Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts

If you would like to contribute to this compendium please submit your ideas here.
All will be considered for publication by our expert panel.

Category Index:

Factbook Keyword Search:
Search for:

A book about an aquatic man by Kobo Abe written at the height of the Cold War is considered by some as one of the best works of science fiction written by a Japanese author[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

Kobo Abe (1924-1993) dubbed ‘The Kafka of Japan’ wrote about many things including for instance robots and the robotic existence of modern life in Japan, but his book Inter Ice Age 4, published at the height of the Cold War in 1959, is arguably one… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Science Fiction
A book about an aquatic man by Kobo Abe written at the height of the Cold War is considered by some as one of the best works of science fiction written by a Japanese author Posted March 31st, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s most famous poet is a 17th century Zen Buddhist named Basho[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

Matsuo Kinsaku, the 17th-century Japanese haiku master, more commonly known as Basho, the son of a minor samurai born near Kyoto in 1644, is said to be Japan’s most famous poet, as well as one of the world’s most influential. He is the undisputed master of… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Poetry
Japan’s most famous poet is a 17th century Zen Buddhist named Basho Posted March 31st, 2026 by Richard Nathan
The arrival of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Japan in 1895 spawned thousands of translations and adaptions – with more Japanese translations than any other language[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

According to some academics the first Japanese translations of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll (1832-1898) appeared in two Japanese magazines in serial form in 1895 and 1899, Shonen Sekai (A Boy’s World) and Shojo Sekai (Girl’s World).These translations, however, have little resemblance to… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- translation
The arrival of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Japan in 1895 spawned thousands of translations and adaptions – with more Japanese translations than any other language Posted March 31st, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s two oldest history books were translated into English for the first time by two British Japanologists in 1882 and 1896[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

The best sources for myths about the foundation of the Land of the Rising Sun are two early chronicles, the Kojiki, the Record of Ancient Things, and the Nihongi, the Japanese Chronicles.The Koji was complied in 712 and is the oldest extant Japanese book, while… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
- translation
Japan’s two oldest history books were translated into English for the first time by two British Japanologists in 1882 and 1896 Posted March 31st, 2026 by Richard Nathan
William Shakespeare and the first Tokugawa Shogun are linked by one very important fact[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Ieyasu Tokugawa (1543-1616), who founded a military state and a dynasty of shoguns that lasted 265 years, would not look out of place in one of Shakespeare’s Machiavellian plays. Most of Shakespeare’s works were produced between 1589-1613 when Tokugawa was busy building alliances and fighting historically… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
- Shakespeare
- Shogun
William Shakespeare and the first Tokugawa Shogun are linked by one very important fact Posted March 11th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Osamu Dazai, the so-called ‘Bad Boy’ of Japanese literature, was brought up in a room full of poetry in an opulent house belonging to a moneylender[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Osamu Dazai (1909-1948) famous for his novel No Longer Human, Ningen Shikaku, killing himself at the age of 38, womanising, and being expelled from Tokyo Imperial University, has been dubbed The Bad Boy of Japanese literature.Many of Japan’s most interesting creative writers, such as Fuminori… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Fuminori Nakamura
Osamu Dazai, the so-called ‘Bad Boy’ of Japanese literature, was brought up in a room full of poetry in an opulent house belonging to a moneylender Posted March 11th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein only became available in Japanese in 1953, 135 years after its publication[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Mary Shelley (1797-1851) published her novella Frankenstein in 1818 during a period of revolutions – both industrial and political, thanks to the French Revolution (1789-1799) and new sciences such as galvanism. By contrast, Japan at this time was still enjoying a relatively tranquil period, its Edo Period (1603-1868),… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Robots
- Science Fiction
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein only became available in Japanese in 1953, 135 years after its publication Posted March 11th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Kitazawa Rakuten created Japan’s ‘first serialised comic’ in the 1890s[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Kitazawa Rakuten (1876-1955) created Japan’s ‘first serialised comic’ in the 1890s for Box of Curios, a paper set up by the Australian political cartoonist and printer Frank Arthur Nankivell (1869-1956).Rakuten joined the Tokyo-based English language publication, Box of Curios, in 1895, and is said to… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- manga
Kitazawa Rakuten created Japan’s ‘first serialised comic’ in the 1890s Posted March 11th, 2026 by Richard Nathan

Factbook

A book about an aquatic man by Kobo Abe written at the height of the Cold War is considered by some as one of the best works of science fiction written by a Japanese author[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

Japan’s most famous poet is a 17th century Zen Buddhist named Basho[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

The arrival of Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Japan in 1895 spawned thousands of translations and adaptions – with more Japanese translations than any other language[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

Japan’s two oldest history books were translated into English for the first time by two British Japanologists in 1882 and 1896[UPDATED: 3-31-2026]

William Shakespeare and the first Tokugawa Shogun are linked by one very important fact[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Osamu Dazai, the so-called ‘Bad Boy’ of Japanese literature, was brought up in a room full of poetry in an opulent house belonging to a moneylender[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein only became available in Japanese in 1953, 135 years after its publication[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Kitazawa Rakuten created Japan’s ‘first serialised comic’ in the 1890s[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Newsletters