Novels
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Book Fiction LiteratureShitamachi Rocket 2: The Gaudi Project
This is a sequel to Jun Ikeido’s Naoki Prize-winning business novel Shitamachi Roketto (Downtown Rocket), centering on a small precision machinery manufacturing company run by Kōhei Tsukuda in the old merchant-class district of Tokyo. In this installment, the company joins in on the development of the first domestically produced artificial heart valve.
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Book Fiction LiteratureTraining Center
Thirty-five men and six women enter the prefectural police academy as its 98th class of recruits. Six linked episodes follow the class as it moves toward graduation day, with some of the recruits surmounting the challenges and proceeding ahead and others, overcome by the trials, falling by the wayside.
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Book Fiction LiteratureMist
Mist is set in 1960's Hokkaidō, where the “Northern Territories” (the southernmost of the Kuril Islands, whose possession continues to be under dispute ever since they were occupied by the Soviet Union at the end of World War II) can be seen across the waters. With a compelling sense of realism, the story follows six years in the life of a woman who lives for love despite struggling with her politically influential sister. Written in Japanese.
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Book Fiction LiteratureNight Train
Five college friends reunite for Kyoto’s Kurama Fire Festival every October. Ten years ago, a sixth classmate, a woman named Hasegawa, then 20 years old, disappeared without a trace. With this memory casting a shadow over an otherwise happy occasion, the five share curious tales about friends and acquaintances that involve deaths and disappearances at night. The Japanese title Yakō is intended to suggest both the modern “night trains” that play a role in the stories, as well as the hyakki yakō—“night parade of a hundred demons”—of classical Japanese literature and folklore.
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Book Fiction LiteratureRomancier
Incredibly handsome Michinosuke Onmyōji has a secret crush on his male classmate, but moves to Paris after graduating from art school in Japan. There, at his part time job, Michinosuke becomes acquainted with the popular short story author Miharu Habu who introduces him to the inspiring world of lithography.
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Book Fiction LiteratureWelcome to Our Home
A terrifying stalker. A family in danger. An enemy at the office—just who is the mysterious culprit... The long awaited novel by award-winning author Jun Ikedo has finally arrived!
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Book Fiction LiteratureHow to Repel a Pigeon
In this suspense-filled novel, the inadvertent release of counterfeit bills into general circulation is linked to the disappearance of a husband, wife, and daughter. The story is narrated by “real-life” novelist Shin’ichi Tsuda, purportedly telling of his role in the events while also revealing the novel-within-a-novel he is writing based on them.
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Book Fiction LiteratureSaraba!
A man who was born in Iran and spent some of his formative years in Egypt looks back on his life from the age of thirty-seven. Much of his focus rests on his relationship with his elder sister, whose adjustment difficulties as a child spill over into his adult life.