Author guide

Banana Yoshimoto Books in Order

Banana Yoshimoto is the pen name of Mahoko Yoshimoto, a Japanese novelist and essayist born in Tokyo in 1964. She debuted with Kitchen, which won the Kaien Newcomer Writers Prize, and went on to publish novels, novellas, short-story collections, essays, travel writing, memoir-like nonfiction, and collaborative works. Her major honors include the Izumi Kyoka Prize, the Yamamoto Shūgorō Prize, the Murasaki Shikibu Prize, and several Italian literary awards. Her books have been translated widely, with Kitchen, Goodbye Tsugumi, N.P., Amrita, Lizard, Asleep, The Lake, and other works becoming internationally recognized.

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Banana Yoshimoto's Newest Book

Like a Mirage

novel · First published 2026

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Not sure where to begin?

Start with one of these

Kitchen

The best-known entry point and Yoshimoto's defining debut.

Goodbye Tsugumi

A concise, representative novel about family, memory, and mortality.

Lizard

A compact introduction to her short fiction.

The Body Knows Everything

A representative collection spanning her recurring themes of loss, love, and renewal.

Read in order

Books by series

novel series · complete

Kingdom

A four-volume linked novel sequence following Shizukuishi and her family across generations and changing forms of belonging.

Series guide →

1

Kingdom I: Andromeda Heights
Book 1 · novel · 2002

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2

Kingdom II: The Shadow of Lost Things and Magic
Book 2 · novel · 2004

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3

Kingdom III: The Secret Flower Garden
Book 3 · novel · 2005

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4

Kingdom IV: Another World
Book 4 · novel · 2010

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novel series · complete

Fukiage Strange Stories

A supernatural novel sequence set in the town of Fukiage and centered on the sisters Mimi and Kodachi.

Series guide →

1

Fukiage Strange Stories I: Mimi and Kodachi
Book 1 · novel · 2017

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2

Fukiage Strange Stories II: Rice Bowls
Book 2 · novel · 2018

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3

Fukiage Strange Stories III: The Child Spirit
Book 3 · novel · 2020

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Outside the series

Bibliography by category

Sort works

Novels (37)

Moonlight Shadow
novella · 1986

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Kitchen
novel · 1988

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Utakata / Sanctuary
novella-collection · 1988

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The Premonition
novel · 1988

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Goodbye Tsugumi
novel · 1989

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Asleep
novel · 1989

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N.P.
novel · 1990

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Marika's Long Night / Bali Dream Diary
hybrid-fiction-and-travel-writing · 1994

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Hachiko's Last Lover
novel · 1994

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Amrita
novel · 1994

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Sly
novel · 1996

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Honeymoon
novel · 1997

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Hardboiled & Hard Luck
novella-collection · 1999

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Daisy's Life
novel · 2000

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H/H
novel · 2001

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Rainbow
novel · 2002

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Hagoromo
novel · 2003

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Nankurunai
novel · 2004

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High and Dry: First Love
novel · 2004

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Lid of the Sea
novel · 2004

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The Lake
novel · 2005

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Dolphin
novel · 2006

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Salamander
novel · 2006

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Chie and I
novel · 2007

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Hawaii Dreaming
novel · 2007

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South Point
novel · 2008

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About Her
novel · 2008

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Moshi Moshi
novel · 2010

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The Acorn Sisters
novel · 2010

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Sizzle Sizzle
novel · 2010

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Sweet Hereafter
novel · 2011

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Snack Chidori
novella · 2013

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Take an Afternoon Nap on a Bed of Flowers
novel · 2013

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Birds
novel · 2014

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Circus Night
novel · 2015

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Funafuna Funabashi
novel · 2015

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Like a Mirage
novel · 2026

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