Hawaii Books

I must apologize for the brevity and flippancy with which this review was written. I am on a busy school schedule and I don't have time to write the review that this book deserves. I am honored to be the first one to review it and hope it will encourage (if not convince) potential buyers and Saikaku fans that it is worth the search and money to get hold of your own copy of this book.

The stories in this book are sparse. The stories in this book are short. Many of them involve violence, suffering, tragedy and "redemption" through revenge. Yet, intertwined with the violence and tragedy there are stories whose very telling defines true friendship, loyalty and honor in a way that stands out in stark contrast to the habit that many Westerners call love. One story is simply about two old men, who are dear friends. In a casual conversation one invites the other to his house for a ceremony which will take place months after they part company. The comment is given lightly, but the other man, honoring his friend, remembers the invitation and travels a great distance through the winter snow to arrive on the day his friend had named. The old man who made the invitation is startled by the appearance of his snow covered friend and, recalling the invitation he made so many months before, is overcome by his friend's devotion and sacrifice for their relationship.

The concept of honor in this book is not thrown around lightly. "Honor" is not a word that goofy characters in martial arts movies throw around for American audiences to laugh at. This book offers any western mind a compact, powerful, dose of what really means to be a friend or enemy to someone.

The tantric teachings of Buddhism have little to do with the 'enlightenment-by-sex' teachings that can be found aplenty in New Age book stores, which my teacher Michael Saso shows in this book. Although it is not aimed at addressing this issue directly, the title might lead the casual observer to the wrong conclusion. This book highlights the Tendai Japanese vajrayana tradition, and goes very in-depth in describing tantric practices. Very detailed descriptions of mudras (hand movements) and other practices provide the reader with a depth and breadth of information which reveal the truer nature of tantra. An ordained Tendai priest (one of probably less than 10 non-Japanese Tendai priests), he was required to do 30 straight days of running practice (you'll have to read the book) before he was taught some of the information found in "Tantric Art". His descriptions of the use and purpose of mandalas show us that the mandala paintings found in New Age book stores have got the process backwards. Mandalas are representations of meditative experiences made after masters had the experience, not fanciful imaginings that the artist hopes will produce meditative experiences. Those interested in vajrayana Buddhism will find this a valuable tool to compare with Tibetan vajrayana on an in-depth level. There is little in the way of philosophy, it is mostly a description of the practices and explanation of how and why they function as they do.

I HAVE REVIEWED THIS BOOK......AND IT DOES ME ALOT OF HELP THROUGH MY ASSIGNMENTS ......IT IS A TRADITIONAL MAORI ARTS WEAVING BOOK AND IRECOMMEND THAT MAORI'S READ THIS BOOK

THANK YOU

Breaking new ground while covering subjects others have glossed over,
this engaging book clarifies influences of sencha tea enthusiasts on
Japanese art. As the author unravels the historical conditions and
cultural factors related to tea aesthetics, the reader recognizes how
competing influences affected the consumption of art for elite tea
connoisseurs. These aesthetics eventually drew interest from a
broader public.

The presently more popular _chanoyu_
"whisked" tea ceremony has received much more focus than
sencha tea ceremony and practices in Western publications. With
Chinese symbolism so commonly found among Japanese art objects,
however, it would be hard to understand the quiet taste of chanoyu
fully informing the creators of Japanese artifacts-- especially since
the Edo period. Graham's book resolves that puzzle.

Ostensibly the
book is about _sencha_ "steeped" tea and its various roles
for the artistic elite of Japan since its introduction from China.
More importantly, the author captures the artistic environment of
Japan since the early Edo period. The book offers a context against
which all Japanese arts can be gauged. At times, Japanese art has
leaned toward interest in elite Chinese culture and at other times has
purposively rejected that influence. This book explains that ebb and
flow capturing not only sencha tea's influence but also the
neo-Confucian influences introduced by the Tokugawa shogunate and
enlarged by often-iconoclastic Japanese literati.

The book might be
compared to Clunas's _Superfluous Things_ text on Chinese Ming taste.
Both offer extraordinary insight to understanding Asian art by looking
from a perspective that has seldom been studied in detail. Graham is
not the first to speak of sencha tea as promoted by the Obaku sect of
Zen monks and by _bunjincha_ literati as influential to Japanese art.
She is the first to deeply explore it, put it in perspective and to
not discount its continuing influence.

