Factbook

A Dynamic Compendium of Interesting Japanese Literary and Publishing Facts

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Sherlock Holmes arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun in 1894 when a Japanese summary translation of ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ was published[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

The history of Sherlock Holmes in Japan goes back to 1894, when a Japanese summary translation of The Man with the Twisted Lip by Sir Arthur Ignatius Conan Doyle (1859-1930) was published in the January issue of Nippon-jin. It was originally published in English in… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- translation
Sherlock Holmes arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun in 1894 when a Japanese summary translation of ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ was published Posted March 11th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
For a thousand years ‘The Tale of Genji’ was required reading for Japanese aristocratic women[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

The Tale of Genji written by Murasaki Shikibu, in 1010, during Japan’s Heian Period (794-1185) is said to be Japan’s oldest novel and perhaps even the world’s oldest novel, if a novel is defined as narrative prose of significant length.It has been since its very origin a tale… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Mitsuyo Kakuta
- History
- Poetry
For a thousand years ‘The Tale of Genji’ was required reading for Japanese aristocratic women Posted March 11th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Yukio Mishima considered ‘The Handkerchief’ by Ryunosuke Akutagawa to be the ultimate Japanese short story[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Japan has an incredible history of short-form fiction that is as rich as it is diverse. There is everything here from verse to the modern short story. Going back to the 10th century, Japanese readers have been captivated by tales of time-travel and shape-shifting and… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Educational
- Short Stories
Yukio Mishima considered ‘The Handkerchief’ by Ryunosuke Akutagawa to be the ultimate Japanese short story Posted March 11th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
The complete works of Shakespeare were published in Japanese translation in 1928 for the first time[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

In 1928 Shoyo Tsubouchi (1859-1935), a Japanese writer and translator and professor at Waseda University, who is famous for many things including first proposing that the term shosetsu be adopted as the standard Japanese translation for the English word novel, completed the first ever translation of the complete… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Shakespeare
The complete works of Shakespeare were published in Japanese translation in 1928 for the first time Posted February 18th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s first portable ‘Reading Device’ was invented in 747[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

Legend has it that in the reign of Emperor Tenji (626-672), Japan’s 38th emperor, the discovery of a dead bat with burnt wings inspired a Japanese craftsman to make a prototype that was in fact the world’s first functioning folding fan. Still it is hard to… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- History
Japan’s first portable ‘Reading Device’ was invented in 747 Posted February 18th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Japan’s most famous filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, ranked ‘Sanshiro’ by Natsume Soseki above all other novels written by a Japanese author[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

Akira Kurosawa (1910-1998), Japan’s most famous film director who loved and valued reading, is known to have had one all-time favourite book: War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910), but his favourite book by a Japanese author was Natsume Soseki’s (1867-1916) Sanshiro. Sanshiro was originally… Read more »
- TOPICS:
Japan’s most famous filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, ranked ‘Sanshiro’ by Natsume Soseki above all other novels written by a Japanese author Posted February 18th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
Cinderella-type stories about dysfunctional stepmother and stepchild relationships don’t generally feature in the early canon of Japanese literature and are considered a Western literary import[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

According to Chieko Ikie Mulhern at the University of Illinois, the earliest Japanese story that features persecution and stepchildren is the 10th century Ochikubo Monogatari, The Tale of Lady Ochibuko. However, in its case, she argues, that despite often being compared to Cinderella due to… Read more »
- TOPICS:
Cinderella-type stories about dysfunctional stepmother and stepchild relationships don’t generally feature in the early canon of Japanese literature and are considered a Western literary import Posted February 18th, 2026 by Richard Nathan
New post-war regulations governing the use of the Japanese language in print led to the re-branding of detective fiction in Japan[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

Crime fiction has a very long history in Japan and early Western visitors to the nation at the end the 19th century, including the famous Victorian travel writer Isabella Bird (1831-1904), commented on the large number of crime fiction titles on sale in Japan in… Read more »
- TOPICS:
- Soji Shimada
- Crime
- Mystery
New post-war regulations governing the use of the Japanese language in print led to the re-branding of detective fiction in Japan Posted February 18th, 2026 by Richard Nathan

Factbook

Sherlock Holmes arrived in the Land of the Rising Sun in 1894 when a Japanese summary translation of ‘The Man with the Twisted Lip’ was published[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

For a thousand years ‘The Tale of Genji’ was required reading for Japanese aristocratic women[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

Yukio Mishima considered ‘The Handkerchief’ by Ryunosuke Akutagawa to be the ultimate Japanese short story[UPDATED: 3-11-2026]

The complete works of Shakespeare were published in Japanese translation in 1928 for the first time[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

Japan’s first portable ‘Reading Device’ was invented in 747[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

Japan’s most famous filmmaker, Akira Kurosawa, ranked ‘Sanshiro’ by Natsume Soseki above all other novels written by a Japanese author[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

Cinderella-type stories about dysfunctional stepmother and stepchild relationships don’t generally feature in the early canon of Japanese literature and are considered a Western literary import[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

New post-war regulations governing the use of the Japanese language in print led to the re-branding of detective fiction in Japan[UPDATED: 2-18-2026]

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