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July 16, 2024
 

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THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 19, 2003
Asian crime scene
Asia 2000, a small publisher in Hong Kong, offers a "Black Butterfly" crime/mystery series by local writers. In a work with Graham Greene overtones, "Cheung Chau Dog Fanciers' Society," by Alan B. Pierce, tells the tale of small-time financial consultant suspected of laundering drug money, who is kept...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 19, 2003
Two local novelists strut their stuff
THE BANG DEVILS, by Patrick Foss. New York: HarperCollins, 2003 305 pp., $13.95 (paper). AMBASSADOR STRIKES, by Robert J. Collins. California: McKenna Publishing Group, 2003 260 pp., $19.95 (paper). With so much rich material to draw upon, the relatively small number of English novels set in the Kansai...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 12, 2003
From Padaung backwater to the halls of Cambridge
FROM THE LAND OF GREEN GHOSTS: A Burmese Odyssey, by Pascal Khoo Thwe. London: Harper Collins, 2002, 304 pp., $24.95, (cloth). Toward the end of this captivating memoir the author confesses that while studying at Cambridge, "Sometimes I locked myself up in my room for three or four days, just to have...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 12, 2003
Telling 'The Tale of Genji' through its forgotten poetry
A STRING OF FLOWERS, UNTIED: Love Poems from The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Jane Reichhold and Hatsue Kawamura. Berkeley: Stone Bridge Press, 2003, 238 pp., $18.95 (paper). Threaded throughout the 1000-page length of the "Genji Monogatari" (The Tale of Genji) are some 800 poems....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Oct 5, 2003
Reviewing reviews of Richie
JAPANESE LITERATURE REVIEWED, by Donald Richie. ICG Muse Inc, 2003, 490 pp., 2,800 yen (cloth). Like photographers, writers who stick at their trade long enough may find themselves in possession, without having realized it, of a substantial body of work, one that has accumulated silently like a snowdrift....
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 28, 2003
Taisho Sophisticates
EXPLOITING PATENT RIGHTS AND A NEW CLIMATE FOR INNOVATION IN JAPAN, edited by Ruth Taplin. London: Intellectual Property Institute, 2003, 124 pp., £35 (paper). Intellectual property rights (IPR) is a hot issue in Japan. The government has implemented a series of related legal and institutional reforms...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 28, 2003
Journals of Joseph Campbell
SAKE & SATORI: Asian Journals -- Japan, by Joseph Campbell. California: Joseph Campbell Foundation/New World Library, 2002, 350 pp., b/w photographs, $22.95 (cloth). In 1955, the eminent mythologist Joseph Campbell came to Japan and stayed for five months. Author of "The Hero With a Thousand Faces,"...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 21, 2003
Kabuki: the opera of Japan
KABUKI PLAYS ON STAGE: Volume IV -- Restoration and Reform, 1872-1905, edited by James R. Brandon and Samuel L. Leiter. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2003, 430 pp. with illustrations, $50, (cloth). This is the final volume in a monumental series that contains the texts of 52 plays, all of them...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 21, 2003
The role of politics and religion in the history of art
DISCOVERING THE ARTS OF JAPAN: A historical overview, by Tsuneko S. Sadao and Stephanie Wada. Kodansha International, 2003, 284 pp., 3,000 yen (cloth). According to this new publication from Kodansha International, "The insular culture of Japan can best be understood as a process whereby successive waves...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003
Uncovering lost worlds of Japanese film
RECALLING THE TREASURES OF JAPANESE CINEMA: Japanese Film History Studies, edited by Friends of Silent Film Association, supervised by Matsuda Film Productions, preface by Tadao Sato. Tokyo: Urban Connections, 2003, 200 pp., with photos, 1,800 yen (cloth). With movies so ubiquitous it is easy to forget...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003
From West to East: Ian Buruma casts his light on the making of modern Japan
INVENTING JAPAN: 1853-1964, by Ian Buruma. New York: The Modern Library, 2003, 194 pp., $19.95, (cloth). This is a satisfying hors d'oeuvre that awakens readers' intellects while whetting their appetite for more substantial fare. It is a quirky, opinionated and selective narrative redolent of what is...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 14, 2003
Poetry: a language without borders
KIYOKO'S SKY: The Haiku of Kiyoko Tokutomi, translations by Patricia J. Machmiller & Fay Aoyagi. Illinois: Brookes Books, Decatur, 2002, 128 pp., $16 (paper). SELECTED HAIKU, by Takaha Shugyo, translations by Hoshino Tsunehiko & Adrian Pinnington. Tokyo: Furansudo, 2003, 108 pp., $16 (paper). These...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 7, 2003
Searching individuality
