Literature
Book Review: The City and Its Uncertain Walls by Haruki Murakami
A quiet return to memory, longing and surreal boundaries
Inside the 2026 Akutagawa & Naoki Prizes
The Most Prestigious Prizes in Japanese Literature
Your Summer Reading List 2026
Our best new recommendations from Tokyo’s literary scene
Why Are There So Many Cats in Japanese Fiction?
Literary symbol or cultural cliche?
How the English Language Failed Banana Yoshimoto
Looking back at the Japanese literary icon 30 years after the translation of her debut novel ‘Kitchen’
Why Do So Many Japanese Love Stories End in Double Suicide?
How a trope lasted from its birth in theatre to its role in anime
Shuna’s Journey: Miyazaki’s Forgotten Masterwork
The 1983 illustrated story that helped shape Miyazaki’s later films
Book Review: The Memory Police By Yoko Ogawa
Which do you trust: your memory or the crowd?
Book Review: “An I-Novel” by Minae Mizumura (Translated by Juliet Winters Carpenter)
A bilingual meditation on navigating belonging in isolation
The Best Japanese Mystery Novels to Read
Honkaku, thrillers and crime sagas — Japan’s got it all
10 Must-Read Japanese Novels Set for Release in 2026
Read ahead of the flow by picking up these translated masterpieces as they hit global bookstore shelves
How to Lose Weight the Japanese Way
Wa – the art of balance by Kaki Okamura
Lafcadio Hearn (Yakumo Koizumi) and His Many Lives
The Irish-Greek wanderer who became Japan’s foremost folklore chronicler
Romantic Horror in Japanese Folklore and Literature
Japanese stories of love and ghosts that offer something both delicate and terrifying
Japanese Onomatopoeia
Everyday sounds and oddly specific quirky expressions
Why Was Tokyo Dubbed “Venice of the East”?
The forgotten city of water
Japanese Cookbooks
Metropolis' Editorial Team reviews the best new cookbooks for gourmands and oenophiles
Japanese Creation Myths Born from Water
Japan’s oldest stories are told in water
Water Spirits in Japanese Folklore
From the cheeky to the horrific
11 Influential Japanese LGBTQ+ Novels to Read
Love, identity, and the untold tales of Japan’s queer community
Book Review: The Summer House by Masashi Matsuie
A quietly compelling meditation on architecture and desire
Book Review: Vanishing World by Sayaka Murata
A chillingly plausible future
Book Review: The Curious Kitten at the Chibineko Kitchen by Yuta Takahashi
Your table awaits at the Chibineko Kitchen...
Book Review: The Place of Shells by Mai Ishizawa (translated by Polly Barton)
A quietly devastating and masterfully surreal debut
Healing Japanese Fiction Books That Feel Like a Warm Hug
Comforting tales of self-discovery, second chances, and quiet joy
Review of “Too Big To Care: Adopt Sustainable Business Practices or Embrace Defeat” by Glen S. Wood
Can big business be kinder to society?
Fresh Ink: Saho Terao
The English-language debut of “Tenshi Nikki” (“Angel Diaries”)
Fresh Ink: The Ramen of Thanatos – Or, Puckering Flavor
The English-language debut of philosopher Masaya Chiba
Fresh Ink: A Fantastical Adventure from Medieval Japan–Takaoka’s Travels
Dreams, desires and delusional thoughts on a journey far west
The True Story Behind the Hit Series Shogun: William Adams
The intrepid English adventurer who inspired the hit series FX's Shogun
Fresh Ink: The Defeat of Thought by Osamu Dazai
Japan’s literary legend’s never-before translated work
Japanese Whisky
Review of Brian Ashcraft's 'Japanese Whisky: The Ultimate Guide to the World’s Most Desirable Spirit'
Fresh ink: Kitagawa Chiyo Conclusion
Read the moving end of the working-class fable "The Silk Sandals"
Fresh Ink: Kitagawa Chiyo
Proletariat Girls’ Literature