The Showa Anthology: Bks.1 & 2: Modern Japanese Short Stories (Japan's Modern Writers) [Paperback]

This is a really fine collection of short stories. The focus holding the collection together is of course the Showa Period (1926-1988), but this is such a tumultuous time in history that there is quite a bit of difference in feel between the first story (1929) and the last (1984). The writers are a real mixed bunch, too, so that one gets a pretty good sense of the wide range of literature during this time span. Some of them are little known in English and well deserve the attention they get here, while others are more renowned in translation, and for many of the latter the editors have chosen works uncharacteristic of them (a humorous story by Mishima of all people, for instance). This all being the case, "The Showa Anthology" is great both as an introduction to modern Japanese fiction for the newcomer and as essential reading for the old hand.

The short stories included are: "Kuchisuke's Valley" by Ibuse Masuji, "Mating" by Kajii Motojiro, "Les Joues en Feu" by Hori Tatsuo, "Magic Lantern" by Dazai Osamu, "Moon Gems" by Ishikawa Jun, "The Magic Chalk" by Abe Kobo, "Bad Company" by Yasuoka Shotaro, "Eggs" by Mishima Yukio, "Stars" by Kojima Nobuo, "Are the Trees Green?" by Yoshiyuki Junnosuke, "Still Life" by Shono Junzo, "With Maya" by Shimao Toshio, "The Monastery" by Kurahashi Yumiko, "Under the Shadow of Mount Bandai" by Inoue Yasushi, "Mulberry Child" by Minakami Tsutomu, "One Arm" by Kawabata Yasunari, "The Day Before" by Endo Shusaku, "Friends" by Abe Akira, "Ripples" by Shibaki Yoshiko, "The Pale Fox" by Oba Minako, "Iron Fish" by Kono Taeko, "Platonic Love" by Kanai Mieko, "The Crushed Pellet" by Kaiko Takeshi, "The Clever Rain Tree" by Oe Kenzaburo, "The Silent Traders" by Tsushima Yuko, and "The Immortal" by Nakagami Kenji.

I bought this book a few years ago and I loved it. I gave it to a friend and I miss it enough to buy another copy today.

One of the nice thing about this book is that it is an anthology of short stories. Some anthologies present the reader with cut-down version of the original texts which is always frustrating and this is not the case here. All short stories are of great quality written by prominent Japanese authors.

I also enjoyed the fact that there was an interesting introduction to the volume, as well as a short introduction to each author/contribution.

Last but not least, I enjoyed the fact that there is a large coverage of past-war Japanese authors who I generally prefer.

I found that book to be most enjoyable reading as well as a great introduction to Japanese literature. Reading it truly helped me to expand my knowledge of Japanese literature. I read many more novels from authors whose contribution to the volume I liked.

This anthology is one that will work best next to a few other anthologies of the same kind--that is to say, don't let this one be your only collection of modern Japanese fiction. The editors worked with the specific intent of piecing together a varied, and sometimes weird, look at Japanese literature during the Showa-era. On a few levels, it works; on some, it doesn't.

First, if you are expecting this to be a book with the best examples of the best authors, you will be disappointed. That is not to say, however, that this is a bad book. Included is a funny story by Yukio Mishima, something hard to find in translation, and indeed that is the sole purpose of its inclusion. The editors work with the assumption that the reader knows authors like Mishima, Kawabata, Endo, Abe, Dazai and the rest--why not spice the collection up by adding stories that don't quite fit their reputation here? It's an experiment that works surprisingly well. The stories by the big-names are never dull, and always leave the reader with a new impression of the masters of this era.

The other stated goal of the editors was to bring into translation new authors, many female, who are unknown to the West. This was a good idea. While the highlights of the collection are, undoubtedly, the uncommon works of the popular authors, the lesser known writers are not to be missed.

The collection fails only at not being as representative as its title implies. Still, to fault it for this seems harsh, as for it to be a true representation of the time period it would be many times longer. If this collection introduces you to Kawabata, fine--but dig deeper and read his better works. The same can be said of all the authors. These stories are not representative, but that does not make them bad.

There is also a bibliography in the back with lists of additional works by the authors in translation, a handy tool. It is funny to look at Oe's section there, as only "Hiroshima Notes" is listed as available--this collection may be dated, but could not predict his (deserved) popularity explosion here. The biographical sketches are particularly enlightening (especially if you are familiar with the authors, as sometimes the editor analyzes their other work in the sketches), and there is a short but fitting introduction to the book. Don't miss this one, but if you pick it up, look to get a few more collections, too.