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books tagged “Japanese Culture”
books tagged “Japanese Culture”
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The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation?by Gilles PoitrasISBN 1880656329 (1-880656-32-9)
Softcover, Stone Bridge Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation?'Book summary:Anime is from Japan, so it's full of all sorts of cultural details that are downright perplexing . . . unless you're Japanese or unless you've got The Anime Companion. Find out why characters wear belly bands and what nosebleeds really mean. Learn about the Edo Jidai and those games they play at New Year's. Gilles Poitras has taken his popular anime website and created a new print version that's filled with curious details and fresh insights drawn from dozens of the most popular anime. And for students of Japanese, The Anime Companion is a great way to learn about Japan while indulging in your favorite pastime.[via]
"Combining personal passion with an intelligent sense of perspective, this enjoyable book is just right for dipping into, full of amusing and informative snippets which fans will love and even non-fans can enjoy."Helen McCarthy, author of The Complete Anime Guide
"I've worked on over 20,000 pages of manga over the last ten years, and I still learned quite a bit from this fascinating book. For anyone with more than the most casual interest in anime and manga, The Anime Companion should be on their coffee table right next to the remote control."Toren Smith, Studio Proteus
"Entire generations of English speakers now receive their first exposure to Japanese culture through anime. But many cultural references can be puzzling. Gilles Poitras's book is like a Rosetta Stone for confused anime fans. Before slipping that next anime video into your VCR, make sure this book's handy!"Frederik L. Schodt, author of Manga! Manga! and Dreamland Japan
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Sample Entry: AIDORU (IDOL SINGER)
Pop singers. Idol singers are not unique to Japan; every modern country has its clean-cut prefabricated stars known for their short careers. In Japan highly competitive management companies maneuver to get their latest singers in the spotlight for as long as they can before the nexMore editions of The Anime Companion: What's Japanese in Japanese Animation?:
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The Book Of Five Ringsby Miyamoto Musashi, Musashi Miyamoto, Munenori Yagyu, Thomas ClearyISBN 1570627487 (1-57062-748-7)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Book of Five Rings'Book summary:The Book of Five Rings is one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asian culture. Written not only for martial artists but for anyone who wants to apply the timeless principles of this text to their life, the book analyzes the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction.
The Book of Five Rings was composed in 1643 by the famed duelist and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Thomas Cleary's translation is immediately accessible, with an introduction that presents the spiritual background of the warrior tradition. Along with Musashi's text, Cleary translates here another important Japanese classic on leadership and strategy, The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War by Yagyu Munenori, which highlights the ethical and spiritual insights of Taoism and Zen as they apply to the way of the warrior. [via]More editions of The Book Of Five Rings:
- The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 1590302486 (1-59030-248-6)
Softcover, Shambhala Pubns - The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 0553351702 (0-553-35170-2)
Softcover, Bantam Dell Pub Group - The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 0879511532 (0-87951-153-2)
Softcover, Penguin Group USA - The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 0517415283 (0-517-41528-3)
Hardcover, Random House Value Pub - The Book of Five Rings: ISBN 0553270966 (0-553-27096-6)
Softcover, Bantam Books - The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 0877738688 (0-87773-868-8)
Softcover, Random House Inc - The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 0879511648 (0-87951-164-8)
Softcover, Overlook Pr - The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 4770028016 (4-7700-2801-6)
Hardcover, Kodansha Amer Inc - A Book of Five Rings: ISBN 1570627487 (1-57062-748-7)
Softcover, Random House Inc
- The Book Of Five Rings: ISBN 1590302486 (1-59030-248-6)
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A Book of Five Ringsby Musashi MiyamotoISBN 0879510188 (0-87951-018-8)
Softcover, Overlook Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Book of Five Rings'Book summary:To learn a Japanese martial art is to learn Zen, and although you can't do so simply by reading a book, it sure does help--especially if that book is The Book of Five Rings. One of Japan's great samurai sword masters penned in decisive, unfaltering terms this certain path to victory, and like Sun Tzu's The Art of War it is applicable not only on the battlefield but also in all forms of competition. Always observant, creating confusion, striking at vulnerabilities--these are some of the basic principles. Going deeper, we find suki, the interval of vulnerability, of indecisiveness, of rest, the briefest but most vital moment to strike. In succinct detail, Miyamoto records ideal postures, blows, and psychological tactics to put the enemy off guard and open the way for attack. Most important of all is Miyamoto's concept of rhythm, how all things are in harmony, and that by working with the rhythm of a situation we can turn it to our advantage with little effort. But like Zen, this requires one task above all else, putting the book down and going out to practice. --Brian Bruya [via]
