# The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories

The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories is a 2018 English language anthology of Japanese literature edited by American translator Jay Rubin and published by Penguin Classics. With 34 stories, the collection spans centuries of short stories from Japan ranging from the early-twentieth-century works of Ryūnosuke Akutagawa and Jun'ichirō Tanizaki up to more modern works by Mieko Kawakami and Kazumi Saeki. The book features an introduction by Japanese writer and longtime Rubin collaborator Haruki Murakami.

## Critical reception

GQ placed the book on their 17 Best Books of 2018 list, lauding Rubin's choice to arrange short stories by theme rather than chronological time. In 2024, The Atlantic featured it in an article recommending short story collections. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie included it in her profile in The New York Times.
The Japan Times called the book's structure "a recipe for success" with categories that "best showcase ... unique tastes." The Japan Society observed Rubin's "necessarily selective" and thematically organized collection, writing that "A reader prepared for the new and unexpected will not be disappointed." The Asian Review of Books wrote that "the collection has a unique, often edgy, surprising quality" due to its thematic organization, as well as its inclusion of stories from lesser-known and typically underrepresented writers.

## Stories

The book's short stories are organized by theme.
Japan and the West :
| Title | Author | Translator |
| "The Story of Tomoda and Matsunaga" | Jun'ichirō Tanizaki | Paul Warham |
| "Behind the Prison" | Kafū Nagai | Jay Rubin |
| Sanshirō (excerpt) | Natsume Sōseki | Jay Rubin |
Loyal Warriors :
| Title | Author | Translator |
| "The Last Testament of Okitsu Yagoemon" | Mori Ōgai | Richard Bowring |
| "Patriotism" | Yukio Mishima | Geoffrey W. Sargent |
Men and Women :
| Title | Author | Translator |
| "Flames" | Yūko Tsushima | Geraldine Harcourt |
| "In the Box" | Kōno Taeko | Jay Rubin |
| "Remaining Flowers" | Kenji Nakagami | Eve Zimmerman |
| "Bee Honey" | Banana Yoshimoto | Michael Emmerich |
| "The Smile of a Mountain Witch" | Minako Oba | Noriko Mizuta |
| "A Bond for Two Lifetimes–Gleanings" | Fumiko Enchi | Phyllis Birnbaum |
Nature and Memory :
| Title | Author | Translator |
| "Peaches" | Akira Abe | Jay Rubin |
| "The Tale of the House of Physics" | Yōko Ogawa | Ted Goossen |
| "Unforgettable People" | Doppo Kunikida | Jay Rubin |
| "The 1963/1982 Girl from Ipanema" | Haruki Murakami | Jay Rubin |
| "Cambridge Circus" | Motoyuki Shibata | Jay Rubin |
Modern Life and Other Nonsense :
| Title | Author | Translator |
| "Mr English" | Keita Genji | Jay Rubin |
| "Factory Town" | Minoru Betsuyaku | Royall Tyler |
| "Dreams of Love, Etc." | Mieko Kawakami | Hitomi Yoshio |
| "Shoulder-Top Secretary" | Shinichi Hoshi | Jay Rubin |
Dread :
| Title | Author | Translator |
| "Hell Screen" | Ryūnosuke Akutagawa | Jay Rubin |
| "Filling Up with Sugar" | Yuten Sawanishi | Jay Rubin |
| "Kudan" | Hyakken Uchida | Rachel DiNitto |
Disasters, Natural and Man-Made :
| Title | Author | Translator |
| The Great Kantō Earthquake, 1923 |||
| "The Great Earthquake and General Kim" | Ryūnosuke Akutagawa | Jay Rubin |
| The Atomic Bombings, 1945 |||
| "Hiroshima, City of Doom" | Yōko Ōta | Richard Minear |
| "Insects" | Yuichi Seirai | Paul Warham |
| Post-war Japan |||
| "The Silver Fifty-Sen Pieces" | Yasunari Kawabata | Lane Dunlop |
| "American Hijiki" | Akiyuki Nosaka | Jay Rubin |
| "Pink" | Tomoyuki Hoshino | Brian Bergstrom |
| The Kobe Earthquake, 1995 |||
| "UFO in Kushiro" | Haruki Murakami | Jay Rubin |
| Tōhoku Earthquake, Tsunami and Nuclear Meltdown, 2011 |||
| "Weather-Watching Hill" | Kazumi Saeki | David Boyd |
| "Planting" | Aoko Matsuda | Angus Turvill |
| "Same as Always" | Yuya Sato | Rachel DiNitto |