It features a biography of the author (including an interview), a full-length analysis of the novel, and a great deal more. If you're studying this novel, reading it for your book club, or if you simply want to know more about it, you'll find this guide informative and helpful. This is part of a new series of guides to contemporary novels. The aim of the series is to give readers accessible and informative introductions to some of the most popular, most acclaimed and most influential novels of recent years - from ‘The Remains of the Day' to ‘White Teeth'. A team of contemporary fiction scholars from both sides of the Atlantic has been assembled to provide a thorough and readable analysis of each of the novels in question.

    The only scion of a drunken interlude between a cowardly yakuza and an inebriated bar-hostess, Momoko's mom has since split the scene, and, after various ill-fated scams that involve imitation brand name merchandise, Momoko's dad relocates them to the boondocks of rural Ibaraki prefecture. To escape her humdrum existence, Momoko fanaticizes about French rococo, dreams of living in the palace of Versailles, and buys all her extremely lacy clothes from an expensive Tokyo boutique. Meet Ichiko, a tough-talking motorcycle grrrl (on a tricked-out moped) who leads a ladies-only biker gang known as the Ponytails. Together, this unlikeliest of duos strike out on a quest to find a legendary embroiderer, a journey on which they encounter conniving pachinko parlor managers, legendary street-punks, and anemic costumers. Who knows, they might just make it big...if only Ichiko would stop head butting Momoko in the forehead. Novala Takemoto's break-though novel KAMIKAZE GIRLS, already a cult-classic in Japan, is more than a wry coming-of-age picaresque, it's a new way of life.

    Flashbacks and multilayered stories reveal his life: an impoverished upbringing as an orphan, his eventual rise to wealth and success—despite racial and class prejudice—and an obsession with a girl from an affluent family that has haunted him all his life. A True Novel then widens into an examination of Japan’s westernization and the emergence of a middle class.   The winner of Japan’s prestigious Yomiuri Literature Prize, Mizumura has written a beautiful novel, with love at its core, that reveals, above all, the power of storytelling.

    Their odyssey, as mysterious to them as it is to us, is enriched throughout by vivid accomplices and mesmerizing events. Cats and people carry on conversations, a ghostlike pimp employs a Hegel-quoting prostitute, a forest harbors soldiers apparently unaged since World War II, and rainstorms of fish (and worse) fall from the sky. There is a brutal murder, with the identity of both victim and perpetrator a riddle—yet this, along with everything else, is eventually answered, just as the entwined destinies of Kafka and Nakata are gradually revealed, with one escaping his fate entirely and the other given a fresh start on his own.

    These journeys were part of his religious training as a Buddhist monk as well as literary inspiration for his memorable and often painfully moving poems. The works he wrote during this time comprise a record of his quest for spiritual enlightenment.Although Santoka was master of conventional-style haiku, which he wrote in his youth, the vast majority of his works, and those for which he is most admired, are in free-verse form. He also left a number of diaries in which he frequently recorded the circumstances that had led to the composition of a particular poem or group of poems. In "For All My Walking, " master translator Burton Watson makes Santoka's life story and literary journeys available to English-speaking readers and students of haiku and Zen Buddhism. He allows us to meet Santoka directly, not by withholding his own opinions but by leaving room for us to form our own. Watson's translations bring across not only the poetry but also the emotional force at the core of the poems.This volume includes 245 of Santoka's poems and of excerpts from his prose diary, along with a chronology of his life and a compelling introduction that provides historical and biographical context to Taneda Santoka's work.

    The Emperor and the Wolf is an in-depth look at these two great artists and their legacy that brims with behind-the-scenes details, many never before known, about their tumultuous lives and stormy relationships with the studios and with one another. More than just a biography, though, The Emperor and the Wolf is also an impromptu history of Japanese cinema -- its development, filmmakers, and performers -- and a provocative look at postwar American and Japanese culture and the different lenses through which two great societies viewed each other.

    They generally have a very different character and tone from modern martial arts, such as kendō, judō or aikidō which followed. More than the study of antique weapons, self-defense or a form of athletics, these martial traditions are a cultural legacy and a window to another time and place.In the first edition of Old School, Ellis Amdur, a renowned martial arts researcher, and himself an instructor in two different surviving koryū, gave readers a rare glimpse into feudal Japanese warrior arts, both as they were in the past and as they live on today. Nearly a decade later, he returns to the subject in this new, greatly expanded edition, bringing readers inside the dojōs of a number ancient schools, providing details analysis of the evolution and morphology of uniquely Japanese weaponry, addressing the myth and reality of Japan's naginata-wielding warrior women, and discussing the modern relevance of the blood oaths, magical ritual and mysticism that often permeate the koryū. Finally, he looks at the challenge of preservation and transmission, especially as more and more practitioners of the koryū exist outside of Japan itself.Writing with a combination of the initiate’s passion for his subject, and the scientist’s rigorous search for the truth, Amdur asks critically: do the ancient traditions still meet the objectives of their founders? Are they successfully passing their ancient legacy down to the next generation?Over a third larger than the first edition and filled with new artwork and photography, Old School: Japanese Martial Traditions Expanded Edition will be an invaluable addition to the library of old readers and new alike.

    This manual on Bunkai-Jutsu covers topics including: understanding Kata and Bunkai; the role of grappling in self defence; close range strikes; throws and takedowns; ground fighting; chokes and strangles; arm bars; leg and ankle locks; neck wrenches; finger locks; wrist locks; and fighting dirty.

