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July 16, 2024
 

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THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF

CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 19, 2006
Wrapping paper that influenced l'art japonais of Paris
HOTEI ENCYCLOPEDIA OF JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTS; edited by Amy Reigle Newland; specialist advisers: Julie Nelson Davis, Oikawa Shigeru, Ellis Tinios, Chris Uhlenbeck; foreword by Suzuki Juzo. Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2005, two volumes in slipcase, 528 pp., 140 color and 140 b/w illustrations, $249...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 19, 2006
Myths behind the rise of the mobile
PERSONAL, PORTABLE, PEDESTRIAN: Mobile Phones in Japanese Life, edited by Mizuko Ito, Daisuke Okabe, and Misa Matsuda. Massachusetts: MIT Press, 357 pp., $39 (cloth). Consider the refrigerator. The changes this appliance brought in its wake are monumental. Thanks to that big humming machine in the kitchen,...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 12, 2006
Money laundering and global debt
CAPITALISM'S ACHILLES HEEL: Dirty Money and How to Renew the Free-Market System, by Raymond W. Baker. Hoboken, N.J.: John Wiley and Sons, 2005, 438 pp., $27.95 (cloth). Reviewed by JEFF KINGSTON The scandalous tolerance of massive money laundering by global financial institutions contributes to poverty...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 12, 2006
Chao Phya, the brown god
THAILAND REFLECTED IN A RIVER by Steve Van Beek, designed by Barry Owen and Thongchai Nawawat. Hong Kong: Wind & Water Ltd., 264 pp., profusely illustrated, 2004, $39 (cloth). T.S. Eliot has written: "I think that the river / Is a strong brown god -- sullen, untamed and intractable." In addition...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 5, 2006
Evolution of Japanese cinema and the design of its creators
A HUNDRED YEARS OF JAPANESE FILM, by Donald Richie. Kodansha International, 2005, 320 pp., $22 (paper). Among Japanophiles, Donald Richie doesn't need an introduction, having written over 40 books on Japan, including the definitive works on directors Akira Kurosawa and Yasujiro Ozu, and the first-ever...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Mar 5, 2006
Japan's social norms shaped by law
LAW IN EVERYDAY JAPAN: Sex, Sumo, Suicide, and Statutes, by Mark D. West. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2005, 279 pp., $19.95 (paper). This is a superb book that explores the interaction of law, society and culture over a range of intriguing topics. In seven captivating case studies, Mark West...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 26, 2006
Memoirs of a foreigner
JAPANESE JOURNEYS: Writings and Recollections, by Geoffrey Bownas. Kent: Global Oriental Ltd., 2005, 264 pp., with b/w photos, £30 (cloth). One late evening in 1970, the scholar Geoffrey Bownas was working with the writer Yukio Mishima on their anthology "New Writing in Japan." The noted author...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 26, 2006
Current events frame detective plots
MOGHUL BUFFET by Cheryl Benard. New York: Soho Crime, 1998, 264 pp., $12 (paper). THE TYPHOON LOVER by Sujata Massey. New York: HarperCollins, 2005, 306 pp., $23.95 (cloth). "I like Pakistan," writes Cheryl Benard. "I want to say that right at the outset, to avoid any misunderstandings. Its cities are...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 19, 2006
Decades of peace have yet to heal Vietnam's wounds
VIET NAM AT PEACE, by Philip Jones Griffiths. London: Trolley, 2005, 312 pp., £39.95 (cloth). This is the final volume in Philip Jones Griffiths' epoch trilogy on Vietnam spanning 40 years. His classic "Vietnam, Inc" (1971) and "Agent Orange" (2003) focus on war and its consequences. Here, we are...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 19, 2006
Women writers opened window on Heian life
OBJECTS OF DISCOURSE: Memoirs of Women of Heian Japan, by John R. Wallace. Ann Arbor: Center for Japanese Studies, University of Michigan, 2005, 326 pp., with VII illustrations, $65 (cloth). The four major court memoirs written in the late 10th and early 11th century are the "Kagero nikki" (translated...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 12, 2006
Still life on a moving train
