Ostracized as a child, he held on to a belief that a good life was waiting for him in the years ahead. Now approaching the age of twenty, he's a completely mediocre college student with no motivation, no dreams, and no money. After learning he can sell his remaining years-and just how little they're worth-he chooses to divest himself of all but his last three months. Has Kusunoki truly destroyed his last chance to find happiness...or has he somehow found it?

    This volume deals with the period leading up to World War II, a time of high unemployment and other economic hardships caused by the Great Depression. Mizuki's photo-realist style effortlessly brings to life the Japan of the 1920s and 1930s, depicting bustling city streets and abandoned graveyards with equal ease. When the Showa era began, Mizuki himself was just a few years old, so his earliest memories coincide with the earliest events of the time. With his trusty narrator Nezumi Otoko (Rat Man), Mizuki brings history into the realm of the personal, making it palatable, and indeed compelling, for young audiences as well as more mature readers. As he describes the militarization that leads up to World War II, Mizuki's stance toward war is thoughtful and often downright critical--his portrayal of the Nanjing Massacre clearly paints the incident (a disputed topic within Japan) as an atrocity. Mizuki's "Showa 1926-1939" is a beautifully told history that tracks how technological developments and the country's shifting economic stability had a role in shaping Japan's foreign policy in the early twentieth century.

    It’s time for gyoza, curry, tonkatsu, and furai. These icons of Japanese comfort food cooking are the dishes you’ll find in every kitchen and street corner hole-in-the-wall restaurant in Japan—the hearty, flavor-packed dishes that everyone in Japan, from school kids to grandmas, craves. In Japanese Soul Cooking, Tadashi Ono and Harris Salat introduce you to this irresistible, homey style of cooking. As you explore the range of exciting, satisfying fare, you may recognize some familiar favorites, such as ramen, soba, udon, and tempura. Others are lesser known Japanese classics—such as wafu pasta (spaghetti with bold, fragrant toppings like miso meat sauce), tatsuta-age (fried chicken marinated in garlic, ginger, and other Japanese seasonings), and savory omelets with crabmeat and shiitake mushrooms—that will instantly become standards in your kitchen as well. With foolproof instructions and step-by-step photographs, you’ll soon be knocking out chahan fried rice, mentaiko spaghetti, saikoro steak, and more for friends and family. Ono and Salat’s fascinating exploration of the surprising origins and global influences behind popular dishes is accompanied by rich location photography that captures the energy and essence of this food in everyday Japanese life, bringing beloved Japanese comfort food to Western home cooks for the first time.

    He was on top of his house roof with nothing to shield him at only 3/4 of a mile (1,200m) from the epicenter in Hiroshima on August 6, 1945 toward the end of the World War II. But what made Shinji stand out from most of the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, or even of many other man-made disasters in our history, he never hated Americans as aggressors. He somehow saw things from a much bigger perspective even in the very strict Japanese military government's mind control of civilians during the war. As one of his three legacy-carrying daughters, Dr. Akiko Mikamo wrote his story to send out the messages of human love and power of forgiveness to remind the world our worst enemies of yesterday could become the best friends of tomorrow.

    This comprehensive history of Japanese animation draws on Japanese primary sources and testimony from industry professionals to explore the production and reception of anime, from its early faltering steps, to the international successes of Spirited Away and Pokémon.

    Japanese imperial forces claimed they recruited women to join these stations in order to prevent the mass rape of localwomen and the spread of venereal disease among soldiers. In reality, these women were kidnapped and coerced into sexual slavery. Comfort stations institutionalized rape, and these comfort women were subjected to atrocities that have only recently become the subject of international debate.Chinese Comfort Women: Testimonies from Imperial Japan's Sex Slaves features the personal narratives of twelve women forced into sexual slavery when the Japanese military occupied their hometowns. Beginning with their prewar lives and continuing through their enslavement to their postwar strugglesfor justice, these interviews reveal that the prolonged suffering of the comfort station survivors was not contained to wartime atrocities but was rather a lifelong condition resulting from various social, political, and cultural factors. In addition, their stories bring to light several previouslyhidden aspects of the comfort women system: the ransoms the occupation army forced the victims' families to pay, the various types of improvised comfort stations set up by small military units throughout the battle zones and occupied regions, and the sheer scope of the military sexual slavery-muchlarger than previously assumed. The personal narratives of these survivors combined with the testimonies of witnesses, investigative reports, and local histories also reveal a correlation between the proliferation of the comfort stations and the progression of Japan's military offensive.The first English-language account of its kind, Chinese Comfort Women exposes the full extent of the injustices suffered by these women and the conditions that caused them.

    Yokai have attracted the artists and have been a common theme in art works until these days because of their unique forms and their mysterious behaviours. This book is a visual collection of art works of Yokai in Japan since the Edo period (1603 - 1868). The works are not only paintings but also wood block prints, ceramics, kimonos, children's playthings such as board games, and more. All items that are featured in the book come from personal collections by Koichi Yumoto, who has the largest Yokai art collection in Japan.

    

    Masterpiece is finally born!Small movement becomes a habitAgain and again you'll want to lightly!Story of insects as "moth-eaten".

    Modern students flock to kendo for physically—and mentally—challenging activity that combines traditional martial arts values with strenuous physical activity.Author Geoff Salmon has over 40 years of kendo experience gained in and outside of Japan. His goal in this kendo guide is to dispel many misconceptions about the sport and to make kendo training accessible and practical for anyone. His simple, straightforward writing style is especially helpful for beginning students and martial artists from other disciplines who wish to add kendo training to their repertoire.The core of this kendo book is a series of detailed instructional sequences demonstrating the basic kendo techniques. The author also presents the fundamental principles and philosophy that make kendo as much an exercise of the mind as of the sword. For many adherents, the goal is to train your mind to achieve a state of mushin (no-mind). Beyond that, this book also shows you how to win competitions and integrate kendo into your fitness routines.This is the first book to decidedly link the philosophical and mental elements of kendo to the physical techniques, thereby enabling readers to gain a holistic understanding of the martial art. It offers a comprehensive training program similar to those given by leading kendo teachers in Japan, past and present.

    After Japan’s attack on Pearl Harbor, their lives would change forever. Kimiko Miramoto must find a way to survive alone in Japan, the enemy’s country, without being a traitor to her own. In America, Maggie, Akio, and Akio's Caucasian wife, Rose Marie, are labeled enemies of the United States. Taken from their homes, imprisoned, and separated in different internment camps, their hopes, dreams, and loyalty to their beloved country are put to the ultimate test. Japanese Roses tells the story of one Japanese-American family’s incredible struggle to survive, caught in the tides of World War II and conflicted by national loyalty, forced to endure unspeakable betrayal and injustice. Spanning the years of the war for the Pacific, Japanese Roses tells the story not only of one family, but of the struggles of all Japanese Americans during a time when they were labeled the enemy both in their own country and the country of their parents. Alternating between the eyes of Maggie, Rose Marie, and Kimiko, the story moves from the streets of Seattle as the bombs are dropped in Pearl Harbor, to the prison camps that lined America's West Coast, to the devastation of Hiroshima as the war drew to a close. While all three women are separated by the war, they share one goal: They want to go home. But will their homes even exist in the aftermath of the of the war? And will they all reach that place once the last bombs are dropped?

    Sequel to the award-winning Kitsune-Tsuki.The onmyouji Tsurugu no Kiyomori and his allies must protect his daimyou‘s household from a dangerous rival without revealing their own secret — or they die by the hands of their friends instead of their enemies.

    This is the only guide to list all verb forms in both Japanese script and romanized form, while giving an accurate English translation for each conjugated form, making this book far more comprehensive than any other book on the subject.Compiled by Japanese language experts at The Hiro Japanese Center, more than 30 different verbal forms are given for each verb including all forms used in contemporary spoken, written, formal and conversational Japanese—making this the ideal reference when reading any sort of Japanese printed materials including manga, newspapers, magazines and books. 600 Basic Japanese Verbs places an expert resource at your fingertips, giving you the information you need to speak, read, and write Japanese sentences correctly.Key features of this book are:-Includes all the most useful verbs and Kanji (logographic Chinese characters) in Japanese, including less common ones-A wealth of example sentences are given to demonstrate correct verb usage-Over 30 forms are given for each verb including polite or formal, plain, negative, potential, conditional, passive, causative, and many more-Both Kana, Japanese script, and romanized forms are given for each entry-An ideal study guide for the standard Advanced Placement college test and the Japanese Language Proficiency Exam-Special sections are devoted to compound verbs and suru verbs such as -Kaimono suru (to shop), benkyo suru (to study), and much more

    The book design is taken from the EX series, it still has a modern-exotic touch with an mysterious atmosphere of old-time Tokyo, associating with Maruo's retro style. The included works are illustrations in magazine, book designs as well as rough sketches. Thanks to Maruo's unique and consistent style, his work is always providing fresh impacts and gaining new fans. This is a must-have book to treasure for Maruo fans all over the world.うまれた時が悪いのか、それとも俺が悪いのか……南無阿弥陀仏を唱えてみてもどうせ俺たちゃ地獄行き。丸尾末広一座、昭和グランギニョル血飛沫劇場第弐幕! 最新作を増補した改訂版。

    Finding herself stressed and unhappy, Jane retreats to peaceful Kyoto to seek balance and equilibrium in her life. Jane’s personal story offers an insight into the artistry of Japanese cuisine and explores the concept of Zenbu Zen—"everything is zen." Includes dual measurements.

