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南風舎 - Japanese Classical Literature Podcast

南風舎 Literature Club
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日本文学を逍遥してみませんか。 毎月、第一日曜日には小説やエッセイ、第三日曜日には古典文学をお届けしています。 美しい日本語の響きと共に、日本文学の深い世界をご一緒できれば幸いです。 Take a quiet stroll through Japanese literature. New episodes on the first Sunday of each month (modern fiction, essays), and the third Sunday (classical texts). I hope to accompany you on this journey through the rich and graceful language of Japanese literary tradition. Now, grab your Matcha, find a comfortable spot, and sit back. You're invited to immerse yourself in the rich world of Japanese literature with our latest podcast episode. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the genre, there's something here for everyone. Tune in, relax, and let the storytelling transport you to another time and place. As the sole creator and narrator of this podcast, I sincerely hope to contribute to an understanding of the essence of both classical and contemporary Japanese literature.

  1. 伊勢物語 朗読 011-015 : The Tale of Ise ( Audiobook in Japanese)

    15 NOV • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    伊勢物語 朗読 011-015 : The Tale of Ise ( Audiobook in Japanese)

    Dear literature lovers, Through five fragments of the Ise Monogatari, the voice moves from friendship to farewell, from hidden devotion to the quiet awakening of the heart. Each story is a gate into ma (間) — that still, resonant space between presence and absence. ⸻ Episode 11 — Clouds Between Friends（第十一段 雲居の友） A man journeys east, leaving behind his dearest friend. “Even beyond the clouds,” he sings, “let not our hearts forget.” A poem of distance transformed into remembrance. Theme: Friendship that endures through separation. Keywords: 雲居 (kumoi, clouds), 月 (moon), 忘るなよ (do not forget), 再会 (reunion). ⸻ Episode 12 — The Fields of Musashino（第十二段 武蔵野） As the plain burns, a woman pleads, “Do not burn these young grasses — my beloved hides among them.” Love halts the flames; purity rises from peril. Theme: Love transcending sin and danger. Keywords: 武蔵野 (Musashino), 若草 (wakakusa), 火 (fire), 慈悲 (mercy). ⸻ Episode 13 — The Stirrup of Musashi（第十三段 武蔵鐙） Letters fade between Musashi and the capital. Her voice trembles: “How cruel, this silence that still remembers.” The soundless ache of a love that waits. Theme: The devotion of silence. Keywords: 武蔵鐙 (Musashi abumi), つらし (cruel), 文便 (letters), 遠距離 (distance). ⸻ Episode 14 — A Love in Michinoku（第十四段 陸奥恋） In the far north, a woman whispers, “Better to die than live half-alive, bound by this thread of longing.” Her song becomes memory, her pain — a quiet eternity. Theme: The border between life and death in love. Keywords: 陸奥 (Michinoku), なまじひ (half-hearted living), 玉の緒 (tama no o, thread of life), 命 (life), 記憶 (memory). ⸻ Episode 15 — The Hidden Path（第十五段 忍ぶ恋） A man loves another’s wife and longs for a secret path to reach the unseen depths of her heart — 忍ぶ山 (Shinobu-yama). But in wishing to “see within,” he loses love’s mystery. Theme: The peril of seeing too deeply. Keywords: 忍ぶ山 (shinobu-yama), 心の奥 (heart’s depth), 秘す愛 (hidden love). ⸻ ✴️ Arc of the Journey Across these five tales, The Tales of Ise traces the evolution of feeling — from connection, to distance, to understanding. Love, once bound by body and time, becomes remembrance and awareness. Each poem is a thread of stillness, where absence itself begins to speak. ⸻ 🌸 日本語概要 第十一から十五段までは、東国章と呼ばれる一連の物語。 都を離れた男が、友情・祈り・沈黙・記憶・そして覚醒へと心の旅を重ねます。 「離れること」が、かえって心を深める事もあるようで…。

