Best of
Japan

2009

Kiyo's Story: A Japanese-American Family's Quest for the American Dream


Kiyo Sato - 2009
    He, his wife, and their nine American-born children labored in the fields together, building a successful farm. Yet at the outbreak of World War II, Kiyo's family was ordered to Poston Internment Camp. This memoir tells the story of the family's struggle to endure in these harsh conditions and to rebuild their lives afterward in the face of lingering prejudice.

Another


Yukito Ayatsuji - 2009
    In class, he develops a sense of unease as he notices that the people around him act like they're walking on eggshells, and students and teachers alike seem frightened. As a chain of horrific deaths begin to unfold around him, he comes to discover that he has been placed in the cursed Class 3 in which the student body head count is always one more than expected. Class 3 is haunted by a vengeful spirit responsible for gruesome deaths in an effort to satisfy its spite. To stop the vicious cycle gripping his new school, Kouichi decides to get to the bottom of the curse, but is he prepared for the horror that lies ahead...?

The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga


Helen McCarthy - 2009
    Tezuka was Walt Disney, Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, Tim Burton, and Carl Sagan all rolled into one incredibly prolific creator, changing the face of Japanese culture forever. Best known for Astro Boy and Kimba the White Lion, Tezuka was instrumental in developing Japanese animation and modern manga comics. The Art of Osamu Tezuka is the first authorized biography celebrating his work and life and featuring over 300 images—many of which have never been seen outside of Japan. With text by respected manga expert Helen McCarthy, The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga pays tribute to the work of an artist, writer, animator, doctor, entrepreneur, and traveler whose curious mind spawned dozens of animated films, and over 170,000 pages of comics art in one astonishingly creative lifetime.The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga also includes an exclusive 45-minute DVD documentary covering Tezuka’s prolific career, from his early manga characters to his later animation work. The package is out of the ordinary as well. It is a hardcover with an onlay and a vinyl jacket.

Japanese Hot Pots: Family Style Comfort Foods


Tadashi Ono - 2009
    In Japanese Hot Pots, chef Tadashi Ono and food journalist Harris Salat demystify this communal eating tradition for American home cooks with belly-warming dishes from all corners of Japan. Using savory broths and healthy, easy-to-find ingredients such as seafood, poultry, greens, roots, mushrooms, and noodles, these classic one-pot dishes require minimal fuss and preparation, and no special equipment—they're simple, fast recipes to whip up either on the stove or on a tableside portable burner, like they do in Japan.

The Art of Hojo Undo: Power Training for Traditional Karate


Michael Clarke - 2009
    Without Hojo Undo, a practitioner cannot reach the profound strength levels required for a lifetime of karate training.This book details how to construct and use many training tools; provides accurate mechanical drawings, comprehensive training methods, and an historical context to understand why Hojo Undo was created in 'old' Okinawa.Warm up exercises Detailed construction drawings Build your own Hojo Undo tools! Learn how to use the tools to develop devastating power Link your increased power to fighting techniques Hear what Okinawan Masters say about Hojo Undo training

Tobira: Gateway To Advanced Japanese Learning Through Content And Multimedia (Japanese)


岡 まゆみ - 2009
    TOBIRA promotes language learning through the use of multimedia materials and establishes a support system via the Internet so that learners outside Japan have access to a Japanese language environment.Chapter 1: The Geography of JapanChapter 2: Speech Styles in JapaneseChapter 3: Japanese TechnologyChapter 4: Sports in JapantChapter 5: Japanese FoodChapter 6: The Japanese and ReligionChapter 7: Japanese Pop CultureChapter 8: Japanese Traditional Performing ArtsChapter 9: Education in JapanChapter 10: Japan's Convenience StoresChapter 11: The History of JapanChapter 12: Traditional Japanese CraftsChapter 13: The Japanese and NatureChapter 14: Japanese PoliticsChapter 15: The Future of Your Country and the World

A Different Kind of Luxury: Japanese Lessons in Simple Living and Inner Abundance


Andy Couturier - 2009
    They are today artists, philosophers, and farmers who reside deep in the mountains of rural Japan. Their lives may be simple, yet they are surrounded by the luxuries of nature, art, contemplation, delicious food, and an abundance of time. For example:Atsuko Watanabe is an environmentalist and home-schooler who explores Christian mysticism while raising her two daughters in an old farmhouse Akira Ito is an ex–petroleum engineer who has become a painter and children’s book illustrator and explores the role of chi (life energy) in the universe through art and music Kogan Murata grows rice and crafts elegant bamboo flutes that he plays for alms in the surrounding villages Jinko Kaneko is a fine artist and fabric dyer who runs a Himalayan-style curry restaurant in the Japan Alps By presenting the journeys of these ordinary—yet exceptional—people, Andy Couturier shows how we too can travel a meaningful path of living simply, with respect for our communities and our natural resources. When we leave behind the tremendous burdens of wage labor, debt, stress, and daily busyness, we grow rich in a whole new way. These Japanese are pioneers in a sense; drawing on traditional Eastern spiritual wisdom, they have forged a new style of modernity, and in their success is a lesson for us all: live a life that matters.Andy Couturier is an essayist, poet, and writing teacher. He lived in Japan for four years where he taught, was a journalist, and worked on environmental causes. He lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.

Hachiko: The True Story of The Royal Dogs of Japan and One Faithful Akita


Julie Chrystyn - 2009
    During his owner's life Hachiko saw him off from the front door and greeted him at the end of the day at the nearby Shibuya Station. The pair continued their daily routine until May 1925 when Professor Ueno didn't return on the usual train one evening. The professor had suffered a stroke at the university that day. He died and never returned to the station where his friend was waiting.Hachiko was given away after his master's death but he routinely escaped, showing up again and again at his old home. After some time, Hachiko realized that Professor Ueno no longer lived at the house. So he went to look for his master at the train station where he had accompanied him so many times before. Each day, Hachiko waited for Professor Ueno to return. And each day he didn't see his friend among the commuters at the station.Hachiko became a permanent fixture at the train station, which eventually attracted the attention of commuters. Many of the people who frequented the Shibuya train station had seen Hachiko and Professor Ueno together each day. Realizing that Hachiko waited in vigil for his dead master, their hearts were touched. They brought Hachiko treats and food to nourish him during his wait. This continued for 10 years, with Hachiko appearing only in the evening, precisely when the train was due at the station.Hachiko: The True Story of the Royal Dogs of Japan and One Faithful Akita is Hachiko's story, as well as an informative look at dog culture in Japan and the history and tradition of the Akita-ken, one of the most ancient, beloved, and faithful dog breeds ever.

