By Becky

If you are one of the people who loved the television series Shōgun, which just won quite a few Emmys, you might be looking for other fiction set in historical Japan.

We have a mystery series by Laura Joh Rowland with her character Sano Ichiro. He investigates crimes, beginning with SHINJU (DB 43369), where he investigates a double murder that everyone wants to cover up. We have eighteen books in this series so far. They have the same drama and intrigue that many enjoyed in Shōgun. The books are rich in detail about Japanese society and the beauty of the cities and landscape.

There is also the Tales of the Otori series, which combines fantasy with historical fiction. The first book is ACROSS THE NIGHTINGALE FLOOR: TALES OF THE OTORI, BOOK 1 (DB 54917). Our description says: In a feudal land that echoes Japan, a youth raised by the peace-loving Hidden people is rescued from certain death and adopted by the warlord Otori Shigeru. Renamed Takeo, the youth discovers his martial arts skills and learns about his unsuspected heritage, first love, and the difficulties of divided loyalties.

We have two by Eric Lustbader that are set in modern times, NINJA (DB 15450) and JIAN (DB 22952). Both series are in the crime or action/adventure genres, but they do have information about Japanese society and, of course, the setting.

We have several other current-day series and standalone books of all genres set in Japan. So, if you loved Shōgun and want to revisit Japan, contact us at 1-800-252-9605 and we can help you.