Show Notes
Today we’re talking about the 1930s and 40s in Japan—fascism, World War II, and the American Occupation. In particular, how did 20 years of censorship shape Japanese literature? We're also taking a look at the life and work of Akiyuki Nosaka, whose novella, Grave of the Fireflies, inspired the classic anime film. We'll discuss his short story, "The Cake Tree in the Ruins". Transcript, notes and sources at the podcast episode website. Buy Cake Tree in the Ruins (translated by Ginny ...
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This episode is rated mature. Horror and uncanny stories are fundamental elements of Japanese storytelling. We’ll start with a note about genre in general and “horror” in particular. We’ll continue with a discussion of horror in traditional Japanese storytelling, especially the kaidan popular in Edo Japan. We’ll move on to the decline and rebirth of kaidan and uncanny fiction between the Meiji Restoration and the Pacific War before we discuss Japanese horror fiction of the last 70 years. Then...
This episode is rated mature. For decades, writing by women was treated as its own separate genre in Japan, joryu bungaku. In today's episode, we’ll start with an explanation of why joryu bungaku became its own separate genre. We’ll move on to the story of women’s writing between the Meiji Era and the Pacific War and then immediately after the Pacific War. We’ll zoom in on three writers who really changed the narrative for women’s writing in Japan—Taeko Kono, Takako Takahashi, and Yumik...
In this episode, we examine the history of the Aum Affair and its lasting impact on Japanese fiction. We'll start out with the history of new religions in Japan, including Aum Shinrikyo. We'll take a look at Haruki Murakami's non-fiction book, Underground: The Tokyo Gas Attack and the Japanese Psyche. We'll move on to an examination of four novels that respond directly to Aum or the Aum attacks—Keiichiro Hirano's Eclipse, Kenzaburo Oe's Somersault, Banana Yoshimoto's The Lake, and Haruki Mura...
In this episode, we're taking a look at Yasunari Kawabata's life and work. As we tell his story, we'll ask ourselves two big questions. Is Kawabata really a traditionalist? And what is up with the way he writes about adolescent girls?cw: author suicide, problematic imagery about adolescent girls Buy The Dancing Girl of Izu and Other Stories (translated by J. Martin Holman) on Bookshop to support RJL. Join the RJL Patreon to support RJL and for nine minutes of bonus content— i...
In this episode, we look at the writers behind two of Japan's greatest movie monsters—Godzilla and Mothra. We'll start out by looking at Godzilla—its context, author, and story—before we turn to Mothra. We'll close with a reflection on why the stories behind the movies are important, even for people who have already seen the films. Buy Godzilla and Godzilla Raids Again by Shigeru Kayama on Bookshop to support RJL. Buy The Luminous Fairies and Mothra by Shinichiro Nak...