Read Japanese Literature

In this episode, we look at the writers behind two of Japan's greatest movie monsters—Godzilla and Mothra.We'll start out by looking at Godzilla—its context, author, and story—before we turn to Mothra. We'll close with a reflection on why the stories behind the movies are importa ...  Show more

In this episode, we take a look at the Japanese cell phone novel and the classic story of Train Man.We’re going to start today by explaining the Japanese cell phone novel, including some relevant background like the history of serialized publishing in Japan and the rise of Japane ...  Show more

In this episode, we explore the enduring legacy of Greek/English/Irish/American/Japanese author Lafcadio Hearn and the ghost story The Peony Lantern.We'll start out by looking at Hearn's life. We'll discuss the long history of the story Boton Doro, more commonly known as The Peon ...  Show more

In this episode, we look at bullying in Japanese literature.We'll start out by defining bullying and looking at bullying in Japanese schools as well as the Japanese workplace. We'll see some examples in Japanese novels. And then we'll talk about Mizuki Tsujimura's Lonely Castle i ...  Show more

In this episode, we look into the history of Christianity in Japan—especially the role Christianity has played in Japanese literature. Our focus text is Shusaku Endo's Silence.Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us thr ...  Show more