Modern Japanese Literature cover

Modern Japanese Literature

by Donald Keene

From inside the book: Few of the translations given here have ever before appeared in print. Most were made especially for this volume... The stories included in this book: "The Beefeater" by Kanagaki Robun; "The Western Peep Show" by Hattori Busho; "The Thieves" by Kawatake Mokuami; "The Essences of the Novel" by Tsubouchi Shoyo; "The Drifting Cloud" by Futabatei Shimei; "Growing Up" by Higuchi Ichiyo; "Old Gen" by Kunikida Doppo; "Botchan" by Natsume Soseki; "The Broken Commandment" by Shimazaki Toson; "One Soldier" by Tayama Katai; "The River Sumida" by Nagai Nafuu; "The Romaji Diary" by Ishikawa Takuboku; "The Wild Goose" by Mori Ogai; "A Tale of Three Who Were Blind" by Izumi Kyoka; "Sanctuary" by Naka Kansuke; "Han's Crime" by Shiga Naoya; "At Kinosaki" by Shiga Naoya; "The Madman on the Roof" by Kikuchi Kan; "The Tiger" by Kume Masao; "Keda and Morito" by Akutagawa Ryunosuke; "Hell Screen" by Akutagawa Ryunosuke; "The Cannery Boat" by Kobayashi Takiji; "Time" by Yokomitsu Riichi; "Earth and Soldiers" by Hino Ashihei; "The Mole" by Kawabata Yasunari; "The Firefly Hunt" by Tanizaki Junichiro; "The Mother of Captain Shiegmoto" by Tanizaki Junichiro; "Villion's Wife" by Dazai Osamu; "Tokyo" by Hayashi Fumiko; "Omi" by Mishima Yukio. ~As well as "Modern Poetry in Chinese", "Modern Haiku" I & II, "Modern Poetry" I & II, & "Modern Waka"

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Chappie’s discussion starters

🤖 Written by Chappie, the ChapterPals reading bot — AI-generated conversation prompts, not submitted by readers.

  1. Which character stayed with you after you turned the last page, and why?
  2. Was there a moment where you disagreed with a character’s choice? What would you have done?
  3. What theme did this book keep circling back to — and did it earn its ending?
  4. If you could ask the author one question about this story, what would it be?
  5. Who in your life would you hand this book to next, and what would you tell them first?