Contents
The following table includes the major works of modern Japanese literature mentioned in study aids for Japanese high school students, with the addition of several others of interest to the Western reader. The transliteration of the Japanese title is given first, followed by an English translation and the name of the author. The English translation is fairly literal in most cases (often based on Keene's versions), although in a number of instances conventional or published titles have been used, especially for more recent titles. A timeline with more detailed information is planned for the future.
Date |
Japanese Title |
English Translation (Author/Compiler) |
| 1871 | Aguranabe | Sitting Around the Stewpan (Kanagaki Robun) |
| 1872 | Gakumon no susume | The Encouragement of Learning (Fukuzawa Yukichi) |
| 1882 | Shintaishishō | Collection of Poems in the New Style (Toyama Masakazu, et al.) |
| 1885 | Shōsetsu shinzui | The Essence of the Novel (Tsubouchi Shōyō) |
| 1887 | Ukigumo | The Drifting Cloud (Futabatei Shimei) |
| 1889 | Nininbikuni irozange | Two Nuns' Confessions of Love (Ozaki Kōyō) |
| 1890 | Maihime | The Dancer (Mori Ōgai) |
| 1891 | Gojū no tō | The Five-Storied Pagoda (Kōda Rohan) |
| 1892 | Sokkyō shijin | Improvisatoren (Mori Ōgai) |
| 1895 | Takekurabe | Growing Up (Higuchi Ichiyō) |
| 1895 | Nigorie | Troubled Waters (Higuchi Ichiyō) |
| 1896 | Tajō takon | Great Passion, Deep Grief (Ozaki Kōyō) |
| 1897 | Wakanashū | Seedlings (Shimazaki Tōson) |
| 1897 | Konjiki yasha | The Demon Gold (Ozaki Kōyō) |
| 1898 | Utayomi ni atauru sho | Letters to the Tanka Poets (Masaoka Shiki) |
| 1900 | Kōya hijiri | The Saint of Mount Kōya (Izumi Kyōka) |
| 1901 | Midaregami | Tangled Hair (Yosano Akiko) |
| 1905 | Wagahai wa neko de aru | I Am a Cat (Natsume Sōseki) |
| 1906 | Hakai | The Broken Commandment (Shimazaki Tōson) |
| 1906 | Botchan | Little Master (Natsume Sōseki) |
| 1907 | Futon | The Quilt (Tayama Katai) |
| 1908 | Amerika monogatari | Tales of America (Nagai Kafū) |
| 1909 | Inaka kyōshi | A Country Teacher (Tayama Katai) |
| 1909 | Jashūmon | The Heretics (Kitahara Hakushū) |
| 1910 | Ichiaku no suna | A Handful of Sand (Ishikawa Takuboku) |
| 1910 | Shisei | The Tattoo (Tanizaki Jun'ichirō) |
| 1910 | Abashiri made | All the Way to Abashiri (Shiga Naoya) |
| 1910 | Tsuchi | The Soil (Nagatsuka Takashi) |
| 1911 | Gan | The Wild Goose (Mori Ōgai) |
| 1912 | Kanashiki gangu | Sad Toys (Ishikawa Takuboku) |
| 1913 | Shakkō | Red Light (Saitō Mokichi) |
| 1914 | Dōtei | The Road Ahead (Takamura Kōtarō) |
| 1914 | Kokoro | The Heart (Natsume Sōseki) |
| 1915 | Sanshōdayū | Sanshō the Bailiff (Mori Ōgai) |
| 1915 | Rashōmon | Rashōmon (Akutagawa Ryūnosuke) |
| 1916 | Hana | The Nose (Akutagawa Ryūnosuke) |
| 1916 | Meian | Light and Darkness (Natsume Sōseki) |
| 1917 | Tsuki ni hoeru | Howling at the Moon (Hagiwara Sakutarō) |
| 1917 | Kinosaki nite | At Kinosaki (Shiga Naoya) |
| 1917 | Wakai | Reconciliation (Shiga Naoya) |
| 1918 | Jojōshōkyokushū | Short Lyrics (Murō Saisei) |
| 1919 | Yūjō | Friendship (Mushanokōji Saneatsu) |
| 1919 | Aru onna | A Certain Woman (Arishima Takeo) |