    Lavish classical patterns, sweeping scenes, and the many motifs that have been woven, dyed, painted or embroidered into these textiles reveal a reflectiveness, a sense of humor, and an appreciation of exquisite beauty that is uniquely Japanese. Organized according to motifs traditionally associated with each season of the year, Kimono Design interprets the kimono's special language as expressed in depictions of:Flowers and grassesBirds and other animalsSymbols of power, luck and prestigeLand-and-seascapesscenes from literature, history and daily lifescenes of travel and the Japanese concept of other landsand many others…Extensive notes on all the motifs demonstrate how the kimono reflects changing times and a sense of the timeless. Information on jewelry, hairpins and other accessories is scattered throughout to give a fuller sense of the Japanese art of dress. This is a volume that Japanophiles, historians, artists and designers will all cherish.

    Asian American Studies. Foreword by Gary Snyder.If you have time to chatterRead booksIf you have time to readWalk into mountain, desert and oceanIf you have time to walkSing songs and danceIf you have time to danceSit quietly, you Happy Lucky Idiot

    written in JAPANESE

    Each patiently nurtured tree is presented at the peak of its seasonal beauty; each embodies the quiet energy and beauty of the art of bonsai.In an engaging opening essay, the book introduces the practice and philosophy of bonsai, its spiritual resonance, and its horticultural sophistication. Then alongside each tree’s portrait, is a short, thoughtful discussion of the species and style of the tree as well as its individual history and character. Readers will cherish this superbly conceived and designed book while gaining a new appreciation for the living masterpieces that inspired it.

    The 53 elegant arrangements featured in Japanese Ikebana for Every Season are perfect for special occasions--Mother's Day, Valentine's Day, birthday, anniversary--or any event that calls for a flower bouquet.The key to good Ikebana arrangements is to understand a few very simple principles--like the idea of mitate, seeing old things with new eyes--and to learn a few easy techniques to stabilize and support plants inside a vase or container. Using common flowers and plants from the garden, a nearby field or forest, or the local florist, anyone can easily create these lovely Ikebana in just a few minutes.Authors Rie Imai and Yuji Ueno explain how to select flowers and containers from things that are already around--and then turn them into something special. The basic instructions in the book cover a wide range of styles that encourage readers to use their own creativity rather than copying traditional and highly technical Ikebana design concepts.No matter what time of year it is and regardless of your taste or budget--the arrangements in this book will lend a touch of Japanese elegance to your home.

    Written for Learners of English by Rachel Bladon.What is Japan? It is everything new and modern: the Tokyo Sky Tree, 634 metres high; amazing cameras and phones; karaoke and manga; trains going past at 300 kilometres an hour. And it is everything ancient too: beautiful palaces; high mountains and hot springs; cherry blossom in the spring; quiet gardens with water and trees. Here the past meets the future all the time. From sumo wrestlers to robots, Japan has something amazing for everybody.

    The intent of the collection is to add to t

     "What is true Budo?" "What does the journey to become a master of Budo entail?" Driven by those burning questions, the author Mr. Hino examines and illuminates the wisdom of legendary masters, especially the world's most well-known grand master of Japanese martial arts Masaaki Hatsumi (1931-). His personal encounter and interview with Mr. Hatsumi makes the essence of ancient martial arts real and alive in present times. With a new epilogue added, the book is now available in English as a complete edition.

    The dictionary also contains 25 thematically organised lists of frequently used words on a variety of topics such as food, weather, occupations and leisure. Numerous bar charts are also included to highlight the phonetic and spelling variants across register.A Frequency Dictionary of Japanese enables students of all levels to maximise their study of Japanese vocabulary in an efficient and engaging way. It is also an excellent resource for teachers of the language.

    Yokohama has it all and Loco has lived it and is telling the tale, no holds-barred! Loco in Yokohama is your front row seat to peer through a secret window into the hilarity and the hell that is living, loving and teaching in Japan. If you're looking for a raw, undiluted, unequivocal account of life in the land of the rising sun, you're looking for Loco!

    In her latest work, she shifts her attention from the micro to the macro. The title, Ametsuchi, is composed of two Japanese characters meaning "heaven and earth," and is taken from the title of one of the oldest pangrams in Japanese-a chant in which each character of the Japanese syllabary is used. Translated loosely as "Song of the Universe," it comprises a list that includes the heavens, earth, stars and mountains. In Ametsuchi, Kawauchi brings together images of distant constellations and tiny figures lost within landscapes, as well as photographs of a traditional controlled burn farming method (yakihata) in which the cycles of cultivation and recovery span decades and generations. Punctuating the series are images of Buddhist rituals and other religious ceremonies-a suggestion of other means by which humankind has traditionally attempted to transcend time and memory. The book is designed by award-winning Dutch designer Hans Gremmen, who brings a sense of the monumental and the mysterious to the design, including a seductive origami binding. The series is Kawauchi's first to be fully realized with a medium-format, 4 x 5 camera, instead of the 2-˘-inch format for which she has become best known. And while her work has frequently touched on the ephemeral, often using tiny details as a point of access to the larger cycles of life, with this new body of work, she purposely concentrates on the elemental and universal. The book is designed by award-winning Dutch designer Hans Gremmen, who brings a sense of the monumental and the mysterious to the design, including a seductive origami binding that offers a hint at the spiritual and philosophical currents running throughout the work. As Gremmen explains, "the book is bound in a variation of Japanese binding. In regular Japanese binding you fold the paper in such a way that the sides are closed. In this book the closed side is at the top of the page; the sides and bottom are open. This results in a book that introduces a 'parallel world' on the inside of the pages, in which some images are printed in inverted colors. By inverting the images, the existential and poetic nature of Kawauchi's work is enlarged: fire turns into water, night turns into day."

    Regarded as one of the key disciplines in fostering the focused, meditative state of mind so essential to Zen, shodo calligraphy is practiced regularly by all students of Zen Buddhism in Japan. After providing a brief history of Japanese calligraphy and its close relationship with the teachings of Zen Buddhism, Sato explains the necessary supplies and fundamental brushstroke skills that you'll need. He goes on to present thirty zengo, each featuring:An example by a skilled Zen monk or master calligrapherAn explanation of the individual characters and the Zen koan as a wholeStep-by-step instructions on how to paint the phrase in a number of styles (Kaisho, Gyosho, Sosho)A stunning volume on the intersection of Japanese aesthetics and Zen Buddhist thought, Shodo: The Quiet Art of Japanese Zen Calligraphy guides both beginning and advanced students to a deeper understanding of the unique brush painting art form of shodo calligraphy. Shodo calligraphy topics include:The Art of KanjiThe Four Treasures of ShodoIdeogram ZengoStudents of Shodo

    Sayaka is frantic to find her family, but first, she must survive cold, hunger, and worse. Will Sayaka be able to reunite with her family, earn their forgiveness, and forge a new life for herself, or will she be too late?

    

    It greatly expands the focus of previous work on Japanese modernization by examining Japan's role in global environmental transformation and how Japanese ideas have shaped bodies and landscapes over the centuries. The immediacy of Earth's environmental crisis, a predicament highlighted by Japan's March 2011 disaster, brings a sense of urgency to the study of Japan and its global connections.The work is an environmental history in the broadest sense of the term because it contains writing by environmental anthropologists, a legendary Japanese economist, and scholars of Japanese literature and culture. The editors have brought together an unparalleled assemblage of some of the finest scholars in the field who, rather than treat it in isolation or as a unique cultural community, seek to connect Japan to global environmental currents such as whaling, world fisheries, mountaineering and science, mining and industrial pollution, and relations with nonhuman animals.The contributors assert the importance of the environment in understanding Japan's history and propose a new balance between nature and culture, one weighted much more heavily on the side of natural legacies. This approach does not discount culture. Instead, it suggests that the Japanese experience of nature, like that of all human beings, is a complex and intimate negotiation between the physical and cultural worlds.Contributors: Daniel P. Aldrich, Jakobina Arch, Andrew Bernstein, Philip C. Brown, Timothy S. George, Jeffrey E. Hanes, David L. Howell, Federico Marcon, Christine L. Marran, Ian Jared Miller, Micah Muscolino, Ken'ichi Miyamoto, Sara B. Pritchard, Julia Adeney Thomas, Karen Thornber, William M. Tsutsui, Brett L. Walker, Takehiro Watanabe.

    This is Bergen's baptismal short story collection, bringing together recent short stories, never-before-seen older material, new comicbook art, and a range of incisive pop-culture articles written about music and Japan from 1999 to 2013.

    Kokeshi are the traditional dolls that are made of wood and are characterized by their lack of arms or legs. They are produced in the Tohoku region of Japan and were originally a children's toy, although it is more often used as a form of decoration nowadays and displayed in the home. Abroad, they are considered to be an icon of Japan, and reflect Japanese aesthetic sensibilities with their simple, elegant and minimalist designs. Kokeshi have the appeal of imperfection and hand made exclusivity as no two dolls are the same, each kokeshi embodies the qualities of wood, something that is often referred to as "warmth." In fact, for collectors, more than the freshly made kokeshi, many covet the atmosphere of the vintage kokeshi-- rather than degrading, as with plastic or artificial materials, the wood picks up a dewy, subdued colour and the delicately painted features fade gracefully with time. This book is the only English language book that looks at this culture in depth and is the only book with English language interviews with the masters of the craft. The author, Manami Okazaki, visits all 6 prefectures of Tohoku to profile 20 artisans in the remote hot spring villages where they are made. Included are the work and interviews with the masters to the up and coming artists, and highlights many aesthetic theories and sensibilities that are prevalent in contemporary design, even today. The book also looks at Japanese hotspring culture, and Tohoku culture to paint a holistic picture of kokeshi culture. This book will delight fans of wooden crafts, Japanese culture and travellers to Japan. The book gives an insight into the psychology of the craftsman, the process of production, the motifs and the various types, which will inform the collector. This book will also suit travelers to Japan who wish to explore the Northern region of Japan, and their charming hot spring villages. Included are hundreds of photographs. This book is intended for charity and all proceeds will go to schooling in Tohoku post March 11 tsunami.

