Best of
Japan

1989

A Song for Nagasaki: The Story of Takashi Nagai: Scientist, Convert, and Survivor of the Atomic Bomb


Paul Glynn - 1989
    Among the survivors was Takashi Nagai, a pioneer in radiology research and a convert to the Catholic Faith. Living in the rubble of the ruined city and suffering from leukemia caused by over-exposure to radiation, Nagai lived out the remainder of his remarkable life by bringing physical and spiritual healing to his war-weary people.A Song for Nagasaki tells the moving story of this extraordinary man, beginning with his boyhood and the heroic tales and stoic virtues of his family's Shinto religion. It reveals the inspiring story of Nagai's remarkable spiritual journey from Shintoism to atheism to Catholicism. Mixed with interesting details about Japanese history and culture, the biography traces Nagai's spiritual quest as he studied medicine at Nagasaki University, served as a medic with the Japanese army during its occupation of Manchuria, and returned to Nagasaki to dedicate himself to the science of radiology. The historic Catholic district of the city, where Nagai became a Catholic and began a family, was ground zero for the atomic bomb.After the bomb disaster that killed thousands, including Nagai's beloved wife, Nagai, then Dean of Radiology at Nagasaki University, threw himself into service to the countless victims of the bomb explosion, even though it meant deadly exposure to the radiation which eventually would cause his own death. While dying, he also wrote powerful books that became best-sellers in Japan. These included The Bells of Nagasaki, which resonated deeply with the Japanese people in their great suffering as it explores the Christian message of love and forgiveness. Nagai became a highly revered man and is considered a saint by many Japanese people. Illustrated"Christians and non-Christians alike were deeply moved by Nagai's faith in Christ that made him like Job of the Scriptures: in the midst of the nuclear wilderness he kept his heart in tranquility and peace, neither bearing resentment against any man nor cursing God." —Shusaku Endo, from the Foreword

Crow With No Mouth: Ikkyu, Fifteenth Century Zen Master


Ikkyu - 1989
    He in turn invited them to look for him in the sake parlors of the Pleasure Quarters. A Zen monk-poet-calligrapher-musician, he dared to write about the joys of erotic love, along with more traditional Zen themes. He was an eccentric and genius who dared to defy authority and despised corruption. Although he lived during times plagued by war, famine, rioting, and religious upheaval, his writing and music prevailed, influencing Japanese culture to this day.Stephen Berg is the Editor and founder of American Poetry Review.Also available by Stephen BergSteel CricketPB $16.00, 1-55659-075-X • CUSANew & Selected PoemsPB $12.00, 1-55659-043-1 • CUSA

The Girl with the White Flag


Tomiko Higa - 1989
    There, as some of the fiercest fighting of the war rages around her, she must live alone, with nothing to fall back on but her own wits and daring. Fleeing from encroaching enemy forces, searching desperately for her lost sisters, taking scraps of food from the knapsacks of dead soldiers, risking death at every turn, Tomiko somehow finds the strength and courage to survive.Many years later she decided to tell this story. Originally intended for juvenile readers, it is sure to move adults as well, because it is such a vivid portrait of the unintended civilian casualties of any war.

Bankei Zen: Translations from the Record of Bankei


Bankei Yotaku - 1989
    At a time when Zen was becoming overly formalized in Japan, he stressed its relevance to everyday life, insisting on the importance of naturalness and spontaneity.

Aki and the Fox


Akiko Hayashi - 1989
    Translation of "Kon and Aki" copyright 1989. (from the copyright page)

Hyakujo: The Everest of Zen with Basho's Haikus


Osho - 1989
    And his motto: "One day without working, one day without food." No holy charity here; work and meditation go hand in hand. He also created the Chinese Tea Ceremony where something so ordinary as drinking tea becomes a meditation. But more than simply chronicles of a past master, here we see Osho "hitting" a disciple in front of the assembled thousands at the evening meditation, and we experience the depths of her response. Such was the intensity of this that Osho dedicated the book to her - a book that is truly "living Zen" and a must for everyone who is interested in the ways of a Zen master.SubjectZen and Zen MastersTranslated fromNotesPart of the seven-volume set "The Present Day Awakened One speaks on the Ancient Masters of Zen"Time Period of Osho's original Discourses/Talks/Lettersfrom Sep 26, 1988 to Oct 4, 1988Number of Discourses/Chapters9

