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Hindustan Times
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hindustan Times
Jim Rion: 'Fair-play mystery is still alive and well in Japan'
How did you end up living in Yamaguchi? Jim Rion (Courtesy the subject) It was all just an accident, really. I was living and studying in Germany before I came here. Just as I was coming to the end of my time there and wondering where to go next, a friend from university emailed out of the blue. She said she was working at an English school in Yamaguchi that was looking for a teacher; was I interested? And I thought, 'Why not give it a try?' I'm glad I did it, because here I am, 20 years later, and happy as can be. What got you interested in sake and writing about the Yamaguchi breweries? The first thing was just enjoying the drink. I came here in 2004, and Yamaguchi was right at the start of a big jump in sake quality and recognition. So, the people around me were all excited to share the local drink with this new guy. Over time, as I began to learn more about the brewing process, I was attracted to all the craft skill that goes into it. I've always been a fan of traditional craft and making things by hand, and sake is certainly a good example. Then, when I started working as a translator, I saw my position as a way to both get closer to that craft and maybe also help share these wonderful local products with the world. 'I came here in 2004, and Yamaguchi was right at the start of a big jump in sake quality and recognition. So, the people around me were all excited to share the local drink with this new guy. ' Having interacted with Uketsu's work closely as a translator, what stood out for you as a dominant theme in the book? Strange Pictures is an unusual book that you can just read for the chills and the mysteries but also rewards some deeper reading and exploration of themes. As a translator, of course I wanted to get as deep as possible to make sure I didn't miss anything when I was bringing it into English. I won't go into spoiler territory, but as I went through the book over and over, I came to feel that the essential theme of Strange Pictures is motherhood, and how it can be both a source of boundless love and also a terribly dangerous thing. You've mentioned in your blog about the challenges of translating Strange Pictures – the Kanji characters, the name of the blog in chapter one, etc. What are some of the most common challenges when it comes to translating Japanese into English? I think there are two things about Japanese that make it particularly challenging to translate for me personally — other people surely have their own lists. One is purely linguistic, and one is stylistic. The linguistic issue is that sentences often leave out the subject, ie who it is that is speaking or doing some action, which we can't do as much in English. In Japanese, the subject is usually understood from context, but sometimes it is intentionally left vague. In the mystery and horror genres in particular, not knowing is often essential to the impact of a story. The need for English to know the subject of a sentence introduces a danger of ruining the surprise. The real challenge, then, is not necessarily that of deciding who did something, but how to write a meaningful English sentence without ruining some kind of plot point. The stylistic issue is that Japanese writing uses repetition in ways that English writing simply doesn't. For example, it's very common in written dialogue for one person to make a statement, then for the narrative text to repeat the idea in other words. So, you might get an exchange that would be directly translated like, 'This isn't just an accident. Someone killed him.' He was saying this was deliberate? In other words, murder? Which is three ways of saying the exact same thing, and people reading in English, without that kind of style, might get tired of a novel that did that for every major exchange. So, I have to both stay true to the tone and the meaning of the original while still making the English text something people will enjoy reading. 'Strange Picturesis an unusual book that you can just read for the chills and the mysteries but also rewards some deeper reading and exploration of themes.' What do you make of Uketsu's enigmatic disposition? With respect to the fact that he never shows his face, he has a somewhat unconventional profile of a YouTuber-turned-author, the narrative he chooses to engage in is quite different. I've heard Uketsu himself talk about this several times now, and I think that the way people are focused on his mask and body-stocking is an excellent example of organic identity building. He has said in several interviews that he was simple concerned about preserving anonymity as a guy making those 'weird videos' at the start of his YouTube career, but now they've become essential to the Uketsu mystique. I don't think he ever dreamed he would become as famous as he is, so I doubt he had much of a plan. So, the unconventional profile and narrative are probably just the result of him making it up as he goes along. Luckily, he seems to be quite good at that. It all really does work to build the mystery and fascination with everything he does, doesn't it? As for the YouTuber-turned-author path, he has said that he hadn't originally intended to become an author, but someone in publishing saw his mystery videos and said if he wrote books, they'd be hits. Clearly, that person was right. From a contemporary novel to the classics, tell us about your understanding of Seishi Yokomizo's novels and honkaku as a genre, something that was in vogue almost five decades ago. Honkaku mystery has been a significant presence in Japan's publishing market for decades, even as a target of rebellion as some writers in the 1960s started to feel it was getting too mired in orthodoxy and trope. Of course, Yokomizo was a foundational figure in the whole Japanese mystery genre, and his works are still popular in Japan today. One of the things that I find so