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The Book Of Five Ringsby Thomas Cleary, Miyamoto Musashi, Munenori YagyuISBN 1590300408 (1-59030-040-8)
Hardcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book Of Five Rings'Book summary:To learn a Japanese martial art is to learn Zen, and although you can't do so simply by reading a book, it sure does help--especially if that book is The Book of Five Rings. One of Japan's great samurai sword masters penned in decisive, unfaltering terms this certain path to victory, and like Sun Tzu's The Art of War it is applicable not only on the battlefield but also in all forms of competition. Always observant, creating confusion, striking at vulnerabilities--these are some of the basic principles. Going deeper, we find suki, the interval of vulnerability, of indecisiveness, of rest, the briefest but most vital moment to strike. In succinct detail, Miyamoto records ideal postures, blows, and psychological tactics to put the enemy off guard and open the way for attack. Most important of all is Miyamoto's concept of rhythm, how all things are in harmony, and that by working with the rhythm of a situation we can turn it to our advantage with little effort. But like Zen, this requires one task above all else, putting the book down and going out to practice. --Brian Bruya [via]
More editions of The Book Of Five Rings:
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The Book of Five Rings: (Gorin No Sho)by Musashi Miyamoto, Copyright Paperback Collection (Library of Congress)ISBN 055322509X (0-553-22509-X)
Hardcover, Bantam
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book of Five Rings: (Gorin No Sho)'Book summary:Here is one of the most insightful texts on the subtle arts of confrontation and victory to emerge from Asian culture. Written not only for martial artists but for leaders in all professions, the book analyzes the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction. The Book of Five Rings which has become a well-known classic among American business people, studied for its insights into the Japanese approach to business strategywas composed in 1643 by the famed duelist and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi. Unlike previous editions of The Book of Five Rings , Thomas Cleary's is an accessible translation, free of jargon, with an introduction that presents the spiritual background of the warrior tradition. Along with Musashi's text, Cleary translates another important Japanese classic on leadership and strategy: The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War by Yagyu Munenori, which highlights the ethical and spiritual insights of Taoism and Zen as they apply to the way of the warrior. [via]
More editions of The Book of Five Rings: (Gorin No Sho):
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The Book of Five Rings: Miyamoto Musashiby D. E. TarverISBN 0595230067 (0-595-23006-7)
Softcover, Iuniverse Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book of Five Rings: Miyamoto Musashi'Book summary:Miyamoto MusashiÂs The Book of Five Rings is without doubt the greatest book of its kind ever written. In the last few years MusashiÂs work has become the backbone of many successful businesses. Whether you are trying to gain an advantage in business, achieve higher levels of personal excellence, or understand the warrior mind set, this book is a must.
Tarver brings twenty-five years of study and martial arts experience to this interpretation, and the result is a very clear, deep, easy to understand, and motivating book. [via]
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The Book of Five Rings: The Cornerstone of Japanese Cultureby Joseph Toledano, Rosemary Brant, Ashikaga YoshiharuISBN 9654941724 (965-494-172-4)
Softcover, Astrolog Pub House
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The Book of Kimonoby Norio YamanakaISBN 0870117858 (0-87011-785-8)
Softcover, Kodansha Amer Inc
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The Book of Teaby K. Okakura, Sam HamillISBN 1570628289 (1-57062-828-9)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book of Tea'Book summary:That a nation should construct one of its most resonant national ceremonies round a cup of tea will surely strike a chord of sympathy with at least some readers of this review. To many foreigners, nothing is so quintessentially Japanese as the tea ceremony--more properly, "the way of tea"--with its austerity, its extravagantly minimalist stylization, and its concentration of extreme subtleties of meaning into the simplest of actions. The Book of Tea is something of a curiosity: written in English by a Japanese scholar (and issued here in bilingual form), it was first published in 1906, in the wake of the naval victory over Russia with which Japan asserted its rapidly acquired status as a world-class military power. It was a peak moment of Westernization within Japan. Clearly, behind the publication was an agenda, or at least a mission to explain. Around its account of the ceremony, The Book of Tea folds an explication of the philosophy, first Taoist, later Zen Buddhist, that informs its oblique celebration of simplicity and directness--what Okakura calls, in a telling phrase, "moral geometry." And the ceremony itself? Its greatest practitioners have always been philosophers, but also artists, connoisseurs, collectors, gardeners, calligraphers, gourmets, flower arrangers. The greatest of them, Sen Rikyu, left a teasingly, maddeningly simple set of rules:
Make a delicious bowl of tea; lay the charcoal so that it heats the water; arrange the flowers as they are in the field; in summer suggest coolness; in winter, warmth; do everything ahead of time; prepare for rain; and give those with whom you find yourself every consideration.
