No other period in Japan’s literary history was as dominated by women as the Heian Period (794-1185). Most Japanophiles know names such as Sei Shonagon (“The Pillow Book”) or Murasaki Shikibu (“The Tale of Genji”) for their contributions to the world of literature, but Izumi Shikibu (Shikibu is a title, ...
Hiroshi Sugimoto’s photography is mesmerizing partly because of its other-worldly perfection — his black-and-white prints are flawless. On its own, ...
The famous question, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” is a Zen koan; a deliberately obtuse poem used ...
Modernist 20th-century writer Sakutaro Hagiwara redefined Japanese poetry with his free-style verse and daringly common subject matter; he reached sublime heights by examining the mundane. Cat Town, by Sakutaro Hagiwara, Translated by Hiroaki Sato.NYRB Poets, Poetry. Published by the New York Review of Books’ ...
Kyoto has long been generous to its writers, stretching from Murasaki Shikibu, with “The Tale of Genji,” right through to Yukio Mishima, with “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion.” The poet Matsuo Basho also penned several memorable haiku while decamped here. The City that ...
“The Art of Japanese Dyeing Patterns” is a small catalog of sorts on tenugui (dyed Japanese cotton towel) maker Kamawanu, and where the book excels is in its photography. Beautiful photos of Kawamanu’s workshops, stores and towels fill the pages, with close-up images capturing ...
Yasushi Inoue’s “Life of a Counterfeiter,” translated by Michael Emmerich, contains three stories: the eponymous novella and two shorter pieces, “Reeds” and “Mr Goodall’s Gloves.” Life of a Counterfeiter, by Yasushi Inoue, Translated by Michael Emmerich.Pushkin Press, Fiction. “Life of a Counterfeiter” concerns a ...
With “The Iris Fan,” Laura Joh Rowland draws to a close her long-running saga of righteous Edo Period lawman Sano Ichiro. From “Shinju” (1994), the saga has partially overlapped with the reign of fifth shogun Tokugawa Tsunayoshi — a superstitious eccentric who ruled Japan ...
Yoshitaka Amano, Illustrations by Yoshitaka AmanoPie Books, Nonfiction. Yoshitaka Amano has cultivated a reputation as one of Japan’s premier character designers for his work on renowned series such as “Vampire Hunter D” and “Final Fantasy.” This book presents a comprehensive retrospective of Amano’s more ...
The abiding belief among some native English speakers in Japan is that Japanese people need to use more English instead of sheltering in the comfort of a mother tongue barely spoken beyond their archipelago. The Fall of Language in the Age of English, by ...
“Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan,” first published in 2000, is a comprehensive and convincing biography of the wartime Emperor Hirohito and one which set out to shatter the myth that he was merely a figurehead, isolated from the power play that saw ...
At the same time as the U.S. Air Force was reducing Japanese cities to rubble in the final year of World War II, mainland America was also being threatened by aerial attack. Free-floating balloons, loaded with bombs, were launched from Japan’s Pacific coast aimed ...
Jaco the Galactic Patrolman, by Akira Toriyama, Translated by Tetsuichiro Miyaki.Viz Media, Manga. A gruff scientist named Omori lives alone on an island, attempting to succeed in his bid to travel in time. His tranquil life is interrupted when a spacecraft crash-lands off the ...
Henry Scott Stokes, Yukio Mishima’s first biographer, once told me that the thing he most remembered about the writer was his exquisite manners — one of those telling details that lend a touch of authenticity to the work of those who knew Mishima personally. ...
Certain books must be read, even with the knowledge that the reading will be painful. Kobo Abe’s masterpiece “The Woman in the Dunes” is one such book. Called an “existential fable,” it is no surprise that Abe’s favorite writers were Franz Kafka, Friedrich Nietzsche ...