    Unlike English adjectives, Japanese ones conjugate, meaning that you must memorize their various forms before being able to build sentences of any complexity. Adverbs do not conjugate, but make use of particles to show their grammatical relationship to other words, and some have very subtle shades of meaning that are difficult to grasp. Moreover, many do not translate into adverbs in English.The role these parts of speech play in adding flavor to the Japanese language is invaluable. This handy reference manual introduces the basic (and basics of) adjectives and adverbs in a clear and sensible way, enabling students not only to speak Japanese but to do it with pizzazz.The book is divided roughly in half, the first half dealing with adjectives, the second with adverbs. Each is prefaced by a short introduction that serves as an overview of the material introduced. The section on adjectives is divided into two parts: Part 1 covers the conjugations of i- and na-adjectives and some basic auxiliary adjectives, and Part 2 presents common sentence patterns in which adjectives appear.The adverb section is arranged by topic. Among the types of adverbs explained here are those used to express time, quantity, degree, circumstance, and natural sounds or actions (the ubiquitous onomatopoeic adverbs).Each entry in this book is given a simple, concise English explanation and two or more example sentences to illustrate its usage. Exercises every few pages enable students to measure their understanding. Finally, a number of quick-reference lists in the appendixes provide a convenient means of recalling and building vocabulary.Together with its sister publication, The Handbook of Japanese Verbs, this unique manual is certain to provide years of friendly guidance.

    

    Haiku are clearly shown to be a means of discovering and recording the miracles of the world, from the humorous to the tragic. This is one of the major themes underlying Writing and Enjoying Haiku-that haiku can provide a way to a better life.After looking at why the reading and writing of haiku is important from a spiritual point of view, the book shows, as has never been done before, the techniques of writing-the when and the where, punctuation and capitalization, choice of words, figures of speech, sharing haiku, and much, much more.Having come this far, having learned to read and write haiku with a discerning mind, the reader will never again look upon the world in quite the same way.

    This book is centered around those essays that generations have regarded as containing the essence of Dogen's teaching. These translations, revised from those that first appeared in the 1970s, clarify and enrich the understanding of Dogen's religious thought and his basic ideas about Zen practice and doctrine. Dogen's uncommon intellectual gifts, combined with a profound religious attainment and an extraordinary ability to articulate it, make Sho�bo�genzo� unique even in the vast literature the Zen school has produced over the centuries, securing it a special place in the history of world religious literature.

    With the series currently running on Cartoon Network, now is the perfect time to learn the details about Spike, Faye, Jet, and Ed (and let's not forget Ein!) that you might have missed in the fast paced action. Featuring character bios, technical guides, behind-the-scenes photos, and story details, this is a guide that no fan should be without! Volume 1 covers the episodes- Asteroid Blues, Stray Dog Strut, Honky Tonk Women, Gateway Shuffle, and Ballad of Fallen Angels.

    There is a world around us, a world of people, tactile sensation, and culture. There is the wired world inside the computer, of images, personalities, virtual experiences, and a culture all of its own. The day after a classmate commits suicide, a thirteen year-old girl named Lain discovers how closely the two worlds are linked when she receives an e-mail from the dead girl: "I just abandoned my body. I still live here...". Has the line between the real world and the wired world begun to blur?This authorized book features detailed episode summaries, in depth character profiles, setting and theme analysis, and role-playing character sheets for Guardians Of Order's popular Tri-Stat System. With hundreds of full-color images from the series, and many pages of production line art, this Ultimate Fan Guide is the definitive English-language resource book for Serial Experiments Lain.

    This anthology, which will be of vital interest to anyone involved in this era, includes not only fiction, poetry, and drama, but also essays, treatises, literary criticism, comic poetry, adaptations from Chinese, folk stories and other non-canonical works. Many of these texts have never been translated into English before, and several classics have been newly translated for this collection.Early Modern Japanese Literature introduces English readers to an unprecedented range of prose fiction genres, including dangibon (satiric sermons), kibyoshi (satiric and didactic picture books), sharebon (books of wit and fashion), yomihon (reading books), kokkeibon (books of humor), gokan (bound books), and ninjobon (books of romance and sentiment). The anthology also offers a rich array of poetry--waka, haiku, senryu, kyoka, kyoshi--and eleven plays, which range from contemporary domestic drama to historical plays and from early puppet theater to nineteenth century kabuki. Since much of early modern Japanese literature is highly allusive and often elliptical, this anthology features introductions and commentary that provide the critical context for appreciating this diverse and fascinating body of texts.One of the major characteristics of early modern Japanese literature is that almost all of the popular fiction was amply illustrated by wood-block prints, creating an extensive text-image phenomenon. In some genres such as kibyoshi and gokan the text in fact appeared inside the woodblock image. Woodblock prints of actors were also an important aspect of the culture of kabuki drama. A major feature of this anthology is the inclusion of over 200 woodblock prints that accompanied the original texts and drama.

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    Onikakushi~Opening~Welcome to the world of Higurashi: When They Cry.The Onikakushi arc will be the opening inviting you into this world.Don't play tough-please just enjoy life in Hinamizawa to the fullest.The difficulty is extremely high, but I hope you will enjoy the reward.