Japanese Photobooks of the 1960s and 70s


Ryuichi Kaneko - 2009
    And not only for the aficionados. Photobooks that once were entirely unknown outside Japan (except to a few well-informed scholars and collectors) now sell at astronomical prices at auctions and online. And yet the photobook has been central to the development of Japanese photography, particularly in its postwar phase. To sketch the stages of this boom: 1999's "Fotografia Publica" included just one Japanese photobook, Kiyoishi Koishi's "Early Summer Nerves" of 1937, plus two photo magazines from the 1930s, "Nippon" and "Koga"; Andrew Roth's "The Book of 101 Books" (2001) listed four seminal titles by Hosoe, Kawada, Araki and Moriyama; but it was not until 2004, with the first volume of Martin Parr and Gerry Badger's indispensable "The Photobook: A History," that it began to be clear what a rich body of work awaited excavation. "Japanese Photobooks of the 1960s and 70s" may be seen as a culmination of this trajectory and, as such, marks a very exciting moment in photo publishing and in the history of photography. It presents 40 definitive publications from the era, piecing together a previously invisible history from some of the most influential works, as well as from forgotten gems, and situating them against the broader historical and sociological backdrop. Each book, beautifully reproduced through numerous spreads, is accompanied by an in-depth explanatory text, and sidebars highlight important editors, designers, themes and periodicals. A superb production, "Japanese Photobooks" is a landmark celebration of the distinct character and influence of the Japanese photobook.

Umineko When They Cry Episode 5: End of the Golden Witch


NOT A BOOK - 2009
    Good morning.Please enjoy this new game by a new Game Master at your leisure.However, the game has already reached a climax.The culprit has been cornered, and there's nothing left to do but await the final checkmate.But for that very reason, there must be something for you to spot looking down on it from afar.The difficulty is fairly easy.What could possibly deceive you after all this time...?

The Comfort Women: Sexual Violence and Postcolonial Memory in Korea and Japan


C. Sarah Soh - 2009
    These women have usually been labeled victims of a war crime, a simplistic view that makes it easy to pin blame on the policies of imperial Japan and therefore easier to consign the episode to a war-torn past. In this revelatory study, C. Sarah Soh provocatively disputes this master narrative. Soh reveals that the forces of Japanese colonialism and Korean patriarchy together shaped the fate of Korean comfort women—a double bind made strikingly apparent in the cases of women cast into sexual slavery after fleeing abuse at home. Other victims were press-ganged into prostitution, sometimes with the help of Korean procurers. Drawing on historical research and interviews with survivors, Soh tells the stories of these women from girlhood through their subjugation and beyond to their efforts to overcome the traumas of their past. Finally, Soh examines the array of factors— from South Korean nationalist politics to the aims of the international women’s human rights movement—that have contributed to the incomplete view of the tragedy that still dominates today.

Japanese Kitchen Knives: Essential Techniques and Recipes


Hiromitsu Nozaki - 2009
    But how many people have the skills to use these superbly-crafted tools to full advantage? Now, internationally renowned chef Hiromitsu Nozaki shares his expertise and insights in a book that will help anyone who owns a Japanese knife to maximize its performance.In Japanese Kitchen Knives, Nozaki teaches the reader how to use usuba, deba and yanagiba, the three main traditional Japanese knives. He explains many essential techniques, such as the importance of understanding blade angle and point of force, and illustrates these lessons by working with ingredients familiar to western readers, like carrots and rainbow trout. Color photos and Nozaki's commentary further clarify the process, and the pictures are taken from the chef's perspective for easier understanding (most other books take photos from the reverse perspective). Each technique is accompanied by recipes that require its use, and all recipes are very simple, using easy-to-acquire ingredients. Other sections include a look at artisanal Japanese knife-making and information on sharpening, storing and identifying the variety of Japanese knives. Specialty knives are shown on location, from the unique unagi eel knife in an unagi specialty restaurant to the colossal tuna filleting knife in Tsukiji fish market.

Art of the Samurai: Japanese Arms and Armor, 1156-1868


Morihiro Ogawa - 2009
    This extensively illustrated volume is published in conjunction with the first comprehensive exhibition devoted to the arts of the samurai. It includes the finest examples of swords—the spirit of the samurai—as well as sword mountings and fittings, armor and helmets, saddles, banners, and paintings. The objects in the catalogue, drawn entirely from public and private collections in Japan, feature more than 100 officially designated national treasures and important cultural properties. Dating from the 5th to the 19th century, these majestic works offer a complete picture of samurai culture and its unique blend of the martial and the refined. Many of the greatest Japanese blade makers are represented in this volume, from the earliest koto ("old sword") masters such as Yasuie (12th century) and Tomomitsu (14th century) to the Edo-period smiths Nagasone Kotetsu and Kiyomaro. These blades, cherished as much for their beauty as for their cutting effectiveness, were equipped with elaborate hilts and scabbards prized for their exquisite craftsmanship and materials, including silk, rayskin, gold, lacquer, and alloys unique to Japan, such as shakudo and shibuichi. Japanese armor is also fully surveyed, from the rarest iron armor of the Kofun period (5th century) to the inventive ceremonial helmets made toward the end of the age of the samurai.

Written on the Sky: Poems from the Japanese


Kenneth Rexroth - 2009
    Mostly haiku, these poems range from the classical and medieval to modern poetry, with an emphasis on folk songs and love lyrics. Because women played such an outstanding role in Japanese literature, included here are selections from their work, including the contemporary, deeply sensuous Marichiko. This elegant, beautifully designed gift book of poems spanning many centuries presents the original texts in romanji, the transliteration into the Western alphabet.

Killing Kanoko


Hiromi Itō - 2009
    East Asian Studies. Translated from the Japanese by Jeffrey Angles. "I want to get rid of Kanoko/I want to get rid of filthy little Kanoko/I want to get rid of or kill Kanoko who bites off my nipples." "KILLING KANOKO is a powerful, long-overdue collection (in fine translation) of poetry from the radical Japanese feminist poet, Hiromi Ito. Her poems reverberate with sexual candor, the exigencies and delights of the paradoxically restless/rooted female body, and the visceral imagery of childbirth leap off the page as performative modal structures--fierce, witty, and vibrant. Hiromi is a true sister of the Beats"--Anne Waldman.

Eikoh Hosoe: Kamaitachi


Eikō Hosoe - 2009
    Hosoe, the renowned photographer, and Hijikata, the founder of ankoku butoh dance, had visited a farming village in northern Japan, where Hijikata improvised a performance inspired by the legend of a weasel-like demon named Kamaitachi. As Hosoe photographed Hijikata's spontaneous interactions with the landscape and with the people they encountered, the two artists together enacted an intense investigation of tradition and an exploration, both personal and symbolic, of contemporary convulsions in Japanese society. In 2005, Aperture published a limited-edition facsimile in homage to the original, in close consultation with the artist; now, they have made this enchanting body of work available in its first ever affordable trade edition, which was painstakingly reworked by renowned graphic artist Ikko Tanaka--the designer of the original volume--shortly before his death. His reinterpretation of this classic book object, which is truly a paragon of Japanese bookmaking, includes as a special bonus four never-before-published images from the classic Kamaitachi series.Eikoh Hosoe was born in Yamagata Prefecture, Japan, in 1933. He is an integral part of the history of modern Japanese photography, and remains a driving force not only for his own work, but also for his efforts as a teacher and ambassador, fostering artistic exchange between Japan and the outside world. Hosoe lives in Tokyo and is represented by Howard Greenberg Gallery, New York.

