The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories

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.