'Family': Masahisa Fukase's portrait parodies detail the decline of a Japanese clan
Masahisa Fukase's "Family," reissued with essays by Fukase himself and Tomo Kosuga, turns the idea of the family portrait on its head, simultaneously reinvigorating and ridiculing it.
'Politics, Porn and Protest': The beguiling world of experimental Japanese film
Isolde Standish's "Politics, Porn and Protest" takes readers on a tour of landmark Japanese avant-garde films, including those by legendary directors Nagisa Oshima and Shohei Imamura.
'Noon: An Anthology of Short Poems': Wit and wisdom in 14 lines or fewer
In "Noon: An Anthology of Short Poems," editor Philip Rowland shows there's more to the short form poetry genre than haiku or tanka.
'The Democracy of Suffering': Wit, erudition and philosophical change
Todd Dufresne's "The Democracy of Suffering" argues that, if we are to understand the Anthropocene, then philosophy itself needs a radical overhaul.
'The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks': A compendium of Japan's alcohol traditions
Stephen Lyman and Chris Bunting's "The Complete Guide to Japanese Drinks" is a beautiful, carefully put together coffee-table book full of insights, anecdotes and thirst-inducing pictures of Japan's various alcohols.
'Japanese Ghost Stories': The ghostly ascent of Lafcadio Hearn's tales of the supernatural
Japanologist Lafcadio Hearn has languished in relative obscurity outside of Japan. But with the recent publication of several books about his life and works, there are signs this is beginning to change.
'Before the Coffee Gets Cold': As an agent of time travel, this coffee has limitations
Toshikazu Kawaguchi's "Before the Coffee Gets Cold," gets its first English translation. This play-turned-novel has an all-female cast of main characters and a hefty dose of sentiment — a page turner to finish before your morning brew.
'A Manga Lover's Tokyo Travel Guide': Picture the capital in a whole new way
Singaporean artist Evangeline Neo walks travelers through Tokyo's best traditional must-sees, anime hot-spots and even Mount Fuji in her comic-book guide to the metropolis.
Brad Glosserman's 'Peak Japan': Japan on the down and out
"Peak Japan" provides a painstaking overview of the country's social, economic and political trajectory since the 1990s.
'Paper Houses': Loving one half of the country, detesting the other
Author William Plomer came to Japan during the 1920s following the publication of "Turbott Wolfe." Hugely inspired by the country, in his later life he persuaded Benjamin Britten to watch a noh performance, inspiring him to write the opera "Curlew River," and publisher Jonathan ...
'Japanese Linguistics': Insightful description meets valuable instruction
"Japanese Linguistics" is a broad-spectrum primer on Japanese, covering everything from grammar to the social context of the language, for the undergraduate student or avid polyglot alike.
'The Swords of Silence': Hidden Christians, vengeful daimyo and a few miracles thrown in
Set in the early 17th century, "The Swords of Silence" focuses on the plight of Japan's hidden Christians and the closing of Japan to foreign trade and relations — with a fantasy twist.
