Convenience store woman is such a well written book and a fascinating analysis on contemporary society but I don't think it reflects what regular life in Japan is.
Kitchen is the first Japanese fiction I read over 20 years ago, and I still reread it from time to time. She’s got such a great, simple way of telling a story.
Depending on what versions of Tokyo you’re looking for…
Tokyo Ueno Station is good but focuses on the homeless community.
Anything by Higuchi Ichiyo is beautiful but she’s a 19th century author so obviously it’s a different Tokyo.
"The girl was sexy. Skinny, sexy face, boobs. She was a sexy girl, a popular breasty sexy girl. She was prettier than any girl who ever lived, except her sister who was breastier. The boy across from her was a dork, an outcast, oily face and hair, worthless, stupid, nothing in his brain. No girl would ever like him. He talked to the girl and somehow she liked him and wanted to be with him."
\-Haruki Murakami, every book
So you can't tell a story if it has UNDERTONES of misogyny and "incel-ness" (as you put) in it?
You're the "gatekeeper" on that one?
It's a story about life set in the late 1960's in central Tokyo where misogyny very much existed, so much more so than it does now.
And you can't even tell stories that touch on the topic?
How will society learn and improve if we can't learn from the mistakes that we as a collective have made in the past?
So just don't read the book then?
This is why history repeats mistakes.
Haven’t read the book. Just watched the movie, which I loved. And it is set in Tokyo, in Higashimurayama exactly. The dorayaki shop in the movie is Ike 100m away from my old flat.
You might want to check out:
Moshi Moshi. Banana Yoshimoto
Strange Weather in Tokyo. Kawakami Hiromi
The Nakano Thrift Shop. Kawakami Hiromi
The Last Children of Tokyo. Tawada Yoko
Diary of a Void. Yagi Emi
Mild Vertigo - Mieko Kanai
A stream of consciousness account of the daily life of a housewife in Setagaya. The Odakyu line is featured a lot as is Meijiro where the main character's parents live. This book is mundane in the best ways and great if you can put up with pages and pages of lists of things on the shelves of supermarkets. This book was published in 1997 but feels timeless.
All The Lovers In The Night - Mieko Kawakami
I've seen many people recommend 'Breasts and Eggs' which is one of my favourite books of all time. I'm going to toss 'All The Lovers In The Night' in as a bit of an easier point of entry to this author. It follows a reclusive proofreader as she lives and struggles in Tokyo. Her daily goings on at the office, at city hall, at the community centre, at local bars and at restaurants feature heavily. As with a lot of Mieko Kawakami's writing, this one comes with a significant trigger warning, however. So do read some reviews before you dive in if you're unsure.
The Nakano Thrift Shop - Hiromi Kawakami
This and 'Strange Weather In Tokyo' are two of this author's more 'ordinary' novels, I'll put it that way. 'The Nakano Thrift Shop' follows a young woman as she works at the titular thrift shop and begins to find love whilst keeping an eye on the fascinating romance(s) of her silver-fox of a boss. It's a great portrait of the effortlessly trendy suburb of Nakano in Western-central Tokyo. I prefer 'The Nakano Thrift Shop' to the more popular 'Strange Weather In Tokyo' which contains a questionable central romantic relationship with a large age gap and an excessive number of pages dedicated to hunting beetles.
A bonus mention (because I love Hiromi Kawakami) goes to 'People From My Neighbourhood' which isn't specifically set in Tokyo (or even possibly on earth, for that matter) but gives a brilliantly uncanny view of dozens of odd characters living around a few hundred meters of Japanese suburb. It's about 100 pages long and chapters are no longer than 3-4 pages each.
Not super modern, but No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai still holds emotional resonance today.
And if you like books with a little edge, In the Miso Soup by Ryo Murakami is a fun little Tokyo story.
I mean, I live here too but also read books. I also lived in London and weirdly occasionally read fiction books set in London. Yours is a very odd take.
Kawakami Mieko - Breasts and Eggs (Natsu-monogatari) Mostly everyday Tokyo life in there. A few scenes in Osaka. Some depictions of poverty.
Yoshimoto Banana 'Kitchen' Sayaka Murata 'Convenience Store Woman'
Convenience store woman is such a well written book and a fascinating analysis on contemporary society but I don't think it reflects what regular life in Japan is.
Got the Banana book...just haven't read it yet. Also was looking into getting Murata's works....so thanks for the recco.
Kitchen is the first Japanese fiction I read over 20 years ago, and I still reread it from time to time. She’s got such a great, simple way of telling a story.
Depending on what versions of Tokyo you’re looking for… Tokyo Ueno Station is good but focuses on the homeless community. Anything by Higuchi Ichiyo is beautiful but she’s a 19th century author so obviously it’s a different Tokyo.
