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I was hoping RJL would help me choose even more books for #spookseason!!! 🍁📚👻 #spooktober #booksky

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Richard Medhurst📚️🇯🇵 @richardmedh.bsky.social · 13h

Less than six months until the release of A Fool's Words by Ryunosuke Akutagawa on March 30. This is focused on his autobiographical and related works, after the broader fiction of The Essential Akutagawa. (Translated by me). www.tuttlepublishing.com/a-fools-word...

Ryunosuke Akutagawa: A Fool's Words
Thirteen Stories and Essays by Japan's Master Storyteller
Translated and introduced by Richard Medhurst

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Brian Bergstrom @brianbergstrom.bsky.social · 6h

Happy Belated International Translation Day with my little stack✨ (minus We the Children of Cats by Tomoyuki Hoshino, which I seem to have given my last copy away of)

The spines of books I've translated: capital from zero, the shining sea, the dilemmas of working women, sunrise, trinity trinity trinity, hotel lucky seven, and slow down

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 20h

Holly Thompson and Avery Fischer Udagawa wrap up: "Co-editing the Focus on Japan posts that appeared throughout September, #WorldKidLitMonth, reminded us of the abundance of translations from Japan for young people... Let us complicate the picture of abundance a bit..."

glli-us.org

#WorldKidLit Month Focus on Japan: Keep Reading!

WHEW! Co-editing the Focus on Japan posts that appeared throughout September, #WorldKidLit Month, reminded us of the abundance of translations from Japan for young people. We can confirm with suret…

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 20h

#worldkidlitmonth Nahoko Uehashi (1962- ) is a fantasy writer. She wrote her first novel in 1989; her second won an award from the Japanese Association of Writers for Children. (Both novels are untranslated.)

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Jocelyne Allen @brainvsbook.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

Happy International Translation Day! Please read the books of this particular translator and keep me gainfully employed!

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Erica Friedman @okazu.yuricon.com · 29/09/2026

Your reminder that Sword of Paros will be the prettiest book you have ever owned and if you pre-order now, you'll get a signed shikishi and a classic tale of queer life, betrayal and love. store.mangamavericks.com/products/the...

store.mangamavericks.com

The Sword of Paros (Deluxe Edition)

This product is a pre-order. Orders containing this product are not guaranteed to ship until all items are in stock. Pre-orders from the Manga Mavericks Store also include an EXCLUSIVE shikishi board ...

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 29/09/2026

Happy N American release day to Nao-Cola Yamazaki's Don't Laugh at Other People's Sex Lives (trans Polly Barton). "This is an adolescent love story, portraying the relationship between a young art student and his married art teacher twice his age." *Premiered in the UK+ in spring.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 29/09/2026

Happy N American release day to Nao-Cola Yamazaki's Beautiful Distance (trans Charlotte Goff). "A prize-winning bestseller in Japan... a profoundly affecting and intimate story that looks with honesty and tenderness at the journey towards the end of a life." *Premiered in the UK+ in spring.

bookshop.org

Beautiful Distance: A Novel

"Beautifully, startingly, explosively expansive . . . In this delicate, near miraculous novel, there is no path away from grief, but there is a kind of company in loss, and a continuation of love.” —f...

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 29/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Takuji Ichikawa (1962- ) has dreamed of being a novelist since he was in grade school. A highly successfully writer in Japan, Ichikawa asked himself what a novel should look like in an age of bleak environmental news, staggering global inequality, and growing authoritarianism.

A color photograph of Takuji Ichikawa, a thin Japanese man with medium-length, curly hair, rectangular glasses, and a salt-and-pepper goatee, posing in front of a background of trees and other plants.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 28/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Shaw Kuzuki is a 2nd-generation atomic bomb survivor. She began writing in 2004, taking care to tell the story of "Hiroshima and the A-bomb tragedy that caused such catastrophic destruction and casualties". She has noted, "There are so many stories of Hiroshima to be written."

arabnews.jp

Shaw Kuzki: Japanese beloved writer for children and young people

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Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

“My all-girls’ high school was sometimes visited by crabs. The first time I saw one show up was during my first year, on a rainy day in early summer.” Read “Crabs” from Hiroko Oyamada’s collection Garden, translated by Lucy North. buff.ly/163IV3k

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“Crabs”

My all-girls’ high school was sometimes visited by crabs. The first time I saw one show up was during my first year, on a rainy day in early summer. The crab was sidling along one of the outs…

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Kathryn Hemmann @kathrynthehuman.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Keigo Higashino's novel The Keeper of the Camphor Tree is a gentle supernatural mystery about a giant tree that's said to grant wishes, but it's also a serious family drama about aging and intergenerational communication. #Japanesefiction #booksky 📚 My review: japaneselit.net/2026/09/26/t...

