ATOM
Speculative Japan 3
New Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy
The third book of our well-received Speculative Japan series, this volume brings more outstanding authors from the Japanese archipelago to English, with a selection of never-before published stories covering a broad range of speculative fiction... from gritty SF to dark fiction, enjoy a whole new dimension of the imagination!
Edogawa Rampo's A Strange Tale of Panorama Island includes the first English translations of Edogawa Rampo's famous novel Strange Tale of Panorama Island (パノラマ島綺譚) and the short story "Case of the Murder at D-Slope" (D坂の殺人事件). This double-header brings the unique creativity of Edogawa Rampo and his "ero-guro" (erotic and grotesque) literature to the English-speaking world with two of his most fascinating works.
Presenting a new collection of stories exploring the perennial themes of Miyamoto Teru's fiction, narrative sketches of the world-class world of the Osaka-Kobe region of his childhood employing memory to reveal a story in layered frames of time with consummate skill. His work examines the mutual proximity—or even the identity—of life and death, often touching on such grim topics with a touch of humor. Stories of personal triumph and hope are often set in situations involving death, illness, or loss, but what might be the stuff of tragedy in the hands of some writers turns into stepping stones for his characters to climb upward and onward.
Otogizōshi: The Fairy Tale Book of Dazai Osamu
by DAZAI Osamu
Translated by Ralph F. MCCARTHY
Introduction by Joel Cohn
Momotarō, Click-Clack Mountain, The Sparrow Who Lost Her Tongue, The Stolen Wen, Urashima-san . . . The father reads these old tales to the children. Though he's shabbily dressed and looks to be a complete fool, this father is a singular man in his own right. He has an unusual knack for making up stories.
Once upon a time, long, long ago . . .
Even as he reads the picture book aloud in a strangely imbecilic voice, another, somewhat more elaborate tale is brewing inside him.
Edogawa Rampo's The Fiend with Twenty Faces
—A Tale of the Boy Detectives Club
EDOGAWA Rampo
Translated by
Dan LUFFEY
The Fiend with Twenty Faces, the first in the Boy Detectives series by Japan's master of mystery Edogawa Rampo, helped create a new genre in Japan and enthralled thousands of young readers.
Murder in the Red Chamber, first published in Japanese by Bungei Shunjū as part of its "Mystery Masters" series, is set in the world of the original Dream of the Red Chamber, the masterwork of eighteenth-century Chinese fiction by Cao Xueqin. Building skillfully on that famous background, Ashibe plays out a most formidable murder mystery set in Peking during the late Qing dynasty. The tale opens with the visitation of Jia Yuan-chun, esteemed daughter of the prosperous Jia family and newly instated concubine to the emperor.
This fascinating fictional account of the life and times of Lafcadio Hearn probes the question: "What was the nature of this man, born wanderer, informant of the fiendish details of Japanese lore ... a man who chose to live his life 'in defiance of the season'?"
Speculative Japan 2
"The Man Who Watched the Sea" and Other Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy
Introduction by Darrell SCHWEITZER
The second book of the groundbreaking Speculative Japan series, this volume presents a selection of never-before published translations covering a broad range of speculative fiction... from gritty SF to soft fantasy, it offers glimpses into the diverse and rich imaginations of modern Japanese authors.
Fair Dalliance: Fifteen Stories by Yoshiyuki Junnosuke
YOSHIYUKI Junnosuke
compiled and edited by
Lawrence ROGERS
preface by Donald RICHIE
This collection has come into being out of the conviction that the short stories of Yoshiyuki Junnosuke, if they were made accessible in English under one cover, would certainly be appreciated and enjoyed abroad as they have been in Japan. The prolific Yoshiyuki Junnosuke has left us a vast body of literature, a feast of short stories, novels, novellas, essays on a wide range of topics, translations from English, and light fiction whose function is simply to entertain. An edition of his complete works published in 1983, eleven years before death stilled his pen, came to 20 volumes.
Toward Dusk and Other Stories
YOSHIYUKI Junnosuke
translated by Andrew CLARE
preface by James DORSEY
Yoshiyuki Junnosuke was a sensual writer, whose style is reminiscent of that of novelists such as Tanizaki Jun'ichirō and Nagai Kafū. His works deal with the possibility of emotional purity in the relationships between men and women. Often, the relationship is examined through the agency of the protagonist's association with prostitutes.
