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Breaking into Japanese Literature
Japanese Literature Book Review
Even those who have mastered reading and writing Japanese find the challenge of reading traditional literature to be a daunting task. This book features seven graded stories covering a variety of genres with the original Japanese story in large print, an easy-to-follow English translation and a custom dictionary — created for maximum clarity and ease of use.
 For Kurosawa fans, this book has the original stories that inspired Rashomon and Dreams. It also has some unique extra features: mini-biographies to tell you about the authors' lives and works, individual story prefaces to alert you to related works of literature or film, and original illustrations to fire your imagination. Furthermore, MP3 sound files of all the stories are available via the web.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, August 2004
The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle
by Haruki Murakami, Jay Rubin (Translator)
Japanese Literature Book Review
In this book bad things come in threes for Toru Okada. He loses his job, his cat disappears, and then his wife fails to return from work. His search for his wife (and his cat) introduces him to a bizarre collection of characters.
Haruki Murakami is a master of subtly disturbing prose. Mundane events throb with menace, while the bizarre is accepted without comment. Meaning always seems to be just out of reach, for the reader as well as for the characters, yet one is drawn inexorably into a mystery that may have no solution. The tropes of popular culture, movies, music, detective stories, combine to create a work that explores both the surface and the hidden depths of Japanese society at the end of the 20th century.
Reviewed by Michael Pinto, October 2002
Animated Classics of Japanese Literature
Anime DVD Review
What's an anime DVD doing in a literature section? Welcome to Animated Classics of Japanese Literature, a great way to introduce yourself to Japanese culture by learning some of their classic fables and great literature. You'll find these DVDs to be entertaining as well as educational.
 These animated tales both inspire and act as a "Cliff Notes" version of each story without detracting from the feel of the original work. These are excellent stories and skillfully executed, as only the Japanese could do. In a country where 75% of the population reads manga, it is hardly surprising to discover this treatment of traditional literature. We're just surprised it didn't happen sooner!
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, February 2004
Mishima:
A Life In Four Chapters
Film Soundtrack Review
Regardless of what you think of Paul Schrader's 1985 film of the life of Japan's celebrated twentieth-century author Yukio Mishima, there is no denying that the Philp Glass score composed for this work is perhaps the best work of his career. It literally steals the show and yet also grounds the movie.
Utilizing a string quartet and abandoning his synth, the result is warmer, richer music, but still with the trademark minimalist Glass sound that is essentially 4 notes over and over. The title track is earth-shattering, hypnotic and haunting, something you'll hear in your head forever.
Reviewed by Brian Cirulnick, December 2004
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