Books published by Kurodahan Press

Japan has always had its own vampire tradition, and has eagerly naturalized Western vampires and vampire literature to produce exotic new hybrids and species of horror, of terror, and of sensual, exquisite beauty. Here are a few of their masterpieces.The Japanese word for vampire is ky¿ketsuki, which translates literally to "blood-sucking monster," but the literary tradition is far, far more complex.The practice of Buddhism permeates Japan, and burials are almost always by cremation... leaving the Count and his relatives with no coffins to sleep in! But there is more than one way to sip a little blood, as these authors reveal. Thanks to Bram Stoker, Christopher Lee, and countless others who have popularized the Western vampire, modern Japanese authors have an extensive range of traditions and tales to weave into their own creations.Contents Introduction - Raechel Dumas A Cultural Dynasty of Beautiful Vampires: Japan's Acceptance, Modifications, and Adaptations of Vampires - Shimokusu Masaya Blue Lady - Inoue Masahiko Kingdom - Asukabe Katsunori The Stone Castle - Kikuchi Hideyuki The One-Legged Woman - Okamoto Kid¿ Vampire - Hikage J¿kichi The Crimson Cloak - Asamatsu Ken Vow - Sunaga Asahiko The Husk Heir - Kajio Shinji A Piece of Butterfly's Wing - Kamon Nanami Unnatural - Okuda Tetsuya Paradise Missing - Iino Fumihiko Dracula's House - Fukuzawa Tetsuz¿ Birth of a Vampire - Konaka Chiaki Halvires - Mikawa Y¿ Parasol - Inoue Masahiko

Gold Mask is Edogawa Rampo's sixth novel featuring detective Akechi Kogor¿, as he investigates the crime spree of the uncanny costumed "Gold Mask." Lovers of crime fiction will be delighted to discover that this resourceful thief, confounding Akechi's every move, is none other than Maurice Leblanc's famous "gentleman burglar," Arsene Lupin! Given Lupin's obvious influence on Rampo's own Fiend with Twenty Faces, this work serves as a fascinating precursor to his Boy Detectives series, and marks another major step in the development of Japanese detective fiction in the period between the Wars.The novel was originally published as a newspaper serial in 1930-31, and has since been collected and released by a variety of publishers, including a revised children's edition from Poplar as part of the Boy Detectives series and in the definitive Kobunsha edition of Rampo's complete works, on which this translation is based.

One of the most important poets of contemporary Japan, Makoto ¿oka's works continue to resonate powerfully among readers today. He speaks to the spirit, not of Japan and the Japanese, but of humanity, and of the world we are a part of.This new edition brings together some of his best work in English translation by Janine Beichman, who worked with ¿oka for many years. Also included are the original Japanese poems, the author's own calligraphy and drafts, and selected photographs from his personal life... a book to be savored for a depth and beauty that surpasses any single cultural identity.

A journey into the carefree, today-centric generation of Japan's economic boom years, as they enjoy the cosmopolitan lifestyle of Tokyo while exploring new dimensions in Japanese society and self-image. It won the coveted Bungei Prize partly because it was so completely different from the relatively staid, traditional literature of the time, but also because it served as a guide into the evolving world of a rich, global, commercialized nation and a younger generation who grew up never knowing war.The Japanese students inhabiting these pages pursue pleasure, fashion, and the recognition of their peers, forging new senses of identity through brand-name goods and music, but even as they drift from encounter to encounter they remain aloof from serious involvement, isolated from the essential interactions and demands of Japanese society. The book is clearly a product of the time, with a bewildering array of names and events that fix it in the young college scene of the 70s and 80s, and presents a dazzling cross-section of a generation.Winner of the 1980 Bungei PrizeFinalist for the 1981 Akutagawa Prize

Like many things Japanese, the Japanese legal system has its peculiarities... and Professor Jones applies his decades of legal and teaching experience to shed light on its mysteries. As with most legal systems there is method to its madness, and while the reasoning behind it all is a bit different from the approaches of Western nations, it works. Usually.Based on the author's long-running feature in The Japan Times, the book offers a selection of his most important columns, plus other articles drawn from numerous sources, and including a number of never-before published pieces. Older articles have been updated to reflect more recent developments, but remain vitally important to understanding how things work in Japan. And in spite of being written by an attorney, the book is in everyday English, peppered with entertaining and sometimes stinging asides. Here, at last, is a glimpse into the Japanese legal system, ideal for foreign residents of Japan as well as legal researchers and practitioners.

World War II was a world-spanning conflict that engulfed dozens of countries, a maelstrom that dragged whole nations, religions, and millions of people to their deaths.But it was fought with more than merely guns and machines...Even before the War was begun in earnest, Nazi Germany had sent expeditions to the darkest hiding places of the world: to shadowed Africa, to the towering peaks of Tibet, and even to the frigid wastes of Antarctica.Their goal was to locate occult weaponry and "aid" for the glory of the Third Reich.And they were successful.But were those they sought truly allies? Or were they the old Gods themselves, waiting for their chance to remold the world of Man in their own image once again?Ken Asamatsu presents another fantastic novel of the War, the Cthulhu Mythos, and humanity trapped in the middle.

