+- kanji koohii FORUM (http://forum.koohii.com)
+-- Forum: Learning Japanese (http://forum.koohii.com/forum-4.html)
+--- Forum: Learning resources (http://forum.koohii.com/forum-9.html)
+--- Thread: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners (/thread-13677.html)
Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - kusogaijin - 2016-04-04
Hi everyone!
I've been using Aozora Bunko lately for reading practice and it's a fantastic resource (recently finished Dazai's 人間失格 which I loved). Only problem is I'm a bit overwhelmed by large selection and unsure where to go next. Looking at past threads it seems there's been a variety of discussion about resources there for beginners (children's books etc.) but very little about those for more advanced learners. Does anyone who's used the site have any personal recommendations?
Edit: I guess my reason for posting this is to get some recommendations from fellow Japanese learners, if possible
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - yukamina - 2016-04-04
I don't have a recommendation, but one thing you can do is search for recommendations in Japanese (like 青空文庫 おすすめ should bring up some stuff). I haven't really sunk into Aozora Bunko much myself yet; I have plenty of other things to keep me busy yet.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - Bokusenou - 2016-04-05
Natsume Soseki (夏目漱石) is good. I haven't read his stuff in Japanese yet, but I really loved them in English.
This site might be useful when reading his work:
http://www.sosekiproject.org/
I've also heard good things about Dazai's short stories.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - kusogaijin - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 12:23 am)Bokusenou Wrote: Natsume Soseki (夏目漱石) is good. This site might be useful when reading his work:
http://www.sosekiproject.org/
I've also heard good things about Dazai's short stories.
Very cool. Thank you!
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - Bokusenou - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 12:25 am)kusogaijin Wrote:No prob. Glad it helped!(2016-04-05, 12:23 am)Bokusenou Wrote: Natsume Soseki (夏目漱石) is good. This site might be useful when reading his work:
http://www.sosekiproject.org/
I've also heard good things about Dazai's short stories.
Very cool. Thank you!
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - Zgarbas - 2016-04-05
One can never read too much Dazai
Love that guy so much. Be careful of Taisho and earlier writers, they might give you a hard time. That being said, if you have patience and a good kanji dictionary/yomichan, you could give them a shot =) For the record, I've read most of these autors in English for various reasons.
Meiji period:
Tayama katai is said to pretty much have invented the modern novel in Japan. 布団 is the most famous one, though I personally liked 少女病 more.
Mori Oga is a classic, but tbh I find him very hard to read and kind of dull. I've read 舞姫, which is the most famous one.
Nakahara Chuuya is my favourite modern poet, and he's really accessible.
Kunikida Doppo is bleak af but so good.
Higuchi ichiyo is basically the first female writer that Japan had seen in a long time. I've read たけくらべ and enjoyed it.
Natsume Soseki has already been mentioned. こころ is the one to read if you ever want to take a japanese culture course. 吾輩は猫である is the one that's actually fun.
Taisho-Early Showa
tanizaki Junichiro is amazing. Unfortunately, aozora doesn't have the stuff I've read by him so I'm not sure what to recommend...
Akutagawa Ryunosuke is a classic. I found 河童 really funny, though 羅生門 is the famous one. くもの糸 is also pretty haunting.
Miyamoto Yuriko said in the 1930s what US feminists started discovering in the 1980. it's not fiction tho
Hayashi Fumiko is pretty good (I liked 下町）
That's all that comes to mind atm, but I'm sure there are more.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - pm215 - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 3:36 am)Zgarbas Wrote: Mori Ogai is a classic, but tbh I find him very hard to read and kind of dull. I've read 舞姫, which is the most famous one.I'm reading a (paperback) set of his short stories right now and quite enjoying it, though it's certainly not an easy read (the edition I have has notes at the back that define some obscure vocab for the benefit of the Japanese reader, and Ogai also tends to use loanwords from German or French where modern Japanese would use the English). I'm not sure exactly why I like them, and maybe I wouldn't have liked them if I'd read them in English...
Quote:Tanizaki Junichiro is amazing.I particularly like his non-fiction writing; I have the book 陰翳礼讃 which has that essay (the famous _In Praise Of Shadows_) and others. Personal favourite is the essay which recounts some of the author's most memorable toilet experiences...
