Browse our growing selection of inspiring interviews with Japanese authors, translators and publishing professionals active in the multi-cultural European literary scene.
Yuki Nagae is a poet who explores the possibilities of expanding the realm of poetry to the physical and virtual space. She was influenced by the Lithuanian poet and filmmaker Jonas Mekas and maintains strong ties with the Lithuanian literary scene.
2021 Akutagawa Prize winner Mai Ishizawa is based in Germany. In the interview, she talks about the influence of the German language on her writing and how in her literary works memories from Japan mingle with her experiences in Germany.
Tomomi Splisgart is a Japanese lecturer, writer and author based in Gdańsk, Poland. She specializes in children’s literature. In the interview, she speaks about her long-year fascination with Polish children’s literature and her involvement with the Polish literary scene.
Milena-Michiko Flašar is an Austrian-Japanese author, who writes about Japanese social phenomenona, such as hikkikomori or kodokushi in German language. In the interview, she traces her life between the two cultures from her childhood days to the present.
Polish poet Krystyna Dąbrowska is the EU fellow in this year’s Kyoto Writer’s Residency; Yasuhiro Yotsumoto is a Japanese poet, who has been living in Europe for long years and who has developed a broad and vivid creative network with poets from all over the world.
In the European Literature Festival 2024, they will appear together in an event, in which they will read from their poetry and talk the potential of poetry in our current times.
Prior to the event, they shared their views about the “Haiku Spirit” and their approaches to writing poetry today.
Fumiko Miura is a Japanese author and Japanese language teacher based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. She published her first book “Polderjapanner” in Dutch language in early 2023. In the interview, she talks about her motivation to write the book and the perception of Japanese culture in the Netherlands.
Tettyo Saito is a Japanese author, who made his literary debut in Romanian language. Despite the fact that he has never been to Romania so far, he is deeply engaged with the Romanian literary scene. His upcoming challenge is mastering the Luxembourgish language.
