"Woman in the Sand", Kobo Abe
Kobo Abe was always concerned about the question of a person’s search for his place in the world. This is what his cult novel “The Woman in the Sands” is about.
The main character is a teacher who is interested in insects. He goes for a rare specimen, and on the way he has to stop for the night in a remote settlement. The dwellings there are located at the bottom of sand pits. Having gone down there for the night, in the morning he realizes that it is impossible to get out. For years he remains locked in a hole alone with a lonely woman.
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What do you associate Japan with? Surely, this is cherry blossoms, Mount Fuji, geishas and samurai. But the culture of this country is much richer: music, theater, cinema, fine arts and literature have developed and continue to develop here. And today we’ll talk about books: we’ll discover new names, get acquainted with unusual stories and look inside the mysterious Japanese soul. So, which Japanese authors should we read?
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Banana Yoshimoto "Tsugumi"
Our top will be opened by a modern Japanese writer - Banana Yoshimoto. Her real name is Mahoko, and her pseudonym is a tribute to her love for the flowers of the plant of the same name. Banana grew up in a family where everyone is somehow connected with literature, so her choice of activity was quite obvious. According to the writer, she began writing in early childhood, but received her first recognition at the university. Her graduation work may not have had a resonance in creative circles, but for her it became the main and defining one.
The work after which Banana Yoshimoto gained popularity was the miniature novel “Kitchen.” But the writer’s talent was truly revealed in a book called “Tsugumi.” Tsugumi is a girl who has amazing beauty, a difficult character, and a serious illness. In addition, she has loving relatives who have learned to cope with the straightforwardness and rudeness of a sick relative. Their days are spent by the sea in a hotel. Tsugumi skillfully manipulates people, comes up with dangerous pranks and pits everyone and everything against each other. And, of course, she saves her biggest prank for last. Despite the looming threat, the book is easy to read - this prose is imbued with tenderness and simultaneous sadness.
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Junichiro Tanizaki "Snow Landscape"
Junichiro Tanizaki was a very versatile person and devoted almost his entire life to creative research. At various times he studied poetry, literature, cinema, studied the history of art of the West, and later of the East. His fascination with Western styles and trends greatly affected the writer’s work: he was attracted by decadence and in his works Tanizaki boldly created atypical images and plots.
Later, he moved away from Western techniques and plunged into the history of his native country and the study of the formation of Japanese traditions. You can read a lot from Tanizaki, but you should pay closer attention to the novel “Snowy Landscape” or in another translation – “Fine Snow”. In it, the author describes in a leisurely manner the lives of four sisters. Through this biography, he conveys to the reader the main theme that interested him: the conflict between the old way of life and modernity, the relationship between the West and the East. The care with which the author describes the details and trifles of everyday life, immersing himself headlong in the peculiarities of Japanese culture, will not escape the attentive reader.
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Yoko Tawada "Suspicious Passengers on Your Night Trains"
Contemporary writer Yoko Tawada lives in Germany and writes for German and Japanese audiences, in two languages. At one time she studied Russian literature, then switched to German and received a doctorate in philology. In addition to literary creativity and the study of literary processes, he is engaged in poetry, drama, and actively collaborates with people of various creative professions.
Only two of her works have been translated into Russian - the story “The Dog's Bride” and the novel “Suspicious Passengers of Your Night Trains.” The first work, although short, is very surreal and not suitable for acquaintance. But the novel gives a more complete impression of Tawada’s unique writing style and gently immerses her in her special world. The main character of this story is a Japanese dancer who went on tour to European cities. With it, the reader will have to go on a train journey, and on this journey will find answers to the main questions about life and life’s search.
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Iori Fujiwara "Darkness in the Palm"
Iori Fujiwara is an example that it is never too late to start making your dreams come true. All his life, Fujiwara worked in an advertising company, where he held the position of a simple clerk. In due course he retired and only then took up writing. His first work gained enormous popularity among Japanese readers. Eleven of the author’s works have been published in Japan, but only three have been translated for Russian-speaking audiences.
