Japanese Fiction in English Translation by Author
This list includes only novels written for adults for the simple reason that the corpus of Japanese literature is just too expansive. You won’t find plays, poems, manga, light novels, children’s books, or books clearly written for a young adult audience.
- Kou Machida (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Punk Samurai Slash Down
- Rip It Up (Akutagawa Prize winner; read my review of Rip It Up)
- Choshin Mabuni
- Saiichi Maruya
- Grass for My Pillow
- A Mature Woman
- Rain in the Wind: Four Stories
- Singular Rebellion
- Aoko Matsuda
- Mizuko Masuda
- Seicho Matsumoto
- Inspector Imanishi Investigates
- Points and Lines
- Pro Bono
- A Quiet Place
- Tokyo Express (expected spring 2022)
- The Voice and Other Stories
- Featured in Ellery Queen’s Japanese Mystery Stories
- Hisaki Matsuura
- Shun Medoruma (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Tsutomu Minakami
- Temple of Wild Geese and Bamboo Dolls of Echizen
- Featured in The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Kanae Minato
- Yukio Mishima
- Acts of Worship
- After the Banquet
- Beautiful Star (expected spring 2022)
- Confessions of a Mask
- Death in Midsummer and Other Stories
- Forbidden Colors
- The Frolic of the Beasts
- Life for Sale (read more about Life for Sale)
- Patriotism
- The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea
- The Sea of Fertility series
- Silk and Insight
- The Sound of Waves
- Sun and Steel
- Star
- The Temple of the Golden Pavilion
- Thirst for Love
- Ayako Miura
- Freezing Point
- A Heart of Winter
- Shiokari Pass
- Shion Miura
- The Easy Life in Kamusari (read my review of The Easy Life in Kamusari)
- The Great Passage
- Kamusari Tales Told at Night (expected spring 2022)
- Tetsuo Miura
- Miyuki Miyabe
- All She Was Worth
- Apparitions: Ghosts of Old Edo
- The Book of Heroes
- Brave Story
- Crossfire
- The Devil’s Whisperer
- The Gate of Sorrows
- Ico: Castle in the Mist
- Puppet Master
- Shadow Family
- Sleeping Dragon
- Teru Miyamoto (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Kenji Miyazawa
- Masterworks of Miyazawa Kenji: Poems and Fairy Tales
- Night on the Galactic Railroad & Other Stories from Ihatov
- Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa
- The Tales of Miyazawa Kenji (bilingual edition)
- Tsutomo Mizukami
- The Temple of the Wild Geese and the Bamboo Dolls of Echizen
- Featured in the Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Minea Mizumura
- An I-Novel: An I-Novel (read my review of An I-Novel)
- Aska Mochizuki
- Eto Mori
- Ogai Mori
- Colorful
- Gan (also published as The Wild Geese)
- The Historical Fiction of Mori Ogai
- Not a Song Like Any Other: An Anthology of Writings by Mori Ogai
- Vita Sexualis
- Youth and Other Stories
- Featured in The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Tomihiko Morimi
- The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl (read more about The Night Is Short, Walk on Girl)
- Penguin Highway (read more about Penguin Highway)
- Tatami Galaxy (expected fall 2022)
- Seiichi Morimura
- Featured in Ellery Queen’s Japanese Mystery Stories
- Yukiko Motoya (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- The Lonesome Bodybuilder: Stories (Akutagawa Prize winner; also published as Picnic in the Storm)
- Vengeance Can Wait
- Featured in Granta 127: Japan
- Kuniko Mukoda
- The Name of the Flower (short stories)
- Haruki Murakami
- 1Q84
- After Dark
- After the Quake (short stories)
- Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman: Stories
- Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage
- Dance Dance Dance
- The Elephant Vanishes
- First-Person Singular
- Hard-Boiled Wonderland at the End of the World
- Ryu Murakami (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- 69
- Almost Transparent Blue
- Audition
- Coin Locker Babies
- From the Fatherland, with Love
- In the Miso Soup
- Piercing
- Popular Hits of the Showa Era
- Tokyo Decadence: 15 Stories
- Sayaka Murata (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Convenience Store Woman (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Earthlings (read more about Earthlings)
- Life Ceremony (expected summer 2022)
- Featured in Granta 127: Japan
- Yuzuki Muroi
- Featured in Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women
- Kafu Nagai
- American Stories
- During the Rains & Flowers in the Shade
- Rivalry: A Geisha’s Tale
- Something Strange Across the River
- Featured in The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Featured in Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Takashi Nagai
- The Bells of Nagasaki
- Kenji Nakagami (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- The Cape and Other Stories from the Japanese Ghetto (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Snakelust
- Atsushi Nakajima
- Kyoko Nakajima
- The Little House
- Things Remembered and Things Forgotten (read my review of Things Remembered and Things Forgotten)