    Shaped-resist dyeing techniques have been done for centuries in every corner of the world. Yet more than half of the known techniques-in which cloth is in some way tied, clamped, folded, or held back during dyeing, to keep some areas from taking color - originated in Japan.Shibori can be used not only to create patterns on cloth but to turn fabric from a two-dimensional into a three-dimensional object. The word is used here to refer to any process that leaves a "memory on cloth" -a permanent record, whether of patterning or texture, of the particular forms of resist done. In addition to traditional methods it encompasses high-tech processes like heat-set on polyester (made famous by Issey Miyake's revolutionary pleated clothing), melt-off on metallic fabric, the fulling and felting that make it possible to turn all-natural fabrics into three-dimensional shapes, weaving resist (in which, for instance, a warp thread can be pulled to gather the cloth to resist dye), and devoree, in which just one part of a mixed fabric is dissolved with chemicals.Author Yoshiko Iwamoto Wada has been teaching shibori around the world for nearly thirty years, and helped to establish the World Shibori Network and the International Shibori Symposium. She coauthored in 1983 the authoritative Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped-Resist Dyeing, which in turn inspired many artists to add shibori processes to their repertoire.The range of vibrant modern art covered in Memory on Cloth is remarkable, and includes work by artists from Africa, South America, Europe, India, Japan, China, Korea, the United States, and Australia in more than 325 stunning photos and illustrations. It encompasses fabric design, wearable art and fashion, and textile art or various sculptural forms. The work of more than seventy innovative designers including Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, Jurgen Lehl, Jun'ichi Arai, Helene Soubeyran, Genevieve Dion, Asha Sarabhai, Junco Sato Pollack, Ana Lisa Hedstrom, Marian Clayden, and Carter Smith is presented, and each artist shares details on the processes that they themselves have created, making this an invaluable reference for artists in every field. A number of innovative artists who combine shibori techniques with knitting, weaving, or quilting are also included, suggesting new ways to combine innovation with more traditional forms. A final section on modern techniques gives extremely detailed information, including dye recipes, on various high-tech processes and the particular methods that individual artists use to achieve certain effects.As informative as it is inspirational, Memory on Cloth will take its place alongside Wada's earlier work, Shibori, as a definitive text that will help keep shaped-resist dyeing processes a vibrant and important form of modern art.Features* More than 325 stunning photos and illustrations * Encompasses fabric design, wearable art and fashion, and textile art or various sculptural forms * Covers more than seventy innovative designers * Includes works by artists from Africa, South America, Europe, India, Japan, China, Korea, the United States, and Australia * Each artist shares details on the processes that they themselves have createdPraise for Shibori (co-authored by Yoshiko Wada):"In this age of hyperbole there is great risk in declaring a singular event. Nonetheless one has occurred with the long anticipated publication of Shibori: The Inventive Art of Japanese Shaped Resist Dyeing. Word of this book has long circulated in the inner and outer sanctums of the textile world with excitement and expectation building. This combination of bilingual, scholarly, creative and resourceful authors has brought us a classic volume . . . A masterful blend of historical material that puts Japanese textiles in context, clearly described and illustrated techniques along with information and illustrations of contemporary work from Japan and the West make this book an essential acquisition for anyone who proclaims a serious interest in textile dyeing, design, or historic textiles." ?Glen Kaufman, in Surface Design Journal"Well researched, well written, well organized and well illustrated." ?Crafts Magazine

    Buddhist masters composed this parable, whose origins reach as far back as the literature of ancient India, to guide students of Buddhism in their spiritual journeys. The Ox Herder: A Zen Parable Illustrated presents the earliest known Japanese handscroll illustrating the parable and the only one with paintings in color. Unlike many early Japanese handscrolls and books, it is intact, from its preface explaining the basic tenets of Buddhism to its signed inscription dated 1278. Extremely popular among Zen Buddhists in medieval Japan, "The Ten Ox Herding Songs," as the parable is best known, divides the herder's journey into ten stages, each illustrated by a circularly framed image accompanied by a four-line poem. The paintings, rendered in the graceful traditional manner of Japanese narrative illustration, show the progress of the ox herder (a seeker of truth) toward enlightenment (the ox). Appearing with the ten pictures are the preface and the ten songs that accompany the images, both in the original and in translation, and the final inscription. Stephanie Wada's introduction traces the history of the Zen and ox-and-herdboy theme in Japan, and discusses the importance of this particular work within Japanese Zen Buddhist painting. For students of Zen Buddhism, of Japanese art, and seekers of truth from all walks of life, The Ox Herder: A Zen Parable Illustrated offers ancient lessons of spiritual growth and beauty. 10 color and 15 b/w illustrations.

    As the earliest to write haiku that were modern in both theme and subject, Masaoka Shiki (1867-1902) is a prominent figure in modern Japanese literature. Born one year before the Meiji Restoration, he was in many ways a transitional figure, with his writings standing midway between the pre-modern and modern periods and his character and life shaped by both. Janine Beichman takes care in this elucidating work not to overemphasize Shiki's popular image as a haiku poet, and informs readers about other important yet little-known aspects of Shiki's work. Includes translations acclaimed for their sensitivity, as well as understandable literary analysis.

    Just as Alice Waters changed the way Americans thought about food, Takashi Sugimoto has revolutionized the act of dining in Japan.Shunju: New Japanese Cuisine brings you the experience of dining at Tokyo's most innovative and exciting restaurants: Shunju. Everything about these restaurants is unique—their design, decoration, and lighting—but most especially the cuisine. At the Shunju restaurants the menu changes with the seasons and the specials change daily depending on what is available from the market. The chefs choose from hand-picked farmed and wild vegetables that arrive each morning. The food, though quintessentially Japanese, is fresh and innovative, with unexpected touches from other cuisines.The restaurants' designs are modern, funky, and often quite bizarre. Sugimoto, the famed interior designer, has incorporated such unusual installations as original sidewalk gratings from the London subway and hand plastered mud walls. In this way, the designs represent the new lifestyle philosophy of Japan's urban, cultivated youth: that within the chaotic city of modern design and Japanese food, more value should be placed on nature and time, on the textures of genuine materials, the flavors of natural foods.Stunning photographs, shot on location throughout the four seasons, and modern Japanese recipes that are as beautiful in presentation as they are to taste, make Shunju: New Japanese Cuisine a must for both professional chefs and dedicated amateurs.Sections include:The Seasonal KitchenSpring foodsSummer foodsAutumn foodsWinter foods

    General MacArthur's Army of Liberation slices across the Philippines to strike at Manila and cut off the Japanese Imperial Army's retreat to the north. But 25 miles behind enemy lines, outnumbered by a force six times its own strength, an elite team of US Rangers, Filipino guerillas and Alamo Scouts is about to penetrate the very heart of the Japanese pow camp at Cabanatuan. Their mission: rescue the American POWs left to die after the infamous Bataan Death March - and get out alive.

    I believe you have fully enjoyed everything and everyone seeming suspicious.Here at last. It is no surprise attack, but a real, direct incident. Please enjoy it.The difficulty is lower than Onikakushi, but is extremely vicious.

    This discourse presents the procedures and implements the Way of Tea with step-by-step instructions.

