On the Books on Asia Podcast episode 12: The Art of the Short Story, podcast host Amy Chavez talks with Tina deBellegarde about what makes a good short story, and why certain short story writers are so appealing. They discuss Japanese short story writers such as Haruki Murakami and Banana Yoshimoto, Hiromi Kawakami, Aoko Matsuda, More…
Category: Announcements
Issue 7: Disasters, Natural and Man-Made
In this issue of Books on Asia, we explore disasters of all kinds from earthquakes, tsunami and volcanic eruptions to dictatorships, religious prosecution, crimes and environmental hazards. The issue spans major events in Japan, the Koreas, Thailand, and Indonesia. The Hon Podcast features an interview with journalist and Times correspondent Richard Lloyd Parry. Podcast host More…
Issue 6: What you Don’t Know About Haruki Murakami
Forty Years of Murakami—Anniversary Issue! Haruki Murakami is Japan’s best-known contemporary Japanese author. Born in Kyoto in 1949, he grew up in Ashiya, Kobe and went on to attend Waseda University in Tokyo. His books have been translated into more than fifty languages. In addition to novels in the genre of magical realism, Murakami also More…
Issue 5: Hikes, Pilgrimages and Journeys in Japan
In this issue we introduce books—classic and new—on the many famous journeys through Japan documented via guidebooks and travelogues. We cover mountain hikes, old roads to Edo, ancient pilgrimage trails, an island-hopping excursion and nation-crossing peregrinations. From classic must-read travel writing such as Oliver Statler’s Japanese Pilgrimage and Donald Richie’s The Inland Sea to Japan’s More…
Issue 4: Sense of Place—Tokyo
In this issue we introduce books we feel are essential reading to understand the great capital city of Tokyo. From historical reads and memoirs by English language authors Edward Seidensticker, John Nathan and Ian Buruma, to contemporary Japanese authors Banana Yoshimoto, Hiromi Kawakami, Ryu Murakami and Haruki Murakami, this selection of books brings together old More…
Issue 3: Japanese Literature in Translation
In Issue 3 of Books on Asia, we introduce three prominent women translators of Japanese literature: Juliet Winters Carpenter, Ginny Tapley Takemori and Cathy Hirano. All three have translated prize-winning literature from best-selling Japanese authors such as Marie Kondo, Abe Kobo, and Ryu Murakami. These women have been instrumental in bringing Japanese literature to English More…
Issue 2: Wuthering Heights in Japan
In this issue of Books on Asia, we delve into Emily Bronte’s classic “Wuthering Heights” and the popularity of the novel in Japan, which is also the subject of Judith Pascoe’s book “On the Bullet Train with Emily Bronte.” A fun, engaging read, Dr. Pascoe deliberates on some of the 20 or so Japanese interpretations More…
Issue 1: Writers in Kyoto
Welcome to the first issue of Books on Asia, your guide to finding quality books on Japan and Asia. We launch the site with a look at Writers in Kyoto, a passel of scribes who write about Japan, with an emphasis on the old capital city of Kyoto. The organization was founded in 2015 by John Dougill, who pens the Green Shinto blog and has authored numerous books on Japan and Kyoto. The group includes authors, journalists, editors, poets, historians and experts in the Japanese arts.