Japan Books

Very nicely designed book and ideal to bring on a trip to Tokyo (I would have preferred it in soft cover though, like a lonely planet pocket).

If you love Tokyo and love toy culture this is a great resource. Old favourites like Tokyu Hands, Parco and Kiddy Land are in here, along with a whole bunch of lesser known beauties. Nice pics of shoppers and merchandise, as well as additional info explaining some of the strange mascots you encounter. Upfront basic information and clean maps means I'll definately be taking this with me next time I go exploring in Tokyo.

amazing book. as someone who lives in tokyo and guides dozens of visitors, both personally and professionally, through this city every year, i promise you that this is one of the best guides i've ever come across. for anyone interested in the design, toy and misc subcultures in and around tokyo, this is a must-have.

This is a MUST have if you are a toy nut and/or visiting Tokyo. I can not begin to relate how difficult this city is to navigate. T-Under cuts throught the language and concrete barriers. Bravo!

Ed

I found My Japanese War Bride to be very enlightening. It shows how the right combination of two people can overcome any adversity and come out stronger. It takes us through Mike and Tsuchino's struggle to go from nothing to being able to have anything they want, and I found myself rooting for them against the military and both their families. I recommend this book to anyone who wants to sit down and just be entertained by two peoples faith and hope.

I found the book to be entertaining and humerous. It brought to mind memories of post-world war II attitudes and bureaucratic obfuscation that will be familiar to anyone who served in the military or worked for the government. Both Mike and Tsuchino come across as likeable, intelligent and determined people.

I enjoyed the book. Very easy read . I learned a few things about bureaucracy in the military that were disturbing.... dare to question and you pay for it, even if you are right.
The author by his life shows how to succeed by hard work , by giving 110% and by being well prepared so when an opportunity arose he was able to jump at it. Tsuchino is his perfect mate; expecting him to so his best always and willing to back him and follow him wherever his path led. A very inspiring love story .

There is little literature available about Japanese War Brides and this book gives an excellent first-person accounting of a husband and wife's strengths and devotion. I read the book in efforts to gain information for research, but found that I could not put it down, not because of my interests, but because it is a true story of overcoming the odds and finding success/happiness in love and marriage!

Michael Forrester has a provided his life story in an easy to follow, chronological manner that gives one a sense of understanding of the time and events. It is real, interesting, humorous and most of all heartwarming! I would suggest this book to all readers.

Brooks & Warren's text is rightfully a classic for advanced high school or college undergraduate readers. They provide a useful overview of many important topics that one learn for the analysis of poetry. At the same time as they pursue the intellectual approach to poetry, they always keep an eye on appreciating the beauty of poetry.

However, the text is dated and a bit flawed. This represents a somewhat simplified New Critical approach to poetry. Their emphasis on close reading is admirable, but they have a kind of rigid, doctrinaire sense of what poetry "should" be. A professor of mine once called it a kind of blockheaded organicism. Also, their chapter on metrics I find to be poorly thought out; their approach is confusing and a bit thick. Their system of notation is more complex than necessary and not very expressive, and they approach it mostly as a mathematical exercise, not connecting it to analysis of a poem's meaning(s).

Still, all things considered, not bad as a textbook, and it has a wide selection of poems. Not too useful for advanced students of literature.

If there is only one book that teachers should let literature students read, it should be this one. Definitely the Bible of writers (and amateur writers), critics, or those who simply love the written Word. Cleanth Brooks gives as wide a perspective as possible about the different literary movements and the notable poets.It's just a shame that this book is VERY hard to find. A reprint would benefit English literature programs greatly.

For most of my life, I hated poetry. One year, I had a great English teacher who really showed me what poetry was all about and got me interested. This book was just what I needed. I bought it because it had the look of the best prose book around (Writing Prose: Techniques and Purposes, Oxford University Press). It is a great introduction to poetry. It's full of great poems. It's just great. Gosh. You're going to love it. I get excited just thinking about it.

Anyway, it's basically just a big six-hundred page anthology of poems, *with commentary*. And that's key. There are a lot of great poems that you just can't get without a little bit of context.

My adventures in poetry never went further than this book, but I still read it often.

I would just like to add to these good reviews that Understanding Poetry was the text used by Allen Tate in his poetry class at the University of Minnesota in 1966. (You had to sign up early to get into this class because it filled up fast!) Tate taught the New Criticism which emphasized the text as an autotelic artifact, something complete with in itself, written for its own sake, unified in its form and not dependent on its relation to the author's life or intent, history, or anything else. He began each session by reading a single poem from this text, which somehow made it clear just by his reading. Then he explained each line in careful detail. It was a wonderful class, and this book contines this kind of close reading. There is no Anxiety of Influence in the New Criticism.

Simply the strongest books ever written for the serious Judoka!
These are treasures. It is a crime no publisher is printing them. Nothing printed today compares. If you think Judo is just about throwing, study the book and accomplishments of Okano! Your Newaza will improve.

I have read a number of Judo books. So far, the Vital Judo Books are the easiest to learn from. It doesn't tackle the basics and formalities of judo but deals mainly on competition techniques which is what most judokas need from books. The grappling techniques in this book are worth studying and proven effective in competition. The Vital Judo Books by far are the best buys when looking for judo related books.

There are two volumes - Throwing Techniques and Grappling Techniques. Rather than the usual textbooks which include only the basics, these books are dedicated solely to applications and combinations. If you want ideas on how and where to apply your favorite throw or ne-waza move, these books are for you. These books are much more like the Judo Masterclass Techniques, and I wish someone was still publishing these as they are outstanding.

I am very impressed with this book. It describes some of the best techniques I've seen and many which I had not seen. Nowadays, Judo is being practiced as only throws, but this book recognizes the importance of proper grappling techniques (newaza). With the wide coverage being devoted to "Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu" people think that these techniques are new or recently discovered, but the reality of the matter is that most come from "True Judo". The author emphasizes that a Judoka should be "as good throwing as he is grappling; and, as good grappling as he is throwing".This book is great for the beginner and the seasoned Judoka.

