japanese cultured novels

[Fenix]

Wondering if anyone knows of a good novel that reflects japanese culture?

[hamish]

Umm, anything written by a Japanese novelist? What do you mean by Japanese culture?

[Fenix]

Umm, anything written by a Japanese novelist? What do you mean by Japanese culture?
umm, i guess like a good story set in feudal japan, and reflecting culture in the way like with samurai, and bushido or something...the lifestyle of the times?

[Odachi]

Were you thinking about "Tales of the Otori" series?

The first book was descibed as "fluffy" by someone and I would have to agree. But if you just want something easy to read relating to budo, then give it a go.

[Nazo]

umm, i guess like a good story set in feudal japan, and reflecting culture in the way like with samurai, and bushido or something...the lifestyle of the times?
hmmmmm....novels how about these titles:

1.) Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era
by Eiji Yoshikawa (Author), Charles S. Terry, Edwin O. Reischauer

2.) Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan
by Eiji Yoshikawa, William Scott Wilson

3.) Cloud of Sparrows
by TAKASHI MATSUOKA
(but this book is cross-cultural fiction)

[Fenix]

Were you thinking about "Tales of the Otori" series?

The first book was descibed as "fluffy" by someone and I would have to agree. But if you just want something easy to read relating to budo, then give it a go.
something similar to tales of otori...

[Magnus Stern]

I would really recommend "Snow Country" and "Thousand Cranes" by Nobel Prize winner Kawabata Yasunari. I read them a rather long time ago but they have "followed" me ever since. I'll just have to reread them soon.
Has absolutely nothing to do with Kendo or Budo.. ..but do I think they can learn us westeners something. Please notice when they are written (1949 and '52) and try to imagine world-politics at that time. It would be very interesting to here from a Japanese reader what you think of these works.



copied from amazon.com [about "Thousand Cranes]:
Novel by Kawabata Yasunari, published serially in several newspapers beginning in 1949 and published as Sembazuru with the novel Yama no Oto (The Sound of the Mountain) in 1952. One of Kawabata's finest works, Thousand Cranes was written in part as a sequel to Yukiguni (1948; Snow Country). This melancholy tale uses the classical tea ceremony as a background for the story of a young man's relationships to two women, his father's former mistress and her daughter.

[gsx1100s]

I second the vote on "Taiko" :)
Couldn't agree more !!

cheers michael

[Fenix]

theres no musashi or taiko in any chapters/indigo near me...

[Nazo]

oh yeah by the way all 3 books I've mentioned are available in www.amazon.com (http://www.amazon.com)

[Fenix]

hmmmmm....novels how about these titles:

1.) Musashi: An Epic Novel of the Samurai Era
by Eiji Yoshikawa (Author), Charles S. Terry, Edwin O. Reischauer

2.) Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan
by Eiji Yoshikawa, William Scott Wilson

3.) Cloud of Sparrows
by TAKASHI MATSUOKA
(but this book is cross-cultural fiction)
what did u think of cloud of sparrows? theres also a sequel called autumn bridge

[Nazo]

what did u think of cloud of sparrows? theres also a sequel called autumn bridgeCloud of Sparrows .... its ok(the thing is its a cross-cultural fiction),
But I prefer Musashi and Taiko.

Maybe you would also be interested in reading novels written by a japanese
post-war author..... Yukio Mishima.


I Like his novel "Run Away Horses".

[kanyil]

or for a story about a westerner in feudal Japan, you can try James Clavell's "Shogun". He's an excellent writer and specializes in fictions set in an Asian context.