The novel follows the (mis)adventures of its travel-addicted protagonist Zack, and in that respect is similar thematically to Alex Garland's 'The Beach' or Gregory David Roberts' 'Shantaram.' Accordingly, the reader is viscerally transported into the surreal realms of Roppongi, as Zack attempts to come to terms with a series of life-changing events unfolding at rapid pace. In the process, the novel punches through the impossibly glamorous surface of Roppongi and plunges the reader deep into its seedy underbelly ... showing a disturbing side of Japan not often written about in the English language.

    Newly revised and updated, A History of Japan is a fascinating look at the nation of Japan throughout history. Starting in ancient Japan during its early pre-history period A History of Japan covers every important aspect of history and culture through feudal Japan to the post-cold War period and collapse of the Bubble Economy in the early 1990's. Recent findings shed additional light on the origins of Japanese civilization and the birth of Japanese culture. Also included is an in-depth analysis of the Japanese religion, Japanese arts, Japanese culture and the Japanese People from the 6th century B.C.E. to the present. This contemporary classic, now updated and revised, continues to be an essential text in Japanese studies. Classic illustrations and unique pictures are dispersed throughout the book.A History of Japan, Revised Edition includes: Archaic Japan—including Yamato, the creation of a unified state, the Nana Period, and the Heian period Medieval Japan— including rule by the military houses, the failure of Ashikaga Rule, Buddhism, and the Kamakura and Muroachi Periods periods Ealy Modern Japan—including Japanese feudalism, administration under the Tokugawa, and society and culture in early modern Japan Modern Japan—including The Meiji Era and policies for modernization, from consensus to crisis (1912-1937), and solutions through force This contemporary classic continues to be a central book in Japanese studies and is an vital addition to the collection of any student or enthusiast of Japanese history, Japanese culture, or the Japanese Language.

    The samurai emerged as a warrior caste in medieval Japan and would have a powerful influence on the history and culture of the country for the next 500 years.

    Before long, the shogun surrendered to the emperor, a new constitution was adopted, and Japan emerged as a modern, industrialized state.Despite the length of his reign, little has been written about the strangely obscured figure of Meiji himself, the first emperor ever to meet a European. Most historians discuss the period that takes his name while barely mentioning the man, assuming that he had no real involvement in affairs of state. Even Japanese who believe Meiji to have been their nation's greatest ruler may have trouble recalling a single personal accomplishment that might account for such a glorious reputation. Renowned Japan scholar Donald Keene sifts the available evidence to present a rich portrait not only of Meiji but also of rapid and sometimes violent change during this pivotal period in Japan's history.In this vivid and engrossing biography, we move with the emperor through his early, traditional education; join in the formal processions that acquainted the young emperor with his country and its people; observe his behavior in court, his marriage, and his relationships with various consorts; and follow his maturation into a "Confucian" sovereign dedicated to simplicity, frugality, and hard work. Later, during Japan's wars with China and Russia, we witness Meiji's struggle to reconcile his personal commitment to peace and his nation's increasingly militarized experience of modernization. Emperor of Japan conveys in sparkling prose the complexity of the man and offers an unrivaled portrait of Japan in a period of unique interest.

    At night, however, it transforms into a “floating world” of escapism, as “all-work” salarymen seek a place to play. Though fascinated by Japanese language and culture, American Lea Jacobson had some difficulty conforming to Japan’s rigidly structured society. After she was fired from her job as an English teacher, Lea found work as a nightclub hostess on Tokyo’s Ginza strip and transformed herself into a doll-like confection whose job it was to flatter, flirt, and engage in mock relationships with her middle-aged clients. Working as a hostess—the occupation a direct descendant of the geisha tradition—quickly became lucrative...and addictive.Her perceptions distorted by the drinks she was paid to consume, her identity confused by the fake personalities she assumed nightly, Jacobson began to lose herself in this fantasy culture.  As she descended into self-abuse and alcoholism, she found that the seductive lifestyle she loved so much seemed impossible to escape.Jacobson’s searing insights into Japan’s cultural dynamics, erotic fascinations, gender politics, and her own spiral into sensory excess create a haunting and mesmerizing memoir that will leave readers transfixed.