Wally Yonamine was born in Hawaii of Okinawan and Japanese parents. As a child and young man, he worked to help support his family in the sugar cane fields of Maui. In school and in all his spare time, he played football and baseball. His hard work, great athletic ability and calm demeanor made him a success playing both sports in high school and college.
After a brief career playing football for the San Francisco Forty-Niners he decided to concentrate on baseball. His outstanding baseball ability and personal qualiities led to his being chosen by the American occupation forces in Japan to integrate Japanese baseball after World War II.
Yonamine's Asian appearance both helped and hindered him in Japan. Away from the diamond he might have been expected to fit into Japanese society because he looked like everyone else. But he didn't speak the language or know the customs. Sometimes he was seen as a tongue-tied Japanese guy with no manners. There are amusing stories in the book about the attempts of Yonamine, and later, other American players, to fit in. On the diamond, Yonamine endured insults and having things hurled at him from the stands both during home games and on the road. He did well and became loved and accepted for his playing and for his personality - much like Jackie Robinson with whom he has been compared.
Yonamine has been called "The Jackie Robinson of Japanese baseball." But more than just integrating the game, he played it aggressively in the American style, ignoring the somewhat passive, ritualized style of Japan. At first, the aggressiveness was not understood by players and fans. But when they realized its effectiveness, the American style caught on and became the norm.
In time, Yonamine's success as a player and then as a manager and coach, led to other Americans playing, coaching and even managing in Japan.The changes in Japanese baseball due to the work of Wally Yonamine made possible the American baseball careers of great Major Leaguers such as Hideo Nomo, Ichiro Suzuki and Hideki Matsui (who contributed a very nice comment for the book's dust jacket). And I would imagine Bobby Valentine is grateful to Yonamine as well.
Aside from Yonamine's story, the book has many interesting stories of other foreign players who played in Japan. Among them were Victor Starffin, a Russian player who was accused of spying for Russia during the war and imprisoned. His story sounds as though it would be a good book in itself. There are also stories of games in Japan with visiting American teams and visits by great American players like Joe DiMaggio. I learned things I hadn't known about my childhood heroes the Brooklyn Dodgers who toured there, and that my favorite, Dodger pitcher Don Newcombe, played first base for the Chunichi Dragons when his career with the Dodgers was over. Yonamine was not only the batting coach but he served as Newcombe's "cultural advisor."
I like this book very much and recommend it to all baseball fans for its historical information, good storytelling and relevance to modern Major League baseball.
It's not a tell-all book in the current trash-talking style. It's a sports hero story in a rather old-fashioned way. The last sentence reads, "Wally Yonamine reminds us all how a true sports hero should behave."

While Japanese baseball has seen a rise in public awareness over the past 15 years or so, mainly thanks to the influx of Japanese players in Major League Baseball, its storied history goes back many more years and is much richer than most of us are aware. Just like the American game, it is filled with people who transcend the role of player or coach and become figures instrumental to the game's development and success.

Such is the case for Wally Yonamine, a Hawaiian-born American who became not just a perennial batting champion contender and All-Star, but a coach, manager, and ambassador of the Japanese game and champion of baseball in both his native Hawaii and his adopted Tokyo.

Author Robert K. Fitts, who sat in the stands in 1994 when Yonamine was inducted into the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame, takes the reader on a 368-page biography of the life of Yonamine, from his early days in the sugarcane fields of Hawaii, to a budding professional football career cut short by injury, to an attempt to break into the Pacific Coast League that ended up routing him to Japan and the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants.

Yonamine, often referred to as the "Jackie Robinson of Japanese baseball" due to the prejudice and abuse he took from Japanese fans and players, originally thought of a life playing professional football. Having excelled in high school, he got a shot with the upstart San Francisco 49ers, but nerves got the best of him on the field and limited his playing time before a broken hand sustained while playing summer-league baseball led to his release the following season.

After returning to Hawaii, Yonamine kept playing both football and baseball in various leagues. While on a tour of the East Coast with the football playing Hawaiian Warriors, Yonamine suffered a separated shoulder, an injury that ultimately would cost him a shot at the Major Leagues.

However, all was not lost - while he wasn't able to make it with the San Francisco Seals of the Pacific Coast League, a successful minor league season in Salt Lake City caught the attention of manager Lefty O'Doul, another pioneer in Japanese baseball. O'Doul thought Yonamine would have a shot by heading to Tokyo, and soon enough the Tokyo Yomiuri Giants came calling with a contract.

Yonamine brought a competitive nature to the Japanese game that hadn't been seen before, and one that would shape the game for years to come. He challeneged certain cultural norms, and shook up the world of Japanese professional baseball to the point where executives first limited the numbers of Nisei, or American-born Japanese players, that a team could have, to wanting to ban their presence outright.

His presence continued to be felt after he retired from playing, as he moved into coaching and managing, including leading the Chunichi Dragons to a Central League pennant before losing to the Lotte Orions in the Japan Series in 1974. Yonamine retired from Japanese baseball in 1988 after 38 years as a player, coach and manager.

It was 2003 when Fitts first met Yonamine, having interviewed him in the Tokyo pearl shop that he owns with his wife, Jane. It was during that interview that Fitts came up with the idea for Remembering Japanese Baseball, a book written in the same vein as Lawrence Ritter's Glory of Their Times. That book went on to win the 2005 Sporting News-SABR Award for best baseball research.

After completion of the first book, Fitts asked permission to write a biography of Yonamine, resulting in this biography.

Fitts does a remarkable job assembling first-hand interviews, newspaper articles, and creates a book in which the life of Wally Yonamine almost jumps off the page.

There is an amazing amount of detail, such as play-by-play accounts of games, so much so that one could argue it too much for the average reader. However, it does provide a tremendous amount of context and history to the book, one that readers with an interest in Japanese baseball history will surely appreciate as it brings them right into the games and big moments of Yonamine's career.