A disciple remarked that this seemed elementary. Rikyu replied, "Then if you can host a tea gathering without deviating from any of the rules I have just stated, I will become your disciple." A Zen reply. Fascinating. --Robin Davidson, Amazon.co.uk [via]More editions of The Book of Tea:
- The Book of Tea: ISBN 1421806452 (1-4218-0645-2)
Hardcover, 1st World Library - The Book of Tea: ISBN 1590300831 (1-59030-083-1)
Hardcover, Random House Inc - The Book of Tea: ISBN 0486200701 (0-486-20070-1)
Softcover, Dover Pubns - Book of Tea: ISBN 0766140415 (0-7661-4041-5)
Softcover, Kessinger Pub Co - The Book of Tea: ISBN 0804800693 (0-8048-0069-3)
Hardcover, Tuttle Pub - The Book of Tea: ISBN 0877739188 (0-87773-918-8)
Softcover, Shambhala Publications, Incorporated - The Book of Tea: ISBN 0870119419 (0-87011-941-9)
Hardcover, Kodansha America, Incorporated - The Book of Tea: ISBN 4770030142 (4-7700-3014-2)
Hardcover, Kodansha Amer Inc - The Book of Tea: ISBN 4770015429 (4-7700-1542-9)
Softcover, Kodansha Amer Inc - The Book of Tea: ISBN 1570628289 (1-57062-828-9)
Softcover, Random House Inc
- The Book of Tea: ISBN 1421806452 (1-4218-0645-2)
The Book of Teaby Not AvailableISBN 1933330171 (1-933330-17-1)
Softcover, Stone Bridge Pr
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The Book of Tea : The Illustrated Classic Editionby Okakura Kakuzo, Liza DalbyISBN 0804832196 (0-8048-3219-6)
Softcover, Tuttle Publishing
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Book of Tea : The Illustrated Classic Edition'Book summary:That a nation should construct one of its most resonant national ceremonies round a cup of tea will surely strike a chord of sympathy with at least some readers of this review. To many foreigners, nothing is so quintessentially Japanese as the tea ceremony--more properly, "the way of tea"--with its austerity, its extravagantly minimalist stylization, and its concentration of extreme subtleties of meaning into the simplest of actions. The Book of Tea is something of a curiosity: written in English by a Japanese scholar (and issued here in bilingual form), it was first published in 1906, in the wake of the naval victory over Russia with which Japan asserted its rapidly acquired status as a world-class military power. It was a peak moment of Westernization within Japan. Clearly, behind the publication was an agenda, or at least a mission to explain. Around its account of the ceremony, The Book of Tea folds an explication of the philosophy, first Taoist, later Zen Buddhist, that informs its oblique celebration of simplicity and directness--what Okakura calls, in a telling phrase, "moral geometry." And the ceremony itself? Its greatest practitioners have always been philosophers, but also artists, connoisseurs, collectors, gardeners, calligraphers, gourmets, flower arrangers. The greatest of them, Sen Rikyu, left a teasingly, maddeningly simple set of rules:
Make a delicious bowl of tea; lay the charcoal so that it heats the water; arrange the flowers as they are in the field; in summer suggest coolness; in winter, warmth; do everything ahead of time; prepare for rain; and give those with whom you find yourself every consideration.
A disciple remarked that this seemed elementary. Rikyu replied, "Then if you can host a tea gathering without deviating from any of the rules I have just stated, I will become your disciple." A Zen reply. Fascinating. --Robin Davidson, Amazon.co.uk [via]More editions of The Book of Tea : The Illustrated Classic Edition:
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Bundoriby Laura Joh RowlandISBN 0061011975 (0-06-101197-5)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Bundori'Book summary:It is early spring, 1679, and the feudal Japanese capital, Edo, is beginning to blossom. But along its peaceful, misty streets evil lurks. With one stroke, the favored vassal of the ruling family is decapitated, his head taken for a bundori -- a war trophy.
[via]
Sano Ichiro, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People, is called to find the culprit. In a city where danger and deceit lie just below the lush surface, Sano must rely on his mind, his instincts, and his noble training in Bushido -- the Way of the Warrior -- to solve this case that could bring him glory...or everlasting shame. Set against a backdrop of sumptuous castles, tawdry pleasure districts, and serene temples, and filled with unforgettable, rich characters, Bundori is breathtaking entertainment. -
Cha-No-Yu: Japanese Tea Ceremonyby A. L. SadlerISBN 0804834075 (0-8048-3407-5)
Softcover, Tuttle Publishing
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Cha-No-Yu : The Japanese Tea Ceremony'Book summary:This disciplined estheticism, as expressed in architecture, garden design, flower arrangement, pottery, painting, and other arts intimately related with the cha-no-yu, forms the focus of attention in the first part of this book.The second part, entitled "Tea Masters, " presents a series of stories illustrating the tea experiences of representative men of all types during the Muromachi, Momoyama, and Tokugawa periods. The book is abundantly illustrated with drawings of tea-ceremony furniture and utensils, tearoom architecture and garden design, floor and ground plans, and numerous other features of the cha-no-yu. A number of photographic plates picture famous tea bowls, teahouses, and gardens.[via]More editions of Cha-No-Yu: Japanese Tea Ceremony:
The Chrysanthemum and the Swordby Ruth BenedictISBN 0452009162 (0-452-00916-2)
Softcover, New Amer Library
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The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Cultureby Ruth Benedict, Ezra F. VogelISBN 0395500753 (0-395-50075-3)
Softcover, Houghton Mifflin Company
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture'Book summary:A recognized classic of cultural anthropology, this book explores the political, religious, and economic life of Japan from the seventh century through the mid-twentieth, as well as personal family life.[via]More editions of The Chrysanthemum and the Sword: Patterns of Japanese Culture:
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Cronica Del Pajaro/bird Chroniclesby Haruki Murakami, Lourdes Porta Fuentes, Jun'ichi MatsuuraISBN 8483101718 (84-8310-171-8)
Softcover, Tusquets Editor
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Cronica Del Pajaro/bird Chronicles'Book summary:Tooru Okada, un joven japonés que acaba de dejar voluntariamente su trabajo en un bufete de abogados, recibe un buen día la llamada anónima de una mujer. A partir de ese momento la vida de Tooru, que había transcurrido por los cauces de la más absoluta normalidad, empieza a sufrir una extraña transformación. A su alrededor van apareciendo personajes cada vez más extraños, y la realidad, o lo real, va degradándose hasta convertirse en algo fantasmagórico.