    Kawara's existence is documented solely through his daily art-making practice. Best known are his Date Paintings (1965-ongoing), in which he methodically creates a single painting a day, with simply the date written on it. This book is a rare chance for his followers to unravel more of the mystery of this cult figure, and for less familiar readers to be introduced to his fascinating life and work. A unique feature of this book is the Tribute section, which reflects the artist's lifelong commitment never to be personally documented in his own words. A collection of short statements by 30 individuals selected personally by Kawara - among them artists Lawrence Weiner and Dan Graham, and cultural theorist Homi Bhabha - create an indirect 'portrait of the artist'.In the Survey, Curator Jonathan examines the artist's long-standing career: from his early figurative painting in the 1950s, to his later, text-based Conceptual art. Curator René Denizot analyses in his Focus a two-person exhibition combining Kawara's work with Alberto Giacometti's, revealing both artists' shared concern for the essence of human existence. The artist's interest in the nature of consciousness is reflected in a scientific essay he has selected for his Artist's Choice from the academic Journal of Consciousness Studies. In the Artist's Writings, a series of handwritten love letters in an indecipherable code reflect the mix of the impersonal and the deeply humanistic threads that run through Kawara's art.

    In this long-awaited second edition, the editors have revised or retranslated most of the texts in the original 1958 edition, and added a great many selections not included or translated before. They have also restructured volume 1 to span the period from the early Japanese chronicles to the end of the sixteenth century. New additions include:* readings on early and medieval Shinto and on the tea ceremony,* readings on state Buddhism and Chinese political thought influential in Japan, and* sections on women's education, medieval innovations in the uses of history, and laws and precepts of the medieval warrior houses.Together, the selections shed light on the development of Japanese civilization in its own terms, without reference to Western parallels, and will continue to assist generations of students and lay readers in understanding Japanese culture.

    The monarchy, which is also a family, has been significant both as a political and as a cultural institution. This comprehensive study analyzes numerous issues, including the role of individual emperors in shaping the institution, the manner in which the emperor's constitutional position as symbol has been interpreted, the emperor's intersection with politics through ministerial briefings, memories of Hirohito's wartime role, nationalistic movements in support of Foundation Day and the reign-name system, and the remaking of the once sacrosanct throne into a monarchy of the masses embedded in the postwar culture of democracy. The author stresses the monarchy's postwarness, rather than its traditionality.

    One of the first military engagements in World War II, the battle for this tiny, strategically located atoll in the Pacific began on December 8, 1941, just five hours after Japan's surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. It ended on December 23, when the marines—despite diminished forces, incapacitated fighter planes, and no communications—strove to stem an overwhelming Japanese invasion until their commanding officers ordered them to surrender. No sooner had the surviving marines—the author's eighteen-year-old brother among them—laid down their arms than they were stripped and bound. For two days they sat naked in the hot sun; at night they shivered in the cold. For the next three weeks they slogged in the ruins of their bombed-out camp. They were then jammed into the hold of the ship that would take them to prison camps in China and Japan, where they would endure the cruelest indignities and grimmest tortures until their liberation in August 1945. Hell Wouldn't Stop tells their often horrific, frequently heroic, and unforgettable if long-forgotten World War II story.

    Filled with interesting characters, this book reads like a collection of short stories.

    

    With practical examples and easy-to-follow exercises, this book concisely introduces 45 living concepts of the Way, from "wabi" and the "immovable mind" to "respect" and "duty," explaining their traditional Japanese roots and also how to incorporate them into our daily lives for greater serenity, concentration, and creativity.H. E. Davey is Director of the Sennin Foundation Center for Japanese Cultural Arts.

    In 1940 Shokichi Hamada is a conscientious objector who dodges military service by simply disappearing from society, taking to the country as an itinerant peddler by the name of Sugiura until the end of the war in 1945. In 1965, Hamada works as a clerk at a conservative university, his war resistance a dark secret of the past that present-day events force into the light, confronting him with unexpected consequences of his refusal to conform twenty years earlier.

    In the months following the attack, Japan was successful in a series of victories throughout Southeast Asia and the Western Pacific. Then, from May 1942 to October 1943, the Japanese and the United States engaged in a series of fierce clashes in the Southwest Pacific. Both the U.S. and Japanese forces were evenly matched, and their troops fought one another to exhaustion. This engrossing book looks at the war with Japan, focusing on this "period of balance" between American and Japanese forces. The War with Japan explains how the battles fought in the Coral Sea in May and off Midway Islands in June 1942 represented the first engagements that were not the result of decisions made by the Japanese before the outbreak of war. Both the U.S. and Japanese had to consider their next moves in a strategic situation that was much like a gun lying in the street: it was there for either side to pick up and use. H. P. Willmott examines the conflict in this context. The campaigns that raged in the lower Solomons and along the Kakoda Trail for control of eastern New Guinea, along with the ferocious battles in the Coral Sea and off Midway Islands, were the turning point of the war in the Pacific. The fight for control of Guadalcanal saw the Imperial Navy and U.S. Navy fight one another, and themselves, until they were completely spent. But between February and October 1943, the Americans gained a critical edge when the U.S. Navy took delivery of the first of the massive warships that were to carry the fighting to the Japanese home islands. After November 1943, this strong U.S. fleet-built during the period of hostilities-outfought the Japanese navy. The War with Japan explores all these aspects of Japanese defeat. This fascinating probe into the war with Japan is ideal for all readers who are interested in military history and World War II.