Compartments
Zoran Živković
translated by Alice Copple-Tošić
On a strange train journey, in a series of six compartments, a traveler experiences unpredictable encounters, culminating in a meeting of epiphanic power. Through a narrative of dreamlike sharpness Compartments taps into the fears and absurdities, the beauties and mysteries of the unconscious mind, to achieve a consummation both moving and full of hope.
This volume also contains the novella "The Square," an uplifting meditation on the restorative power of Art and "The Teashop," a superb new novelette about storytelling and the miraculous weavings of Fate, as well as two short stories, "The Telephone" and "First Photograph."
Four Stories Till the End
Zoran Živković
translated by Alice Copple-Tošić
In what strange edifice of the imagination do you find a condemned cell, a hotel room and a hospital room? What kind of hotel offers a zinc mine, a meat-packing plant, a weapons factory and a cemetery of famous artists among its attractions? Why do four people commit suicide in the same bathroom and why does a literature professor cut up several of the greatest works of literature into a confetti of letters? In this wildly imaginative, wildly funny satire on Art and Death nothing is quite what it seems and the maze of symbols grows more complex with each encounter.
The Library
Zoran Živković
translated by Alice Copple-Tošić
A cycle of six thematically linked stories, droll renditions of the nightmares ensuing upon misplaced, or (of course) excessive, bibliophilia. A writer encounters a website where all his possible future books are on display; a lonely man faces an infinite flow of hardback books through his mailbox; an ordinary library turns by night into an archive of souls; the Devil sets about raising standards of infernal literacy; one book houses all books; a connoisseur of hardcovers strives to expel a lone paperback from his collection.
- Winner of the 2003 World Fantasy Award
- Longlisted for 2004 International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award
Miss Tamara, the Reader
Zoran Živković
translated by Alice Copple-Tošić
In this suite of eight stories, the three ages of woman—youth, midlife and senescence—engage in a complex and fruitful dance. A young Miss Tamara is lured by a series of postcards concealed in library books. A middle-aged Miss Tamara discovers that her new reading glasses turn the pages blank. An afternoon's reading is disturbed by the realization that all books have turned fatally toxic. A mysterious phone call leads to a book which blinds its readers but also to romance. Woven through these seemingly simple narratives are deep themes of youth and ageing, memory and loss, solitude and companionship, and the relationship between the physical and the mental life. Above all this is a book about reading: its pleasures, rituals, essential preciousness. Reading as an obsession which can not only isolate, but also lead to discovery and love.
Amarcord
Zoran Živković
translated by Alice Copple-Tošić
Ten linked stories with resonant titles explore almost every conceivable aspect of human memory: the positive and the negative, the precious and the profane, the heavenly and the unbearably hellish. Živković's deceptively simple tales anatomize the essence of what makes human beings tick, our passions, our vanities and yearnings; the very memories which make us who we are.
Kaiki: Uncanny Tales from Japan
Volume 3 – Tales of the Metropolis 【都会の物語】
Selected and with commentary by
HIGASHI Masao
Preface by Robert WEINBERG
The third and final volume of our Kaiki series returns us to the Capital City: Tokyo. While Japan has modernized, renaming old Edo as new-born Tokyo, strange secrets remain hidden under the chrome and spotlights, unaffected by our beliefs in Science and Technology. Enjoy a new collection of stories introducing the strange denizens and happenings of the shadowy world of Japanese uncanny literature. Selected and with commentary by Higashi Masao, a recognized researcher and author in the field.
Kaiki: Uncanny Tales from Japan
Volume 2 – Country Delights 【諸国の物語】
Selected and with commentary by
HIGASHI Masao
Preface by Robert WEINBERG
The second volume in our Kaiki series moves from Edo, the center of Japan during the Shogunate, into the country, where old traditions and older fears are preserved. Enjoy a deeper and very different glimpse into the world of Japanese weird and supernatural literature, with superlative works drawn from centuries of literary creation. Includes an in-depth introduction to the genre by recognized authority Higashi Masao.