    The war began in China, two years before Hitler invaded Poland, and China eventually became the fourth great ally, partner to the United States, the Soviet Union, and Great Britain. Yet its drama of invasion, resistance, slaughter, and political intrigue remains little known in the West.Rana Mitter focuses his gripping narrative on three towering leaders: Chiang Kai-shek, the politically gifted but tragically flawed head of China’s Nationalist government; Mao Zedong, the Communists’ fiery ideological stalwart, seen here at the beginning of his epochal career; and the lesser-known Wang Jingwei, who collaborated with the Japanese to form a puppet state in occupied China. Drawing on Chinese archives that have only been unsealed in the past ten years, he brings to vivid new life such characters as Chiang’s American chief of staff, the unforgettable “Vinegar Joe” Stilwell, and such horrific events as the Rape of Nanking and the bombing of China’s wartime capital, Chongqing. Throughout, Forgotten Ally shows how the Chinese people played an essential role in the wider war effort, at great political and personal sacrifice.Forgotten Ally rewrites the entire history of World War II. Yet it also offers surprising insights into contemporary China. No twentieth-century event was as crucial in shaping China’s worldview, and no one can understand China, and its relationship with America today, without this definitive work.

    D. Salinger's classic short story most beloved short stories. In their introduction, Ted Goossen and Motoyuki Shibata, editors of Monkey Business, the magazine where this translated story first appeared, write, "We love the idea of the three-year-old Sybil Carpenter in 'A Perfect Day for Bananafish' as an old woman at the end of her life, with the memory of that strange young man, Seymour Glass, flickering in and out of her consciousness. Mieko is a wonderful singer-songwriter as well as one of Japan’s major novelists, and we can hear the beautiful cadence of her poetry in Hitomi Yoshio’s great translation."About Recommended Reading:Great authors inspire us. But what about the stories that inspire them? Recommended Reading, the latest project from Electric Literature, publishes one story every week, each chosen by a great author or editor. In this age of distraction, we uncover writing that's worth slowing down and spending some time with. And in doing so, we help give great writers, literary magazines, and independent presses the recognition (and readership) they deserve.About the author:Mieko Kawakami (b. 1976) is a novelist, poet, singer, and actress. Her awards include the Akutagawa Prize, the Nakahara Chūya Poetry Prize, and the Murasaki Shikibu Literary Prize. She has published five books of fiction as well as two books of poetry, and her latest book is Dreams of Love, Etc., a collection of short stories. About the Translator:Hitomi Yoshio (b. 1979) received her doctorate from Columbia University in 2012 and currently teaches Japanese literature at Florida International University in Miami. In 2011 and 2012 she was an indispensable interpreter at the Monkey Business International 1 and 2 launch events in New York and Toronto. About the Guest Editor:Monkey Business International is the in-translation offspring of the Tokyo-based magazine Monkey Business, which was founded in 2008 by Motoyuki Shibata, one of Japan’s most highly regarded men of letters. Monkey Business International aims to translate and present a wide array of established and emerging authors, showcasing the best of contemporary Japanese literature. With the generous support of the Nippon Foundation, A Public Space is the publisher and partner of Monkey Business International. Monkey Business and A Public Space first conceived of Monkey Business International when Shibata curated a portfolio of Japanese literature in the debut issue of A Public Space.

    

    When tragedy strikes Kenta’s small village in Japan, he does all he can to hang on to the things that matter to him most. But amidst the chaos of an emergency evacuation brought on by the tsunami, Kenta and his family must quickly leave their home, taking with them only the barest necessities. Climbing to safer ground, Kenta watches helplessly as his prized soccer ball goes bouncing down a hill and gets swept away by the waves, never to be seen again… that is until it washes up on a beach on the other side of the world, into the hands of a child who takes it upon himself to return the ball to its rightful owner. In this evocative picture book, Ruth Ohi’s glowing art transports the reader to Japan with gentle images that offer reassurance amidst the background of an environmental catastrophe. Inspired by true stories of personal items being washed ashore thousands of miles away after the tsunami of 2011, Kenta and the Big Wave is about the strength of the human spirit and the power of Mother Nature. Including an afterword explaining tsunamis to young readers.

    Yuichiro Onishi argues that in the context of forging Afro-Asian solidarities, race emerged as a political category of struggle with a distinct moral quality and vitality.This book explores the work of Black intellectual-activists of the first half of the twentieth century, including Hubert Harrison and W. E. B. Du Bois, that took a pro-Japan stance to articulate the connection between local and global dimensions of antiracism. Turning to two places rarely seen as a part of the Black experience, Japan and Okinawa, the book also presents the accounts of a group of Japanese scholars shaping the Black studies movement in post-surrender Japan and multiracial coalition-building in U.S.-occupied Okinawa during the height of the Vietnam War which brought together local activists, peace activists, and antiracist and antiwar GIs. Together these cases of Afro-Asian solidarity make known political discourses and projects that reworked the concept of race to become a wellspring of aspiration for a new society.

    Your sister and you, as the only survivor’s, are whisked away to a desolate mountain castle. You later watch through tear-drenched eyes as she is ripped from your arms and taken away.You are only six years old.This is Mineko’s life. This is how her childhood in 17th century Japan began. For the next decade, Mineko endures as she learns to survive in a world filled with hate, terrifying abuse, violence and hunger. All the while she dreams of two things; a sister that one day returns to save her - and of someone to love. But little girls grow up. And little girls learn. And little sisters never forget. The only difference between revenge and vengeance is the intensity of the punishment that is inflicted - and Mineko will settle for nothing less than extreme vengeance.Set in 17th century Japan, “Mineko” is a rich, evocative, harsh and violent saga of a young girl’s quest for vengeance.

    We believe it is important that our work, including our work in Japanese education, proceeds in a way that encourages mutual understanding between people in situations where international cultural exchange takes place. This coursebook, Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture, was developed for adult learners of Japanese as a foreign language, based on this way of thinking.Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture is based on the JF Standard for Japanese Language Education, and was designed with an emphasis on using Japanese to communicate, and on understanding and respecting other cultures. In addition, the coursebook's contents and approach were devised so that students can enjoy studying language and culture for its own sake, even if they are not in Japan.Each topic in Marugoto: Japanese Language and Culture contains situations where people from a variety of cultural backgrounds interact in Japanese. You can experience various aspects of Japanese culture through photographs and illustrations while listening to a number of natural conversations taking place in each situation. We will be very happy if, through this book, people throughout the world feel completely familiar with the language and culture of Japan, and the people who actually live in this culture and speak this language.国際交流基金オフィシャル日本語コースブックこの1冊がまったく新しい授業をつくる!JF日本語教育スタンダード準拠入門(A1)相互理解の増進を目的とする「JF日本語教育スタンダード」に準拠した初のコースブック。日本語熟達度がCEFRに準じて客観的に把握できる。重点を置くべきCan-doが明確に示され、多様な学習目的に対応が可能。「かつどう」「りかい」の2分冊構成。4技能をしっかり伸ばす! 『まるごとサイト marugotonihongo.jp』にて各課の音声、ごいちょう、作文教材など配信。

    This collection of translations contains some of Tosaka's most important essays and original articles on Tosaka.

    In this moment of unparalleled political change, it was Uzawa Kanako, a young Ainu activist, who signalled the necessity of moving beyond the historical legacy of "Ainu studies." Mired in a colonial mindset of abject academic practices, Ainu Studies was an umbrella term for an approach that claimed scientific authority vis-�-vis Ainu, who became its research objects. As a result of this legacy, a latent sense of suspicion still hangs over the purposes and intentions of non-Ainu researchers.This major new volume seeks to re-address the role of academic scholarship in Ainu social, cultural, and political affairs. Placing Ainu firmly into current debates over Indigeneity, Beyond Ainu Studies provides a broad yet critical overview of the history and current status of Ainu research. With chapters from scholars as well as Ainu activists and artists, it addresses a range of topics including history, ethnography, linguistics, tourism, legal mobilization, hunter-gatherer studies, the Ainu diaspora, gender, and clothwork. In its ambition to reframe the question of Ainu research in light of political reforms that are transforming Ainu society today, this book will be of interest to scholars and students in Indigenous studies as well as in anthropology and Asian studies.Contributors: Misa Adele Honde, David L. Howell, Mark J. Hudson, Deriha Kōji, ann-elise lewallen, Tessa Morris-Suzuki, Hans Dieter �lschleger, Kirsten Refsing, Georgina Stevens, Sunazawa Kayo, Tsuda Nobuko, Uzawa Kanako, Mark K. Watson, Yūki Kōji.

    Aikido Ground Fighting is a unique look at the roots of aikido techniques (in particular, the kneeling practices of suwari-waza) and how they might be applied to defense on the ground. Written by a direct student of Morihei Ueshiba in collaboration with other aikido teachers, this book remains steadfastly true to the founder's teachings while presenting innovative and effective techniques. Containing never-before-published pictures of Ueshiba as well as step-by-step photographs clearly demonstrating techniques, Aikido Ground Fighting is designed for aikido students looking to become more well-rounded martial artists as well as practitioners of all martial arts seeking effective self-defense techniques.

    The author, Geoff Salmon, has taken the lessons learned over his 45 year kendo career and distilled them into a series of instructive, thought-provoking articles covering kendo training methods and techniques, as well as the attitudes and philosophies that make kendo a lifetime's pursuit for many people. It highlights some of the differences between kendo training in Japan and other parts of the globe and also includes some light-hearted commentary on this martial sport. At the core of this book are the direct teachings of some of the great 2nd and 3rd generation kendo teachers, which have been either reproduced or paraphrased by the author. Salmon also uses his own experience to guide readers towards developing correct, efficient kendo. Geoff Salmon holds the grade of 7th Dan and is one of the few westerners to have passed the new All Japan Kendo Federation kyoshi examination. He has lived and trained in Japan and has devoted 45 years to the study of kendo. Geoff teaches kendo internationally and writes about the art at www.kendoinfo.net; he is also the author of 'Kendo, A Comprehensive Guide to Japanese Swordsmanship'.

