The Mookse and the Gripes discussion

Yōko Tawada (多和田葉子 Tawada Yōko, born March 23, 1960) is a Japanese writer currently living in Berlin, Germany. She writes in both Japanese and German.

The following is a list of her work in English translation, most of it published by New Directions:
Where Europe Begins
The Bridegroom Was a Dog
Facing the Bridge
The Naked Eye
Yoko Tawada's Portrait of a Tongue: An Experimental Translation by Chantal Wright
Memoirs of a Polar Bear
The Emissary / The Last Children of Tokyo
Scattered All Over the Earth
3 Streets

We've been discussing Tawada sporadically on other threads so I thought I'd create a dedicated one for her here.

I didn't realize she had so many works already translated!
Thanks for starting the thread and linking all the books.

Thank you David. I’ve read two of her books ( Memoirs of a Polar Bear and The Emissary) and am reading Scattered All Over the Earth, which I’m quite enjoying). I love how unconventional her work is as judged against stalwarts such as Kawabata and Tanizaki, although it is exciting how this most recent wave of Japanese women authors are raising their voices against patriarchy and conventions imposed upon women)!

I'm woefully underread with Japanese fiction, including Tawada. There's a lot that's been translated into English and I'm still trying to contextualize her work with others. I haven't read Kawabata or Tanizaki or even Ōe. Definitely a lot to explore.

Thank you for this, David. I wasn’t particularly drawn to Japanese or any Asian writers previously, but lately I have been drawn to Japanese in particular and other Asian writers.
I’ll read any woman speaking out against the patriarchy!

Mishima is also a must read although his politics were terrible. But his life was an extraordinarily one. In fact, if you haven’t seen it, Paul Schrader’s film, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, is a must.
I have loved Japanese literature since I was young. This latest wave of feminist authors including Tawada but also Yolo Ogawa, Mie Kawakami, Hiromi Kawakami, and Emi Yagi are particularly exciting.

I know you've had your eye on the new storybook collection from New Directions, Wendy. 3 Streets might be a good place to start.

Arun wrote: "This latest wave of feminist authors including Tawada but also Yolo Ogawa, Mie Kawakami, Hiromi Kawakami, and Emi Yagi are particularly exciting."

I haven't read any of these writers so thanks for this, Arun.

I have, David! Those come out in a few weeks! Thanks, Arun. More writers to look for.

Arun wrote: "Mishima is also a must read although his politics were terrible. But his life was an extraordinarily one. In fact, if you haven’t seen it, Paul Schrader’s film, Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters, is..."

I agree about Mishima Arun, particularly Confessions of a Mask and the Sea of Fertility series. but like you I read a lot of Japanese fiction across eras/genres.

Thanks for starting this thread David. I have never read any Tawada.

Hi Alwynne. Yes I actually was introduced to Mishima through his Sea of Fertility tetralogy. Confessions of a Mask is a masterpiece!

I’m tempted to get Confessions of a Mask, but I really want to get the Storybooks bundle at the end of the month for $80 and I’m trying to stop buying books like a drunken sailor who likes books.

I just read a summary of Confessions of a Mask. I’m shocked that it was published in 1949. Ahead of his time for sure.

David - yes truly so. His other “gay” novel Forbidden Colors is tainted by the misogynistic plot line.
Mishima was obsessed with the dance between beauty and death ( one of his works is actually called Death and Beauty!). He also explored themes of sadomasochism and even posed himself as Saint Sebastian after the painting by Guido Renni, piercing himself with arrows. Paradoxically he delved deep into Hinduism and Buddhism, studying Sanskrit in India and referencing Buddhist texts and sutras in much of his work. A fascinating literary figure.

Reading about his life it’s interesting - but not actually surprising - that he styled himself a right wing martyr. A mask indeed. I do want to see the film.