ReadingRate · Best Books · 2026

The 100 best books from Japan

The 100 best books from Japan, ranked by literary regard. Difficulty and reading-time estimates where measured.

These 100 books are the highest-scoring eligible works currently in the catalogue for this selection. Ranked by literary regard, Japanese literature's best begins with The Tale of Genji — the eleventh-century work widely counted as the first novel ever written — and runs through Soseki, Kawabata, Tanizaki, and Murakami. This list ranks the top entries, each with difficulty and reading-time data.

These 100 books are the highest-scoring eligible works currently in the catalogue for this selection. This is a computed ranking ordered by literary regard, with a consistent order for equal scores. Membership follows authors and co-authors, not translators or editors. Catalogue coverage and the historical canon both limit what this list can represent.

About 581 hours for 100 of 100 books with measured lengths. Estimates use a 250-word-per-minute baseline adjusted for each book's difficulty. At two hours a day, about 291 days for those books.

1–10

1. The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu (1010, difficulty 6.3/10, 7.5 hours)
2. The Narrow Road to the Deep North and Other Travel Sketches by Matsuo Bashō (1702, difficulty 6.4/10, 1.9 hours)
3. Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki (1914, difficulty 4.1/10, 4.5 hours)
4. The Tale of the Heike by Anonymous (1330, difficulty 5.5/10, 14 hours)
5. Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (1915, difficulty 4.6/10, 4.2 hours)
6. Hōjōki: An Account of My Hut by Kamo no Chōmei (1212, difficulty 6.1/10, 22 min)
7. The Sound of the Mountain by Yasunari Kawabata (1949, difficulty 6.0/10, 4.8 hours)
8. The Setting Sun by Osamu Dazai (1947, difficulty 7.5/10, 3.3 hours)
9. I Am a Cat by Natsume Sōseki (1905, difficulty 7.7/10, 18 hours)
10. The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon (1002, difficulty 6.5/10, 9.6 hours)

11–20

11. 金閣寺 by 三島由紀夫 (1956, difficulty 5.9/10, 5.5 hours)
12. A History of Modern Japanese Literature by Yoshida Seiichi (1985, difficulty 5.6/10, 9.7 hours)
13. Silence by Shūsaku Endō (1966, difficulty 7.0/10, 5.6 hours)
14. The Woman in the Dunes by Kobo Abe (1962, difficulty 6.2/10, 4.5 hours)
15. A Personal Matter by Kenzaburō Ōe (1964, difficulty 4.7/10, 4.4 hours)
16. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami (1994, difficulty 3.3/10, 14 hours)
17. The Old Capital by Yasunari Kawabata (1962, difficulty 5.4/10, 3.6 hours)
18. Spring Snow by Yukio Mishima (1969, difficulty 7.0/10, 11 hours)
19. The Temple of the Golden Pavilion by Yukio Mishima (1956, difficulty 6.7/10, 7.9 hours)
20. A Dark Night's Passing by Naoya Shiga (1937, difficulty 6.3/10, 12 hours)

21–30

21. The Master of Go by Yasunari Kawabata (1954, difficulty 6.4/10, 3.2 hours)
22. No Longer Human by Osamu Dazai (1948, difficulty 7.8/10, 3.1 hours)
23. Runaway Horses by Yukio Mishima (1969, difficulty 7.9/10, 14 hours)
24. Naomi by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1924, difficulty 6.7/10, 5.2 hours)
25. Confessions of a Mask by Yukio Mishima (1949, difficulty 6.5/10, 4.4 hours)
26. Night on the Galactic Railroad by Kenji Miyazawa (1934, difficulty 4.2/10, 1.9 hours)
27. The Decay of the Angel by Yukio Mishima (1971, difficulty 8.0/10, 6 hours)
28. The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea by Yukio Mishima (1963, difficulty 6.5/10, 2.7 hours)
29. Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind by Shunryu Suzuki (1970, difficulty 2.7/10, 1.7 hours)
30. The Wild Geese by Mori Ōgai (1913, difficulty 6.6/10, 3.8 hours)

31–40

31. Botchan by Natsume Sōseki (1906, difficulty 3.0/10, 2.1 hours)
32. Snow Country by Yasunari Kawabata (1935, difficulty 7.1/10, 3.2 hours)
33. Black Rain by Masuji Ibuse (1966, difficulty 6.3/10, 7.2 hours)
34. Beauty and Sadness by Yasunari Kawabata (1965, difficulty 5.7/10, 3.4 hours)
35. Essays in Idleness by Yoshida Kenko (1332, difficulty 3.6/10, 2.6 hours)
36. In Praise of Shadows by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1933, difficulty 5.3/10, 1.1 hours)
37. The Broken Commandment by Shimazaki Tōson (1906, difficulty 5.7/10, 6 hours)
38. The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzō (1906, difficulty 6.1/10, 1.3 hours)
39. Fires on the Plain by Shōhei Ōoka (1951, difficulty 7.3/10, 4.8 hours)
40. Thousand Cranes by Yasunari Kawabata (1949, difficulty 5.9/10, 2 hours)

41–50

41. The Makioka Sisters by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1948, difficulty 5.2/10, 14 hours)
42. Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World by Haruki Murakami (1985, difficulty 7.0/10, 12 hours)
43. 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami (2009, difficulty 5.8/10, 27 hours)
44. The Temple of Dawn by Yukio Mishima (1970, difficulty 7.8/10, 8.9 hours)
45. Kusamakura by Natsume Sōseki (1906, difficulty 6.2/10, 3 hours)
46. Nip the Buds, Shoot the Kids by Kenzaburō Ōe (1958, difficulty 5.4/10, 3.4 hours)
47. Diary of a Mad Old Man by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1962, difficulty 6.4/10, 3.4 hours)
48. A Wild Sheep Chase by Haruki Murakami (1982, difficulty 6.5/10, 7.4 hours)
49. The Waiting Years by Fumiko Enchi (1957, difficulty 6.5/10, 4.8 hours)
50. The Face of Another by Kobo Abe (1964, difficulty 7.3/10, 6.2 hours)