What struck me most after reading the book was Fitts's ability to highlight the cultural aspects of the game and indirectly challenge my notions about the American way of baseball through his profile of the Japanese game. Yonamine was frequently challenged by the traditions and practices of the Japanese game both as player and coach, from having to miss the births of his children to having to wait to be embraced as a successful player due to his Nisei status. It was his ability to mingle his American upbringing with the Japanese culture that led to him becoming such an important figure in baseball.

After reading the book, when one looks at how the American game is structured, particularly with players coming from around the world and becoming stars in the American game, the differences both large and small become more apparent.

For instance, as Fitts explains at the start of Chapter 20, the Japanese often refer to foreign players as gaijin suketto, or "foreign helpers," and that their role is explicit - to help their Japanese teammates, while not being held in high esteem by fans, the media, or the league. Yonamine went from being an unwelcomed foreigner, to embraced star, back to gaijin suketto upon entering the coaching ranks.

In the American game, players from not only Japan but all over Asia and Latin America have risen to tremendous prominence, and have not only dominated on the field but have risen to the coaching, management and executive ranks. Certainly no one would say that Ichiro Suzuki, Daisuke Matsuzaka or Albert Pujols would merit gaijin suketto status in the Major Leagues.

If you are a fan of works such as Robert Whiting's The Chrysanthemum and the Bat and You Gotta Have Wa, I think you'll get a tremendous amount out of reading Wally Yonamine. It is an expertly researched and crafted book that chronicles the life of Yonamine and shows how his influence shaped Japanese baseball and helped get it where it is today.

This is a must-read and a must-add to the bookshelf for those with an interest in the history of Japanese baseball, and a worthwhile read for any baseball fan looking to broaden their knowledge of this great game that has spread around the globe.

I've been following Japanese baseball for a while now and I'm always eager to read the latest English language books about it. This book is one of the best. It's the first book that I've seen on the subject written by a historian rather than a journalist, so the viewpoint is unique. Fitts fills in the backgrounds, so you understand what it was like to grow up on a sugar plantation in Hawaii and how Japan rebuilt after the war. You learn about the violent crowds in Hiroshima and the problems of Japanese Americans living in a country where they don't look out of place, but can't speak or read the language. Definitely a great read.

The following is my book review, also available at:

http://www.japanesebaseball.com/forum/thread.jsp?forum=20&thread=54709

The full title of the book is "Wally Yonamine: The Man Who Change Japanese Baseball."

There have already been a few things about this book put on the web. Starting off with the official home page of the biography [http://www.wallyyonamine.com/], you can read some blurbs from others about the book, get the table of contents, and read a short excerpt. Cards and photo galleries are also available there, so you should be able to get a taste of what's in store for you there.Then there was Wayne Graczyk's promotion for the book [http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/sb20080907wg.html]. While I don't doubt the sincerity of his write up, it just reads like a PR piece, like he had to write something up about it before he was able to actually finish reading it. What he says is all true! But there's something intangible that bothered me about his review.

But this isn't about what other people said. And I'm most likely doomed to repeat others as well. But I'd like to really give you a feel for the book, and the emotion that a book like this can draw out of you. And I think that that's what's lacking in some of these other blurbs - that this biography is capable of stirring emotion.

First of all, there's the subtitle - "the man who changed Japanese baseball." I showed this book to a friend of mine and he said, "Yeah, right. Some gaijin really had that big an impact. It's just an empty statement to sell the book." My friend could not have been more wrong. I take to to pages 244 and 245:

"The fans wanted to see the league's new stars. In 1958 and 1959, an incredibly talented crop of exciting rookies entered Japanese professional baseball. These players did not play the slow, passive game of the 1940s. They had grown up watching Yonamine and his Giants while playing high school and college ball during the 1950s. They were faster, stronger, and more aggressive than their predecessors -- and the fans loved them. [...]"

Wally joined the Giants in 1951, and less than a decade later, Yonamine's style of play had gone from being the exception to the norm as the next generation of players came up. You could argue that other foreigners had brought over similar dynamics, sure. But none had the national exposure that Yonamine had with Yomiuri's vast media empire.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. The first three chapters deal mostly with Wally growing up a football star. What I found most fascinating was how different Japanese nisei were treated in Hawaii than on "lower 48." There have been a number of books and movies about how the internment camps during World War II were run, but this was the first I'd read about how things were in Hawaii. Take this excerpt from pages 26 and 27 for instance:

"Yonamine's success came at an important time for the Nisei community. With World War II raging, anti-Japanese sentiment was high. Japanese Hawaiians were not treated as poorly as mainland Japanese Americans, as their sheer numbers made them vital to the economy, but they still faced discrimination and hostility. Over three thousand people, mostly community leaders, were incarcerated and many Japanese Hawaiians faced hiring discrimination as well as racial slurs. There were not many Japanese American football players -- many Japanese parents, not wanting their boys to get hurt, discouraged football and pushed them toward baseball. Wally's triumphs made him a celebrity in the Nisei community and a source of pride in that troubled time. [...]"

One of the truly interesting thing about this biography is how Fitts-san will tie in what is going on in Wally's life within the social and historical context of the time. I can't say that I really learned much about history growing up. At least, it doesn't seem like it when I feel that I've learned more about history from watching The Discovery Channel than in middle and high school. This biography brings even more history to light, and makes it relevant as one watches Wally grow up in the midst of these social changes.

I think that at this point it's important to say that I'm not a passive reader, who just reads the words and notes them as facts to be pulled out as trivia at a later date. I like books that say something about society, give insight into how others think - be they real or fictional characters.

Following Yonamine from his sugar cane plantation roots, through his maturing as an athletic star in Hawaii during WWII, to his role in bringing nisei back into American society by playing football and later baseball in the minor leagues after The War, until his move to Japan, there is a constant undertow of social change going on.