- Fuminori Nakamura (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Sosuke Natsukawa
- Shichiri Nakayama
- Shizuko Natsuki
- Death from the Clouds
- Innocent Journey
- Murder at Mount Fuji
- The Obituary Arrives at Two O’Clock
- Portal of the Wind
- The Third Lady
- Juko Nishimura
- Lost Souls, Sacred Creatures
- Kyotaro Nishimura
- The Isle of South Kamui and Other Stories
- Lost Souls, Sacred Creatures
- The Mystery Train Disappears
- Featured in Ellery Queen’s Japanese Mystery Stories
- Hiroshi Noma
- Dark Pictures and Other Stories
- Zone of Emptiness
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Asa Nonami
- Body (stories)
- The Hunter
- Now You’re One of Us
- Akiyuki Nosaka
- The Cake Tree in the Ruins
- The Pornographers
- The Whale That Fell in Love with a Submarine (short stories)
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Hisashi Nozawa
- Deep Red
- Mahokaru Numata
- Minako Oba (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Of Birds Crying
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Featured in This Kind of Woman: Ten Stories by Japanese Women Writers (includes prize winner Three Crabs)
- Makoto Oda
- The Bomb: A Novel
- The Breaking Jewel
- H: A Hiroshima Novel
- Sakunosuke Oda
- Stories of Osaka Life (short stories)
- Kenzaburo Oe
- The Catch and Other War Stories
- The Changeling
- Death by Water
- An Echo of Heaven
- A Healing Family
- Ito Ogawa
- The Restaurant of Love Regained
- Yoko Ogawa (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Mariko Ohara
- Hybrid Child
- Featured in Monkey Brain Sushi: New Tastes in Japanese Fiction
- Featured in Speculative Japan: Outstanding Tales of Japanese Science Fiction and Fantasy I and II
- Karou Ohno
- Toshiki Okada
- Kanoko Okamoto
- The House Spirit and Other Stories
- A Riot of Goldfish
- Kido Okamoto
- Shogo Oketani
- Hideo Okuda
- In the Pool
- Lala Pipo (stories)
- Hikaru Okuizumi (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- The Stones Cry Out (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Riku Onda
- Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight (expected spring 2022)
- Masatsugu Ono (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- At the Edge of the Woods (expected spring 2022)
- Echo on the Bay
- Lion Cross Point
- Featured in Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan III
- Shohei Ooka
- Fires on the Plain
- The Shade of Blossoms
- A Wife in Musashino
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Featured in The Mother of Dreams and Other Short Stories: Portrayals of Women in Modern Japanese Fiction
- Shinobu Orikuchi
- Jiro Osaragi
- Homecoming
- The Journey
- Tatsuhiro Oshiro (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Featured in Okinawa: Two Postwar Novellas (includes prize-winning The Cocktail Party)
- Featured in Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Otsuichi
- Goth (short stories)
- Summer, Fireworks, and My Corpse
- Zoo
- Hiroko Oyamada (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- The Factory
- The Hole (Akutagawa Prize winner; read my review of The Hole)
- Featured in Granta 127: Japan
- Featured in Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women
- Featured in Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan VII
- Kazuo Ozaki
- Rosy Glasses
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Ryohaku Ota
- Featured in Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Yoko Ota
- City of Corpses
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Featured in The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath
- Featured in Hiroshima: Three Witnesses
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Edogawa Ranpo
- Keiichiro Ryu
- Kazumi Saeki
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Megumu Sagisawa
- The Running Boy and Other Stories
- Ango Sakaguchi
- Ango’s Detective Casebook No. 1
- Ango’s Detective Casebook No. 2
- Featured in Autumn Wind and Other Stories
- Featured in Speculative Japan I
- Tami Sakiyama
- Featured in Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Kazuki Sakuraba
- Ami Sakurai
- Girl Recruits Her God
- God for Japanese Cool Girls
- Innocent World
- Hiroshi Sakurazaka
- Haruo Sato
- Beautiful Town
- The Sick Rose: A Pastoral Elegy
- Masayoshi Sato
- The Shogun’s Gold: A Novel of 19th Century Financial Intrigue
- Yuya Sato
- Ton Satomi
- Featured in Autumn Wind and Other Stories
- Featured in Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology
- Featured in The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Yuten Sawanishi
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Yamagasuku Seichu
- Featured in Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Yuichi Seirai (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Tanabe Seiko (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- A Thousand Strands of Black Hair
- Harumi Setouchi (also Jakucho Setouchi)
- Beauty in Disarray
- The End of Summer
- Chinen Seishin
- Featured in Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Ryotaro Shiba