51–60

51. Sanshiro by Natsume Sōseki (1908, difficulty 4.0/10, 4.3 hours)
52. Some Prefer Nettles by Jun'ichirō Tanizaki (1929, difficulty 6.0/10, 3.8 hours)
53. And Then by Natsume Sōseki (1909, difficulty 4.3/10, 4.8 hours)
54. The Gate by Natsume Sōseki (1910, difficulty 4.3/10, 4.1 hours)
55. Norwegian Wood by Haruki Murakami (1987, difficulty 6.7/10, 9.6 hours)
56. The Box Man by Kobo Abe (1973, difficulty 8.2/10, 5.3 hours)
57. Light and Darkness by Natsume Sōseki (1916, difficulty 5.1/10, 11 hours)
58. Inspector Imanishi Investigates by Seichō Matsumoto (1961, difficulty 4.0/10, 5.8 hours)
59. Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Murakami (2001, difficulty 6.0/10, 13 hours)
60. The Sound of Waves by Yukio Mishima (1954, difficulty 3.5/10, 2.6 hours)

61–70

61. Somersault by Kenzaburō Ōe (1999, difficulty 6.3/10, 14 hours)
62. Secret Rendezvous by Kobo Abe (1977, difficulty 7.1/10, 5.1 hours)
63. The Hunting Gun by Yasushi Inoue (1949, difficulty 6.7/10, 1.4 hours)
64. Territory of Light by Yūko Tsushima (1979, difficulty 5.9/10, 3.5 hours)
65. Life for Sale by Yukio Mishima (2020, difficulty 5.0/10, 3.8 hours)
66. Sputnik Sweetheart by Haruki Murakami (1999, difficulty 6.9/10, 5.1 hours)
67. After Dark by Haruki Murakami (2004, difficulty 6.1/10, 3.4 hours)
68. A True Novel by Minae Mizumura (2002, difficulty 6.7/10, 20 hours)
69. Revenge: Eleven Dark Tales by Yoko Ogawa (1998, difficulty 6.7/10, 3.6 hours)
70. Coin Locker Babies by Ryū Murakami (1980, difficulty 6.1/10, 10 hours)

71–80

71. House of the Sleeping Beauties by Yasunari Kawabata (1961, difficulty 5.7/10, 1.9 hours)
72. Strange Weather in Tokyo by Hiromi Kawakami (2001, difficulty 5.4/10, 3.6 hours)
73. Heaven by Mieko Kawakami (2022, difficulty 5.1/10, 2.8 hours)
74. The Emissary by Yoko Tawada (2014, difficulty 4.8/10, 2.3 hours)
75. Kitchen by Banana Yoshimoto (1988, difficulty 2.0/10, 1.1 hours)
76. The Housekeeper and the Professor by Yoko Ogawa (2003, difficulty 2.5/10, 2.7 hours)
77. The Memory Police by Yoko Ogawa (2020, difficulty 5.5/10, 5.3 hours)
78. Dark Water by Koji Suzuki (1996, difficulty 3.3/10, 3.7 hours)
79. Out by Natsuo Kirino (1997, difficulty 4.1/10, 7.1 hours)
80. The Miner by Natsume Sōseki (1908, difficulty 4.5/10, 3.5 hours)

81–90

81. Battle Royale by Koushun Takami (1999, difficulty 3.4/10, 11 hours)
82. The Decagon House Murders by Yukito Ayatsuji (1987, difficulty 4.3/10, 3.8 hours)
83. The Inugami Curse by Seishi Yokomizo (1951, difficulty 5.2/10, 5.5 hours)
84. South of the Border, West of the Sun by Haruki Murakami (1992, difficulty 5.3/10, 3.8 hours)
85. The Silent Cry by Kenzaburō Ōe (1967, difficulty 6.9/10, 11 hours)
86. Malice by Keigo Higashino (1996, difficulty 5.2/10, 3.7 hours)
87. Uzumaki by Junji Ito (1998, difficulty 3.8/10, 2.7 hours)
88. Memoirs of a Polar Bear by Yoko Tawada (2011, difficulty 7.2/10, 7.1 hours)
89. Dissolving Classroom by Junji Ito (2017, difficulty 4.1/10, 37 min)
90. Parasite Eve by Hideaki Sena (1995, difficulty 3.5/10, 4.6 hours)

91–100

91. Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata (2018, difficulty 6.2/10, 2.3 hours)
92. Six Four by Hideo Yokoyama (2012, difficulty 4.6/10, 11 hours)
93. Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami (2013, difficulty 4.4/10, 4.3 hours)
94. Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami (2019, difficulty 2.4/10, 5.6 hours)
95. Piercing by Ryū Murakami (1994, difficulty 5.3/10, 3.6 hours)
96. The Devotion of Suspect X by Keigo Higashino (2005, difficulty 2.3/10, 3.6 hours)
97. Earthlings by Sayaka Murata (2018, difficulty 6.5/10, 4.4 hours)
98. N.P. by Banana Yoshimoto (1990, difficulty 6.2/10, 2.9 hours)
99. Life Ceremony by Sayaka Murata (2019, difficulty 5.1/10, 4 hours)
100. Asleep by Banana Yoshimoto (1989, difficulty 6.3/10, 3.1 hours)