Samurai Novels

So the most recent “what are you reading” thread got me feeling all illiterate again and I’m convinced I need to start reading real books again. But the thing is, I need to ease myself into this whole “literature” business; for the past couple of years I’ve gotten all my culture from anime, translated manga, and Kurosawa movies. (Yes, I realize it’s rare to find a big hairy white computer programmer guy on the internet who’s interested in Japanese culture, but hey, I am nothing if not an iconclast and a trendsetter.)

So what would be the “real book” equivalent of, say, Lone Wolf and Cub or Yojimbo? Or, come to think of it, Kwaidan – Japanese ghost stories?

Actually, this is, if anything, rather common. Sorry to burst your buble but interest in japan and J- history is not unusual, even for hairy white programmers. Especially for hairy white programmers.

Anyway, what exactly are you looking for?

For Japan’s own literature, try Musashi. Its a great book, (if long) and though I had to return it before I finished it, I’m thinking about taking it out again. This deals with the half-legendary master swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi, and his loves and adn=ventures as he seeks to perfect his technique. It also follows several other characters, like his best friend, potential love of his life, etc. This takes place just after Tokugawa Ieyasu has taken control of Japan.

If you want something more historic, try The Tale of Genji. This deals with the Heian period, but it is a very good book (i’m reading it, but it is very hard to understand in translation due to culture and style differences). In any event, this represents the courtly culture the Samurai emulated and retained after they took power from the Imperial center.

For borderline pulp read any of James Clavell’s stuff. Well it’s not pulp really.

I’ll second the recommendation for Musashi, and I’d also recommend Taiko, by the same author. It’s the story of Hideyoshi, who unified Japan in the late 1500s - early 1600s.

And Lone Wolf and Cub is as great a piece of literature as anything out there.

There is a series of books set in 17th century Japan a friend of my wife lent her, and I read a couple of them. They were about a samurai who was essentially a police detective. It sounds kinda corny, but they were really quite good, and you could gain a lot of insight into life in those times, for all the classes.

Err, yeah. I was being sarcastic. Consider my bubble completely intact.

Thanks for the recommendations! I guess I’m looking more for pure fiction; I read about all the early-modern Japanese history I could stand back in college. I was hoping for something that didn’t even mention Tokugawa, if possible. But from what I’ve heard and read elsewhere, Musashi and Taiko are pretty much considered “required reading,” so I should give them a shot.

This sounds cool. Do you remember titles/author by any chance?

I couldn’t remember, but a quick google search did the trick - the author’s name is Laura Joh Rowland, the ones I read were titled ‘Shinju’ and ‘Bundori’.

James Clavell’s “Shogun”. The most fun I’ve ever had reading a book.

Actually, Shogun is a very well researched book, if not a literary masterpiece. Clavell wrote it partly as a way to understand the Japanese mind, after spending time in a camp during WWII. When researching, he kinda fell in love with the culture.
Shogun deals a lot with plots in the Royal Courts, and has some historical bearing. It’s quite a good “Japan 101”. Then read his Gai-Jin, which is not nearly as good, but entertaining.