- Clouds above the Hill: A Historical Novel of the Russo-Japanese War
- Yoshiko Shibaki
- Featured in The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Tomoka Shibasaki (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Spring Garden (Akutagawa Prize winner; read more about Spring Garden)
- Featured in Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan II and VI
- Motoyuki Shibata
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Naoya Shiga
- A Dark Night’s Passing
- The Paper Door and Other Stories
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Featured in Murder in Japan: Japanese Stories of Crime and Detection
- Featured in Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day
- Featured in Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology
- Featured in The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Makoto Shiina
- My Boy
- Featured in New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction from Japan
- Featured in Tokyo Fragments: Short Stories of Modern Tokyo by Five of Japan’s Leading Contemporary Writers
- Masahiko Shimada
- Dream Messenger
- Death by Choice
- Soji Shimada
- Rio Shimamoto
- Featured in Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women
- Toson Shimazaki
- Before the Dawn
- The Broken Commandment
- The Family
- Chickuma River Sketches
- Ishihara Shintaro
- Undercurrent: Episodes from a Life on the Edge
- Featured in New Writing in Japan
- Kazufumi Shiraishi
- Junzo Shono
- Evening Clouds
- Still Life and Other Stories (includes prize-winning A Poolside Life)
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Natsume Soseki
- The 210th Day
- And Then
- Botchan
- The Gate
- Grass on the Wayside
- The Heredity of Taste
- I Am a Cat
- Inside My Glass Doors
- Kororo
- Kusamakura (also published as The Three Cornered World)
- Light and Darkness: Natsume Soseki’s Meian
- The Miner
- Nowaki
- Sanshiro
- Ten Nights Dreaming and The Cat’s Grave
- Two the Spring Equinox and Beyond
- Wayfarer
- Featured in Annotated Japanese Literary Gems II
- Featured in Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Durian Sukegawa
- Izumi Suzuki
- Koji Suzuki
- Akimitsu Takagi
- The Tattoo Murder Case
- Nobuko Takagi (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Fantasia
- Translucent Tree
- Featured in Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women
- Featured in Speculative Japan II
- Hiroki Takahashi (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Featured in Speculative Japan IV
- Takako Takahashi
- Lonely Woman
- Novala Takemoto
- Kamikaze Girls
- Kaoru Takamura
- Lady Joker, Volume 1
- Lady Joker, Volume 2 (expected summer 2022)
- Junichiro Tanizaki
- Ashokari
- A Cat, a Man, and Two Women
- Childhood
- Devils in the Daylight
- The Gourmet Club, Volume 81: A Sextet
- In Black and White
- The Key and the Diary of a Mad Old Man
- Longing and Other Stories
- The Maids
- The Makioka Sisters
- Naomi
- Osaka and Osakans I Have Known
- Quicksand
- Red Roofs and Other Stories
- The Reed Cutter and Capitan Shigemoto’s Mother (2 novellas)
- The Secret History of Lord Musashi and Arrowroot: Two Novels
- Seven Japanese Tales
- Some Prefer Nettles
- Featured in Black Water: The Book of Fantastic Literature
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Yoko Tawada (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- The Bridegroom Was a Dog (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- The Emissary (also published as The Last Children of Tokyo)
- Facing the Bridge
- Memoirs of a Polar Bear (originally published in German)
- The Naked Eye (originally published in German)
- Scattered All Over the Earth (expected spring 2022)
- Time Differences
- Where Europe Begins (short stories) (originally published in German)
- Yoko Tawada’s Portrait of a Tongue: An Experimental Translation (originally published in German)
- Masako Togawa
- A Kiss of Fire
- The Lady Killer
- The Master Key
- Slow Fuse
- Featured in Ellery Queen’s Japanese Mystery Stories
- Hiroko Toma
- Featured in Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Taeko Tomioka
- Kunio Tsuji
- The Signore: Shogun of the Warring States
- Takahashi Tsujii
- Disappearance of the Butterfly
- A Spring Like Any Other
- Featured in New Writing in Japan
- Noboru Tsujihara (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- Jasmine
- Featured in Digital Geishas and Talking Frogs: The Best 21st Century Short Stories from Japan
- Mizuki Tsujimura
- Kikuko Tsumura
- Yuko Tsushima
- Child of Fortune
- Laughing Wolf
- Of Dogs and Walls
- The Shooting Gallery
- Woman Running in the Mountains (expected spring 2022)
- Territory of Light
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Featured in New Penguin Parallel Text: Short Stories in Japanese
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Featured in Other Voices, Other Vistas: Short Stories from Africa, China, India, Japan, and Latin America
- Featured in The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Yasukata Tsutsui
- The Girl Who Leapt through Time
- Hell
- The Maid