Erinys, tiny moon of Uranus, home to a tinier and almost forgotten colony. Left behind in the debris of the failed Outer Planet Revolt in 2099, Erinys is quietly decaying. For the hunted remnants of the Outer Planet Alliance (OPA), however, it offers a potential hiding place, and, possibly, a way to independence for the Outer Planets. With a highly detailed background, realistic technology, and convincing characters, The Erinys Incident is a fascinating journey from deep in the gravity well of the sun, to lonely outposts far beyond the rings of Saturn.When it comes to gritty, realistic Space Opera, Tani K¿sh¿'s name is always high on the list in Japan. With an extensive future history stretching from the early 21st century (and already partially overwritten by the pace of history!) into the far future, he writes of people and spaceships with quirks and "issues," facing life-and-death problems with creativity and dogged determination. Tani's first story in English, "Q-Cruiser Basilisk," was published to acclaim in Speculative Japan Volume 2 and Erinys reveals another part of his saga of the development of starfaring humanity. The author is currently revising his works to take recent astronomical discoveries (and technological developments) into account, and continuing to write new adventures set in the same universe.

First published in 1982, this delightful collection of essays and rewrites reinterprets, from a nonconformist perspective, such well-known and canonical Western stories as Grimm's Fairy Tales, Mother Goose stories, and Aesop's fables.Like Angela Carter's The Bloody Chamber, the author "breaks open classic fairy tales to find new things in them." Both Carter and Terayama give the tales a radical twist laced with dark taboo-violating undertones. The first half of this book includes Terayama's subversive analysis of such stories as The Emperor's New Clothes, The Bremen Town Musicians, Pinocchio, and Puss in Boots. In the latter half, he offers his own rewrites of Thumbelina, Little Red Riding Hood and Cinderella. In every case, he turns the story on its head, and then having thrown the reader off balance, asks them to follow him into new territory of unorthodox interpretation, arguing that the conventional interpretation of a story we have read for pleasure since childhood is ill-conceived and thoughtless.

The fourth book of our well-received Speculative Japan series introduces new talents from Japan, and fresh new stories by some of the outstanding authors we've introduced to the English-speaking world already. From deep in the mountains of the Japanese countryside to the plains of frigid Pluto, from a warm South Pacific isle to a freezing mountainside, to Mars or inside a lonely psyche... a positive smorgasbord of speculative enjoyment, in English for the first time!

A new collection of stories by Yasutaka Tsutsui, famed in Japan and worldwide for his darkly humorous, satirical handling of a vast range of themes central to the human condition. Although often criticized for his treatment of "e;taboo"e; subjects such as disabilities, the Emperor, and old age, he is also recognized as one of the founders of post-modern science fiction in Japan. A number of his works have been published to widespread acclaim in English including The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Salmonella Men on Planet Porno, and Paprika.

On the Brink is a captivating book penned by the talented author, Ryûshô Kadota. Published in 2014 by Kurodahan Press, this book offers an intriguing journey that readers won't forget. As part of the genre that it belongs to, it weaves a story that keeps you on the edge of your seat, always guessing what's next. Ryûshô Kadota's unique storytelling ability is on full display in this riveting book. The author's deep understanding of the genre is evident in the way the story unfolds. The narrative is beautifully crafted, and the characters are well-developed, making it a must-read. On the Brink is a testament to Ryûshô Kadota's literary prowess and a remarkable addition to the 2014 publications. Kurodahan Press, renowned for their selection of engaging titles, definitely made a great choice in publishing this book. If you're looking for a book that will keep you engaged from start to finish, then On the Brink by Ryûshô Kadota is the one for you.

Presenting a new collection of stories exploring the perennial themes of Miyamoto Teru's fiction, narrative sketches of the working-class world of the Osaka-Kobe region of his childhood employing memory to reveal a story in layered frames of time with consummate skill. His work examines the mutual proximity--or even the identity--of life and death, often touching on such grim topics with a touch of humor. Stories of personal triumph and hope are often set in situations involving death, illness, or loss, but what might be the stuff of tragedy in the hands of some writers turns into stepping stones for his characters to climb upward and onward.Miyamoto's considerable and devoted following in Japan has come increasingly to be mirrored in other Asian countries and parts of Europe as his fiction has been translated into various languages.With renditions of only three of his works currently available in English, however, Anglophone readers have for the most part been unaware of the "Teru" literary phenomenon. The present collection aims to fill part of this lack by offering a selection of some his finest short stories along with one of his most admired novellas--Phantom Lights--which was made into the internationally acclaimed 1995 movie Maborosi by Koreeda Hirokazu.The will to live, karma, and death are themes developed through the lives of Miyamoto's fictional characters, who struggle to achieve closure with their respective pasts and in their often difficult relations with others. The comments of Washington Times writer Anna Chambers in her review of Kinshu: Autumn Brocade aptly apply to the works presented here as well: "...existential crisis after existential crisis force the characters to question whether one can shape one's own karma--rather than construct one's own soul, as a Western reader might have put it. And herein lies the Westerner's entree into the book as more than an observer of Japanese culture." And like Kinshu, the stories in the present collection provide "a satisfying taste of what it means to grapple with fate at the intersection of modernity and tradition."Miyamoto deftly weaves his tales using scenes and settings from his native Kansai region, and all are flavored with the language of western Japan. Like the depressed areas described in much of his fiction, his characters too are "left behind" by post-war Japan's rapid economic growth, by unexpected changes in their lives, or by the deaths of loved ones. His heroes are ordinary people who, as he puts it, "are trying to lift themselves up, who are struggling to live," and who achieve quiet triumphs.