    It follows Akiko, who was born into a merchant family in the port city of Sakai near Osaka, from earliest childhood to her twenties, charting the slow process of development before the seemingly sudden metamorphosis.Akiko's later poetry has now begun to win long-overdue recognition, but in terms of literary history the impact of Midaregami (Tangled Hair, 1901), her first book, still overshadows everything else she wrote, for it brought individualism to traditional tanka poetry with a tempestuous force and passion found in no other work of the period. Embracing the Firebird traces Akiko's emotional and artistic development up to the publication of this seminal work, which became a classic of modern Japanese poetry and marked the starting point of Akiko's forty-year-long career as a writer. It then examines Tangled Hair itself, the characteristics that make it a unified work of art, and its originality.The study throughout includes Janine Beichman's elegant translations of poems by Yosano Akiko (both those included in Tangled Hair and those not), as well as poems by contemporaries such as Yosano Tekkan, Yamakawa Tomiko, and others.

    Eiji Oguma demonstrates that the myth of ethnic homogeneity was not established during the Meiji period, nor during the Pacific War, but only after the end of the war. The study covers a large range of areas, including archaeology, ancient history, linguistics, anthropology, ethnology, folk law, eugenics and philosophy, to obtain an overview of how a variety of authors dealt with the theme of ethnicity. It also examines how this myth of homogeneity arose and how the peoples of such Japanese colonies as Korea and Taiwan were viewed in the pre-war literature on ethnic identity. This is the first English translation of A Genealogy of "Japanese" Self-Images, which won the Suntory Culture Award in 1996.

    Outraged by this news, the entire country and particularly the Army vowed to avenge the defeat and the infamous Bataan Death March. "Avenging Bataan: The Battle of Zigzag Pass" is a well-researched and detailed historical account of the struggle to liberate Bataan in 1945 by opening the highway through Zigzag Pass. Featuring coverage of both the American and Japanese forces, this account provides insight into the day by day life and death struggle of battle. The story is told through interviews, letters, and reports by men - from both sides - who fought the battle . Complete with the historical background of events leading up to and surrounding the Battle of Zigzag Pass, the author's research includes strategic information along with personal accounts. A gripping portrayal of both the Americans and Japanesse at war, "Avenging Bataan" helps preserve the legacy of World War II for future generations.

    On one hand, it spawned social liberalism and political radicalism; on the other, it generated the social conservatism and cultural nativism that grew into the ultra-nationalism of 1937-1945.In art, it produced an infatuation with Western modernism as well as a new exploration of traditional aesthetics. Between these dramatic polarities was a rich middle ground of cultural synthesis and symbiosis in which Western concepts of modernity and nostalgia for Japanese tradition seamlessly merged or creatively contrasted. These values are witnessed in the Art Deco style, particularly as it infused Japanese art of Taisho.Much of the debate over Japanese cultural identity centered on the appearance and social role of women. The primary focus in this volume is the nexus of tradition and modernity manifest in popular images of women, as well as in domestic furnishings and fashions made for women.In an introductory essay, historian Sharon Minichiello provides a broad context for these issues by sketching major domestic and international events and themes of the period. In his essay and catalogue entries, art historian Kendall Brown first examines how women were at the center of the sociocultural debate on Japanese modernity, then details how artists helped fashion various female types, including the modern girl, the traditional beauty, and a new type of hybrid woman.The nihonga paintings, woodblock prints, textiles, and domestic artifacts discussed and illustrated here are a broad range of objects representative of mainstream Taisho visual culture, and reconstruct the styles popular from 1915 to 1935 in a celebration of Taisho- Chic.

    In showing how the court adapted and survived, the author examines internal court politics and protocols, external court relations, court finances, court structure, and ceremonial observances. Emperor and courtiers, he concludes, adjusted to the warrior elite, while retaining the ideological advantage bestowed by culture, tradition, and birth, to which these new wielders of power continued to pay homage.

    Whether you're hungry for adventure, or a steaming bowl of Vietnamese pho, these guides will satisfy your every craving. Written in an entertaining and opinionated style, these are the definitive culinary guides to the world's major travel destinations. They are an indispensable reference for both adventurous cooks and travellers trying to eat their way through unfamiliar menus and markets. With tantalising photography throughout, they are also a feast for the eyes. The pocket-size World Food guides serve up heaping portions of information on everything to do with eating and drinking in a country. They cover the history and evolution of the cuisine, its staples and specialties, and the kitchen philosophy of the people. Lonely Planet opens the doors on home cooking and traditions, showing how food and drink have become integral to personal and national celebrations, and discovering the myriad of regional cuisines that exist in even the most familiar countries. JapanFrom the traditional dishes served at rural hot-spring ryokan inns, to the restaurant-filled high-rise madness of Tokyo, Japan expresses itself through its food. This guide takes you on a journey through all of Japan's culinary life. We go beyond the familiar sake and sushi, covering the essentials -- dashi (stock), bento boxes, and soba noodles, and the exotic -- fermented soy beans, matsutake mushrooms, and fish that still wriggle as they slide down your throat. Itadakimasho! Let's eat! This guidebook features: The essential guide to the culture of food and drink in JapanCelebrating the seasons with Japan's calendar of festivalsAn exploration of the regional influences that make up Japanese cuisineShopping and eating out in Japan as well as understanding the menuThe definitive culinary dictionary, a quick reference glossary, and useful phrases for every food and drink occasionTantalizing photography and recipes

    Through an in-depth study of Japanese art and culture, world-renowned scholar Gian Carlo Calza defines the very essence of that recognizable yet elusive quality that is Japanese style, equipping readers with the tools to fully understand and appreciate it. He draws connections between art, religion, history, philosophy and mythology, and examines specific examples of Japanese literature, art and architecture, from ancient times to the present. Beautifully illustrated with over 150 images, including paintings, prints, sculptures and photographs, this book is a perfect introduction to Japananese style and culture.

    

    The concept of kazari, the will to decorate, embodies the interplay between objects and settings in a dynamic process that stimulates both the visual and intellectual senses. With superb examples of decorative and fine art objects from important international collections and writings by leading scholars in the field, the book will make a significant contribution to the appreciation and understanding of Japanese art and design.

