Reading Japan: Kyushu Edition!

You know I love a good reading project, and travel is one way that I can delve into a different literature that I may not have picked up otherwise. Spending time in another part of the world, far-flung from my home, inherently expands my worldview. By reading some of the books from my chosen region I get a deeper understanding of the history, culture and, for want of a better word, the vibe of a place. I love to do this before I go; it makes the experience of actually being there just significantly richer. 

It also has the added bonus of creating extra must-see sights on my trip, sometimes necessitating a mad dash around a city, or instigating a literary scavenger hunt. For example, when I read The Betrothed by Alessandro Manzoni, the Italian classic, I spent an afternoon racing around Milan to visit places that I read about in the book (discover my reading adventure here.) After reading The Divine Comedy, I spend time in Dante's beloved Florence finding plaques around the city devoted to his book that featured pertinent quotations. 

I'm visiting Kyushu in October for just over two weeks. I've been to Japan several times already, starting when I was in Grade 12 with a school group, and then a few times over the years. I went with my partner Alan and another couple in 2024, and we ventured off the beaten Tokyo to Kyoto track when we rented a car and toured the smaller island of Shikoku. It was truly excellent to explore somewhere less touristed, and quieter. 

Kyushu, Japan

This time, the same foursome of us are heading right from Yokohama down to Kyushu, the southernmost island, where we'll visit Fukuoka (briefly), then Nagasaki, Beppu/Oita, and Kagoshima. 

In Fukuoka, we'll be spending only one night, but plan to make a visit to Team Labs Forest, after such a great Team Labs Planets experience in Tokyo. Nagasaki is going to be fascinating, not only because of the tragic history of its WWII legacy, but because it was a key port that saw foreigners' first entry into Japan. Beppu is an onsen town, renowned for its hot springs. And Kagoshima, in the far south, neighbours an active volcano. 

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My reading project will evolve, but so far I have come up with several books that fit the bill. I am focusing on fiction here. 

• Shūsako Endō: A respected Japanese writer, several of his books are set in Kyushu. To begin, I'll be reading The Sea and Poison (1957), set largely in Fukuoka; and Silence (1966), set in and around Nagasaki in the 1600s and winner of the Tanizaki Prize and adapted for film in 2016 by Martin Scorcese. There is a museum dedicated to Endo near Nagasaki, and I'll likely visit when I'm there. 

Shusako Endo 

• Detective fiction lends another few candidates: The Black Swan Mystery (1966) by Tetsuya Ayukawa apparently starts in Tokyo but ends in Kyushu. Kyushu native Seicho Matsumoto writes dectetive fiction, and Pro Bono (1960), is set there.

Other promising books include: 

• Ryu Murikami's From the Fatherland, With Love, which is speculative fiction.

• Gate to Kagoshima by Poppy Kuroki, a romantasy about the Satsuma rebellion 1877

• In Pursuit of Lavender by Akiko Itoyama, a Kyushu road trip novel.

In addition I realised that:

1) that A Man by Keiichiro Hirano, a book I read in 2024 and loved (see my review here), was set in Miyazaki, an area of Kyushi that I won't have time to visit on this trip, and

2) that a book I recently reviewed here has Kyushu ties. It is non-fiction. The Broken Map Home by Konsuki Masuda (2026), with additional commentary and translation by Keiko Honda, begins in the post-WWII Korean peninsula and ends in Kyushu. 

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I may add or subtract from this list as I go. My Kyushu reading project is an evolving and likely-to-change entity. Woohoo, this should be fun! I'm going to Japan in books before my trip even starts.