100 books like Japanese Tales of Mystery and Imagination

I came across Ugetsu Monogatari in a used bookshop at a time when I was voraciously reading everything I could lay my hands on about the Japanese supernatural. First published in 1776, it is rightly regarded as one of the most important collections of Japanese ghostly fiction. Ugetsu Monogatari gave me a greater and deeper insight into this fascinating world. Almost as Interesting as the book itself is the life story of the author. The son of a prostitute and an unknown father Ueda Akinari was born in a period when the Japanese were deeply interested in yokai and yurei. He himself was a firm believer in the supernatural. It is that belief and the influence of the period which makes this book such an essential read for anyone interested in the subject. It is a book that I often return to.

I first saw the film adaptation of Ring at a film festival in 1998 and was blown away by it. The English translation of the novel wasn’t published in the UK until 2004, but it was worth the wait. It’s difficult now that Sadako has become such a cliched and parodied character to appreciate the impact the character had. The book is much bigger in scope than the film, also providing the inspiration for the film Rasen. I slightly regretted not having read it before seeing the film so that I could have felt the impact Japanese readers must have felt. Ring was the first modern Japanese novel that I read. Reading it coincided with me getting to know Japan for real and was more of a point of reference than any guidebook. Long after I leave Japan, Ringu will remind me of the country I left behind.

This is the first in a three-volume set which I regard as one book. All are a total joy as they offer the reader the chance to read stories mostly not previously available in English. Having read the available famous stories of yurei and yokai to death, I felt like a little kid at Christmas when presented with the whole set (actually at Christmas!). Because the stories were written in many styles from the 1700s to the 2000s, and cover the whole range of Japanese ghost stories, I got a genuine insight into how tales of the Japanese supernatural have developed through the centuries and how the past influences the present. It was also interesting to see how contemporary events, such as World War II, influenced the stories. Just writing this makes me want to dive back into the stories.

I like macabre mysteries with compelling hooks and clever resolutions that blow my mind, and this book does exactly that. Japan has a long tradition of writing “fair play” mysteries, which they call honkaku novels. These borrow from the Golden Age of Detective Fiction in the vein of Agatha Christie but certainly are their own category. 

These novels are like puzzles, focusing on the rules of fair play by giving readers all they need to figure out the mystery. This story was my first honkaku story and is only the length of a novella (like many honkaku novels), and it’s also rather dark, which I enjoy since I like horror as much as mystery.

Whether a fan of anime and video games, or an admirer of ancient Noh drama and Kabuki dances, one can’t really know the heart of Japan without reading Lafcadio Hearn’s translations of ghostly tales, all contained in this amazing volume. There are demons and goblins that exist way-y-y beyond the average Westerner’s mind. There are legends that send chills up and down the spine, creatures without faces, a man who marries the love of his life only to lose her after just five years because she is really the soul of a tree… Enjoy these stories of the bewitched and karmically affected characters.

This 90s manga series is one of the first proper murder mystery manga. While it’s aged a bit and not a honkaku that readers can solve, it borrows a bit from some famous Japanese honkaku novels and might be a good introduction to Japanese murder mystery fiction. Despite the homages, this is distinctively its own story.

As is commonly done in Japanese mysteries, most involve a seemingly impossible murder in a remote location with a long list of shady suspects. While teenage detective Kindaichi Hajime tries to solve the case, more murders happen. The stories are creative, and the solutions are, too—this series often has more macabre moments but is often sympathetic to the killers.

This is a fair-play honkaku novel that involves a twist with the supernatural—in this case, zombies. In Japan or otherwise, most detective fiction tends to avoid the supernatural. Still, zombies actually do behave predictably, so they can be used in the way a murder weapon can. 

Again, you can also solve this mystery before the “detective reveal,” which I didn’t manage to do, but the solution also involves some clever tricks. My reason for recommending this is the use of zombies (to besiege a manor where the characters are holed up), giving this detective story a fresh and unique flavor I haven’t seen before.

The Case Closed manga series, which is called Detective Conan in Japan, is possibly the longest-running murder mystery series in the world. It has over 1,000 chapters, all short murder mysteries lasting 2-5 chapters. While they’re not honkaku mysteries with fair play that the reader can solve, they are interesting and creative. 

The art style can appear quite “kiddie,” but don’t be fooled—murder mystery fans can find plenty to enjoy here, as it’s clear that the creator is very widely read in detective fiction. It also involves a teenage sleuth shrunk to the size of a small child by a mysterious drug, so while the characters remain static, it has some background intrigue, too.

I sometimes forget how Edgar Allan Poe transformed the mystery and horror genres with the stories in this collection.

Here, you’ll find the very first modern detective stories: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Mystery of Marie Roget, and The Purloined Letter. Plus, we have his most famous works: The Pit and the Pendulum, The Fall of the House of Usher, The Premature Burial, The Cask of Amontillado, and The Tell-Tale Heart.

Filled with unforgettable images and horrific twists and turns, I love how each story creeps over me like a lengthening, darkening shadow.

Shigeru Mizuki is the late, great god of alternative manga (or gekiga). Suffused with personal experience and reflections, his work by turns playfully and powerfully explores pre-war childhood, near-death war-time experiences, politics, and – most importantly – the world of Japanese yōkai monsters. Nononba tells the story of his childhood education by his grandmother into the world of supernatural Japan, leading the way to his great yōkai series GeGeGe Kitaro. A memoir of love and loss, childhood innocence and imagination, Nononba was, in turn, a great education for me. Funny, strange, tender, and wise. And in places it freaks you out too!