    Their beauty speaks to everyone. What is behind this beauty? Why do the gardens of Japan speak to us so strongly? This volume delves into questions of beauty and ideas of nature expressed in the visual and literary arts of Japan as well as notions of taste and creativity in garden making. It goes beyond the popular understanding of Japanese gardens and locates them in a larger social and cultural context, revealing not only how gardeners conceived their works, but also how gardens functioned during key periods in classical, medieval, and early modern Japanese history.Revised and thoroughly updated, Themes in the History of Japanese Garden Art presents new, thought-provoking interpretations of the evolution of Japanese garden art. Its depth and much-needed emphasis on a practical context for garden creation will appeal to art and literary historians as well as scholars, students, practitioners, and appreciators of garden and landscape art, Asian and Western.

    A perfect gift for a baby shower!

    The chapters provide a wealth of new data related to Japanese child development, moral reasoning and narratives, schooling and family socialization, and adolescent experiences. By placing the Japanese evidence within the context of Western psychological theory and research, the book calls for a systematic reexamination of Western psychology as one psychology among many other ethnopsychologies.

    Even today, in a society driven by technological advancement, these annual rites continue to function as a mechanism for purification and renewal and also to ensure all aspects of communal productivity. The pageantry of these events -- their extraordinary dress, performance, and Shinto-Buddhist ritual enactment -- brings communities together in an act of worship that is, as well, an extravagant artistic celebration. Dominated by the gorgeous textiles worn by troupes of participants, matsuri also boldly incorporate decorated banners, exquisitely "dressed" festival wagons, dramatic masks, and elaborate portable shrines. The historical importance of matsuri within the cycle of annual religious events in Japan is also reflected in the representation of these festivals in several pictorial forms, from lavish screen paintings to elegant woodblock prints.This volume identifies and describes the exuberant textiles and costumes of matsuri and considers their significance within their cultural context. Many of the examples illustrated date from the Meiji period (1868-1912), the last time when handwork was produced by individual artisans for their own use or that of their neighbors. The unique focus on festival arts in this book allows us to identify the special aesthetics that differentiate the textiles worn and used on Japan's holy days. At matsuri a cascade of beautifully crafted garments in vibrant hues meets the eyes, foregrounded distinctly against the hushed simplicity of the Shinto shrine. It is an incredibly vital spectacle of human artistry at the service of a sacred occasion.Matsuri! documents the use of textiles in more than 25 different festivals scattered over the length and breadth of Japan. The book interweaves these textiles with the other arts that constitute matsuri as well as with their symbolic meanings and the history of textile making in Japan. Gorgeous photographs bring the festivals to life.Gloria Granz Gonick is a student of Japanese textiles and culture. Other contributors include Yo-ichiro Hakomori (adjunct assistant professor of architecture at the University of Southern California), Hiroyuki Nagahara (assistant professor of Japanese at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa), and Herbert Plutschow (professor of East Asian languages and cultures at UCLA and author of Matsuri: The Festivals of Japan among other books).

    According to the aesthetic principles long prevailing in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan, even two rocks arranged in a tiny, enclosed space can be considered a garden. This type of garden is called a tsuboniwa, and Kyoto has long being considered its birthplace and home. So it is not surprising that photographer Katsuhiko Mizuno, wishing to capture the best of such small gardens, should turn to Kyoto and its palaces, temples, shrines, and town houses.The highlight of the book is the 100 photographs of these tsuboniwa--snow overlying sand patterns; coloring maple leaves; flowering cherry trees; lanterns, basins, fences; gardens featuring wisteria, azalea, hydrangea, Indian lilac, camellia, and daphne. Each photo is accompanied by an insightful caption pointing out the outstanding characteristics of the garden in question.An appendix gives Mizuno's instructions for creating a tsuboniwa, based on his personal experience. His account of the underlying concepts, design, choice of plants, and practical procedures will prove a invaluable reference for all garden creators, from amateur to professional.

    Many of these take their inspiration from the natural world, with typical favourites such as the crane and the carp, as well as an enormous variety of flowers and foliage. All the illustrations are stored in high-resolution format on the enclosed free CD-ROM and are ready to use for professional quality printed media and web page design. The pictures can also be used to produce postcards, or to decorate your letters, flyers, etc. They can be imported directly from the CD into most design, image- manipulation, illustration, word-processing and e-mail programs; no installation is required. For most applications, single images can be used free of charge. Please consult the introduction to this book, or visit our website for conditions.

    Something that would fit into a shoulder bag or briefcase, could be taken to class, or would sit unobtrusively on a desktop. Kodansha's Essential Kanji Dictionary is precisely that dictionary, designed specifically to meet the needs of the modern man and woman. It includes all of the 1,945 Joyo Kanji, the core kanji recommended by the Japanese Ministry of Education for use in Japanese newspapers and magazines. Knowing these kanji, the student can recognize virtually every Chinese character appearing in the daily press. And that is not all. This dictionary also features some 18,000 kanji compounds, both those with Chinese readings (on-yomi) and those with Japanese readings (kun-yomi). These compounds have been carefully selected for practicality, usefulness, and timeliness. The living language has received exclusive priority, including such words as "favoritism," and "statute of limitations." For those interested in securities, stocks and bonds, and the diverse terminology of the business world, related terms and jargon are clearly marked for easy reference. Simply open the book and look for the Yen sign. There you will find "current price," "aggregate market value," "issue at market price," and a great deal more. For those who want to write kanji, the stroke order of each and every character has been duly noted. But more important, the Essential Kanji Dictionary does its utmost to help the reader locate the needed character. Aside from the traditional radical chart on the back endpaper, there are three invaluable indices as well. The first is by the reading of the kanji, either Japanese (kun) or Chinese (on). The second is by radical, but not by traditional radical alone. Also included are variants and near-misses, directing the reader precisely to the right page. The third is by stroke number-if all else fails, count the strokes and track the character down. With a copy of Kodansha's Essential Kanji Dictionary close at hand-with its definitions, stroke order, Chinese compounds, Japanese compounds, business terminology, and three helpful indices - the life of the typical student of Japanese should take a decided turn for the better. FEATURES o 1,945 Essential (Joyo) Kanji o 18,000 Common Compounds o 2,000 Practical Business Terms o Three Indices for Finding Kanji o Compact for Handy Reference o Functional, Up-to-Date, Timely

