/lit/ - Literature

>>4732670
Here, since you can't help yourself.

A wonderful, helpful list for OP found right on the wiki.

>>4335309
I like to own and shoot guns. Guns are right above the shelves.

>>4335225
Definitely get some Soseki and Kawabata in! I would say:

>Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryunosuke Akutagawa
>Kokoro by Soseki
>Snow Country by Kawabata
>Seven Japanese Tales by Tanizaki

If you get Botchan too, there's a new translation out that you should make sure you get, through One Peace Books. But all those will get you more exposure to the major modern authors. If you end up getting Tale of Genji, try to pick up Ivan Morris' The World of the Shining Prince, especially if you have no extensive knowledge about Heian era Japan. The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon is much more accessible if you want to begin on Heian lit though - it's by a contemporary of Murasaki Shikibu, a diary of observations, ramblings, lists of things she hates and things she likes, etc. It's enjoyable and surprising how much of her gripes still hold true today (people not shutting the door/screen when they come in a room where it was shut, when a baby starts wailing nearby and you're trying to have a conversation, gossipy bitches, etc.). And Ivan Morris' translation of that is recommended.

And because I've just found out it's no longer out of print and there's a new edition, you really should get

>Blue Bamboo: Tales by Dazai Osamu

also! You get to see an entirely new side of Dazai from what No Longer Human presents. There's still cynicism and general misanthropy, but it's mixed in with sarcastic humor and a love of folklore and storytelling.

and here's our chart from the wiki

>>3868984
So then read these, dork. Not a lot of them are very short but whatever.

there's a whole Japanese lit section on the wiki

how about the things on the recommendation chart

TLDR: Japanese history book suggestions please.

>>3407937
Why post the old version?

English translations, but if want Japanese just get the original Japanese version.

creepy = Ueda Akinari and Ryunosuke Akutagawa maybe

seriously? what will it take to get people to look at the sticky?

http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading/Literature_by_origin#Japan

http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading/Literature_by_origin#China
http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading/Literature_by_origin#Japan
http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading/Literature_by_origin#Korea

http://4chanlit.wikia.com/wiki/Recommended_Reading/Literature_by_origin#Iran

We have a folder of ebooks of translated Japanese literature, if you're interested:

https://dl.dropbox.com/u/77764471/books/Japanese%20lit%20v8.zip

There's also a few recommendations charts on the wiki.

we have two charts for this on the wiki, if you'd look at the sticky

>>3013471
How is /lit/ oblivious of them when most are on the recommendations chart

>>2814294
My personal favourite authors:
Mishima Yukio
Natsume Souseki
Shusaku Endo
Abe Kobo

>>2707881
>>2707950

Dazai is pretty great. But also really depressing.

>>2683158

Can /lit/ recommend me a novel or story book specifically for JLPT N5-N4 reader? I currently in Japanese class and I would like to improve my recognition on Hiragana, Katakana and so on.

I did check on the recommendation but screw it, all are in English text. Can anyone actually recommend me a novel in Japanese text? Not to hard, my teacher still have a long way to teach up to N1 by the end of the next years.

What's really good on this list?

Mishima is perhaps one of the greatest writers in Japan. He is mostly infamous for his right-wing views--however, these views are surely not to be taken seriously. He wanted to create a persona--a romantic hero defying the wasteland of postwar Japanese society. It is merely an act, a form of art.
His works are all great, but I highly recommend _Confessions of a Mask_ and _Temple of the Golden Pavilion_, which I personally consider to be the perfect representation of postwar Japan.

Some other Japanese authors that I like are: Oe Kenzaburo, Kawabata Yasunari, Natsume Soseki, Endo Shusaku, Ogawa Yoko, and Enchi Fumiko