Make Japan (or Japanese culture) an element of your story.

Posted in Narrative on Mar 24, 2023

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✍️ 37 stories

“FIVE POUNDS OF FOOD” by BRUCE MARTIN

Submitted to Contest #191

The Big Texan is a ranch and restaurant in Amarillo, Texas. It was founded in 1960 on Route 66, serving the finest Texas barbecue, but moved to its current location just off Route 40 in Amarillo in April, 1971. The owner originated the 72-ounce Steak Challenge, and when the new facility opened, the Challenge became famous. It wasn’t long before this ranch became an iconic destination. Many customers have tried their appetites on the 72-ounce Steak Challenge, but only about 10% succeed. The 72-ounce Steak Challenge is very simple.&...

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“The Mountain Guardian” by Philippa Hibberd

Submitted to Contest #191

When Sota asked Hisa to venture into the forest with him, she didn’t dare refuse.Snow crunched under her shuffling steps. The cold stiffened her joints through the thin cotton of her kimono. Still, she trudged up the slope after Sota, for if she slowed down, who knew what he’d do. The person she feared most, more than the yokai rumoured to live in these mountains, was her own son.At least this meant, for the time being, he wouldn’t hurt Megumi. She pictured her granddaughter in the hut, alone, taking care of household chores, or venturing ou...

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“Blossoms” by Tanya Humphreys

Submitted to Contest #191

I eyed the grain of rice suspiciously. It smelled old and moldy, but I didn’t care, I was a rat after all and the greenish hued grain would make a chewy snack…I didn’t need the grain, I found plenty of things to eat. I was intrigued by the man who’d been brought to this place the day before. The man had placed the grain on the old fruit crate that served as the man’s table, one of four items of furniture in the twelve-by-twelve-foot hut that served as the man’s prison cell. There was another fruit crate and two flat futon like beds on oppo...

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“Smoke and Lukewarm Coffee” by Marco Blasco

Submitted to Contest #191

The smell of smoke woke me. I stared at the ceiling, my legs moving through the rough sheets. The light of the spring day filtered through the balcony doors, catching the dust floating around the room. The breeze drifted through, once again carrying with it the scent of smoke and the smell of the morning air. They fought for dominance of my senses before I remembered last night. I pushed myself up in bed. My apartment was small, but I was happy with how I had arranged everything. The bed was in the center of the room. Tall bookcases sto...

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“It's Okay” by Fhionna Mac

Submitted to Contest #191

He listens to the door slam. You were only an amusement, fun for a while. He won’t miss you. He detangles his auburn hair with the comb you gave him. The handle’s bumpy where the plastic’s been moulded to resemble elephants because you thought he’d like to go on a safari holiday. Something completely different. He’s rocking-it-out to ‘Ain’t Life a Bitch,’ standing in the shower, using the last of your shower gel, punching the air with a wet fist, expecting you’ll be there soon to wash his back, and other places. He thinks that you ...

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“Imo (potatoes)” by Susie Helme

Submitted to Contest #191

The rice crop failed that autumn for the third year running, the wailing of the starving peasants penetrated deep into the daimyō’s (lord’s) castle. At the gate Sumitada and his father sat upon their horses surveying the rotting fields of Saitama Province. Orphaned children clustered at their stirrups daring touches upon their greaves to beg for coins. Bodies of dead peasants, their parents perhaps, half covered in water, lay still on the ground where tall rice stalks once had swayed, their hands still stuck in the wet earth where they had d...

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“Ame no Nuhoko” by Christopher Reifsteck

Submitted to Contest #191

“Greetings friend! Sorry, but traveling East is foreordained with ill omens today. Best to wait until tomorrow, right?”The peasant slowed to a stop in the dusty dirt road. Wearing a patchy, worn tunic and a patchy, worn headband, he surveyed the man barring his path. As the bright white robes and tall black kanmuri hat, seeped into recognition, the peasant’s eye widened in panic before he plunged to the ground in a deep bow.“Th-thank you sir! I am deeply sorry for not showing you the proper respect at once!”“No, no,” the finely dressed...

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“Haro's Crush” by Hope Linter

Submitted to Contest #191

I have taken some artistic license with names and other aspects of the Japanese culture. The Ryōan-ji Temple with it’s famous Zen garden does exist in Kyoto. Eighteen-year-old Hiro Ito contemplated the perfectly raked white gravel in the karesansui or dry landscape of the famous Ryōan-ji Zen garden in his hometown of Kyoto. Wooden floor boards embued with the earthy scent of generations and smoothed down over the centuries felt soft under his socks, and comforting to his touch sitting on the veranda. An uncle who had become a Japanese monk,...

