Tokyo Art & Culture Guide As the capital of Japan, Tokyo is steeped in a deep history of vibrant arts and culture which are still alive and popular today. In the city, visitors can find everything from sumo matches and kabuki shows to see, a samurai museum and a variety of traditional art galleries to explore. Not to mention...
Written by Annie Ernaux | Translated by Tanya Leslie It can be a tall order to expect, or even demand, of someone respect for the past. For example, telling a modern-day British woman that she must vote, must understand parliamentary procedure, must make her voice heard, because her foremothers fought and died for the right to vote a...
Guide to Kyoto’s off-the-beaten-track areas Kyoto is a wonderful city and visitors to the area tend to have more than enough to see for a flying visit, like the famed Fushimi Inari, the geisha of Gion, and the majestic Golden Pavilion. That’s not to mention the thriving art culture that’s present in the city. From boutique shops to...
Top 3 LGBTQ-friendly places to visit in Japan It’s no secret that Japan is far behind other developed countries when it comes to LGBTQ rights. While some local governments issue same-sex union certificates, gay marriage still isn’t recognized by the Japanese government, and the Supreme Court recently ruled that transgendered people must...
Broken Stars — Chinese Science-Fiction collected, translated, and edited by Ken Liu Here is a very rare kind of book that has such a weight of cultural importance that, even if it were bad (which it absolutely is not) it would still be worth buying and reading. Fortunately, beyond just being important, it’s also spectacular. Broken...
What is The Tale of Genji? The Tale of Genji, a Japanese story written in the 11th century, is important for several reasons: it’s thought to be the world’s first true ‘novel’, it’s an historically vital peek into the world of Japanese aristocracy during the Heian period, and most importantly it was written by a woman, the lady-in...
It’s as daunting as it is exciting to see a longlist announced and realise that you now have thirteen books you need to quickly buy and read, or risk the dreaded FOMO setting in. Instead, you can read below our five favourites – our picks for the Man Booker International 2019 shortlist (which will be announced on April 9th)...
Lanny by Max Porter “Dead Papa Toothwort wakes from his standing nap an acre wide and scrapes off dream dregs of bitumen glistening thick with liquid globs of litter.” The most extraordinary thing about Lanny is just how ordinary it is, even as it presents us with the story of a folk creature made of moss and dirt coming to life and...
Mr. B’s Emporium of Reading Delights A bookstore with a name this glorious couldn’t live anywhere but Bath. One of the oldest and most architecturally beautiful little cities in all of the UK, Bath is a favourite place to visit amongst literary types. The city has a Jane Austen museum (with a gift shop), the historic Roman baths...
Written by Yu Miri | Translated by Morgan Giles Here is a Japanese novel about social outcasts and the struggling and underappreciated working class, written by a social outcast, and translated by a proud socialist. Tokyo Ueno Station provides a harsh and honest look at the ways in which twentieth-century Japan has treated its people. Yu...
