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World » Asia » Japan

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Which books to read about Japan, its history, its novels, its poetry? We asked experts to recommend the best Japan books in their field or area of interest and you'll see some of their choices below.

For a short book that gives a very insightful history of Japan we highly recommend Inventing Japan by Ian Buruma. The book covers the period from 1853 to 1964, the dramatic period in Japanese history that saw the Meiji Restoration, World War II and the American occupation as well as the beginnings of the astonishing Japanese economic miracle that catapulted Japan into one of the world's economic powerhouses.

If you're looking for one of the classics of Japanese literature, the book you're looking for is The Tale of Genji by the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikubu. It is a doorstopper, so if you're only mildly interested, the manga version of The Tale of Genji by Waki Yamato might be a better fit. If, on the other hand, you fall in love with it, you might enjoy Melissa McCormick's The Tale of Genji: A Visual Companion, which is illustrated with photos from the Genji Album, which dates from 1510 and is the oldest set of Genji illustrations known to exist.

Of the big names of the 20th century, it's the Japanese author Kenzaburō Ōe who won the Nobel Prize for literature, back in 1994. Haruki Murakami is probably better known outside Japan, and his books, including the brilliant The Windup Bird Chronicle, have been recommended on Five Books.

If you're travelling to Japan and looking for a lighter read or a book to read on the plane, a detective novel is no bad place to start. A major work in the Japanese crime fiction genre that's been translated into English is Inspector Imanishi Investigates by bestselling Japanese crime writer, Seicho Matsumoto (1909-1992).

    The best books on Japan, recommended by Chigusa Yamaura

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law by Mark D West

    1

    Lovesick Japan: Sex, Marriage, Romance, Law
    by Mark D West

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club by Anne Allison

    2

    Nightwork: Sexuality, Pleasure and Corporate Masculinity in a Tokyo Hostess Club
    by Anne Allison

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Dancing with the Dead: Memory, Performance in Everyday Life in Post-war Okinawa by Christopher T Nelson

    3

    Dancing with the Dead: Memory, Performance in Everyday Life in Post-war Okinawa
    by Christopher T Nelson

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Robo Sapiens Japanicus: Robots, Gender, Family, and the Japanese Nation by Jennifer Robertson

    4

    Robo Sapiens Japanicus: Robots, Gender, Family, and the Japanese Nation
    by Jennifer Robertson

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    The best books on Japan - Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress by Junko Kitanaka

    5

    Depression in Japan: Psychiatric Cures for a Society in Distress
    by Junko Kitanaka

The best books on Japan, recommended by Chigusa Yamaura

Japan is one of the world’s most technologically advanced industrial societies, but it is organised around very conservative social and familial paradigms, says the Japanese sociocultural anthropologist Chigusa Yamaura. Here she selects five books that throw light on a fascinating country and culture.

    Best Classic Japanese Mysteries, recommended by On Nomoto

  • Read
    Best Classic Japanese Mysteries - Beast in the Shadows by Edogawa Rampo & Ian Hughes (translator)

    1

    Beast in the Shadows
    by Edogawa Rampo & Ian Hughes (translator)

  • Read
    Best Classic Japanese Mysteries - The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo & Yumiko Yamazaki (translator)

    2

    The Inugami Curse
    by Seishi Yokomizo & Yumiko Yamazaki (translator)

  • Read
    Best Classic Japanese Mysteries - Points and Lines by Paul C. Blum and Makiko Yamamoto (translators) & Seicho Matsumoto

    3

    Points and Lines
    by Paul C. Blum and Makiko Yamamoto (translators) & Seicho Matsumoto

  • Read
    Best Classic Japanese Mysteries - The Tokyo Zodiac Murders by Ross and Shika Mackenzie (translators) & Soji Shimada

    4

    The Tokyo Zodiac Murders
    by Ross and Shika Mackenzie (translators) & Soji Shimada

  • Read
    Best Classic Japanese Mysteries - All She Was Worth by Alfred Birnbaum (translator) & Miyuki Miyabe

    5

    All She Was Worth
    by Alfred Birnbaum (translator) & Miyuki Miyabe

Best Classic Japanese Mysteries, recommended by On Nomoto

Crime novels are hugely popular in Japan, but English translations of Japanese mysteries not always easy to come by. As Pushkin Vertigo publishes translations of two novels by Seishi Yokomizo, one of Japan’s most famous mystery writers, his grandson, On Nomoto, talks us through the best classic Japanese mysteries of the last century.

