Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology (Classics of Japanese Literature) by Ivan Morris

Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology (Classics of Japanese Literature) Reviews

• 
  Zahra

  مجموعه داستان کوتاه جالبیه فکر کنم از تمام نویسنده های معروف و قدیمی ژاپن حداقل یه داستان رو آورده بود. کتاب اصلی بیست و پنج تا داستانه درحالی که تو نسخه ترجمه فارسی فقط فکر کنم ده تا رو مترجم گذاشته. در هرحال خوندنش رو خیلی پیشنهاد میکنم خصوصا اگه طرفدار انیمه Bungo Stray Dogs هستید تقریبا همه نویسنده هاش بودن تو کتاب.
• 
  Shakibookz

  اگه یه قسمت از انیمه‌ی "سگ‌های ولگرد بانگو" رو ببینید، عاشقش میشید. آتسوشی و آکتاگاوا دوتا از شخصیت‌های این انیمه‌ان که اسمشون توی این کتاب هست‌. چرا؟ چون اسم شخصیت‌های انیمه رو از روی نویسنده‌ها و شاعرای ژاپنی و خارجی گرفتن.
  این کتاب رو به عشقِ همین انیمه خریدم و (به علاوه‌ی کتاب‌های دازای) جزو کتابهای ممنوعه‌ام بود:)) چون قرنطینه‌ی خرید کتاب بودم ولی بهش عمل نکردم.
  میخوام از ترجمه‌ی کتاب شروع کنم که واقعا محشره. با اینکه کتاب از ژاپنی ترجمه نشده ولی ترجمه‌ی عجیب خوبی داره که به قلم نویسنده وفادار بوده.
  داستان "شاعر-ببر" از آتسوشی:') داستان موردعلاقه‌ام توی کتاب بود. واقعا تا وقتی اینا هستن چرا موراکامی؟:))) اوکی نخورید من رو. موراکامی هم میخونم.
  از ترتیب چینش داستان‌ها هم خیلی خوشم اومد. کتاب با داستان مناسبی به پایان رسید.
  همه داستانهاش رو دوست داشتم ولی هرچی داستانها به پایان کتاب نزدیکتر میشدن بیشتر دوستشون داشتم:) مخصوصا داستان‌هایی که راجع به کارگرها بودن.
  اول هر داستان، خلاصه‌ای از زندگی نویسنده هم بود که واقعا برای درک داستان، مفید بود.
  فقط اونجا که فهمیدم "راشومون" یکی از داستانهای آکتاگاواست:') بمیرم واسه قدرتت مادر!
  تازه آتسوشی توی زندگی واقعیش، داستانهایی مینوشته که آدم رو یاد داستانهای آکتاگاوا میندازه. شما ببین مانگاکا چه موجود خفنیه!!! باز میان آتسوشی رو با اون دختره کیوکا شیپ میکنن:))) بابا این دوتا جفت همن ولمون کنید اه!🏳️‍🌈
• 
  Trevor Kew

  Lots of great stories by some of the most famous Japanese authors of the twentieth century. I particularly love Tanizaki's "Tattoo," Kikuchi's "On the Conduct of Lord Tadanao," Saisei's "Older Brother, Younger Sister" and Akutagawa's "Autumn Mountain." The only problems with this collection is that the word "Modern" is misleading given that it was published in the 1960s and talks about Yukio Mishima as a promising young author (he committed suicide via seppuku soon afterward), and that it doesn't include many female authors.
  
  "Handstand" is also very good, as are several others toward the end.
• 
  Alexander Páez

  No solo tiene algunos de los mejores relatos que se han escrito en la literatura japonesa, sino que encima la edición es espectacular, repleta de ilustraciones y con una muy buena traducción. Si queréis paladear diferentes estilos, autores y épocas, esta antología es imprescindible.
• 
  Nazanin_azar

  
  در صفحات نخستین کتاب ما با نویسنده‌های معاصر ژاپن و طرز فکرشون و عوامل تاثیر‌گذار بر این افکار آشنا می‌شیم و قبل از شروع هر داستان خلاصه‌ای از زندگی نویسنده و توضیحی راجع به داستان می‌خونیم که به درک بیشتر قصه کمک می‌کنه📖
  
  داستان‌های کتاب ژانر‌های مختلفی دارن و این تنوع باعث می‌شه که کتاب دچار یکنواختی نباشه و ما هم برای خوندن هر داستان جدید هیجان داشته باشیم📖
  