Those who have read the Interview with author Rob Fitts at East Windup Chronicle [http://eastwindupchronicle.com/wally-yonamine-book/] may recall Rob stating, "I was a professional archaeologist specializing in 19th century New York City [...]." Reading this biography, you really get the feel for Fitts-san's background in history. I can't say that I've ever been much of a history buff (with the usual exception of dinosaurs and mummies as a kid), but the way that Rob brings history alive in this book is gripping.

The story about becoming a San Francisco 49er is interesting. As mentioned above, this adventure helps to heal a lot of wounds in the nisei communities in America. An injury sidelines that career, and Wally goes into baseball. After just missing the cut with the San Francisco Seals, Wally opts for the Salt Lake Bees where he does more good in integrating back the nisei to their communities.

One thing leads to another and Wally finds himself a Yomiuri Giant. And this is where all of the Jackie Robinson comparisons start coming in. Like the title that seems to be hyperbole, the Jackie Robinson comparisons seem to be another point where those who do not read the book find contention.

Have you ever thought about what kind of person it took to break the color barrier to MLB? I know that I never did before reading this book. I figured it just needed to be somebody really good at playing baseball. But reading how careful the planning was to choose Wally as the first post-war foreigner, I realize that the selection of Jackie Robinson was most likely similarly scrutinized. Both men had to bear the responsibility that if the "experiment" of their employment didn't work out, that there probably wouldn't be another for a long time. Both had to endure a great deal of taunting from the crowds. And in Yonamine's case, there were actual riots erupting on the field on numerous occasions.

Anyway, chapters 7 through 16 chronicle the Giants year by year while Wally played for them. If you like to watch a pennant race unfold, the pennants in the 1950s were absolutely incredible! The detail of various games, as important as the Emperor's game, to as little as one where Wally went 0 for 4 or broke out of a slump. Each game has its point. Each game makes you feel as though you were there in the stands. Even the most anti-Giants of fans will be swept away in the excitement and start rooting for Yomiuri to prevail. And, no, knowing the ending (how the seasons ended in the 1950s) already doesn't ruin the excitement of reading about those incredible past seasons.

Once Wally becomes a coach, then manager, the pace of the book picks up until it reaches its conclusion of Wally being inducted in the Japanese Hall of Fame. In stark contrast to the beginning of the book where any and every minor detail is included to reveal Yonamine's development into the person he became, the last few chapters just kind of skim over the rest of his career in a bit of a blur.

Of course, it's probably much like life. One develops and works hard to become defined by ones job, just to fall into a routine as the years go by. In that respect, I suppose that the final chapters did a good job in reflecting what eventually comes to us all - appreciation from the ones we care about (family) while leading rather anti-climatic lives.

Rather than ending on that note, I'd like to take you to perhaps my favorite passage in the book (page 107):

"One day, perhaps on this home stand, an eleven-year-old boy stood in the crowd. He had tried many times to get players to sign, but, as he remembered later, 'The players would walk past me as though I didn't exist. My brother would tease me because I always wound up feeling so hurt that I wanted to cry.' On that day, too, the players walked by him. Then the last player, Yonamine, stopped, looked directly at the boy and smiled. 'He took my board, asked my name -- which I could barely get from my lips -- and signed his autograph.'

"Sadaharu Oh still treasures that shikishi. [...] Oh commented, 'When I became a player it was always remarked how readily I gave autographs -- which is true -- but I did so for the best of reasons: because of the joy Wally Yonamine brought into my life one afternoon in my boyhood.'"

Excuse me while I blow my nose. I was on the train when I read that passage, and had to do my best to restrain my swelling eyes. With this one selfless act, it seems to me that Wally did much more than just change Japanese baseball.

Most people think of Japanese art as either the woodblock prints of the Edo period or modern manga. It appears that this is entirely appropriates, as modern Japanese art is some sort of strange marriage of the two.

I saw Murakami Takashi's "Superflat" exhibition in Seattle in 2001. At the time, I was shocked at how deeply anime and manga culture had shaped modern Japanese art. Although American comic books had some influence on fine art during the 1950s Pop Art movement and especially with artists such as Roy Lichtenstein, this was a whole different level. This was not just a self-conscious and ironic blending of high and low art. This was removing all barriers between the two, elevating art created for popular consumption to the level of gallery exhibition.

"Warriors of Art" shows that Murakami's Superflat Manifesto is very much alive, and dominating the Japanese art scene. Many of the young artists in this book have been hand-picked by Murakami, molded and shaped into his image. You can see his name all over the artist's profiles. But Murakami and his proteges are only continuing a tradition. The mix of child/adult sexuality, the erotic/grotesque imagery, even the heavy black line and bright colors, are all carried over from periods of Japanese art hundreds of years earlier.

Not that everyone in "Warriors of Art" comes from Murakami's school. Some, like Nara Yoshiitomo, are heavy hitters in their own right. Nara's paintings have been featured on CD covers for the band Shonen Knife, and have been exhibited all over the world. Others, like photographers Sawada Tomoko, Suzuki Ryoko, Yanagi Miwa and Morimura Yasumasa, all seem to be heavily influenced by Cindy Sherman with her self-portraits in various identities. It was interesting to note that, while this influence is readily apparent to anyone who has studied Art History, it was not commented on in the book.

Contemporary Japanese art is also influencing contemporary world art. One thing that can been seen amongst the works of various artists in "Warriors of Art" is the Japanese tendency to create characters, and to use these characters repetitiously in their works. Graffiti artist Banksy has adopted this motif, learning that the repetition of familiarity allows an instant entrance for viewers who might otherwise be put off by the discordant imagery. Some of these characters take on a life of their own, as Okazaki Takashi's "Afro Samurai" was later used as the basis for an animated series and a live-action film.