Boro: Rags And Tatters From The Far North Of Japan


Yukiko Koide - 2009
    In fact, if exactingly reproduced and labelled with designer tags, these rags could deliver haute couture prices. This fascinating publication presents a unique survey of these clothing and furnishing pieces that have been collected over many years and will in turn raise fundamental questions in fashion and design circles everywhere. Blankets, bags, diapers, trousers, futon covers, uniforms and traditional Japanese clothing are some of the items presented here, many in fine detail, accompanied by full colour photographs and historical and explanatory notes.128 p ills colour 17 x 21 Japanese/English pb

Hiroshige: Master of Nature


Gian Carlo Calza - 2009
    The last great figure of the popular ukiyo-e school of printmaking, he transmuted everyday landscapes into intimate, lyrical scenes. With Hokusai, Hiroshige dominated the popular art of Japan in the first half of the nineteenth century. He captured, in a poetic, gentle way that all could understand, the ordinary person’s experience of the Japanese landscape, as well as the varied moods of memorable places at different times. His total output was immense, some 5400 prints in all. Ukiyo-e publishing was not a cultural institution subsidized by public funds, but rather a commercial business. During his lifetime, Hiroshige was well known and commercially successful. But the Japanese society did not take too much notice of him. His real reputation started with his discovery in Europe. This beautiful book, published on the occasion of a major exhibition in Rome, examines various aspects of Hiroshige’s oeuvre and reproduces in color some two hundred of his prints. The comprehensive text examines his life and achievement as well as his masterwork, and explains the particular qualities that make Hiroshige such an essential artist.

Beginning Japanese: Your Pathway to Dynamic Language Acquisition (CD-ROM Included)


Michael L. Kluemper - 2009
    high school students, starting at the beginner level and continuing through the AP Japanese exam's level of language competency. And independent learners too will find it a dynamic way to master the Japanese language!With an engaging time-travel adventure storyline, manga-style story pages and a free web-based multimedia resource, Beginning Japanese was written by Japanese language teachers specifically to grab—and maintain—the interest of the learner. The narrative story follows the life of Kiara, an exchange student, Ben and Kenichi who get caught in a storm and end up in Tomo's time machine, through which they visit firsthand various historical and famous events, places and people. These historical and cultural experiences are made even more real for the learner through dialogues, images and CD-ROM audio and video files.

My Japan


Etsuko Watanabe - 2009
    Yuko will introduce us to her family, her home, and her city. We ll learn what she does in school, how she celebrates holidays, and lots more.From a typical bedroom and bathroom (two different kinds of toilets!) to a typical day in school (the students are responsible for cleaning it!), these snapshots of Japan are informative and interesting, presenting the questions and answers about the topics kids are curious about. Writing, Japanese holidays and customs, transportation, and festivals...it s all here.

Japan: Season by Season


Sandrine Bailly - 2009
    The accompanying texts are taken from classic works like The Tale of Genji, as well as more modern literature, each one revealing a piece of wisdom from the East for each season of the year.Japan has held a certain fascination for many Westerners since its reopening by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1854. Thanks to two centuries of isolation, its classical traditions and customs survived industralization and globalization, resulting in a unique blending of old and new. This book brings together the historical and the current in a broad portrait of Japanese heritage through the centuries.

Japanese Braiding: The Art of Kumihimo


Jacqui Carey - 2009
    Introduces the basics of Japanese braiding.

Kanji Look and Learn: 512 Kanji with Illustrations and Mnemonic Hints


Eri Banno - 2009
    Also included are some 3,500 words incorporating the kanji studied.- The illustrations and mnemonic hints in English enable even learners new to kanji to readily master the shapes and meanings of the characters presented.- Users can quickly look up the basic information for each kanji (meaning, reading, and stroke count/order), plus approx. 3,500 essential beginning/intermediate words written with the kanji, and the meanings of those words.- Key elementary-level words are specially marked to facilitate self-study.- This book can also function as a kanji dictionary, as the various indexes provided at the end allow users to immediately find the characters and words they need.- The companion workbook (sold separately) helps users to learn kanji and words in the context of sentences and longer text.

The World's Easiest Astronomy Book


Hitoshi Nakagawa - 2009
    Hitoshi takes us through the difficult-to-understand subjects of space and the universe beyond with simple, easy-to-understand language and amusing diagrams drawn in crayon. If you ever wanted to know how the universe worked but didn't know where to get started, this guide provides the answers. Going beyond the assumptions of textbooks, this book makes for a wonderfully pleasant read while teaching you something along the way.

Umineko When They Cry Episode 6: Dawn of the Golden Witch


NOT A BOOK - 2009
    Good morning.Now the curtain shall finally arise on a game presented by that Battler-sama.Will Battler-sama manage to successfully and spectacularly fill the enormous role of Game Master?Let us bear witness to this fight from the opposite side of the chessboard.There is no longer a difficulty level.This is no longer a hint, but a confession.

Private Yokoi's War and Life on Guam, 1944-1972: The Story of the Japanese Imperial Army's Longest WWII Survivor in the Field and Later Life


Omi Hatashin - 2009
    This book sheds light on the reality of the war in the Pacific while addressing some key issues concerning the nature of Japanese culture in modern times.

My Dearest Osan


Marianne K. Nishibayashi - 2009
    Sankatsu, her sister, is a respectable married woman and mother. The two sisters are separated by their situation in life, confined within their societal roles, and bullied by vengeful and domineering women; in Osan’s case it is the brothel keeper’s wife, and for Sankatsu it is her overbearing mother-in-law. Desperate to be reunited, they hatch a plan to end their misery and escape their respective prisons. Told through the correspondence exchanged between Osan and Sankatsu, and the letters exchanged by those close to the two sisters, My Dearest Osan is a tale of love, duty, betrayal and revenge in 19th century Japan.

Kohima: The Furthest Battle: The Story of the Japanese Invasion of India in 1944 and the Battle of Kohima


Leslie Edwards - 2009
    On 6 March 1944, the first units of the Japanese 15 Army crossed the inhospitable border of what was then Burma, and invaded India. At the township of Kohima they were met by a small, hastily assembled force of Indian and British troops, later reinforced by 2 Division of Slim's 14 Army, who fought valiantly and forced the Japanese to retreat. Described by Mountbatten as 'the British/Indian Thermopylae', Kohima was a turning point in Japanese fortunes, heralding their continued defeat in battle until their formal surrender on 2 September 1945. Using extensive research in primary sources and many previously unpublished first-hand accounts, Leslie Edwards presents a definitive analysis of this pivotal battle.