  از خوندن کتاب لذت بردم و تقریباً همه‌ی داستان‌هاش رو دوست داشتم. این کتاب بعد از هجده سال به چاپ دوم رسیده و امیدوارم با خوندنش آگاه بشیم که ژاپن به غیر از هاروکی موراکامی نویسنده‌های دیگه‌ای هم داره😅
• 
  Timothy

  I read this at least a couple times back in the 90s and this is the first time since, the first collection of 20th century Japanese short fiction that I ever read and I am pretty sure one of the only available back then. 25 stories by 25 authors many of which are undeniably important, like Mori Ogai's Under Reconstruction and Tanizaki Junichiro's Tattoo. A strength of the collection is the variety and how the stories touch upon every literary strain of the first half of the century in Japan, even if some of those genres ended up being less influential or didn't attract the greatest talents. The flip side of that strength is an inevitable built-in weakness, though: every less worthy author ends up taking up page space that could have been devoted to the greats. Sometimes this weakness is compounded by the story choices in that some of the weakest stories of the collection are also of the longest and most of the greatest writers are represented by some of their shortest stories. After all, it is impossible for a concert of Classical music that includes one short overture by Mozart and one long Symphony by Salieri to match the quality of a concert devoted entirely to Mozart Symphonies (or of Haydn, Beethoven ...), just the way it is. Another weakness is that only two women writers are included, hardly 20 pages.
  
  Anyway, my favorites this time around:
  
  Nagai Kafu: Hydrangea
  Kikuchi Kan: On the Conduct of Lord Tadanao
  Sato Haruo: The House of a Spanish Dog
  Ibuse Masuji: The Charcoal Bus
  Sakaguchi Ango: The Idiot
  Inoue Yasushi: Shotgun
  Dazai Osamu: The Courtesy Call
  
  Akutagawa, Kawabata and Tanizaki, arguably the three greatest writers in the collection, should be favorites but the selected stories are not even in my top ten for those incomparable writers. The Kikuchi story gives me the same kind of pleasure much of Akutagawa does. The Ibuse and the Sakaguchi are two of the best responses to WWII I have read, the first an allegory and the second begins with scathing war time social commentary and ends with a harrowing journey through the horrific fire bombings of Tokyo in which over a hundred thousand civilians perished. The story by Inoue (in my view the most underrated great Japanese author) is the best of the collection. Dazai is famous for his suicidal tendencies but this story is a fabulous example of his witty and sharp edged characterization.
  
  Least favorites:
  
  Ito Einosuke: Nightingale
  Niwa Fumio: The Hateful Age
  Mishima Yukio: The Priest and His Love
  
  The Ito is long and formless. The Niwa is simply hateful - just because it succeeds at its purpose all too well doesn't excuse it. And Mishima, less repulsive than usual but still, so overrated.
• 
  Kolumbina

  In the last year I read quite a few books written by various Japanese writers and enjoyed those books very much, most of them.
  This book is a collection of short stories written by various writers, samo of them my favorites (Yasunari Kawabata, Yukio Mishima), some completely unknown. Unfortunately I am not a big fan of short stories.
  My favorite stories from this collection are: "On the Conduct of Lord Tadanao",, "The Moon on the Water", "The Courtesy Call" and "The Priest and his Love".
  Perhaps there are also others, well written and interesting short stories but in these times it was a wrong book for me.
• 
  Tosh

  I think originally put together sometime in the 60's this is an classic anthology of Japanese fiction stories. It's a great place to start if one doesn't have a place to start. As you can gather from my list of books, I really love Japanese literature - but mostly 19th and 20th century writing.
  
  A lot of Japanese writing has that 'personal' tone down really well. In fact there is a school of ficition called the "I Novel" or "I Story," where you sort of under the spell of the narrator or storyteller as he spins a tale. It can be true or false, but it's the way the story is told that is fascinating.
• 
  Alor Deng

  A fantastic anthology of Japanese Literature. It features short stories from the masters(Mishima, Kawabata, and Tanizaki), as well as other Japanese writers that I had only heard of but never read. Of the 25 stories, however, there are- as always- some "must-reads".
  
