Books set in Tokyo

Happy tourist, Tokyo Sky Tree,
rickshaw ride and cherry blossoms, April 2017

Tokyo as a city, amazing. Tokyo as a source of reading, challenging. Immersing myself in books set in Tokyo actually created a reading slump. So many of the books focused on the personal angst of the main character with lots of unrequited love, and loneliness and little else happened. By the end of my literary journey, I figured out it was hard for me to connect with stories by Japanese authors and discovered Western authors with an authentic voice from years of experience in Japan was much more my style (from the point of view of a 50+ female from Australia).

A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki

MY RATING: 5 of 5

What a tale, alternating between Nao, a teenage girl in Tokyo and Ruth, a writer on a remote island in Canada. Or is it? Nothing is as it seems in time. Along the way, Ozeki deftly covers different cultures and ways of being.

A novel to savour as you are taken on an emotional journey along with all the characters. Looking back as far as kamikaze pilots in WW2, starting with the dot.com bubble in the US and written in a maid cafe in Akihabara this novel changes pace perfectly.

After traipsing around many temples on my Japan trip I particularly enjoyed gaining some understanding of Buddhist Zen traditions and thinking through Nao’s great-grandmother, Jiko.

After reading the book I discovered more about the author, Ozeki and found a video book trailer.

The Hare with Amber Eyes by Edmund de Waal

MY RATING: 4 of 5

This book follows the path of a collection of Netsuke, ornately carved toggles that were worn with men’s kimonos that originated in Japan. The netsuke collection starts in Paris in a rich Jewish banking family and traverses the highs and lows of living through Europe in the last 150 years.

What makes this book so extraordinary is that it is a memoir of a real family, the author Edmund de Waal is a potter living in England today. De Waal’s love of art shines through in each generations story right up to the present day.

Set in Tokyo at the start and the end only, the bulk of the story takes place in Paris in the late 19th century and Vienna in the first half of the 20th century. But overall a worthwhile addition to any Tokyo book list.

The Street of a Thousand Blossoms by Gail Tsukiyama

MY RATING: 5 of 5

Two orphaned boys, Hiroshi and Kenji live with their grandparents in Yanka. Through trial and tribulations, we watch each boy grow up and follow their own paths, at all times trying to honour the sage advice of their grandparents. 

Covering from pre WW2 to the 1960’s this book made real the horror of living through WWII in Tokyo. I did not realise the hardships suffered by the Japanese people before the bombing started. But best of all was the immersion in two Japanese ancient arts, sumo wrestling and noh mask making.

Some books by Japanese authors that I finished:

An Artist of the Floating World by Kazuo Ishigur

MY RATING: 3 of 5

Set before and after WW2 the central character Ono, an artist looks back on his life and reflects what he has done and how this has impacted himself and others. 

We follow his career as a painter and father, at the same time learning about how families behave and what is acceptable in Japanese society. What I liked about this novel is the way the story deftly weaves backwards and forwards through the years and shares a life from the perspective of a painter. 

Overall I enjoyed the journey however by the end it felt a little like nothing happened. But maybe that is the story of all our lives to an outsider. 

Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami

MY RATING: 2 of 5

A student at a university in Tokyo shares his journey as he becomes an adult in the 1960’s. The story focusses on his interactions with two girlfriends, one troubled, the other slightly crazy. 

Through Wantanabe’s first-person narration, we see changes in himself and the characters as he wallows in a state of hopeless love. The words flow beautifully across the page, the characters are so real you can touch them, however, this book was not my cup of tea, teenage angst, suicides and the demons that live within us all. 

By the time I got to this book, I was starting to think that every book set in Tokyo has undertones of craziness. My favourite character was Reiko, as she had a bit of common sense, which is surprising for a patient at an asylum. 

Murakami is a very successful international author with many other works, maybe one of those would have suited me better?

Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami 

MY RATING: 3 of 5

(also published as The Briefcase)

Many years after leaving school a student and her teacher meet by accident at their local bar near the train station. They continue to meet in sake bars in Tokyo as their past and present unfold and their lives start to entwine. 

I liked the contrast of generations between the main characters Tsukiko, a 30 something female who is frustrated with life and a bit of a loner whereas Sensei is more senior and exudes a calmness that only age can bring. 

Along the way, I also learnt about the seasonal aspects of Japanese life including mushroom picking, food and cherry blossoms. 

Many books were discarded along the way (an unusual occurrence for me), some examples:

• Spring Snow (The Sea of Fertility) by Yukio Mishima - felt like another teenage boy with anxiety albeit set in an interesting time amongst the aristocracy of Tokyo at the turn of the 20th century.
• Geisha in Rivalry by Kafu Nagai - another man behaving like a naughty boy in Tokyo’s Shimbashi geisha district.
• The Book of Tokyo: A City In Short Fiction - The first story has a modern writing style but was just plain weird. Goats? Had had enough of Tokyo books by this stage.