Cherry Blossoms: Traditional Patterns in Japanese Design


Nobuyoshi Hamada - 2009
    It has been celebrated for many centuries and holds a very prominent position in Japanese culture. The Chronicle of Japan, the second oldest book in classical Japanese history, records the tradition of cherry blossom viewing parties being held as early as the third century. The imperial households, poets, singers, and other aristocrats would gather and celebrate under the blossoms and it has been passed down through the generations. This tradition continues today as the Japanese Meteorological Agency and the public track the cherry blossom front as it moves northward up the country. The Japanese people pay close attention to these forecasts and turn out in large numbers at parks, shrines, and temples with family and friends to hold flower-viewing parties. In 1912, Japan gifted 3,020 cherry trees to the United States to celebrate their growing-friendship. These trees were planted in Manhattan and along the shore of the tidal basin in Washington, D.C. This gift was renewed with 3,800 more trees in 1965. A new title in the traditional patterns series, this book shows another Japanese traditional motif, the cherry blossom. About 220 works are featured in the book dating from the eighth-century through the twentieth-century, including such artists as Hiroshige and Taikan Yokoyama.

The Complete Woodblock Prints of Kitagawa Utamaro: A Descriptive Catalogue


Gina Collia-Suzuki - 2009
    The first catalogue to document all of Utamaro's known print designs in the broadsheet format, provides a comprehensive descriptive listing of the artist's works, along with more than 130 reproductions of his prints, with accompanying indices to aid in the location of specific works by publisher's mark, subject, or title.

Ambiguous Bodies: Reading the Grotesque in Japanese Setsuwa Tales


Michelle Li - 2009
    Grotesque representations in general typically direct our attention to unfinished and unrefined things; they are marked by an earthy sense of the body and an interest in the physical. Because they have many meanings, they can both sustain and undermine authority. This book aims to make sense of grotesque representations in setsuwa—animated detached body parts, unusual sexual encounters, demons and shape-shifting or otherwise wondrous animals—and, in a broader sense, to show what this type of critical focus can reveal about the mentality of Japanese people in the ancient, classical, and early medieval periods. It is the first study to place Japanese tales of this nature, which have received little critical attention in English, within a sophisticated theoretical framework. Li masterfully and rigorously focuses on these fascinating tales in the context of the historical periods in which they were created and compiled.

Kuniyoshi


Timothy Clark - 2009
    Alongside such illustrious names as Hokusai and Hiroshige, he dominated the 19th-century production of the popular genre of woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e, literally, "pictures of the floating world."The only major book to illustrate the entirety of the artist's work, Kuniyoshi explores his extraordinary imagination across an impressive range of subject matter, from his portraits of Japanese warrior heroes and fashionable beauties to his satirical themes and innovative landscape prints. Published to accompany a spectacular exhibition, Kuniyoshi is an essential reference for Japanese art collectors and enthusiasts.

The Japanese Consumer


Penelope Francks - 2009
    Penelope Francks' book offers an alternative account of Japan's modern economic history from the perspective of the consumer. Tracing Japan's economy from the eighteenth century to the present, she shows how history has conditioned what Japanese people consume and compares their experiences with those of Europe and North America. In so doing the author presents a lucid and informed account of everyday life in Japan, exploring what people eat, how they dress, the household goods they acquire, and their preferred shopping and leisure activities. This beautifully illustrated book succeeds in making economic history palatable and entertaining. It will be a treat for students and all those interested in Japanese society and culture.

Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo


La Carmina - 2009
    Think you've seen it all when it comes to restaurants? Do foie gras, lobster and truffles strike you as humdrum fancy foods served in predictable settings? Looking for totally unique and bizarre restaurants? Then Crazy, Wacky Theme Restaurants: Tokyo is the book for you!

Autumn Colors of Kyoto: A Seasonal Portfolio


Hidehiko Mizuno - 2009
    The secret of Kyoto's autumn beauty lies in a perfect harmony of the natural and the man-made, the culmination of centuries of history.This book introduces 49 magnificent Kyoto locations-- predominantly temples and shrines--ideal for viewing the season's fiery displays. The scenes are elegantly captured by three photographers who have devoted their lives to conveying the beauty of this remarkable city through the camera lens. In these pages, readers will soon note that far from being consigned to history, Kyotos ancient places of worship are assiduously maintained as centers for present-day religious devotions. The ideal, seamless coexistence of these quintessential Kyoto landmarks and their surroundings is another secret of Kyoto's seasonal beauty, and the key to the city's position as Japan's cultural capital for over 1,200 years.A bilingual map section provides address information and contact details for each location.

Summer Kimonos and the Colors of Japan


Katsumi Yumioka - 2009
    In this book; however, he has focused on the motifs employed in kimonos and obis (sash), with particular emphasis on the materials used in making summer kimonos. Recent summer kimonos have become relatively orthodox and somewhat lacking in creativity. Those who are familiar with these recent summer kimonos are thus in for a surprise with the kimonos they will find in this book. Patterns of flowers and grasses, insects, fish, shellfish, and Western landscapes, in addition to daring colors and delicate embroidery, have elevated these kimonos to the level of art. In the author’s view, these patterns and motifs provide a full display of a delicate sense of beauty and bold design, as well as the playful spirit and creativity with which the Japanese try to keep themselves cool and comfortable in the summer.

80 best-ever projects: Origami


Rick Beech - 2009
    

Trespasses: Selected Writings


Masao Miyoshi - 2009
    For more than four decades, Miyoshi worked outside the mainstream, trespassing into new fields, making previously unseen connections, and upending naive assumptions. With an impeccable sense of when a topic or discussion had lost its critical momentum, he moved on to the next question, and then the next after that, taking on matters of literary form, cross-cultural relations, globalization, art and architecture, the corporatization of the university, and the threat of ecological disaster. Trespasses reveals the tremendous range of Miyoshi’s thought and interests, shows how his thinking transformed over time, and highlights his recurring concerns. This volume brings together eleven selections of Miyoshi’s previously published writing, a major new essay, a critical introduction to his life and work, and an interview in which Miyoshi reflects on the trajectory of his thought and the institutional history of modern Japan studies. In the new essay, “Literary Elaborations,” he provides a masterful overview of the nature of the contemporary university, closing with a call for a global environmental protection studies that would radically reconfigure academic disciplines and merge the hard sciences with the humanities and the social sciences. In the other, chronologically arranged selections, Miyoshi addresses cross-culture relations between Japan and the United States, English literary studies in Japan, and Japan studies in the U.S., as well as the organization of urban space and the integrity of art and architecture in aggressively marketed-oriented environments. Trespasses is an invaluable introduction to the work of a fearless cultural critic.