  Yokomitsu Riichi : Machine
  Tanizaki Junichiro : Tattoo
  Kikuchi Kan : On the Conduct of Lord Tadanao
  Inoue Yasushi : Shotgun
  Mishima Yukio : The Priest and His Love
  
  From these five alone you'll see why I laud Japanese literature so much. It really is the best.
• 
  DeanJean

  If anyone needs a brief introduction to Japanese literature, this is a good place to start.
  
  This anthology series focuses mainly on Japan's post-war literary period, featuring authors such as Dazai Osamu, Tanizaki Junichiro and Yukio Mishima (I borrowed this book because of Mr Mishima but I found lots of good authors in here too :-) )
• 
  anhaga sae

  Worth reading to find Fumiko Hayashi who, to my shame, I hadn't heard of before. I'll be finding more of her writing!
• 
  RKanimalkingdom

  I don't know why goodreads thinks I've read this book twice, I have not.
  
  There are spoilers below!
  
  Under Construction
  
  Mori Ogai
  
  3/5
  
  This was kind of a funny novel mainly due to the fact that it centers around a break up. The entire story is the build up to the break up between a Japanese man and a German woman. But interestingly, the characters are not really the main focus in this story, it’s the environment. Mori did something different in the literary community in an attempt to break off from the literary style (Naturalism) predominant during his time period. He wanted to bring in Western literary influence that focused on the aesthetics. Under construction does that as the hotel where the lovers break up is filled with many details that hint, repeatedly, at the changes Japan undergoes in order to catch up to their Western counterparts. There is a subtle criticism at the culture that is being gained and the one being lost and how the merging of the two is, for the time being, clashing and at odds with one another.
  
  It’s a sharp critique on a country under the guise of the tragic love story. Now, isn’t that romantic?
  
  The Decoration
  
  Tokuda Shusei
  
  

  “The relative gaiety of her sister’s life filled her with envy and she did her best to mix with the male customers. Yet she was not sufficiently self-confident about her looks or her manners. She tried copying the other waitresses by powdering her face and curling her hair, but it all struck her as rather pointless. As soon as she began to maker herself amiable, she felt that she was in some way betraying her own nature.”

  
  
  5/5
  
  I loved this story. It’s so rare to find a book that talks about the struggles a woman has to go through, especially when it comes to marriage. And this story was published in 1935! Imagine, the confines and pressures marriage put on a woman being discussed so eloquently. This story just blew my mind because it makes you question what really is the point of marriage? And the morals on viewing women as a means to “subdue” their soon-to-be-husband’s addictive/vice tendencies. The story manages to show that marriages aren’t a means to an end. They can’t solve any internal issues, they don’t suddenly sober up someone to responsibilities. In a way, they censor the spirit of both parties involved. The story ends rather ominously where not only does the reader question the relationship, but also whether this couple even survived.
  
  
  Review Continued Here
• 
  Sahra

  فکر میکنم هنوز هم نمیتونم اونطور که باید و شاید با داستان های کوتاه ارتباط برقرار کنم.
  برای همین، خوندن چنین کتابهایی در عین کوتاه بودن برای من دشواره.
  با این حال، کوهستان پاییزی (اسم کتاب برگرفته از داستان کوتاهی از ریونوسوکه آکتاگاوا)
  توی داستان نویسنده هایی غافلگیرم کرد که برای اولین بار اسمشون رو می شنیدم.
  یه خوبی داستانهای کوتاه اینه که تو رو به سرعت و به صورت یک یادآور لحظه ای، آشنا پنداری یا هر مورد دیگه ای از این دست، وصل می کنه به خوادث و اتفاقات انباشته شده توی ذهنت. اونهایی که نیاز به گرد زدایی دارن. اونهایی که گمون میکردیم فراموش شدن اما هنوزم همونجان.
  مقدمه ی جون دار کتاب رو دوست داشتم. بیوگرافی هر نویسنده رو قبل از شروع داستانش رو هم همینطور. و دو عنوان دلم رو با خودش برد:
  نامه ای در سطل سیمان از هایاما یوشیکی
  ببر-شاعر از ناکاجیما تون
  و کلی اطلاعات جدید که از دوره های مختلف ادبی در ادبیات ژاپن به دست آوردم.
• 
  Mary Rose Maschoff

  Really enjoyed this collection of stories, but “Autumn Mountain” and “Moon on the Water” were my favorites.
• 
  Lety Domínguez

  Buenas historias! Solamente tomar en cuenta que por modernas se refieren a su mayoría autores post-guerra (antes de 1940)
• 
  Yara

  Here is another excellent and thorough collection of 25 short stories. Morris, who translated some of the stories, provides a brief Japanese history from the Meiji Era, when the Western form of literature was first introduced to Japan.
  
