I first met James Lee Byars in Kyoto in early 1967 and, at his invitation, participated in his "performance." At the time I didn't know that he'd been back and forth between Japan and the U.S. for nearly a decade already. I was also unaware that he had already done ...
How a short but fruitful relationship with Natsume Soseki led to the most productive years of Akutagawa's tragic life.
"Mother, when are you ever going to die?" Inheritance From Mother, by Minae Mizumura.447 pages OTHER PRESS, Fiction. The question is shocking indeed. ...
Japan's passion for the modern coexists with aesthetic proclivities that favor antiquity and refinement. Wabi Sabi: The Art of Impermanence, by Andrew Juniper.176 pages TUTTLE, Nonfiction. One expression of the appreciation for age and beauty is the much-cherished effect known as wabi-sabi, the subject of Andrew Juniper's ...
Novels in which naive Western sojourners in Japan become drawn into a maelstrom of violence are numerous enough to deserve a genre of their own. The most memorable include "Ransom," by Jay McInerny (1985); "Whore Banquets" by Matthew Kneale (1987); "The Bang Devils" by ...
In 1933, when Junichiro Tanizaki (1886-1965) published his short but landmark essay "In Praise of Shadows," it could hardly be seen as anything other than a riposte to the "enlightening" agenda of the great cultural critic Fukuzawa Yukichi of the preceding Meiji Era (1868-1912). Fukuzawa ...
Yasunari Kawabata is often seen in the West as one of the quintessential modern Japanese writers. His most famous novels are filled with tea ceremonies and geisha and his prose is a consummate example of mono no aware, the Japanese aesthetic that finds beauty ...
From bone shards to swipe keyboards, "Chinese Script: History, Characters, Calligraphy" is a brief but absorbing crash course on the origins and evolution of China's writing system that tackles a range of topics beyond language. Chinese Script, by Thomas O. Hollmann, Translated by Maximiliane Donicht.128 ...
The deafening report of war is such that the cries of its victims are often hard to hear, even decades later. Japanese Reflections on World War II and the American Occupation, by Edgar A. Porter and Ran Ying Porter.256 pages AMSTERDAM UNIVERSITY PRESS, Nonfiction. This is why ...
The Japanese novel has taken some interesting twists and turns in the post-bubble era, but quality has often been the price of experimentation. Dream Messenger, by Masahiko Shimada, Translated by Philip Gabriel.293 pages TIME WARNER, Fiction. Masahiko Shimada's novel "Dream Messenger," which focuses on a mother's search ...
"The Boy in the Earth" was Fuminori Nakamura's fifth book and it won him the Akutagawa Prize in 2005. It's a short sharp shock of a novella and Allison Markin Powell's powerful recent translation finally brings its creeping dread alive for English readers. The Boy ...
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 ...
Richard Henry Brunton was a Scottish engineer who came to Japan in 1868, one of a number of o-yatoi-gaikokujin — foreigners hired to help Japan modernize at the beginning of the Meiji Era (1868-1912). This book is his memoir, the story of the eight ...
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 otaku (geek) culture continues to grow in popularity, boasting a widening variety of nerdy-yet-hip obsessions, from manga and toys to cosplay. Gianni Simone, the Japan ...
A 38-year-old first-time writer is the winner of the 157th Akutagawa Prize for his story "Eiri," the awards selection committee announced Wednesday. "It's a great honor, I've only written one work so far. I'll keep up the good work," said Shinsuke Numata during a news ...
