Modern Japanese Literature

A collection of twenty-six shocking, awe-inducing short stories! A doctor tells a patient they can speak only one thousand words before their life ends. Someone’s boyfriend turns into a can of mackerel. A woman is in her sixth year of pregnancy. This mysterious world is full of laughter and...

Mimei Ogawa, a prolific author of short stories nearly 100 years ago, is considered to be one of the founding figures of modern Japanese children’s literature. He has also been called the Hans Christian Andersen of Japan because of how his works were influenced by Andersen. This collection contains a fresh, modern translation of one of Mimei Ogawa’s most famous works, "The Mermaid and the Red Candles", as well as several other stories that have never been translated and published in English before.