    The Henro Michi is one of the oldest and most famous pilgrimage routes in Japan. It consists of a circuit of eighty-eight temples around the perimeter of Shikoku, the smallest of Japan's four main islands. Every henro, or pilgrim, is said to follow in the footsteps of Kōbō Daishi, the ninth-century ascetic who founded the Shingon sect of Buddhism. Over the course of two months, the author walked this 1,400-kilometer route (roughly 870 miles), visiting the sacred sites and performing their prescribed rituals.Although himself a gaijin, or foreigner, Sibley saw no other pilgrim on the trail who was not Japanese. Some of the people he met became not only close companions but also ardent teachers of the language and culture. These fellow pilgrims' own stories add to the author's narrative in unexpected and powerful ways. Sibley's descriptions of the natural surroundings, the customs and etiquette, the temples and guesthouses will inspire any reader who has longed to escape the confines of everyday life and to embrace the emotional, psychological, and spiritual dimensions of a pilgrimage.

    William Marotti situates this phenomenon in the historical and political contexts of Japan after the Second World War and the international activism of the 1960s. The Japanese government renewed its Cold War partnership with the United States in 1960, defeating protests against a new security treaty through parliamentary action and the use of riot police. Afterward, the government promoted a depoliticized everyday world of high growth and consumption, creating a sanitized national image to present in the Tokyo Olympics of 1964. Artists were first to challenge this new political mythology. Marotti examines their political art, and the state's aggressive response to it. He reveals the challenge mounted in projects such as Akasegawa Genpei's 1,000-yen prints, a group performance on the busy Yamanote train line, and a plan for a giant guillotine in the Imperial Plaza. Focusing on the annual Yomiuri Indépendant exhibition, he demonstrates how artists came together in a playful but powerful critical art, triggering judicial and police response. Money, Trains, and Guillotines expands our understanding of the role of art in the international 1960s, and of the dynamics of art and policing in Japan.

    Acting outside imperial encounters, they initiated underground transnational networks with Japan. Prominent intellectuals and cultural figures, from Peter Kropotkin and Lev Tolstoy to Saigo Takamori and Tokutomi Roka, pursued these unofficial relationships through correspondence, travel, and networking, despite diplomatic and military conflicts between their respective nations.Tracing these non-state networks, Anarchist Modernity uncovers a major current in Japanese intellectual and cultural life between 1860 and 1930 that might be described as "cooperatist anarchist modernity"--a commitment to realizing a modern society through mutual aid and voluntary activity, without the intervention of state governance. These efforts later crystallized into such movements as the Nonwar Movement, Esperantism, and the popularization of the natural sciences.Examining cooperatist anarchism as an intellectual foundation of modern Japan, Sho Konishi offers a new approach to Japanese history that fundamentally challenges the "logic" of Western modernity. It looks beyond this foundational construct of modern history writing to understand people, practices, and cultural expressions that have been forgotten or dismissed as products of anti-modern nativist counter urges against the West.

    They purport to be the history of an unknown 15th-Century Japanese spiritual teacher who, in a time of social chaos, sets out to establish enlightened society. He begins his teaching saying: "Abstinence is no path at all. We are gambling on true love. It is an untested path." In documents from students and spies, the Annals then give an intimate portrait of a charismatic leader, his teachings and the transformative journey he shares with his eccentric band of followers. The scrolls are unmasked as forgeries, but ten years later, a retired professor becomes obsessed. Who created this hoax? And why? To the professor the Annals offer new possibilities from a kind of parallel reality. On his deathbed, he makes his American assistant promise to continue searching and to translate the scrolls. The assistant moves to New York. It is the time of the Vietnam war and the counter-culture. He has doubts about the professor, but the world of the Secret Annals begins to seep into his life. He finds within the Prince's teaching a path through this world of trackless uncertainty. Tantalized, he senses a new world of passionate intensity just within reach. **************************************** "A compelling, passionate evocation, an ethos of the imagination, a new kind of metaphoric history, DREAMERS AND THEIR SHADOWS channels a chorus of intimacies in a chronicle of age-old conflicts." - Gaetano Kazuo Maeda, Founding Director - International Buddhist Film Festival and Festival Media *************************************** "This incredibly beautiful and unique. DREAMERS AND THEIR SHADOWS entices the reader into rich new worlds of understanding and enjoyment." - William Osborne, composer, author, journalist and, with Abbie Conant, founder of The Wasteland Company.

    And while it’s a memorial to my niece, I hope it’s not mawkish, voyeuristic or over-sentimental. It is a brief journey through three cultures: American, Japanese, and my own, British, and touches on the last rites of Japan and Arkansas, at least as witnessed by me though my family members. It raises the question of whether it is better to live a short life that reaches many or a long, solitary one. The Short Goodbye comprises an essay about travelling back to Arkansas for my niece’s funeral, the transcript of that funeral, and an essay on the death of my father-in-law in Japan. I’m donating all my royalties from the sale of the book to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation of Maryland, USA.

    His work addresses the problematic dichotomy that arises when traditional Japanese and Western art are combined. His expansive scenes with many small figures, meticulous depictions of architecture, and an oblique perspective from above that shows cutaways of buildings, revealing the activity therein, might easily overwhelm the viewer. Sawaragi Noi observes in his essay that the artist is a designer who has attained the highest level... a highly sophisticated modelmaker.

    What is less well known is that Meiji Japan adopted German medicine as its official model in 1869. In Doctors of Empire, Hoi-eun Kim recounts the story of the almost 1,200 Japanese medical students who rushed to German universities to learn cutting-edge knowledge from the world leaders in medicine, and of the dozen German physicians who were invited to Japan to transform the country’s medical institutions and education.Shifting fluently between German, English, and Japanese sources, Kim’s book uses the colourful lives of these men to examine the impact of German medicine in Japan from its arrival to the pinnacle of its influence and its abrupt but temporary collapse at the outbreak of the First World War.Transnational history at its finest, Doctors of Empire not only illuminates the German origins of modern medical science in Japan but also reinterprets the nature of German imperialism in East Asia.

    Dragon Festival, Harvest Fire is a tale of retribution and rebirth, of traditions new and old, of overcoming loss through great sacrifice, and of learning faith in the Elders. It is the telling of ten year old ‘Kiko’s battle with what horrors were wrought upon her family and how her patience helps to summon the ways of the Yoru shadow warriors who were all but destroyed. From the boundaries of Ryoku castle, she watches the Shogun as his past haunts his dreams, all the while studying how she will claim his life. Hundreds of miles to the north, it tells the tale of Ginjiro, an unlikely choice to be the next of the Dragon Riders. He is a student of the uncompromising Yamada-Sensei, one who shares a difficult past with the Shogun. And to the southern islands, surrounded by pirates, traders, and a salty old fisher and his bird, it tells the tale of young Michio, who trains under the watchful eye of his arcane father. Michio struggles to learn the ways of his warrior father as he walks a path towards a singular and dark purpose. All share a common destiny that was prophesied and set into motion on that one fateful night. A fantasy series for all ages, The Painted Shogun is set in a world that combines the richness, aesthetic, and sweeping sensibilities of feudal Asian cultures with splashes of color from pirates, fishers, and scoundrels to the south and painted warriors and Dragon Riders to the north. Vividly told characters immerse the reader in a world of authentic and imagined customs, ethos, war games, market places and festivals, and Dragons as they’ve not been portrayed before. What sets this work apart from others of its genre is its departure from the medieval and barbaric to something more folk-inspired and sincere. Fans of historical fiction, fantasy, world cultures, suspense, a whisper of magic, and, of course, Dragons will find common ground here.

    While the family resemblances may sometimes seem tenuous, those examples of high seriousness and individual accomplishments of poetic expression deserve to be appreciated.Little could Basho have known in his insular Japan that the short form verse form that he raised to high art would become a world wide phenomenon with millions of haiku poems written every day in most nations.The five styles that Under the Basho embraces for publication are listed above in the titles bar. They are:TraditionalStand-Alone HokkuModern HaikuOne-Line HaikuConcrete Haiku.

    1967) has transformed herself many times since her memorable debut onto the international art scene in the mid-1990s. Over the past two decades, Mori has made a significant shift in the focus of her work, moving away from self-obsessive motifs and performance pieces to a diametrically opposite approach of self-effacement. Her own image has disappeared from her Pop-oriented work, and her interest now inclines toward the prehistoric world in which everything existed in an amorphous state without text, religion, nation, or division between humankind and nature. Accompanying a major solo exhibition at Japan Society Gallery in New York, this fascinating book features over 35 immersive installations, sculptures, drawings (including many unpublished works), and videos produced by the artist between 2003 and 2012. It presents not only Mori’s artistic evolution during the last decade, but also defines her current work relating to rebirth in an age of endangered environment and a lost connection between man and nature.

    This study focuses on the company's clashes with Tokugawa Japan in the seventeenth century, particularly in the areas of diplomacy, sovereignty, and violence. In each encounter, the Dutch were forced to abandon claims to sovereign powers and refashion themselves -- from subjects of a fictive king to loyal vassals of the shogun, from aggressive pirates to meek merchants, and from insistent defenders of colonial rule to legal subjects of the Tokugawa state. The first book to treat the Dutch East India Company as more than a commercial enterprise, this text offers unprecedented perspective on one of the most important, long-lasting unions between an Asian state and a European overseas enterprise and the surprisingly limited influence of Europeans operating in early-modern Asia.*The Jerry Bentley Prize is awarded by the American Historical Association to the best book dealing with global or world-scale history, with connections or comparisons across continents.