    The best books on Samurai, recommended by Michael Wert

  • Read
    The best books on Samurai - Performing the Great Peace: Political Space and Open Secrets in Tokugawa Japan by Luke Roberts

    1

    Performing the Great Peace: Political Space and Open Secrets in Tokugawa Japan
    by Luke Roberts

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    The best books on Samurai - The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japan by Eiko Ikegami

    2

    The Taming of the Samurai: Honorific Individualism and the Making of Modern Japan
    by Eiko Ikegami

  • Read
    The best books on Samurai - Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo, and the Culture of Early Modern Japan by Constantine Vaporis

    3

    Tour of Duty: Samurai, Military Service in Edo, and the Culture of Early Modern Japan
    by Constantine Vaporis

  • Read
    The best books on Samurai - Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai by Teruko Craig (editor and translator)

    4

    Musui's Story: The Autobiography of a Tokugawa Samurai
    by Teruko Craig (editor and translator)

  • Read
    The best books on Samurai - Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard, by an Edo Samurai Mark Teeuwen and Kate Wildman Nakai (eds)

    5

    Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: An Account of What I Have Seen and Heard, by an Edo Samurai
    Mark Teeuwen and Kate Wildman Nakai (eds)

The best books on Samurai, recommended by Michael Wert

The samurai, Japan’s warrior caste, have been embraced by popular culture and made their way into films, comic books and video games. But who were they really? Michael Wert, professor of East Asian History at Marquette University and author of Samurai: A Concise History, recommends the best books to learn more about samurai, literally ‘one who serves.’

    The Best Modern Japanese Literature, recommended by Linda Flores

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    The Best Modern Japanese Literature - Convenience Store Woman: A Novel by Sayaka Murata

    1

    Convenience Store Woman: A Novel
    by Sayaka Murata

  • Read
    The Best Modern Japanese Literature - Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki

    2

    Kokoro
    by Natsume Sōseki

  • Read
    The Best Modern Japanese Literature - Masks by Fumiko Enchi

    3

    Masks
    by Fumiko Enchi

  • Read
    The Best Modern Japanese Literature - Woman Critiqued: Translated Essays on Japanese Women's Writing by Rebecca L. Copeland

    4

    Woman Critiqued: Translated Essays on Japanese Women's Writing
    by Rebecca L. Copeland

  • Read
    The Best Modern Japanese Literature - March Was Made of Yarn by David Karashima & Elmer Luke

    5

    March Was Made of Yarn
    by David Karashima & Elmer Luke

The Best Modern Japanese Literature, recommended by Linda Flores

To the western eye, Japan often appears as a surprising combination of very advanced development, and extreme cultural peculiarity. Linda Flores, Associate Professor of modern Japanese literature at the University of Oxford, guides us through this discovery with five great works of modern Japanese literature.

    The best books on Japan, recommended by Ian Buruma

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II by John W Dower

    1

    Embracing Defeat: Japan in the Wake of World War II
    by John W Dower

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Kafu the Scribbler by Edward Seidensticker

    2

    Kafu the Scribbler
    by Edward Seidensticker

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Ozu by Donald Richie

    3

    Ozu
    by Donald Richie

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - Empire of Signs by Roland Barthes

    4

    Empire of Signs
    by Roland Barthes

  • Read
    The best books on Japan - The Lotus and the Robot by Arthur Koestler

    5

    The Lotus and the Robot
    by Arthur Koestler

The best books on Japan, recommended by Ian Buruma

Which are the best books to read about Japan? Author and journalist Ian Buruma picks some beautifully written works by scholars—and one novelist—that give a feel for its culture and civilization.

    The best books on Manga and Anime, recommended by Susan J Napier

  • Read
    The best books on Manga and Anime - Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind by Hayao Miyazaki

    1

    Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
    by Hayao Miyazaki

  • Read
    The best books on Manga and Anime - Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics by Frederik L. Schodt

    2

    Manga! Manga!: The World of Japanese Comics
    by Frederik L. Schodt

  • Read
    The best books on Manga and Anime - The Elephant Vanishes by Haruki Murakami

    3

    The Elephant Vanishes
    by Haruki Murakami

  • Read
    The best books on Manga and Anime - Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. by Roland Kelts

    4

    Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S.
    by Roland Kelts

  • Read
    The best books on Manga and Anime - Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art by Susan J Napier

    5

    Miyazakiworld: A Life in Art
    by Susan J Napier

The best books on Manga and Anime, recommended by Susan J Napier

Many people have heard of manga and anime, but would be surprised to learn how deeply this niche is steeped in Japanese tradition and culture—or how often manga features strong, smart female leads, says Susan Napier, anime expert and Professor of the Japanese Program at Tufts University. Here, she picks five books that encapsulate manga and anime as both forms of art and cathartic re-workings of Japanese history.

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We ask experts to recommend the five best books in their subject and explain their selection in an interview.

This site has an archive of more than one thousand interviews, or five thousand book recommendations. We publish at least two new interviews per week.

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