interesting is just how dark his stories are, and how they seem to toy with supernatural elements, even while ending up being purely rooted in the natural world. I think in that, Yokomizo reflects the influence of Edogawa Ranpo, the 'founding father' of Japanese mystery who, in turn, was deeply influenced by Edgar Allan Poe. So, he includes an undercurrent of the grotesque, the corrupt, and the twisted that goes beyond the more mundane murders that populated the works of Agatha Christie or Ellery Queen. If you're looking for a Western writer for comparison, it's probably John Dickson Carr, who also tried to evoke horror fiction tropes like ghosts, vampires, and witches, while remaining purely natural and scientific in the end. And today, 'fair-play' mystery is still alive and well in Japan. This is the age of Shin-honkaku, the 'New orthodox' mystery movement that started in the 1980s — or even the Shin-Shin-Honkaku, 'The new new-orthodox.' I think some might even call this a golden age, with young writers taking up the challenge of writing fair-play mysteries that bring fresh takes on the well-trodden ground of locked rooms and impossible murders. Which explains why Yokomizo's books are still in print, and the many film and television adaptations are still being watched. Of Strange Pictures and The Devil's Flute Murders, which one was more fun to translate and why? I have to say that in terms of 'fun,' Strange Pictures has to be the winner. It was just so satisfying to follow as all the threads wove together in the end to reveal... Well, I'll stop there. No spoilers! There was a lot that was rewarding about The Devil's Flute Murders, of course. It gave me a way to learn about Japanese history, such as the fall of short-lived noble classes that were modelled on Europe. But then, when I think of what I gain from translation, I have to say connections to authors is one of the biggest rewards — and unfortunately, Yokomizo is no longer with us. Uketsu, though, is and I have been lucky enough to get to speak and work with him. 'There was a lot that was rewarding about The Devil's Flute Murders, of course. It gave me a way to learn about Japanese history, such as the fall of short-lived noble classes that were modelled on Europe.' What are you working on next? The next book from Uketsu, Strange Houses, is coming out in the summer, and we're just finishing up edits on that. Then, I have another unannounced mystery translation coming from Pushkin sometime in 2025 or 2026, maybe, before the next Uketsu book, so my schedule is pretty full for the next year or so. But I'm also trying to find time to work on my own book, a non-fiction look at ceramic artists in Japan. I hope that by making this so public, I'll feel compelled to finish what I started! Arunima Mazumdar is an independent writer. She is @sermoninstone on Twitter and @sermonsinstone on Instagram.
Straits Times
21-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
The Straits Times Weekly Bestsellers June 21
Fiction: Singaporean writer Jemimah Wei's debut novel is titled The Original Daughter. PHOTO: WEIDENFELD & NICOLSON 1. (1) The Passengers On The Hankyu Line by Hiro Arikawa; translated by Allison Markin Powell 2. (-) Strange Houses by Uketsu 3. (2) The Original Daughter by Jemimah Wei 4. (-) Strange Pictures by Uketsu 5. (-) The Wizard's Bakery by Gu Byeong-mo ; translated by Jamie Chang 6. (-) Fearless by Lauren Roberts 7. (-) The Vegetarian by Han Kang; translated by Deborah Smith 8. (-) My Friends by Fredrik Backman 9. (5) The Convenience Store By The Sea by Sonoko Machida; translated by Bruno Navasky 10. (-) Lost Souls Meet Under A Full Moon by Mizuki Tsujimura; translated by Yuki Tejima Non-fiction: Elevate Your Assets Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong. PHOTO: BOOK BAR 1. (1) Elevate Your Assets, Elevate Your Wealth by Kelvin Fong 2. (2) Why Palestine? Reflections From Singapore by Walid Jumblatt Abdullah 3. (-) A Different Kind Of Power by Jacinda Ardern 4. (4) How Countries Go Broke: The Big Cycle by Ray Dalio 5. (-) Empire Of AI by Karen Hao 6. (-) The Psychology Of Money by Morgan Housel 7. (8) The Not To-Do List by Rolf Dobelli 8. (9) The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins 9. (5) Apple In China by Patrick McGee 10. (6) Atomic Habits by James Clear Children's: The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin. PHOTO: EPIGRAM BOOKSHOP 1. (1) National Geographic Kids Almanac 2026 by National Geographic Kids 2. (-) How To Train Your Dragon by Cressida Cowell 3. (3) The World's Worst Superheroes by David Walliams 4. (-) Ten Minutes To Bed: Little Unicorn by Rhiannon Fielding 5. (-) The Incredible Basket by Quek Hong Shin 6. (8) Eye Spy Singapore by Pippa Chorley 7. (-) Bo Bo And Cha Cha's Big Day Out (Book 2) by Jason Erik Lundberg; illustrated by Patrick Yee 8. (-) Every School A Good School by Ng Ziqin 9. (-) Dragons In Chinatown (Chinese New Year In Singapore) by Valerie Pereira; illustrated by Kwee Eng Liau 10. (-) Sly The Fly by R.S. Robbie; illustrated by Debbie Yuen and Jessley Sim This is The Straits Times' compilation of bestseller lists from Kinokuniya, Epigram, Wardah Books, Book Bar, and Afterimage bookstores. Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Japan Times
06-02-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
'Uketsu': The internet phantom haunting Japan's bestseller lists
Japan's bestselling books often converge around practical life advice: Mental math tricks for kids, tips on how to sound smart and personal finance hacks have all been top sellers in recent years. Wider pop culture trends break through, too: In 2020, Japan's top five bestselling books were all related to either the gory smash-hit manga 'Demon Slayer' or cozy escapist video game Animal Crossing: New Horizons. A new mania now has the country's readers rapt: A set of odd books, somewhere between mystery and horror, between manga and novels, by the even odder writer known as 'Uketsu.' Strange Pictures, by Uketsu. Translated by Jim Rion. 240 pages, HarperVia, Fiction.
