Reiko Seri

Doc Kane

As we edge toward the 75th anniversary of Osamu Dazai's death, much of his masterful prose remains surprisingly unknown to most English language readers. This observational vignette written by a youthful Dazai offers a lovely introduction to the introspective master widely known and loved in Japan. Translated in Japan by Reiko Seri and Doc Kane of Maplopo, this semi-autobiographical account should serve as a nice introduction to those unaware of Dazai's genius. For those well aware of his talents (and possibly the several decade-old translation of this particular work) this updated translation in English provides a fresh look at this masterful vignette.

Wish Fulfilled: A Vignette by Osamu Dazai

Reiko Kane

What is unhappiness? What does it mean to be unhappy? And can settling into it, breathing it in, enduring its weight upon us until we finally pass through it, actually be the answer to knowing its polar opposite? For Sakaguchi Ango, the answer to this last question would be an emphatic yes. To the first two, it would seem he never gave up the personal quest to find out. In this story, published in 1947 not long before his death, Sakaguchi confronts us no matter where we are on our journey in life to pause and think a bit more about where we're headed. Are we on the right path? Should we correct course? Do we think we're happy when we're really far from it? "Wind, Light, and the Twenty-Year-Old Me is the third in the Masters of Story series from Maplopo. This Sakaguchi Ango edition includes the full aftertalk from translators and publishers, Doc and Reiko Kane, as well as a biographical timeline of Sakaguchi Ango from his birth in 1906 to his death in 1955.

Wind, Light, and the Twenty-Year-Old Me

Atsushi Nakajima

In this classic tale of tortured ambition and the eventual discovery of artistic enlightenment, Nakajima Atsushi brilliantly blends Confucian and Zen Buddhist thought in a well crafted, cinematic story about an archer on a quest to be the greatest of all time. This Japanese literary masterpiece is the first in "Maplopo's "Masters of Story" collection. A unique gathering of Japanese literature translated into English that highlights some of the most wonderfully diverse stories from Japan's most treasured writers. The next release in the "Masters of Story" collection is "Wind, Light, and the Twenty-Year Old Me" from Sakaguchi Ango.

Doc Kane

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