  Some stories are quite simple in plot, provoking the reader to stop and reflect. The Camellia by Ton Satomi, is once such tale: two sisters lie close in bed in their new home. One wakes up in hysteria when a camellia flower drops loudly on the floor – an ominous sign. Then they slowly start laughing, and build up to a frenzy, only moments afterwards. We are left wondering what is the secret they laugh at?
  
  But other stories are great windows into the social scenery. Machine by Riichi Yokomitsu is a criticism of the gruelling working conditions at the time, written from the point of view of a bereaved lover. Downtown by the female author Fumiko Hayashi is a beautifully written story of a gentle love between two paupers. Nightingale by Einosuke Itō, depicts country life through the daily events at the local police station with each visitor in this comic tale illustrating the workings of cause and effect on a small scale.
• 
  Yara

  Here is another excellent and thorough collection of 25 short stories.
  
  Some stories are quite simple in plot, provoking the reader to stop and reflect. The Camellia by Ton Satomi is once such tale: two sisters lie close in bed in their new home. One wakes up in hysteria when a camellia flower drops loudly on the floor – an ominous sign. Then they slowly start laughing and build up to a frenzy, only moments afterwards. We are left wondering what is the secret they laugh at?
  
  But other stories are great windows into the social scenery. Machine by Riichi Yokomitsu is a criticism of the gruelling working conditions at the time, written from the point of view of a bereaved lover. Downtown by the female author Fumiko Hayashi is a beautifully written story of a gentle love between two paupers. Nightingale by Einosuke Itō depicts country life through the daily events at the local police station with each visitor in this comic tale illustrating the workings of cause and effect on a small scale.
• 
  Michael

  211017: this is an excellent selection of short work of the recent past. book is new edition same as 1962, and as modern makes the case Japanese literature is of modern tradition not nearly as ancient as for example Chinese. short bio/intro to each work. not of particular 'modan' style, also includes examples of proletarian, of aesthetic, of historical fiction, some of the authors still working at the time. critical appreciation, history, awareness of dialect, of lost in translation, perhaps introductory sense for readers unfamiliar with Japan... as a collection some are excellent some are less, all over a great intro...
• 
  meeners

  read to get material for a class i'm teaching. a good mix of stuff here. translations make everyone sound the same, though, which is a real pity. story intros are often extremely outdated.
• 
  Eva

  One of the most beautiful and carefully selected anthologies I've ever seen.
• 
  Dave

  The word "Modern" in the title needs to be put in context, since this was published 60 years ago, but what I found was a peppering of ancient Japan and a bit of immediately post-WWII Japan, with the majority of the stories set in the first half of the 20th century. A big chunk of the value to me was that so many of the tales were centered on the working class, which is not as well covered as the moneyed in most nations' literature, with Japan no exception.
  
  Stories that didn't do anything for me - Seibei's Gourds, Morning Mist, The Hateful Age (unnecessarily mean, worst of the 25), The Idiot, Shotgun, and The Priest and His Love
  
  The best two:
  
  On the Conduct of Lord Tadanao, where with all the big shot's men and women constantly disemboweling themselves whenever they feel they have given their lord offense, you start to see that neither party treats the other as a real person.
  
  Nightingale, a very evocative tale of a small town police station and the characters who move in and out of it in one evening. I felt like I had a very real seat there to see the midwife, a poor woman on a journey, the police, and the impoverished woman selling a bird a hundred years ago one summer night.
  
  Also good - Brother and Sister - this could have taken place in modern day rural America or in 3rd century Rome. There is nothing new under the sun.
  
  And a fourth recommendation - Downtown - a bit melodramatic, but well drawn characters
• 
  Robert Reese

  This is 500+ pages of the best “modern” Japanese short literature. I found this book while traveling far and wide three years ago in upstate New York. I found it at a bookstore made out of a 150 year old farmhouse. (I have since come across other editions, it’s not exactly a rare find.) I have been reading these stories slowly ever since.
  
  I’m always curious about the cultural baggage and narrative structure brought to short stories and these did no disappoint. You will meet a wide range of ideas, setting, people, and narratives here.
  
