I toy with the idea of coming back to learning Japanese every once and a while. One thing that I wonder about, but don’t really see discussed much, is the non-manga literature scene. What’s it like?
In Chinese, there’s actually a pretty decent literature scene. There’s loads of webnovels (I’m not a huge fan of non-print novels, but oh well), and there’s a pretty good amount of literary fiction. There’s also a lot of m/m romance, historical fiction, a lot of wuxia (think the early 2000s kung fu movies that came to America from China with really terrible dubbing) and a lot of xianxia (kind of like wuxia, but with significant fantasy elements). A lot of this stuff has never been translated to English, even including some novels that are considered foundational works of literature.
Manga and anime have never appealed to me because I’m not a fan of the art style, and the storylines and premises always seem to be really…wacky? For lack of a better term? Not saying it’s bad, just that it’s not my thing. So, yeah. I’m wondering what else Japan has to offer in terms of literature. What can you guys tell me about that?
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So… you say a Japanese genre is wacky and yet you mention Chinese genres that do the same. Anyways – I think hard sci-fi series, speculative fiction and contemporary urban fantasy are all genres which exist in the sidelines of the mainstream focus. I am no expert, but I think Japanese is next to English in terms of sheer depth and breadth of subjects where many other languages seem to be very constrained in the scale and scope of what constitutes popular media.
I think the core problem with Chinese materials is that publications are easily restricted and their content is heavily regulated by the state. It is without a doubt that China has a great history and a great amount of potential, but I cannot honestly point a modern high fantasy story in the vein of something like Tolkien, Sanderson, Jordan, or even… Martin. I can find plenty of the same aspects in various places in Japanese, but something like Legend of Galactic Heroes is not really ‘mainstream’ either – I just need a fantasy equivalent to be happy.
There is a very long history of literature in Japan. I would recommend Sōseki Natsume as a starting point. I would compare him to Lu Xun in terms of influence. Other prominent writers include Edogawa Ranpo (who called himself after Edgar Allan Poe), Dazai Osamu, Mishima Yukio, Ōe Kenzaburo, and Kawabata Yasunari.
In comics, the 劇画 movement was a project to try to make the medium more credible. I prefer the art style of these though I don’t care much for comics in general.
Mysteries are quite popular. I’m not super well read in the genre, but from what I’ve heard it’s got quite a long history in Japan with different subgenres etc. It also enjoys mainstream contemporary popularity
I don’t quite read so take it with a grain of salt. Personal opinion, not statistically significant, not trying to start a war.
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There’s loads of webnovels: Japan also has a ton
print novels: Japan also has a pretty good amount of literary fiction.
m/m romance, or regular romance: about the same, mostly trash with some good ones. I like romance as a genre, but as this is one of the most popular genres too many people who shouldn’t be writing are publishing. My great country produced the literary gem “50 shades of grey”…
historical fiction: Japan has decent ones, although many are a bit dry.
wuxia/xianxia: China has slightly more decent ones in terms of character development. To an English-speaking reader the dialogues make more sense.
mystery/detectives: Japan has slightly more decent ones, or you can say there are simply more well-published authors. Also you are more likely to get more variety, as the publishing regulations with law/gov/police are different.
sci-fi: 三体is great. Japan also has some great ones though. I can‘t decide.
workplace/ medical/ legal/ gourmet: I can’t decide. There are great works from both sides, but the specific ones in my mind all had something too contrived.
special mention: a genre called “龍傲天” in China. basically an insanely strong main character dominates the entire scene and the plot serves no other purpose than force-feeding us how strong the main lead is. The Venn diagram overlaps with the “I reincarnated into another world” and ”悪役令嬢ですが” troupe which is now overflowing the Japanese web-novel scene. To borrow your words, wacky. (I will admit occasionally there might be good ones)
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So overall Japan has a lot to offer, maybe read some translated works before you decide to dive in deeper.
What kind do you like? I have great J horror recs (that have official English versions of the novels if you prefer)
Japanese literature is very rich and varied. In recent times, Murakami Haruki’s work has become popular worldwide because of a unique, post-modern writing style and stories containing elements of absurdism and magical realism.
There are great fiction writers like Murata Sayaka(コンビニ人間 Convenience Store Woman), Kawakami Hiromi (神様 Kami-sama short stories), Kanae Minato (Crime), Otsuichi (Horror).
For modern literary classics, there is Natsume Sōseki (吾輩は猫である I am a Cat,三四郎 Sanshirō ), Edogawa Ranpō (mystery), Akutagawa Ryūnosuke (short stories). There are also great reads in Japanese by non-Japanese authors, such as Kim Tal Su’s 富士の見える村で In the Shadow of Mount Fuji.
There is a great variety of classical literature including what is considered the world’s first novel by Murasaki Shikibu 源氏物語 The Tale of Genji, war epics 平家物語 The Tale of the Heike, and buddhist writings 方丈記 Account of my Hut.
Japanese literature has a plethora of iconic poems, which often use Japanese structures. Most notably, Bashō’s Haiku (5-7-5 syllables):
“An old pond
A frog jumps in
The sound of water.”
In terms of contemporary literature, the market in Japan is huge. If you like sci-fi/fantasy/horror, I like Hayakawa books. They specialize in translated literature, but have lots of Japanese writers as well. You might want to check what publishers there are and what kind of books are available. Or Bookmeter.
What happened to Norwegian? Japanese has plenty of m/m romance
>What’s it like?
Have you taken a look at the weekly/monthly best seller lists on the websites of major bookstores in Japan?