My personal favorite pieces in "Warriors of Art" where the ones that combine multiple influences, such as Aida Makoto's "The Giant Member Fuji versus King Gidora" which re-creates Hokusai Katsushika's infamous print "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife" recasting it with Ultraman heroin Fuji Akiko and Godzilla's nemesis King Gidora. Tabaimo's piece "public conVENience" makes the wholly appropriate comparison of the internet to public restrooms. Both are places entirely open to the public, yet within very private and personal activities take place.

While attending the National Art Education Association conference in 2008 I went to a workshop on Contemporary Japenese art. I was blown away by some of the art that was being produced in Japan, a far cry from what I've seen here in the US. The presenter provided us with an outline and bibliography for more information. This book was on his list and I'm glad that I made the choice to purchase it. The visuals are stunning and they show a fairly wide range of contemporary art from Japan. Many different artists and subject matter are portrayed. I would recommend this book to anyone who was curious about current Japanese artwork and wanted to learn a little more.

The Japanese artistic sense continues incorporating the old with new sensibilities to produce new forms. The old culture impregnates the new artistic expression and women artists are having their say finally. There is something that is always intriguing about Japanese arts and crafts for it is hard to identify. The intensity of subtleness, the effort put into producing the beautiful and yet the faint hint of the ugly need for strength to survive one's environment all meld in Japan's current art. This book will intrigue, puzzle and make you think about art and its relevance today.

Written by Tokyo-based art critic Yumi Yamaguchi, Warriors of Art: A Guide to Contemporary Japanese Artists is a jaw-dropping showcase of contemporary Japanese art, from sculptures to drawings to photography to unorthodox media. Though some pieces are clearly influenced by manga or anime, many others are of a unique and refreshingly original style. Full-color photographs on every page immerse the reader in a grand visual spectacle, while the text introduces the reader to the basic concepts and message of individual artistic talents. A small number of pieces show nudity or even graphically sexual images; Warriors of Art is not for young children, though the majority of artworks presented are not erotic. Highly recommended.

This is the second copy of this book that I bought. I purchased second as a gift for artist friend after buying one for myself. We are both painters; but, this is the type of book anyone can enjoy reading for its philosophy and appreciation of Asian art. A visual artist can learn much from the techniques of brush painting used in China and Japan. It is both poetic and visual.

This is the book from which I learned sumi-e. It is well written, with wonderful examples. If one is seriously interested in the subject and in learning how to paint high quality works, it is the definitive work. The artist, P'u Ch'uan, who illustrates particular styles and strokes, is a master, providing some of the best examples one could hope for. The works of other artists in their instructional books pale by comparison; they fall into the "You too can paint a masterpiece in 60 minutes" sort of thing one sees on TV. Those are acceptable if you accept the limitations and set your sights accordingly. The standards set by this book are extremely high.

The historical perspectives help a great deal in understanding not only the background of the art, but also in understanding the background of the strokes. These backgrounds are essential to more fully appreciating the work of others and in informing your own work. The great variety of styles and artists presented--contemparary and historical--help one to form one's own style.

This book teaches both an appreciation of the art form and a sound basis for attempting it. I can't say I have mastered the form by any means, but working based on this book has been a rewarding experience.

Highly recommended.

This is the best generally available book on Chinese and Japanese ink-painting in English of which I am aware. Why? Because it is not, primarily, a "how to" book. Yes, there are extensive examples of specific brushstrokes and characteristic forms and techniques, however they are by way of explanation and illustration, rather than instruction. There is much talk of history and aesthetics, but from a practical perspective; this is not, primarily, a book of art history or criticism. Rather, it looks at those things from the point of view of a painter, rather than an academic. While it's not an easy read, I would recommend this every bit as much for beginners as those with more experience.

So, why would this be useful for the beginning painter? While some authors would have you believe that Asian ink work is rooted in a spontaneous expression of feeling, and/or that a meaningful piece of art can be created with just a few, easily mastered, brushstrokes, these are extreme oversimplifications of the actuality of Asian art. Tossing a bit of ink on some rice paper may be spontaneous, but it isn't the same as the Spontaneous school of Chinese painting. In reading this book, which is admittedly dense and occasionally dry, the reader can gain a strong background in the traditions and aesthetics of ink painting. While learning basic brush control from a teacher or how-to book, "The Way of the Brush" will give you not just context and history, but an understanding of how to compose and construct a work -- how to put those brushstrokes together.

It could be said that this is not a book about how to paint in the Chinese and Japanese style, but how to look at a painting in the Chinese and Japanese style. In doing so, it also points the way towards seeing like a brush-painter. Unless you can see, not merely with your eyes, but with your mind, it is impossible to make the jump from brushwork to painting, from technique to art.

This is one of the best books about Chinese painting for those who want to understand not just Chinese painting techniques, but also something of the history and variety of traditional Chinese brush painting. The one drawback is the usage of the outdated Wade-Giles romanization (the book was first published in 1962), but that is merely a trivial annoyance compared to the wealth of information the author provides. Most instructional painting books are written by painters who focus on their own style, and give no credit to all the masters who have gone before them. This book shows many examples of paintings by master painters (ancient and modern), along with examples from the author's own teacher, master painter P'u Ch'uan. He thoroughly describes the different painting styles, with excellent examples, and many bibliographical references. I especially liked the fact that he gave 7 different versions of translations of "the Six Principles" of Hsieh Ho; by combining the common threads in all of them, their real meaning becomes clearer.

Another subject he talks about, although briefly, is the importance of understanding brush strokes in order to be better prepared to deal with forgeries and copies. This subject is almost universally ignored in books on Chinese painting, and yet it is very important. I have seen a painting in a catalog from one of the big auction houses that on first glance looked like another one of Li Ke-ran's many water buffalo paintings, and was attributed to him by the (anonymous) seller. Upon closer scrutiny of the brush strokes used, it was obviously a fake. And I am by no means a true expert.

If you are a beginner with no teacher to help you, then you will probably need other books, too. But for anyone who wants to learn about the history and traditions of Chinese painting, this is the ideal book.