    We are also taking on the study of the “lore of the folk,” and this faces us with the question of exactly which folk we are talking about. Japan, of course, is a single nation, but its origins are so old and often so fragmented that unified mythology and folklore can be difficult to point to. Still, in all, there are some key texts, tales, and characters we can focus on which will give us a pretty good sense of Japanese mythology. In this book, you'll discover stories of mystery, horror, and romance while simultaneously learning about the Japanese culture. Within this book, you'll find the following Japanese myths and topics covered The Creation Stories The Myths of Origins The Journey to the Underworld The Wanderings of Susano-o The Birth of Amaterasu, Trukuyumi, Susawono, and the Leech-Child The Story of the Comb and the Curse Amaterasu and Susanowo The Contract of Amaterasu and Susawono Stories of the Three Most Evil Yokai of Japan Stories of Helpful Yokai My Lord Bag of Rice The Story of Urashima Taro The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter and Kaguya hime The Legend of Yamato Takeru Contemporary Versions of Japanese Mythology And more! Download the book now and learn more about Japanese mythology

    By the time the sea retreated, more than 18,500 people had been crushed, burned to death, or drowned.It was Japan’s greatest single loss of life since the atomic bombing of Nagasaki. It set off a national crisis, and the meltdown of a nuclear power plant. And even after the immediate emergency had abated, the trauma of the disaster continued to express itself in bizarre and mysterious ways.Richard Lloyd Parry, an award-winning foreign correspondent, lived through the earthquake in Tokyo, and spent six years reporting from the disaster zone. There he encountered stories of ghosts and hauntings. He met a priest who performed exorcisms on people possessed by the spirits of the dead. And he found himself drawn back again and again to a village which had suffered the greatest loss of all, a community tormented by unbearable mysteries of its own.What really happened to the local children as they waited in the school playground in the moments before the tsunami? Why did their teachers not evacuate them to safety? And why was the unbearable truth being so stubbornly covered up?Ghosts of the Tsunami is a classic of literary non-fiction, a heart-breaking and intimate account of an epic tragedy, told through the personal accounts of those who lived through it. It tells the story of how a nation faced a catastrophe, and the bleak struggle to find consolation in the ruins.

    First, visit Kyoto, where you will discover 1,000 years of history from the ancient love story the Tale of Genji to the traditional tea ceremony. Then head to Tokyo to experience Japan’s cutting-edge capital, where the 21st-century kawaii culture collides with landmarks like the Kabuki-za Theater and the ImperialPalace. For a different perspective, venture outside the city to the serene towns of Tohoku, the region largely affected by the 2011 tsunami disaster. Informative, entertaining, and useful, this book is an ideal introduction for any traveler looking for a deeper understanding of Japanese culture, past and present.

    Their name means "one who serves." Years of training, discipline, and self-sacrifice combined with advanced weaponry and unprecedented tactical acumen created a force unmatched over centuries of Japanese history.Samurai explores the essence, truth, and wisdom of these remarkable warriors. It features renowned samurai warriors, their weapons, armor, and military strategies and illuminates their unwavering Bushido philosophy—the strict code of honor requiring absolute loyalty to their master above all else, and ritual suicide in preference to dying a dishonorable death.This book explores the spirit, body, and minds of these sublime paladins who long ago passed into legend, but still live on today.

    

    With their elaborate armour, fierce swordsmanship and code of honour, the samurai have become iconic figures whose influence can still be felt today . From Kurosawa's epic Seven Samurai to the figure of Darth Vader in Star Wars, to Manga comics and video games, the figure of the fighting samurai still inspires us today. In John Man's new book we discover the truth behind the legend.From his birth in the shadow of the great volcano Sakurajima, to his glorious death by ritual suicide and disembowelment, Saigo Takamori was the ultimate Samurai leader. His fall brought about the end of hundreds of years of Samurai tradition and in many ways marks the birth of modern Japan. Saigo was a man trapped by paradox: a faithful servant to the emperor, and yet a leader of rebel troops; a mighty Samurai warrior, and also a master of Chinese poetry. His life, and ultimately his death, offer a window into the hundreds of years of culture and tradition that defined the samurai.

