In this episode, we take a look at the history of Koreans writing in Japan. We’ll start with the history... more

In part three of this episode, we’ll finish our story of Japanese apocalyptic and dystopian fiction. First, stories from the... more

In part two of this three part episode, we're looking at the apocalyptic and dystopian fiction of Japan. We'll begin... more

In part one of this three part episode, we're looking at apocalyptic and dystopian fiction as genres. Their origins in... more

In part two of this two-part episode on misogyny in Japanese literature, we're talking about the life and work of... more

In part one of this two-part episode, we're talking about misogyny in Japanese literature. 400 years of attitudes about women... more

There is no one quite like Kenji Miyazawa. Born into wealth, he longed to be “a real peasant”. One of... more

To celebrate the overseas release of The Boy and the Heron (aka How Do You Live?) RJL delves into the... more

In this episode, we're talking about one of the most important voices in modern Japanese literature, Haruki Murakami.His biographyWhy so... more

In this episode, we're talking about Japanese children's literature.The history of children’s literature in generalThe history of children’s literature in... more

How does a book make it from the mind of a Japanese author into the hands of an English-language reader?In... more

How does a book make it from the mind of a Japanese author into the hands of an English-language reader?In... more

In this episode, we’re talking about Japanese science fiction.The history of the genre. SF in Japan. Breakthrough feminist sci-fi writer... more

In this episode, we're talking about writing from Okinawa. The history of the Ryukyu Islands, especially the Battle of Okinawa.... more

On March 11, 2011, at 2:46pm, one tectonic plate forced its way on top of another 45 miles (or 72... more

This episode is marked mature.Today we'll explore two trends in contemporary Japanese fiction:Protagonists who don’t want to have sexAnd women... more

The Akutagawa Prize is probably Japan’s most celebrated literary award.To better understand the Akutagawa Prize and its place in modern... more

Magical realism is a literary genre famous for unexplained fantastical encounters that pop-up in the otherwise everyday world.Today, we’re going... more

Today, we’re going to look at cats in Japanese literature.We’ll start with the history of cats in Japan.We’ll move on... more

In this episode…Is she a man-eating crone?Is she a lonely wanderer?Or is she a sensual matriarch?However you define her, she’s... more