/lit/ - Literature

>>15382065
I recently found out thath pic related was written without "field research" (the author never went to Japan prior) and I am kinda reluctant to take it seriously since then.

>>15382174
still relevant for that timeline, especially considering that the "expert" in east asia in that time line was fucking josehp stillwell. good read, not "necessary", but if you have time, why not. protip: never trust japs' politeness.

>>15382065
I keep shilling it here, but unironically I think it best encapsulates the Japanese spirit and has that old early 20th century if not caring if politically sensitive. Herb has an amazing way painting pictures with words and is a great sociologist and portrays the Japanese amazingly to a western audience.

>>15382174
Didn’t even know that, I haven’t gotten too far in it, but considering the zeitgeist if it’s time of publishing, author background, etc, I would take it with a grain of salt even if there was empirical backing to it

>>15382205
Gonna start reading it tonight, seems interesting and actually based in fact, unlike the straight up propaganda that composes American literature regarding the East

>>15382065

>>15382065
Start with Murakami. He's basic, but bitches love Murakami. Then comes Mishima. That's where you'll come to truly grasp the meaning of "Yamato-damashii". Only after you've gained a solid understanding of mono no aware and the exquisite melancholy that pervades the Japanese soul will you be able to tackle Bakemonogatari. Ganbare, anon-kun.

>>15382065
>>15382174
That book is only useful for getting an idea of the kinds of assumptions that the US Army operated under when we occupied Japan. If you want to know what the earliest genuine scholarship on Japan looks like, look up Edwin O. Reischauer and read his stuff.
The closest thing to what you want is the two-volume series "Sources of Japanese Tradition." You can find it on b-ok:
Vol 1: https://b-ok.cc/book/981147/c4c7de
Vol 2: https://b-ok.cc/book/3364786/e2297f
In there, you'll find translated excerpts from documents, novels, manifestos, articles, and books that display the wide range of visions that Japanese had of themselves and of others. Japanese are fond of essentializing themselves, but they are never able to agree on exactly what about themselves to essentialize. A really quick way to see what I mean is to take Watsuji Tetsurō and Maruyama Masao and read them side-by-side. Another alternative would be to take Aizawa Seishisai (The New Theses, translated by Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi) and read him side-by-side with Fukuzawa Yukichi (An Outline Theory of Civilization).

>>15382447
godspeed you beautiful weeb

>>15382447
good recs, i'd also suggest looking into the many books and translations by Donald Keene, his very cozy (and brief) memoir about his life in Japan is one of my fave books

>>15382065
Akutagava stories are great. he's one of the most based jap writers, a bit less known, criminally schizo, very observing. it's like reading a jap Chekhov with hints of Borges here and there, as much as i dislike comparing authors

>>15382065
The Remains of the Day

>>15382607
>A British author who happens to have a Japanese face
>Representative of Japanese

>>15382065
The Tale of the Heike
Lotus Sutra

The five elements ninjas

>>15382065
Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Mishima
Manazuru by Kawakami (if you want something contemporary and halfway challenging)
Strange Weather in Tokyo by Kawakami (if you want something contemporary and chill)

I'm reading No Longer Human right now.
Go watch some anime, it's exactly like Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei minus the self-awareness.
>breakfast is so surreal, i'm despairing!
>dad bought me the wrong present, i'm despairing!
>i have to adjust to society, i'm despairing!
>i have aspergers so i'm despairing!

>>15382772
I've been meaning to watch SZS for ages. I read no longer human a while ago so that's a possible reason to finally get around to it

The more you read Japanese novels, the more you realise why anime exploded the way it did.

>>15382780
SZS is a parodied No Longer Human, IMHO.
There's a main character who's constantly on the brink of suicide because of retarded shit like society requiring people stand in queues or wash their hands or something.

>>15382205
are there more books like this you know of? looking for that late 19th-early 20th century vibe of westerners in east asia

>>15382894
Basil Hall Chamberlain
Ernesto Fenollosa
He's a little further out, but see >>15382569