    . .Japan, and the year is 1853. Growing up among the samurai of the Satsuma Clan, in Japan's deep south, the fiery, beautiful and headstrong Okatsu has - like all the clan's women - been encouraged to be bold, taught to wield the halberd, and to ride a horse.But when she is just seventeen, four black ships appear. Bristling with cannon and manned by strangers who to the Japanese eyes are barbarians, their appearance threatens Japan’s very existence. And turns Okatsu’s world upside down.Chosen by her feudal lord, she has been given a very special role to play. Given a new name -- Princess Atsu -- and a new destiny, she is the only one who can save the realm. Her journey takes her to Edo Castle, a place so secret that it cannot be marked on any map. There, sequestered in the Women’s Palace - home to three thousand women, and where only one man may enter: the shogun - she seems doomed to live out her days. But beneath the palace's immaculate facade, there are whispers of murders and ghosts. It is here that Atsu must complete her mission and discover one last secret - the secret of the man whose fate is irrevocably linked to hers: the shogun himself . . .

    In this vibrant new biography, Mark Ravina, professor of history and Director of East Asian Studies at Emory University, explores the facts behind Hollywood storytelling and Japanese legends, and explains the passion and poignancy of Saigo's life. Known both for his scholarly research and his appearances on The History Channel, Ravina recreates the world in which Saigo lived and died, the last days of the samurai. "The Last Samurai" traces Saigo's life from his early days as a tax clerk in far southwestern Japan, through his rise to national prominence as a fierce imperial loyalist. Saigo was twice exiled for his political activities -- sent to Japan's remote southwestern islands where he fully expected to die. But exile only increased his reputation for loyalty, and in 1864 he was brought back to the capital to help his lord fight for the restoration of the emperor. In 1868, Saigo commanded his lord's forces in the battles which toppled the shogunate and he became and leader in the emperor Meiji's new government. But Saigo found only anguish in national leadership. He understood the need for a modern conscript army but longed for the days of the traditional warrior.Saigo hoped to die in service to the emperor. In 1873, he sought appointment as envoy to Korea, where he planned to demand that the Korean king show deference to the Japanese emperor, drawing his sword, if necessary, top defend imperial honor. Denied this chance to show his courage and loyalty, he retreated to his homeland and spent his last years as a schoolteacher, training samurai boys in frugality, honesty, and courage. In 1876, when the government stripped samurai of their swords, Saigo's followers rose in rebellion and Saigo became their reluctant leader. His insurrection became the bloodiest war Japan had seen in centuries, killing over 12,000 men on both sides and nearly bankrupting the new imperial government. The imperial government denounced Saigo as a rebel and a traitor, but their propaganda could not overcome his fame and in 1889, twelve years after his death, the government relented, pardoned Saigo of all crimes, and posthumously restored him to imperial court rank.In THE LAST SAMURAI, Saigo is as compelling a character as Robert E. Lee was to Americans-a great and noble warrior who followed the dictates of honor and loyalty, even though it meant civil war in a country to which he'd devoted his life. Saigo's life is a fascinating look into Japanese feudal society and a history of a country as it struggled between its long traditions and the dictates of a modern future.

