Works to read and see before a trip to Japan

Our "Reading Japan" file

Novels and essays

• In praise of the shadow of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki

In this essay on Japanese aesthetics, the author takes us into Japanese interiors and gives pride of place to shade and penumbra. He reveals to us, over the pages, this love that the Japanese have for chiaroscuro, twilight and how these highlight objects more than excessively pronounced Western lighting. Written in 1933, Éloge de l'ombre has lost none of its luster and invites the reader to observe and meditate . Subjects that could not be more contemporary.

See also: 5 Japanese authors to know

• Tokyo Vice by Jake Adelstein

Jake Adelstein is an American journalist . Arrived somewhat by chance in Japan, he embarked on studies of comparative literature at the University of Sophia in Tokyo. He then joined the prestigious editorial staff of the Yomiuri Shinbun, one of the leading newspapers in Japan. A first for a foreigner. In Tokyo Vice , a sort of journalistic travel diary , we follow Jake Adelstein's learning step by step. From small neighborhood news to his investigations into organized crime which will lead him to become one of the favorite interlocutors of the yakuza... Panting.

• Evaporated from Japan by Léna Mauger and Stéphane Remael

In this book, which combines stories and photographs , Léna Mauger and Stéphane Remael investigate a widespread phenomenon in Japan: voluntary disappearances . Divorce, adultery, unemployment... There are many reasons that can push the Japanese to disappear without leaving a trace. The two authors, following a lot of research, manage to meet some of these "evaporated people" and to transcribe their story. What to learn more about Japanese society where each year 100,000 people are missing.

Our folder "Films to see and review"

Films and animated films

• Nobody Knows by Hirokazu Kore-eda

Inspired by real events , this film by director Kore-eda follows the daily lives of four children, left to fend for themselves after their mother leaves to join a man. Impossible to say more without revealing an entire section of the feature film. Poignant without lapsing into artificial emotion, Nobody Knows brilliantly captures the daily life of this sibling and the powerful ties that unite these children aged 4 to 14.

• My Neighbor Totoro by Hayao Miyazaki

Impossible to ignore thisStudio Ghibli classic where the real star is not the one you think. Because if the sweetness of Totoro makes you want to take refuge in his arms, the cat-bus the irrepressible desire to get on board to come home from school, it is Mother Nature who is undoubtedly the star of this animated film . Wild grasses, lush forest, rice fields with mirror reflections, everything makes you want to fly to Japan to discover its countryside and its still preserved nature . To be enjoyed with family or friends, and regardless of your age!

Read: Where to find Totoro in Japan

• Kikujiro's Summer by Takeshi Kitano

For two hours, we follow the adventures of a young boy in search of his mother, whom he has not seen for many years. He will therefore criss-cross Japan from side to side, accompanied by a former yakuza. Yakuza performed by Kitano himself . The duo will make encounters as heterogeneous as they are enriching on their way. A little summer candy.

Our article on the manga

comics and manga

• Tokyo Sanpo by Florent Chavezet

In this very colorful comic strip, we follow Florent Chavezt, newly settled in Tokyo with his girlfriend . He sketches scenes of life in the Japanese capital , crisscrosses certain neighborhoods with the unmissable places to visit or dissects the little things and big surprises that nestle in the Japanese konbini . What to have a taste of what awaits you once you have set foot on Japanese soil and make you want to get lost, like him, in the maze of small Japanese streets.

• The ink of the past of Maël and Bauza

In this comic strip with incredibly delicate drawings, the reader follows the journey of Môhitsu and Atsuko, the two protagonists. Môhitsu is a wandering calligrapher who meets, at the bend of a small village, Atsuko, a young girl. Certain that she harbors a gift for painting, he persuades her to begin her apprenticeship. The duo therefore set off for Edo. During this journey that will take them to the ancient capital of Japan, a deep friendship will be bound between the old man and the young painter . A story of transmission and initiation filled with poetry.

• The Lonely Gourmet by Jiro Taniguchi and Masayuki Kusumi

Throughout this manga, the reader follows Le Gourmet solitaire . We don't know much about this man, except that he is commercial, single and his passion is Japanese cuisine. If the hero's lunches or dinners are a good opportunity to learn more about him and his past or about Japanese society, the real star of this manga is the food of the archipelago , made by unknown chefs but in the hands of gold, in small, unpretentious bouis-bouis. With each new chapter, we discover a new restaurant and a new dish. A delight.

To go further: The most beautiful Japanese libraries