The highly rated Geisha: The Secret History of a Vanishing World by Lesley Downer is now on sale for a limited time on US kindle (e-book) for $5.99 and Kindle Japan for 499 yen. (441 pages)
Tag: Japan
Translation Excerpt—Hayashi Fumiko’s “The Tryst”
About the Author Born in 1903, Hayashi Fumiko’s first notable literary work was Hōrōki (“Diary of a Vagabond”), an autobiographical novel describing her life of extreme poverty. Many of her stories focus on urban working-class life, a genre sometimes referred to as proletarian literature. Some important topics touched upon in her stories are free will, More…
Review—Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch
(Stone Bridge Press, June 22, 2021) Review by Jann Williams Over two-thirds of Japan is covered with forested mountains. Traditionally these are sacred places, viewed as dwelling places of the dead and ancestral spirits, and as a liminal space between this world and the other world. Yama, the Japanese word for ‘mountain,’ is reflected in More…
Review—Noh as Living Art: Inside Japan’s Oldest Theatrical Tradition
Yasuda has provided a witty and fresh approach to this art.
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Review by Cody Poulton This slim volume, at just over 100 pages, is a primer to noh, Japan’s classic performance art. First appearing in Japanese, the text was translated by Kawamoto Nozomu, who was raised in the United States and currently trains with the author in noh utai singing. The work was published by Japan More…
Excerpt—Cherry Blossom poems from “Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku”
With the cherry blossoms in mankai (full bloom) now in Japan, we take some time to contemplate their beauty through poetry. The following are two excerpts from the just released Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku (Japan Library/JPIC March 23, 2021) with commentary by Japanese haiku poet and critic Osawa Minoru (translated by Janine Beichman). The More…
First Book—Jon Tanimura & The World-Traveling Udon Maker
“First Book” is a new column where we ask first-time authors what inspired them to write their debut book/novel/translation. Books on Asia: What’s your book’s “elevator pitch?” Jon Tanimura: It’s an autobiography of a Japanese man who cooked Japanese Udon noodles for 5,000 people in 24 countries while traveling around the world as a nomad More…
9 New and Upcoming Releases we’re Looking Forward to Reading in 2021
Find out what we’re looking forward to reading this Spring!
Review—Japanese Death Poems
An invaluable book for anyone interested in Japanese culture as well as poetry. — Amy Chavez
Japanese Death Poems is one of those invaluable books for anyone interested in Japanese culture as well as poetry. The lengthy introduction alone is important for the plethora of information on the history of Japanese poetry and in particular, the death poem. From tanka to haiku, written by princes, court nobles, samurai, Buddhist monks and More…
Our Reviewers Pick their Top Books for 2020
We read lots of books here at Books on Asia, so we asked our reviewers to give you their picks for the best books they’ve read this year! For more information on a particular book, click on the book cover. Chad Kohalyk‘s Top Picks Biography The Great Successor: The Divinely Perfect Destiny of Brilliant Comrade More…
Review—Japan in Asia: Post-Cold-War Diplomacy
Tanaka Akihiko suggests it may be possible to say that a common culture—what might be called an ‘East Asian way of life’—is emerging, especially among the East Asian urban middle class.