Utagawa Kuniyoshi: The Sixty-Nine Stations of the Kisokaido


Sarah E. Thompson - 2009
    The seventy-two finely executed prints include one for each resting point along the well-traveled Kisokaid? (Kiso Road)a historic route stretching from Edo (modern Tokyo) to Kyotoplus views of the two endpoint cities and an additional series title page.

Gender and Labour in Korea and Japan: Sexing Class


Ruth Barraclough - 2009
    Tying industrial and sexual labour together, the book opens up a range of key questions: In what economy do we place the labour of the former "comfort women"? Why have sex workers not been part of the labour movements of Korea and Japan? Why is it difficult to be "working-class" and "feminine"? What sort of labour hierarchies operate in hostess clubs? How do financial crises translate into gender crises? This book explores how sexuality is inscribed in working-class identities and traces the ways in which sexual and labour relations have shaped the cultures of contemporary Japan and Korea. It addresses important historical episodes such as the Japanese colonial industrialisation of Korea, wartime labour mobilisation, women engaged in forced sex work for the Japanese army throughout the Asian continent, and issues of ethnicity and sex in the contemporary workplace. The case studies provide specific examples of the way gender and work have operated across a variety of contexts, including Korean shipyard unions, Japanese hostess clubs, and the autobiographical literature of Korean factory girls. Overall, this book provides a compelling account of the entanglement of sexual and industrial labour throughout the twentieth century, and shows clearly how ideas about gender have contributed in fundamental ways to conceptions of class and worker identities.

Japan's Clay Walls: A Glimpse Into Their Plaster Craft


Emily Reynolds - 2009
    Due to habits of aesthetic interpretation, few people realize that all of Japan's castles, temples and tea houses are maintained using their traditional methods. Clay, sand, straw and other natural fibers, seaweed, wood and bamboo. These natural materials are used to make the Japanese earthen wall. Along with a wide variety of makes and models of trowels, extensive time-tested techniques are used to create beautifully appealing atmospheres out of earth. These can be incorporated into todays world-wide green and natural building movement to create a better balance between ourselves and our living environment.

Everyday Harumi


Harumi Kurihara - 2009
     In Everyday Harumi, Harumi Kurihara, Japan's most popular cookbook writer, selects her favorite foods and presents more than 60 new home-style recipes for you to make for family and friends. Harumi wants everyone to be able to make her recipes and she demonstrates how easy it is to cook Japanese food for every day occasions without needing to shop at specialist food stores. Arranged by her favorite ingredients, Harumi presents recipes for soups, starters, snacks, party dishes, main courses and family feasts that are quick and simple to prepare, all presented in her effortless, down-to-earth and unpretentious approach to sylish living and eating. Every recipe is photographed and includes beautiful step by step advice that show key Japanese cooking techniques, such as chopping skills or how to serve rice. Texture and flavor are important to Japanese food and Harumi takes you through the basic sauces you can make at home and the staples you should have in your store cupboard. Photographed by award-winning photographer Jason Lowe, this warm and approachable cookbook invites you to cook and share Japanese food in a simple and elegant style.

The Sage Learning of Liu Zhi: Islamic Thought in Confucian Terms


Sachiko Murata - 2009
    1670-1724) was one of the most important scholars of Islam in traditional China. His Tianfang xingli (Nature and Principle in Islam), the Chinese-language text translated here, focuses on the roots or principles of Islam. It was heavily influenced by several classic texts in the Sufi tradition. Liu's approach, however, is distinguished from that of other Muslim scholars in that he addressed the basic articles of Islamic thought with Neo-Confucian terminology and categories. Besides its innate metaphysical and philosophical value, the text is invaluable for understanding how the masters of Chinese Islam straddled religious and civilizational frontiers and created harmony between two different intellectual worlds.The introductory chapters explore both the Chinese and the Islamic intellectual traditions behind Liu's work and locate the arguments of Tianfang xingli within those systems of thought. The copious annotations to the translation explain Liu's text and draw attention to parallels in Chinese-, Arabic-, and Persian-language works as well as differences.

The Search for Reconciliation: Sino-Japanese and German-Polish Relations Since World War II


Yinan He - 2009
    Conversely, memory divergence resulting from national mythmaking harms long-term prospects for reconciliation. After WWII, Sino-Japanese and West German-Polish relations were both antagonized by the Cold War structure, and pernicious myths prevailed in national collective memory. In the 1970s, China and Japan brushed aside historical legacy for immediate diplomatic normalization. But the progress of reconciliation was soon impeded from the 1980s by elite mythmaking practices that stressed historical animosities. In contrast, from the 1970s West Germany and Poland began to de-mythify war history and narrowed their memory gap through restitution measures and textbook cooperation, paving the way for significant progress toward reconciliation after the Cold War.

The Mayor of Aihara: A Japanese Villager and His Community, 1865-1925


Simon Partner - 2009
    By 1925, the village was undergoing rapid commercial development, residents were commuting to factory and office jobs in cities, and, after serving as mayor for almost twenty years, Aizawa was working as a bank manager. Taking the biography of this leading villager as its central focus and incorporating intimate details of life drawn from Aizawa's diary, The Mayor of Aihara chronicles the extraordinary transformation of Hashimoto against the background of Japan's rapid industrialization. By portraying history as it was actually lived by ordinary people, the book offers a rich and compelling perspective on the modernization of Japan.

Geisha & Maiko of Kyoto: Beauty, Art, & Dance


John Foster - 2009
    First, the geisha and maiko were photographed at Kyoto's largest geisha dance performances and other important dances. Next, portrait sessions were held with each woman to capture the kata (forms or poses) of her favorite dances. The geisha and maiko were then interviewed about their photographs, giving the reader a rare insight into their artistic training. Finally, images follow one maiko from her last few days as an apprentice through her first few days as a geisha. Never before has the change from maiko to geisha been documented so completely. The result is a collection of 149 gorgeous photographs that shed light on these exquisitely beautiful women like no other book before.

Beyond Golden Clouds: Japanese Screens from the Art Institute of Chicago and the Saint Louis Art Museum


Janice KatzFumiko E. Cranston - 2009
    This beautiful publication brings together the very finest screens from the world-renowned collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and the Saint Louis Art Museum. The featured works range from an extraordinary pair of landscapes by Sesson Shukei, a Zen-Buddhist monk-painter of the late 16th century, to daring contemporary works from the late 20th century. The first half of the Edo period (1615–1868) is especially well represented, with a dozen screens from the 17th century by such masters as Kano Koi and Tosa Mitsuoki. The contemporary scene is also well covered, with ten examples from the 20th century—proving the longevity of this art form and its currency among modern-day artists. Enlightening essays by important scholars in the field cover topics like the emergence of screens as an art form and a novel discussion of the relationship of Japanese screens to those made in other countries.

