non-fiction for 2013

Like my previous post on forthcoming titles I thought I'd begin to compile a post of some noted non-fiction titles due in 2013 that seem to be grabbing my attention at the moment, no doubt I'll add to this initial list as time passes, but thought I start with four titles from Columbia University Press - due in August is Donald Keene's book on Meiji era poet Masaoka Shiki entitled The Winter Sun Shines In, then in July, (apologies for doing this in completely unchronological order), comes Michael Emmerich's huge tome - The Tale of Genji: Translation, Canonization and World Literature, an in depth re-examination of this landmark work, also in July is Burton Weston's translation of the Nihon ryoiki - Record of Miraculous Events in Japan, a book originally dating back to the eigth or ninth century. Lastly from Columbia University Press due in June is The Border Within - Essays by Kobo Abe, translated by Richard F. Calichman,  collecting twelve of Abe Kobo's essays, really interested to read a copy of this when it appears. Due in March from Minnesota University Press is Jeffrey Angle's translation of Hikikomori - Adolescence without End, by Saito Tamaki. Moving into the cinematic, Daisuke Miyao's The Aesthetic of Shadow: Lighting and Japanese Cinema  due in March from Duke's University Press looks like it'll make  fascinating reading. An intriguing title due at the end of this year from Merwin Asia Publishing is Modern Japanese Women Writers as Artists as Cultural Critics a collection of essays by three authors translated and discussed by Michiko Niikuni Wilson. An initial list that I'll probably and hope to add to over the coming months.


Modern Japanese Women Writers as Artists as Cultural Critics, translated by Michiko Niikuni Wilson, Dec 2012
General Will 2.0: Hiroki Azuma, translated Naoki Matsuyama - due March 2012
Hikikomori - Adolescence without End - Saito Tamaki, translated by Jeffrey Angles - due in March 2013
The Aesthetic of Shadow: Lighting and Japanese Cinema - Daisuke Miyao, due March 2013
The Border Within - Essays by Kobo Abe, translated by Richard F. Calichman, due June 2013
The Tale of Genji: Translation, Canonization and World Literature by Michael Emmerich, due July 2013
Record of Miraculous Events - Nihon ryoiki, translated by Burton Weston, due July 2013
The Reason I Jump - Naoki Higashida, translated by K.A Yoshida and David Mitchell, due June 2013
The Winter Sun Shines In by Donald Keene, due August 2013
Cinema of Actuality: Japanese filmmaking in the Season of Image Politics - Yuriko Furuhata, due Sept 2013
Decadent Literature in Twentieth Century Japan by Ikuho Amano, due December 2013
Public Properties: Museums in Imperial Japan by Noriko Aso, due December 2013



Whilst compiling this list the thought came to me that it's surprising that there hasn't ever been an appearance of an anthology of translated essays of Japanese writers or social critics, it could make an edifying portrait of Japan if say a collection were made up of essays taken from each decade of the twentieth century, (obviously it could also be dated by each of the years of the relevant era, Meiji, Taisho, Showa, etc), leading up to the present day. Which leads me to thinking which essays could be included.