    It transformed Japan from a country of hundreds of feudal domains under the hegemony of the Tokugawa Shogun, into a modern industrialized world power under the unifying rule of the Emperor. The shogun was head of the ruling Tokugawa family, and his regime was known as the Tokugawa Bakufu (Bakufu, for short).The first chapter of Samurai Revolution opens with the arrival of American warships commanded by Commodore Matthew Perry in 1853, sparking the revolution that would end with the fall of the Bakufu in 1868. The last chapter ends with the crushing defeat in 1877 of an army of former samurai who stood against the Imperial government they had created, marking the end of the samurai era, and with it the last vestiges of feudal Japan.The series of tumultuous events between 1853 and 1868 are collectively called the Meiji Restoration (i.e., the restoration of Imperial rule). The Meiji Restoration was Japan’s modern revolution. It was different from other great revolutions in that it was brought about by men of the ruling caste—i.e., samurai. It is a human drama of epic proportion, which is how author Romulus Hillsborough treats it in Samurai Revolution. And just as the Meiji Restoration was “the dawn of modern Japan,” knowledge of this history is essential for understanding the complexities of today’s Japan.The overthrow of the Bakufu in 1868 sparked a contained civil war that would have spread throughout the country, endangering Japan’s sovereignty, had Katsu Kaishu, as commander in chief of the fallen shogun’s still formidable military, not negotiated an eleventh-hour peace with Saigo Takamori, commander of the Imperial Army.While Katsu is a household name in Japan, Samurai Revolution, based largely on primary sources, is the first comprehensive English language treatment of the man’s life, mind, and important role in the Meiji Restoration, though Hillsborough has written about him in other books as well. And though the focus is on Katsu Kaishu, this book is more of a history than a traditional biography. In telling this history from the perspective of Katsu Kaishu, commissioner of the shogun’s navy and later supreme commander of the Tokugawa military, Hillsborough also portrays an array of other leading players in the Meiji Restoration drama – examining their values and social systems, their culture and ideals, their desires and fears, and their historical perspectives – against a backdrop of tumultuous events that would change their world forever.OverviewThe Introduction provides the historical and political background of Japan under the hegemony of the Tokugawa Bakufu. The body of Samurai Revolution (not including the Epilogue) is divided into two Books (published as one volume), comprising a brief Prologue and five distinct Parts in 37 Chapters, and ending with the lengthy Epilogue and Appendix.Book 1: The Fall of the Tokugawa Bakufu (1853-1868) covers the cataclysmic fifteen-year history of the fall of the Bakufu and the restoration of Imperial rule–i.e., the Meiji Restoration (1853-1868). The Prologue and Parts I through III comprise Book 1.Book 2: The Rise of Imperial Japan (1868-1878), comprised of Parts IV and V, chronicles the first decade of Imperial Japan (1868-1877) under the newly restored monarchy.The Epilogue summarizes the last two decades of Katsu Kaishu’s life (1879-1899).Throughout the volume, Hillsborough quotes Katsu Kaishu, a prolific writer, focusing on his journals, letters, histories, biographical sketches, and oral memoirs. (All citations are Hillsborough’s own translations of the original texts.) As such, Kaishu’s unique personality – the down-to-earth attitude, magnanimity, scathing humor, genius in overcoming adversity, and humanity – come forth.Fourteen of the thirty-seven chapters focus on historical events and sociocultural phenomena in which Katsu Kaishu had little or no direct involvement–but which nonetheless had a profound effect on him personally and on Japanese society and history overall. The remaining twenty-three chapters focus either on Katsu Kaishu or events in which he was directly involved.The revolution, broadly speaking, pitted three of the most powerful samurai clans – Satsuma, Choshu and Tosa – against the Bakufu and its allies, with the Emperor and his Court caught in the middle. Beside Katsu Kaishu, among the most prominent men are: Ii Naosuké, the boy-shogun’s dictatorial regent whose assassination in the spring of 1860 marked the beginning of the end of the Bakufu; Tokugawa Yoshinobu, the last shogun, whose rise and fall is integral to this history; Saigo Takamori and Okubo Toshimichi, who emerged, respectively, as the military and political leaders of Satsuma, the former the driving force behind the revolution, the latter the most powerful man in the early Imperial government; Yoshida Shoin, Takasugi Shinsaku, and Katsura Kogoro, respectively the spiritual/academic, military and political leaders of Choshu, without whom the revolution, as it happened, would have been unachievable; and the outlaw samurai Sakamoto Ryoma of Tosa, who, formerly Katsu Kaishu’s protégé, brokered the military alliance between Satsuma and Choshu to overthrow the government his mentor represented.Samurai Revolution is the first English-language presentation and analyses of these powerful and alluring personalities in one volume aimed at a general international audience.

    But in a country whose calendar is marked with occasions honoring the dead, he comes to reflect on changelessness in ways that anyone can relate to: parents age, children scatter, and Iyer and his wife turn to whatever can sustain them as everything falls away. As the maple leaves begin to turn and the heat begins to soften, Iyer shows us a Japan we have seldom seen before, where the transparent and the mysterious are held in a delicate balance, and where autumn reminds us to take nothing for granted.