Iori Fujiwara's first novel, "Umbrella for a Terrorist," was awarded the Edogawa Rampo Prize for best detective story. If you are interested in books that have received awards and prizes, then be sure to check out this material - link here. Of no less interest is his work “Darkness in the Palm”, also written in the detective genre. The story tells of a clerk working in an advertising company that is going through times of crisis. But no, this is not an autobiography: the hero of the novel is laid off, not particularly depressed about this, and gets involved in a whirlpool of events where there are intrigues, investigations, the Yakuza and a sense of freedom.
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Kaori Ekuni "Shine, Night Star"
Kaori Ekuni, like Banana Yoshimoto, who opens our collection, was born into a literary family. Her father is a very popular poet in Japan. Kaori went to the USA for her education, where she began working on her debut work, “Shine You, Night Star.” Many Japanese readers and literary critics compare the manner and style of the writer with the very famous Haruki Murakami. But, of course, you can only judge this by seeing it yourself.
And the best way to check is by reading her novel “You Shine, Night Star.” It tells a very unusual story. At the center of the story is a married couple, where the husband is a doctor and the wife runs the household. At first glance, everything is familiar and even traditional, but there are two nuances: the husband is gay, and the wife suffers from alcoholism and a mental disorder. They were pushed to get married by the pressure of their parents, but everything between the spouses is clear, transparent and agreed upon in advance. And yet, time passes, they change and they face difficulties and tests of strength.
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Kirino Natsuo "Out"
Kirino Natsuo's path to writing was quite long, despite the fact that from childhood she knew what she wanted to do. First, she received a law degree, later got married, changed more than one job, including being a journalist and occupying the editor’s chair. She published her first novel, Out, at the age of 41, and it was a great success. After Kirino's auspicious debut, Natsuo continues to pursue his passion for writing.
The psychological thriller "Out" won not only Japanese readers, but also became an international bestseller. It follows the lives of four middle-aged Japanese women who work at night in a fast food factory. These women are forced to survive, floundering on the brink of poverty, despair and hopelessness. One day they become accomplices to a violent murder, and it changes everything they have for the worse. Because it becomes clear that each of them crossed their personal boundaries long before committing the crime...
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Kobo Abe "Woman in the Sand"
Kobo Abe is one of Japan's most famous writers. He studied not only literature, but paid close attention to drama, wrote scripts, was passionate about photography and owned his own studio. He has repeatedly received prestigious Japanese awards for his novels, and his three most famous novels have been filmed. The three novels include The Stranger's Face, The Burnt Map, and The Woman in the Sands.
It was the latter work that was so successful that it received the status of a cult item. Despite the title, the main character here is a man, and it is through his eyes that the reader will look at everything that happens. He is an insect researcher and, as part of his scientific research, sets off on a journey to study a certain species that interests him. On the way, the hero stumbles upon a village lost in the sands, where he stays overnight in the house of an unfamiliar woman. But after staying for one night, he falls into a trap and, trying to get out of it, he changes himself and changes his thoughts about the meaning of life, about the woman next to him, about purpose and other important things.
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Koji Suzuki "The Ring"
Writer Koji Suzuki created the “Ring” trilogy, which was repeatedly filmed in his homeland and in Hollywood. But besides this story, he has other books, telling several collections, and his interests include French literature. What this circle doesn't have is horror - both books and films. Suzuki does not consider bloody horror films with special effects scary; he is attracted by understatement, hints, imagination, blurry endings and ancient fears.
Unlike films, the story told on the pages of books is full of drama and subtle psychologism. The plot is conveyed quite reliably: four people die under strange circumstances, and a young journalist gets involved in the investigation. He will have to pay for his interest in this matter with his own peace of mind and mental health. Very soon he finds himself drawn into a fatal whirlpool, where an otherworldly force rules the roost, the secret of which is very difficult and deadly to unravel.
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Kenzaburo Oe “The waters enveloped me to my soul...”
Kenzaburo Oe is an outstanding Japanese humanist writer, distinguished by his active social position and received the Nobel Prize in 1994 for his contributions. His literary heritage consists of several dozen novels, numerous stories, essays and collections of stories. Through his work, Oe conveys ideas of peace, spiritual development and the search for a person’s place, but at the same time he studies the nature of violence and marginality.
