Just So Happens

By Fumio Obata,

Book cover of Just So Happens

Book description

Yumiko was born in Japan but has made a life in London, losing herself in its cosmopolitan bustle. She has a gallery show of her art, a good job, and a good guy she plans to marry. The culture she grew up in seems very far away-until her brother phones…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

1 author picked Just So Happens as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Away from the 2011 disaster itself, Fumio Obata’s Just So Happens is a wonderful graphic novel again exploring that borderland between konoyo (this world) and anoyo (that world). And it just happens to be another story that bridges Japan and the West, this time Japan and the UK. Central character Yumiko travels back to Japan for a family funeral, and is immersed in a world of ritual, Shinto temples, Noh theatre – at once both familiar and strange to her. Word and image combine beautifully to draw on themes that have obsessed me for years. 

From Julian's list on to explore otherworldly Japan.

Want books like Just So Happens?

Our community of 11,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like Just So Happens.

Browse books like Just So Happens

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Japan, loss, and Tokyo?

Japan 516 books
Loss 118 books
Tokyo 92 books