  I put “modern” in quotes because I’m using it as the editor uses the word in its technical sense. These stories range from the period after Japan underwent an extremely rapid cultural and technological revolution. Each stories is commenced with a brief and scholarly description of the author and some points about the context of the story.
  
  I have no criticisms of this book because I’m an amateur compared to the scholarly writing, translations and editing of each story. Also, life’s just too short to read bad books and then complain about them online.
  
  In sum, if you’re looking to learn about Japan, Japanese culture, and/or if you just like good literature. These stories are excellent reading.
• 
  Ad

  An older collection of Japanese short stories, going all the way back to 1962, and compiled by Ivan Morris who also made many of the translations. It has been many times reprinted and includes such classical stories as "Under Construction" by Mori Ogai, "Tattoo" by Tanizaki Junichiro, "The Hateful Age" by Niwa Fumio, "The Idiot" by Sakaguchi Ango, "Shotgun" by Inoue Yasushi, "Tiger-Poet" by Nakajima Ton, "The Courtesy Call" by Dazai Osamu and "The Priest and His Love" by Mishima Yukio. In all, there are 25 stories by as many authors. My edition contains beautiful woodcuts. The book, published by Tuttle, is 40 years old, but in contrast to modern paperbacks which are printed on a sort of enhanced toilet paper by famous international publishing houses, the pages are still creamy white. It is a pity Tuttle lost its independence - in those early days they made really excellent books.
• 
  charisa

  idk how to rate anthologies but here are my two qualms with this collection as a whole: 1) not sure if writers like ogai mori from the meiji period count as "modern" lmao 2) where are the female authors? i get that most prominent 19th century-early 20th century japanese authors were male, but i feel like such expansive collections provide ample opportunity to showcase the talents of lesser-known or spotlit writers. thinking of higuchi ichiyo and shikin shimizu!
  
  that aside, i really enjoyed tanizaki's "tattoo", kikuchi's "on the conduct of lord tadanao", mishima's "the priest and his love", kawabata's "the moon on the water", and akutagawa's "autumn mountain". i also appreciated morris' commentary before each story; the historical and philosophical contexts of each writer and their literary journeys added a layer of depth and cultural sensitivity.
• 
  Todd Cheng

  A pleasant anthology into diverse collection of early 20th century Japanese non-fiction. Tough to collect any collection of stories that represent a culture and the apex of the writing. However, this feels like a excellent mix to both represent and highlight the style of writing. Grateful for the book.
  
  Separately, a visceral theme of life’s struggles and hardships. I loved the short background on the author pre-story. There appeared to be harmonies, of hardship, between the authors background and their highlighted story. Reminds one that early 21st century ain’t that bad despite the many hardships that vibrate daily in news and life.
• 
  Nicki Markus

  Modern Japanese Short Stories is a delightful collection of tales from authors writing during the first half of the twentieth century. As with any such collection, there were some stories I enjoyed more than others, but there will be something here for everyone, and even if one tale does not appeal, the next one might. I especially appreciated the inclusion of short author biographies before each story, as this background on their life and writing style was helpful to see where they were coming from in penning each piece. Highly recommended for fans of modern Japanese literature.
• 
  Sepideh

  ناخداگاه هر چی به ژاپن مربوط میشه من رو به یاد میازاکی میندازه، ولی اینبار یه انیمیشن دیگه هست که ساخته شده و اکثر نویسنده های ژاپنی اسمشون روی شخصیت انیمه هست و کمابیش شخصیتشون ، این کتاب چنتا از همون نویسنده هارو تو خودش جا داده ، کتاب در کل بخاطر معرفی ادبیات ژاپن بصورت خلاصه‌ جالبه، از طرفی مثل هر شب یک قصه گفته شده من خوشم اومد ،داستان ببر شاعر ،اتوبوس زغالی معرکه بود .
• 
  Maria João

  My favourites: Order of the White Paulownia (by Tokuda Shusei), Seibei´s Gourds (by Shiga Naoya), Nightingale (by Ito Einosuké), Thea Hateful Age (by Niwa Fumio), Downtown (by Hayashi Fumiko) and The Priest and His Love (by Mishima Yukio).
• 
  Nicki

  Not going to pretend I read every story in here, but I read quite a few. Others I may return to at a later time. Some very good, some not of interest. This is worth a look if you’re into Japanese fiction in general and don’t mind short stories.