To date, his novel “The waters have embraced me to my soul...” has become the most popular and read all over the world. Here are intertwined the fates of a man running away from himself, an autistic child talking to birds, whales and trees, a gang of teenagers who dream of sailing away from everything into the ocean. It is at once a parable, a dystopia, a thorough exploration of the human soul, a fairy tale, and a reworked Christian legend. Maybe not everyone will like this alloy, but it’s definitely worth looking for something you like.
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Masahiko Shimada “The Canon That Sounds Eternally”
Like many of the authors already mentioned in our selection, Masahiko Shimada boasts a diverse field of activity: writer, winner of prestigious awards, playwright, traveler. Most likely, this is not all he does, but these facts speak for themselves. Shimada made his debut in literature at the age of 22 and since then his popularity has not subsided, gaining momentum not only in Japan, but throughout the world.
One of his strongest works is the trilogy “The Canon that Sounds Eternally.” The heroes of the three volumes are the descendants of the famous geisha Chio-chio-san and officer Pinkerton. The reader will experience difficult destinies, excursions into the depths of centuries, an exciting plot, dramatic love and the struggle for one’s own freedom of choice. Such intensity of passion in this work allowed the author to write a libretto for the opera, taking the trilogy as a basis.
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Miyuki Miyabe "Crossfire"
Miyuki Miyabe is very popular in her homeland, perhaps due to her hard work and wide genre coverage of her activities. The fact is that the writer does not limit herself to just one favorite genre, but prefers to work in many at once. Among her works you can find social satire, historical adventures, action-packed literature, as well as science fiction, fantasy, books for children, and even manga, anime and video games for teenagers. In total, she has more than 35 full-length novels, a lot of collections of short stories, many nominations, awards and film adaptations of her creations.
With such diversity, it is difficult to stop at just one thing, because Miyabe has many truly worthy stories. But you can start getting acquainted with her work with the bestseller “Crossfire”, on which the Japanese film “Pyrokinesis” was based. The main character of this story has two gifts of fate: a heightened sense of justice and the ability to cause fire with the power of thought. Of course, with this combination it is very easy to get into a swirling whirlpool and cross the path of the wrong people, even with the best intentions. This is exactly what happens, but how will she get out of the situation - read in the detective story!
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Miyamoto Musashi "Book of Five Rings"
Miyamoto Musashi is a true legend in Japan. He lived at the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries and spent his entire life learning the art of combat, raising himself as a strong-willed samurai. It cannot be said that he was a reserved and cold-blooded person: he was an orphan, lived in the care of his uncle, was actively involved in hand-to-hand combat, and killed a man for the first time at the age of thirteen. Musashi fought a lot of fights throughout his life, but after 50 years he decided to move away from the world, take stock and achieve enlightenment. The master led an ascetic lifestyle, did not wash, and lived in wild conditions. But at the same time, he strove to learn everything he could: he painted with ink, mastered calligraphy, created sculptures, studied poetry and writing songs.
He wrote his only work, “The Book of Five Rings,” while a hermit and living in a cave. It is dedicated to the art of samurai and talks about the intricacies of strategy and tactics. From its pages you can learn how to build a strategy for conducting large-scale military operations, as well as what subtleties exist in conducting single battles. Despite the subject matter, which has little relevance to modern realities, the book is still in demand today. Japanese businessmen often study it, trying to adopt a specific way of thinking.
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Osamu Dazai "Confessions of a Defective Man"
The writer Osamu Dazai had the difficult fate of a man doomed to experience internal catastrophes: he often thought about suicide, often made related attempts, experienced severe and protracted bouts of depression, was dependent on drugs for a long time, was sick a lot, which is why he was exempt from conscription. war. But despite such a rather gloomy personal life, he managed to write a lot and make a great contribution to the development of Japanese literature.
The themes of loneliness and the image of a lost person run through his work as a common thread. Not all of his works can contain their echoes, but it was definitely these questions that worried him and received full disclosure in his last work - the story “Confession of an “inferior” person.” The work is autobiographical and tells about the life of a man during World War II in Japan. Touches on the themes of both militaristic sentiments in society and their subsequent reassessment after the surrender.