    She was infamous for being the second in command of the Purge, the most vile terrorist organization on the planet. At least she was, until she abruptly retired for reasons unknown...Alice Gailsone is now a buyer and trader of rare gemstones with the help of her adopted niece, Allison. She lives a boring, low-key life and does her best to stay out of trouble.At least she did, until she was approached by Alan Tanner, powerful business tycoon by day and dangerous vigilante Blackthorne by night, with an offer she cannot refuse: Put together a team of former super villain- turned-heroes in exchange for access to the one thing on the planet that could save her mother's life.Her first assignment is the Lotus, a deadly assassin for Japan's premiere criminal empire, the Dead Talon. In her way is a powerful corporate giant, an army of trained soldiers, a cult of murderous Kitsune and an unknown force moving in the shadows. To survive, she’ll need to pull everything out of her bag of tricks: guns, magic, cunning and more. Even with a terrifying and destructive power resting just beneath her fingertips, it may not be enough.She is out of practice, out of her element, and running out of time...Big In Japan is the first in a series of Action/Adventure Urban Fantasy novels about the Gailsone family. Join Alice as she deals with mob bosses, mercenaries, magic-related problems, golems, Kitsune, grumpy fortune tellers and the occasional firefight. Follow along as secret plots and sinister forces worm their way out of the shadows to test not only Alice, but the other 'heroes' of the Gailsone universe. A larger plan is unfolding with terrifying implications for the world, and Alice, whether she likes it or not, is stuck smack dab in the middle.

    Fuji ranks among the best-known series of Japanese woodblock prints. This edition presents a full-color reprint of Hokusai's enduring masterpiece, plus his black-and-white series, One Hundred Views of Mt. Fuji. Hokusai created thousands of woodcut prints based on the traditions, legends, and lives of his countrymen. The artist blended Western perspective with traditional Eastern techniques to reinvent the art of the Japanese print. His timeless images achieved their greatest popularity in the West and influenced generations of artists, most notably Van Gogh, Monet, and Degas. Published in the 1830s, The Great Wave is Hokusai's most familiar vision of Mt. Fuji. This compilation, which depicts the sacred mountain from many angles and in all seasons, is a must for all lovers of Japanese art and woodblock prints of the floating world.

    Its rapidly expanding population and flourishing economy encouraged the development of a thriving popular culture. Innovative and ambitious young authors and artists soon began to look beyond the established categories of poetry, drama, and prose, banding together to invent completely new literary forms that focused on the fun and charm of Edo. Their writings were sometimes witty, wild, and bawdy, and other times sensitive, wise, and polished. Now some of these high spirited works, celebrating the rapid changes, extraordinary events, and scandalous news of the day, have been collected in an accessible volume highlighting the city life of Edo. Edo’s urban consumers demanded visual presentations and performances in all genres. Novelties such as books with text and art on the same page were highly sought after, as were kabuki plays and the polychrome prints that often shared the same themes, characters, and even jokes. Popular interest in sex and entertainment focused attention on the theatre district and “pleasure quarters,” which became the chief backdrops for the literature and arts of the period. Gesaku, or “playful writing,” invented in the mid-eighteenth century, satirized the government and samurai behavior while parodying the classics. These entertaining new styles bred genres that appealed to the masses. Among the bestsellers were lengthy serialized heroic epics, revenge dramas, ghost and monster stories, romantic melodramas, and comedies that featured common folk. An Edo Anthology offers distinctive and engaging examples of this broad range of genres and media. It includes both well-known masterpieces and unusual examples from the city’s counterculture, some popular with intellectuals, others with wider appeal. Some of the translations presented here are the first available in English and many are based on first editions. In bringing together these important and expertly translated Edo texts in a single volume, this collection will be warmly welcomed by students and interested readers of Japanese literature and popular culture.

    It explains how through the period, eccentricity and madness developed and

    The original book, published in 1967, was written by the preeminent political writer at the time, Watanabe Tsuneo, who later became the controversial owner of the Yomiuri Shimbun. The book was written when a generational change was occurring in Japanese politics after several of the early party leaders had passed away, including his political mentor, Ono Bamboku. Comprising ten chapters, including a comprehensive preface on the author, Japan's Backroom Politics discusses in great detail the history of and personalities within the near-dozen factions and sub-factions that existed at the time. He introduces the resiliency of factions within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, noting the role of money, influence, party presidency, and the chance at the premiership, among other factors, which subsequent commentators and scholars have elaborated on. Moreover, using extensive data and a penetrating analysis, Watanabe provides a historical as well as an international comparison of Japanese factions, making predictions about the future of Japanese politics.

    Although the full monastery reconstruction will not be completed until 2030, one of the primary temples, the Picture Hall, has been wholly restored employing the same woodworking technology used to create the original building. This new edition of an architectural classic is by Azby Brown—one of the world's leading experts on Japanese architecture. It contains a new preface and many new text materials and photographs—most of them now available in color for the first time. Azby Brown chronicles the painstaking restoration of the temple through extensive interviews with the carpenters and woodworkers along with original drawings based on the plans of master carpenter Tsunekazu Nishioka.An inspiring testament to the dedication of these craftsmen and their philosophy of carpentry work as a form of personal fulfillment, The Genius of Japanese Carpentry offers detailed documentation of this singular project and a moving reminder of the unique cultural continuity found in Japan.

    It explores the aesthetic of color combination in traditional Japanese art works.

    They reunite as adults in Tokyo in the early 1990s and their family history soon catches up with them. Zhang Peiyin, the "forgotten" sister left behind in China, is hell-bent on making up for lost time after growing up with little more than political slogans and has abandoned her children to join her family in Japan, imagining riches, fame, and comfort. Instead she receives a wary welcome from her estranged parents and insecure, competitive younger sister, Vivian, who not-so-secretly wants to drive her back to China. As the sisters circle warily, navigating their mother's death and other setbacks, their distrust grows, fueled by family lies and secrets. Ultimately each must confront a fundamental question: what's the meaning of home when your roots aren't secure?

    You just gotta keep climbing. Otherwise, if you start to overthink it, you'll have trouble taking the next step.Shinichi wants nothing more than to lead a quiet life. Though he was once close friends with Miyuki, the most popular girl in school, his desire for normalcy now keeps them from being anything more than classmates.Everything changes, however, one day on the roof, when the class oddball, Aoi, suddenly tries to kiss him. Miyuki appears just in time to stop her, but afterward, Shinichi feels the urge to bring some light to this friendless girl's eyes. He enlists Miyuki's aid, and thus, a trio is born.The days pass, and little by little, Aoi learns what it means to be friends. But at the same time, long-dormant feelings awaken in Miyuki's heart. As the distance between her and Shinichi shrinks, the hard-earned bonds the three share begin to fray.Miyuki or Aoi－when the time comes, which will Shinichi choose?

    The volume boasts high-quality, original analysis by top scholars from Japan, the United States, Canada, Australia, and Europe. With chapters focusing on a variety of facets of the election, including the major political parties, important policy issues, and campaign practices, the volume provides a comprehensive analysis. It is vital reading for anyone interested in Japanese politics, as well as elections in general.

    Experience is the essence of the native Japanese religion of Shinto. This volume of photographs explores the Japanese festival, or matsuri, embodied in shrine Shinto. The book follows the two-day Futon Daiko festival at Mozu Hachiman Shrine in Sakai, Japan, after an introduction to another variation of the festival at Ogikubo Hakusan Shrine in Tokyo. William Ash’s photography shows the passion and power of these rites. The book provides a beautiful introduction to Shrine shinto with forty-six photographs, two illustrations, and an illustrated glossary.

    Before the recession, Japan was the country that most others sought to emulate due to its students performance on standardized tests. Now, however, a different and more complicated picture of the Japanese education system emerges. This book places Japanese education in a global context, with particular attention given to how their education system is responding to changing expectations and pressures that emerge from rapid social change. Chapters written by respected scholars examine issues related to equality, academic achievement, privatization, population diversity, societal expectations, and the influence of the media, parents, and political movements. The research in this book will provide valuable lessons for policymakers and practitioners facing similar challenges.

    1000 limited, artist signed, new bonus plate, hard bound book with special silver glit edges, all plates by Hi-Definition FM screen printing.

    Walk along the long-buried Cheong-gye-cheon stream, wander the labyrinthine streets of Bukchon Hanok Village, or try some Korean cuisine at Gwangjang Market; all with your trusted travel companion. Get to the heart of Seoul and begin your journey now!Inside Lonely Planet Seoul Travel Guide:Colour maps and images throughoutHighlights and itineraries show you the simplest way to tailor your trip to your own personal needs and interestsInsider tips save you time and money and help you get around like a local, avoiding crowds and trouble spotsEssential info at your fingertips - including hours of operation, phone numbers, websites, transit tips, and pricesHonest reviews for all budgets - including eating, sleeping, sight-seeing, going out, shopping, and hidden gems that most guidebooks missCultural insights give you a richer and more rewarding travel experience - including customs, history, religion, art, literature, cinema, music, dance, architecture, politics, and cuisineFree, convenient pull-out Seoul map (included in print version), plus over 30 neighbourhood mapsUseful features - including Day Trips, With Kids, and For FreeCoverage of Myeong-dong, Gangnam, Apgujeong, Dongdaemum, Itaewon, Insa-dong, Yongsan-gu, Jung-gu, Hongdae, Sinchon, Edae, Yeouido, Namsan, Gwanghwamun, Jongno-gu, Jamsil, Daehangno, Seongbuk-dong, and moreThe Perfect Choice: Lonely Planet Seoul, our most comprehensive guide to Seoul, is perfect for those planning to both explore the top sights and take the road less travelled.Looking for more extensive coverage? Check out Lonely Planet's Korea Guide for a comprehensive look at all the country has to offer. Authors: Written and researched by Lonely Planet and Simon Richmond.About Lonely Planet: Started in 1973, Lonely Planet has become the world's leading travel guide publisher with guidebooks to every destination on the planet, as well as an award-winning website, a suite of mobile and digital travel products, and a dedicated traveller community. Lonely Planet's mission is to enable curious travellers to experience the world and to truly get to the heart of the places they find themselves in."TripAdvisor Travelers' Choice Awards 2012 and 2013 winner in Favorite Travel Guide category""'Lonely Planet guides are, quite simply, like no other.' - New York Times""'Lonely Planet. It's on everyone's bookshelves; it's in every traveller's hands. It's on mobile phones. It's on the Internet. It's everywhere, and it's telling entire generations of people how to travel the world.' - Fairfax Media (Australia) "

    Readers will learn about Japans history, government, major cities, land features, natural resources, culture, and more! Maps, a timeline with photos, fun facts, and pronunciation guides aid readers. The book closes with a facts page including Japans population and total area, as well as images of the Japanese flag and currency. Students will find valuable report information while exploring Japan! Table of contents, glossary, and index included. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards. Big Buddy BOOKS is an imprint of ABDO Publishing Company.