The masterpiece of Japanese cult writer Haruki Murakami, the story of Tooru Okada, a young lawyer whose life begins to undergo a bizarre transformation. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle presents a collection of characters as surprising as they are real. [via]More editions of Cronica Del Pajaro/bird Chronicles:
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Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Mangaby Frederik L. SchodtISBN 188065623X (1-880656-23-X)
Softcover, Stone Bridge Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga'Book summary:Essential reading for fans, literati, and anyone interested in the shape of visual culture to come.[via]More editions of Dreamland Japan: Writings on Modern Manga:
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The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Cultureby Mark SchillingISBN 0834803801 (0-8348-0380-1)
Softcover, Shambhala Pubns
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture'Book summary:In the West, Japanese culture comes in the form of Power Rangers, Godzilla movies, and Sanrio products, but of course the indigenous pop culture is much richer. Rather than focus on what the rest of the world has already encountered, Mark Schilling provides an encyclopedic compendium of books, movies, music, comedians, and cultural scandals that have had the greatest impact in Japan. Thus, for the outsider, The Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture is an insider's guide to post-war Japan. Not content to simply catalog his entries, Schilling provides real depth and analysis in his articles, opening up Japan's rich pop heritage to the world at large. [via]
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Geishaby Liza Crihfield DalbyISBN 0520204956 (0-520-20495-6)
Softcover, Univ of California Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Geisha'Book summary:In the mid-1970s, an American graduate student in anthropology joined the ranks of white-powdered geisha in Kyoto, Japan. Liza Dalby took the name Ichigiku and apprenticed in the famed Pontocho district. [via]
Geishaby Jodi CobbISBN 0679437746 (0-679-43774-6)
Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group
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Geisha : A Lifeby Mineko IwasakiISBN 0743444299 (0-7434-4429-9)
Softcover, Washington Square Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Geisha, a Life'Book summary:Now in her 50s, Mineko Iwasaki was one of the most famed geishas of her generation (and the chief informant for Arthur Golden's Memoirs of a Geisha). Her ascent was difficult, not merely because of the hard, endless training she had to undergo--learning how to speak a hyper-elevated dialect of Japanese and how to sing and dance gracefully while wearing a 44-pound kimono atop six-inch wooden sandals--but also because many of the elaborate, self-effacing rules of the art went against her grain. A geisha "is an exquisite willow tree who bends to the service of others," she writes. "I have always been stubborn and contrary. And very, very proud." And playful, too: one of the funniest moments in this bittersweet book describes a disastrous encounter with the queen of England and her all-too-interested husband.
Revealing the secrets of the geisha's "art of perfection," this graceful memoir documents a disappearing world. --Gregory McNamee [via]
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Geisha: The Life, the Voices, the Artby Jodi CobbISBN 037570180X (0-375-70180-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Geisha: The Life, the Voices, the Art'Book summary:Here, brought vividly to life, is an icon of Japanese culture and customthe geisha in her role as human work of art and perfect woman.
A hundred years ago geisha numbered eighty thousand; today there are a thousand at most. Happily, Jodi Cobb is able to show usbefore they vanishboth the ceremonial world of the geisha in Tokyo and Kyoto and their private world as few outsiders have ever seen it.
Many of the older women we meet here were forced into this world by hardship; the young women were drawn to it by their dream of a
romantic life or their love of traditional arts. We see geisha in their daytime routines: fine-tuning their breathtakingly lavish wardrobes; perfecting the art of makeup; training maikos (apprentices); and preparing for annual dance performances.
But as we watch the geisha at night, as they entertain (for huge sums) at private parties, their art takes a different form. Their purpose is to provide a dreamof luxury, romance and exclusivity. As the men sit at dinner, geisha position themselves at their elbows to serve them sake and delicacies and practice a brilliantly honed art of conversation. As the alcohol flows and the guests relax, geisha play party tricks and sing songs. Geisha have for centuries studied the male ego. They tend it like a gardenand we watch men bloom.