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Ryunosuke Akutagawa "Rashomon Gate"
The fate of Ryunosuke Akutagawa was marked by a tragic event: when the future writer was only 9 months old, his mother went crazy, and he was handed over to be raised by relatives. This was a great trauma for Ryunosuke, and throughout his life he returned to the topic of mental disorders more than once. The family in which he was raised preserved the cultural traditions of Japan and belonged to the intelligentsia of that time. So, on the one hand, Akutagawa knew the culture of antiquity well, and on the other, he periodically encountered various modern phenomena.
Of course, all this influenced both his life path and his work. His profound book “The Rashomon Gate” has gained immense fame throughout the world. On the pages of the work, Akutagawa asks the question: what is Truth and where is man’s place in it, is he capable of comprehending it? Connoisseurs of his work claim that in all books or stories, the writer asks this question and tries to find an answer to it. And in the book “The Rashomon Gate” his entire literary and philosophical gift was revealed.
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Ryu Murakami "Children from the Locker"
Ryu Murakami writes about what he knows firsthand: sex, drugs and rock and roll. At one time, he played in rock bands, protested against Americans in his country, was involved in the hippie movement, broke the law, and was generally not distinguished by exemplary behavior. But, of course, he did not do all this just for the sake of shocking, because there was always an attentive writer in him, inclined to analyze everything.
Rich life experience, impartial depiction of the life of marginalized people of all stripes, exposure of acute social problems - these are the distinctive features of his writing style. A striking example of this is the book “Children from the Locker”. This novel tells the story of two foundlings, from the very beginning of their lives to their last days. The terrible truth is depicted here, life is frightening in its realism and, most likely, the events described will make the reader shiver more than once.
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Soseki Natsume “Your humble servant the cat”
Soseki Natsume began his literary career quite late - at the time of his first publication he was 38 years old. By this age, he managed to get an education, work as a teacher, get married, live in another country and hate it. A couple of years later, he leaves his teaching position, which was considered prestigious at that time, and takes up the post of editor at the newspaper. This surprises those closest to them a lot, since they perceive it in the spirit of that society, namely, as a step down.
From now on, Natsume writes a lot. His novels raise complex topics, social issues, he explores the selfishness of man and society, making satirical caustic comments. The book “Your Obedient Servant the Cat” is very remarkable in this sense. As the name suggests, the cat is the main character here. Through the eyes of a cat, his owner is depicted, whom the cat evaluates very unflatteringly. The cat considers himself a “son of the twentieth century” and a developed creature in every sense. The book is filled with subtext and sarcastic criticism.
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Shusaku Endo "Samurai"
This writer stands out in all of Japanese literature because he explores the issues he sets in his books from a very unusual point of view - a Catholic one. The fact is that he was one of those first students who were able to receive their education abroad, leaving post-war Japan. For some time, Shusaku Endo lived in France, where he studied Catholic literature. But due to health reasons, he was forced to go home without completing his research.
His student passion left a big imprint on all his work. As a writer, he began with critical essays covering both literary and religious topics. The pinnacle of his creativity and the book that marked the late mature period of the writer was “Samurai”. At the center of the story is a samurai who was sent to establish diplomatic contacts with another country. The main character is concerned with the questions: why him, and for what hidden purpose does the upcoming road serve? The novel well reveals the images of the path and the wanderer, and also explores the theme of the search for spiritual harmony and human development.
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Seiichi Morimura "The Devil's Kitchen"
In Soviet times, the book of this particular writer was published and had considerable success. Of course, he is the author of more works that have received prestigious Japanese awards. His novels have been adapted into films in Japan and these films are also popular. Morimura is known for a number of journalistic works, where he makes critical comments regarding the policies of his native country and its militaristic courses.
Actually, the book that has gained popularity and interest among Soviet readers and is recommended for reading is “The Devil’s Kitchen.” The work will not interest everyone due to its specific themes and shocking content. It is about a Japanese detachment known for its harsh and inhumane experiments on captured people. In wartime, this was justified by the goals of that period: to study bacteriological weapons, test their effectiveness, find out the body’s pain tolerance threshold, etc. This is not fiction, it is a person’s attempt to illuminate a terrible truth.