Kaiki: Uncanny Tales from Japan
Volume 1: Tales of Old Edo 【江戸の物語】
Selected and with commentary by
HIGASHI Masao
Preface by Robert WEINBERG
The first volume in our Kaiki series introducing the world of Japanese weird and supernatural literature, Tales of Old Edo presents a selection of outstanding works drawn from centuries of creativity in the field, with an in-depth introduction to the genre by recognized authority Higashi Masao.
It is 2071, and Mars is being slowly terraformed by many nations often cooperating in an uneasy truce that reflects tensions back on Earth. The water of the polar ice cap, the most important resource for all the Mars colonies, is jointly controlled by the US, China, Japan and Russia, and doled out to the second-tier colonizing groups (Europe, Canada, Australia, India) only grudgingly. A military build-up is under way as different groups jockey for control of this all-important resource, and then the bodies of what appear to be intelligent aliens are found under the Martian ice.
Queen of K’n-Yan
By ASAMATSU Ken (朝松健)
Translated by Kathleen TAJI
Introduction by Darrell SCHWEITZER
“Asamatsu Ken’s Queen of K’n-Yan is a fascinating story, and as Darrell Schweitzer states in his introduction, it is indeed a fine Cthulhu Mythos novel…”
—Brian Lumley
The mummy of a beautiful young girl from Shang Dynasty China is found in an ornate and astonishingly large underground tomb. Preliminary research shows that her cells contain reptilian DNA, and a Japanese research lab is asked to investigate further…
Hanatsumi Nikki
The Flowers of Italy
By Masaharu ANESAKI
Translated with an introduction by
Susanna FESSLER
Masaharu Anesaki (1873-1949) was a leading member of Japan’s most interesting generation: the second generation of Meiji scholars, who lived in a highly-educated if not rarefied world that blended Japanese and Western traditions in a way that made them unique in their country’s long history.
This neglected classic of travel writing, philosophy, history, and comparative religion has been out of print in Japan for nearly a century. Its publication in English translation will open a fascinating vista for scholars and general readers, into the mind of modern Japan — as it stood at the crossroads of modernity.
Japan in Five Ancient Chinese Chronicles:
Wo, the Land of Yamatai, and Queen Himiko
by Massimo SOUMARÉ
Translated by Davide MANA
Edited by Anthony J. BRYANT and Mark HALL
For the first time in English, this work presents a comparative study of the content of famous Chinese historical texts that are fundamental in the knowledge of Japan’s ancient history. Soumaré translates documents from the Chronicle of the Wei to the History of the Song, thus providing an unparalleled resource for scholars, students, and general readers with an interest in Japanese history and culture.
Japan in Five Ancient Chinese Chronicles is a stimulating and valuable investigation into the earliest periods of Japanese recorded history. Archaeological finds from Japanese tombs can be better understood by combining Japanese historical resources such as the Kojiki and the Nihonshoki with precise dating of the Chinese dynastic histories. Massimo Soumaré’s original research sheds new light on formerly obscure aspects of intercultural exchange, and contributes to our knowledge of the whole of Eastern Asia.
Speculative Japan
Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy
Selected and edited by
Gene van Troyer
and Grania Davis
“…the stories you’ll find collected here will broaden your view of what is possible or imaginable, provoking unusual - and sometimes uncomfortable - thoughts. That is as it should be.”
- David BRIN, Preface
The first book in a planned series, Speculative Japan presents a selection of outstanding works of Japanese science fiction and fantasy in English translation… and a glimpse into new worlds of the imagination. It was first released at Nippon 2007, the 65th World Science Fiction Convention in Yokohama, Japan, and then made available worldwide.
Lairs of the Hidden Gods, Volume 4
The Dreaming God
Edited by ASAMATSU Ken
Introduced by Robert M. PRICE
This well-received collection of original stories and articles inspired by the ‘Cthulhu Mythos’ created by H.P. Lovecraft was published in Japan in 2002 as a two-volume set under the name Hishinkai. The list of contributing authors is a who’s-who of Japanese horror fiction, featuring some of the finest writers in Japan today, and reviews demonstrate that the Japanese taste for horror can send shivers up English-speaking spines as well!
In cooperation with Tokyo Sōgensha, the Japanese publishers, and the anthology editor, Mr. ASAMATSU Ken, we are proud to present this fourth and last volume of the series, with a new selection of eerie masterpieces to delight and chill you. Each story is accompanied by a fascinating introduction by Robert M. Price, the recognized master of the Mythos.
