An inquiry into Japanese Literature

As both a literature major and an avid lover of light novels (+ Banana Yoshimoto), I want to better dig into the literature that brought forth the modern era of Japanese novels and, more specifically, light novels. So I am here to ask if you all could share with me the works that are most famous or most noteworthy in the changes of Japanese literature into what it has become today, and perhaps also the works that led to the rise in light novels as well. I appreciate whatever you all have to share.