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - eslang - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 3:36 am)Zgarbas Wrote: Taisho-Early ShowaDead Writers Society
tanizaki Junichiro is amazing. Unfortunately, aozora doesn't have the stuff I've read by him so I'm not sure what to recommend...
死せる作家の会
谷崎潤一郎（1886.7.24～1965.7.30）
http://www.jca.apc.org/~earthian/aozora/dead.html
2014年09月15日
ＴＰＰによる著作権保護期間延長が行われた場合の青空文庫の対応
http://www.aozora.gr.jp/soramoyou/soramoyou2014.html#000459
2015年03月08日
「TPP著作権条項に関する緊急声明」について
http://www.aozora.gr.jp/soramoyou/soramoyou2015.html#000466
公益社団法人著作権情報センター CRIC
requested Aozora Bunko site to remove the (dead) authors literary works that were under copyright.
Anyway, 谷崎潤一郎 is under construction (i.e. being typed and proofreading by volunteers) at the moment.
作業中： 作家別・作品別
40. 谷崎 潤一郎 (作業中：31)
http://www.aozora.gr.jp/index_pages/person_inp_ta.html
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - RawToast - 2016-04-05
Bokusenou Wrote:Natsume Soseki (夏目漱石) is good. I haven't read his stuff in Japanese yet, but I really loved them in English.
This site might be useful when reading his work:
http://www.sosekiproject.org/
I wouldn't call myself and advanced learner, but I've been finding Souseki to be good material for intensive reading above my level. That site is amazing companion to "Breaking into Japanese Literature", as it has the other Nights of Dreams and additional audio resources.
Has anyone here tried reading the more advanced "Exploring Japanese Literature"? It's marketed as being for advanced learners and contains:
- Snow Country ( 雪国ゆきぐに) by Yasunari Kawabata,
- Patriotism ( 憂国ゆうこく) by Yukio Mishima
- The Secret ( 秘密ひみつ) by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - umetani666 - 2016-04-05
if you want a real challenge, try reading kyoka izumi's short stories. he's also the best japanese writer i've encountered so far (and i've read many). very famous in japan, most people have at least heard of him, but for some reason completely unknown in the west. he's been compared to e.a. poe for his stories of ghosts and macabre phenomena, but a) kyoka's stories are much more narratively complex and b) they are written in a more modern, purely visual way (kyoka's writing was influenced by early cinema techniques, such as editing).
an example of his more conventional and simpler tales is famous 高野聖, while 春昼/春昼後刻 is one of his best and most diffucult.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - Bokusenou - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 3:36 am)Zgarbas Wrote: One can never read too much Dazai
Be careful of Taisho and earlier writers, they might give you a hard time. That being said, if you have patience and a good kanji dictionary/yomichan, you could give them a shot =) For the record, I've read most of these autors in English for various reasons.
Meiji period:
Tayama katai is said to pretty much have invented the modern novel in Japan. 布団 is the most famous one, though I personally liked 少女病 more.
Mori Oga is a classic, but tbh I find him very hard to read and kind of dull. I've read 舞姫, which is the most famous one.
Nakahara Chuuya is my favourite modern poet, and he's really accessible.
Kunikida Doppo is bleak af but so good.
Higuchi ichiyo is basically the first female writer that Japan had seen in a long time. I've read たけくらべ and enjoyed it.
Natsume Soseki has already been mentioned. こころ is the one to read if you ever want to take a japanese culture course. 吾輩は猫である is the one that's actually fun.
Taisho-Early Showa
tanizaki Junichiro is amazing. Unfortunately, aozora doesn't have the stuff I've read by him so I'm not sure what to recommend...
Akutagawa Ryunosuke is a classic. I found 河童 really funny, though 羅生門 is the famous one. くもの糸 is also pretty haunting.
Miyamoto Yuriko said in the 1930s what US feminists started discovering in the 1980. it's not fiction tho
Hayashi Fumiko is pretty good (I liked 下町）
That's all that comes to mind atm, but I'm sure there are more.