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Taichi Yamada "Summer with Strangers"
Tahiti Yamada took a long time to reach the writing field; he received recognition from the general public thanks to his masterfully written scripts. He composed stories for films, television shows, serials, theater productions - the author’s bibliography of these works contains more than a hundred. Having achieved recognition in cinema as a talented playwright, Yamada turned his attention to prose.
Only one novel by Tahiti Yamada has been translated into Russian - “Summer with Strangers.” But despite the fact that there doesn’t seem to be much choice, the book is very worthy and fully reveals the author’s talent. A skillfully constructed mystical thriller plays out on the pages of the book. The main character is an elderly man who is in a very uncertain and depressive period of life. It was at this time that he begins to periodically see people who remind him of his long-dead parents. What are these – hallucinations or ghosts? And why now? The main character will have to figure all this out.
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Teru Miyamoto “Patterned Brocade”
The Russian reader first became acquainted with Teru Miyamoto back in the 80s. Then the film adaptation of his novel, “Muddy River” thundered all over the world, was nominated for various awards and even received one in Russia - a prize at the Moscow Film Festival. But after some time, he disappeared first from the radar of readers, and then from their memory. In his native Japan, Miyamoto was popular, successfully engaged in literature, his novels were filmed, and his books were nominated and awarded.
One such book is Patterned Brocade. This is a story about a past relationship between two people. Once they had each other, but that time passed and life moved on. But one meeting changes everything and resurrects long-forgotten feelings. The heroes of the novel correspond, analyze life and experiences of the past, and try to understand where they came and what will happen next? A beautifully presented story, leisurely, verified and told in letters, awaits its reader.
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Haruki Murakami "Wonderland without brakes and the End of the World"
Probably everyone who has ever been interested in Japanese literature, or literature in general, knows Haruki Murakami. He writes a lot, his style and characters are recognizable, his books are eagerly awaited by readers all over the world. He also receives criticism from readers - not everyone is delighted with his novels, much less with his popularity. But the main thing is that Murkami has his own audience and he has something to say to his reader.
Surely, when recalling the author’s bibliography, the first thing that comes to mind is his “Norwegian Wood”. But neither fans nor ordinary readers recommend starting to get acquainted with the author with this book. Much more often they recommend reading “Wonderland Without Brakes and the End of the World” - where the author’s talent is revealed to a sufficient extent, and the topics raised are understandable, and there is an opportunity to feel the general mood. It is difficult to describe the plot of this work briefly. The best thing to do here is just start reading. It is after this book that the reader can usually decide which group to join: fans, haters or passers-by.
There is a separate post for this here
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Edogawa Rampo "Red Room"
Edogawa Rampo is nothing less than the creator of the modern Japanese detective story. His development in this genre was influenced by Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe, whose works he tried to translate in his homeland, and wrote stories in a similar vein. Throughout his life, Rampo wrote a lot, in different genres, and often changed his place of work. On his sixtieth birthday, the writer established an award for various achievements in writing detective stories, which he named after himself.
His bibliography is quite extensive, many books have been filmed. Fans of the genre, of course, are better off studying everything that is translated and available today. But to get acquainted, you can stop at the wonderful collection of stories “The Red Room”. It contains masterfully written stories that will intrigue and even frighten the reader, leaving him impressed and heart-pounding.
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Yukio Mishima "Golden Temple"
This writer lived a complex and eventful life, in which there was a place for terrible upheavals and incredible popularity. The key moments of his childhood were living with his grandmother, the death of a close friend and his sister. It was introduced into the literary world by the Japanese classic Yasunari Kawabata, who will be discussed below. He wrote about difficult topics, covering issues of homosexuality, death, war and much more. He ended his life by committing hara-kiri after an unsuccessful call for army soldiers to carry out a military coup.
The pinnacle of his literary activity is considered to be the novel “The Golden Temple”. He talks about a monk who had an unattractive appearance and a speech impediment. This hero devoted his entire life to achieving a certain beauty and possessing it. This search led him to the burning of a Buddhist temple. But not only the theme of beauty is explored by Mishima in the novel, but also issues of loneliness, the search for the meaning of life, a person’s place in the world and the revelation of one’s own inner essence.
