Japanese literature! If I love Murakami and Kawabata, what other Japanese writers can you recommend to me?

Answer 1

its funny because murakami and kawabata are as far apart as you can get (almost).

if you like kawabata you might enjoy yukio mishima (a pseudo-protoge of kawabata) and jun'ichiro tanizaki (kawabata's contemporary). In particular the makioka sister's is very good.
Personally I like anything by Nagai Kafu.

now for murakami haruki. as others have recommended, banana yoshimoto might not be a bad place to start, though i find her a bit superficial. the "other murakami" is murakami ryu. he is a contemporary of haruki but his novels are much darker. coin locker babies would be one to try.

also if you like surreal stories, anything written by Abe Kobo is worth reading. Woman in the Dunes is his most famous novel, also The face of another, The ruined map, inter ice age 4, and many others. all very good novels.

but to give you a taste of modern japanese literature i would recommend the showa literature anthology edited by van c gessel. it is a collection of excellent short stories spanning the 20th century. that way you can find the authors you like on your own!

enjoy!

Answer 2

Kazuo Ishiguro is another Japanese Author, but if it is Murakami's style that you like, you will have a difficult time finding another similar author. Perhaps Louis Ferdinand Celine (French) is a bit similar in style....

Answer 3

Banana Yoshimoto--if you want to try something lighter than murakami and kawabata.

Answer 4

i like some J-Pop/ok-Pop: Ayumi Hamasaki Utada Hikaru SES I additionally like DJ Krush (J Hip-Hop/Rap/Trance) I actually have a ton of anime mp3's. a good number of video game mp3s: - Castlevania - Chrono flow - Kingdom Hearts - very final delusion IV-X, FF: AC - God of conflict - Parasite Eve - Prince of Persia (not action picture stuff) - Metroid top - worldwide of Warcraft I additionally hear to: determination/Punk/Heavy Rock/metallic, Jazz, Classical, Soundtracks, Bluegrass/u . s . a . and Celtic. Fave artists: AC/DC green Day Godsmack Coldplay Avenged Sevenfold Disturbed Evanescence KoRn Rammstein Etta James Ella Fitzgerald Chet Baker Miles Davis Diana Panton Louis Armstrong Dave Brubeck Quartet Mozart Vivaldi Tchaikovsky Beethoven Bach diet String Quartet Alison Krauss (might desire to sing the phonebook and it could nonetheless be *stable*) Dixie Chicks Johnny money Kenny Chesney Alan Jackson faith Hill Taylor fast (even with the reality that, she rather does not count variety as u . s . a .) Ashley MacIsaac Altan The Corrs Natalie MacMaster Loreena McKennitt Fiddlesticks Bonnie Rideout Eileen Ivers Lisa Kelly Meav Ni Mhaolchatha The Chieftains Alasdair Fraser So i think, different than for eastern music, I additionally like celtic music and worldwide music. (i like Rodrigo Y Gabriela to boot, they are *staggering*) ? listening to music :)

Answer 5

I love Murakami also !
I'm not a Japanese though....I hardly know Japanese authors...
Edogawa Rumpo ?
Miyabe Miyuki ?
Kindaichi ?

I could have recommended u more if u ask about Manga instead....LOL

Answer 6

The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon.

I've seen copies new and used on Amazon.co.uk

Answer 7

try Kenji Miyazawa.
http://www.kenji-world.net/english/index.html

And have you read Classical literature in Heian era (9th century - 12th century)
such as "Tale of Genji", http://webworld.unesco.org/genji/en/index.shtml ,and
"The Diary of Izumi Shikibu" ?http://www.lizadalby.com/izumipage.htm

Answer 8

i can recommend a writer but i can recommend a book
try "Memiors of a Geisha" by Arthor Golden