    Students--irrespective of proficiency level and linguistic training--will find clarification on matters of grammar that often seem idiosyncratic and Japanese-specific, such as avoiding the use of certain pronouns, employing the same word order for questions, hidden subjects, polite and direct forms.Organized for easy access and readability, Making Sense of Japanese Grammar consists of short units, each focused on explaining a distinct problem and illustrated with a wealth of examples. To further enhance their usefulness, the units are cross-referenced and contain brief comprehension exercises to test and apply newly acquired knowledge. A glossary and keys to the exercises are at the back of the book.This volume may be used as a supplementary classroom reading or a helpful reference for students of all levels. Both students and instructors, even those trained in linguistics, will find its accessible explanations of grammatical concepts helpful.Grounded in sound scholarship and extensive teaching experience, Making Sense of Japanese Grammar brings a fresh and liberating perspective to the study of Japanese.

    It shows how they developed in their historical writing ideas of 'radical nationalism', which accepted presupposed ideas of Japan's 'ethnic homogeneity', but which they saw as a 'revolutionary subject', creating a sphere of radical political action against the state, the American Occupation and global capital. It compares this approach in both prewar and postwar Marxist historiography, showing that in the postwar period ideas were more elaborate, and put much more emphasis on national education and social mobilization. It also shows how these early postwar discourses have made their way into contemporary ethnic nationalism and revisionism in Japan today. The book's rich and interesting analysis will appeal not just to historians of Japan, but also to those interested in nationalism and Marxism more generally.

    

    In 1942 the United States government declared 110,000 American Japanese residents of the United States a threat to national security and incarcerated them in eleven relocation camps around the country. One such camp, Manzanar, was located near Lone Pine in the Owens River Valley on the East side of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Four photographers Ansel Adams, Dorothea Lange, Clem Albers and Toyo Miyatake photographed Manzanar and its residents at various times throughout its three year existence. Their photographs tell the story of Manzanar from four different perspectives. Taken together, they offer a glimpse of the elusive truth of the relocation camps a cautionary and poignant tale of pain, injustice, and the triumph of the human spirit. In 1942 110,000 American Japanese were incarcerated in relocation camps. One camp, Manzanar, was photographed by Ansel Adams and Dorothea Lange, etc. These photographs present a tale of pain, injustice, and the triumph of the human spirit.

    This book examines this relationship in a number of unexplored areas in Japanese society, including policies relating to fertility, perinatal care, child care, sexuality and elder care. It concludes that a major transformation occurred during the 1990s as a result of Japan's changing economy, demography and civil society. The volume challenges many Western preconceptions about Japanese society.

    It presents the thinking of esteemed Western philosophers, aestheticians, and art and literary historians, and introduces to English-reading audiences some of Japan's most distinguished scholars, whose work has received limited or no exposure in the United States.In the first part, "Hermeneutics and Japan, " contributors examine the difficulties inherent in articulating "otherness" without falling into the trap of essentialization and while relying on Western epistemology for explanation and interpretation. In the second part, "Japan's Aesthetic Hermeneutics, " they explore the role of aesthetics in shaping discourses on art and nature in Japan. The essays in the final section of the book, "Japan's Literary Hermeneutics, " rethink the notion of "Japanese literature" in light of recent findings on the ideological implications of canon formations and transformations within Japan's prominent literary circles.

    Using personal diaries, court records, poetry texts, and literary treatises, Robert N. Huey reconstructs the process by which Retired Emperor Go-Toba brought together contending factions to produce this collection and laid the groundwork for his later attempt at imperial restoration. The work analyzes how poetic discourse of the imperial court animated both other kinds of writing and other activities. Finally, it underscores the inextricable ties between the writing of poetry and court politics.Shinkokinshū--the "New Kokinshu"--has been viewed as a neo-classical effort. Reading history backward, scholars have often taken the work to be the outgrowth of a nostalgia for greatness presumed to have been lost in the wars of the origins of the collection. The author argues that the compilers of Shinkokinshū instead saw it as a "new" beginning, a revitalization and affirmation of courtly traditions, and not a reaction to loss. It is a dynamic collection, full of innovative, challenging poetry--not an elegy for a lost age.

    It questions received, simplified accounts of the interactions between Shinto and Japanese Buddhism, and presents a more dynamic and variegated religious world, one in which the deities' Buddhist originals and local traces did not constitute one-to-one associations, but complex combinations of multiple deities based on semiotic operations, doctrines, myths, and legends. The book's essays, all based on specific case studies, discuss the honji suijaku paradigm from a number of different perspectives, always integrating historical and doctrinal analysis with interpretive insights.

    The writers under his lens span seven centuries, ranging from the twelfth century to the nineteenth. Three are poets; three wrote timeless prose. The hermit-monk Ryōkan, a poet who loved nothing more than bouncing balls with neighborhood children or just sitting sprawled in his hut listening to the sound of rain, teaches the value of living with a spirit of play. Kenkō offers trenchant comments on the aesthetics of life, grounded in an appreciation of the immediacy of death. Kamo no Chōmei, a journalist par excellence, found happiness late in life by flouting convention and “rejoicing in the absence of grief.” Dōgen, the founder of Sōtō Zen in Japan, takes us on a mind-bending trip to the Dharma—ultimate truth—that involves revolutionary ways of conceiving of time, life, and death. Saigyō, the beloved itinerant monk-poet, continually explores his own wayward heart and its vast, incorrigible love of beauty. Buson the haiku poet uses his painter’s eye to capture cosmic vistas as well as moments of poignancy in poems of seventeen syllables.

    of Illinois) introduces his English translations of five representative post- Shingeki ("new theater") plays, and discusses their context and interrelationships. Originally published as Japanese drama and culture in the 1960s: the return of the gods (M.E. Sharpe). Annotation ©2003 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR

    Economic reform is crucial to the recovery of the Japanese economy, but the political system is not delivering the necessary reforms. All eyes are on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his program of "structural reform." The Koizumi Administration has enjoyed most of the political conditions identified as conducive to economic reform. Why then, has the Koizumi revolution failed? This book explains why the process of economic reform in Japan is so problematic, and why reviving Japan's economy is proving so difficult. It offers a new explanation for Japan's failure to reform in terms of what is identified as Japan's "party-bureaucratic government" which undermines the power of the Prime Minister and in which forces opposed to reform are embedded. It concludes that achieving economic reform will require that Japan first reform its policymaking system to give sufficient power to the executive in order to override the

    An invaluable resource for professional and amateur artists and craftspeople. Over 260 color and black-and-white illustrations.