This long-hidden world is revealed here both in superlative photographs and in a fascinating text that includes the voices of the geisha themselves. These women have created a life of beauty, making themselves an embodiment of Japanese culture, tradition and refinementa life that is captured exquisitely in this remarkable book. [via]More editions of Geisha: The Life, the Voices, the Art:
Geisha, A Lifeby Rande Brown, Mineko IwasakiISBN 0756781612 (0-7567-8161-2)
Hardcover, Diane Pub Co
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Go Rin No Sho: A Bookby Miyamoto MusashiISBN 1419121901 (1-4191-2190-1)
Softcover, Kessinger Pub Co
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Go Rin No Sho: A Book'Book summary:My Way of strategy is the sure method to win when fighting for your life one man against five or ten. There is nothing wrong with the principle "one man can beat ten, so a thousand men can beat ten thousand". You must research this. Of course you cannot assemble a thousand or ten thousand men for everyday training. But you can become a master of strategy by training alone with a sword, so that you can understand the enemy's stratagems, his strength and resources, and come to appreciate how to apply strategy to beat ten thousand enemies. [via]
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Golden/GeishaISBN 2253117951 (2-253-11795-1)
Hardcover, Librairie Generale Francaise, LGF
Find This BookBook summary:604pages. poche. broché. [via]
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In Praise of Shadowsby Junichiro TanizakISBN 0918172020 (0-918172-02-0)
Softcover, Leete's Island Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'In Praise of Shadows'Book summary:[via]An essay on aesthetics by the Japanese novelist, this book explores architecture, jade, food, and even toilets, combining an acute sense of the use of space in buildings. The book also includes descriptions of laquerware under candlelight and women in the darkness of the house of pleasure.More editions of In Praise of Shadows:
Japan: An Attempt at Interpretationby Lafcadio HearnISBN 4925080393 (4-925080-39-3)
Softcover, Icg Muse Inc
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Kimono: Fashioning Cultureby Liza Crihfield DalbyISBN 0295981555 (0-295-98155-5)
Softcover, Univ of Washington Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Kimono: Fashioning Culture'Book summary:The colorful and stylized kimono--the national garment of Japan--expresses not only Japanese aesthetic sensibilities but the soul of Japan as well. In this beautifully written and lavishly illustrated book, Liza Dalby, author of the highly acclaimed Geisha and Tale of Murasaki, traces the history of kimono--its uses, aesthetics, and social meanings--to explore Japanese culture. Drawing on a variety of period texts including 17thcentury kimono pattern books, Dalby vividly recreates kimono and those who wore them through the centuries. She discusses the development of the kimono robe from its Chinese origins two thousand years ago to its assimilation as the national dress of Japan. An engaging mix of fashion history and social anthropology, this lively and scholarly book demonstrates in a new way how clothing can illuminate our understanding of culture. [via]
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Kitchenby Banana YoshimotoISBN 8472233863 (84-7223-386-3)
Softcover, Ediciones Urano
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Learning to Bow: An American Teacher in a Japanese Schoolby Bruce S. FeilerISBN 039558521X (0-395-58521-X)
Hardcover, Houghton Mifflin
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Learning to Bow: An American Teacher in a Japanese School'Book summary:Learning to Bow has been heralded as one of the funniest, liveliest, and most insightful books ever written about the clash of cultures between America and Japan. With warmth and candor, Bruce Feiler recounts the year he spent as a teacher in a small rural town. Beginning with a ritual outdoor bath and culminating in an all-night trek to the top of Mt. Fuji, Feiler teaches his students about American culture, while they teach him everything from how to properly address an envelope to how to date a Japanese girl.
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Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japanby Bruce S. FeilerISBN 0060577207 (0-06-057720-7)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Learning to Bow: Inside the Heart of Japan'Book summary:Learning to Bow has been heralded as one of the funniest, liveliest, and most insightful books ever written about the clash of cultures between America and Japan. With warmth and candor, Bruce Feiler recounts the year he spent as a teacher in a small rural town. Beginning with a ritual outdoor bath and culminating in an all-night trek to the top of Mt. Fuji, Feiler teaches his students about American culture, while they teach him everything from how to properly address an envelope to how to date a Japanese girl.
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Memoirs of a Geishaby Arthur GoldenISBN 1400096898 (1-4000-9689-8)
Softcover, Bantam Books
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Memoirs of a Geisha'Book summary:The first thing you notice about the audio version of Memoirs of a Geisha is that Arthur Golden's 428-page novel has been reduced to a scant two cassettes. But dismay quickly gives way to mounting pleasure as Elaina Erika Davis (Contact, As the World Turns) begins her delicate rendering of geisha culture in the years before World War II. Davis reads the abbreviated story of Sayuri with an authentic-sounding Japanese accent--one mixed with a magical combination of Asian reserve and theatrical energy. As Sayuri ages from a 9-year-old peasant girl to a popular geisha in her late 20s, Davis directs her voice gently away from curious youth to a tone that reflects Sayuri's uphill life.