New York Times
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
3 Chilling Horror Books to Read This Month, Including a Reissued Classic
Strange Pictures The Japanese author Uketsu, according to his biography, 'only ever appears online, wearing a mask and speaking through a voice changer.' His work mirrors the mysterious nature of his persona. STRANGE PICTURES (HarperVia, 236 pp., paperback, $17.99), the first of Uketsu's novels to be translated into English, is a labyrinthine and multilayered horror mystery, full of cryptic images, about a series of deaths. The book opens with two college students in Tokyo reading a sad, abandoned blog that chronicles a portion of a man's life. The blog is filled with personal details, including entries about the man finding out that he's going to be a father and posts about the death of the man's wife during labor. It also features mysterious drawings by the man's wife. The students are convinced these drawings contain secrets and work to unravel them. But that's just the beginning. In the past, a string of unsolved murders plagued the region. In one instance, a man was brutally beaten to death with a rock while hiking and painting. Among his things was an unusual drawing, sketched on the back of a receipt and rendered in a different style than his other work. Is the picture a clue like the drawings on the blog? Who's responsible for the murders? Nine drawings hold the answers, but cracking the case is much more complicated than it seems. The novel is split into four parts. The third can feel repetitive, but the entire mystery is wonderfully complex and carefully crafted, so the misstep is easy to ignore. This is a story where revelations and new questions wait around every corner, and Uketsu keeps readers guessing until the very end. At Dark, I Become Loathsome Most people associate horror with fear, but great horror can also incite a deeply rooted sense of discomfort and revulsion. The work of the author Eric LaRocca does just that. Blacker than the blood of a fountain pen and unapologetically queer, AT DARK, I BECOME LOATHSOME (Blackstone Publishing, 230 pp., $25.99) shares the gruesomeness of LaRocca's previous work while exploring the inner workings of a mind shattered by guilt and grief. Ashley Lutin lost his beloved wife to cancer; then his young son went missing. The authorities are sure the boy is dead, but Ashley can't accept that. He has nothing left to lose and the memories of the mediocre father he was haunt him. As a coping mechanism, Ashley has covered his face in piercings and is trying to help others by ushering them through a multistep ritual of death he created where, among other things, he buries people alive in a coffin for 30 minutes. His patrons hope that facing their mortality will be transformative. One night, Ashley connects online with a man named Jinx who is interested in the ritual. After setting up an appointment, Jinx shares a disturbing story of sex, violence and kidnapping. Later, when the two finally meet, Ashley learns that Jinx has much more to tell, forcing Ashley to reckon not only with a past he'd rather not face but also with the weight of all his recent decisions. LaRocca exploded onto the horror scene in 2021 with 'Things Have Gotten Worse Since We Last Spoke,' a brutal novella about queer love and obsession that went viral because of the graphic content it contained and the twisted psyches it studied. 'At Dark, I Become Loathsome' picks up those same themes, using them to fashion another unique, relentlessly depressive, strangely sexual and extremely violent novel about how pain changes people. The Contortionist's Handbook Craig Clevenger's THE CONTORTIONIST'S HANDBOOK (Datura Books, 250 pp., paperback, $18.99) — originally published in 2002 and now reissued 23 years later — is one of those stories that defy categorization. It is a cult classic, a crime book and an understated horror narrative, all about a brilliant man who constantly reinvents himself to evade the law. John Dolan Vincent is a talented forger with an extra finger on one hand. He also suffers from horrible migraines and blackouts. Doctors haven't been able to help, so John self-medicates. One night he accidentally takes too many painkillers, and when he wakes up, he's in a hospital in Los Angeles where doctors think he tried to kill himself. As a result, he must undergo a psychiatric evaluation. But the hospital isn't evaluating John; they're evaluating Daniel Fletcher, one of the fake identities John adopted to outrun a criminal past. Now, however, both the thugs who hunt him and the authorities who want to detain him are encroaching. In order to get to safety, John must successfully trick the doctor evaluating him before time runs out. This novel is a master class in tension. John lived through a rough and traumatic childhood, and the evaluations force him to be someone else while he also contends with the deep wounds he carries. With its re-release, this superbly written and very entertaining novel is sure to make its mark on a new generation of readers.