Ooh, lots of great-looking recommendations! I also didn't know there were feminist writings in Aozora Bunko! Seems really interesting. Big thanks for posting this!
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - kusogaijin - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 3:36 am)Zgarbas Wrote: One can never read too much Dazai
Be careful of Taisho and earlier writers, they might give you a hard time. That being said, if you have patience and a good kanji dictionary/yomichan, you could give them a shot =) For the record, I've read most of these autors in English for various reasons.
Meiji period:
Tayama katai is said to pretty much have invented the modern novel in Japan. 布団 is the most famous one, though I personally liked 少女病 more.
Mori Oga is a classic, but tbh I find him very hard to read and kind of dull. I've read 舞姫, which is the most famous one.
Nakahara Chuuya is my favourite modern poet, and he's really accessible.
Kunikida Doppo is bleak af but so good.
Higuchi ichiyo is basically the first female writer that Japan had seen in a long time. I've read たけくらべ and enjoyed it.
Natsume Soseki has already been mentioned. こころ is the one to read if you ever want to take a japanese culture course. 吾輩は猫である is the one that's actually fun.
Taisho-Early Showa
tanizaki Junichiro is amazing. Unfortunately, aozora doesn't have the stuff I've read by him so I'm not sure what to recommend...
Akutagawa Ryunosuke is a classic. I found 河童 really funny, though 羅生門 is the famous one. くもの糸 is also pretty haunting.
Miyamoto Yuriko said in the 1930s what US feminists started discovering in the 1980. it's not fiction tho
Hayashi Fumiko is pretty good (I liked 下町）
That's all that comes to mind atm, but I'm sure there are more.
What a beautiful list! This should keep me busy for quite a while. ^^
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - kusogaijin - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 5:48 am)eslang Wrote:(2016-04-05, 3:36 am)Zgarbas Wrote: Taisho-Early ShowaDead Writers Society
tanizaki Junichiro is amazing. Unfortunately, aozora doesn't have the stuff I've read by him so I'm not sure what to recommend...
死せる作家の会
谷崎潤一郎（1886.7.24～1965.7.30）
http://www.jca.apc.org/~earthian/aozora/dead.html
2014年09月15日
ＴＰＰによる著作権保護期間延長が行われた場合の青空文庫の対応
http://www.aozora.gr.jp/soramoyou/soramoyou2014.html#000459
2015年03月08日
「TPP著作権条項に関する緊急声明」について
http://www.aozora.gr.jp/soramoyou/soramoyou2015.html#000466
公益社団法人著作権情報センター CRIC
requested Aozora Bunko site to remove the (dead) authors literary works that were under copyright.
Anyway, 谷崎潤一郎 is under construction (i.e. being typed and proofreading by volunteers) at the moment.
作業中： 作家別・作品別
40. 谷崎 潤一郎 (作業中：31)
http://www.aozora.gr.jp/index_pages/person_inp_ta.html
Good to know. Thanks.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - eslang - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 12:25 pm)Bokusenou Wrote: Ooh, lots of great-looking recommendations! I also didn't know there were feminist writings in Aozora Bunko! Seems really interesting. Big thanks for posting this!When I think about the Banana's half-complete kitchen dream, Bokusenou (username) looks familiar once again. Just out of curiosity, did you manage to complete the kitchen dream?
There are other female writers, such as 与謝野 晶子 and 林 芙美子 . Just scroll right down to 外部リンク at the end of the webpage, and look for 青空文庫 link, click on that link and it will be directed to Aozora Bunka site.
日本の近現代文学史
戦後になると女性作家の活躍も目立つようになり、野上弥生子、宇野千代、林芙美子、佐多稲子、幸田文、円地文子、平林たい子、瀬戸内晴美、田辺聖子、有吉佐和子らが筆を揮った。
Hope you'll enjoy reading them.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - Zgarbas - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 12:25 pm)Bokusenou Wrote: Ooh, lots of great-looking recommendations! I also didn't know there were feminist writings in Aozora Bunko! Seems really interesting. Big thanks for posting this!
If you're into feminist writing, then aozora buko is a great place, since it has a lot of stuff from the Bluestockings period, as well as some pretty badass marxist-feminists and anarchists of the day...
