20 Best Japanese Novels I’ve Read

Below is the list of twenty best Japanese novels I have read so far. At first, I wanted to review either How Can My Manager Be So Stupid? [2019/26] by Hayami Kazumasa or Dinner at the Night Library [2023/25] by Hika Harada, but neither of them engaged me enough to write a proper review, so, instead, I have decided to look back at the Japanese books I have read, and pick out those that stayed with me for one reason or another, making this list of best Japanese novels (I have reviewed eleven out of the twenty below). I still want to read quite a number of books by Shūsaku Endō and Natsume Sōseki, so this list is not final, but rather a work in-progress. I am excluding manga, short stories and non-fiction. One caveat, though, is that I don’t get along with the hugely popular Haruki Murakami, nor with the fiction of Junichirō Tanizaki, though I love his essay In Praise of Shadows.

Book cover of 'The Tale of Genji' by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Edward Seidensticker, featuring traditional Japanese artwork with figures and landscapes.
Book cover for 'Silence' by Shūsaku Endō, featuring a stylized illustration of a figure against a large red sun with a blood-like droplet, and text indicating it will be a major motion picture.
Book cover of 'The Waiting Years' by Fumiko Enchi, featuring a young woman in traditional Japanese attire against a monochrome background.
Book cover of 'The Old Capital' by Yasunari Kawabata, featuring a floral design and the text 'Winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature'.
Book cover of 'How Do You Live?' by Genzaburo Yoshino, featuring a child sitting on a large, colorful abstract shape against a light background, with the title prominently displayed.

The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

Silence by Shūsaku Endō

The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi

The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata

How Do You Live? by Genzaburo Yoshino

Cover of 'The Silent Cry' by Kenzaburo Ōe, featuring bold red text, a stylized red sun, and silhouettes of birds and bamboo against a beige background.
Book cover of 'Fires on the Plain' by Shohei Ooka, featuring a sepia-toned image of a soldier and overlay text with the title and author.
Book cover of 'Kusamakura' by Natsume Sōseki featuring a serene woman in a patterned kimono, alongside a colorful background and the Penguin Classics logo.
Book cover of 'When I Whistle' by Shusaku Endo featuring a stylized illustration of a wave in shades of green and white against a black background.
Cover design featuring red flowers and leaves against a light background with falling snow, titled 'Spring Snow' by Mishima.

The Silent Cry by Kenzaburō Ōe

Fires on the Plain by Shōhei Ōoka

The Three-Cornered World by Natsume Sōseki

When I Whistle by Shūsaku Endō

Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima

Book cover for 'The Woman in the Dunes' by Kobo Abe, featuring a woman in a kimono against a desert landscape with a distant figure and a beetle.
Illustration of a scene from the book 'The Sound of the Mountain' by Yasunari Kawabata, depicting an elderly man reading a newspaper while seated in a traditional setting, with a young girl beside him, both overlooking a serene outdoor landscape.
Cover of the novel 'Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids' by Kenzaburo Oe, featuring a black and white design with two children silhouettes and a noose hanging from a tree.
Book cover of 'The Memory Police' by Yoko Ogawa, featuring a stylized image of a woman's face with graphic illustration elements and a logo overlay.
Cover of the book 'No Longer Human' by Osamu Dazai, featuring a stylized flower design with a prominent eye motif against a dark background.

The Woman in the Dunes by Kōbō Abe

The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata

Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburō Ōe

The Memory Police by Yōko Ogawa

No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai

Book cover of 'Shipwrecks' by Akira Yoshimura, introduced by David Mitchell, featuring a geometric design with images of sailing ships.
Cover of 'The Gate' by Natsume Soseki featuring a stylized torii gate in a minimalist design with a pastel background.
Book cover of 'The Face of Another' by Kobo Abe featuring abstract illustrations of faces and geometric shapes.
Book cover of 'Sweet Bean Paste' by Durian Sukegawa featuring three women standing under cherry blossom trees, with a quote praising the book.
Book cover of 'Kappa' by Ryunosuke Akutagawa featuring a green humanoid figure in water with a mountain in the background, accompanied by a quote from Jorge Luis Borges.

Shipwrecks by Akira Yoshimura

The Gate by Natsume Sōseki

The Face of Another by Kōbō Abe

Sweet Bean Paste by Durian Sukegawa

Kappa by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa

🎌 Do you read Japanese literature? What is the best Japanese novel you’ve read? Or, what is your favourite?

20 thoughts on “20 Best Japanese Novels I’ve Read”

  2. I have started reading some of the Japanese lit lately , Murakami put me off this nation’s work for a long while. But because of that I have missed so much! Now catching up. Thank You for the list!

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    1. I quite agree, and I have discovered that Silence is great as a re-read, too. It’s a “heavy” list, yes. Possibly, How Do You Live? is the “lightest” book here being also the children’s lit, followed by heart-warming Sweet Bean Paste. But, Kappa is also a hilarious satire.

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  6. Nice! I have raed a lot of your titles here. Soseki is really great, I have enjoyed many by him, The Gate definitely. Try The Miner.

    My favorite Japanese author is still Haruki Murakami.
    I have read a good bunch by Mishima as well

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  7. Another impressive list. One of my daughters reads a lot of Japanese literature and she is also dislikes Haruki Murakami. She’s given him ample chance to change her mind too, reading three of his books. I’m sure she would appreciate some of your favorites here, for sure The Memory Police. I’m forwarding this post for her to check out.

    I read The Makioka Sisters (Sasameyuki) by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki, I believe after seeing a review that you wrote of it. I notice it’s not on your favorites list. I thought it was interesting but also a bit of a slog. Can’t say I plan to read another one of his books.

    I just finished reading a French translation of Nocturnes, by Kazuo Ishiguro, but I guess technically he might be a British author. I appreciated his storytelling but again can’t say I’m eager to read more.

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    1. Thank you! Yes, your daughter may enjoy other books by Yōko Ogawa as well (if she haven’t read them already) – The Housekeeper and the Professor, and The Diving Pool story collection, though I couldn’t get into Mina’s Matchbox. And, yes, The Makioka Sisters is probably not on the list because I did find it a bit tedious. I do consider Ishiguro a British author especially since I focus on translated books in this post. And, that’s interesting about Nocturnes. Was it your first Ishiguro, then? He is much better with novels – well, used to be, in my opinion, because I didn’t like his novel Klara & The Sun at all, but absolutely loved The Remains of the Day and The Unconsoled. He’s got new book coming Miss Lambert Steps Aboard Danger, but the word “spy” in the synopsis puts me off…:)

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      1. Yes, that was my first Ishiguro. Each story held my interest but most of the endings were disappointing. My daughter loved Remains of the Day and I think she is either currently reading or recently finished Klara & the Sun (her sister did not appreciate the latter). I sent her links to your site. She’s eager to get your recommendations.

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        1. Not so long ago, I had a moment when I was “re-considering” both Ishiguro & Pamuk. I think both have gone substantially downhill in their writing/story-telling after their Nobel Prize wins (Nobel Prize curse?), and I consider both “the authors of three good novels” each: The Remains of the Day, The Unconsoled, & Never Let Me Go for Ishiguro, & The White Castle, My Name is Red, & The Black Book for Pamuk. All published quite a long time ago now.

          And, thank you! I hope your daughter will find the site helpful.

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