| 1919 | Shokugo no uta | After-Dinner Songs (Kinoshita Mokutarō) |
| 1921 | An'ya kōro | A Dark Night's Passing (Shiga Naoya) |
| 1923 | Sanshōuo | The Salamander (Ibuse Masuji) |
| 1923 | Aoneko | The Blue Cat (Hagiwara Sakutarō) |
| 1924 | Hara to shura | Spring and the Demon (Miyazawa Kenji) |
| 1924 | Chijin no ai | A Fool's Love (Tanizaki Jun'ichirō) |
| 1925 | Aki no hitomi | Autumn Eyes (Yagi Jūkichi) |
| 1925 | Remon | Lemon (Kajii Motojirō) |
| 1926 | Izu no odoriko | The Izu Dancer (Kawabata Yasunari) |
| 1929 | Yoakemae | Before the Dawn (Shimazaki Tōson) |
| 1930 | Sokuryōsen | The Survey Boat (Miyoshi Tatsuji) |
| 1930 | Katsushika | Katsushika (Mizuhara Shūōshi) |
| 1934 | Ani imōto | Brother and Sister (Murō Saisei) |
| 1934 | Yagi no uta | Goat Songs (Nakahara Chūya) |
| 1935 | Yukiguni (first version) | Snow Country (Kawabata Yasunari) |
| 1935 | Nakano Shigehara shishū | Collected Poems of Nakano Shigehara (Nakano Shigehara) |
| 1937 | Bokutō kidan | A Strange Tale from East of the River (Nagai Kafū) |
| 1938 | Arishi hi no uta | Songs of Bygone Days (Nakahara Chūya) |
| 1938 | Mugi to heitai | Wheat and Soldiers (Hino Ashihei) |
| 1939 | Fugaku hyakkei | The Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji (Dazai Osamu) |
| 1940 | Hashire Merosu | Run, Melos! (Dazai Osamu) |
| 1941 | Chieko-shō | Chieko: Vignettes (Takamura Kōtarō) |
| 1943 | Sasameyuki | The Makioka Sisters (lit. A Thin Blanket of Snow) (Tanizaki Jun'ichirō) |
| 1946 | Shirei | Spirits of the Dead (Haniya Yutaka) |
| 1947 | Shayō | The Setting Sun (Dazai Osamu) |
| 1948 | Ningen shikkaku | No Longer Human (Dazai Osamu) |
| 1948 | Nobi | Fires on the Plain (Ōoka Shōhei) |
| 1948 | Yukiguni (final version) | Snow Country (Kawabata Yasunari) |
| 1953 | Rokujūni no sonetto | Sixty-two Sonnets (Tanikawa Shuntarō) |
| 1955 | Taiyō no kisetsu | Season of the Sun (Ishihara Shintarō) |
| 1956 | Kinkakuji | The Temple of the Golden Pavilion (Mishima Yukio) |
| 1957 | Shisha no ogori | Lavish Are the Dead (Ōe Kenzaburō) |
| 1962 | Suna no onna | The Woman in the Dunes (Abe Kōbō) |
| 1966 | Chinmoku | Silence (Endō Shūsaku) |
| 1978 | Yūgure made | Until Dark (Yoshiyuki Junnosuke) |
| 1979 | Dōjidai geemu | A Contemporary Game (Ōe Kenzaburō) |
| 1980 | Koinu rokkā beibiizu | Coin-Locker Babies (Murakami Ryū) |
| 1985 | Sekai no owari to hādoboirudo wandārando | Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World (Murakami Haruki) |
| 1987 | Kōshi | Confucius (Inoue Yasushi) |
| 1987 | Sarada kinenbi | Salad Anniversary (Tawara Machi) |
| 1987 | Noruei no mori | Norwegian Wood (Murakami Haruki) |
| 1988 | Kitchin | Kitchen (Yoshimoto Banana) |
| 1989 | Yumetsukai | Dream Messenger (Shimada Masahiko) |
| 1990 | Bungakubu Tadano Kyōju | Professor Tadano of the Literature Department (Tsutsui Yasutaka) |
| 1990 | Reberu 7 | Level 7 (Miyabe Miyuki) |
| 1992 | Animaru rojikku | Animal Logic (Yamada Amy) |
| 1994-95 | Nejimakidori kuronikaru | The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (Murakami Haruki) |
| 1998 | Hi no yama | Mountain of Fire (Tsushima Yūko) |
| 2003 | Yōgisha no yakōressha | Suspect on the Night Train (Tawada Yōko) |