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If you've read a lot of J-Lit, you'll probably be aware of Donald Keene, a famous translator and Japanophile (see, for example, his anthology of Modern Japanese Literature). You may not have heard though that he's actually become one of the few foreigners to become Japanese, deciding to take the plunge after the recent natural disasters.
I'd heard about his new citizenship, but I hadn't heard about another honour he'd acquired - apparently a museum has been opened in his honour in Japan too! Click here to read all about it (I'd love to have a museum in my honour - how cool would that be...).
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Staying in Japan, another article I stumbled across this week looks at Japanese reading habits. Do you like e-readers? Well, according to this piece from The Japan Times, the Japanese aren't quite so keen - this article attempts to explain why. Another interesting insight into how the Japanese like their books.
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Just like last week, I have another piece blatantly lifted from Morgan at All Wrongs Reversed, an old post but well worth promoting. In the post, Morgan introduces ten female Japanese writers who deserve to be more widely known in English. All the writers sound wonderful, so if there are any translators and publishers out there with time on their hands... ;)*****
That's all for this week, but (as always) make sure to check out the rest of what this blog has to offer. This week's J-Lit Giants piece was a great post by Matt Todd on Shusaku Endo, a worthy addition to the pantheon, and the latest Golden Kin-Yōbi giveaway (courtesy of Pushkin Press) has books by Yasushi Inoue and Ryu Murakami just waiting to be won (you have until Thursday to enter!). Oh, and be sure to check out the reviews listed - just click here to browse. Feel free to add your own J-Lit reviews to the list :)
See you next time!
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P.S. Don't forget - next Thursday (16/1) is the day for posting on our first readalong, The Diving Pool by Yōko Ogawa. Watch out for a special post with some ideas and links to reviews...