    Today it is admired perhaps as much as its traditional counterpart, with which it often maintains a meaningful dialog. Botond Bognar's "Architectural Guide Japan" introduces over 700 of the most prominent examples of this fertile architecture, while outlining its development since the mid-19th century until the present in a concise historical essay. All texts and the individual entries are illustrated with about 750 color photos, all taken by the author, and many drawings. Detailed information about each entry is enhanced by geo-data in the form of QR codes. Featured in the book are the works of such renowned architects as Tadao Ando, Jun Aoki, Atelier Bow Wow, Shigeru Ban, Norman Foster, Sou Fujimoto, Hiroshi Hara, Itsuko Hasegawa, Herzog & de Meuron, Arata Isozaki, Toyo Ito, Kiyonori Kikutake, Kengo Kuma, Kisho Kurokawa, Kunio Maekawa, Fumihiko Maki, Togo Murano, MVRDV, Nikken Sekkei Ltd., Ryue Nishizawa, Jean Nouvel, Antonin Raymond, Junzo Sakakura, SANAA, Kazuyo Sejima, Kazuo Shinohara, Shin Takamatsu, Kenzo Tange, Yoshio Taniguchi, Rafael Vinoly, Frank Lloyd Wright, Riken Yamamoto, and many others.

    *Includes pictures of important people, places, and events. *Includes a bibliography for further reading. *Includes a table of contents. “From the Halls of Montezuma To the shores of Tripoli; We fight our country's battles In the air, on land, and sea; First to fight for right and freedom And to keep our honor clean; We are proud to claim the title Of United States Marine.” On February 23, 1945, one of the most famous photographs in American history was taken atop Mount Suribachi, as five American soldiers began to raise an American flag. The picture, which most Americans are instantly familiar with, has come to symbolize the strength and sacrifice of America’s armed forces, and though many realize it was taken during the Battle of Iwo Jima, much of the actual battle and the context of the picture itself have been overshadowed. The Battle of Iwo Jima, code name “Operation Detachment,” is more of a misnomer than anything. It was fought as part of a large American invasion directed by steps toward the Japanese mainland, and it was more like a siege that lasted 36 days from February-March 1945, with non-stop fighting every minute. In fact, the iconic flag-raising photo was taken just four days into the battle, and as that picture suggests, the battle was not a pristine tactical event but an unceasing horror with no haven for protection. As veteran and author James F. Christ put it in the foreword of his exhaustive study of the action, “it is carnage…that is what Iwo was…the Gettysburg of the Pacific.” Iwo Jima defined the classical amphibious assault of the World War II era, as much as the Normandy invasion did, but it came later in the war. In Europe, the Battle of the Bulge had already been won, and German forces would surrender in early May. However, the Japanese Empire was still at a considerable level of strength and state of resolve, and an essential offensive, grinding from island to island with naval unit to naval unit and air to air was met with maniacal resistance by the enemy. When Admiral Chester Nimitz was directed to capture an island in the Bonin group, Iwo Jima stood out for its importance in making progress against the mainland, with three airfields that would allow American air forces to attack the Japanese mainland. But the Japanese were also well aware of how important Iwo Jima was, and they fought desperately in bunkers and tunnels that required the Americans to carefully clear them out gradually. Less than 5% of the Japanese soldiers on Iwo Jima were taken alive, and American casualties were estimated at 26,000, with 6,800 killed or captured. A month later at Okinawa, which lasted from April-June, the Americans suffered an estimated 62,000 casualties, with 12,000 Americans killed or captured. These deadly campaigns came after widely-held predictions that taking these islands would amount to no more than a brief footnote in the overall theater. However, the national character of the Empire was equally misunderstood. Following the month of Iwo Jima, “commentator after commentator in the Anglo-American camp agreed that the Japanese were more despised than the Germans…uncommonly treacherous and savage…alluding to their remarkable tenacity…refused to give up any territory and incurred thousands of losses daily without any possibility of surrender.” The fighting went a long way toward swaying the beliefs of American military advisors that invading Japan itself would cause millions of casualties, which ultimately helped induce President Truman to use the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

    Now she must earn a living caring for the children of an American family at the nearby air base. When tragedy strikes, sixteen-year-old Miyoko is ordered to obey her family's wishes or disgrace the memory of her father and bring hardship upon her family. Tradition says she must obey, but her secret heart whispers that the new laws can free her. As the earth trembles and splits beneath her, Miyoko must jump forward—or back. THE EARTHQUAKE DOLL

    Between 1896 and 1910, Japan's project to colonize Korea was deeply intertwined with the movements of reform-minded Koreans to solve the crisis of the Choson dynasty (1392-1910). Among those reformers, it was the Ilchinhoe (Advance in Unity Society)-a unique group of reformers from various social origins-that most ardently embraced Japan's discourse of "civilizing Korea" and saw Japan's colonization as an opportunity to advance its own "populist agendas." The Ilchinhoe members called themselves "representatives of the people" and mobilized vibrant popular movements that claimed to protect the people's freedom, property, and lives. Neither modernist nor traditionalist, they were willing to sacrifice the sovereignty of the Korean monarchy if that would ensure the rights and equality of the people.Both the Japanese colonizers and the Korean elites disliked the Ilchinhoe for its aggressive activism, which sought to control local tax administration and reverse the existing power relations between the people and government officials. Ultimately, the Ilchinhoe members faced visceral moral condemnation from their fellow Koreans when their language and actions resulted in nothing but assist the emergence of the Japanese colonial empire in Korea. In Populist Collaborators, Yumi Moon examines the vexed position of these Korean reformers in the final years of the Choson dynasty, and highlights the global significance of their case for revisiting the politics of local collaboration in the history of a colonial empire.

    Learn about uniquely developed Japanese standard style, trending styles that popular models and fashion magazines introduce, and a mixed style that adopted from other countries' fashion. You can learn about current Tokyo fashion through this book. ・About fashion There are common styles including trendy ones that you can see in everyday life in Tokyo. ・About genres There are many labels made for different styles of fashion, there are words that other magazines use to describe genres. Many magazines create new words for fashion genres and so do we. ・About models All models in this book are scouted by us in the city.

    In Japan, as elsewhere, cities became the staging ground for wide ranging social, cultural, economic, and political transformations. The rise of social problems, the formation of a consumer marketplace, the proliferation of streetcars and streetcar suburbs, and the cascade of investments in urban development reinvented the city as both socio-spatial form and set of ideas. Young tells this story through the optic of the provincial city, examining four second-tier cities: Sapporo, Kanazawa, Niigata, and Okayama. As prefectural capitals, these cities constituted centers of their respective regions. All four grew at an enormous rate in the interwar decades, much as the metropolitan giants did. In spite of their commonalities, local conditions meant that policies of national development and the vagaries of the business cycle affected individual cities in diverse ways. As their differences reveal, there is no single master narrative of twentieth century modernization. By engaging urban culture beyond the metropolis, this study shows that Japanese modernity was not made in Tokyo and exported to the provinces, but rather co-constituted through the circulation and exchange of people and ideas throughout the country and beyond.

    However since the 1990s there have been growing doubts as to the real degree of social equality in Japan, particularly in the context of dramatic demographic shifts as the population ages whilst fertility levels continue to fall.This book compares Japan with America, Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Sweden and Taiwan in order to determine whether inequality really is a social problem in Japan. With a focus on impact demographic shifts, Sawako Shirahase examines female labour market participation, income inequality among households with children, the state of the family, generational change, single person households and income distribution among the aged, and asks whether increasing inequality and is uniquely Japanese, or if it is a social problem common across all of the societies included in this study. Crucially, this book shows that Japan is distinctive not in terms of the degree of inequality in the society, but rather, in how acutely inequality is perceived. Further, the data shows that Japan differs from the other countries examined in terms of the gender gap in both the labour market and the family, and in inequality among single-person households - single men and women, including lifelong bachelors and spinsters - and also among single parent households, who pay a heavy price for having deviated from the expected pattern of life in Japan.Drawing on extensive empirical data, this book will be of great interest to students and scholars interested in Japanese culture and society, Japanese studies and social policy more generally.

    The literary theme and motif has survived through the history of literary and cultural discourses in Japan since antiquity to the present and holds a key to understand the wide range of social consciousnesses that cannot be always molded by a given social mainstream. Here, Ikuho Amano offers an innovative examination of a century of Japanese fiction through the analytical prism of decadence. Drawing on the economic issues prevalent in twentieth-century fictions, the book argues that non-productive labor plays an integral part of modern society and culture while accommodating the entropic excess of modern society. Through deviant dealings of resources, including waste, squandering, wagering, and excessive generosity, the decadent individuals negotiate with modern utilitarian ideologies of society based on labor and production, showcasing their desire and dream outside the circle of diligence and productivity.

