Selected Work

The Marie Kondo Tidying Companion

A planner to spark joy and organize your life

By Marie Kondo

For The Marie Kondo Tidying Companion, I translated the full manuscript to seamlessly integrate with Marie Kondo’s existing lexicon in her previous bestsellers. Since the original book had a complex, magazine-like layout, I worked closely with her editor at Pan Macmillan to make sure the translation was formatted and delivered in a way that was most helpful to the editorial and design teams.

Praise for Marie Kondo

“This book lives up to its title: it will change your life.”
—B.J. Novak, People

“How could this pocket-sized book, which has already sold over 2 million copies and sits firmly atop the New York Times Best Seller list, make such a big promise? Here’s the short answer: Because it’s legit. . . . Kondo’s method really can change your life—if you let it.”
—Today

“Ms. Kondo delivers her tidy manifesto like a kind of Zen nanny, both hortatory and animistic.”
—The New York Times

“Reading it, you glimpse a glittering mental freedom from the unread/uncrafted/unworn, buyer’s remorse, the nervous eyeing of real estate listings. Life’s overwhelm, conquered.”
—The Atlantic

“[It is] enough to salute Kondo for her recognition of something quietly profound: that mess is often about unhappiness, and that the right kind of tidying can be a kind of psychotherapy for the home as well as for the people in it . . . Its strength is its simplicity.”
—The London Times

Goodbye, Things

The New Japanese Minimalism

By Fumio Sasaki

For Goodbye, Things, I acted as an informal literary scout, bringing the work to the attention of the US publisher; I translated sample material to build the English-language book proposal; I suggested the English-language title, which communicates the spirit of the book but is not a literal translation of the original title; and I checked the finished translation of the full manuscript.

Praise for the book

“Inspiring in its straightforwardness and sincerity . . . I don’t think it would be possible to read Goodbye, Things without taking a look at your own home (and life) with a new set of eyes. . . . In the end, what matters is the thoughtfulness the book inspires.”
—Janel Laban, Apartment Therapy

“In his new book, Goodbye, Things, Fumio Sasaki shares the lessons he learned by going minimalist. . . . For Sasaki, minimalism isn’t about how little you have, but how it makes you feel. Sasaki credits his minimalist lifestyle with helping him lose weight, become extroverted and proactive, and above all, feel happy and grateful for what he has.”
—Heeseung Kim, Cosmopolitan

“Makes the case for radical minimalism . . . treat each of [Sasaki’s] 70 tips as an opportunity to reevaluate how you use and why you keep the things in your home.”
—Jenny Xie, Curbed

“Take your spring cleaning to the next level with Goodbye, Things by Fumio Sasaki. A best-seller in Japan, this book uncovers why we want to own more than we need, what this mentality does to our well-being and how we can live better by owning less.”
—Katie Neal, Parade

© Rieko Yamanaka