Why We Should Read Japanese Essays

Exploring the genre of “zuihitsu” and what it reveals about life writing.

“Essays in Idleness” and “Hojoki” Penguin Classics ed. Photo by author.

You can watch the video version of this essay here.

In his 2010 book, Reality Hunger: A Manifesto, David Shields argues that contemporary literature should embrace hybrid genres of writing, blur the boundaries between fiction and non-fiction, and liberate…