From start to finish, the listener is absorbed in the elegant spirit of Davis's performance, eager to hear the next chapter of Sayuri's transformation into one of the most famous geishas of the century. How unfortunate, then, to learn that book readers not only get the basic story, but a fascinating look at the intricate rules and rituals of geisha culture. Here, for example, is one of the many revelations omitted from the cassette: "Japanese men, as a rule, feel about a woman's neck and throat the same way that men in the West might feel about a woman's legs.... In fact, a geisha leaves a tiny margin of skin bare all around the hairline, causing her makeup to look even more artificial.... When a man sits beside her, he becomes that much more aware of the bare skin beneath."
We're also denied several subplots--the aborted friendship between Sayuri and a geisha named Pumpkin, for example, or much of the story involving the man Sayuri is secretly in love with. But what remains is as precious as a traditional Japanese kimono--at once artistic, suggestive, and moving. --Ann Senechal [via]
More editions of Memoirs of a Geisha:
- Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0307275167 (0-307-27516-7)
Softcover, Vintage Books - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0679781587 (0-679-78158-7)
Softcover, Random House Inc - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0739326872 (0-7393-2687-2)
Softcover, Random House Large Print - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0375400117 (0-375-40011-7)
Hardcover, Random House Inc - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0739326228 (0-7393-2622-8)
Hardcover, Random House Large Print - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 037570440X (0-375-70440-X)
Softcover, Random House Inc - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0606222049 (0-606-22204-9)
Hardcover, Demco Media - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0783801459 (0-7838-0145-9)
Hardcover, Thorndike Pr - Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 1400096898 (1-4000-9689-8)
Softcover, Bantam Books
- Memoirs of a Geisha: ISBN 0307275167 (0-307-27516-7)
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Memoirs of a Geisha: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, Piano Soloby John WilliamsISBN 1423412206 (1-4234-1220-6)
Softcover, Hal Leonard Corp
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Memoirs of a Geisha: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack, Piano Solo'Book summary:(Piano Solo Songbook). Six instrumental themes by John Williams from this Oscar-winning film, arranged for piano solo. Includes: As the Water * Becoming a Geisha * The Chairman's Waltz * Going to School * Sayuri's Theme * Sayuri's Theme and End Credits. [via]
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Memorias De Una Geisha / Memoirs of a Geishaby Arthur Golden, Pilar VazquezISBN 0307275302 (0-307-27530-2)
Softcover, Random House Espanol
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Memorias De Una Geisha / Memoirs of a Geisha'Book summary:En Memorias de una geisha, Arthur Golden abre una ventana al misterioso mundo del erotismo en Japón y describe con fidelidad la delicada fortaleza de la cultura de las geishas de Kioto a lo largo del siglo. [via]
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Memories of Silk and Straw: A Self-Portrait of Small-Town Japanby Junichi SagaISBN 0870117920 (0-87011-792-0)
Hardcover, Kodansha America, Incorporated
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Memories of Silk and Straw: A Self-Portrait of Small-Town Japan'Book summary:Interviews with a blacksmith, cotton dyer, undertaker, farmer, butcher, geish carpenter, hangman, midwife, and fisherman document life in a small Japanese town during the early part of this century. [via]
More editions of Memories of Silk and Straw: A Self-Portrait of Small-Town Japan:
- Memories of Silk and Straw: A Self-Portrait of Small-Town Japan: ISBN 0870119885 (0-87011-988-5)
Softcover, Kodansha Amer Inc - Memories of Silk and Straw: A Self-Portrait of Small-Town Japan: ISBN 4770012926 (4-7700-1292-6)
Hardcover, Kodansha International - Memories of Silk and Straw: A Self-Portrait of Small-Town Japan: ISBN 0870117920 (0-87011-792-0)
Hardcover, Kodansha America, Incorporated
- Memories of Silk and Straw: A Self-Portrait of Small-Town Japan: ISBN 0870119885 (0-87011-988-5)
Ntc's Dictionary of Japan's Cultural Code Wordsby Boye Lafayettede MenteISBN 0844283150 (0-8442-8315-0)
Softcover, Ntc Pub Group
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Ntc's Dictionary of Japan's Cultural Code Words'Book summary:Japanologist Boye Lafayetette De Mente discusses the change of psychology of the social and political system that evolved over the centuries. [via]
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Shinjuby Laura Joh RowlandISBN 0061009504 (0-06-100950-4)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Shinju'Book summary:When beautiful, wealthy Yukiko and low-born artist Noriyoshi are found drowned together in a shinju, or ritual double suicide, everyone believes the culprit was forbidden love. Everyone but newly appointed yoriki Sano Ichiro.
Despite the official verdict and warnings from his superiors, the shogun's Most Honorable Investigator of Events, Situations, and People suspects the deaths weren't just a tragedy -- they were murder. Risking his family's good name and his own life, Sano will search for a killer across every level of society -- determined to find answers to a mystery no one wants solved. No one but Sano...