Summer Wars


Kyouhei Iwai - 2009
    Natsuki’s family, the Jinnouchi clan, dates back to the Muromachi era, and they’ve all come together to celebrate the 90th birthday of the spunky matriarch of the family, Sakae. That’s when Kenji discovers his “summer job” is to pretend to be Natsuki’s fiancé and dance with her at the birthday celebration. As Kenji attempts to keep up with Natsuki’s act around her family, he receives a strange math problem on his cell phone which, being a math genius, he can’t resist solving. As it turns out, the solution to the mysterious equation causes a hijacking of the social networking site through which most of the world's social and business traffic flows.

Ikebana for Everybody


Ohara School - 2009
    Beginner to Instructor level.

The Growth Idea: Purpose and Prosperity in Postwar Japan


Scott O'Bryan - 2009
    Scott O'Bryan reinterprets this seemingly familiar history through an innovative exploration, not of the anatomy of growth itself, but of the history of growth as a set of discourses by which Japanese growth performance as economic miracle came to be articulated. The premise of his work is simple: To our understandings of the material changes that took place in Japan during the second half of the twentieth century we must also add perspectives that account for growth as a new idea around the world, one that emerged alongside rapid economic expansion in postwar Japan and underwrote the modes by which it was imagined, forecast, pursued, and regulated. In an accessible, lively style, O'Bryan traces the history of growth as an object of social scientific knowledge and as a new analytical paradigm that came to govern the terms by which Japanese understood their national purposes and imagined a newly materialist vision of social and individual prosperity.Several intersecting obsessions worked together after the war to create an agenda of social reform through rapid macroeconomic increase. Epistemological developments within social science provided the conceptual instruments by which technocrats gave birth to a shared lexicon of growth. Meanwhile, reformers combined prewar Marxist critiques with new modes of macroeconomic understanding to mobilize long-standing fears of overpopulation and backwardness and argue for a growthist vision of national reformation. O'Bryan also presents surprising accounts of the key role played by the ideal of full employment in national conceptions of recovery and of a new valorization of consumption in the postwar world that was taking shape. Both of these, he argues, formed critical components in a constellation of ideas that even in the context of relative poverty and uncertainty coalesced into a powerful vision of a materially prosperous future.Even as Japan became the premier icon of the growthist ideal, neither the faith in rapid growth as a prescription for national reform nor the ascendancy of social scientific epistemologies that provided its technical support was unique to Japanese experience. The Growth Idea thus helps to historicize a concept of never-ending growth that continues to undergird our most basic beliefs about the success of nations and the operations of the global economy. It is a particularly timely contribution given current imperatives to reconceive ideas of purpose and prosperity in an age of resource depletion and global warming.

Development and Assessment of Self-Authorship: Exploring the Concept Across Cultures


Marcia B. Baxter Magolda - 2009
    It adopts a constructive-developmental approach to self-evolution that emphasizes the interaction of personal characteristics and contextual influences on individuals' construction of knowledge, identities, and relationships. Individual chapters cover subjects from populations as varied as Dutch students, male and female Bedouin and Jewish adolescents, African American male and female adolescents in economically depressed areas of the US, Latino/a college students grappling with ethnic identity and dissonance, Australian college females preparing to be childcare workers, and finally a comparative study of Japanese and U.S. college students' epistemic beliefs. The book concludes by addressing questions about the challenges and opportunities involved in developing a valid measure of self-authorship that is less time and expertise-intensive than the in-depth one-on-one interview employed until now; and offering an outline of future theoretical and methodological research needed to further our understanding of self-evolution in general and self-authorship in particular.

A Robe of Feathers: And Other Stories


Thersa Matsuura - 2009
    Superstitions, legends, and folk myths are passed down through generations and pervade daily living.When a child playing near a river fails to return home, it is whispered that she was swept away by an adzuki arai, or Bean Washer. When a man boarding a ship hears the ringing of an unseen insect, it is announced that a funadama (Boat Spirit) is present and so the auspicious harbinger of smooth seas and abundant catch is celebrated. Even something as innocuous as waking up to find your pillow at the foot of your bed is thought to be the trick of a makura gaeshi, otherwise known as a Pillow Turner. Nothing is as simple as it seems. Your neighbor isn’t merely an eccentric old woman—she might very well be a shape-shifting, grudge-harboring Water Sprite.The Japanese examine life and living with the keenest eyes and the most vivid of imaginations. Thersa Matsuura has captured that essence in this darkly insightful collection illuminating the place where reality falters and slips into the strange and fantastical.

The Alien Within: Representations of the Exotic in Twentieth-Century Japanese Literature


Leith Morton - 2009
    Given Japan's many years of relative isolation, followed by its multicultural empire, these themes seem particularly ripe for exploration and exploitation by Japanese writers. Their literary adventures have taken them inside Japan as well as outside, and how they internalized the exotic through the adoption of modernist techniques and subject matter forms the primary subject of this book.The Alien Within is the first book-length thematic study in English of the alien in modern Japanese literature and helps shed new light on a number of important authors. Morton examines the Gothic, a form of writing with strong affinities to European Gothic and a motif in the fiction of several key modern Japanese writers, such as Arishima Takeo. Morton also discusses the translations of Tsubouchi Shoyo, Japan's most famous early translator of Shakespeare, and how this most alien and exotic author was absorbed into the Japanese literary and theatrical tradition. The new field of translation theory and how it relates to translating Shakespeare are also discussed.Morton devotes two chapters to the celebrated female poet Yosano Akiko, whose verse on childbirth and her unborn children broke taboos relating to the expression of the female body and sensibility. He also highlights the writing of contemporary Okinawan novelist Oshiro Tatsuhiro, whose work springs from what is for Japanese an exotic subtropical landscape and makes symbolic reference to the otherness at the heart of Japanese religiosity. Another significant but equally overlooked subject is the focus of the final chapter, which analyzes the travel writing of internationally best-selling author Murakami Haruki. Murakami's great corpus of work includes a one-volume study of the 2000 Sydney Olympics, which Morton discusses in detail.The Alien Within breaks new ground in its treatment of the exotic in modern Japanese writing and in its discussion of authors and work hitherto absent from critical discussions in English. It will be of significant interest to readers of literature and students of modern Japanese culture and women's writing as well as those fascinated by the occult, Gothic fiction, and the exotic.

Sushi Chronicles from Hawaii: Recipes from Sansei Seafood Restaurant and Sushi Bar


Dave Kodama - 2009
    Kodama teaches readers how to recreate exquisite Asian fusion cuisine in their own kitchens. His unique global approach masterfully blends Asian, Hawaiian, American, and European ingredients and techniques in dishes that are as visually spectacular as they are delicious.