I just finished reading THE WAY OF THE CHRISTIAN SAMURAI. Being a life-long Catholic and a long-time martial arts practitioner and student of Eastern thought, I've always know that the two traditions compliment each other well.

Today's world is a diverse place, and Mr. Nowak takes an important step forward with CHRISTIAN SAMURAI, showing that Christians can learn from many different diverse traditions, including bushido, the ethical code of the samurai.

Taking an approach similar to my Black Belt Leader, Peaceful Leader: An Introduction to Catholic Servant Leadership, in CHRISTIAN SAMURAI, Paul Nowak does an excellent job in showing important insights that Christians can learn from the samurai tradition. Or, as Mr. Nowak describes it, "...the Eastern insight can be a refreshing and enlightening look at the Christian faith as we know it." (p. 2)

In this age of intense interest in Japanese animation and manga, CHRISTIAN SAMURAI would make an excellent gift for the young Christian in your life. I plan on passing CHRISTIAN SAMURAI on to my son and several other young Christians I know.

I highly recommend THE WAY OF THE CHRISTIAN SAMURAI.

Being a Christian, I know I alienated my family when I decided to take up martial arts. I am sure that my parents believed that I embraced, if not endorsed, an Eastern mindset to the exclusion of my Judeo-Christian principles. I never really had the heart to explain that Judeo-Christian principles more closely align with an Eastern mindset than our Western way of thinking.

Perhaps I should mail my parents a copy of Paul Nowak's The Way of the Christian Samurai. When I first heard that title, I mused, "How could Christianity and the way of the Japanese Samurai ever parallel?" When I read this little devotional, I was very pleased with the author's comparisons.

The Samurai were the military nobility of pre-industrial Japan. The very name means literally "to serve" and militates against the mindset of entitlement that pervades society today. Applying the various writings from the Hagakure, one can easily see how the Samurai's teachings of supreme loyalty and servitude are easily attributable to the Christian's relationship with Christ. In this way, I was very pleased to read Nowak's discussion that Samurai's actually lived as if they were already dead. Since the fear of death was eliminated - they were free to live for the lord and sovereign. By analogy, how much freer would a Christian be if they lived as if already "alive," since eternality exists currently - not at some future date.

Furthermore, Samurai's would meditate upon loss - so that its eventuality wouldn't be all encompassing. To live a life free from the encumbrances of life allowed total devotion to their master. Reading this devotional reminds Christians of the total devotion we are supposed to have for our Lord and Master.

Anyone looking for a good devotional will benefit from reading this book. Christian martial artists, on the other hand, need this book. As we navigate our various martial arts, we take inspiration from accurate depictions of these ancestral warriors. Nowak empowers us to be inspired by their selfless dedication to their master that serves as an excellent model for the dedication we should show to Christ.

Armchair Interviews says: Unique look at martial arts.

A lot of people will get nervous about a book that suggests Christians have something to learn from the Samurai about how to serve the Lord. After all, weren't the Samauri pagans? And doesn't all of this reek of the sort of syncretism that attempts to equate all religions? It might except for two facts: Not all pagans were monsters and the modern West (including most of the Christians living there) have a lot to learn from the Samauri about the time honored concept of willing servitude.

Paul Nowak attempts to remedy that situation with The Way of the Christian Samurai. Consisting on excerpts from noted samauri masters (the samurai were a class of elite warriors in feudal Japan) with commentary noting applications to the Christian life, the book demonstrates how much modern society has lost in its quest for unrestrained egalitarianism. Certain passages in the New Testament - particularly those showing the deference given by the Apostles and others to Jesus (even before they knew His true nature as the Son of God) - can be misconstrued without understanding the cultural milieu wherein a respected figure was shown honor by those he visited and subservience by his followers. This is at odds with our own tradition on self-reliance to the point of self-centeredness that has led to the highly individualistic form of Christianity that has taken root in America (both on the liberal and conservative ends of the spectrum). The result is the claim of Jesus as Lord without fully grasping the import of claiming someone as Lord.

The samauri may not have been Christian but they did understand concepts that are applicable to the Christian life - often better than we. Integrity, loyalty, honor, service, courage, and self-sacrifice are all things that the samurai were instructed to live. Naturally, many failed in their personal lives but that is as true of Christian clerics as of samurai warriors. The important thing was that they understood the standard for which they strived while in many cases we in the postmodern world are oblivious to the existence of standards.

The excerpts on serving one's lord are eye-openers for any Christian with a "soft" view of service that rarely goes beyond activities at their local church. The willingness of a warrior to give himself completely to his lord underscores what it means to make oneself part of the "body of Christ". The Church, in this context, is not an abstract collection of like-minded individuals, but a concrete force sent out to bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ a dying world.

To Nowak's credit, he constantly emphasizes that the Samurai are not in any way Christian and the Samurai way is infinitely inferior to the Way of Christ. The samurai way is at times at odds with the Christian way and in these instances we are to reject the samurai teaching. However, we can learn how we are to serve our lord by the standards the samurai set in serving theirs. It is not a direct application of samurai teachings but one by analogy. It in a sense becomes comparable to how the early Church was able to utilize classical pagan philosopy in systematizing its own theology.

In all this talk of service, one might ask: What about freedom? Indeed, the Christian faith is certainly about freedom. It is about being freed from the bondage of sin but this freedom is found in placing oneself under the headship of Christ. Christians find freedom in becoming part of Christ's body the Church when we place ourselves in service to Him. This does not at all correlate with the modern idea of freedom that insists we must follow our own desires, but looks back to a time when willingly placing oneself in the service of a great leader was considered a virtue not a vice.

The Way of the Christian Samurai is truly an unusual book among the many published that seek to link Christianity to various Eastern religions or philosophies. It's uniqueness lies not in any success in doing so, but in its insistence that any such linkage must be judged by the known truths of the Christian faith. Given the limited focus of the book, its acknowledgment of the superiority Biblical teaching, and its usefulness in shedding light on often ignored facets of the Christian way, it is an important book that can be read with profit by those in the Church.