As subtle and beautiful as the culture it evokes, Shinju vividly re-creates a world of ornate tearooms and guady pleasure-palaces, cloistered mountaintop convents and dealthy prisons.
Part love story, part myster, Shinju is a tour that will dazzle and entertain all who enter its world. [via]
Shogunby James ClavellISBN 8401464412 (84-01-46441-2)
Softcover, Distribooks Inc
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Speed Tribes: Days and Nights With Japan's Next Generationby Karl Taro GreenfieldISBN 0060926651 (0-06-092665-1)
Softcover, Harpercollins
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Speed Tribes: Days and Nights With Japan's Next Generation'More editions of Speed Tribes: Days and Nights With Japan's Next Generation:
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The Wind-Up Bird Chronicleby Haruki MurakamiISBN 1860464696 (1-86046-469-6)
Softcover, Harvill Pr
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› Find signed collectible books: 'The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle'Book summary:Bad things come in threes for Toru Okada. He loses his job, his cat disappears, and then his wife fails to return from work. His search for his wife (and his cat) introduces him to a bizarre collection of characters, including two psychic sisters, a possibly unbalanced teenager, an old soldier who witnessed the massacres on the Chinese mainland at the beginning of the Second World War, and a very shady politician.
Haruki Murakami is a master of subtly disturbing prose. Mundane events throb with menace, while the bizarre is accepted without comment. Meaning always seems to be just out of reach, for the reader as well as for the characters, yet one is drawn inexorably into a mystery that may have no solution. The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle is an extended meditation on themes that appear throughout Murakami's earlier work. The tropes of popular culture, movies, music, detective stories, combine to create a work that explores both the surface and the hidden depths of Japanese society at the end of the 20th century.
If it were possible to isolate one theme in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, that theme would be responsibility. The atrocities committed by the Japanese army in China keep rising to the surface like a repressed memory, and Toru Okada himself is compelled by events to take responsibility for his actions and struggle with his essentially passive nature. If Toru is supposed to be a Japanese Everyman, steeped as he is in Western popular culture and ignorant of the secret history of his own nation, this novel paints a bleak picture. Like the winding up of the titular bird, Murakami slowly twists the gossamer threads of his story into something of considerable weight. --Simon Leake [via]
More editions of The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle:
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: ISBN 186046470X (1-86046-470-X)
Softcover, Harvill Pr - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: ISBN 1860465811 (1-86046-581-1)
Softcover, Harvill Pr - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: ISBN 0679775439 (0-679-77543-9)
Softcover, Random House Inc - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: ISBN 0679446699 (0-679-44669-9)
Hardcover, Knopf Publishing Group - The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: ISBN 1860464696 (1-86046-469-6)
Softcover, Harvill Pr
- The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle: ISBN 186046470X (1-86046-470-X)
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A Year in Japanby Kate T. WilliamsonISBN 1568985401 (1-56898-540-1)
Softcover, Chronicle Books Llc
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› Find signed collectible books: 'A Year in Japan'Book summary:The Land of the Rising Sun is shining brightly across the American cultural landscape. Recent films such as Lost in Translation and Memoirs of a Geisha seem to have made everyone an expert on Japan, even if they've never been there. But the only way for a Westerner to get to know the real Japan is to become a part of it. Kate T. Williamson did just that, spending a year experiencing, studying, and reecting on her adopted home. She brings her keen observations to us in A Year in Japan, a dramatically different look at a delightfully different way of life.
Avoiding the usual clichés--Japan's polite society, its unusual fashion trends, its crowded subways--Williamson focuses on some lesser-known aspects of the country and culture. In stunning watercolors and piquant texts, she explains the terms used to order various amounts of tofu, the electric rugs found in many Japanese homes, and how to distinguish a maiko from a geisha. She observes sumo wrestlers in traditional garb as they use ATMs, the wonders of "Santaful World" at a Kyoto department store, and the temple carpenters who spend each Sunday dancing to rockabilly. A Year in Japan is a colorful journey to the beauty, poetry, and quirkiness of modern Japana book not just to look at but to experience. [via]More editions of A Year in Japan:
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Zen and Japanese Cultureby Daisetz T. SuzukiISBN 1567311245 (1-56731-124-5)
Hardcover, Fine Communications
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Zen and Japanese Culture'Book summary:Zen and Japanese Culture is one of the twentieth century's leading works on Zen, and a valuable source for those wishing to understand its concepts in the context of Japanese life and art. In simple, often poetic, language, Daisetz Suzuki describes his conception of Zen and its historical evolution. He connects Zen to the philosophy of the samurai, and subtly portrays the relationship between Zen and swordsmanship, haiku, tea ceremonies, and the Japanese love of nature. Suzuki's contemplative work is enhanced by anecdotes, poetry, and illustrations showing silk screens, calligraphy, and examples of architecture.