Hiroshige: 14 Famous Views of Edo


Taschen - 2009
    Though he captured a variety of subjects, his talent was shown to greatest effect

Typhoon of steel : An Okinawan Schoolboy’s Quest for Martyrdom in the Battle of Okinawa


Akira Yoshimura - 2009
    Book by Akira Yoshimura, Translated by Mark Ealey

Nagasaki: The British Experience, 1854-1945


Brian Burke-Gaffney - 2009
    Following the opening of Japan s ports in 1859, Nagasaki rapidly became one of Japan s leading industrial centres, which included shipbuilding, but, other than the history surrounding the atomic bombing of August 1945, in the post-war period, it has been largely overshadowed by interest in the Meiji settlements of Kobe and Yokohama. Fully illustrated, the value of the work is reinforced by additional key data to be found in the appendices, including the 1866 and 1898 Directories of Foreign Residents, the 1872 List of Property being Rented, a List of Existing Cultural Assets of the Former Nagasaki Foreign Settlement and a chronology of Madame Butterfly and Nagasaki ."

A Nation of a Hundred Million Idiots?: A Social History of Japanese Television, 1953 - 1973


Makoto Chun Jayson - 2009
    In a comparatively short period, the television industry helped to reconstruct not only postwar Japanese popular culture, but also the Japanese social and political landscape. During the early years of television, Japanese of all backgrounds, from politicians to mothers, debated the effects on society. The public discourse surrounding the growth of television revealed its role in forming the identity of postwar Japan during the era of high-speed growth (1955-1973) that saw Japan transformed into an economic power and one of the world's top exporters of television programming.

My First Japanese Kanji Book: Learning Kanji the fun and easy way! [MP3 Audio CD Included]


Eriko Sato - 2009
    It includes all the Japanese Government specified first grade level kanji characters and a sprinkling of simple second to sixth grade characters.The kanji are introduced in the context of 36 colorful paintings and poems by 14-year-old Anna Sato, herself a kanji learner. Each of the poems is presented in both Japanese and English, and all kanji are accompanied by furigana (small hiragana letters), stroke-order diagrams, sample vocabulary and boxes for writing practice.A charming and educational volume, My First Japanese Kanji Book can be used as a self-study text, a supplementary material in Japanese language schools or a gift book for family or friends.

The Diplomatic History of Postwar Japan


Makoto Iokibe - 2009
    Written by leading Japanese authorities on the subject, it makes extensive use of the most recently declassified Japanese documents, memoirs, and diaries. It introduces the personalities and approaches Japan's postwar leaders and statesmen took in dealing with a rapidly changing world and the challenges they faced. Importantly, the book also discusses the evolution of Japan's presence on the international stage and the important - if underappreciated role - Japan has played. The book examines the many issues which Japan has had to confront in this important period: from the occupation authorities in the latter half 1940s, to the crisis-filled 1970s; from the post-Cold War decade to the contemporary war on terrorism. The book examines the effect of the changing international climate and domestic scene on Japan's foreign policy; and the way its foreign policy has been conducted. It discusses how the aims of Japan's foreign relations, and how its relationships with its neighbours, allies and other major world powers have developed, and assesses how far Japan has succeeded in realising its aims. It concludes by discussing the current state of Japanese foreign policy and likely future developments.

Akuma no Juunoku


Mitsurugi - 2009
    a real dream boy, or so she thought. But in real life he's mean and bullies her. There's even rumors about him being a former yankee as well. He's an employee at the cafe and acts completely different at school, but while she is always being teased by the normal Kisaragi, she just can't stop her love for him... Aside from the title, it's a sweet love story for girls.

Shig: The True Story of an American Kamikaze


Shigeo Imamura - 2009
    This remarkable posthumously published story of life between two countries has a message for both those in Shig's motherland, the United States and his fatherland, Japan. He tells exactly how all too easily one can step forward to volunteer for madness, embracing one's own destruction and of all that should be held most dear. His message is that enduring peace can only come through cross-cultural respect and understanding.

Weaving and Binding: Immigrant Gods and Female Immortals in Ancient Japan


Michael Como - 2009
    Because inscriptions on many of the items are clearly derived from Chinese rites of spirit pacification, it is now evident that previous scholarship has mischaracterized the role of Buddhism in early Japanese religion. Weaving and Binding makes a compelling argument that both the Japanese royal system and the Japanese Buddhist tradition owe much to continental rituals centered on the manipulation of yin and yang, animal sacrifice, and spirit quelling. Building on these recent archaeological discoveries, Michael Como charts an epochal transformation in the religious culture of the Japanese islands, tracing the transmission and development of fundamental paradigms of religious practice to immigrant lineages and deities from the Korean peninsula.In addition to archaeological materials, Como makes extensive use of a wide range of textual sources from across Asia, including court chronicles, poetry collections, gazetteers, temple records, and divinatory texts. As he investigates the influence of myths, legends, and rites of the ancient Chinese festival calendar on religious practice across the Japanese islands, Como shows how the ability of immigrant lineages to propitiate hostile deities led to the creation of elaborate networks of temple-shrine complexes that shaped later sectarian Shinto as well as popular understandings of the relationship between the buddhas and the gods of Japan. For much of the book, this process is examined through rites and legends from the Chinese calendar that were related to weaving, sericulture, and medicine--technologies that to a large degree were controlled by lineages with roots in the Korean peninsula and that claimed female deities and weaving maidens as founding ancestors. Como's examination of a series of ancient Japanese legends of female immortals, weaving maidens, and shamanesses reveals that female deities played a key role in the moving of technologies and ritual practices from peripheral regions in Kyushu and elsewhere into central Japan and the heart of the imperial cult. As a result, some of the most important building blocks of the purportedly native Shinto tradition were to a remarkable degree shaped by the ancestral cults of immigrant lineages and popular Korean and Chinese religious practices.This is a provocative and innovative work that upsets the standard interpretation of early historical religion in Japan, revealing a complex picture of continental cultic practice both at court and in the countryside.

Anime and the Visual Novel: Narrative Structure, Design and Play at the Crossroads of Animation and Computer Games


Dani Cavallaro - 2009
    Visual novels are interactive fiction games in which players creatively control decisions and plot turning points. Endings alter according to the player's choices, providing a motivation to replay the game and opt for alternative decisions each time. Pictorial sumptuousness, plot depth and subtle characterization are vital aspects of the medium. Anime based on visual novels capitalizes on the parent games' attributes, yielding thought-provoking yarns and complex personalities.

Wedding Issue (Gothic & Lolita Bible, Volume 5)


Tokyopop - 2009
    Defining the Japanese Lolita style, this title caters to fans of two separate but related fashions: Gothic and - to a greater extent - Lolita.