JAPANESE WRITERS AND THE WEST, by Sumie Okada. Hampshire: Palmgrave Macmillan, 2003, 216 pp., £45, (cloth). Though not nearly as inclusive as the title suggests, Professor Sumie Okada's small but earnest book does contain an amount of interpretation not elsewhere found.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Sep 7, 2003
For Barry Eisler, when it rains, it pours
In Tokyo this month to promote his latest work and research story ideas, Barry Eisler shares his thoughts on the art of fiction -- and martial arts.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 31, 2003
Great wave of artistic influence
HOKUSAI, by Gian Carlo Calza. London: Phaidon Press, Ltd., 2003, 336 pp., 700 illustrations, $59.95 (cloth). It was the West that first discovered the art of the Japanese woodblock print. Though popular in Japan, the prints were denied any kind of artistic standing until it became understood that abroad...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 31, 2003
A better forecast for South Korea's Sunshine Policy
SUNSHINE IN KOREA: The South Korean Debate Over Policies Toward North Korea, by Norman D. Levin and Yong Sup Han. Rand Center for Asia Pacific Policy, 2002, 143 pp. (paper). Although Kim Dae Jung is no longer president of South Korea, his "Sunshine Policy" toward North Korea lives on. His successor,...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 24, 2003
There's more to noh than meets the eye
FIGURES OF DESIRE: Wordplay, Spirit Possession, Fantasy, Madness and Mourning in Japanese Noh Plays, by Etsuko Terasaki. Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2002, 329 pp., with monochrome plates, $60 (cloth). Noh texts are usually seen as mere aids for performance. They are routinely...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 24, 2003
Voices from the past help explain the present
SERVING OUR COUNTRY: Japanese American Women in the Military during World War II, by Brenda L. Moore. Rutgers University Press, 2003, $60 (cloth), $22 (paper). Building on her previous studies of racial issues, gender issues and military sociology, Brenda L. Moore has analyzed and documented an unusual...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 24, 2003
Should Japanese history be rewritten?
HARING THE BURDEN OF THE PAST: Legacies of War in Europe, America and Asia, edited by Andrew Horvat and Gebhard Hielscher. Tokyo: The Asia Foundation & Friedrich Ebert Stiftung, 2003, 341 pp., 1,000 yen (paper). The legacies of war continue to dog Japan and are divisive at home and in Asia. Despite...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Aug 17, 2003
The ancient Chinese master Du Fu
THE SELECTED POEMS OF DU FU, translated by Burton Watson. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002, 174 pp., $17.50 (paper). Du Fu (712-770 A.D.) is one of the most honored of Chinese poets. He has been called (by Kenneth Rexroth who early translated him) one of the greatest poets "who has survived...
Who needs AI when you have Hatsune Miku?
Over the first six months of 2024, a handful of songs using Vocaloid singer Hatsune Miku’s voice have enjoyed widespread attention, underlining a global interest in the character and the technology she represents.
Bloodied Trump survives assassination attempt at political rally
Former U.S. President Donald Trump is surrounded and evacuated by Secret Service agents at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Saturday. Trump was rushed off stage at the rally after shots rang out.
Shooter came within inches of killing Trump, but left few clues as to why
An aerial view shows the stage where Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump had been standing during an assassination attempt the day before, and the roof of a nearby building where a gunman was shot dead by law enforcement, in Butler, Pennsylvania, on Sunday.
Yen’s woes seem too big for even a BOJ hike this month to solve
The Bank of Japan headquarters in Tokyo
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
How to beat Japan’s summer heat in ways better for the planet
Tenugui towels hang up to dry at a dyeing company in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, on May 8. The durable and versatile tenugui, which many people have in their homes, can be used in many ways to cool one’s body.
After Trump shooting, U.S. presidential race might take a violent turn
United States Secret Service Counter Snipers stand guard on a rooftop during a campaign rally for U.S. President Donald Trump in Avoca, Pennsylvania, in 2020.
No AC this summer? No problem (for me).
Think air conditioning is a requirement for a Tokyo summer? Think again.
She’s paying ¥1 million to help behind the scenes at the Paris Olympics
Mai Tarumi, who previously volunteered at the postponed Tokyo Olympics in 2021, has a travel budget of ¥1 million for her trip to volunteer at the Paris Games.

Podcast

You can often see generations of families enjoying performances together at Fuji Rock Festival.
Japan’s summer music festivals are feeling the heat in more ways than one

Longform

Akiko Trush says her experience with the neurological disorder dystonia left her feeling like she wanted to chop her own hand off.
The neurological disorder that 'kills culture'
By Tomoko Otake

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