"If one were to say in a word what the condition of being a samurai is, its basis lies in seriously devoting one's body and soul to his master..."

This quote, taken from Hagakure: The Book of the Samurai, appears on the back cover of WCS. As the quote illustrates, the teachings of the samurai are extremely relevant for Christians, for their single purpose in life was to serve their master and those around them. As the author points our in the book's introduction, the title "samurai" literally means "one who serves." The relevance of such a philosophy is obvious for Christians. We are called to deny ourselves and to serve God and our neighbor. However, in our selfish, individualistic culture, the idea of servant hood is entirely foreign to us and we tend to minimize the emphasis on the selfless nature of such servant hood.

The value of this book is in its ability to show us what true servant hood is by examples of the writings of the samurai of old. Of course, we have the perfect example of servant hood in Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, it seems like we mythologize his selflessness because of the fact that Jesus is God. Its true that he is God, and that we can't live up to his perfect display of sacrifice is undeniable. Nonetheless, we are called to live by his example and promised that the trials we face by imitating his self-denial will mature us to be more like him. I'm afraid that we Westerners have trouble living by Christ's example because the mythological nature that we attach to his servant hood. What would help us is to see examples of people throughout history who lived by the philosophy of being servants who deny themselves on a daily basis to better serve their masters. God has provided us such examples in the samurai of the feudal period of Japan.

In the book, Paul Nowak deals with three main works written by the samurai and shows how their philosophy is practical to Christians. He also shows Scripture passages that parallel these teachings. Amazingly, many of the excerpts from the samurai works are basically rewordings of passages of Scripture. Quickly after I began reading the book I was absolutely amazed by the level of devotion that they aimed to live by. By no means am I more impressed with their example than I am by our Lord's example. Rather, I was encouraged to see that these men actually displayed the self-denial and loyalty to their master that we are called to do. Keep in mind also, that the samurai were this committed to a fallen human. Our master is the perfect risen King who helps us by sending us his Spirit! How much better should our example of servant hood be? To me, it should be much better. Yet from the examples given in this book, we have a lot of work to do in order to surpass the pagan samurai in our devotion to our master.

After reading it, I have a much better sense of what service and self-denial is. More importantly, it has helped me see more clearly the example that Jesus set, and has encouraged me that I can do much more in imitating it. Also note that this is not one of those lame self-help books. It is thoroughly Christ-centered. It is also a very unique book. I'm pretty sure that it will be a while before I come across a book this unique in content, yet this sound in its message. I suggest this book to everyone but especially to people who are interested in Japanese culture, because it deals a lot with the writings of the legendary samurai who helped make the culture famous.

This book is not intended as an introduction to Shingon Buddhism, but rather, provides an in-depth, scholarly look at Nara and Heian-era Buddhism and the rise of Shingon Buddhism. This book is intended for serious scholars of Japanese Buddhism and reads like a college thesis. Professor Abe's research is immense, and he regularly cites the research done by previous Japanese scholars through the book. What I like best about this book is that Professor Abe debunks a lot of long-held beliefs in the academic world regarding Shingon and early Buddhism, such as the myth that Shingon appealed to the upper classes only.

Abe's research on the Mahavairocana and Vajrasekhara sutras also is very valuable as very few books in the West even explain what the sutras are about.

This work may not be your first source to learn about Shingon, but for Japanese historians, this book is a treasure of academic research.

For the first time I read a convincing explanation, what Kukais thinking - and thus also Esoteric Buddhism - was about.

Fortunate enough to find this gem in a Kyoto bookstore recently, it was with the greatest pleasure that I savored this book. Abe has indeed set a new standard for true Esoteric Buddhist research, investing within "The Weaving of Mantra" original and insightful ideas concerning Kukai's creation of a new esoteric presentation of Buddhism. Abe brings together not only highly reputable sources here within the Japanese community but original introspection into a period within Japanese Buddhist history that has left its mark on Buddhism as a whole.

The serious student or researcher of Esoteric Buddhism will no doubt require this volume in his/her collection as it now represents the pinnacle of Mikkyo insight. A treasure not to be missed.

Dr. Abe has, with his THE WEAVING OF MANTRA, accomplished a rare feat. His book is an in-depth analysis of important era in the history of Buddhism and Japan, which surpasses all other works written on the topic, and which is nonetheless accessible to the non-specialist. Written in an engaging style which informs without resorting to pedantry, Dr. Abe introduces us to Kukai and his social and historical milieu. Focusing on Kukai's construction of Esoteric Buddhism as an innovative category in the field of Buddhist discourse and practice, he avoids the simplistic models of past studies and brings to his topic an analytic sophistication that is matched only by his eloquence.

This work is by far the best book on Kukai and Shingon Buddhism currently available in English, and it should also, hopefully, exert a powerful influence of the field of Buddhist Studies as a whole, for which it should serve as a model for excellent scholarship.

This book makes a different interpretation of the Meiji restoration and it's impact on Japanese society. Proceeding from that revised view it shows how Japan entered the war. This new approach does answer all the questions about Japans role in World War Two.

The Eastern mind, because of biases based in society, doesn't conjure the same conclusions as the Western mind. Not that one is better than the other, just that it is trained differently. What we find in these series of articles is an exhibition that no matter the upbringing, humans will, driven by greed, ambition and depravity, arrive at faulted choices no matter where these decisions are made, because we are all cut from the same cloth. Well done and researched, it brings data and thought to the topic.

The following is the Foreword to "What Were They Thinking?" The book is actually published by Merriam Press, through Lulu.

"We started writing these essays in 2005. We had known each other for some years beforehand but this was our first collaborative project when we hit a rock while researching the Solomon Islands campaign. Something about Japanese behavior in the naval battles around Guadalcanal seemed odd to us, though we couldn't put our fingers on it at the time it became clear that they just weren't acting like we thought they should have been. Japanese reaction to the Marine landings on Guadalcanal was at best weak, and that wasn't making any sense. So we did some more digging. The result is this collection.