    Chimps chatter nervously, hippos hide, and turtles tuck their heads inside their shells. Even the zebras take a break from lunch to look around. Everyone's wondering what's that sound? Only the lions know, and soon you'll see, that the thunder's here and the lightning, too! A reassuring book for any child who fears the noise of a stormy night.

    Mahathir says much that needs to be said about Asia and the rest of the world. He speaks his mind on how Asia can reinvent itself after the chaos of the Asian crisis of 1997: by reexamining the way the global economic system functions and challenging some of the most fundamental tenets of global capitalism. Understand the man and his thoughts by reading what he has to say about the crucial issues of our times: Asia's road to recovery, currency controls, globalization, capitalism, democracy, Islam, Asian values, China, Japan, Malay politics, etc. By analyzing and bringing into focus these issues, he hopes to encourage sober and rational discussion of them by concerned and intelligent world citizens at this crucial juncture of the world's evolution.

    Complemented by fold-out maps anf full-color photographs, these handy pocket-sized travel guides include the best of city landmarks and must-see sights, restaurants, accommodations, and entertainment options for the traveler with limited time.

    The Japanese for Beginners Super Review covers the Japanese alphabet, pronunciation, verbs, sentence construction, grammar, vocabulary, and more! Take the Super Review quizzes to see how much you've learned - and where you need more study. Makes an excellent study aid and textbook companion. Great for self-study!DETAILS- From cover to cover, each in-depth topic review is easy-to-follow and easy-to-grasp - Perfect when preparing for homework, quizzes, and exams!- Review questions after each topic that highlight and reinforce key areas and concepts- Student-friendly language for easy reading and comprehension- Includes quizzes that test your understanding of the subject- Features CD-ROM for learning Japanese writing

    Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

    The situation was reversed in the 1980s as a result of economic downturn in Brazil and labour shortages in Japan. This book examines the construction and reconstruction of the ethnic identities of people of Japanese descent, firstly in the process of emigration to Brazil up to the 1980s, and secondly in the process of return migration to Japan in the 1990s. The closed nature of Japan's social history means that the effect of return migration' can clearly be seen. Japan is to some extent a unique sociological specimen owing to the absence of any tradition of receiving immigrants. This book is first of all about migration, but also covers the important related issues of ethnic identity and the construction of ethnic communities. It addresses the issues from the dual perspective of Japan and Brazil. The findings suggest that mutual contact has led neither to a state of conflict nor to one of peaceful coexistence, but rather to an assertion of difference. It is argued that the Nikkeijin consent strategically to the social definitions imposed upon their identities and that the issue of the Nikkeijin presence is closely related to the emerging diversity of Japanese society.

    Instead, a surprising amount of economic growth and modernization took place as new businesses were established, telegraph and telephone lines constructed, commercial highways and railroads built, currency reforms put in place and chambers of commerce organized to bolster local merchants. In the northeast provinces of Manchuria the warlord Zhang Zuolin was confronted by Fengtian Civil Governor Wang Yongjiang, who brought a vitality to the region that was the envy of the rest of China. Wang was motivated by the traditional ethic that civil officials had a responsibility toward local society. However, long-established values did not preclude the introduction of new-style institutions or economic organization. The resultant combination of tradition and modernization allowed China to overcome the disruptions of warlord depredations and to experience regional economic growth and periods of surprising social stability.

    From their history and cultural practices to their religions and the landscapes they call home, discover the intricacies of each featured native culture. Supports the national curriculum standards Culture; Time, Continuity, and Change; People, Places, and Environments; Individuals, Groups, and Institutions; Power, Authority, and Governance; Production, Distribution, and Consumption; Science Technology and Society; and Global Connections as outlined by the National Council for the Social Studies. The Ainu of Japan have shared their homeland with the Japanese people for centuries. Although the two cultures were very different in ancient times, the Ainu have since been forced to adopt many Japanese customs. After years of discrimination, the Ainu still strive to be treated as equals in modern Japanese society while retaining their independent culture.

    The writings are, in some cases, the only studies of these topics available in English and they differ from the majority of other articles on the subject in being anthropological rather than cultural or historical in nature.

    

    Covering an astonishing range of texts from the Meiji period (1868–1912), it presents sophisticated analyses of the ways that experiments in literary language produced multiple new—and sometimes revolutionary—forms of sensibility and subjectivity. Along the way, Kamei Hideo carries on an extended debate with Western theorists such as Saussure, Bakhtin, and Lotman, as well as with such contemporary Japanese critics as Karatani Kōjin and Noguchi Takehiko.Transformations of Sensibility deliberately challenges conventional wisdom about the rise of modern literature in Japan and offers highly original close readings of works by such writers as Futabatei Shimei, Tsubouchi Shōyō, Higuchi Ichiyō, and Izumi Kyōka, as well as writers previously ignored by most scholars. It also provides a new critical theorization of the relationship between language and sensibility, one that links the specificity of Meiji literature to broader concerns that transcend the field of Japanese literary studies. Available in English translation for the first time, it includes a new preface by the author and an introduction by the translation editor that explain the theoretical and historical contexts in which the work first appeared.