Ito Noe
Tamura Toshiko
Mizuno Senko
Akiko Yosano
Unfortunately Hiratsuka Raicho isn't on there, though 元始、女性は太陽であった isn't that hard to find online.
And not part of a movement (how much he was a feminist is up for debate since he was quite a controversial figure), but Dazai Osamu's Schoolgirl is also a really good read
.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - eslang - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-04, 11:41 pm)kusogaijin Wrote: Hi everyone!The author 泉 鏡花 recommended by umetani666 is pretty good.
I've been using Aozora Bunko lately for reading practice and it's a fantastic resource (recently finished Dazai's 人間失格 which I loved). Only problem is I'm a bit overwhelmed by large selection and unsure where to go next. Looking at past threads it seems there's been a variety of discussion about resources there for beginners (children's books etc.) but very little about those for more advanced learners. Does anyone who's used the site have any personal recommendations?
Edit: I guess my reason for posting this is to get some recommendations from fellow Japanese learners, if possible
高野聖 (Kouyahijiri) is available at Librivox audiobooks, to read along if necessary.
Besides Dazai 人間失格, are there any other Japanese authors that you have enjoyed reading so far?
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - eslang - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 5:53 am)RawToast Wrote: I wouldn't call myself and advanced learner, but I've been finding Souseki to be good material for intensive reading above my level. That site is amazing companion to "Breaking into Japanese Literature", as it has the other Nights of Dreams and additional audio resources.There is a movie version ユメ十夜 (2007) based on Natsume novel, Ten Nights of Dream.
Sōseki Natsume Librivox audiobooks
(2016-04-05, 5:53 am)RawToast Wrote: Has anyone here tried reading the more advanced "Exploring Japanese Literature"? It's marketed as being for advanced learners and contains:Actually, I prefer all the three authors listed on "Exploring Japanese Literature" because their writing style are much more sensual and beautifully crafted (imo). However, Kawabata and Mishima literary works are under copyright license, so they won't be available on Aozora Bunko at this point in time. Tanizaki works are under construction at Aozora Bunko.
- Snow Country ( 雪国ゆきぐに) by Yasunari Kawabata,
- Patriotism ( 憂国ゆうこく) by Yukio Mishima
- The Secret ( 秘密ひみつ) by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - eslang - 2016-04-05
(2016-04-05, 4:05 am)pm215 Wrote:In this program 世界一受けたい授業, 小森陽一 先生 explained about 夏目漱石を読み解く3つのカギ, the different writing style of Natsume Sōseki (夏目漱石) from other contemporary writers, such as Mori Ōgai (森鴎外) and Higuchi Ichiyō (樋口一葉).(2016-04-05, 3:36 am)Zgarbas Wrote: Mori Ogai is a classic, but tbh I find him very hard to read and kind of dull. I've read 舞姫, which is the most famous one.I'm reading a (paperback) set of his short stories right now and quite enjoying it, though it's certainly not an easy read (the edition I have has notes at the back that define some obscure vocab for the benefit of the Japanese reader, and Ogai also tends to use loanwords from German or French where modern Japanese would use the English). I'm not sure exactly why I like them, and maybe I wouldn't have liked them if I'd read them in English...
Quote:Tanizaki Junichiro is amazing.I particularly like his non-fiction writing; I have the book 陰翳礼讃 which has that essay (the famous _In Praise Of Shadows_) and others. Personal favourite is the essay which recounts some of the author's most memorable toilet experiences...
Dailymotion video 世界一受けたい授業 正月太り解消ランニング法 2016年1月16日 is available, google search for it.
Perhaps it might be easier to read 舞姫 in the modern (translated) version : 現代語訳 舞姫 (ちくま文庫) ： 森鴎外 (著)、井上靖 (翻訳)
Mori Ōgai Librivox audiobooks
You mentioned about reading 陰翳礼讃 back then in 2011. It is great to know that you find Tanizaki book of essays very difficult but rewarding read.
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - kusogaijin - 2016-04-06
(2016-04-05, 10:20 pm)eslang Wrote:(2016-04-04, 11:41 pm)kusogaijin Wrote: Hi everyone!The author 泉 鏡花 recommended by umetani666 is pretty good.