    Along with dozens of photographs from private collections, the material presented is previously unpublished, gathered from personal interviews and archives worldwide. Under the Heel of Bushido is a tribute to the courage and suffering of these men and women of the Jewish community whose experiences have been virtually ignored. The veterans interviewed for the book share painful testimonies, offering a snapshot of the total Jewish involvement, as so many of the 550 or so Jewish prisoners of war who survived their ordeal passed away before they could tell their stories. There was a particular Jewish participation and encounter with the Japanese, and Under the Heel of Bushido chronicles this unique account for the first time. *** "Anti-Semitism was largely absent; the concept - and the Nazis' obsession with Jews - was puzzling to most Japanese, though there were incidents initiated by German liaison officers and Muslim propaganda, and, of course, cruel acts done simply out of spite toward the enermy....In the absence of synagogues and rabbis, many of the Jewish POSs attempted and managed nonetheless to practice accommodated forms of Judaic rituals, including Friday night Sabbath services and, too often, funerals." - The NYMAS Review; StrategyPage, May 2014 *** "Covering Jewish POWs of all ranks, Sugarman shows tensions between POW officers and other ranks/common soldiers, a topic seldom fully covered in POW history. Useful for veterans' organizations, commemoration events, and family history research. Recommended." - Choice, Vol. 51, No. 1, September 2014 *** "Any library that has a reference collection devoted to or has an interest in Jewish servicemen during the Second World War will welcome this effort." - AJL Reviews, September/October 2014 [Subject: History, World War II, Jewish Studies, Japanese Studies]Ã?Â?Ã?Â?

    While for many, Japan still conjures up images of rampant military brutality, at different times and in different communities, alternative images of the Japanese 'Other' have vied for predominance - in ways that remain poorly understood, not least within Japan itself. Imagining Japan in Postwar East Asia analyses the portrayal of Japan in the societies of East and Southeast Asia, and asks how and why this has changed in recent decades, and what these changing images of Japan reveal about the ways in which these societies construct their own identities. It examines the role played by an imagined 'Japan' in the construction of national selves across the East Asian region, as mediated through a broad range of media ranging from school curricula and textbooks to film, television, literature and comics. Commencing with an extensive thematic and comparative overview chapter, the volume also includes contributions focusing specifically on Chinese societies (the mainland PRC, Hong Kong and Taiwan), Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore. These studies show how changes in the representation of Japan have been related to political, social and cultural shifts within the societies of East Asia - and in particular to the ways in which these societies have imagined or constructed their own identities.Bringing together contributors working in the fields of education, anthropology, history, sociology, political science and media studies, this interdisciplinary volume will be of interest to all students and scholars concerned with issues of identity, politics and culture in the societies of East Asia, and to those seeking a deeper understanding of Japan's fraught relations with its regional neighbours.

    Shunga literally means “picture of spring”—“spring” being a common Japanese euphemism for sex—and the works celebrate all facets of human sexuality with great candor.Unlike earlier books that have tended to focus on individual artists, this new publication has a thematic structure, covering the whole spectrum of sexual practice and expression, including adultery and jealousy, voyeurism, orgasm, and violent sex and death. Using images from his own unparalleled collection, Ofer Shagan brings the rich and vast world of shunga to modern view, highlighting the messages, symbols, and humor that often appear in the background but are fundamentally significant for understanding the messages in the art.

    is a well-known hub of politics, history, and culture. Monuments throughout the city honor the nation's great heroes and events. Landmarks of education abound in the capital, including the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution. Discover the city on the Potomac and its fascinating inhabitants in this title.

    Superbly crafted and often highly decorated Japanese objects—lacquer, metalwork, ceramics, enamels, and other decorative items—stimulated and inspired Western artists and craftsmen to produce their own works. Arts of the Meiji period (1868–1912) were displayed at international exhibitions, in the galleries of influential dealers, and at fashionable stores.Artists from van Gogh, Whistler, Monet, and Edouard Manet to Klimt and Schiele were all, to varying degrees, influenced by the Japanese art. Van Gogh himself stated that he owed his inspiration to Japanese art, but he was probably not conscious of the full extent to which art in Europe had already been influenced by that of Japan.

    These photos were originally published on the author's website miniature-calendar.com from April 2011 to August 2013. Written in English and Japanese. Published in Japan.

    Half civilian and half military, they faced the prospect of returning somehow to a Japan that lay prostrate, its cities destroyed, after years of warfare and Allied bombing campaigns. Among them were more than 600,000 soldiers of Japan’s army in Manchuria, who had surrendered to the Red Army only to be transported to Soviet labor camps, mainly in Siberia. Held for between two and four years, and some far longer, amid forced labor and reeducation campaigns, they waited for return, never knowing when or if it would come. Drawing on a wide range of memoirs, art, poetry, and contemporary records, The Gods Left First reconstructs their experience of captivity, return, and encounter with a postwar Japan that now seemed as alien as it had once been familiar. In a broader sense, this study is a meditation on the meaning of survival for Japan’s continental repatriates, showing that their memories of involvement in Japan’s imperial project were both a burden and the basis for a new way of life.

    Writing War seeks to remedy this imbalance by examining over two hundred diaries, and many more letters, postcards, and memoirs, written by Chinese, Japanese, and American servicemen from 1937 to 1945, the period of total war in Asia and the Pacific. As he describes conflicts that have often been overlooked in the history of World War II, Aaron William Moore reflects on diaries as tools in the construction of modern identity, which is important to our understanding of history.Any discussion of war responsibility, Moore contends, requires us first to establish individuals as reasonably responsible for their actions. Diaries, in which men develop and assert their identities, prove immensely useful for this task. Tracing the evolution of diarists' personal identities in conjunction with their battlefield experience, Moore explores how the language of the state, mass media, and military affected attitudes toward war, without determining them entirely. He looks at how propaganda worked to mobilize soldiers, and where it failed. And his comparison of the diaries of Japanese and American servicemen allows him to challenge the assumption that East Asian societies of this era were especially prone to totalitarianism. Moore follows the experience of soldiering into the postwar period as well, and considers how the continuing use of wartime language among veterans made their reintegration into society more difficult.

    Explore the grand palaces of regal emperors and shoguns, be amazed by the fighting skills of the feuding samurai, and admire the exquisite embroidery of the palace women's glossy silk kimonos. Step-by-step projects allow you to delve into everyday life and find out about ancient Japanese foods, skills and fashions.

    The Grabhorn prints in the collection of the Asian Art Museum comprise the upper echelons of the original collection. The collection includes a superb selection of early monochrome and hand-colored ukiyo-e prints by Sugimura Jihei, Torii Kiyonobu, Okumura Masanobu and others, from the seminal decades of the woodblock print production in the late 1600s and early 1700s.Japanese Prints from the Grabhorn Collection marks the first time these prints are being published in quantity for a wide audience. Leading scholars David Waterhouse and Julia Meech provide in-depth looks at the prints in their Japanese contexts and at Grabhorn's role as a print collector. Large full-color reproductions all 140 of the Grabhorn prints in the Asian Art Museum's collection are accompanied by entries by Laura Allen and Melissa Rinne.

    1938), one of Japan’s most influential photographers, has created an innovative body of work, often depicting the breakdown of traditional values in postwar Japan. Moriyama emerged from the Provoke movement of the ’60s, which challenged Japan’s rigid artistic formalities. He was influenced by his contemporary Shomei Tomatsu, as well as the work of William Klein, Andy Warhol’s silkscreened newspaper images, and the writings of Jack Kerouac. His images have a gritty, high-contrast black-and-white aesthetic, or “are, bure, boke” (grainy, blurry, out-of-focus), and concentrate on little-seen parts of the city to reveal the fragmentary nature of modern life. The only survey of his work in English, this book beautifully reproduces Moriyama’s pictures and includes two newly translated texts on the artist: “The Myth of the City” by Koji Taki and “Reconsidering ‘Grainy, Blurry, Out-of-focus’” by Minoru Shimizu.

    Merwin and Takako Lento as co-translators of this book is close to ideal, and this is the best English translation of haiku that has ever been published. Their English translations are accurate and poetic and there is nothing better for introducing this great poet.”—Donald Keene, Anahorish Japanese Literature"For a translator to be faithful and readable, as Mr. Merwin always is, is no small achievement."—The New York Times"From Latin to Russian to Japanese, translator [W.S. Merwin]'s oeuvre suggests an intrepid quality as well as a scrutinizing sympathy."—Boston ReviewThis is the first complete bilingual (Japanese/English) translation of the Buson Kushu, a comprehensive collection of the haiku of Yosa Buson (1716–83). Buson's haiku brim with paradox: they are bawdy yet delicate, sparse yet powerful. W.S. Merwin and Takako Lento worked for a decade to co-translate these poems into English-language versions as luminous as the original Japanese. An essential volume of world literature."187"keisei wanochi no yo kaketehanami kanaCourtesans come outto see the cherry blossomsas though they were betting on their next lifeYosa Buson (1716–1783) was one of the great poets of Japan's Edo period. His work is technically adroit and finely attuned to visual details. A true maverick of interdisciplinary arts, Buson was also founder of the haiga—a small watercolor or black-and-white painting bordered by a haiku.W.S. Merwin was US Poet Laureate from 2010–11 and won his second Pulitzer Prize for The Shadow of Sirius (Copper Canyon Press, 2009) and the National Book Award for Migration: New and Selected Poems (Copper Canyon Press, 2005). He lives in Hawaii and France.Co-translator Takako Lento holds an MFA in poetry and translation from the Iowa Writers' Workshop.

