I can’t speak for all of Japanese literature, but modern Japanese literature that’s available in the U.S. in English translation tends to be simplistic in style, but deep in meaning. I adore this technique. There’s no need for fancy words and sentences, as long as you can get your point across with simple words and sentences.

This is not to say that I dislike fancier styles. More to the point—I like novels that have a deeper meaning and/or out-of-the-box creativity. I like books that have a purpose other than just entertainment. But entertainment is hugely important to me, too.

The book I’d like to share today is good fun entertainment, with a creative twist. It’s called Strange Houses, by a mysterious author who goes by Uketsu on the internet. The novel was translated into English by Jim Rion.

It’s a mystery-horror novel with creative graphical elements. Dead bodies and spooky houses are involved. (Halloween has passed, but I guess I’m still in the SPIRIT. . . .)

A Mysterious Author

The word “uketsu” means “rain hole” in Japanese. The man known as Uketsu always appears online in a black body stocking with a creepy white paper-mâché mask. He digitally distorts his voice to make it sound high-pitched. He is currently Japan’s bestselling author.

Uketsu started as a YouTube star and later turned some of his ideas into novels.

Click here to view a video of Uketsu in his costume, with his distorted voice.

Uketsu’s Novels

Strange Houses is Uketsu’s first novel, though it was released second in English translation. The first Uketsu novel to be released in English translation is his second novel, Strange Pictures. According to translator Jim Rion, Strange Pictures was released first in English because it is, in his words, “perhaps a more solidly structured, more confident work.” (I have not read Strange Pictures myself and cannot comment on this.) These novels were released in 2021 and 2022 in Japan, but not available in English translation until 2025.

A third novel, Strange Buildings, will be released in English translation on March 03, 2026.

Strange Houses by Uketsu: Floor Plans and Family Trees

This novel is fun and creative in that it includes floor plans of various houses. The “mystery” part of the novel is figuring out why certain features of the houses were built to be that way. The “horror” part of the novel is the protagonists’ realization that these are so-called “murder houses,” built for the purpose of killing.

The novel is set up like an analytical puzzle that is slowly unraveled. Poring over the floor plans is fun. And these are simplistic diagrams—they’re not going to tax your brain very much. The pages turn very fast because of the numerous diagrams. There are also a few family tree diagrams.

The plot is far-fetched, but hey, it’s all in good fun. Most of all, I appreciated the creativity of this novel. It’s unlike anything I’ve read before.

Strange Houses by Uketsu: Sample Sentences

To give you a flavor of the simplicity of Strange Houses, here’s a sample passage from near the beginning:

“But there was one thing on the floor plan that bothered them.
“On the first floor, there was a mysterious dead space between the kitchen and living room.”

Strange Houses by Uketsu: The Strangest Part of Reading This Book

This was an especially odd reading experience for me, in a not-so-good way. The first half of the book reads so easily that it’s like a Young Adult novel. There are, in my opinion, way more floor plan diagrams than needed. You don’t need to show me the same diagram over and over, and zoom in on that same diagram over and over. I get it!

However, the diagrams get much less frequent in the second half of the book. There is an extremely long story detailing a family history across many generations. Folks, I’ll be honest—I got confused. So many Japanese names, so few family tree diagrams. I could have used a few more family tree diagrams.

I suspect the diagrams weren’t included because they could have introduced spoilers. However, why not give partial family tree diagrams as more information is revealed?

I don’t have a problem with complex novels. It was a bit jarring, however, to be racing through what I thought was an easy read, only to get stumped at the end and wish I had concentrated more, earlier on. I was spoon-fed at the beginning, and then the spoons went away!

Strange Houses by Uketsu: The Ending (No Spoilers!)

The ending baffled me a bit. This is a book that you may need to read twice. As for me—instead of rereading the novel, I cheated and went on Reddit. There’s a wonderful discussion there of the ending. Some lovely Redditors helped me see things I had missed in my singular speedy read-through. One comment in particular made me say, OH! Interesting! There are hidden secrets and complexities in this novel.

Do you have hidden rooms in your home?

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Also mentioned: Strange Pictures by Uketsu
Also mentioned: Strange Buildings by Uketsu