“Old age is a shipwreck.” Diary of a Mad Old Man follows the aging protagonist Tokusuke Utsugi, a wealthy retired businessman who keeps a diary detailing his physical […]
Japanese literature
The Key
“A woman’s diary is a mirror of her heart.” Chapter 1 The novel opens with the husband, a middle-aged professor, secretly reading his wife Ikuko’s diary. He becomes […]
Japanese literature
Quicksand
“The deeper the quicksand, the more one struggles—only to sink further.” Chapter 1: The Meeting The novel opens with Sonoko Kakiuchi, a married woman from Osaka, recounting her […]
Japanese literature
Seven Japanese Tales
“The cruelest lies are often told in silence.” A Portrait of Shunkin The story follows the blind musician Shunkin and her devoted servant Sasuke, who worships her despite […]
Japanese literature
Some Prefer Nettles
“The past is a foreign country; they do things differently there.” Chapter 1: The Fading Marriage Kaname and Misako, a married couple in 1920s Japan, drift apart as […]
Japanese literature
Naomi
“She was like a doll, a Western doll—so delicate, so fragile, yet so bewitching.” Chapter 1: The Encounter Joji, a reserved and well-off engineer in his late twenties, […]
Japanese literature
The Makioka Sisters
“The cherry blossoms had fallen, and the new leaves were already darkening.” Chapter 1: Introduction to the Makioka Family The novel opens with an introduction to the four […]
Japanese literature
In Praise of Shadows
“Were it not for shadows, there would be no beauty.” Introduction Tanizaki begins by reflecting on how Western modernity has altered traditional Japanese aesthetics, particularly in architecture and […]