Travels in the Snow Country
A piece about my trip to Japan last February is up on the Picador blog site http://www.picador.com/blog/september-2016/lian-hearn-s-travels-in-japan-s-snow-country
The Fireflies of Aioiyama
Himebotaru: the fireflies of Aioiyama (first published in the Bulletin) It is almost completely dark. Monday 29th May. A night with no moon. The sky glows with the lights of the city: it’s really so close but it might be … Continued
Dressing Up in Japan or how I came to terms with cultural appropriation
The Soybean flour café is a small café and antique shop near my friend’s house in Kasugai, about an hour from the centre of Nagoya. I’ve been there a few times to browse among the antiques and drink coffee by … Continued
The Tale of Shikanoko: reading list
The research for the sort of novels I write (which for want of a better term I call historical fantasy) is rather a mysterious process, even to me. I read very widely, travel in Japan as much as I can, … Continued
The Tale of Shikanoko
Dear Reader, I would like to tell you a little about this book, part epic, part romance, part fairy story. Five years ago I was in the northeastern region of Japan, a few months before the devastating tsunami of 2011. … Continued
Tale of Shikanoko Covers
American Covers Australian Covers
Guide to Pronouncing Japanese Names
Vowels are pronounced in the following way (as in British pronunciation): ‘a’ as the ‘a’ in ‘father’ ‘e’ as the ‘e’ in ‘met’ ‘i’ as the ‘i’ in ‘macaroni’ ‘o’ as the ‘o’ in ‘plot’ ‘u’ as the ‘oo’ in … Continued
The Significance of the Heron in Tales of the Otori
The heron is one of the key symbols in Tales of the Otori. It is the crest of the Otori clan and is used many times in comparisons with Lord Shigeru. He describes himself as having the patience of the … Continued