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July 25, 2026
 

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BANANA YOSHIMOTO

June is Pride Month, which means it¡¯s the perfect time to get acquainted with how sexual minorities have been represented in Japanese fiction if you¡¯re not familiar with these narratives already.
CULTURE / Books
Jun 11, 2025
Pride and prose: Novels that illuminate queer lives in Japan
From Yukio Mishima and Haruki Murakami to Li Kotomi and Akira Otani, dive into Japanese fiction¡¯s LGBTQ+ narratives in honor of Pride Month.
Japanese author Banana Yoshimoto came onto the scene in 1987 with ¡°Kitchin.¡± In it, her main character talks about the comfort she finds in her kitchen.
LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Feb 16, 2024
Take your first dive into Japanese literature from the comfort of your kitchen
There are levels to understanding Japanese literature. First there¡¯s basic comprehension, but after that you can take time to appreciate the wordplay.
A 19-year-old girl plagued with strange visions sets out with her younger brother to uncover the truth about her perfect family in Banana Yoshimoto¡¯s ¡°The Premonition.¡±
CULTURE / Books
Oct 14, 2023
Banana Yoshimoto¡¯s new book is a sickly sweet fantasy
In ¡°The Premonition,¡± the characters exist in a dream-like state of sweetness and steer clear of examining complex questions.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jul 17, 2022
Banana Yoshimoto¡¯s ¡®Dead-End Memories¡¯ is the literary equivalent of a lo-fi playlist
The award-winning author¡¯s collection of short stories is a comfort read that will transport readers to a melancholy world for an hour or two.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Sep 3, 2021
¡®Moonlight Shadow¡¯: Dream-like mood piece depicts grief with aching clarity
Nana Komatsu¡¯s performance as a woman mourning a lost love anchors Edmund Yeo¡¯s seductive adaptation of a Banana Yoshimoto short story.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Jan 16, 2021
Five books about Japan that are perfect for foodies
Many authors writing about Japan use the country¡¯s cuisine as a central plot point. Here are five food-centric books perfect for a lazy afternoon.
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR 51³Ô¹ÏÍøOPHILES
Dec 17, 2016
¡®Goodbye Tsugumi¡¯: Banana Yoshimoto¡¯s portrait of a feisty young woman in ¡®80s Japan
Banana Yoshimoto found fame in 1988 when her wildly successful debut novel ¡°Kitchen¡± was published. Her unique take on contemporary themes and ability to conjure up feisty yet vulnerable heroines was what attracted readers ¡ª two aspects that reappear in ¡°Goodbye Tsugumi,¡± her 1989 novel that chronicles...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR 51³Ô¹ÏÍøOPHILES
Oct 10, 2015
Banana Yoshimoto sprinkles perversion and melodrama over ¡®90s Tokyo in ¡®N.P.¡¯
This vintage Banana Yoshimoto novel from 1990 is the tale of four confused souls spending a magical summer in Tokyo. Airy and urbane, it follows three women and a guy as they each sit in cafes having rambling confessional conversations, feel lost looking at the deep blue sky and show up drunk at their...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books
Aug 29, 2015
¡®The Book of Tokyo¡¯ reveals sidelined Japanese writers, but not the city itself
¡°The Book of Tokyo¡± is part of Comma Press¡¯ ¡°Reading the City¡± series, though most of the stories inside could be transplanted to other Japanese cities ¡ª Nagoya, Fukuoka or Sapporo ¡ª without any noticeable difference.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Jul 8, 2015
Rural migration, shaved ice and no easy endings in ¡®Umi no Futa¡¯
Why not abandon your stressed urban existence, move to a picturesque part of the world and live the simple life? An old dream, but still powerful, as shown by the recent spate of Japanese movies about women getting back their grooves by relocating to a beautiful middle-of-nowhere. Usually their dream...
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR 51³Ô¹ÏÍøOPHILES
Apr 25, 2015
Banana Yoshimoto¡¯s magical realist rumination on life and death
Amrita, a Sanskrit word that literally means ¡°immortality,¡± is the name of Banana Yoshimoto¡¯s strange 1994 novel. It¡¯s an essentially plotless tale, but deeply affecting in its blend of ennui and hope.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Film
Apr 15, 2015
Adaptation of Banana Yoshimoto¡¯s ¡®Asleep¡¯ is heavy with depression and Eros
Sleep is the great restorer, one we frazzled moderns eternally need, desire and lack. But for Terako (Sakura Ando), the sleepy-eyed heroine of photographer and director Shingo Wakagi¡¯s ¡°Shirakawa Yofune¡± (¡°Asleep¡°), the bedroom is a battleground of the spirit.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / ESSENTIAL READING FOR 51³Ô¹ÏÍøOPHILES
Jan 11, 2014
Kitchen
When ¡°Kitchen,¡± the debut novel by Banana Yoshimoto, was first released in Japan in 1988, it caused such a stir that the media frenzy around her was dubbed ¡°Bananamania.¡±
Japan weighs regulating Pokemon cards amid trading mania
A Pokemon event is held in Jakarta on July 11
Japan to set up expert working group on accepting foreign nationals
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (second from left) addresses a meeting of ministers responsible for policies concerning foreign residents, held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Head of Swiss euthanasia firm dies after collapsing while ascending Mount Fuji
Around 200,000 people typically scale the 3,776 meter Mount Fuji each year.
Indian brothers make manga debut in Japan
Two Indian brothers made their manga debut in Japan with "Kung Fu Kung Fool" ¡ª an action-comedy series that follows the adventures of a notorious thief and a young boy.
Japan scientists identify clusters of protein believed to trigger Alzheimer¡¯s disease
A team of researchers said they found a ¡°seed¡± that accelerates the amyloid beta accumulation process in the brain, naming it ¡°Peak 1 amyloid beta,¡± as seen in a mouse's brain.
Japan to set up expert working group on accepting foreign nationals
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (second from left) addresses a meeting of ministers responsible for policies concerning foreign residents, held at the Prime Minister's Office on Friday.
Inside Toho Archive¡¯s mission to save Japan¡¯s cinematic memory
The goal of restoration is not to artificially upscale but to return the film to the condition it was in ¡°the very first day it appeared in the world,¡± says Nobushige Toshima, president and sales division manager of Toho Archive.
The sci-fi sensibilities of electronic trio Black Boboi
Black Boboi was formed in 2018 when solo artists Julia Shortreed, Utena Kobayashi and Ermhoi came together under Kobayashi¡¯s newly founded label, Bindividual.
A perfect storm: Kaze Fujii fans flock to Fuji Rock
Okayama-born singer-songwriter Kaze Fujii has carved out a distinctive place in Japanese pop since his major-label debut in 2019.
Can Japanese comedy get laughs in English? Yoshimoto Kogyo lets the jokes rip
Wes-P has millions of followers and his viral clips made him recognizable out of Japan.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo¡¯s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo¡¯s ¡®stadium of desire¡¯

Longform

For many people, utility poles and power lines have become such a familiar part of Japan¡¯s landscape that they often go unnoticed.
Why Japan¡¯s utility poles won¡¯t be disappearing anytime soon
By Alex K.T. Martin

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