The Guardian
27-01-2025
- Entertainment
- The Guardian
‘Am I a Cyclopian monster?' How masked writer Uketsu went from asparagus videos to literary sensation
Hidden behind a white papier-mache mask, wearing a black bodysuit and with a voice modulated to sound something like a little girl's, is Japan's latest literary superstar. Almost nothing is known about Uketsu – a made-up name that means 'rain hole' – who first gained fame posting surreal videos on YouTube: clips of asparagus that turns into fingers when chopped; strips of meat pegged out on a washing line; eight ears spinning on a wheel. Then, in 2020, Uketsu posted a 21-minute mystery story based on a series of floor plans, and was told he should turn it into a novel. Since then, his books have become blockbusters in Japan: three of the country's Top 10 fiction bestsellers last year were by him. Now the first of his novels to have been translated into English, Strange Pictures, has come out in the UK and the US, and Uketsu has agreed to speak to me about it on Zoom. The novel, translated by Jim Rion, is structured as a quartet of stories that initially seem unconnected but in fact interlock, unfolding a clever mystery centred on a series of drawings that serve as clues. For our call Uketsu opts to have his camera off, rather than wearing his trademark mask – a disguise that reminds me of No-Face from the Studio Ghibli film Spirited Away. The likeness was unintentional – 'it just happened that way,' he tells me, via Rion, who is interpreting for us. The costume was in fact modelled on the kuroko, stagehands in classical Japanese theatre who wear all black, including a black veiled hat, to blend into the background. Because the traditional headpiece is difficult to make, Uketsu opted for the papier-mache mask instead. A face reveal will not be coming any time soon. 'I have thought about maybe sneaking a giant fake eye under the mask and then taking it off to reveal that I've been a terrible Cyclopean monster the whole time,' he jokes. How many people know he is Uketsu? About 30, he says, including his family, his publishers and a group of people he has worked with since he began the project. His biographical details are scant. We know he is a man. He says he lives in Kanagawa prefecture, in south-west Tokyo. When he began posting YouTube videos, he was working at a supermarket. He lived in the UK for a short time during his childhood. His parents divorced when he was young. But when it comes to his age, 'I'll leave that to your imagination.' (From his voice, I'd guess that he is youngish, maybe in his 30s.) Women are often the antagonists of Uketsu's stories, and Strange Pictures is no different. 'It just seems to work out that way,' says Uketsu. He explains that after his parents' divorce, he spent a lot of time with his mother's family, and when he was in school, many women were involved in the clubs he was part of. He is perhaps therefore 'a little bit more prone to writing' about frightening women than frightening men. Childhood trauma is a major plot driver in Strange Pictures; two of the key images in the book are drawn by children and then interpreted by a teacher and a psychologist. To write these segments, Uketsu read books by child development experts on why children draw the things that they do. 'I don't have a lot of contact with children in my actual life,' he says. For many of Uketsu's characters, life hasn't turned out the way they planned. Strange Pictures is set around the time of Japan's 'lost decades' – a period of economic slowdown in the 90s and 2000s that left many graduates unable to find jobs. 'It was something that I remember hearing about all the time on television or in family discussions, and it really made an impression because there was a kind of attitude that said, 'These people are struggling because they're weak.'' Rion's wife introduced him to Uketsu's work during the pandemic. 'There was not a doubt in my mind that it would be perfect for translation,' he tells me. He pitched it to the publisher Pushkin, who gave the green light. For Rion, Uketsu's work is special because it combines accessibility with depth of theme and smart mysteries that are opaque until the very end. 'You can get very complex books, and you can get very simple books, but it's very rare to see both at the same time. It's deceptive simplicity.' And it's certainly a good time for Uketsu's book to be arriving in the UK: Japanese fiction is hugely popular at the moment, with 43% of the Top 40 translated fiction titles in 2024 being Japanese. Uketsu says that many Japanese authors, himself included, like to read foreign literature in translation, so he sees the phenomenon as Japanese writers showing how their influences have been incorporated. 'I'm very happy about it,' the man behind the mask concludes. Strange Pictures by Uketsu, translated by Jim Rion, is published by Pushkin (£14.99). To support the Guardian and Observer, order your copy at Delivery charges may apply.
