Fujisan

From acclaimed Japanese author Randy Taguchi come four unforgettable stories of redemption, discovery, loss, and remembrance anchored by one of the world’s holiest peaks. Mount Fuji has been a source of spiritual inspiration since it was first ascended by a monk over a millennium ago.

“Blue Summit” introduces a former cult member struggling to maintain his escape from a mountain monastery, seeking solace in the fluorescent lights of the convenience store he manages. In “Sea of Trees,” three teenage boys who share a fascination with the metaphysical confront the startling realities of death and despair on their final adventure together before parting ways for different schools. “Jamila” chronicles a privileged young man’s descent into disillusionment as he works with a compulsive hoarder to clear her mess. And in “Child of Light,” a nurse struggles as she comes to terms with her role in the oft-brutal cycle of birth, life, and death.

Throughout the stories, Mount Fuji stands sentinel even as it fades in and out of view―watching and remembering as it always has.

Randy Taguchi first began writing online in 1996 and soon attracted a large following in Japan, where she is sometimes referred to as the “Queen of the Internet.” She is a popular and prolific author, whose work includes a busy blog, fourteen novels, just one of which―Outlet―has been released in English to date, many short stories, and twenty-one essays. She is currently supporting the Fukushima Kids’ Summer Camp program, helping children impacted by the 2011 earthquake, and she released a short story entitled “How Japan Made the Nuclear Choice” in reaction to the incident.

Brian Nishii is a bicultural, bilingual actor from Tokyo. He has performed with numerous theatre and dance companies in New York City for twenty years, along with film and television productions. As an Earphones Award winner, he has worked on many audiobook titles such as the works of Mishima, Kawabata, Eisler, and others.