American stories: [a Japanese writer's classic account of turn-of-the-century America]

Nagai Kafu is one of the greatest modern Japanese writers, but until now his classic collection, __American Stories,__ based on his sojourn from Japan to Washington State, Michigan, and New York City in the early years of the twentieth century, has never been available in English. Here, with a detailed and insightful introduction, is an elegant translation of Kafu's perceptive and lyrical account. Like de Tocqueville a century before, Kafu casts a fresh, keen eye on vibrant and varied America -- world fairs, concert halls, and college campuses; saloons, the immigrant underclass, and red-light districts. Many of his vignettes involve encounters with fellow Japanese or Chinese immigrants, some of whom are poorly paid laborers facing daily discrimination. The stories paint a broad landscape of the challenges of American life for the poor, the foreign born, and the disaffected, peopled with crisp individual portraits that reveal the daily disappointments and occasional euphorias of modern life. Translator Mitsuko Iriye's introduction provides important cultural and biographical background about Kafu's upbringing in rapidly modernizing Japan, as well as literary context for this collection. In the first story, "Night Talk in a Cabin," three young men sailing from Japan to Seattle each reveal how poor prospects, shattered confidence, or a broken heart has driven him to seek a better life abroad. In "Atop the Hill," the narrator meets a fellow Japanese expatriate at a small midwestern religious college, who slowly reveals his complex reasons for leaving behind his wife in Japan. Caught between the pleasures of America's cities and the stoicism of its small towns, he wonders if he can ever return home. Kafu plays with the contradictions and complexities of early twentieth-century America, revealing the tawdry, poor, and mundane underside of New York's glamour in "Ladies of the Night" while celebrating the ingenuity, cosmopolitanism, and freedom of the American city in "Two Days in Chicago." At once sensitive and witty, elegant and gritty, these stories provide a nuanced outsider's view of the United States and a perfect entrance into modern Japanese literature. ## Review An early masterpiece by one of the most famous writers of modern Japan. . . one of the most remarkable collections of stories about the United States ever composed by a Japanese writer. Long a classic in Japan, the publication of these stories in English translation is an event of considerable importance, long overdue. -- __Review__ Nagai Kafu's __American Stories__ is unquestionably among the most interesting works not only of his career but of Japanese literature in general in the early years of this century. It provides a panoramic view of the American continent through the eyes of an extraordinarily astute outside observer and at the same time paints an intimate portrait of the observer himself and his position between cultures. -- __Steven Snyder, University of Colorado, Boulder__ The __American Stories__ (Amerika monogatari) by Nagai Kafu (1879-1959), an early masterpiece by one of the most famous writers of modern Japan, was first published in 1908 and remains one of the most remarkable collections of stories about the United States ever composed by a Japanese writer. Long a classic in Japan, the publication of these stories in English translation is an event of considerable importance, long overdue. -- __J. Thomas Rimer, University of Pittsburgh__ ## Review Nagai Kafu's __American Stories__ is unquestionably among the most interesting works not only of his career but of Japanese literature in general in the early years of this century. It provides a panoramic view of the American continent through the eyes of an extraordinarily astute outside observer and at the same time paints an intimate portrait of the observer himself and his position between cultures. (Stephen Snyder, University of Colorado, Boulder ) "American Stories is based on Nagai Kafu's sojourn from Japan to Michigan, Washington State, and New York City in the early years of the twentieth century. Like Tocqueville a century before him, Kafu casts a fresh, keen eye on a vibrant and diverse America, painting a broad portrait of the challenges of American life for the poor, the foreign born, and the disaffected. Many vignettes involve encounters with fellow Japanese or Chinese immigrants. Mitsuko Iriye's introduction provides important cultural and biographical background and literary analysis to fully appreciate the intellectual and artistic achievements of Kafu's collection." from back cover 1. Night Talk in a Cabin 2. A Return Through the Meadow 3. Atop the Hill 4. The Inebriated Beauty 5. Long Hair 6. Spring and Autumn 7. Lodging on a Snowy Night 8. In the Woods 9. Bad Company 10. Old Regrets 11. Rude Awakening 12. Ladies of the Night 13. January First 14. Daybreak 15. Two Days in Chicago 16. The Sea in Summer 17. Midnight at a Bar 18. Fallen Leaves 19. Chronicle of Chinatown 20. Night Stroll 21. A June Night's Dream 22. A Night at Seattle Harbor 23. Night Fog From around October in the fall of 1903, I spent leisurely time in the United States and left New York for France last summer, July 1907; on that occasion I collected the various pieces I had written during my journey, which I have now entitled American Stories and respectfully present to my revered teacher and friend, Mr. Iwaya Sazanami. Nagai Kafū ; Translated And With An Introduction By Mitsuko Iriye.