The Sailor Who Fell from Grace With the Sea (Vintage Classic Japanese Series)

A haunting novella of fame and disillusionment by a Japanese literary icon Written shortly after Yukio Mishima himself had acted in the film Afraid to Die, this novella is a rich and unflinching psychological portrait of a celebrity coming apart at the seams as the absurdity of his existence comes sharply into focus. With exquisite, […]

Enter the surreal and enchanting world of Haruki Murakami Toru Okada’s cat has disappeared. ‘Mesmerising, surreal, this really is the work of a true original’ The Times Part of the VINTAGE JAPANESE CLASSICS series – five masterpieces of Japanese fiction in gorgeous new gift editions.

The dead wreak revenge on the living, paintings come alive, spectral brides possess mortal men and a priest devours human flesh in these chilling Japanese ghost stories retold by a master of the supernatural. Lafcadio Hearn drew on the phantoms and ghouls of traditional Japanese folklore – including the headless ‘rokuro-kubi’, the monstrous goblins ‘jikininki’ […]

This is a celebration of the Japanese short story from its modern origins in the nineteenth century to remarkable contemporary works. It includes the most well-known Japanese writers – Akutagawa, Murakami, Mishima, Kawabata – but also many surprising new pieces, from Yuko Tsushima’s ‘Flames’ to Banana Yoshimoto’s ‘Bee Honey’. Ranging over myth, horror, love, nature, […]