As an aside to the book's
focus on tea aesthetics, it offer considerable insight to other
Japanese arts by sharing information on sencha tea enthusiasts who
have made hugely significant contributions. Ishikawa Jozan
(1583-1672), the monk Ingen (1592-1673) and the literati artist Rai
San'yo (1780-1832) are among these. Each reader will uncover for
himself individuals who may be known by other arts but were informed
in sharing sencha tea with their coterie of friends.

Other authors
have discussed sencha tea enthusiasts' influence on Japanese art.
Stephen Addiss's insightful book _The Art of Zen_ describes several
Obaku monks' influence on Japanese painting in extraordinary
detail. Katie Jones, Brian Harkins & Paul Moss (international art
dealers based in London) have published catalogs commenting on
distinctive art objects chosen by _bunjincha_ (Japanese literati who
practiced sencha tea-- especially in the 18th and 19th centuries).
They note objects that often express the Chinese sage's taste for
communion with nature. Sencha tea is discussed in the PLW Arts' book
_Tetsubin_ as many of these iron kettles were produced as sencha tea
utensils. For a broad understanding sencha tea's influence, however,
Graham's book leads the field.

Of the several chanoyu (vs. sencha
tea) books available on Japanese tea aesthetic, I would recommend Sen
Soshitsu's. They include _Chado: The Japanese Way of Tea_, _The
Japanese Way of Tea: From Its Origins in China to Sen Rikyu_,
_Chanoyu: The Urasenke Tradition of Tea_ and _Tea Life, Tea
Mind_. These are each well constructed and offer separate insights.
The overview of tea history in _Chado_ is a jewel in concisely
expressing chanoyu aesthetics, but in devoting over 60% of the book to
the detailed ritual steps of modern Urasenke practice, it may not be
your "cuppa'." The less popular (by Amazon.com sales
figures) _The Japanese Way of Tea_ is Shoshitsu's closest equivalent
to Graham's book in expressing the contributions of tea to Japanese
culture. Its chapters on Murata Juko, Takeno Joo & Sen Rikyu are
easily worth the book's price, and early tea history information is
detailed. _Chanoyu_ is a little more expensive but offers an
introduction to tea utensils with great photos that makes it warmly
appealing. _Tea Life, Tea Mind_ required bursting many of its pages
that had not been fully separated at their top by the publisher. It
offers a brief introduction to chanoyu tea aesthetics.

This is a great basic book to teach the numbers 1 to 10. The book counts Hawaiian related items, which ties in perfectly with a Hawaiian Luau theme that I taught to my special education students over the summer. It helped to teach vocabulary words about Hawaii and luaus. The pictures are beautiful. My students really loved the book!

Both Volumes 1 and 2 writen by Ms. Yuphaphann hoonchamlong, are excellent in comparison to a growing number of Thai language instructionnal materials. As a former University if Hawaii Thai language student back in the late 1970's, I can readiily see the vast improvement made in the text books presently being used. I am eagerly awaiting to see what Ms. Yuphaphann's work books are like as they are invaluable for this type of language training. Overall my investment was well worth the price.

"Themes in The History of Japanese Garden Art" provides more than the title may promise. The book unfolds a detailed panorama of the history of Japanese garden arts and the social circumstances that had been crucial for its development. The author delivers a fascinating scientific work choosing a writers point of view that will make it easy to the layman (such as the author of this review) to enjoy it without previous knowledge of the traditions in Japanese gardening.

This book is a simple, fun, colorful introduction to some of the "local" culture in Hawaii. If you visit Oahu, you will recognize some of the places in the book. Here is a pronunciation/translation guide for a few of the words and places in the book:
opu - (oh-poo) stomach
Haleiwa - (ha-lay-ee-vah) surfing town on the North Shore of Oahu
pau - (pow) finished
haku - (ha-koo) head
Matsumoto - (mot-sue-moe-toe) mom and pop store on the North Shore
lychee - (lie-chee) a sweet, small fruit with rough red skin, and tender white flesh surrounding a capsule-shaped brown seed
shave ice - ice shaved off a large frozen block into a paper cone, flavored syrup is poured over it

Teaching Chinese medical history is tough. One of the largest differences between conventional thinking and ancient (both Chinese and non-) is the the use of case studies and examples rather than clinical trials. Prior to the mid-19th century, the use of statistics was virtually unknown in the world. Knowledge was gleaned from the experiences of masters in their respective fields. This book clears up some of the cultural reasoning behind such methods and offers insight into how we can learn from what would be considered an outmoded technique.

Its is a great book for all ages. I truly enjoyed reading it as the story takes surprising turns and suspense. This is a book not only for entertainment and also educational. I bought a few as gifts and for myself. Definitely recommends it.