    5 min
  2. 谷崎潤一郎『少将滋幹の母』(全)その２前編

    31 OCT • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    谷崎潤一郎『少将滋幹の母』(全)その２前編

    As autumn fades and the chrysanthemums in Heichū’s garden lose their color, Tanizaki shifts from the lyrical to the psychological. In this second part, the famed lover of old Japan — now portrayed with both humor and melancholy — becomes entangled in a conversation with the powerful minister Fujiwara no Shihei. Through this intimate scene between two aristocrats, Tanizaki paints the court not as a place of elegance, but of concealed tension — where wit, beauty, and power intersect under the glow of perfumed lamps. The dialogue, at first seemingly trivial gossip about a nobleman’s young wife, slowly reveals the political undercurrent of the Heian world: beauty as danger, love as strategy. The reading is delivered in the original Japanese, one phrase at a time, attending to the subtle rhythm and tonal stillness of Tanizaki’s prose. Happy listening, Kasumi

    16 min
  3. 伊勢物語 朗読 006-010 : The Tale of Ise ( Audiobook in Japanese)

    17 OCT • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    伊勢物語 朗読 006-010 : The Tale of Ise ( Audiobook in Japanese)

    (日本語は下記にて) A journey into distance, loss, and lingering echoes. In this second installment of our unabridged audiobook series, we continue reading aloud The Tale of Ise (Ise Monogatari), episodes 6 through 10—each a fleeting moment of love, parting, or memory. These episodes mark a turn in the narrative’s tone. Here, we begin to hear not only the tender voice of longing—but also the distant thunder of fate. A woman disappears into storm and shadow. A man crosses rivers and regions, wandering through memories and half-kept promises. The love that once seemed eternal now flickers like a dream half-remembered. And still—through the mist of time—waka remains: a voice offered not to explain, but to remember. These are not chapters of a life. They are fragments of soul. 🔍 This Episode: Summaries of Sections 6–10 Episode 6 After years of persistent courtship, the man finally elopes with the woman one night. But as a storm rages, he hides her in a rundown storehouse— and with the thunder, she vanishes. ⸻ Episode 7 Leaving the capital behind, the man composes a poem along the seashore of Ise: “As I continue on, longing for the path already passed, how envious I am of the waves that always return.” ⸻ Episode 8 Finding the capital hard to endure, the man journeys east. He gazes at the smoke rising from Mount Asama and reflects: “I wonder if the people of Kyoto ever notice smoke like this.” ⸻ Episode 9 Beneath the blooming irises of Yatsuhashi, he recalls a distant love. He recites the famous verse, also echoed in the Noh play Kakitsubata: “Clothed in travel robes, worn soft with time, because of her—my wife— I’ve come so far from home.” ⸻ Episode 10 In the land of Musashi, the man proposes marriage with a poem: “As wild geese nestle close, so too may our hearts draw near…” 断章のレクイエム —『伊勢物語』第六段から第十段 📘 概要 第六段 長年求婚し続けた女を、ある夜ついに連れ出す。 嵐のなか、荒れた蔵に女を押し込めるが、雷鳴とともに女は姿を消してしまう。 第七段 京を離れ、伊勢の海辺で旅の途中に詠む。 「いとどしく　過ぎゆく方の恋しきに　うらやましくも　かへる浪かな」 第八段 都が住みづらく、東国へ行った男が浅間の嶽の煙を眺め、思う。 「京の人々は、このような煙を見とがめたりするのだろうな」 第九段 八橋の杜若の下で、かつての面影を思う。能楽の演目『杜若』でも知られる歌。 「からころも　着つつなれにし　つましあれば　はるばる来ぬる　旅をしぞ思ふ」 第十段 男が、武蔵の国で、ある女を妻にと願って歌を詠む。 「雁が寄り添いうように、心を寄せる――」

    10 min
  4. 谷崎潤一郎『少将滋幹の母』(全)その１後編

    3 OCT • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    谷崎潤一郎『少将滋幹の母』(全)その１後編

    In this second part of Chapter One, we follow Heichū—the infamous courtly lover—as he finds himself helplessly enchanted by a woman known only as the Lady of the Chamber (侍従の君). Drawn to her beauty and mystery, he returns night after night to the residence of the powerful Left Minister, Fujiwara no Shihei, seeking just a glimpse of her. But her presence remains elusive. Not even the child attendants he bribes with letters can secure him a response. The more he longs for her, the more distant she becomes. In this quiet courtly world, affection is never declared aloud. And rejection does not come in the form of harsh words—but silence. This is desire in its most refined, most painful form: beautiful, restrained, and unreachable. Tanizaki’s narration lingers in these shadows of longing, where comedy and sorrow gently intertwine. It is a world where poetry does not resolve feelings—but preserves them. 📖 This reading is delivered in the original Japanese, one sentence at a time, with careful attention to the rhythm and quiet nuance of the text.

