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A Rolling Match 転がり試合

Comedy 3 Comments

New translator Z. Kaufmann brings us some rough-and-tumble with this short story by Tsuneo Tomita

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A Strange Story 妙な話

Weird tales 1 Comment

A young woman and her experience one rainy day at a train station which changes her reality. Akutagawa Ryunosuke brings us a strange story indeed.

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Losing My Father 父を失う話

Slice of Life 1 Comment

A classic tale well known in Japan, with the exact nature of the relationship between the boy and his father being a major point of discussion.

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Grandfather’s Lamp おじいさんのランプ

Slice of Life No Comments

Ni’imi Nankichi brings us a story about the ever evolving world in which we live. A lot can change over the course of a lifetime.

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Ghost Ship 幽霊船

Weird tales No Comments

A classic tale of three fishermen from the frozen north

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Letter in a Cement-Barrel セメント樽の中の手紙

Slice of Life No Comments

A story of a hard working man, his six kids, his pregnant wife and letter in a cement barrel. Story submitted by new translator Tony Perrin.

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Selected Poems from Masaki

Poetry No Comments

A small collection of poems submitted to the site by poet Masaki.

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The Tale of the Rainbow Cat 虹猫の話

Fantasy No Comments

A wildly imaginative tale of powerful gods and a mischievous cat by Miyahara Kōichirō.

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Demons 悪魔

Weird tales No Comments

A short story about a demon by literary legend Akutagawa Ryunosuke. Translated by Richard Medhurst.

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Demon Tails 悪魔の尾

Weird tales No Comments

A tale of demons by well-known author of children’s literature, Miyahara Kōichirō. Translated by Emily Balistrieri.

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Welcome to Short Stories Japan

Short Stories Japan is a site dedicated to Japanese literature in English translation. The aim of this site is to introduce English speakers to the vast and largely untapped world of Japanese fiction, while providing a place for the translation community to interact with each other, and work together at developing their abilities.

Visit the Forum


Take a look around the forums and discuss Japanese short stories, language, translation, Japan, good reads or anything else that comes to mind. The forums are open to everyone, not just translators!

Click here to see the forums

Please Note

All stories are posted here with the authorization of the rights holder(s).
They cannot be used, including posting to other sites, without explicit advance authorization from rights holders.

What are you in the mood for?

  • Comedy
  • Fantasy
  • Flash Fiction
  • Horror
  • Opinion
  • Poetry
  • Slice of Life
  • Weird tales

Recent Stories

  • A Rolling Match 転がり試合
  • A Strange Story 妙な話
  • Losing My Father 父を失う話
  • Grandfather’s Lamp おじいさんのランプ
  • Ghost Ship 幽霊船

Author Home Pages

  • 袖振り合うも他生の縁 (Tennen)
  • 鳳蝶の森 (Ageha)
  • Ricka (Tohka Kuszono)
  • Malum (Tsukikage Yakou)
  • Lhasa Kingdom (Ryuki Mao)
  • ほーむorあうぇい (Akira)

Links

  • The Retro Underground
  • Aozora Bunko
  • Kurodahan Press
  • Japanese Literature in English