Japanese Fiction in English! Read a Short Story by an Emerging Writer

Contemporary Japanese Fiction in Translation

Picture courtesy of Pacific Voice, Inc.

The Short Shorts Film Festival & Asia is one of the largest short film festivals in Asia with participants and fans from all around the world. The SSFF & Asia holds a series of programs in collaboration with Japan Cultural Expo. These programs are dedicated to promoting contemporary Japanese culture, including movies, cultural talks and events, as well as new Japanese literature to international audiences.

A program that is gathering immense attention right now is Book Shorts (Japanese), which promotes fiction by emerging and aspiring writers through an annual literary contest. In the frame of this project, writers are invited to submit original short stories inspired by local legends and folktales from around Japan.

The winner of the 2021 edition of the Book Shorts Literary Contest has just been announced! You can read this short story in English translation here.

Read “The one I want to meet” in English!

Heartwarming and Thought-Provoking: An Invitation to Read “The one I want to meet”

Picture courtesy of Pacific Voice, Inc.

“The one I want to meet” is a short story by Haruno Moe, a writer hailing from Yamagata. We can read this story in English translation thanks to Sharni Wilson who previously translated “Time Arrows,” a story by Masatomo Tamaru created in the frame of a similar project run by Japan Cultural Expo.

Picture courtesy of Pacific Voice, Inc.

If you've ever wanted to reunite with someone―so much that your imagination seems to have brought them back from the dead, then you'll most probably feel a deep connection to this story.

Haruno Moe's highly immersive narrative style will keep you wondering all the way to the end whether the main character slipped into a flow of events that his mind had made up or he's experiencing everything for real.

Photo by Pixta

“The one I want to meet” will delight you with some of the finest storytelling inspired by Japan's traditional ghost stories. At the same time, expect to encounter scenes from everyday life in Japan such as passengers falling asleep on trains, or the ritual cleaning of family graves.

We hope we sparked your curiosity and won't spoil your fun with more details. Enjoy the story (15-minute read)!

Read “The one I want to meet” in English!

Keep an Eye on Other Related Projects!

Picture courtesy of Pacific Voice, Inc.

Japan Cultural Expo and SSFF & Asia continue to hold exciting projects promoting contemporary Japanese culture. One of the programs involves the creation of short stories inspired by legends from around Japan and turning some of these stories into short films!

A recent example is “The Old Woman Skin,” a film that can be enjoyed online with English subtitles.

Please keep an eye on the latest releases in order to enjoy fresh cultural developments in contemporary Japanese culture with English guidance.

Read “The one I want to meet” in English!

Sponsored by The Committee for ShortShorts