    21 min
  5. 伊勢物語 朗読 001-005 : The Tale of Ise ( Audiobook in Japanese)

    20 SEPT • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    伊勢物語 朗読 001-005 : The Tale of Ise ( Audiobook in Japanese)

    A Requiem in Fragments: The Tale of Ise, Episodes 1–5 (日本語は下記にて) A quiet beginning— the memory of a thousand-year-old love awakens. In this first episode of our unabridged audiobook series, we read aloud the opening five episodes of The Tale of Ise (Ise Monogatari), one of the foundational classics of Japanese literature. On a spring day, a young nobleman, newly come of age, catches a fleeting glimpse of a beautiful woman in the fields of Kasugano, in the old capital of Nara. But he does not merely fall in love. Tearing the hem of his own kariginu—a courtly hunting robe—he inscribes a waka poem upon the cloth and sends it to her. In this gesture, simple yet profound, the essence of waka is revealed: not in the act of confession, but in the silent offering itself. The poem, like an unwritten letter, says what cannot be said aloud. And that voiceless expression, born of restraint and longing, crosses centuries to reach us as literature that still moves the heart. The first five episodes are woven from similarly brief and poignant encounters— a sleepless night in the spring rain, a secret tryst, a love that cannot be fulfilled. Rather than a single coherent life story, The Tale of Ise offers fragments of emotion and momentary experience— a mosaic of poetic soul (shikon, 詩魂) taking form through many broken scenes (danshō, 断章). ⸻ 🔍 This Episode: Summaries of Sections 1–5 Episode 1 A young aristocrat goes hunting in the Kasuga fields of Nara. He glimpses a beautiful sister, falls in love, and tears the hem of his kariginu to inscribe a poem—offering it wordlessly. This act becomes a metaphor for the very spirit of waka poetry. Episode 2 The man remembers a woman he once knew. As spring rain falls into the night, he composes a quiet poem full of longing and solitude. Episode 3 He sends a gift to the woman he loves—but cannot see her again. Though spring is returning, her sleeves remain wet with tears. Episode 4 He sends a gift of hijiki seaweed, along with a suggestion: if there is love, let us share a bed beneath the budding trees. Episode 5 Unable to visit a beloved woman due to blocked paths, he gazes at the moon and asks: “Is this not the same moon? Is this not the same spring?” Even across time, his feelings remain unchanged. ⸻ 断章のレクイエム――『伊勢物語』、はじまりの五段 静かに始まる、恋の記憶。 今回から、『伊勢物語』を原文朗読にて数段ずつお届けしていきます。 ある春の日、元服を終えた若き貴公子が、奈良の春日野で一人の女性を垣間見る―― そのとき、彼はただ恋に落ちたのではありません。 自らの狩衣の裾を裂き、歌を書いて贈るという「行為」そのものに、和歌の本質が宿っていました。 愛を語ることもなく、ただ贈る。 声なき手紙のようにして差し出されたその歌が、時代を越えて私たちの心に沁みてくるようです。 他にも、春雨の中で眠れぬ夜に詠まれた歌、ひそやかな逢瀬、届かぬ恋の苦しみといった短い物語が連なりながら、 「ひとつの人生」ではなく、「いくつもの断章」が、ひとつの詩魂を紡いでいく――それが伊勢物語の魅力なのかも知れません。 🔍今回の収録内容 第一段： 奈良の春日へ狩りに出かけた若者が、美しい姉妹の一人を垣間見て一目惚れ。 自らの狩衣の裾に歌を書きつけて贈る。その行為こそが「歌のこころ」であると語られる。 第二段： ある男が昔親しくしていた女性を思い出し、雨の夜を過ごしながら、静かに詠う。 「春の季節に、ただ雨をながめて暮らした」という、寂寥感あふれる詠嘆。 第三段： 心を寄せた女性に贈り物を届けるも、再び会うことは叶わず。 春の訪れを感じながらも、その袖は濡れたまま。 第四段： 想いを寄せた女性に「ひじき藻」という贈り物を添えながら、愛があれば共寝をという願いを含ませる。 第五段： 通い道を塞がれて会えなくなった女性への想いを、月を見て重ねる。 「月やあらぬ、春や昔の春ならぬ…」――時を超えて想いは残る。

