Howard Hibbett (1920–2019)

Among the most delightful genres of Japanese literature is that of the 'ukiyo-zoshi', or 'tales of the floating world'. These gay stories and novels reflect the milieu of the familiar 'ukiyo-e' prints, to which they offer the best possible introduction. In them we find an unsurpassed view of the manners and customs, arts and affectations, of the multifarious city life of Tokugawa Japan. That view is focused on the search for pleasure that was the obsession of the age : like the authors themselves, most 'ukiyo-zoshi' characters belong to the cafe society of courtesans, entertainers, and their patrons which flourished the brilliant Genroku era (1680 - 1740). It was a time of innovations in popular literature, as well as in music, the kabuki theatre, and the graphic arts; and the excitement of the 'Japanese renaissance', together with its satirical wit and its sense of style, is vividly displayed in the fiction of the floating world.… (más)

The work sampled here appears to come from a wide variety of well-known Japanese authors, all of whom can be found on Wikipedia: Yoshikichi Furui, Taeko Kono, Shotaro Yasuoka, etc. I approached this anthology with interest in the subject, but no background knowledge. The only name I recognized prior to reading was the famous director Akira Kurosawa, whose screenplay "Ikiru" is included (with the welcome insertion of still frames in the margins).

From the very first story, I found I liked the close character studies and the plots depending almost not at all on action. I thought I recognized some Western themes (or perhaps just parallel Japanese themes), such as the absurdist tradition in the play "Friends" by Kobo Abe. I especially liked the strong writing of Kurahashi‘s “To Die at the Estuary” and Nagai‘s “Brief Encounter”. “American Hijiki” is a virtuoso performance of translation, as that comprises its subject matter. The weakest story for me was the award-winning "The American School" by Nobuo Kojima: whether the writing or the translation, I felt the characters formed inconsistent impressions of one another and some ideas were not followed through.

This volume is a lucky find if you come across it, and a good introduction to Japanese literature, even if it's not quite so "contemporary" anymore (published 1977).… (más)