So You Want to Know about Japan?

Sinter Klaas gifts to the family--yeah, we're a little into books...

"But Mom, you always have lots of books to recommend!" My daughters, who are both in the baby-having, child-rearing stage of life, were dumbfounded when I told them that I had no baby books to recommend to them. Nope—at that stage in my life, I was in Japan without Amazon. Someone loaned me a second-hand copy of the first edition of What to Expect When You're Expecting. That's it.

On the other hand, I've been asked several times recently what books I'd recommend on Japan, and I do have an answer for that. Are these really the best books? I don't know. They are just some that I have found interesting and insightful as I have lived out my 30+ year history as a foreign resident in Japan. For what it's worth, here they are.

History:
Japan at War: An Oral History, by Haruko Taya Cook and Theodore F. Cook. I can’t recommend this book enough. This compilation of interviews by a husband-wife team of historians introduces English speakers to the actual experiences of a variety of Japanese people—from students to soldiers to parents; on the home islands and abroad; at the beginning, middle, and end of World War 2. I was particularly struck by several things. One was the control of information by the government—hard to imagine in this Internet age. Another was realizing where historical fiction gets its sources—I recognized one interview from Manchuria in 2 pieces of fiction I later read (The Narrow Road to the Deep North and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle)! 

Culture:
Bushido: The Soul of Japan, by Inazo Nitobe. Written in 1899 by a Japanese Christian in English to explain Japan to the West and convince western Christians that the samurai code of ethics [bushido] could be seen as the equivalent of the Old Testament for the Japanese—the law that prepared them for Christ. While Japanese culture has changed a lot in the last 120 years, it is interesting to trace the lingering effects of the values Nitobe lists: rectitude, courage, benevolence, politeness, sincerity, honor, and loyalty.

The Secrets of Mariko: A Year in the Life of a Japanese Woman and Her Family, by Elizabeth Bumiller (1995). A fascinating glimpse into the life of a Japanese housewife. I once had a student with a Japanese mother and an American father tell me, “Reading this book helped me understand my mother so much better!” A western journalist interviewed a Japanese housewife once a month throughout one year. Times have changed somewhat in the 25 years since the book was written, but a lot still holds true. 

Fiction: 
Shiokari Pass, by Ayako Miura, a well-known Christian author. A best-seller when it was written in 1968 and later a movie, set around 1900 in Tokyo and Hokkaido. It is fiction based on a real-life event. Miura’s fiction fascinates me for how she seems to take the values from Bushido (see above) and say, “What might that look like in the life of a Japanese character grappling with Christianity?” (See the next book as well.)  

Lady Gracia, by Ayako Miura. Living around 1600, right before the closing of Japan to Christianity, the title character was a historical samurai wife who converted to Christianity, but the details about her life are scant. In Miura’s fictionalization, I enjoyed the character’s search for answers to her ethical questions as well as a story that for the first time helped me make sense of the relationships of the various war lords of this chaotic and pivotal time in Japanese history. I actually like this one even more than Shiokari Pass, but it is unfortunately out of print, so sometimes it’s available used for $20 and sometimes for $200 (or more!). Or if you visit me or my daughter or my mother-in-law, one of us would be happy to loan it to you.  

After Dark, by Haruki Murakami (2008). Moving into the present, Murakami is currently a popular writer in Japan. I’ve read a number of well-known Japanese literary writers, and they seem unrelentingly bleak to me. Murakami’s characters are odd-balls who don’t eventually succumb to the system, but stay slightly apart, questioning society and looking for real connections with their neighbors. This one follows a cast of characters through one night in downtown Tokyo. I’ve read it with my10th grade class, and they’ve really enjoyed it. (Warning: The weird thread of magical realism isn’t for everyone, but makes for great classroom discussion!) 

Extra, just for fun—suspense/mystery by western authors, but seem accurate to me as a 30+ year foreign resident of Japan:
Japantown by Barry Lancet (series of 3). The main character is both Japanese and American, an antiques dealer specializing in Asian art who keeps getting pulled into the business of the Tokyo investigative service he inherited from his father. I gave this to my kids for a recreational taste of “home” once they’d started adulting in the US.

Betrayal at Iga, by Susan Spann (Shinobi Mystery book 5). This is a series set in the late 1600s Japan, where a ninja and a Portuguese priest get cornered into solving mysteries. (The ninja is secretly assigned to be the priest’s bodyguard, but his cover is as his translator.) I started with #5 because I came across it on a Kindle sale. I went back to 1-3 because my daughter reserved them from the library, and I was on leave, missing Japan, and preparing to move to Kyoto on my return, which is the setting of the first 4 of the books. They’re sort of fun and full of cultural, historical, religious, and philosophical tidbits.  The interplay of the priest and the ninja as they negotiate each other’s points of view is interesting.

Whatever it is you are curious about, may you find many good books to read!