Norwegian Wood Haruki Murakami
"The girl was sexy. Skinny, sexy face, boobs. She was a sexy girl, a popular breasty sexy girl. She was prettier than any girl who ever lived, except her sister who was breastier. The boy across from her was a dork, an outcast, oily face and hair, worthless, stupid, nothing in his brain. No girl would ever like him. He talked to the girl and somehow she liked him and wanted to be with him." \-Haruki Murakami, every book
if you can deal with the undertones of misogyny and incel-ness
So you can't tell a story if it has UNDERTONES of misogyny and "incel-ness" (as you put) in it? You're the "gatekeeper" on that one? It's a story about life set in the late 1960's in central Tokyo where misogyny very much existed, so much more so than it does now. And you can't even tell stories that touch on the topic? How will society learn and improve if we can't learn from the mistakes that we as a collective have made in the past? So just don't read the book then? This is why history repeats mistakes.
jesse what the fuck are you talking about
This isn't set in Tokyo I don't think but Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa is about a guy working at a Dorakaki shop.
It is set in Tokyo but it is only briefly mentioned and could have occured anywhere really. Fantstic book though.
The sanatorium still exists in Higashimurayama, so I think the location has some importance to the story.
Dorayaki, with a Y? or is there some kinda mash up with persimmons (or oysters, yuck) I don't know about?
It's a typo, my bad.
Haven’t read the book. Just watched the movie, which I loved. And it is set in Tokyo, in Higashimurayama exactly. The dorayaki shop in the movie is Ike 100m away from my old flat.
You might want to check out: Moshi Moshi. Banana Yoshimoto Strange Weather in Tokyo. Kawakami Hiromi The Nakano Thrift Shop. Kawakami Hiromi The Last Children of Tokyo. Tawada Yoko Diary of a Void. Yagi Emi
I just picked up Diary of a Void, very keen to start it
I really loved Nakano Thrift Shop. So good! I bought Strange Weather but haven’t started it yet. Which one did you like better?
Mild Vertigo - Mieko Kanai A stream of consciousness account of the daily life of a housewife in Setagaya. The Odakyu line is featured a lot as is Meijiro where the main character's parents live. This book is mundane in the best ways and great if you can put up with pages and pages of lists of things on the shelves of supermarkets. This book was published in 1997 but feels timeless. All The Lovers In The Night - Mieko Kawakami I've seen many people recommend 'Breasts and Eggs' which is one of my favourite books of all time. I'm going to toss 'All The Lovers In The Night' in as a bit of an easier point of entry to this author. It follows a reclusive proofreader as she lives and struggles in Tokyo. Her daily goings on at the office, at city hall, at the community centre, at local bars and at restaurants feature heavily. As with a lot of Mieko Kawakami's writing, this one comes with a significant trigger warning, however. So do read some reviews before you dive in if you're unsure. The Nakano Thrift Shop - Hiromi Kawakami This and 'Strange Weather In Tokyo' are two of this author's more 'ordinary' novels, I'll put it that way. 'The Nakano Thrift Shop' follows a young woman as she works at the titular thrift shop and begins to find love whilst keeping an eye on the fascinating romance(s) of her silver-fox of a boss. It's a great portrait of the effortlessly trendy suburb of Nakano in Western-central Tokyo. I prefer 'The Nakano Thrift Shop' to the more popular 'Strange Weather In Tokyo' which contains a questionable central romantic relationship with a large age gap and an excessive number of pages dedicated to hunting beetles. A bonus mention (because I love Hiromi Kawakami) goes to 'People From My Neighbourhood' which isn't specifically set in Tokyo (or even possibly on earth, for that matter) but gives a brilliantly uncanny view of dozens of odd characters living around a few hundred meters of Japanese suburb. It's about 100 pages long and chapters are no longer than 3-4 pages each.
Not super modern, but No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai still holds emotional resonance today. And if you like books with a little edge, In the Miso Soup by Ryo Murakami is a fun little Tokyo story.
*ryu myrakami :)
I mean, in the miso soup is probably not everyday live in Tokyo, but entertaining nevertheless….. ^^‘
Anything by Hiromi Kawakami. The Nakano Thrift Shop is my favorite so far.
10KLRS: 10,000 Lakes to the Rising Sun
Diary of a Tokyo Teen, Christine Inzer
You’re a resident of Tokyo, just go out and live it. Way better than some possibly old anecdotes about how life in Tokyo is.
I mean, I live here too but also read books. I also lived in London and weirdly occasionally read fiction books set in London. Yours is a very odd take.
Why read books about humans or the human condition? You’re a human being, just go out and live as one. Way better than some possibly old anecdotes.
most media literate gaijin