Sun at Midnight: Poems and Sermons


Musō Soseki - 1989
    A gorgeous introduction by co-translator W.S. Merwin sets the stage for 130 poems and six letters to the Emperor that combine delicacy and lightness with penetrating plainness. Essential for poets, gardeners, and students of Zen.Toki-no-Ge (Satori Poem)Year after yearI dug in the earthlooking for the blue of heavenonly to feelthe pile of dirtchoking meuntil once in the dead of nightI tripped on a broken brickand kicked it into the airand saw that without a thoughtI had smashed the bonesof the empty skyBorn ten years after Dante Alighieric, Muso Soseki was the most famous Zen monk of his time, and is considered the father of the rock garden. Muso spent much of his early life practicing Zen in remote temples and hermitages. In spite of this isolation, his reputation grew, and he served as an advisor and teacher to several emperors, as well as to more than thirteen thousand students.W.S. Merwin is one of the world's foremost translators of poetry.Co-translator Soiku Shigematsu is a Zen scholar, poet, and translator who serves as the abbot of Shogen-ji Temple in Shimizu, Japan.

The art of Totoro (ジ・アート・シリーズ (13)


アニメージュ編集部 - 1989
    

Waiting for the Wind: Thirty-Six Poets of Japan's Late Medieval Age


Steven D. Carter - 1989
    The poems are all in the uta form (the thirty-one syllable lyric) that was the major genre of court poetry throughout the classical period in Japan.

Hyper Illustrations


Hajime Sorayama - 1989
    Over 100 cyborgs, robots and erotic super pin-ups fill each of these popular collection by world famous airbrush illustrator, Hajime Sorayama.

Love Me


BUCK-TICK桶口 豊 - 1989
    Each member has a section with his biography and photographs of his childhood; the heading for each section includes original artwork by guitarist Hisashi Imai. There is also a lengthy section about the band's formation and early history, with many old pictures, and a "schedule" section that includes TV performances and concerts.

Textile Art of Japan


Sunny Yang - 1989
    They start with a brief but informative history of those most typical forms of Japanese dress, the kimono and the obi, and then move on to introduce the techniques of dyeing, weaving, and needlework that distinguish Japanese textiles, discussing their traditions, practical methods, and use on different types of fabrics.This richly illustrated volume, with over 200 color illustrations, is the perfect introduction to the subject of Japanese textiles. It includes examples of modern Japanese fabrics made according to or by adapting traditional methods, and shows them used in innovative ways: in quilts, screens, cushions, and hats. A list of museums all over Japan with fine fabric collections and a selected bibliography are helpful additions to this beautiful book.

Hokusai: Life and Work


Richard J. Lane - 1989
    

Ekiben: The Art of the Japanese Box Lunch


Gideon Bosker - 1989
    Shows and describes the contents of a variety of Japanese-style box lunches and discusses their background.Over 150 full-color photographs of lunches in their containers, each accompanied by its name, the train station where it is sold, and notes on special design and culinary features.

Kintaro's Adventures and Other Japanese Children's Stories


Florence Sakade - 1989
    This lovely volume contains six stories, including "How to Fool a Cat," "The Princess and the Herdboy" and "Kintaro's Adventures."

Women in the New Asia: From Pain to Power


Yayori Matsui - 1989
    The author, one of Japan' s leading journalists, demonstrates how Asian women are confronting rapid economic development which is accompanied by widespread infringement of human rights. Analysing the lives of women in Japan, Thailand, the Phillipinnes, Taiwan, China, Nepal and Korea, Yayori Matsui explores the impact of globalization - including the feminization of migration and an increase in the trafficking of women sexual violence - from the ' comfort' women to child prostitution development projects - the cause of mass deforestation and displacement of communities However she also describes women' s credit co-ops, democratization movements and unionization of women workers. She meets women who have organized anti-logging blockades, literacy classes and campaigns against trafficking. She finds women across Asia resisting the dictatorship of development, the feminization of poverty and patriarchal values. Throughout the continent, she finds the seeds of hope for a new Asia.

The Warrior and the Wise Man


David Wisniewski - 1989
    "An original fairy tale that draws extensively on Japanese culture....An exciting, well-told story....The cut-paper illustrations are outstanding....A beautiful first book from a highly accomplished artist."--Kirkus Reviews.