The cover is by Yamada Akihiro, who is already winning fans with his “four seasons” approach to the four books in this series. In addition to handling many of the covers for the Japanese-language editions of Lovecraft and other Mythos works, he has built up a loyal following in the States as well for his work.
Ōsaka Gō: A Japanese author deeply in love with Spain, guitars and flamenco
Kurodahan Press is proud to present the first English translation of “Red Star of Cadiz,” an international suspense thriller that won author Osaka acclaim as a new master of the genre in Japan. The work has won three prestigious awards: the 96th Naoki Prize, the 40th Mystery Writers of Japan Prize, and the 5th Japan Adventure Fiction Association Prize. The perfect hard-boiled introduction to Japanese crime and suspense fiction!
The Edogawa Rampo Reader
Stories and essays by EDOGAWA Rampo
Edited and translated by Seth JACOBOWITZ
With an introduction by TATSUMI Takayuki
Edogawa Rampo (pseudonym of Hirai Tarō, 1894-1965) is the acknowledged grand master of Japan's golden age of crime and mystery fiction. He is also a major writer in the tradition of Japanese Modernism, and exerts a massive influence on the popular and literary culture of today's Japan.
The Edogawa Rampo Reader presents a selection of outstanding examples of his short fiction, and a selection of his non-fiction prose. Together, they present a full and accurate picture of Rampo as a major contributor to the Japanese literary scene, helping to clarify his achievements to the English-speaking world.
Lairs of the Hidden Gods, Volume 3
Straight to Darkness
Edited by ASAMATSU Ken
Introduced by Robert M. PRICE
This well-received collection of original stories and articles inspired by the ‘Cthulhu Mythos’ created by H.P. Lovecraft was published in Japan in 2002 as a two-volume set under the name Hishinkai. The list of contributing authors is a who’s-who of Japanese horror fiction, featuring some of the finest writers in Japan today, and reviews demonstrate that the Japanese taste for horror can send shivers up English-speaking spines as well!
In cooperation with Tokyo Sōgensha, the Japanese publishers, and the anthology editor, Mr. ASAMATSU Ken, we are proud to present this third volume of the series, with a new selection of eerie masterpieces to delight and chill you. Each story is accompanied by a fascinating introduction by Robert M. Price, the recognized master of the Mythos.
The cover is by Yamada Akihiro, who is already winning fans with his “four seasons” approach to the four books in this series. In addition to handling many of the covers for the Japanese-language editions of Lovecraft and other Mythos works, he has built up a loyal following in the States as well for his work.
The Black Lizard and
Beast in the Shadows
by EDOGAWA Rampo
Translated by Ian HUGHES
With an introduction by Mark SCHREIBER
Edogawa Rampo (pseudonym of Hirai Tarō, 1894-1965) is the acknowledged grand master of Japan’s golden age of crime and mystery fiction. Kurodahan Press takes great pleasure in presenting the first English language translations of these two short novels.
The Black Lizard is an entertainment. Beast in the Shadows is a gem coruscating with Rampo’s virtuosity as storyteller. Both novellas, Lizard especially, read like serials, their periodical origin heightened by [Kawajiri Hiroaki’s] illustrations. You finish one chapter thirsty for the next. And satisfaction is only a turn of the page away.
—Burritt Sabin, The Japan Times
…recommended reading for any English-speaking mystery fan.
—Tom Baker, Daily Yomiuri
Lairs of the Hidden Gods, Volume 2
Inverted Kingdom
Edited by ASAMATSU Ken
Introduced by Robert M. PRICE
This massive collection of original stories and articles inspired by the ‘Cthulhu Mythos’ created by H.P. Lovecraft was published in Japan in 2002 as a two-volume set under the name Hishinkai. The list of contributing authors is a who’s-who of Japanese horror fiction, featuring some of the finest writers in Japan today.
In cooperation with Tokyo Sogensha, the Japanese publishers, and the anthology editor, Mr. ASAMATSU Ken, we are proud to present this second volume of the series. Here you will find new vistas of horror - some stories with shock you, others force you to look at your daily life through new eyes. Each story is accompanied by a thought-provoking introduction by Robert M. Price, the recognized master of the Mythos.