"We decided early on that we weren't going to write a major treatise on World War II in the Pacific because the shelves already groan with those. We decided instead to look at the existing material and try to discern from it answers to three questions:

"What was Japan's ultimate goal in the 1941-45 war?
"Why didn't they try it before 1941?
"Why haven't they tried since 1945?

"We don't answer these questions directly; we really can't because we're not professional scholars with graduate students to do the scut work and we aren't inclined to learn Japanese. Rather, we want to challenge the readers of these essays, some of whom we hope will be scholars and who can read Japanese, to look at the existing material and new information as it becomes available and try to answer them. We've come to believe that nearly three generations after Tokyo Bay is enough time to seriously challenge the decades-old assumptions about Japan and the Pacific in the 1930s and `40s. We don't think they make sense anymore.

"The Samurai: Throughout this work the collective term "samurai" is used to describe the militarist portion of Japanese society before 1945. Since the 1930s they have been generally referred to as simply "Japanese militarists" in the West; the samurai tradition, the reasoning goes, ended in 1876 when the Meiji reclaimed direct rule.

"To be both fair and clear, the "samurai" began as a class of officers and leaders that can only be compared to the lowest levels of peerage in the European tradition, the orders of knighthood. Samurai warriors were well trained in the craft of war, but also in training and organizing others to fight with them, though not to rise to the level of "true" samurai except under extraordinary circumstances. Thus, the samurai built and trained armies to be at the disposal of the Emperor and the noble lords who controlled the income.

"Calling the samurai "militarists" has a tendency to logically lump Japan's samurai in with the German, Italian and other nationalist groups' militant factions. It also hides the millennia-long dominant role of the samurai class on the Japanese archipelago. More, it obscures and confuses any thought of connecting the samurai's long dominance of the Japanese Home Islands with their attempted dominance of much of the Pacific Rim.

"Furthermore, the term "militarist" itself, in the liberal Western mind, implies a kind of temporary aberration that can be alleviated by treaty-assured disarmament and a few conferences. To the Japanese the "samurai" by 1941 were dedicated to death or glory, the difference between them being of little importance to the true believers as long as the Emperor and the kami were satisfied. The Western concept of "militarist" was as alien to non-believers in the 1940s as is the logic of suicide bombers at this writing. And, Japan's "militarists," even if we accept the term, used ancient samurai imagery, allusion and mythology profusely in their propaganda, so they themselves were keenly aware of the psychological power of the swaggering swordsman in Japan.

"The term "samurai," as used in these essays, is fully appropriate to describe the ultra-monarchist, ultra-nationalist, ultra-militant subgroup of Japanese society that planned and initiated the entire Pacific War and every conflict that led up to it. Indeed, in the authors' view, it is the only term that fits.

"Credit and Blame: As always in a work of this kind there are people the authors would like to thank. We'd both like to give our deepest appreciation to the U.S. Army Reserve's retirement points system that created units like the 5051st Detachment, which brought us together on Monday nights for roughly five years while creating a stimulating atmosphere to think about military power in different ways, and of course enough retirement points to get Army pensions."

The book's complete PR release:

What Were They Thinking?

The military leadership of Japan, dominated by the ages-old clans of the samurai class, embarked on a war in 1941 believing that the Americans and British wouldn't fight, but they also knew that Japan could not win a prolonged war. If the West didn't quit...well, the Japanese had no contingency for that.

So why did Japan start a war at all?

This and other questions are addressed in What Were They Thinking? A Fresh Look at Japan at War, 1941-45. Other topics include:

* The Japanese military was dominated--and divided--by ancient clan rivalries
* The Meiji Constitution, the structure of the Japanese government before 1945, was a recipe for military tyranny
* With a few exceptions, the Japanese Army was not well equipped, but was trained to attack even if the situation was hopeless
* The Japanese Navy was never adequate to the task required of it in the Pacific War; the merchant fleet was even worse
* The Japanese air forces suffered from acute shortages throughout the conflict that were often the result of their industrial shortcomings
* Planning in the Japanese military often ignored hard lessons of all kinds--their own and those of others, disregarded intelligence that did not fit their ideas, and often overlooked obvious options
* Japanese industry was not able to keep up with the demands of the war in part because they had not learned the techniques of mass production
* By the middle of 1942 the only open question about the end of the Pacific War was not if Japan could win but who would reach Tokyo first: the Americans or the Soviets
* The kamikazes were the most effective ship-killing aircraft of the war in the Pacific
* Peace overtures before 1945 often came from low-level Japanese officials not authorized to negotiate, offering terms none of the Allies would or could accept
* Neither the atomic bombs nor the Soviet invasion of Manchuria compelled Japan's military leadership to seek peace; only the Emperor's decision drove them to surrender
* The history of the Pacific War after 1945 was written to fit postwar needs, not always to tell the truth of what happened
* Japan thrived before 1941 and after 1945. So why did they go to war at all?

John D. Beatty and Lee A. Rochwerger discuss these and many other issues in this provocative and imaginative inquiry into Japan in World War II.

What Were They Thinking? A Fresh Look at Japan At War, 1941-45. By John D. Beatty and Lee A. Rochwerger.

The authors have provided the reader with an extensively researched and thoroughly foot noted series of articles molded into an assessment of the 'whys and wherefores' of the Japanese attack on the U.S. and it's allies in the Pacific. The authors have asked and answered the fundamental questions of the Japanese strategic objectives and their failure to prosecute the war to a favorable conclusion for the Emperor. The Samurai grand strategy and bushido ethos is interwoven throughout to give the reader the 'root cuase' of the actions of the Japanese both on the battlefield, as well as the home front. The military and naval weapons, ships and aviation assets are described and their short comings are detailed. The Japanese soldier and his fighting abilities or lack there of is also addressed.

I would recommend this book for anyone who enjoys an analytical original-thought treatise on a major event is the history of America.