10 Best Japanese Romance Novels
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Loading... - Junko Uchida
- 14 Jun 2022
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Japanese culture is one of high romance, both historical and modern. The unique challenges of Japanese romance heroes and heroines hold up to those of Western romances such as Pride and Prejudice and Jane Eyre, but they offer a unique setting and window into a world that is very new for many romance readers.
If you are looking for some romance novels to read written by well known Japanese authors, check out our list of the 10 most popular Japanese romance novels.
Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami
This striking, clean, and quirky book is about the young woman Tsukiko. Her life is at a bit of a dead-end and has grown very lonely after a series of failed relationships.
However, one night at a bar, she runs into an old high school teacher whose name she can’t remember. Over time, they start to grow closer and closer.
“Strange Weather in Tokyo” is a May-December romance, and focuses quite a bit on the food of Japan, making it a great way to learn what some of the unique foods of Japan taste like before you give them a try yourself, all while enjoying the unfolding romance.
The writing is spare in many places with simple elegance, and it occasionally branches off into a dreamlike tone. It is well worth a read for those looking for an unconventional romance story.
Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto
Kitchen is a story about a young woman who has to overcome the death of her grandmother while finding her own footing in the cooking world and perhaps even love.
The book received glowing reviews all over the world when it was first published in English 1993 (its original publication was in 1983 in Japanese).
It received multiple awards, including the 6th Kaien Newcomer Writers Prize in 1987 and the 9th Best Newcomer Artists in 1988.
The book touched so many that two movies, a TV movie out of Japan in 1989 and a feature film out of Hong Kong in 1997, have been made of it.
Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami
Set mostly in late 1960s Tokyo, this novel follows Tou Watanabe as he reminisces on his relationships with troubled Naoko and the lively Midori. Most of the characters are university students and the times as well as their emotions are troubled.
Nothing is simple for these young people as they navigate through life and relationships. Suicide, and the effects it has on surviving friends and family, is a common theme. In 2020, a film adaptation of the book was released.
When the book was published in 1987, it was hugely popular, and modern readers who give it a look will know why.
Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata
Distinctly Japanese, this story tells the tale of a young upper-class man who is in love with a provincial geisha who works as a prostitute in a hot spring town.
Because of the limitations of the time and the way their respective classes worked, their relationship was doomed from the start.
It is a stark story and makes excellent use of brief scenes to tell its story. It is one of the three novels cited by the Nobel Committee when they decided to award its author, Yasunari Kawabata, the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1968. Buy this Japanese novel here.
The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima
This book explores the saga of Shinji, the son of a pearl diver and her now-dead fisherman husband, and the daughter of a wealthy shipowner, the beautiful Hatsue.
The prospect of wealth and the return of long-forgotten acquaintances spurs jealousy and violence as the pair court and eventually fall in love as they face adversity and come of age.
It is fascinating to explore the intricacies of this coastal community and its challenges after the war. This incredible romance has spurred multiple live-action and animated adaptations and is deeply beloved by readers. Read More...