    6 min
  6. 谷崎潤一郎『少将滋幹の母』(全)その１前編

    5 SEPT • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    谷崎潤一郎『少将滋幹の母』(全)その１前編

    Captain Shigemoto’s Mother by Jun’ichirō Tanizaki – Part 1 The story of Captain Shigemoto’s Mother begins not with the captain himself, but with a richly layered literary prelude. In this first reading, we follow Tanizaki as he gently opens the curtain on the Heian court, beginning with the amusing legend of Heijū (平中)—a notorious lover whose most famous seduction involved not tears, but ink from a water pot. His romantic misadventures, once whispered among nobles and even echoed in The Tale of Genji, serve here not as mere anecdotes but as a way to conjure a vanished world: one in which even longing had rules. Through these early digressions, Tanizaki does more than offer historical background—he builds an atmosphere. We are introduced to a world of aristocratic elegance and emotional restraint, where passion plays out in glances, gestures, and unanswered letters. Beneath the beauty, there is political calculation; behind the poetry, an ache that cannot be named. This is a slow and dignified beginning—what Zeami would call the jo (序), or prelude, in Noh theater. But within the silences of this courtly overture lies the deep emotional undercurrent that will guide the tale. The reading is delivered in the original Japanese, one sentence at a time, with special care given to the rhythm and stillness of the prose. Thank you, as always, for listening. —Kasumi

    22 min
  7. A Requiem in Fragments: Discovering the Tale of Ise

    29 AUG • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    A Requiem in Fragments: Discovering the Tale of Ise

    A Requiem in Fragments: Discovering the Tale of Ise | Nan’pusha Podcast Begin your journey into The Tale of Ise (伊勢物語) with this poetic introduction to Japan’s earliest “poem tale.” Blending waka poetry with narrative prose, Ise weaves together scenes of love, memory, and farewell. This episode explores the text’s emotional resonance, its Heian aesthetics of mono no aware and miyabi, and its continued significance in Japanese literary tradition. With reflections inspired by Hori Tatsuo’s essay on Ise, this episode invites you to read not for meaning alone, but for mood—for that gentle echo that poetry leaves behind.

    7 min
  8. The Diary of Lady Murasaki - Unabridged #27 紫式部日記(全)

    16 AUG • 南風舎 PODCAST ONLY

    The Diary of Lady Murasaki - Unabridged #27 紫式部日記(全)