- Salmonella Man on Planet Porno (short stories)
- Paprika
- Featured in Ellery Queen’s Japanese Mystery Stories
- Hyakken Uchida
- Realm of the Dead (short stories)
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Shungiku Uchina
- Featured in Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women
- Nahoko Uehashi
- Moribito: Guardian of the Spirit
- Koji Uno
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Junichi Watanabe
- Beyond the Blossoming Fields
- A Lost Paradise
- Featured in the Autumn Wind and Other Short Stories
- Risa Wataya (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- I Want to Kick You in the Back (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Emi Yagi
- Diary of a Void (expected summer 2022)
- Amy Yamada
- Bedtime Eyes
- Trash
- Featured in Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women
- Taichi Yamada
- I Haven’t Dreamed of Flying for a While
- In Search of a Distant Voice
- Hiroshi Yamamoto
- The Stories of Ibis
- Michiko Yamamoto (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Betty-san (Akutagawa Prize winner)
- Baku Yamanokuchi
- Featured in Islands of Protest: Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Featured in Southern Exposure: Modern Japanese Literature from Okinawa
- Nao-Cola Yamazaki
- Friendship for Grown-Ups
- Featured in The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction
- Toyoko Yamasaki
- The Barren Zone
- Two Homelands
- Shotaro Yasuoka (Akutagawa Prize winning author)
- The Glass Slipper and Other Stories
- A View by the Sea
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Featured in Murder in Japan: Japanese Stories of Crime and Detection
- Featured in New Writing in Japan
- Featured in The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Riichi Yokomitsu
- Love and Other Stories of Yokomitsu Riichi
- Shanghai
- Featured in Autumn Wind and Other Stories
- Featured in Modern Japanese Stories: An Anthology
- Featured in Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day
- Featured in The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Featured in The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Seishi Yokomizu
- The Inugami Clan
- Detective Kosuke Kindaichi series
- Shuichi Yoshida
- Parade
- Park Life
- Villain
- Featured in The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction
- Eiji Yoshikawa
- Fragments of a Past
- The Heike Story: A Modern Translation of the Classic Japanese Tale of Love and War
- Musashi
- Taiko: An Epic Novel of War and Glory in Feudal Japan
- Akira Yoshimura
- Junnosuke Yoshiyuki
- The Dark Room
- Fair Dalliance: Fifteen Stories
- Toward Dusk and Other Stories
- Featured in The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Literature
- Featured in New Writing in Japan
- Featured in The Oxford Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Featured in The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Banana Yoshimoto
- Amrita
- Asleep
- Dead End Memories (expected summer 2022)
- Goodby Tsugumi
- Hardboiled & Hard Luck (2 novellas)
- Kitchen
- The Lake
- Lizard (short stories)
- Moshi Moshi
- N.P.
- Featured in The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Miri Yu
- Gold Rush
- Tokyo Ueno Station
- Kazumi Yumoto
- The Friends
Anthologies of Japanese Literature
- Autumn Wind and Other Stories
- The Best Japanese Science Fiction Stories
- The Book of Tokyo: A City in Short Fiction
- The Columbia Anthology of Japanese Literature
- The Crazy Iris and Other Stories of the Atomic Aftermath
- Ellery Queen’s Japanese Mystery Stories
- Digital Geishas and Talking Frogs: The Best 21st Century Short Stories from Japan
- Granta 127: Japan
- Hanzai Japan: Fantastical, Futuristic Stories of Crime from and about Japan
- Heaven’s Wind: A Dual-Language Anthology of Contemporary Japanese Writing
- In Ghostly Japan: Spooky Stories with the Folklore, Superstitions and Traditions of Old Japan
- Inside and Other Short Fiction: Japanese Women by Japanese Women
- Kaiki: Uncanny Tales from Japan series
- Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
- March Was Made of Yarn
- Modern Japanese Literature: From 1868 to the Present Day
- Monkey Brain Sushi: New Tastes in Japanese Fiction
- Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan
- Mother of Dreams and Other Stories: Portrayals of Women in Modern Japanese Fiction
- Murder in Japan: Japanese Stories of Crime and Detection
- New Japanese Voices: The Best Contemporary Fiction from Japan (2015)
- New Penguin Parallel Text: Short Stories in Japanese
- The Penguin Book of Japanese Short Stories
- Rabbits, Crabs, Etc.: Stories by Japanese Women
- Three-Dimensional Reading: Stories of Time and Space in Japanese Modernist Fiction
- The Showa Anthology: Modern Japanese Short Stories
- Speculative Japan series
- A Tokyo Anthology
- Tokyo Fragments: Short Stories of Tokyo by Five of Japan’s Leading Contemporary Writers (2005)
To the best of my knowledge, I’ve followed the Western convention of personal name first. All links are affiliate links to Bookshop.org.