The front cover of the UK edition of Keigo Higashino's novel The Keeper of the Camphor Tree.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 28/09/2026

arabnews.jp

Shaw Kuzki: Japanese beloved writer for children and young people

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Jordan Taylor @jt-translates.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Thank you for the lovely review of The Keeper of the Camphor Tree @kathrynthehuman.bsky.social! It's always nice to hear that someone who's read both the Japanese and the English enjoyed the translation as well. japaneselit.net/2026/09/26/t...

japaneselit.net

The Keeper of the Camphor Tree

Keigo Higashino’s 2020 novel The Keeper of the Camphor Tree is a supernatural mystery about a young man finding his path in life as he attempts to uncover the secrets of a giant tree with magical p…

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NCC (北米日本研究資料調整協議会) @nccjapaninfo.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

It’s #InternationalRabbitDay! 🐇 There’s nothing quite like a happy bunny gazing up at the moon. 🌕 Enjoy these 19th century fellas by Hiroshige, held by the Tokyo National Museum: colbase.nich.go.jp/collection_i...

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Jocelyne Allen @brainvsbook.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

In an entirely unsurprising turn of events, I had some things to say about translation!

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 26/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Talking about Colorful—an interview with translator Jocelyne Allen (@brainvsbook.bsky.social) + Holly Thompson “Colorful is funny and hopeful in a way that doesn’t deny or reject the idea that life can be and often is really hard. But it reassures readers that they’re not alone.“

glli-us.org

#WorldKidLit Month Focus on Japan: Talking about “Colorful: A Novel”

Today’s post comes to you from Holly Thompson: Not long ago, I was pleased to be in conversation with translator Jocelyne Allen about her translation of the bestselling novel Colorful by Eto Mori. …

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 26/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Miyuki Miyabe (1960- ) began her career as a mystery writer; she won the Japan Mystery Writers Association Prize for her debut novel. Most of her work is still in the mystery genre, where she broke new ground for women with the publication of her 1992 novel, All She Was Worth.

A color photograph of Miyuki Miyabe speaking earnestly. She has bobbed hair and is wearing stylish yellow glasses and a striped purple sweater over a collared shirt.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 25/09/2026

Anyone have an in on Kurodahan Press? 1.) I *desperately* wish I had access to more of the intros from their horror and horror-adjacent anthologies as research sources for the upcoming horror ep. (I've just got Kaiki I.) 2.) I want to include a little bit in the ep about Kurodahan and its loss.

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Nick Kapur @nickkapur.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Japanese used bookstores are reporting a massive uptick in bulk purchases of used Japanese books by overseas buyers, seemingly without any regard to their contents. The only logical conclusion is that these books are being stripped, scanned, and discarded to train AI models.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 25/09/2026

Kazumi Yumoto was born in 1959. Her novels often star children and teenagers wrestling with some of life's most painful questions about life and death.

A color photo of a smiling Kazumi Yumoto, posing in a plaid button-down in front of brightly-lit woods.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 25/09/2026

"....a suspense novel that uncovers the absurdity of the Japanese job-hunting system... Asakura portrays the system as flawed, mechanical, completely indifferent to individual candidates." —Kateryna Shabelnyk on Akinari Asakura's The Final Six (trans Hadyn Trowell)

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Asian Review of Books @asianreviewofbooks.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

📰 Today, Kateryna Shabelnyk reviews “The Final Six” by Akinari Asakura, published by Sphere Books. buff.ly/nmHh5TU

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Lit Hub @literaryhub.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

“The azaleas growing by the new hospital’s gates are in full bloom, a bright pink that makes my eyes sore.” Read from Nao-Cola Yamazaki’s novel Beautiful Distance, translated by Charlotte Goff. buff.ly/jO5fjvU

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Beautiful Distance

The azaleas growing by the new hospital’s gates are in full bloom, a bright pink that makes my eyes sore. May is my wife’s favorite month. She’s always said that May evening skies are the most beau…

