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July 16, 2024
 

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THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 17, 2002
Pampered pachyderms and groveling courtiers
SIAMESE COURT LIFE IN THE SEVENTEENTH CENTURY AS DEPICTED IN EUROPEAN SOURCES, by Dhiravat na Pombejra. Bangkok: Chulalongkorn University, 2001, 236 pp., 190 baht. Foreign dignitaries were amazed by the 17th-century Siamese court. Though the general population seemed, as one diplomat wrote, "rich in...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 10, 2002
Caught between two parallel worlds: growing up under the Raj
OUT OF INDIA: A Raj Childhood, by Michael Foss. London: Michael O'Mara Books, 2001, 181 pp., xC820 (cloth) The Raj began in 1818 when the Rajput states of central and northern India and much else of the country came under British "protection," an occupation that ended only in 1948. Many accounts exist...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 10, 2002
'Genji': the long and the shorter of it
The Tale of Genji, by Murasaki Shikibu, translated by Royall Tyler. Viking, 2001, 1,174 pp., $60 (cloth) In the February 2002 issue of the monthly journal Eureka, Fusae Kawazoe gives a rundown of translations of Murasaki Shikibu's "The Tale of Genji" -- not only into foreign languages, but into modern...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 10, 2002
A picture-perfect millennium tribute
THE TALE OF GENJI: Scenes From the World's First Novel, by Murasaki Shikibu. Illustrated by Masayuki Miyata, translated by H. Mack Horton. Kodansha International, 2001, 240 pp., 3500 yen (paper) "The Tale of Genji," renowned as the world's first great novel, is now nearly 1,000 years old. The intervening...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 3, 2002
Nasty, brutish, and flawed
A SUDDEN RAMPAGE: The Japanese Occupation of Southeast Asia, 1941-1945, by Nicholas Tarling. London: Hurst & Company, 2001, 286 pp., $36 (paper) As a rule, there are few positive accounts in Western literature of Japan's occupation of Southeast Asia during World War II, and this book by Nicholas...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 3, 2002
Together, they made magic
THE EMPEROR AND THE WOLF: The Lives and Films of Akira Kurosawa and Toshiro Mifune, by Stuart Galbraith IV. Faber & Faber, 2002, 848 pp. 32 pp. of b/w photos, $40 (cloth) Many directors have favorite actors and many actors have favorite directors. One thinks of John Ford and John Wayne, Ingmar Bergman...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 24, 2002
I want my DVD: The word is out on the small screen
Now that our shelves contain a lot more than books -- CD-ROMs, VHS tapes, DVDs -- it is worth reconsidering a question that occasionally interests the resident foreigner: How do you find Japanese films with English subtitles?
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 24, 2002
Moral absolutism on trial
ONE MAN'S JUSTICE, by Akira Yoshimura, translated by Mark Ealey. New York, San Diego and London: Harcourt, 2001, 276 pp., $23 (cloth) In every society, even the most apparently open-minded, there are times when some questions become taboo. In the United States right now, such questions include anything...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 24, 2002
Images of a common brutality
HELL IN THE PACIFIC: From Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima and Beyond, by Jonathan Lewis and Ben Steele. London: Channel 4 Books, 2001, 288 pp. $30 (cloth) TALES BY JAPANESE SOLDIERS OF THE BURMA CAMPAIGN. Edited by Kazuo Tamayama and John Nunneley. London: Cassell, 2000, 252 pp., $24 (paper) If you've ever...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 17, 2002
Let the masses consume
CHINA'S CENTURY: The Awakening of the Next Economic Powerhouse, edited by Lawrence J. Brahm. John Wiley & Sons, 2001, 421 pp., $24.95 (cloth) Pick up an international paper published before Sept. 11, and China is either on the front page or generously featured inside. Not anymore. The rising giant...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 17, 2002
Atrocity and intrigue in a troubled land
AFGHANISTAN: A New History, by Martin Ewans. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon Press, 2001, 239 pp., 12,600 yen (cloth) The exorbitant price of Martin Ewans' "Afghanistan: A New History," coupled with the word "new" in the subtitle, is enough to attract attention. But as it turns out, the book is new only in...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 17, 2002
Donald Richie rewinds a century of film
Donald Richie has always struck me as the ideal role model for the aspiring writer. More the distiller than the brewer, the cordon-bleu chef than the bone-cook, there is much to be learned from Richie's refinements.
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 10, 2002
Japanese women 'defect' to the West
WOMEN ON THE VERGE: Japanese Women, Western Dreams, by Karen Kelsky. Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2001, pp. 294, $18.95 (paper) The pursuit of "things foreign" has become an increasingly common activity of Japanese women in recent decades. Whether it be through study and work abroad, or through...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 10, 2002
Expressions of 'everyday immortality'
UNFINISHED MESSAGE: Selected Works of Toshio Mori. Berkeley, Calif.: Heyday Books, 2000, 242 pp., $15.95 (paper) Toshio Mori (1910-1980) was one of the founders of a distinctively Asian-American literature. He lived in and near San Leandro, Calif. except for the World War II years, which he and his family...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 10, 2002
Love in a time of decline for homegrown literature
Is there a future for Japanese literature? That is the question posed by an article in the February issue of Bungakukai. Writer Akira Nagae visited various bookstores and publishers in search of an answer. The manager of a bookstore near an arts university in Tokyo feels authors and publishers are deceiving...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 3, 2002
Sue Sumii looks back on a life well spent
MY LIFE: Living, Loving and Fighting, by Sue Sumii; interviews by Masuda Reiko, translated by the Ashi Translation Society, with an introduction by Livia Monnet. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, The University of Michigan, 108 pp., $29.95 (paper) Sue Sumii (1902-97) is remembered for the multipart...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 3, 2002
Japan makes a profitable connection
THE MOBILE INTERNET: How Japan Dialed Up and the West Disconnected, by Jeffrey Lee Funk. ISI Publications, 2001, 200 pp. $32 (cloth) In the 1970s and '80s, Japanese carmakers flooded world markets with products fresh from factories where workers wore uniforms, sorted parts into brightly colored bins,...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 27, 2002
The British perspective on Japan
JAPAN EXPERIENCES -- FIFTY YEARS, ONE HUNDRED VIEWS: Post-War Japan Through British Eyes, compiled and edited by Hugh Cortazzi. Japan Library: Richmond, UK, 2001, 633 pp., $65 (cloth) This doorstopper of a tome is a weighty, often insightful and quirky view of post-World War II Japan through the eyes...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 27, 2002
Suffering for one's art
BUSHIDO: Legacies of the Japanese Tattoo, by Takahiro Kitamura and Katie M. Kitamura, with photos by Jai Tanju. Atglen, Pa., Schiffer Publishing, 2000. 160 pp., color and b/w plates, $29.95 (paper) In this interesting and beautifully illustrated account of the Japanese tattoo, the authors' intent is...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 27, 2002
In search of a new life and identity Down Under
FAREWELL TO NIPPON: Japanese Lifestyle Migrants in Australia, by Machiko Sato. Japanese Society Series, Trans Pacific Press, 2001, 161 pp., $29 (paper) At the turn of the millennium, the number of Japanese permanent residents in Australia surpassed 30,000, the highest figure since emigration Down Under...
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.

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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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