My latest favorite Japanese authors

I can't pinpoint the exact reason why Japanese authors receive such a passionate response from me. I really, truly love Japanese writers. I've read a lot of Japanese authors in my life ranging from modern to classic titles and living in Japan I feel, gives me some special access into the intricacies of the Japanese mindset which helps me understand their literature in a special light. Here are my latest three new discoveries and a break down of what I think they're about.

Banana Yoshimoto 
Vibes : Sitting on the cold kitchen tiled floor, drinking milk from the fridge and lamenting, reflecting and wondering about boys from the past and people who've affected you secretly 

I've only started reading Yoshimoto's work and was hooked immediately after i bought Kitchen from a Book Off near my house. She's just bad ass. She's basically what I ideally strive to be. I want to BE Banana Yoshimoto. Her work is that perfect blend of what I love. A bit of sadness, a bit of dreaminess and a LOT of warmth. Yoshimoto herself even said in an interview that she wanted readers to feel warmth in her writing and I totally do. It's like she's hugging me from the pages. Right now i'm reading Amrita and I'm already hooked two chapters in. I love writers like her who get to the nitty gritty of our feelings and our emotions and does it in an easy, accessible way that doesn't sound pretentious and self involved. It's about the whole world not just my experiences. She nails that.

Uno Chiyo
Vibes : Femme Fatale, Smoky bars, Parties in Tokyo in the 1920's and SO MANY MEN 

Uno Chiyo is another bad ass girl in my rollerdex of amazing Japanese women. I literally just finished her book " Story of a single woman" last night. It was what they call a " Watakushi " or an " I - Novel ". A special form of writing that exists here in Japan that is somewhat cross between fiction and an autobiography. They purposely blend the line between what's real and not real but having read about her life and finishing the book, i feel like a large part of this book is actually real.
Uno Chiyo is the quintessential femme fatale. Unable to be pinned down, wild, free and having a string of both acquaintances and lovers from decade to decade.
Her writing is I must admit... florid. I prefer more biting and blunt writing that gets to the point immediately and although her writing doesn't dance around the point it definitely is sickly sentimental. Having said that, I will definitely read more of her work just to enjoy " HER" because let's face it, a woman like her is always the main attraction.

Junichiro Tanizaki
Vibes : Emotions.. fucked up emotions being intellectualized beautifully, Brute Force, Sexuality and the power over the mind

It really is a toss up between him and banana as my favourite Japanese writers. I just can't get over these two. For Tanizaki, he really gets all that deep, twisted private stuff that goes on in the blackness of our heads. He gets that stuff out and exposes it to the glare of day.
I've read three of his works so far. Naomi, The Key and Diary of a mad old man. In all his works, you get such a strong sense of old world Japan and this is also another thing i absolutely love of him. He makes me want to go back to Tokyo in the 30s. I enjoy writing about darkness and the kind of power that darkness has over our lives. Sex, Death, obsession are all dark themes and I have no other way of putting it.... he just gets it.