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 23/09/2026

"Asking 'Who Am I?' in Two Novels about Japanese Young Adults" The age of the protagonists, the school setting, and the problems... make these two novels ideal for young adult readers looking for something meaty to sink their teeth into." My contribution to #worldkidlitmonth

glli-us.org

#WorldKidLit Month: Asking “Who Am I?” in Two Novels about Japanese Young Adults

Today’s post comes to you from Alison Fincher: Go and The Color of the Sky Is the Shape of the Heart were not necessarily written for a young adult audience. In fact, Go won Japan’s top award for p…

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Tristan Felix B. @tristiger.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

The Voice of the Snow is outttt (tr. me) 🥰👦🏻❄️

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 23/09/2026

glli-us.org

#WorldKidLit Month: Asking “Who Am I?” in Two Novels about Japanese Young Adults

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worldkidlit.bsky.social @worldkidlit.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

#ReadJapan #JapaneseKidLit for #WorldKidLitMonth! Phenomenonal bluesky action from @readjapaneseliterature.com this month! and GLLI (Global Literature in Libraries Initiative) has an entire month of Japan kid lit this September glli-us.org #kidlit #kidlitUK #readtheworld #readasia #booksky

glli-us.org

Global Literature in Libraries Initiative

Act Locally, Read Globally

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 23/09/2026

Does anyone happen to have an "in" for a US-based translator eager to review Asako Yuzuki's Mari the Unwonderful Witch for a UK-based, transnational publication? (DMs are open)

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 23/09/2026

Happy N American release day to Syou Ishida's Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic (trans E. Madison Shimoda). "Cats once again prove to be the best medicine in the wonderful third book following the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel We'll Prescribe You a Cat." Out in the UK+ 9/24.

bookshop.org

Welcome to the Kokoro Cat Clinic

Cats once again prove to be the best medicine in the wonderful third book following the award-winning, bestselling Japanese novel We’ll Prescribe You a Cat.When you are lost, the Kokoro Clinic for the...

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 23/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Sachiko Kashiwaba (1953- ) grew up in the Tohoku Region, Japan's "internal colony" and the region of Japan most affected by the 3/11 Triple Disasters. She trained as a pharmacist and wrote part-time until after her children were born.

A color photograph of Sachiko Kashiwaba cheerfully smiling in front of a neutral background.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 21/09/2026

Ao Omae's People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice (trans Emily Balistrieri) should be a book everyone who likes JLit reads. I love it! The stories are all about sensitive people trying to navigate an unjust world. Big ideas on gender, relationships, shared suffering... Just A+.

bookshop.org

People Who Talk to Stuffed Animals Are Nice (Nomad Edition): Stories

“A captivating exploration of gender dynamics, set against a background of the trying and confusing time of adolescence, when identity is in flux and everything in life is unstable and magical.” —Lydi...

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Asian Review of Books @asianreviewofbooks.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

📰 Today in the ARB: Alison Fincher reviews “Kiki and the New Magic” by Eiko Kadono, published by Delacorte Press. buff.ly/4n8Ly4m

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Asian Review of Books @asianreviewofbooks.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

📰 Today in the ARB: Ananya Kanai Shah reviews “She Walks at Night” by Seishi Yokomizo, published by Pushkin Press. buff.ly/I78KqPn

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 20/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Taro Gomi (1945- ) is a prolific author of more than 400 picture books. Many have been translated into English, including My Friends and Santa through the Window. In addition to writing books, he also designs stationary and clothes and produces animated videos for children.

A color photograph of Taro Gomi, wearing a white t-shirt and sporting a salt-and-pepper goatee.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 20/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Eiko Kadono (1935- ) began writing in 1970 and has published about 250 books, mostly picture books. She has also translated around 100 titles from other languages.

A color photograph of Eiko Kadono, an older Japanese woman in a pink, floral sweater.

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Read Japanese Literature @readjapaneseliterature.com · 19/09/2026

#worldkidlitmonth Akiyuki Nosaka (1930-2015) might also be called a writer of stories about children; his "children stories" set on August 15, 1945 and written from his own childhood experiences, are difficult to read, even for adults. Born in Kamakura, Nosaka grew up with a maternal aunt.

A black-and-white photograph of Akiyuki Nosaka looking pretty cool in his sunglasses, smoking a cigarette.

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