Maiden’s Bookshelf Series

A more intimate and romantic entry in the Maiden’s Bookshelf series, this tale of doomed romance brings together the so-called “God of Literature” with the gorgeous artwork of Atsuki Ito, author of A Love-Letter in 26 Characters.

“I can’t imagine how wonderful it will be to die…”

Confined to a sickbed by the seaside, a woman waits for death as her husband nurses her. This is no tragic idyll, however; the space between them is filled with antagonism, fear, suspicion, pain…and love.

Riichi Yokomitsu brings a bitingly realistic sensibility to this claustrophobic tale of love and death, as
moving as it is agonizing.

What dark fate awaits beneath the roaring falls?

Suwa and her father live alone on the slopes of Horsebare Mountain, eking out the most meager of existences. During the warmer months the beautiful waterfall brings a few sightseers, but when winter comes there is only solitude. Suwa would do anything to escape the life to which her father has resigned himself. And the lure of the river is strong…

This early classic from the author of Japan’s greatest modern novel is a dark, elliptical tale of hopelessness that weaves the folklore of the mountains into an anti-coming-of-age story as vividly relevant today as it was when it was written nearly a hundred years ago.

Another spectacular collaboration between a literary giant and the illustrator of Touken Ranbu! The Maiden’s Bookshelf series continues with this eerie classic from the great Izumi Kyoka.

“But you couldn’t have known!”
A mysterious encounter in the surgery room leads down the paths of memory after a young woman refuses anesthetic to protect her secret…

At once dreamlike and strikingly modern, Kyoka Izumi’s 1895 tale of doomed love has never been more wrenching than it is here, presented alongside Towoji Honojiro’s haunting and evocative illustrations.

The Maiden’s Bookshelf series combines classic short stories of the early 20th century with gorgeous original artwork to create collectible editions for a contemporary audience.

At what cost art?

In the course of a routine journey, government inspector Yuan Can encounters his old friend Li Zheng—but not as he remembers him. Transformed by obsession into a hideous beast, Li Zheng spins a tragic tale, and ultimately presents his confidante with a singular request.

Dressed in the trappings of 8th-century China, Atsushi Nakajima’s meditation on poetry and friendship nevertheless transcends time and language to speak directly to our hearts about what it means to be human.

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The Maiden’s Bookshelf series combines classic short stories of the early 20th century with gorgeous original artwork to create collectible editions for a contemporary audience.

Two young siblings left to survive on a deserted island, waiting for the rescue that may never come. They find joy in the wonders of their own personal Eden—until “the demon” shakes their faith and leads them down the path of temptation…

Told through a series of letters sealed in bottles and thrown out to sea, Kyusaku Yumeno’s classic is just as harrowing and immediate today as when it was first published in 1928.
 
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