An anthology of the greatest stories by modern Japanese masters (including previously overlooked women writers)! Fourteen distinct voices are assembled in this one-of-a-kind anthology tracing a nation's changing social landscapes. Internationally renowned writers like Yasunari Kawabata, Ryunosuke Akutagawa and Junichi Watanabe are joined by three notable women writers whose works have not yet received sufficient attention--Kanoko Okamoto, Fumiko Hayashi and Yumiko Kurahashi. Highlights of this anthology include: Kafu Nagai's bittersweet portrait of a privileged family's expiring existence in "The Fox" Ango Sakaguchi's heartening celebration of postwar chaos in "One Woman and the War" Fumiko Hayashi's unabashed exploration of female sexuality in "Borneo Diamond" Junichi Watanabe's chilling assessment of alienation and social dislocation in "Invitation to Suicide" Gishu Nakayama's look at an out-of-place prostitute recovering at a hot-spring resort in "Autumn Wind" Through brilliant, highly-praised translations by Lane Dunlop, The Best Japanese Short Stories offers fascinating glimpses of a society embracing change while holding tenaciously onto the past. A new foreword by Alan Tansman provides insightful back stories about the authors and the literary backdrop against which they created these great works of modern world literature.

Enchanting nature and magical little folk brought to life in a style reminiscent of Janet Ahlberg and Beatrix Potter.

"“Autumn wind, autumn rain, fill my heart with sorrow”—these were the last words of Qiu Jin (1875–1907), written before she was beheaded for plotting to overthrow the Qing empire. Eventually, she would be celebrated as a Republican martyr and China’s first feminist, her last words committed to memory by schoolchildren. Yet during her lifetime she was often seen as eccentric, even deviant; in her death, and still more in the forced abandonment of her remains, the authorities had wanted her to disappear into historical oblivion. Burying Autumn tells the story of the enduring friendship between Qiu Jin and her sworn-sisters Wu Zhiying and Xu Zihua, who braved political persecution to give her a proper burial. Formed amidst social upheaval, their bond found its most poignant expression in Wu and Xu’s mourning for Qiu. The archives of this friendship—letters, poems, biographical sketches, steles, and hand-copied sutra—vividly display how these women understood the concrete experiences of modernity, how they articulated those experiences through traditional art forms, and how their artworks transformed the cultural traditions they invoked even while maintaining deep cultural roots. In enabling Qiu Jin to acquire historical significance, their friendship fulfilled its ultimate socially transformative potential."

In the search for meaning, we often travel through the inner caves of being to discover the true value of in our lives. When at last the search turns within, it is there that we find the real guide, and then we can travel the road to mastery. Autumn Leaves Dancing in the Wind is a collection of personal reflections written at a time of search for meaning. There are times in our lives when we search for truth and must delve deeply within to find the true value of life. May the inner wisdom be of assistance to others in times of doubt, of search and uncertainty. If we let our inner wisdom guide, we learn that we already know the source of truth.

Set in post-World War II Morocco, Ireland, and the Mediterranean, The Spirit of the Autumn Wind is a high-seas adventure brimming with mystery and romance. When respected sea captain Regan Quinn and his lifelong friend, Niko, are accidentally involved in the murder of a drug lord's son in a back alley in Tangiers, they fear for their lives and must flee on separate ships. They make a plan to meet up in Ireland, where they hope to leave the past behind and start a new life. Niko hides out working as a galley cook aboard the Autumn Wind, where he is entrusted with the care of Regan Quinn's son, Christos, and must keep him, as well as a young family being smuggled aboard, safe from an unstable captain and the vengeful drug lords pursuing the ship. Regan Quinn, captain on the Seaward Angel, finds himself in a dangerous dilemma as he falls in love with Loren Lombardi, an attractive undercover investigator on board with a mission to prove he is guilty of murder. As the two ships sail toward their final destinations, danger and intrigue ensue while the colourful cast of characters, desperate to find answers and a safe place to land, must band together to survive....

Josh Jones realizes his family isn't typical, but it's the only life he's ever known. Aunt Lou, Gramps, Uncle Charlie, Grandpa--they all have shaped the young man he has become. But as he grows into manhood, Josh begins to face important questions about life, love, and faith. Three million books sold in the series!