The Male Journey in Japanese Prints


Roger S. Keyes - 1989
    At times the artists portray their subjects simply and realistically; at times their themes are dramatic and even mythic. Keyes draws on his lifelong study of Japanese prints to provide cultural and technical details. Equally important, he draws on his own emotional responses to bring the subjects to life and into a relationship with the world of twentieth-century Western men.Published in association with The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco

Sekai no Mannaka no Ki -世界の真ん中の木 - The Tree in the Middle of the World


二木 真希子 - 1989
    One day she sees a golden bird fly by. She believes this is a legendary all-knowing bird, and decides to climb the big tree.

The Miracles Of The Kasuga Deity


Royall Tyler - 1989
    The Kasuga Gongen genki ("The Miracles of the Kasuga Deity") mingles text and painting on silk to tell the tale of miraculous events at the Kasuga shrine in Nara, a site favored by the dominant Fujiwara clan for centuries. The work's values are aristocratic, but the text sheds light on the syncretic nature of the era's religious practices, allowing Tyler to collapse the distinction between high and low forms of medieval Japanese religion. Tyler provides a detailed examination of the scrolls, the shrine, and their history and political role. He also elucidates the scrolls' relationship to literary genre and religious practice, including the interaction between Shintoism and Buddhism. His copious annotations describe the work's historical context, as well as its religious and cultural influences. This study is essential for scholars of religion, art historians, and cultural historians alike.Royall Tyler taught Japanese language and literature for many years at the Australian National University. He has also taught at Harvard University, Stanford University, and the University of Wisconsin. His translation of The Tale of Genji was acclaimed by publications such as the New York Times Book Review.

Sayonara, Mrs. Kackleman


Maira Kalman - 1989
    . . informative, funny, and lively."--School Library Journal. From the author/illustrator of Stay Up Late and Hey Willy, See the Pyramids. Full-color illustrations throughout.

The Peasant Soul Of Japan


Shōichi Watanabe - 1989
    

Japan Diary


Mark Gayn - 1989
    It is the story of that extraordinary figure General Douglas MacArthur, and the men around him. It is the story of the way American foreign polity operated in one segment of the globe and of the plot and counterplot that went on behind the Japanese throne in the years of war and of the subsequent conspiracy to thwart the Allied purposes. It is the story of the common people in two Oriental lands. It is, finally, the record of the author's education, and not a few readers will find it controversial. But it is an absorbing book nonetheless, and the years that have passed since its first publication have not diminished its value as the chronicle of a highly observant reporter.It is indeed an intriguing panorama that Gayn presents, and whether the reader agrees with him in all of his observations, he can hardly accuse him of being unexciting.

Imperial Japanese Army and Navy Uniforms and Equipment


Tadao Nakata - 1989
    War Related

Speak Japanese today: A Self-Study Program for Learning Everyday Japanese


Taeko Kamiya - 1989
    Each lesson familiarizes you with new words and phrases in such a way that you will easily be able to remember and use them. And since the lessons concentrate on the spoken language, grammar points are clear, concise, and kept to a minimum. Students, travelers, businessmen, or anyone wanting to speak Japanese in a hurry will find this a rewarding book. Practical and reliable, Speak Japanese Today will start you conversing with confidence immediately.

Language and Popular Culture in Japan


Brian Moeran - 1989
    By making use of general theories from the disciplines of anthropology, linguistics, media studies and semiotics, the book attempts to demystify Japanese culture as it has been hitherto presented in the West, and shows how such cultural forms as ?noodle westerns? and high-school baseball uphold the well-known ideologies of ?selflessness?, ?diligence?, ?compliance? and ?co-operation? typically associated with the Japanese. Ultimately, the book poses the question: are those whom we call the Japanese ?real? people in their own right, or merely a nation acting out a part written for them by Western civilisation?

History of Japanese Economic Thought


Tessa Morris-Suzuki - 1989
    However, Japanese thinkers had already developed, during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, a variety of interesting approaches to issues such as the causes of inflation, the value of trade, and the role of the state in economic activity. Tessa Morris-Suzuki provides the first comprehensive English language survey of the development of economic thought in Japan. She considers how the study of neo-classical and Keynesian economics was given new impetus by Japan's 'economic miracle' while Marxist thought, particularly well established in Japan, was developing along lines that are only now beginning to be recognized by the West. She concludes with an examination of the radical rethinking of fundamental economic theory currently occuring in Japan and outlines some of the exciting new approaches which are emerging from this 'shaking of the foundations.