Camera Obtrusa: The Action Documentaries of Hara Kazuo


Hara Kazuo - 2009
    His works feature dramatic narratives and characters—radicals, outcasts and those on the margins—who struggle against adversity: -I make bitter films. I hate mainstream society, - Kazuo has avowed. Camera Obtrusa is the first English-language publication addressing his work. Composed as a straightforward handbook, the volume offers Kazuo's technical notes on his groundbreaking filmmaking. As such, it is invaluable to students and scholars, but it is also peppered with anecdotes from the freewheeling filmmaker's life. Camera Obtrusa also includes the full production notes to Kazuo's controversial and award-winning film, The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987), a filmography and a foreword by distinguished Japanese film historian, Abe Markus Nornes.

Mastering Japanese Kanji: (JLPT Level N5) The Innovative Visual Method for Learning Japanese Characters (CD-ROM Included)


Glen Nolan Grant - 2009
    It does so by introducing a method that is both effective and easy to use in memorizing the meanings and pronunciations of Kanji—the array of characters that are used in the Japanese language to symbolize everything from abstract ideas to concrete nouns. Learning any of the kanji is a two step process, requiring that you remember both the visual aspect of a character (so you can recognize it when you see it) and the aural aspect (so you will know how to say and, thus, read it). The method employed by Mastering Japanese Kanji will show you how to tackle both of these aspects from the outset, and by so doing enable you to immediately get down to the practical (and fun!) business of recognizing and reading kanji on everything from street signs to newspapers. By the time you finish this book, in fact you will be able to boast of a Japanese vocabulary numbering in the thousands of words. Key features:Corresponding CD-ROM helps to reinforce the written materialTeaches the 200 most common kanji and the hundreds of compounds that use include them.Unique, specially–designed drawings and entertaining stories help you learn more quickly.Sample sentences, along with common words and compounds, expand your vocabulary by showing each kanji used in context.Stroke–order diagrams show the correct way to write each chapter.Chapter and cumulative review exercises help ensure master of what you've learned.Complete indexes show Japanese readings and English meanings for all Kanji.Contents of the CD–ROM:Stroke order animations for all 200 kanji characters.Native speaker audio recordings of all:Kanji characters.Common words and compounds.Sample sentences.

Tea Culture of Japan


Sadako Ohki - 2009
    By the late 15th and 16th centuries, tea was ceremonially prepared by a skilled tea master and served to guests in a tranquil setting. This way of preparing tea became known as chanoyu, literally “hot water for tea.” This elegant book explores the aesthetics and history of the traditional Japanese tea ceremony, examining the nature of tea collections and the links between connoisseurship, politics, and international relations. It also surveys current practices and settings in light of the ongoing transformation of the tradition in contemporary tea houses. Among the precious objects discussed and pictured are ceramic tea bowls, wooden tea scoops, metal sake pourers, and lacquered incense containers, as well as folding screens that evoke the historical settings of serving tea.

Japanese American Resettlement through the Lens: Hikaru Iwasaki and the WRA's Photographic Section, 1943-1945


Lane Ryo Hirabayashi - 2009
    IwasakiForeword by the Honorable Norman Y. MinetaIn Japanese American Resettlement through the Lens, Lane Ryo Hirabayashi gathers a unique collection of photographs by War Relocation Authority photographer Hikaru Iwasaki, the only full-time WRA photographer from the period still living.With substantive focus on resettlement - and in particular Iwasaki's photos of Japanese Americans following their release from WRA camps from 1943 to 1945 - Hirabayashi explores the WRA's use of photography in its mission not only to encourage "loyal" Japanese Americans to return to society at large as quickly as possible but also to convince Euro-Americans this was safe and advantageous. Hirabayashi also assesses the relative success of the WRA project, as well as the multiple uses of the photographs over time, first by the WRA and then by students, scholars, and community members in the present day.Although the photos have been used to illustrate a number of publications, this book is the first sustained treatment addressing questions directly related to official WRA photographs. How and under what conditions were they taken? Where were they developed, selected, and stored? How were they used during the 1940s? What impact did they have during and following the war?By focusing on the WRA's Photographic Section, Japanese American Resettlement through the Lens makes a unique contribution to the body of literature on Japanese Americans during World War II.

Prescribing Colonization: The Role of Medical Practices and Policies in Japan-Ruled Taiwan, 1895� "1945


Michael Shiyung Liu - 2009
    The Japanese government believed that Taiwan required an infusion of fundamental medical knowledge from "modern" Japan. "Medicine" and "civilization" were two of the main themes used repeatedly to persuade the indigenous population to accept colonization. Written as part of a new wave of scholarship on colonial medicine, science, and technology that has emerged in the past decade, Michael Liu clearly explains the complex relationship between merciful modernization, brutal colonization, and the expansion of the global discourse on modern medicine.

Tools of Culture: Japan's Cultural, Intellectual, Medical, and Technological Contacts in East Asia, 1100s-1500s


Association for Asian Studies - 2009
    The collection broadens our understanding of Japanese history, by departing from a traditional focus on Japanese history as a phenomenon essentially limited to the Japanese archipelago, and expands the horizons of that history to encompass the ubiquity of overseas contacts and the constant circulation of people, experiences, and objects. Each chapter provides a different perspective on the interactions--travel, trade, texts, religion, poetry, medicine, and art--rippling through Japanese society and across the waters that joined Japan and the continent.

To Japan with Love: A Travel Guide for the Connoisseur


Celeste Heiter - 2009
    From crawling through Buddha's nose at Todaiji Temple to finding peace in Hiroshima, "To Japan with Love" takes readers along on an eclectic range of experiences, including horseback riding on a Wild West ranch, surfing coastal waters, and snowshoeing a mountain landscape.

Nishida And Western Philosophy


Robert Wilkinson - 2009
    His constant aim in philosophy was to try to articulate Zen in terms drawn from Western philosophical sources, yet in the end he found that he could not do so, and his thought illustrates a conceptual incommensurability at the deepest level between the main line of the Western tradition and one of the main lines in Eastern thought. This book is a work of comparative philosophy. Attention is given to the consequences of Nishida's metaphysics in the areas of ethics, aesthetics, the philosophy of religion and notably the implications of Nishida's example for the question of pluralism. This study of Nishida brings into sharp focus the question of whether, faced with a conceptual incommensurability at as deep a level as that manifested by Zen, the choice between it and its Western alternative can be wholly rational.

A Peasant Sage of Japan; The Life and Work of Sontoku Ninomiya


Kokei Tomita - 2009
    Quality assurance was conducted on each of these books in an attempt to remove books with imperfections introduced by the digitization process. Though we have made best efforts - the books may have occasional errors that do not impede the reading experience. We believe this work is culturally important and have elected to bring the book back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide.