Reddit reviews Anthology of Japanese Literature: From the Earliest Era to the Mid-Nineteenth Century (UNESCO Collection of Representative Works: European)
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Keene's work is considered canon:
https://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Japanese-Literature-Mid-Nineteenth-Representative/dp/0802150586
A nice book to pick up sometime is Donald Keene's Anthology of Japanese Literature; the first volume of the two is especially nice, since he gives you a pretty succinct selection of representative classics. Lots of cool stuff by Basho and his pupils, some great Noh drama, puppet plays, selections from diaries, a chapter from Gengji, stories by Saikaku, and some early poems from the Man'yoshu. Not perfect, but a good place to cut your teeth on some older stuff.
Hi, throwing in my two cents that the best way to improve your reading/grammar and literary knowledge is to dive deep into anthologies and collections. Think of it as a sampling of the 'best of the best' and you are getting a taste of what is considered to be great. Also don't be afraid to pick up a piece of classic literature and think, "Good god, this was considered awesome?" That's ok. Some people don't like premodern literature. Some people LOVE it. Some people HATE it. Some people are all about cyberpunk angsty lit that's a product of our super modern society. Some love poetry...well, you get the picture. The beauty of an anthology is you can survey the goods -- and if you love something you read, odds are it's only a small selection taken from a much bigger book OR the writer is pretty prolific and if you like his style of writing, odds are you are going to LOVE the rest of his work.
Don't know where to begin? I recommend checking out some classics from overseas (which I use as a required book in my courses):
This will take you from the world origin myth right up to Tokugawa period (from 794 to 1868) I'm partial to world origin myths and the Kamakura period. It's not easy to read but it's a good way to develop critical thinking skills and will broaden your world view!
http://www.amazon.com/Anthology-Japanese-Literature-Mid-Nineteenth-Representative/dp/0802150586/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397829264&sr=8-1&keywords=Anthology+of+Japanese+Literature
http://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Travel-Sketches-Penguin-Classics/dp/0140441859/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1397829577&sr=8-2&keywords=Matsuo+Basho
Ok, so I don't like premodern literature? ^Then ^check ^out ^the ^modern ^stuff!
http://www.amazon.com/Modern-Japanese-Literature-From-Present/dp/0802150950/ref=pd_sim_b_3?ie=UTF8&refRID=04S84RFJ5BQ76B3N06QT
Also, to make yourself super cultured, start reading opera summaries and plays. That's right. Read them. Then go see them.
Here's a link: http://www.amazon.com/Great-Operas-Their-Stories-Act-/dp/0385054483/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1397830047&sr=1-1&keywords=Operas
TL;DR: Start reading! Collections and Anthologies are a great place to start.