Moral and Spiritual Cultivation in Japanese Neo-Confucianism: The Life and Thought of Kaibara Ekken (1630-1714)


Mary Evelyn Tucker - 1989
    He established the importance of Neo-Confucianism in Japan at a time when Buddhism had long been the dominant religious philosophy. This is the first book-length presentation of his thought. It contains a lengthy introduction to Ekken's life, time, and thought, and a careful translation into readable English of Ekken's book, Precepts for Daily Life in Japan (Yamanto Zokkun).

The Political Power of Economic Ideas: Keynesianism Across Nations


Peter A. Hall - 1989
    In a full-scale study of the impact of Keynesian doctrines across nations, their essays trace the reception accorded Keynesian ideas, initially during the 1930s and then in the years after World War II, in a wide range of nations, including Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and Scandinavia. The contributors review the latest historical evidence to explain why some nations embraced Keynesian policies while others did not. At a time of growing interest in comparative public policy-making, they examine the central issue of how and why particular ideas acquire influence over policy and politics.Based on three years of collaborative research for the Social Science Research Council, the volume takes up central themes in contemporary economics, political science, and history. The contributors are Christopher S. Allen, Marcello de Cecco, Peter Alexis Gourevitch, Eleanor M. Hadley, Peter A. Hall, Albert O. Hirschman, Harold James, Bradford A. Lee, Jukka Pekkarinen, Pierre Rosanvallon, Walter S. Salant, Margaret Weir, and Donald Winch.

Public and Private Self in Japan and the United States: Communicative Styles of Two Cultures


Dean C. Barnlund - 1989
    Drawing upon his wealth of experience and academic study, Dr. Barnlund identifies the framework of "public self" and "private self" in the two cultures. This book, comparing the basic structures of Japanese and American communicative styles to explore the cultural and social values in their backgrounds, is a unique work which has already achieved renown in Japan.

The Oxford-Duden Pictorial Japanese and English Dictionary


Oxford University Press - 1989
    Subjects are organized thematically, enabling the user to grasp the entire vacabulary relevant to a given situation or context.

Favorite Japanese Dishes (Quick & Easy)


Yukiko Moriyama - 1989
    Quick & Easy Favorite Japanese Dishes brings together delicious recipes for the five most popular Japanese dishes: Shabu Shabu, Sukityaki, Tempura, Teppanyaki, and Teriyaki. It contains not only description of ingredients, preparation and instructions but also 600 illustrations, to support the step-by-step processes. One can safely say that this is the very book that embodies the motto "Quick & Easy."

Osiris, The god of Stone


Gozo Yoshimasu - 1989
    

Japanese Character Dictionary


Mark Spahn - 1989
    

The Economies of Africa and Asia in the Inter-War Depression


Ian Brown - 1989
    A detailed assessment of the impact of the depression on the economics of Africa and Asia.

Flight of the Enola Gay


Paul W. Tibbets - 1989
    Ready to ship...(A4

Creative Origami (Color Books)


Toyoaki Kawai - 1989
    

Pearl Harbor: Reexamined


F. Hilary Conroy - 1989
    

Between MITI and the Market: Japanese Industrial Policy for High Technology


Daniel Okimoto - 1989
    Governments in virtually all advanced industrial countries have extended the visible hand of the state in assisting specific industries or individual companies. Although greater government involvement in some countries has lessened the dislocations brought about by slower growth rates, industrial policy has also caused or exacerbated a number of other problems, including distortions in the allocation of capital and labor and trade conflicts that undermine the postwar system of free trade.Only Japan is widely cited as an unambiguous success story. The effectiveness of its industrial policy is revealed in the successful emergence of one government-targeted industry after another as world-class competitors: for example, steel, automobiles, and semiconductors. Foreign countries fear that a number of still-developing industries—like biotechnology, telecommunications, and information processing—will follow the same pattern. But is industrial policy the main reason for Japan's economic achievements? The author asserts that the reasons for Japan's spectacular track record go well beyond the realm of industrial policy into broad areas of the political economy as a whole.In this book, the author attempts to identify the reasons for the comparative effectiveness of Japanese industrial policy for high technology by answering the following questions: What is the attitude of Japanese leaders toward state intervention in the marketplace? What is the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) doing to promote the development of high technology? How has the organization of the private sector contributed to MITI's capacity to intervene effectively? What elements in Japan's political system help insulate industrial policymaking from the demands of interest-group politics?