Since its original publication in 1938, this important work has played a major role in shaping conceptions of Zen's influence on Japanese traditional arts. Richard Jaffe's introduction acquaints a new generation of readers with Suzuki's life and career in both Japan and America. Jaffe discusses how Zen and Japanese Culture was received upon its first publication and analyzes the book in light of contemporary criticism, especially by scholars of Japanese Buddhism.
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Spanish
La Historia De Murasakiby Liza Dalby, Random House MondadoriISBN 8483460777 (84-8346-077-7)
Softcover, Debolsillo
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Memorias De Una Geisha / Memoirs of a Geishaby Arthur Golden, Pilar VazquezISBN 0307275310 (0-307-27531-0)
Softcover, Random House Espanol
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Memorias De Una Geisha / Memoirs of a Geisha'Book summary:Poco antes de su muerte, Sayuri, una anciana japonesa afincada en Nueva York, cuenta la historia de su vida a un joven amigo americano. El poder de seducción de la voz narrativa de esta geisha legendaria transporta al lector a un Japón de entre guerras, lleno todavía de ecos feudales, y a una de las tradiciones japonesas que más curiosidad inspiran en el mundo occidental: la de la geisha, una peculiar práctica cultural a la que están ligadas artes tales como la seducción, la danza, la pintura o la clásica ceremonia del té. [via]
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El Tatuaje De LA Concubinaby Laura Joh RowlandISBN 8478887997 (84-7888-799-7)
Hardcover, Oceano De Mexico
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› Find signed collectible books: 'El Tatuaje De LA Concubina'More editions of El Tatuaje De LA Concubina:
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Vida De Una Geisha: La Verdadera Historiaby Mineko IwasakiISBN 8466608753 (84-666-0875-3)
Hardcover, Ediciones Urano
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Vida De Una Geisha: La Verdadera Historia'More editions of Vida De Una Geisha: La Verdadera Historia:
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El Zen Y La Cultura Japonesaby Daisetz T. SuzukiISBN 8449302390 (84-493-0239-0)
Softcover, Paidos Iberica Ediciones S A
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› Find signed collectible books: 'El Zen Y La Cultura Japonesa'Book summary:Todo un clásico en la materia, el presente libro, escrito en forma de delicioso ensayo, está entereamente dedicado a captar indicios reveladores de cómo y por qué ciertos aspectos del "espíritu del zen" se están dejando sentir en la actualidad, y de una manera tan contundente, en toda la civilización occidental. De este modo, y tras una breve exposición sobre el significado del zen, Suzuki se dedica a examinar de forma detallada diversos aspectos del arte y la vida japoneses influidos por esta disciplina budista -el culto a la esgrima, la ceremonia del té, la forma poética del haiku y el amor por la naturaleza-, analizando también la relación existente entre zen y confucianismo, el papel del zen en la tradición de los samurais y el arte japonés, etc., todo ello sintetizado en sesenta y nueve ilustraciones. Y así, en una cultura, la nuestra, en la que el acelerado ritmo de la vida cotidiana se da por supuesto como norma universal, en una civilización en la que el interés por la posesión de "cosas" ha llegado a un nivel nunca antes conocido, las viejas y bellas virtudes japonesas, tal como Suzuki las describe, acaban desprendiendo un aroma inefablemente tranquilizador. [via]
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French
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Geishaby Arthur GoldenISBN 225314794X (2-253-14794-X)
Softcover, Le Livre de poche
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Geisha'Book summary:574pages. poche. broché. A neuf ans, dans le Japon d'avant la Seconde Guerre mondiale, Sayuri est vendue par son père, un modeste pêcheur, à une maison de plaisir de Kyoto. Dotée d'extraordinaires yeux bleus, la petite fille comprend vite qu'il faut mettre à profit la chance qui est la sienne. Elle se plie avec docilité à l'initiation difficile qui en fera une vraie geisha. Art de la toilette et de la coiffure, rituel du thé, science du chant, de la danse et de l'amour: Sayuri va peu à peu se hisser au rang des geishas les plus convoitées de la ville. Les riches, les puissants se disputeront ses faveurs. Elle triomphera des pièges que lui tend la haine d'une rivale. Elle rencontrera finalement l'amour. Ecrit sous la forme de mémoires, ce récit a la véracité d'un exceptionnel document et le souffle d'un grand roman. Il nous entraîne au coeur d'un univers exotique où se mêlent érotisme et perversité, cruauté et raffinement, séduction et mystère. [via]
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German
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Die Geishaby Arthur GoldenISBN 3442726328 (3-442-72632-8)
Softcover
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› Find signed collectible books: 'Die Geisha'Book summary:Nach dem Tod ihrer Mutter wird Chiyo in ein Geisha-Haus verkauft. Nachleidvollen Lehrjahren wird sie die begehrteste und mächtigste von allenGeishas. Doch ihr Traum vom privaten Glück erfüllt sich erst nach dem Untergangder alten Geisha-Kultur. [via]
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