Japan in translation
By Ong Sor Fern
Publisher:The Straits Times - Publication Date: 24-09-2007

Japanese literature is more than just Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami.

Classic Japanese authors like Mishima, Junichiro Tanizaki and Soseki Natsume are still the evergreens on bookshelves here. But an increasing number of contemporary Japanese writing is being translated into English, and finding their way into bookshops.

A helpful way to navigate the jungle is to look at the prize winners.

The Naoki Prize is given to well-written mainstream fiction, so if you are looking for a nice read, weightier than your average beach fluff but lighter than the serious contender, works by authors who have won the prize are a good bet.

Besides Mitsuyo Kakuta's Woman On The Other Shore, Naoki Prize winners include the grand dame of Japanese crime fiction, Natsuo Kirino, who won the 1999 prize for Soft Cheeks.

The Akutagawa Prize, established in 1935, is the label to look out for if you are into the enfants terribles of Japanese contemporary fiction. Winning works in this category often include a generous dose of sex, usually kinky, and gore. The drawback is that sometimes, the books feel strained and dated.

Of course it is not just prize-winning fiction that is worth checking out. LifeStyle cherry- picks a handful of books that will serve as a sampling of what contemporary Japanese fiction in translation has to offer.

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THE BRIDEGROOM WAS A DOG
By Yoko Tawada, translated by Margaret Mitsutani
Kodansha International/ Paperback/165 pages

This collection of three tales is one of the more substantial Akutagawa Prize winners. The advantage is that the title story, which won the prize, is fairly short. But in these three stories, you get a concentrated blast of Tawada's deadpan, absurdist style of storytelling.

While her settings might be drably ordinary, bizarre things happen. In the title story, for example, a folk story that a schoolteacher spins for her students about a princess promised to a dog turns into reality.

There is a healthy dose of social satire and a strong streak of escapism in her stories.

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KAMIKAZE GIRLS
By Novala Takemoto, translated by Akemi Wegmuller
Viz Media/Hardcover/219 pages

If you have ever wondered what goes through the minds of those Japanese cosplay girls who dress up in Lolita gear, then this cult favourite is the one to read.

Takemoto's entertaining novel impersonates quite effectively the speedfreak, stream of consciousness chatter of a teenage girl's mind.

In it, Momoko, a Lolita devotee stuck out in the boondocks, gets dragged by biker chick Ichigo on a quest to find an embroiderer to make the latter a jacket.

Fun and frothy, Kamikaze Girls is all consumerist glee and madcap teenage antics, with a dash of alienated anomie to give it ballast.

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SAYONARA, GANGSTERS
By Genichiro Takahashi, translated by Michael Emmerich
Vertical/Hardcover/311 pages

Fans of Jonathan Lethem should run out and buy this immediately. Takahashi is one of Japan's bright young literary sparks and it is easy to see why, from this quirky, black novel. It is about an aspiring poet who flirts with extremist politics, only to find not just his beliefs but also his sanity challenged.

The book may have been published 20 years ago in Japan, but it feels as fresh and urgent as a news bulletin. This big brainy book tackles the big questions about art and politics, but is still a blast to read.

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