Best Essays 2025

No matter how unstable the world may be, no matter how far from peace, we all have unforgettable days, unforgettable people, irreplaceable relationships, and beautiful moments. This book is filled with a series of such "nows" captured in words. -- Compiled by Mitsuyo Kakuta

Edited by the Japan Writers Association Compiled by Mitsuyo Kakuta, Mariko Hayashi, Shu Fujisawa, Toshiyuki Horie, Yasushi Machida, Shion Miura

◆Featured Artists/Works◆

Yumiko Aoyama / My Father and Shogi Jiro Asada / Automatic Doors and Revolving Doors Tadanobu Asano / The Box Man Hiroyuki Itsuki / An Age Without Charm Ayano Inoue / Singing Anger Ayumi Uesaka / This World Is Cracked, But I Hope You Always Stay Shining Yoko Uema / Young Mothers in Long-Sleeved Kimonos Fumitake Ezaki / Sound The Effects of Music on Exercise Yoshikazu Ebisu / Fuku ERIKO / Traveling Through Everyday Life Around the World Shintaro Okawa / It's Only the Third Move... The Surprising Reason Why a Traditional Shogi Player Used Five Minutes of His Time Yoko Ogawa / The Grandfather and the Passerby Sadao Osada / The Charming "Childhood" Emiko Oyamauchi / Two Ways of "Writing" Mitsuyo Kakuta / Novels Belong to the Reader Rumiko Kasai / The Back of a Book Ario Kawauchi / An Island on the Screen Akiko Kawasaki / Joining the Me-Me Religion Kawazoe Love / Too Much Kawamura Minato / Compassion for "Small Things" Kishimoto Sachiko / Curse♡ Kujiratei / Small Birds Do Not Despair Saito Harumichi / Mourning in Sign Language Saihate Tahi / The Map Drawn by Chain Stores Shibata Fumi / Hurt by Digital Saeki Kazumi / A Night in Ashina Sakai Junko / The Difficulty of "My Own Sumo" Sasaki Mikio / Something Begins Beyond Death Sasaki Riku / Concrete Sawaki Kotaro / The Boy Left His Seat Urban Gyao / The Zeroth Urban Gyao Shibata Kazunari / Abe no Seimei Suzuki Sakiko / Memories of the Flower Bed Suzuki Suzumi / Mourning Professor Fukuda Kazuya Suzuki Toshitaka / From Ku-chan to All Humanity Suzuki Nao / The Nameless Hill Sen Muneshitsu / War Nobuko Takagi / Words Masanobu Takashima / Intimacy Coordinator Arata Tendo / In Memory of Katsura Funakoshi Miu Tomita / My "Boogie-Woogie" Mayuko Nishiyama / "She's My Daughter" Hiroshi Nobue / She Was Like a "Walking Bomb" Naoko Nobutomo / A Life Conference with My Father Hiroshi Hasegawa / A Form of Mourning Mimi Hachikai / Putting the Various Facets of Life into Words Mariko Hayashi / It All Starts Here Kazuma Hayami / Whose Voice Is That? Munenori Harada / Reading Yoko Hiramatsu / "Be Delicious, Be Delicious" Yuko Hirayoshi / Fragments of Everyday Life Kojiro Hirose / The Death and Ambition of a Senior Ushio Fukasawa / To Moe Sagisawa Naoko Fukui / My Landlord's Meme Naoyo Fukuda / Palindromes, Erasers: A Door to Another World Fujisawa Shu / Precognition Tadatsugu Fujimura / My Father Who Made Me Laugh at the End Tomoko Hoshino / Cigarettes Yoriko Hoshi / The Wife of the Mansion Hiroshi Homura / Ruby? Arugula? Toshiyuki Horie / Spring Parasol Machida Yasushi / Compassion in "The Way of Professional Wrestling" K. Matsunaga Sanzo / Push and Pull, But the Door Won't Bounce Shion Miura / The Impact of Forgetting Saki Minoda / A Cat Named Marble Mutsuko Muta / There's No Choice But to Do Something Yuki Murai / "New Historical Materials on Hideyoshi" Now on Yahoo! Auctions Haruki Murakami / Losing Seiji Ozawa Kiyoko Murata / Heartless Bookstore Moegara / My Grandmother's Praise That Made Me a Fish Expert Juichi Yamagiwa / Animal Stories Created by Naming Mari Yamazaki / Italian Mother (Mamma) Tadanori Yokoo / In Memory of Kishin Shinoyama Atsuhiro Yoshida / Drawing the Line Miwa Yoshimine / In Memory of Mitsuko Tanaka Komichi Yanagitate / A Strategy to Increase the Number of Female Rakugo Artists Efu Wakagi / "I" and "Me" Japan: A World Full of First-Person Writing Kiyokazu Washida / Thoughts on the Season of Farewells Ayumi Takahashi: Cover Illustration

■ Publisher's Comment Precious days, encounters and farewells, discoveries, humor, love...

This year, we've gathered a wealth of "literary treats" to enjoy at your leisure.

Selected from newspapers and magazines in 2024, these 78 essays are a treasure trove of moving writing.

Enjoy a book that can be enjoyed no matter where you start.