Japanese Women Writers
For decades, writing by women was treated as its own separate genre in Japan, joryu bungaku. In today's episode, we’ll start with an explanation of why joryu bungaku became its own separate genre. We...
29 Aug 1h 3min
Aum Anxiety in Japanese Fiction
In this episode, we examine the history of the Aum Affair and its lasting impact on Japanese fiction. We'll start out with the history of new religions in Japan, including Aum Shinrikyo. We'll take a ...
25 Jun 59min
Yasunari Kawabata
In this episode, we're taking a look at Yasunari Kawabata's life and work. As we tell his story, we'll ask ourselves two big questions. Is Kawabata really a traditionalist? And what is up with the wa...
11 Mai 57min
Japanese Monster Stories on the Big Screen—Godzilla and Mothra
In this episode, we look at the writers behind two of Japan's greatest movie monsters—Godzilla and Mothra. We'll start out by looking at Godzilla—its context, author, and story—before we turn to Moth...
10 Feb 1h 3min
The Japanese Cell Phone Novel
In this episode, we take a look at the Japanese cell phone novel and the classic story of Train Man. We’re going to start today by explaining the Japanese cell phone novel, including some relevant bac...
14 Des 202548min
Lafcadio Hearn—The Master of the Japanese Ghost Story
In this episode, we explore the enduring legacy of Greek/English/Irish/American/Japanese author Lafcadio Hearn and the ghost story The Peony Lantern. We'll start out by looking at Hearn's life. We'll ...
29 Okt 202554min
Bullying in Japanese Literature—Mizuki Tsujimura and Lonely Castle in the Mirror
In this episode, we look at bullying in Japanese literature. We'll start out by defining bullying and looking at bullying in Japanese schools as well as the Japanese workplace. We'll see some example...
20 Sep 202557min
Christianity in Japanese Literature
In this episode, we look into the history of Christianity in Japan—especially the role Christianity has played in Japanese literature. Our focus text is Shusaku Endo's Silence. Notes and sources on th...
5 Jun 20251h 1min