SUBWAY LOVE, photos by Nobuyoshi Araki with an interview (bilingual: English/Japanese), art direction by Toshine Ishihama. Tokyo: IBC Publishing, 2005, 226 pp., over 200 b/w images, 3,200 yen (paper). Between 1963 and 1972, photographer Nobuyoshi Araki took the subway to work. Always with his cameras,...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 12, 2006
Fathoming the depths and heights of Japan's intercultural encounters
JAPAN'S LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE WEST by Sukehiro Hirakawa. Folkstone: Global Oriental, 2005, 557 pp., £50 (cloth). Rudyard Kipling, one of the most popular writers in the English tongue of his generation, addressed his poem "The White Man's Burden" to the American people in 1899 -- when...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 5, 2006
Crown Prince recalls his life at Oxford University
THE THAMES AND I: A Memoir of Two Years at Oxford, by the Crown Prince of Japan, translated by Hugh Cortazzi. Global Oriental, 150 pp., 2006, £30 (cloth). "Thames and I" by the Crown Prince is a detailed account of the two years he spent at the University of Oxford in Britain. It is marked by penetrating...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 5, 2006
Painting a fascinating picture of the 'noble savage' debate
...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Feb 5, 2006
Frightening, yet beautiful: ghosts, ghouls and monsters
YOSHITOSHI'S STRANGE TALES by John Stevenson. Amsterdam: Hotei Publishing, 2005, 160 pp., 71 full-page prints and 25 illustrations, 2005, $95 (cloth). Another beautiful edition de luxe from Hotei Publishing, this volume presents two series by Taiso Yoshitoshi (1839-1892), a late print artist often remembered...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 29, 2006
Understanding, visiting and living in North Korea
NORTH KOREA IN THE 21ST CENTURY: An interpretative Guide, by J.E. Hoare and Susan Pares. Global Oriental, 2005, 253 pp., including index, references/bibliography, b/w illustrations, £14.95 (paper). Jim Hoare opened the British Embassy in Pyongyang in 2001 and was the first British diplomat and...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 29, 2006
Graphic view of Pyongyang
PYONGYANG: A Journey in North Korea, by Guy Delisle, translated by Helge Dascher. Montreal: Drawn & Quarterly, 2005, 176 pp., $19.95 (cloth). A consideration of North Korea must be, one supposes, a howl of rage, a moan of despair, or some combination, and this anger and despair must certainly be...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 29, 2006
A reliquary for the story of Buddha
BUDDHISM: On the Path to Nirvana, by Swati Chopra, foreword by Lokesh Chandra, photo editor Lance Dane. New Delhi: Brijbasi Art Press, Ltd., 2005, 160 pp., 200 color photos, $35 (cloth). The true accomplishments of any leader are often compromised when legend wraps itself around the man himself. This...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 22, 2006
The new Japanese woman, from virginity to menopause
INSIDE AND OTHER SHORT FICTION: Japanese Women by Japanese Women, compiled by Cathy Layne, foreword by Ruth Ozeki. Tokyo: Kodansha International, 2006. 237 pp., 2,400 yen (cloth). As Ruth Ozeki writes in her foreword to this very interesting collection of new writing: "Japanese society is undergoing...
CULTURE / Books / THE ASIAN BOOKSHELF
Jan 22, 2006
When notoriety helps sell books
TOPPAMONO: Outlaw. Radical. Suspect. My Life in Japan's Underworld, by Manabu Miyazaki. Tokyo: Kotan Publishing, 2005, 460 pp., $26.95 (cloth). THE APPRENTICE by Lewis Libby. New York: St. Martin's Griffin, St. Martin edition, 2005, 265 pp., $12.95 (paper). Japan's student movement ended with a whimper...
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.
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.
Amid same-sex marriage ban, LGBTQ couples opt for 'photo weddings'
A lesbian couple, consisting of a 35-year-old woman (left) and 40-year-old woman, cover their faces with bouquets as they pose for wedding photos in Yokohama on Nov. 1.
China and Russia conduct joint Pacific military patrol
The Russian corvette Gromkiy enters the Chinese port of Zhanjiang as part of a joint China-Russia naval exercise on Saturday.
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.
How to tweak your diet when temperatures spike
Most people think of hydration as a strictly liquid-based concept, but eating foods with high water content is an essential part of making it through a Japanese summer unscathed.

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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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