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 and "The Fox and "Ango Sakaguchi's heartening celebration of postwar chaos in and "One Woman and the War and "Fumiko Hayashi's unabashed exploration of female sexuality in and "Borneo Diamond and "Junichi Watanabe's chilling assessment of alienation and social dislocation in and "Invitation to Suicide and " Gishu Nakayama's look at an out-of-place prostitute recovering at a hot-spring resort in and "Autumn Wind and "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.