Photographer Eiji Ohashi gained a deeper appreciation of Japan's ubiquitous vending machines one harsh night in his Hokkaido hometown of Wakkanai, Japan's northernmost city. Roadside Lights, by Eiji Ohashi.44 pages ZEN FOTO GALLERY, Photography. Caught in a fierce snowstorm, he was able to navigate his way home only by the lights of the ...
Richard Henry Brunton was a Scottish engineer who came to Japan in 1868, one of a number of o-yatoi-gaikokujin — ...
Anyone on the lookout for "weird Japan" culture, take note. Tokyo Geek's Guide, by Gianni Simone.144 pages TUTTLE, Nonfiction. Around the world, Japan's ...
"A Tokyo Anthology" is the latest in a series of books that aims to introduce Japanese literature to readers within the context of history and cultural developments. "An Edo Anthology" came out in 2013 and covers the century from 1750. "A Kamigata Anthology" is ...
The bulk of Martin Cruz Smith's "Tokyo Station" is set in 1941, when the impending war with the Allied Forces was the talk of Tokyo. Tokyo Station, by Martin Cruz Smith.464 pages SIMON & SCHUSTER, Fiction. Yet a third of the way into the book, which was ...
Karin Tanabe's fourth novel explores the experience of Japanese and German internees in the U.S. during World War II, set against the experience of foreign detainees in Japan. The Diplomat's Daughter, by Karin Tanabe.464 pages SIMON & SCHUSTER, Fiction. She deliberately focuses on less-explored stories such as ...
The accomplishments of Japanese poet, novelist and essayist Naoki Higashida are impressive. He's published more than 20 books in Japanese, pens a popular blog and is seeing the release this month of his second book in English — all before his 25th birthday in ...
This 1957 novel has at its heart Shusaku Endo's fascination with a seemingly tranquil and civilized postwar Japan still traumatized by the horrors of the Pacific War. Even a harmless-looking gas station attendant might be a grizzled war veteran involved in brutal killings on ...
There's a lot of pink in Sonia Saikaley's latest collection of poetry. Given the fairy tale-like title, the deluge of sakura-related imagery was expected. The blood from rape instead of battle, was not. A Samurai's Pink House, by Sonia Saikaley.120 pages INANNA, Poetry. As frustrating in its ...
Ask just about anyone with a keen interest in Japan to name their favorites from the nation's rich literary history and they are likely to rattle off a few famous names. But ask the same person for their favorite Japanese critics, and stony silence ...
The "Great Man" theory of history has largely been discredited. Propounded by Thomas Carlyle in the 1840s, it suggests that history is moved and swayed by the personalities of "great men" such as Alexander the Great and Napoleon. While there are clearly examples throughout ...
Hiromi Kawakami is fast becoming the go-to novelist for publishers looking to expand their Japanese list, slipping effortlessly into the "quirky" space once occupied by Banana Yoshimoto. "The Nakano Thrift Shop" is exactly what readers have come to expect from her: eccentric character excavations ...
By now, even the most casual observer of goings on in Asia will have noted the aggressive geopolitical maneuvering of China, a country news outlets have taken to calling "resurgent." Everything Under the Heavens: How the Past Helps Shape China's Push For Global Power, by ...
Based on the true story of a stock trader, the 1965 novel "The Informer" is remarkably prescient in describing the greed and venality that was, two decades later, to become a hallmark of the delirious days of Japan's bubble-era economy. The Informer, by Akimitsu Takagi, ...
The rituals, theatrical constructs and sartorial styles connected to this ancient martial art may seem visually arresting to the uninitiated, but as "Discover Sumo" tells us, there is much more to Japan's national sport than meets the eye. Discover Sumo: Stories from Yobidashi Hideo, by ...