    Part 27 あからさまにまかでて、二の宮の御五十日は正月十五日、その暁に参るに、小少将の君、明け果ててはしたなくなりにたるに参りたまへり。例の同じ所にゐたり。二人の局を一つに合はせて、かたみに里なるほども住む。ひとたびに参りては、几帳ばかりを隔てにてあり。殿ぞ笑はせたまふ。 　「かたみに知らぬ人も語らはば。」 など聞きにくく、されど誰れもさるうとうとしきことなければ、心やすくてなむ。 　日たけて参う上る。かの君は、桜の織物の袿、赤色の唐衣、例の摺裳着たまへり。紅梅に萌黄、柳の唐衣、裳の摺目など今めかしければ、とりもかへつべくぞ、若やかなる。上人ども十七人ぞ、宮の御方に参りたる。いと宮の御まかなひは橘三位。取り次ぐ人、端には小大輔、源式部、内には小少将。 　帝、后、御帳の中には二所ながらおはします。朝日の光りあひて、まばゆきまで恥づかしげなる御前なり。主上は御直衣、小口たてまつりて、宮は例の紅の御衣、紅梅、萌黄、柳、山吹の御衣、上には葡萄染めの織物の御衣、柳の上白の御小袿、紋も色もめづらしく今めかしき、たてまつれり。あなたはいと顕証なれば、この奥にやをらすべりとどまりてゐたり。 　中務の乳母、宮抱きたてまつりて、御帳のはざまより南ざまに率てたてまつる。こまかにそびそびしくなどもあらぬかたちの、ただゆるるかに、ものものしきさまうちして、さるかたに人教へつべく、かどかどしきけはひぞしたる。葡萄染めの織物の袿、無紋の青色に、桜の唐衣着たり。 　その日の人の装束、いづれとなく尽くしたるを、袖口のあはひ悪ろう重ねたる人しも、御前の物とり入るとて、そこらの上達部、殿上人に、さしい出でてまぼられつることとぞ、のちに宰相の君など、口惜しがりたまふめりし。さるは悪しくもはべらざりき。ただあはひの褪めたるなり。小大輔は紅一襲、上に紅梅の濃き薄き五つを重ねたり。唐衣、桜。源式部は濃きに、また紅梅の綾ぞ着てはべるめりし。織物ならぬを悪ろしとにや。それあながちのこと。顕証なるにしもこそ、とり過ちのほの見えたらむ側目をも選らせたまふべけれ、衣の劣りまさりは言ふべきことならず。 　餅まゐらせたまふことども果てて、御台などまかでて、廂の御簾上ぐるきはに、上の女房は御帳の西面の昼の御座に、おし重ねたるやうにて並みゐたり。三位をはじめて典侍たちもあまた参れり。 　宮の人びとは、若人は長押の下、東の廂の南の障子放ちて、御簾かけたるに、上臈はゐたり。御帳の東のはざま、ただすこしあるに、大納言の君、小少将の君ゐたまへる所に、たづねゆきて見る。 　主上は、平敷の御座に御膳まゐり据ゑたり。御前のもの、したるさま、言ひ尽くさむかたなし。簀子に北向きに西を上にて、上達部。左、右、内の大臣殿、春宮傅、中宮の大夫、四条大納言、それより下は見えはべらざりき。 　御遊びあり。殿上人はこの対の辰巳にあたりたる廊にさぶらふ。地下は定まれり。景斉朝臣、惟風朝臣、行義、遠理などやうの人びと。上に、四条大納言拍子とり、頭弁、琵琶、琴は、□□、左の宰相中将、笙の笛とぞ。双調の声にて、「あな尊と」、次に「席田」「此の殿」などうたふ。曲のものは、鳥の破、急を遊ぶ。外の座にも調子などを吹く。歌に拍子うち違へてとがめられたりしは、伊勢守にぞありし。右の大臣、 　「和琴、いとおもしろし。」 など、聞きはやしたまふ。ざれたまふめりし果てに、いみじき過ちのいとほしきこそ、見る人の身さへ冷えはべりしか。 　御贈物、笛歯二つ、筥に入れてとぞ見はべりし。 寛弘五年 I went home for a while. For the fifty days' ceremony of the second Prince, which was the fifteenth day of the Sociable Month, I returned in the early morning to the palace.(…)

    7 min
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日本文学を逍遥してみませんか。 毎月、第一日曜日には小説やエッセイ、第三日曜日には古典文学をお届けしています。 美しい日本語の響きと共に、日本文学の深い世界をご一緒できれば幸いです。 Take a quiet stroll through Japanese literature. New episodes on the first Sunday of each month (modern fiction, essays), and the third Sunday (classical texts). I hope to accompany you on this journey through the rich and graceful language of Japanese literary tradition. Now, grab your Matcha, find a comfortable spot, and sit back. You're invited to immerse yourself in the rich world of Japanese literature with our latest podcast episode. Whether you're a long-time fan or new to the genre, there's something here for everyone. Tune in, relax, and let the storytelling transport you to another time and place. As the sole creator and narrator of this podcast, I sincerely hope to contribute to an understanding of the essence of both classical and contemporary Japanese literature.

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