num_pages: 496
description: This collection of short stories, including many new translations, is the first to span the whole of Japan's modern era from the end of the nineteenth century to the present day. Beginning with the first writings to assimilate and rework Western literary traditions, through the flourishing ofthe short story genre in the cosmopolitan atmosphere of the Taisho era, to the new breed of writers produced under the constraints of literary censorship, and the current writings reflecting the pitfalls and paradoxes of modern life, this anthology offers a stimulating survey of the development ofthe Japanese short story.Various indigenous traditions, in addition to those drawn from the West, recur throughout the stories of the self, of the Water Trade (Tokyo's nightlife of geishas and prostitutes), of social comment, love and obsession, legends and fairytales. This collection includes the work of twoNobel Kawabata and Oe, the talented women writers Hirabayashi, Euchi, Okamoto, and Hayashi, together with the acclaimed Tanizaki, Mishima, and Murakami.The introduction by Theodore Goossen gives insight into these exotic and enigmatic, sometimes disturbing stories, derived from the lyrical roots of Japanese literature with its distinctive stress on atmosphere and beauty.
language: English
title: The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
titlecomplete: The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
genres: Fiction, Asia, Short Stories, Japan, Anthologies, School, Japanese Literature, Literature, Classics, Short Story Collection
ratings_count: 576
publisher: Oxford University Press