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A review by lauraa_mariee
Three Japanese Short Stories by Kafū Nagai, Ryūnosuke Akutagawa, Koji Uno
5.0
"What power rules these tens of thousands of creatures, what makes them all unite in one voice to besiege me like this?" Nagai Kafuu
I loved these stories. The first one (which the quote above is from) was perhaps my favourite because it enlightened me with a little bit of country that the narrator experienced themselves in 20th century Japan. I especially liked reading and coming across a word that clearly can't be translated into English—for example, nagauta which is nagai (long) and uta (song). Other words might be "shoji" which are the thin paper doors/walls in some houses.
The second story I couldn't understand the meaning of as much, if there was one. But it was still a nice read about something anyone around the world might be able to connect with. (It is about a boy who cannot find the urge to actually do something.)
The third story didn't mean much to me at all, but perhaps that is because I don't already know anything about Japanese history (and legends?) as this is what it seems to focus on quite a bit. Although, I think it was the shortest of all three.
I loved these stories. The first one (which the quote above is from) was perhaps my favourite because it enlightened me with a little bit of country that the narrator experienced themselves in 20th century Japan. I especially liked reading and coming across a word that clearly can't be translated into English—for example, nagauta which is nagai (long) and uta (song). Other words might be "shoji" which are the thin paper doors/walls in some houses.
The second story I couldn't understand the meaning of as much, if there was one. But it was still a nice read about something anyone around the world might be able to connect with. (It is about a boy who cannot find the urge to actually do something.)
The third story didn't mean much to me at all, but perhaps that is because I don't already know anything about Japanese history (and legends?) as this is what it seems to focus on quite a bit. Although, I think it was the shortest of all three.