420+ Best Short Stories by East Asian Writers to Read Online for Free - Reedsy Prompts

As Promised by Raja

Submitted to Contest #194

“Abba[1] when are we going to get our goat? It’s so close to Eid-ul-Adha [2]now,” Majeed’s three children ran up to him excitedly as soon as he entered the house. Over the past two weeks their insistence on getting a qurbani[3] animal had gained momentum as Eid-ul-Adha drew near. “Yes, we’ll get it soon enough. Let me catch my breath first,” Majeed replied as he slumped into the three-seater sofa in the simply furnished family room. “But Abba, it’s getting very late,” Sameer, his fourteen-year-old son sat at...

13 likes

3 comments 3

Read story

Clickbait

3i Writer

Submitted to Contest #192

After playing his favorite mobile game for the sixth hour, Jimmy Lee was able to unlock a secret achievement and an ultra-rare character. He loved playing video games as he felt that he found some sense of purpose from them, unlike his school life which was boring as hell. He could not understand why the school kept cramming him with all sorts of information that could easily be found on the internet, not that he bothered to learn anything from the internet. Like any other kid in Hong Kong, Jimmy was impelled to do lots of assignments, homew...

14 likes

3 comments 3

Read story

The Joy of Eid

Irum Sarfaraz

Submitted to Contest #192

The Joy of EidByIrum SarfarazIt was only early afternoon in Karachi and the clear, dazzling sky, void of a even single piece of cloud, was blazing. There was still a week left of the Ramadan fasting before Eid-ul-Fitr[1]. Abdul wiped his hot face with his thick handkerchief as he walked back to the servant quarters at the far end of the palatial home where he worked as a driver. He had unbuttoned his uniform shirt by the time he reached his simple two room servant quarters. “Assalam Alaikum[2],” his wife Sajida emerged from the oth...

14 likes

3 comments 3

Read story

A Search for Life’s Purpose

SUNIL VARSHNEYA

Submitted to Contest #191

A Search for Life’s Purpose By Sunil Varshneya I was born in America into a wealthy family, so I had never worked to earn a living and had yet to learn about the real world. My father was a successful businessman and was always successful in making more and more money. We lived in a mansion with lots of servants. I always took luxurious vacations with my parents all over the world. I always got what I wanted and was a member of all country clubs and had teachers and coaches to teach me whatever I wanted. When I went to college, I had a glim...

4 likes

0 comments 0

Read story

Haro's Crush

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,...

6 likes

2 comments 2

Read story

Ame no Nuhoko

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...

6 likes

0 comments 0

Read story

Aurelia Aurita

Alex Fischer

Submitted to Contest #191

The sound of woodland creatures fills the night air. Situated at the edge of a dark, remote lake is a young astronomer, Rentaro Harukaze. He has been camping out in the area for days, waiting in anticipation to spot a comet that hasn’t been seen for centuries. He doesn’t sleep but instead spies through his telescope, gazing at the stars dotting the black sky with a big smile on his face. “Five days I’ve camped out here, five nights I’ve been looking up, but I’m sure tonight I’ll see that comet!” he spoke to himself, recording whatever he say...

6 likes

3 comments 3

Read story

even your mistakes

Geir Westrul

Submitted to Contest #191

— whoosh —The 12-foot tenkara fly-fishing bamboo-rod whipped through the air, releasing the thin line that touched down in the stream over twenty feet away.The rising sun painted the sakura cherry blossoms in the rose color of dawn, reflecting a light pink sheen in the old man’s steel-gray hair.The old man knew the water was too cold for the trout to be active and biting, but he loved the sunrise, the cool air of early spring, everything opening up to life again. The world was young.I feel alive, he thought.“Hel...

19 likes

11 comments 11

Read story

Expat Stories: An Auction in Osaka

Scott Christenson

Submitted to Contest #191

In Osaka, during the first week of my new job, the only work I’ve done is to buy flowers. The rest of the time, I sit inside Ishikawa Real Estate’s small and crowded office, waiting for something to do while flipping through a manga under my desk, studying Japanese, and trying not to bother any of the real estate agents.The owner walks in. Everyone sits up at their desks. Like a commanding general, Mr Ishikawa has gray hair, rock solid posture, and an aura of extreme confidence. He looks amused each morning to see an American working for his...

21 likes

15 comments 15

Read story

The Mountain Guardian

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...

9 likes

4 comments 4

Read story

The Traitor Emperor

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...

6 likes

1 comment 1

Read story

A Whisper Amongst the Petals

Sage E. Seever

Submitted to Contest #191

(A side-story to: Might as Well Have Been Wind in the Bells) I only came to the village for a look, fraternizing with humans has been highly discouraged throughout my life. But I find myself standing stock still, just outside town. Something’s calling to me, an electric feel in the air. I can’t place it. My keen eyes flicker across the landscape, searching for the source. The scenery is mountainous and green, full of beautiful rock formations and ornamented with twisted trees and bushes. The scene is alluring and peaceful, and yet, uns...

14 likes

1 comment 1

Read story

Looking for Excitement

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...

5 likes

1 comment 1

Read story

Yahura the Kitsune: In Transience Being

Kris Caves

Submitted to Contest #191

Yahura languished under the floating branches of the sakura trees. Like a master’s brushstrokes, the dark wickering branches embodied the virtues of elegance, balance, and beauty. She leaned against the fence as she dedicated her time to absorbing the citrus-washed spectacle of sky. Her dark, black fox ears drooped in relaxation as she spent the hour in beatitude. No time could pass so quickly just as then, when the fluttering petals from the sakura tree dripped like years in a person’s lifetime. The scattered, fragile petals formed puddles ...

13 likes

4 comments 4

Read story

Haikus and the Shiba Inu Adventure

Savannah Wagner

Submitted to Contest #191

This adventure hereIs told in Haiku poems Our story begins…The mountains sat quietInside the temple, he satThe Shiba InuBreathe in and breathe out It was meditation hourIt had been since dawnNash was his real name He was a trained and skilled dogHis master was Kai“Meditation done”“Time now to follow the ball”Kai threw Nash the ballNash caught it mid-airHe rolled it back panting hard“Remember your breath”“Tai Chi begins there”“You must respond not react”“We must be aware”The ball squeaked loudlyNash fought the urge to chase it“...

9 likes

3 comments 3

Read story

Menu

Discover weekly, the best short stories

420+ East asian Short Stories to read

East asian Short Stories – Page 8 of 28

As Promised by Raja

Clickbait

The Joy of Eid

A Search for Life’s Purpose

Haro's Crush

Ame no Nuhoko

Aurelia Aurita

even your mistakes

Expat Stories: An Auction in Osaka

The Mountain Guardian

The Traitor Emperor

A Whisper Amongst the Petals

Looking for Excitement

Yahura the Kitsune: In Transience Being

Haikus and the Shiba Inu Adventure