This is the first full-length study in English of Natsume Soseki (1867-1916), one of modern Japan's most revered writers. It is a critical examination of a split that runs deep in the discursive space of Soseki's writings as order (narrative control and form) grapples with the forces of chaos (existential loneliness and unfathomable fear). Displaying a profound appreciation for the key attributes and complex cultural significance of Soseki's work, Angela Yiu argues that, although Soseki by nature and temperament desired control and order, his writing betrays a dark, romantic voice that speaks of something cavernous and amorphous. Chaos and Order examines the way Soseki reinterprets existing literary forms and formulates a language to express the duality within him. To illustrate the tension between chaos and order in Soseki's creative process, Yiu analyzes six novels (Nowaki, Gubijinso, Kofu, Sorekara, Kojin, and Michikusa), a collection of literary essays (Garasudo no naka), a series of lectures and critical writings, and Soseki's Chinese poetry (kanshi). The problems of closure, the subversion of forms, critical and poetic languages, and narrative structures and personae are examined in each of the genres. By integrating Soseki's critical writing and lectures into a discussion of his fiction, this study provides startling syntheses and insights while portraying a distinct and individual artistic and intellectual consciousness-one that greatly influenced the development of modern Japanese fiction. The Introduction, which contains a survey of current Soseki studies in Japan, will be an especially valuable reference for students of Japanese literature.

Hayashi Fumiko, one of the most popular prose writers of the Showa era, began writing as a down-and-out poet wandering the streets of 1920s Tokyo. In these translations of her first poetry collection, I Saw a Pale Horse (Aouma wo mitari) and Selected Poems from Diary of a Vagabond (Hōrōki), Fumiko's literary origins are colorfully revealed. Little known in the west, these early poetic texts focus on Fumiko's unconventional early life, and her construction of a female subject that would challenge, with gusto and panache, accepted notions not only of class, family, and gender but also of female poetic practice.

This first Western language study of one of Japan's most popular writers includes translations of key passages, critical commentary, and full translations of three essays by Hayashi Fumiko.

Eisner-award nominated creator Takehiko Inoue’s critically acclaimed take on the life of Miyamoto Mushashi. Transcends the potential of what manga can be. Striving for enlightenment by way of the sword, Miyamoto Musashi is prepared to cut down anyone who stands in his way. Vagabond is an action-packed portrayal of the life and times of the quintessential warrior-philosopher--the most celebrated samurai of all time! Musashi’s battle with the forces of nature leads him to do something that would have been unthinkable for him in the past—he begs for help. In exchange for sustenance for a famine-ravaged village, Musashi promises to fill a position as a sword instructor in Kokura. But Musashi is reluctant to leave the village, and something still ties him to the land there.

When a group of traveling people descends on the sleepy town of Shelk, Pennsylvania, Zaccariah Ramsy, owner of the local bar, finds himself drawn into their world after a hungry man turns up on his doorstep. Meanwhile, Stella Vale, Ramsy's former love, believes that her long-lost daughter might be among those who begin to rob townspeople's homes. As tensions between Shelk residents and the newcomers rise, Stella and Ramsy must decide whether they will remain isolated from the world around them—or reach for a life of new possibilities. A piercing tale of isolation, redemption, and belonging, Each Vagabond By Name is a powerful exploration of loss by a commanding new literary voice.

INTRODUCED BY PAUL KINGSNORTH, Booker-shortlisted author of The Wake 'I thought that there were two rules in life - never count the cost, and never do anything unless you can do it wholeheartedly. Now is the time to live.' Artist and wanderer Everett Ruess left home at the age of sixteen to immerse himself in the harsh desert landscapes of the American Southwest. With only his donkeys for company, driven by an insatiable longing for beauty and experience, he ventured ever further from civilisation and into the wilderness of Navajo country. In 1934, at the age of twenty, he vanished without trace in Utah, a disappearance that remains unsolved to this day. Through letters, diary excerpts and poems - charting not only his rugged adventures and his exquisite nature writing but his progression as a writer, and into adulthood - and with commentary by W. L. Rusho, A Vagabond for Beauty tells his remarkable story.

Women authors have played an important role in Japanese literature for centuries, for example Murasaki Shikibu who wrote "The Tale of Genji" over 1000 years ago, which is considered to be the world's first novel. The last few decades have seen compelling works by authors such as Banana Yoshimoto, Yoko Ogawa, and Mieko Kawakami. A few decades earlier we find another group of influential women authors, with Hayashi Fumiko--said to be one of the most important twentieth-century Japanese woman authors--a key representative of this group. Living a life of poverty until her breakthrough as an author, Hayashi Fumiko was known for her realistic depictions of urban working-class life, especially impoverished women. Her works typically address themes such as fate, troubled relationships, and the repercussions of war. These nine stories are all connected in some way by the overarching theme of human relationships. Stories from a variety of genres are included: a tale of a woman's gradual downfall in the big city, a couple's struggle to find happiness, a fairy tale about an estranged crane family, a comical look at a traveler enamored by a maid, and a man wandering through the remnants of post-war Tokyo.

Set in the years before, during, and after World War II, this classic of modern Japanese literature provides a rich cast of characters drawn from the back alleys of urban Japan and a rare portrait of Japanese colonialism and Japan's postwar experience from the perspective of a woman.