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Yasunari Kawabata "The Moan of the Mountain"
Yasunari Kawabata is a classic of Japanese literature and the first Japanese writer to receive the Nobel Prize. His contribution to the development of culture is invaluable: he is an author of novels, a master of short form, an experimenter and a literary traditionalist at the same time. He also conducted seminars in the United States on Japanese literature, covering several American universities.
His most famous work is “The Thousand-Winged Crane,” which is undoubtedly worthy of its recognition. But literary scholars and critics note that the novel “The Moan of the Mountain” more fully reflects Kawabata’s skill and the intensity of his thought. This work delicately captures the mysterious Japanese soul, and in order to appreciate it, you need to be on the same wavelength. For complete immersion, you simply need to have cultural background and a contemplative mood.
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Yasutaka Tsutsui "Paprika"
A novelist, science fiction writer, and playwright, Yasutaka Tsutsui experimented a lot with genres early in his career, so his bibliography includes a wide variety of works. He is one of the three best science fiction writers in Japan, but in the Russian-speaking world he is known more for the film adaptations of his books.
In particular, the anime “Paprika”, which is based on the novel of the same name, is very popular. On the pages of the book unfolds the story of a girl named Paprika, who has achieved considerable success in psychiatry. In the depicted society of the future, science has come a long way, and there is a special device that allows people to be treated through dreams. But there is a downside to everything: if the device falls into the wrong hands, it will turn into a merciless weapon. Of course, this is exactly what happens, and now the brave girl needs to save the world from the impending threat.
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Kafka on the Beach, Haruki Murakami
Haruki Murakami is perhaps the most popular Japanese writer today, whose books are published in millions of copies around the world. His works combine a leisurely narrative with a dynamic, twisting plot.
“Kafka on the Beach” is the story of two dissimilar people whose destinies are closely intertwined: a teenager who ran away from home, and the feeble-minded old man Nakata, who can talk to cats and predict the future.
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Works by Y. Kawabata
In 1920, the young man entered the capital’s university, where he studied English literature, but soon began researching the works of Japanese authors. This author was also interested in Russian classics.
The most famous works of Kawabata: “Meijin”, “The Thousand-Winged Crane”, “Old Capital”, “Snow Country”. The outstanding Japanese, as a true master of words, was prone to melancholy and even depression. Yasunari Kawabata died in 1972 as a result of poisoning. According to one version, the cause of death was suicide.
"The Inconsolable" by Kazuo Ishiguro
Ishiguro is often compared to Conrad and Nabokov. At the age of six, he emigrated with his parents to the UK, where he was able to create classic and at the same time authentic works in a non-native language.
The famous pianist Ryder comes to an unnamed European city to perform a concert. All events seem to take place in a dream: the characters wander through internal labyrinths from which there is no way out, do not hear each other, and partially lose their memory. The novel “Inconsolable”, filled with literary and musical allusions, is not easy to read, but incredibly interesting.
Yukio Mishima
The work of this author is usually attributed to the second wave of post-war Japanese prose. Yukio Mishima is a continuator of the tradition of aestheticism. He was nominated three times for the Nobel Prize and was considered one of the most significant prose writers of the Land of the Rising Sun in the second half of the last century.
Mishima was born into the family of an official. The grandmother was involved in raising the future prose writer. Having entered a more mature period of his life, Mishima entered the Faculty of Law, as his father had once done. At a Tokyo university he studied German law.
In 1946, the aspiring prose writer met with the classic of Japanese literature Yasunari Kawabata. He showed him his stories “The Middle Ages” and “Cigarette” with a request for help in publishing. The famous writer did not disappoint Mishima's hopes. Soon the story “Cigarette” was published.
Mishima came to world fame in the fifties. At the same time, Kyoko's House was released. Japanese critics were divided in their opinions. Some called the book a real masterpiece, others believed that Kyoko's House was nothing more than a literary failure. Readers also perceived this work very controversially.
The writer was known hardly from a young age for his difficult disposition and shocking antics. He ended his life very tragically - he committed hara-kiri, but not before he managed to take the commander of a military base hostage. The appeal to the soldiers to carry out a coup d'etat remained unheeded, and therefore the writer committed suicide according to the traditions of his warlike ancestors. Mishima’s works that brought him fame are “Thirst for Love”, “Confession of a Mask”, “Golden Temple”, “The Sound of the Surf”.