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“Camp Us” by Andrew Fruchtman

Submitted to Contest #191

When our daughter was born, we still hadn’t decided on a name. A name is a very important thing. stirring connotations of other liked named people, for good or for worse. We had been debating for months, making lists, and searching the internet, everything except asking friends and family. That rarely goes well. We thought we’d wait till she arrived and were quite sure, upon looking into her face, a name would be communicated. Nothing came. Now it was time to check out of the hospital and it was crunch time. The nurs...

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“The Traitor Emperor” by Nitya Nair

Submitted to Contest #191

It’s almost time. I will finally have my revenge. Akimitsu promised himself. He would kill the Emperor if it was the last thing he did. When the clock struck twelve, he would finally avenge his whole family. Tying his long black hair up with a piece of leather, Akimi prepared himself to go see the king. Every day, without fail, a different servant was to bring him tea in his chambers at exactly 11:55, after he finished his sword training and bathed. Today, it was finally his turn. He’d been in the palace for over four years, watchi...

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“The Beauty of Sakura” by Robert Radcliff

Submitted to Contest #191

The petals surround me. Falling from the sky in tickertape fashion. Pink, pale rose and white, mystic and mysterious.Strange but compelling and unforgettable.Cherry blossoms symbolize the ephemeral nature of life. Their loveliness although tinged with volatility represent mortality and destiny.An empathy towards things and the reality of life, yet at the same time it signifies hope, renewal and positive thought.The cherry blossom leaves swirl around and lift my existence as I float in a lightness of being.My memory is mostly gone with unknow...

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“Tokyo rain” by Shelby Bingham

Submitted to Contest #191

Kai Sato's life was in shambles. His girlfriend... well, ex-girlfriend now had just kicked him to the curb, all because she thought he was having an affair with a co-worker, when he was, in fact, not at all. Kai hated that co-worker if he was being completely honest. His mom was in the hospital with stage four lung cancer, and he could lose his job at the hardware shop at any moment."Get out! Get out, get out, get out!" She screamed so loud all of Japan probably heard and then grabbed him by the shoulders and attempted to push him out the fr...

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“Looking for Excitement ” by Avril Armstrong

Submitted to Contest #191

Looking for Excitement? 1471 words ex. title Haruto stepped out of the elevator feigning a confidence he didn't feel. Nine young men wearing masks stood in line. As he watched, one of them swayed and fainted to the floor. An older man, wearing a striped, wide-belted, kimono, jerked his head, indicating for Haruto to join the line up, then he dragged the body of the unconscious youth across to the elevator, bundled it in and pressed the DOWN arrow. Haruto took his place in the vacated gap...

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“Sakura - Kara Fuji and Japan” by Karel Fontaine

Submitted to Contest #191

Kara Fuji travelled slowly through a small rural village in Akita Prefecture, Honshu. Then, over a little bridge, she spied Sakura. Beside a cluster of ancient wooden shrines, a grotto of statuette Bodhisattvas, with little red skull caps, looking like cherry-top cherubs, was a narrow avenue of soft-pink, frothy, petals-dropping-in-the-breeze gorgeousness. Either side of the walkway to the main shrine stood cherry trees, their pink canopies touching. The trees were short and trimmed, their gnarly bark thick and flaking. ...

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“Bring it home” by Mitchell Stephens

Submitted to Contest #191

The following is based on a true story from the accounts of my Grandfather. A tear of sweat slid down his brow and onto his cheek. But he never flinched. His focus was on one absolute certainty, that with two outs, a second strike and facing the end of the ninth inning, it was all up to Alan to bring his team home, and show these Yanks how the game of baseball was played by the boys under the Southern Cross. His arms were heavy and his hands were blistered, the lack of wrapping around the bat digging into his skin, but still he never flinc...

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Make Japan (or Japanese culture) an element of your story.

Submissions are closed

✍️ 37 stories

“FIVE POUNDS OF FOOD” by BRUCE MARTIN

“The Mountain Guardian” by Philippa Hibberd

“Blossoms” by Tanya Humphreys

“Smoke and Lukewarm Coffee” by Marco Blasco

“It's Okay” by Fhionna Mac

“Imo (potatoes)” by Susie Helme

“Ame no Nuhoko” by Christopher Reifsteck

“Haro's Crush” by Hope Linter

“Camp Us” by Andrew Fruchtman

“The Traitor Emperor” by Nitya Nair

“The Beauty of Sakura” by Robert Radcliff

“Tokyo rain” by Shelby Bingham

“Looking for Excitement ” by Avril Armstrong

“Sakura - Kara Fuji and Japan” by Karel Fontaine

“Bring it home” by Mitchell Stephens

🌟 Similar prompts

Start your story with your character(s) going to buy some flowers.

Write about a character who is starting to open up to life again.

Write a story about a character who’s late to witness a special event.

Write a story that includes someone saying, “I feel alive.”

Contest #191

Enter our weekly contest!

$250

Prize money

276

Contest entries

170

Stories

Win $250 in our short story competition 🏆

Explore more writing prompt ideas: