The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories

by Goossen, Theodore

• ISBN13: 9780192833044
• ISBN10: 0192833049
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-05-22
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

This collection of Japanese short stories, including many stories translated specially for this volume, is the first to cover the entire modern era: from the late nineteenth century to the present day. It includes works by two Nobel prize winners for literature, Oe and Kawabata, offers stories by such acclaimed writers as Mishima, Murakami, and Tanizaki, and offers stories by some of the most talented Japanese women writers of today: Hirabayashi, Euchi, Okamoto, and Hayashi. Uniquely comprehensive, this collection gives an excellent overview of the history of short fiction writing in modern Japan. It is organized chronologically, beginning with the first writing to assimilate and rework Western literary conventions. It then moves through the flourishing of the genre in the Taisho era, to the new breed of writers produced under the constraints of censorship in the period just before and during World War II, and the current writings that, much like their Western equivalents, reflect the pitfalls and paradoxes of modern life. The most complete and compelling collection of its kind available, The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories exhibits various indigenous traditions, in addition to those drawn from the West, that recur throughout the stories, Here, for example, are stories of the self, of the Water Trade (Tokyo's nightlife of geishas and prostitutes), of social comment, love and obsession, legends and fairytales. Both stimulating and fascinating, this comprehensive collection offers superb guidance to a tradition little known in America.

Author Biography

About the Editor:
Theodore Goossen is Professor of Japanese at York University, Ontario. A talented translator, he is well-acquainted with the contemporary Japanese literary scene, and editor of Descant, a Japanese literary journal.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements	vi	(3)
Introduction	xi
MORI OGAI (1862-1922) Sansho the Steward	1	(27)
NATSUME SOSEKI (1867-1916) The Third Night	28	(3)
KUNIKIDA DOPPO (1871-1908) The Bonfire	31	(5)
HIGUCHI ICHIYO (1872-1896) Separate Ways	36	(9)
NAGAI KAFU (1879-1959) The Peony Garden	45	(7)
SHIGA NAOYA (1883-1971) Night Fires	52	(10)
TANIZAKI JUN'ICHIRO (1886-1965) Aguri	62	(12)
SATOMI TON (1888-1983) Blowfish	74	(5)
OKAMOTO KANOKO (1889-1939) Portrait of an Old Geisha	79	(16)
AKUTAGAWA RYUNOSUKE (1892-1927) In a Grove	95	(8)
MIYAZAWA KENJI (1896-1933) The Bears of Nametoko	103	(9)
YOKOMITSU RIICHI (1898-1947) Spring Riding in a Carriage	112	(12)
IBUSE MASUJI (1898-1994) Carp	124	(5)
KAWABATA YASUNARI (1899-1971) The Izu Dancer	129	(20)
KAJII MOTOJIRO (1901-1932) Lemon	149	(5)
HAYASHI FUMIKO (1903-1951) The Accordion and the Fish Town	154	(18)
ENCHI FUMIKO (1905-1986) The Flower-Eating Crone	172	(10)
HIRABAYASHI TAIKO (1905-1972) Blind Chinese Soldiers	182	(5)
SAKAGUCHI ANGO (1906-1955) In the Forest, Under Cherries in Full Bloom	187	(19)
INOUE YASUSHI (1907-1992) Passage to Fudaraku	206	(18)
DAZAI OSAMU (1909-1948) Merry Christmas	224	(8)
NAKAJIMA ATSUSHI (1909-1942) The Expert	232	(8)
KOJIMA NOBUO (1915- ) The Rifle	240	(12)
ENDO SHUSAKU (1923-1996) Unzen	252	(12)
ABE KOBO (1924-1993) The Bet	264	(24)
YOSHIYUKI JUNNOSUKE (1924-1994) Three Policemen	288	(5)
MISHIMA YUKIO (1925-1970) Onnagata	293	(20)
KONO TAEKO (1926- ) Toddler-hunting	313	(21)
MUKODA KUNIKO (1929-1981) Mr Carp	334	(10)
KAIKO TAKESHI (1930-1989) The Duel	344	(7)
OE KENZABURO (1935- ) Prize Stock	351	(40)
TSUSHIMA YUKO (1947- ) A Very Strange, Enchanted Boy	391	(9)
MURAKAMI HARUKI (1949- ) The Elephant Vanishes	400	(17)
SHIMADA MASAHIKO (1961- ) Desert Dolphin	417	(15)
YOSHIMOTO BANANA (1964- ) Dreaming of Kimchee	432	(12)
Biographical Notes	444	(4)
Filmography	448	(2)
Publisher's Acknowledgements	450