I've been using Aozora Bunko lately for reading practice and it's a fantastic resource (recently finished Dazai's 人間失格 which I loved). Only problem is I'm a bit overwhelmed by large selection and unsure where to go next. Looking at past threads it seems there's been a variety of discussion about resources there for beginners (children's books etc.) but very little about those for more advanced learners. Does anyone who's used the site have any personal recommendations?
Edit: I guess my reason for posting this is to get some recommendations from fellow Japanese learners, if possible
高野聖 (Kouyahijiri) is available at Librivox audiobooks, to read along if necessary.
Besides Dazai 人間失格, are there any other Japanese authors that you have enjoyed reading so far?
Murakami's definitely one of my favorites as I find his style both accessible and engaging. Before I started studying Japanese I also really enjoyed reading English translations of Banana Yoshimoto and Oe Kenzaburo (haven't gotten around to reading them in their original language).
As far as older authors go, I've read short stories by Soseki and Akutagawa, but I think I like Dazai the most (read a another short storyトカトントン today). There's something appealing to me about the dark, psychological themes he explores in his work.
Thank you everyone for your awesome recommendations so far. This thread is becoming a gold mine. ^^
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - pm215 - 2016-04-18
(2016-04-05, 4:05 am)pm215 Wrote:...and then I hit 興津弥五右衛門の遺書, which is full of archaic forms like 成り候 and 渡らせらるる and 及びて, and the first page of the story has more than a page of footnotes explaining all the historical references. Skipping this one :-)(2016-04-05, 3:36 am)Zgarbas Wrote: Mori Ogai is a classic, but tbh I find him very hard to read and kind of dull. I've read 舞姫, which is the most famous one.I'm reading a (paperback) set of his short stories right now and quite enjoying it
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - rich_f - 2016-04-18
I was looking for a way to get all of the 青空文庫 books at once (because I'm lazy, and kind of a data hoarder, I guess), and I stumbled across this:
https://github.com/aozorabunko/aozorabunko
So you can download the entire website as a ZIP file, books and all. It's around 1.5GB. FWIW. (Yeah, they add new books on a regular basis, so it's not extremely useful, but in case you want to download ALL the 青空文庫, now you know how.)
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - Vempele - 2016-04-19
Or you could install Git and do
git clone https://github.com/aozorabunko/aozorabunko.git
And to update:
git pull origin master
RE: Aozora Bunko recommendations for advanced learners - eslang - 2016-05-11
(2016-04-06, 12:23 am)kusogaijin Wrote: Murakami's definitely one of my favorites as I find his style both accessible and engaging. Before I started studying Japanese I also really enjoyed reading English translations of Banana Yoshimoto and Oe Kenzaburo (haven't gotten around to reading them in their original language).I suppose you are referring Murakami （村上）, in this case to Haruki （春樹）, and not the other Murakami Ryū （村上隆）? I hope you'll find other fascinating and engaging Japanese authors when you're done with Dazai.
As far as older authors go, I've read short stories by Soseki and Akutagawa, but I think I like Dazai the most (read a another short storyトカトントン today). There's something appealing to me about the dark, psychological themes he explores in his work.
Thank you everyone for your awesome recommendations so far. This thread is becoming a gold mine. ^^
(Buonaparte thread have some audio files on Dazai, you may have to dig around for it though.)
I used to listen to the short podcast of 村上隆 and 伊坂幸太郎 over at 新刊ラジオPodcasting ─話題の本や新刊を耳で立ち読み！新刊JP─ where there are lots of interesting stuff.
For about 15 minutes of listening, I usually like to tune-in to NHK ラジオ第２ in the morning for my 朗読時間. The previous reading aloud by 朗読:近石真介（ムーブマン） is really entertaining and he is a very good voice artiste.
【新作】 「夏目漱石・百年の予言」第1回～第10回
テキスト:「吾輩は猫である」
Currently, it is broadcasting 「蓼喰う虫」 (Some Prefer Nettles) by 【作】谷崎潤一郎 (Tanizaki Jun'ichiro) and read-aloud by 【朗読】長谷川稀世.