Monday Musings
Every once and awhile, we’ll pull a small passage we love from the Maplopo library so we can deliver a translation you likely won’t find anywhere else. Mostly, these will be quick bites, but there will be long ones occasionally. So, if you’re learning Japanese, having Japanese “readers” like these with parallel text might be super-helpful.
Dig in.
These are fun, and super, super rare. And you’ll see them only from Maplopo.
About the Frontispiece by Hayashi Yoshikatsu
The back story on that famous picture of Osamu Dazai at Bar Lupin is one you won’t want to miss… Dazai’s got some moxie!
Hello, World! by Fujii Taiyo
Read this exclusive excerpted English translation of Taiyo Fujii’s “Hello World!”, and learn along with the original Japanese! Taiyo is a respected voice in Japan’s science fiction community and author the best selling books, Gene Mapper and Orbital Cloud. Enjoy!
On One’s Taste in Women with Sakaguchi, Oda, and Dazai
We just love this little back’n’forth between Buraiha masters Dazai Osamu, Sakaguchi Ango, and Oda Sakunosuke… reading it these many years later is like being the proverbial fly on the wall. Enjoy!
Bungo Stray Dogs fan? You’ll love this chat between these timeless Japanese literature masters.
Tsugaru by Dazai Osamu
The first in our JLit, Unvarnished series. A little bit of sass, a little bit of crass. So, probably more than a few swear words. How we think some of this dialog might’ve actually been spoken… and strictly for fun. 😉
Check out this excerpt from Dazai’s Tsugaru.
Iiyoru by Tanabe Seiko
Seiko Tanabe, like a number of Japanese authors wrote in a variety of styles. Her re-telling of the “Tale of Genji” being an interestingly different story than what you’ll read from Seiko in Iiyoru.
A Personal Letter by Nogami Yaeko
A wonderful passage from Yaeko Nogami, and a bit of insight about Yaeko from Critic, Hiroko Takenishi.
Maplopo’s lazy librarian