Today, we’re talking about crime and mystery novels from Japan. We’ll start with the development of the crime and mystery genre in the English-speaking world. We’ll move on to Japanese crime and mystery writing—how it was inspired by Anglo-American crime and mystery writing and how it evolved in its own way. And we’ll end with the life and work of writer Seishi Yokomizo, especially his novel The Honjin Murders, translated into English by Louise Heal Kawai.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

CW: murder (obviously!) and a brief mention of a fictional character’s narcotics addiction

(Apologies for small pronunciation issues of English and French surnames. They’ve been corrected in the transcript.)

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This episode is marked mature.

In this episode, we take a look at Japanese writing about the American bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki that killed as many as 215,000 people in August 1945. We’ll start with the history of the atomic bomb, its use, and its effects on the hibakusha who survived. Then we’ll take a look at atomic bomb literature itself. Our focus text is "Masks of Whatchamacallit" by Kyoko Hayashi (follow the link to read for free), translated by Kyoko Selden.

CW: war, illness (historical and fictional), suicide (historical), forced abortion (fictional), emotional abuse (fictional)

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

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In this episode, we take a look at the history of Koreans writing in Japan. We’ll start with the history of Koreans in Japan, including anti-Korean prejudice before and after WWII. We’ll move on to Zainichi Korean writing. And we’ll finish with a look at Kazuki Kaneshiro’s Go, translated into English by Takami Nieda.

Notes and sources on the episode page. Transcript available.

Correction: This episode claims Yi Kwang-su's book Ai Ka ("Is It Love?") does not appear in English translation. Ai Ka is actually a short story and Janet Poole's translation of "Is This Love?" appears in in Queer Subjects in Modern Japanese Literature: Male Love, Intimacy, and Erotics, 1886-2014, edited by Stephen D. Miller.

Please note that this is the final episode of season 3. RJL will be back in August 2024.

Let RJL know what you think! (Contact us through the website if you want a response.)

Please note that text messages are for feedback only. RJL can't respond directly.
Get in touch at www.readjapaneseliterature.com.
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All content © 2024 Read Japanese Literature.