    1 & 2, is designed to enable such students to systematically and efficiently learn kanji and kanji-based vocabulary indispensable to Japanese communication.This edition has been revised to meet the standards set forth in the Kaitei Jōyō Kanji Hyō, a revised list standardizing use of kanji in modern written Japanese, which was first published in 2010.- [Workbook] carries important information on the usage of the vocabulary in the Main Book, including useful phrases, related words and sentence examples.- [Workbook Vol. 1] corresponds to the vocabulary appearing in Levels 1 to 3 (kanji numbers 1-1200) of the Main Book.[Workbook Vol. 2] corresponding to Levels 4-7 (kanji numbers 1201-2136)

    Abutsu crossed gender and genre barriers by writing the first career guide for Japanese noblewomen, the first female-authored poetry treatise, and the first poetic travelogue by a woman--all despite the increasingly limited social mobility for women during the Kamakura era (1185-1336). Capitalizing on her literary talent and political prowess, Abutsu rose from middling origins and single-motherhood to a prestigious marriage and membership in an esteemed literary lineage.Abutsu's life is well documented in her own letters, diaries, and commentaries, as well as in critiques written by rivals, records of poetry events, and legal documents. Drawing on these and other literary and historiographical sources, including The Tale of Genji, author Christina Laffin demonstrates how medieval women responded to institutional changes that transformed their lives as court attendants, wives, and nuns. Despite increased professionalization of the arts, competition over sources of patronage, and rivaling claims to literary expertise, Abutsu proved her poetic capabilities through her work and often used patriarchal ideals of femininity to lay claim to political and literary authority.Rewriting Medieval Japanese Women effectively challenges notions that literary salons in Japan were a phenomenon limited to the Heian period (794-1185) and that literary writing and scholarship were the domain of men during the Kamakura era. Its analysis of literary works within the context of women's history makes clear the important role that medieval women and their cultural contributions continued to play in Japanese history.

    Each crisis provoked successively escalating crusades against opium and other drugs, in which moral entrepreneurs--bureaucrats, cultural producers, merchants, law enforcement, scientists, and doctors, among others--focused on drug use as a means of distinguishing between populations fit and unfit for self-rule. Moral Nation traces the instrumental role of ideologies about narcotics in the country's efforts to reestablish its legitimacy as a nation and empire.As Kingsberg demonstrates, Japan's growing status as an Asian power and a moral nation expanded the notion of civilization from an exclusively Western value to a universal one. Scholars and students of Japanese history, Asian studies, world history, and global studies will gain an in-depth understanding of how Japan's experience with narcotics influenced global standards for sovereignty and shifted the aim of nation building, making it no longer a strictly political activity but also a moral obligation to society.

    The Battle of Midway, commemorated annually in the U.S. Navy, warrants close attention. This Naval Institute guide includes some of the most vibrant and informed accounts by individuals who fought on both sides of the June 1942 battle. The anthology pulls together memoirs, articles, excerpts from other Naval Institute books, and relevant government documents to help readers understand what happened and explain why the battle was so significant to the naval service. The core of the book focuses on events leading up to the battle and the battle itself, with a separate section examining how others have interpreted the battle's often desperate engagements. When the U.S. Navy stopped the Japanese steamroller off Midway Island, it not only turned the progress of the war but set the Navy's foundation for future counter offensives. The Navy's comeback spread to the Solomon Islands and on to the other key strategic areas in the Pacific. While many know that Midway was a crucial American victory, they often do not know the details of the battle. This book tells how, for example, the American PT boats contributed to the victory, how the carrier planes formed up for their attacks, and what role radar played in the battle. In addition to excerpts from books and articles, the guide includes selections from several important Naval Institute oral histories. From the enlisted man's perspective all the way to the admiral's, for both Americans and Japanese, readers see the U.S. Navy's greatest victory as the participants saw it.

    Yoko Ono is an established avant-garde artist whose work spans installations, object, film, photography, and music. Named after her renowned 1967 exhibition Half a Wind at London's Lisson Gallery, this volume features Ono's most important projects. It also includes photographs of Ono surrounded by her art, either as creator or participant, as well as her billboards, "instructions," letters, invitations to her performances, and exhibition posters. Paying special tribute to her work of the 1960s and 1970s, this publication reveals Ono's influence on the avant-garde art movement--from Fluxus to performance--and highlights her timeless efforts on behalf of world peace.

    The former bad boy of Japanese film is now a regular at the world's most prestigious film festivals. Tom Mes, whose groundbreaking Agitator: The Cinema of Takashi Miike helped shape this filmmaker's international career, has been along for the ride ever since Audition turned heads and stomachs at the turn of the millennium. This new book collects more than ten years' worth of his writing on Miike. From dusty film sets in Japan to festival intrigue on the Riviera, and from the straight-to-video ghetto to the stage, Mes covers the full scope of this unclassifiable filmmaker's life and work -- with the kind of detail and intimacy that only an insider can provide. Fully endorsed by the filmmaker himself, the full-colour Re-Agitator: A Decade of Writing on Takashi Miike also features a provocative foreword and a gallery of unique set photos by longtime Miike collaborator Christian Storms. This book is not Agitator Part 2. It doesn't continue where the first one left off, but rather collects the vast majority of the writing on Miike that Mes has done over the years for magazines, websites, DVD liner notes, in non-English-language books, as well as for festival catalogues. This luxurious coffee-table hardback also contains previously unpublished material, like an interview recorded at the 2005 Venice film festival, plus a piece on 13 Assassins written exclusively for this book. The wide variety of sources and formats of these texts entails that there is an equally wide variety in styles, tones, and approaches: from impressionistic reviews to personal eyewitness accounts and loose, appreciative write-ups. Re-Agitator is also an opportunity to add some context and background on the development of the Japanese film industry over the past twenty years and Miike's career therein, something that was largely absent from Agitator. The publisher and author also feel very fortunate to be able to include a series of very candid behind-the-scenes photographs taken during the troubled production of Sukiyaki Western Django.

    This volume puts developments in Japan and its empire in dialogue with this global phenomenon. Arguing against the popular stereotype of Japan as a non-litigious society, an international group of contributors from Japan, Taiwan, Germany, and the U.S., explores how in Japan and its colonies, as elsewhere in the modern world, law became a fundamental means of creating and regulating gendered subjects and social norms in the period from the 1870s to the 1950s. Rather than viewing legal discourse and the courts merely as technologies of state control, the authors suggest that they were subject to negotiation, interpretation, and contestation at every level of their formulation and deployment. With this as a shared starting point, they explore key issues such reproductive and human rights, sexuality, prostitution, gender and criminality, and the formation of the modern conceptions of family and conjugality, and use these issues to complicate our understanding of the impact of civil, criminal, and administrative laws upon the lives of both Japanese citizens and colonial subjects. The result is a powerful rethinking of not only gender and law, but also the relationships between the state and civil society, the metropole and the colonies, and Japan and the West.Collectively, the essays offer a new framework for the history of gender in modern Japan and revise our understanding of both law and gender in an era shaped by modernization, nation and empire-building, war, occupation, and decolonization. With its broad chronological time span and compelling and yet accessible writing, Gender and Law in the Japanese Imperium will be a powerful addition to any course on modern Japanese history and of interest to readers concerned with gender, society, and law in other parts of the world.Contributors: Barbara J. Brooks, Daniel Botsman, Susan L. Burns, Chen Chao-Ju, Darryl Flaherty, Harald Fuess, Sally A. Hastings, Douglas Howland, Matsutani Motokazu.

    For this guide we asked Rob to only give us the very best spots—places he goes back to again and again, and where he sends all his friends.This book is lightweight, easy-to-use and jam-packed with information—including maps, photos and tips on making the most of your stay. From the lavish grandeur of a Shogun's memorial shrine to a volcanic hot spring bath and Ryokan to Japan's many UNESCO World Heritage sites like the rock garden at Kyoto's Ryoan-ji Temple—this pocket guide truly offers something for everyone. The range of suggested excursions is exceptional, from hiking up iconic Mt. Fuji to shopping in Tokyo's famous Omotesando fashion district and hitting the slopes at Niseko, home of the world's best champagne powder. The detailed folded map at the back is a huge added bonus!

    Since its enshrinement in the classical literary canon as early as the eleventh century, the work has also been the object of intensive study and extensive commentary. Its idiosyncratic form--125 loosely connected episodes recounting the life and loves of an anonymous courtier--and mysterious authorship have provoked centuries of explication.Jamie Newhard's study skillfully combines primary-source research with a theoretically framed analysis, exploring commentaries from the medieval period into the early twentieth century, and situating the text's critical reception within an evolving historical and social context. By giving a more comprehensive picture of the social networks and scholastic institutions within which literary scholarship developed and circulated, Newhard identifies the ideological, methodological, and literary issues that shaped the commentators' agendas as the audience for classical literature expanded beyond aristocratic circles to include other social groups. Her approach illuminates how exegesis of Tales of Ise ultimately reflects shifting historical and social assessments that construct, transform, and transmit the literary and cultural value of the work over time.

    These are the gems of the monochrome photos taken using the classic twin lens reflex Rolleiflex, covering the history of the photographer with this camera.My passion for the 6 × 6 square format and great attachment to Rollei are very apparent in this collection.The theme of Volume 1 is Classic.My monochrome world will inspire in you nostalgia for the beauty and reassuring retro ambience of the good old days.Takako Takahashi profileJune 12, 2004 I encountered the Rolleiflex on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of my marriage and fell in love with it at first sight.The first camera I ever owned was a twin lens reflex.Enchanted by the square world of the reflected images, I traveled around taking photos, mainly landscapes, and confined myself inside the darkroom day after day to represent what I saw in monochrome.The square space visible through the viewfinder somehow relaxes me.It will keep inviting me into a different dimension of my surroundings in the future.With deep admiration for such a world, I press the shutter release.

    Tikotin built successful galleries in Dresden and Berlin before World War II, and during the conflict he went into hiding but managed to survive and keep his collection intact. He donated his huge collection of Japanese Art to the city of Haifa in 1960 and founded the Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art there. This catalog contains more than one hundred works of art featuring Japanese ghosts and spirits, including paintings, prints, and miniature carvings called netsuke.