![the [blank] garden](https://theblankgarden.files.wordpress.com/2019/02/cropped-lucas-cranach-the-younger-6.png)
Dear Fumiko, Everyone is drifting in your Floating Clouds (2006, tr. Lane Dunlop. Original: 浮雲, 1951). When the novel opens, WWII has ended and Yukiko is returning…… Read more “At least we learned that war is madness”
Tag: Japan
Fumiko Hayashi
Fumiko Hayashi (林芙 美 子; December 31, 1903, some sources say 1904 – June 28, 1951) was a Japanese writer. Born out of wedlock to a family…… Read more “Fumiko Hayashi”
Something hot flew like a dragon at an angle through his heart,
Dear Kanoko, In the collection A Riot of Goldfish, translated by J. Keith Vincent (2010. Original: 金魚撩乱, Kingyo Ryōran, 1937/ 食魔, Shokuma, 1941), both novellas deal with…… Read more “Something hot flew like a dragon at an angle through his heart,”
Kanoko Okamoto
Kanoko Okamoto (岡本 かの子, pen name of Ohnuki Kano, 1 March 1889 – 18 February 1939) was a Japanese author. She was home-tutored in music, calligraphy, traditional dance,…… Read more “Kanoko Okamoto”
Things that make one’s heart beat faster
Shōnagon-san, Lists, anecdotes, poetry, and small essays surrounding fleeting moments: reading The Pillow Book (枕草子 – Makura no sōshi, c.1002) is an experiment on estrangement – like…… Read more “Things that make one’s heart beat faster”
Sei Shōnagon (清少納言)
Sei Shōnagon (清少納言, c. 966–1017/1025) was a Japanese author and a court lady during the middle Heian period. She was born in a family of middle-ranking courtiers,…… Read more “Sei Shōnagon (清少納言)”
Sucked into the soft, light-filled sky
Tsushima-san, In Territory of Light, tr. Geraldine Harcourt (2018. Original: 光の領分, Hikari no ryōbun, 1979), you throw your protagonist in a room flooded from all corners with a harsh, shifting…… Read more “Sucked into the soft, light-filled sky”
Yūko Tsushima
Yūko Tsushima (pen name of Satoko Tsushima, 30 March 1947 – 18 February 2016) was a Japanese writer. Her father, the writer Osamu Dazai, committed suicide together with his lover,…… Read more “Yūko Tsushima”
This moment of daybreak, and this singing back and forth
Dear Sarashina, I must confess that I have read your diary – and I did it twice. In my defense, I guess I could say that it…… Read more “This moment of daybreak, and this singing back and forth”
Lady Sarashina
Sugawara no Takasue no Musume (菅原孝標女, also known as Takasue’s Daughter, c.1008 – after 1059) was a Japanese author known for her classic Heian period travel diary, the Sarashina Nikki. “Sugawara no Takasue…… Read more “Lady Sarashina”
The secrets inside her mind are like flowers in a garden at nighttime
Dear Fumiko, Your novel Masks, translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter (女面, Onnamen, 1958) reminded me of an intricate structure one is made to peel off, layer by layer,…… Read more “The secrets inside her mind are like flowers in a garden at nighttime”
Fumiko Enchi
Fumiko Enchi (円地 文子 Enchi Fumiko, pen-name of Fumiko Ueda, 2 October 1905 – 12 November 1986) was a Japanese writer. She was born into a wealthy family in Tokyo, as the second…… Read more “Fumiko Enchi”
His writing was so extraordinarily beautiful that her eyes misted over
Dear Murasaki, This is just a quick note to let you know my experience so far with your Tale of Genji. Similar to the form as you…… Read more “His writing was so extraordinarily beautiful that her eyes misted over”
But time flows in many streams,
Dear Kawabata-san, I first read your novel Beauty and Sadness (transl. by Howard Hibbett) in 2010, and I remember I was not very impressed nor particularly…… Read more “But time flows in many streams,”
Yasunari Kawabata
Yasunari Kawabata (川端 康成, 11 June 1899 – 16 April 1972) was a Japanese writer. Born in Osaka, into a well-established family, Yasunari was orphaned when he was four. Having… Read more "Yasunari Kawabata"
Can I remain indifferent to those birds on the water?
Dear Murasaki-san, I guess you could never have imagined that your diary, like a cryptic letter left inside a bottle, would travel space and time and end…… Read more “Can I remain indifferent to those birds on the water?”
Murasaki Shikibu
Murasaki Shikibu (紫 式部, English: Lady Murasaki) (c. 973 or 978 – c. 1014 or 1031) was a Japanese novelist, poet and lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court… Read more "Murasaki Shikibu"
The words we speak leave small bruises on the skin,
Dear Hiromi, Your book draws a lot on inter-generational conflict and cultural assimilation. Chorus of Mushrooms centers around the lives of three generations of women in a Japanese…… Read more “The words we speak leave small bruises on the skin,”
