Bøger i New Japanese Horizons serien

The Wasteland explores the psychology of the modern Japanese woman and her urge to realize an inner self of latent sexuality, long suppressed in Japan''s male-dominated society. Nobe Michiko, the novel''s narcissistic protagonist, leaves ruined lives in her wake as she pursues her lustful goals. The author, Takahashi Takako (1932–2013) earned bachelor''s and master''s degrees in French literature at prestigious Kyoto University, a remarkable achievement for a woman in the 1950s. There, she was influenced by the decadent poetry of Charles Baudelaire (1821–1867) and the writings of novelist and Catholic apologist François Mauriac (1885–1970). Christianity and depravity characterize both The Wasteland and many of Takahashi''s other works. The novel was first published in 1980 at a time of explosive Japanese economic growth, which, in Takahashi''s view, had created in Tokyo a wasteland of immorality and inhumanity. Yet it is a Christian novel, for the author was a devout Roman Catholic (indeed a one-time nun), and the title page epigraph from the Old Testament book of Hosea unmistakably mantles the narrative in a religious message: God is here to help if the wayward would but listen. But, do they listen?

Indian Summer (Koharu biyori) is the title of a relatively short novel by Kanai Mieko (b. 1947), recognized by critics both inside and outside Japan as one of the most important Japanese writers of recent decades.

This extensive selection of Tanikawa's poetry reflects the full depth and breadth o f his work, from his appearance as a fresh new voice to the mastery of his later poetry.

Takako Lento and W. S. Merwin's collaborative translation of Collected Haiku of Yosa Buson (2013) won the 2013-14 Japan-US Friendship Prize in Translation. Her recent publications include The Art of Being Alone, poems of Tanikawa Shuntaro 1952-2009, and Tamura Ryuichi.

These selected stories illustrate the powerful way Masuda's fiction taps into an undercurrent of disquiet and loneliness that pervades contemporary urban society in Japan.

This volume introduces short stories and essays by Kita Morio (1927-2011), one of the most significant, prolific, and beloved post-war writers in Japan. Also known by his literary persona, Dokutoru ManbÅ (Doctor Manbo), Kita was a remarkably versatile writer who produced both serious and comical works in a wide variety of genres. The short stories and essays included in this collection have been carefully selected from Kita''s large body of writings to exhibit the breadth of his work. The collection includes his autobiographical fiction, comical essays, science fiction, somber fictional stories, and stories for children. Death, a work of autobiographical fiction, depicts the death and the writer''s memories of his father, SaitÅ Mokichi, one of the most important poets in modern Japan. Being a psychiatrist and bipolar patient himself, Kita comically talks about his eccentric behavior during the manic state in the essay "I Am a Manic Patient." The title story, "The Red Ghost and the White Ghost," is a children''s story about two ghosts who are incapable of scaring people. Although it is a story for children, Kita subtly includes his criticism of modern society where people value only scientific and tangible things.

Presents a selection of work by four distinguished twentieth-century poets who made significant contributions to the development of modern Japanese poetry. A general introduction provides the literary and historical context for their achievement, while each poet's work is prefaced with notes on his/her life and career.

In this psychological novel, memories spawn tales within tales and seemingly disparate elements are woven into a tapestry of extraordinary moments that reveals the author's penetrating observations on the interdependency of humanity and nature in its wholeness.