Yomitai! New Literature from Japan

A literary guide to contemporary Japanese literature

The volume at hand, whose Japanese motto Yomitai! (I want to read it!) expresses a desire to read, aims to seduce potential readers: the volume wishes to awaken interest in contemporary Japanese literature. Authors and works from the last two decades will be explored; specifically from the 1990s until the beginning of 2011- a time period which was shaped by dramatic events.

The earthquake in west Japan and the terror attack on the Underground in Tokyo took place in 1995, and on 11 March, 2011, a further epochal accident occurred- the threefold catastrophe of Fukushima. The focus will, therefore, be on literary writing from between the two central phases of Japanese contemporary history, writing which records the change in the national mood, the change from the highs of the economically successful “Bubble Era” in the 1980s to the hopelessness of the “Lost Decade”. New Literature from Japan offers extensive information about the Japanese literary scene in recent years. The volume introduces the literary diversity of the recent literature of the Heisei Era (since 1989), beginning with the work of a contemporary classic like Ōe Kenzaburō, via the “two Murakamis“, Murakami Haruki and Murakami Ryū, to the “Girlie Authors” from around the year 2000.

In addition, a glossary helps with the categorisation of the texts: it explains current trends with the help of key words from the cultural scene and from societal discourses- for example the terms iyashi (healing), Cool Japan, Precariate, Banana Girls and Vegetarian Men. The task of the literary guide is to introduce the authors within the context of their cultural surroundings. Similarly, developments in the Japanese book market and its marketing strategies are also mentioned. Additionally, some previously undisclosed information will be revealed; for example that the Japanese critics have long been predicting the end of the “Maruki Haruki Epoque” or that the self-dramatisation of the young Akutagawa prize-winner Kanehara Hitomi, including her public “Hunger-Art”, were all part of a cleverly-devised advertising campaign. Through these detailed observations, possible thanks to the Japanese sources, Japan and its literature is brought that little bit closer.

Link to the publisher: EB-Verlag Berlin

Publication details:

Gebhardt, Lisette (Ed.) (2012): „Yomitai! - Neue Literatur aus Japan“
Berlin: EB-Verlag. 422 pages, Hardcover
ISBN 978-3-86893-057-3
34,80 Euro