealed to me: 'Silence', 'Nature', and one that gives the book its title, 'First Snow on Fuji'. The Fuji one remains my favourite, about two former lovers who go on a trip together, where the mountain can be seen from the train window. (Translated by Michael Emmerich.)

· The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima. When I shared the list I was about halfway through the novel and told you about its repulsive protagonist. Mishima has turned into fiction the story of the monk who set fire to the Golden Pavilion back in 1950. I don't remember ever having been as repelled by a fictional character. I had no sympathy for the guy and the more I read, the more I loathed him. That is probably the book's brilliance. I cannot say it was a fun read. An interesting read would better describe my reading experience. (Translated by Ivan Morris.)

· Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki. A short novel about cultural conflicts, in which the old Japan meets the new. It gives you a glimpse into the Japanese puppet theatre. Apart from the ambiguous ending, I liked it, I liked the prose, but I wouldn't recommend it as an introduction to his work. The Makioka Sisters remains my favourite Tanizaki, and one of my all-time favourite books. (Translated by Edward G. Seidensticker.)

· The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu. On the reading list I had two translations and ended up buying the one by Edward G. Seidensticker, an Everyman's Library publication. As I said above, I haven't finished it. Not that it doesn't appeal to me, I simply felt I needed a reading companion to understand the world it describes. A long time ago, I enrolled in a world literature course that I didn't finish and Genji was on the curriculum. I realised I still had access to the lectures and material online so I decided to pause my reading. Unfortunately, the course didn't cover the book chapter for chapter, but the lectures gave me a better insight into its world. Now I like reading one or two chapters at a time and contemplate on them before continuing. The book is a mix of prose and poems and depicts ancient Japanese culture (the Heian era), the politics and society of the court. These customs were completely foreign to me, but now the book has begun to make more sense. I'm fascinated by how the characters communicate with poems - lovers, mainly - and the role of calligraphy. The work has so many botanical references and I often look them up online to see images of the plants.

· My Neighbor Totoro: The Novel by Tsugiko Kubo. This wonderful book for children (of all ages) contains the original illustrations by director Hayao Miyazaki (the Studio Ghibli animation was turned into a novel). If you are tired of, what I call, noisy children's books then I like to believe this one will surprise and delight you. It's the story of how the 11-year-old Satsuki and her sister Mei discover Totoro, a forest spirit with magical powers. (If noisy animations make you lose hope for humanity I can highly recommend the animation, My Neighbour Totoro (1988).)

Those who follow me on Instagram may have noticed some of my new books. Soon I will be sharing the № 14 reading list; I just need to visit the Bremen University Library to grab two works that I would like to be on it. To be honest, I get the feeling I will lose all self-control and borrow more than those two.

№ 9 reading list: Japanese literature I

Months ago the idea of a Japanese reading list started sprouting in my mind, and once I began writing down authors and titles in my pocket notebook I realised that there would be more than one list. Despite the word snow appearing in one of the titles below, it somehow felt right to ease into the summer reading Japanese literature. This first list is slightly shorter than intended, for the simple reason that one of the books I ordered hasn't arrived and at the last minute I decided not to include two works by the same author. It means that a novel by Yasunari Kawabata, who received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968, will appear on the next list. My blog readers will recognise Tanizaki, but his novel The Makioka Sisters was on an earlier list. I love the fact that at least one blog reader read and enjoyed it as much as I did.

№ 9 reading list:
1  First Snow on Fuji  by Yasunari Kawabata
2  The Temple of the Golden Pavilion  by Yukio Mishima
3  Some Prefer Nettles  by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
4  The Tale of Genji  by Murasaki Shikibu *
5  The Tale of Genji  by Murasaki Shikibu **
6  My Neighbor Totoro: The Novel  by Tsugiko Kubo ***

Translated by: * Edward G. Seidensticker; ** Dennis Washburn

*** Illustrated by Hayao Miyazaki

As you can see, there are two unabridged editions of The Tale of Genji and I still haven't decided which one to read. The Washburn translation is a new paperback edition by W. W Norton & Co, the other an Everyman's Library edition. I'm trying to order the translation by Seidensticker through my local library, which is the main reason I have postponed sharing the list. If it fails to arrive I'm not sure at this point which one I will purchase. On my Instagram account you may have noticed that I'm already reading The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Mishima. He fictionalised the story of the monk who in 1950 set fire to the Golden Pavilion of Kyoto, erected in the 15th century (the American airplanes spared the temples during the war). This was a shocking event. During the trial the young monk said he was protesting against the commercialisation of Buddhism. However, scholar Donald Keene writes in the introduction that 'he may have been directly inspired by nothing more significant than pique over having been given a worn garment when he had asked the Superior of the temple for an overcoat'! I'm more than halfway through the book with the pavilion still standing, and troubling the mind of the rather repulsive protagonist.

Have you seen the animation My Neighbour Totoro (1988) by Hayao Miyazaki? It's one of the Japanese favourites in our home. Last year my son and I were sitting at the café of our local Waterstones when he spotted the book on a shelf. We didn't even know it existed and learned then and there that the film had been turned into a novel, featuring Miyazaki's illustrations. It's a beautiful book and of course we walked out of the bookshop with a purchased copy. My son loved reading the story and now it's my turn.