The cover is by Yamada Akihiro, who handled the cover of Vol. 1 of the series, “Night Voices, Night Journeys,” and many of the covers for the Japanese-language editions of Lovecraft and other Mythos works. He has built up a loyal following in the States as well for his work.
Kara Monogatari: Tales of China
By Wade GEDDES
The second work in our collaborative publishing program with the Center for Asian Studies at Arizona State University, this work includes a study and a complete, annotated translation of the late twelfth- or early thirteenth-century Japanese tale collection, the Kara monogatari (Tales of China).
Lairs of the Hidden Gods, Volume 1
Night Voices, Night Journeys
Edited by ASAMATSU Ken
Introduced by Robert M. PRICE
This massive collection of original stories and articles inspired by the ‘Cthulhu Mythos’ created by H.P. Lovecraft was published in Japan in 2002 as a two-volume set under the name Hishinkai. The list of contributing authors is a who’s-who of Japanese horror fiction, featuring some of the finest writers in Japan today.
In cooperation with Tokyo Sogensha, the Japanese publishers, and the anthology editor, Asamatsu Ken, we are proud to present these dark visions of the Mythos as interpreted by Japanese authors. You will find some stories that return like old friends, carrying on the Lovecraft tradition, while others will shock you with totally new and unexpected vistas of horror. Each story is accompanied by a thought-provoking introduction by Robert M. PRICE, the recognized master of the Mythos.
The cover is by YAMADA Akihiro, who has handled many of the covers for the Japanese-language editions of Lovecraft and other Mythos works, and has established a name for himself in the States as well.
Akutagawa and Dazai: Instances of Literary Adaptation
By James O'BRIEN
The first work in our collaborative publishing program with the Center for Asian Studies at Arizona State University, containing translations of three short stories by Dazai Osamu and six by Akutagawa Ryunosuke.
Herbert A. Giles and China:
Two Early Classics of Modern Sinology
by Herbert A. GILES
Modern sinology--the study of things Chinese--may trace its roots back centuries to Marco Polo, Byzantium and even Imperial Rome, but to a great extent it was built on foundations laid and extended by Herbert Giles, a consul for the United Kingdom in China and later a professor at Cambridge University. Even after his 26-year tour in China was completed and he returned to his native England, he continued to author a large number of scholarly works and translations on China and the Chinese.
Two of these, Chinese Sketches (1876) and The Civilization of China (1911), are now available in a single volume, revealing once again his piercing observations and a glimpse of a very different China.
Administrator, or Shiseikan in Japanese, took the Japanese SF community by storm when first published in 1974. Unlike traditional space opera, it pushed technology into the background to present a compelling portrait of colonial governors, the Administrators, trapped between the conflicting demands of Federation government, native inhabitants, and Terran colonists.This collection of four novelettes, the first volume of an extensive series of works set in the same universe, touches on key stages in the development of the Administrator system and the robots designed to support and protect it.
This important work of Japanese science fiction presents the story of Yūichi, a youth who escapes the regimented world of Japanese society for the beauty and freedom of Aphrodite, a floating island city built by the visionary Mr. Caan. Excited by the seemingly limitless potential of Aphrodite and confident of his own future, Yūichi encounters a new world: friendship, responsibility, love, and growing up.
Seen through the pattern of Yūichi’s life, however, is the evolution and development of the true heroine of the work: the island city Aphrodite--ever beautiful, ever filled with the limitless energy of creation. And as the global economy spirals downward, leaving Aphrodite a deserted slum slated for destruction, perhaps Yūichi is the only person who can save her…
Ideal for young adult readers, but with a philosophical depth to make it a thought-provoking and rewarding book for adult readers as well.
Kuunmong - literally “Nine Cloud Dream” or “The Cloud Dream of the Nine” - has been an immensely popular work in Korea for centuries. Originally written in about 1689, it is hailed as one of the earliest works of literary prose fiction to emerge from the Korean cultural background. Although this classic novel remains in print in many editions in Korea, China, and Japan, it has long been out of print in the English language. We are proud to make this monumental work available again.
In addition to the complete text translation by James S. Gale, Susanna Fessler of the State University of New York at Albany provides an introduction to the novel, and Francisca Cho of Georgetown University contributes a detailed literary analysis of the work. We also reproduce the original introduction and notes, and numerous illustrations, from the first English edition of the Gale translation.