Japanese Books

Well researched and written book. Got to know JR McKinney rather well and understood his character and attitude. A rather common, uncommon man. It is hard to believe he came out without a wound in his one man stand. Yet I do accept it did happen as written. I was also amazed how much training and how long it took his unit to become engaged in combat. I would have liked to read a little more about the early occupation of Japan. He was indeed the "Phantom Warrior."

Forrest Johnson tells the story of an American who rose to the occasion when faced with overwhelming enemy forces. But his book is more than a biography. Besides J.R. McKinney's incredible story, Johnson explains the World War II campaign in the Philipine Islands in a detailed and informative manner. The book gave me a much better understanding of the operational and political realities that affected the War in the Pacific. In this and his other books, Johnson demonstrates an ability of explaining dynamic and complex history from the perspective of individual soldiers thousands of miles from home, in a very unfamiliar and alien locations. I look forward to more from this author. Very nicely done, Mr. Johnson.

"Battle is composed of individual sagas of men, who may have once had high ideals, like love of family and country. Combat reduces all of that to one instinct - destroy and survive."

The above quotation, is from this amazing book, and should be kept in mind as you read it. This is the life story of "CONGRESSIONAL MEDAL OF HONOR" recipient, John R. McKinney. (J.R.). His life story is broken down into basically four segments:

The first segment is his life, from birth to enlistment in the Army for World War II. Some people might have described J.R. as a common man, but I don't think that would be accurate. To me, a common man, is average in education, financial standing, and living environment. I think it would be more precise, to describe J.R. as a poor, rural country boy, with a 3rd grade education. He was the son of a "one-horse" sharecropper. J.R.'s Father's, plan, to have sons, that could help with the farming, hit a bump in the road, when J.R. became sickly, and could not perform the strenuous tasks on the farm. Because of this, J.R. was taught to fish and hunt, for the sole purpose, of feeding his family. A very telling statement made to J.R. by his Father said it all: "Fishing and hunting, is only a sport for rich people " J.R. spent most of his time alone out in the swamps, barefoot, fishing, and hunting with a homemade sling shot. About the only time he wore shoes, is when he went to church. He became so proficient with his sling shot, that he had enough fish, squirrels, and rabbits, so that he could sell some to the local general store. The shop owner, then made a deal with J.R. wherein, he would lend him a rifle for a year, to use, in return for any food, that was over and above, what the family needed. And so, started, J.R.'s remarkable relationship with rifles.

The second segment, is all the time, between J.R.'s enlistment in the Army, and his actual, historical, award -winning battle, at Dingalan Bay in the Philippines. This is the one part of the book that slows down a little, because it includes, literally, a step by step, history lesson, of our battles with Japan in the Pacific, that J.R. was not involved in.

The third segment, is the battle, (I am purposely not revealing a lot of detail here ) in which J.R., in one, thirty- odd minute battle, singlehandedly, utilizing M1 rifles, machine guns, rifle stock, bayonet's, trench knives, fists, and feet, killed over one hundred Japanese soldiers. This is, while being shot at, at point blank range, attacked with sabers, had hand grenades, thrown at him, mortars, launched at him, and bayonets thrust at him.( NOTE: There is no way, on God's green earth, that any Hollywood movie, could be made ,of this scene, that anyone would believe, unless they read this book.)

The fourth segment, is his life after his release from the Army, as a national hero, up through his death. I know of no better way, to end this review, but to quote, what President Truman, said to J.R., at the White House on , January 23, 1946, as the President, placed the blue ribbon and medal over the head of J.R.: "This is a wonderful citation. There is no greater honor in the world " Then, as he held the medal up, from J.R.'s chest for photographers, President Truman stated: "To tell you the truth, I'd rather have earned one of these than be President "

On May 11, 1945, at a remote outpost in the Phillipine Islands, approximately 100 Japanese infantrymen attacked a machine gun position. At the time Pvt. John McKinney was comfortably resting. One of the soldiers in the first wave of attackers struck Pvt. McKinney on the head with a saber. The glancing blow served only to awaken McKinney. As McKinney fought off his assailant, his two comrades manning the machinegun left (one soldier dragging off the other who had been wounded).

Left alone, McKinney took on the company of Japanese soldiers in a battle of wills, courage, and heroics that almost defies description, including jumping into the machinegun emplacement to recapture the position (and gun), shooting over half a dozen Japanese at pointblank range, and killing several more with the butt of his rifle.

What ensued next, a running battle by McKinney with the remainder of the squadron of Japanese attackers -- who tried to root him out or kill him with repeated assaults by rifle, machine gun, grenades, mortars, and hand to hand combat -- until he was relieved is almost too amazing to believe.

Indeed, McKinney is thought to have killed over 100 Japanese in less than an hour but, because his story was just too incredible, the actual kills were reduced and his Medal of Honor citation only credits him with killing 40 Japanese soldiers singlehandedly in repulsing this attack.

This book tells the life story of this amazing man. It is excellent reading for anyone interested in World War II, especially the battles in the Pacific.

Mr. Johnson's book, his writing, is in step with the master, Hampton Sides. Get it, read it, tell your friends. And while you're at it, thank a veteran.

A wonderful compilation of poems, well translated by Sam Hamill and Keiko Matsui, illustrated by Stephen Addiss, written by the "goddess of poetry", Yosano Akiko (1878-1942). In the introduction, there is a brief description of the life of this wonderful woman poet. There we learn that she was the epitome of early twentieth century Japanese feminism, social reform and romanticism. The poet was so noted by her peers, that her era is referred to as the Age of Akiko. Born out of a family of poets and literati, she was initially despised by her father, who sought a male son. Afterwards, her father gave her the best available education and supported her fully. Her life was full of adversities and triumphs, and her love story with a romantic womanizer poet, Yosano Hiroshi (pen name Tekkan) reminds me, in a way, of Frida Kahlo's relationship with Diego Rivera. Proficient in modern occidental literature, she can be seen, in the context of her times, as a modernist poet; the first in Japanese history to criticize openly the emperor. Throughout the poems written in tanka form, compiled in this edition, we can perceive and feel her struggle to look directly into the heart and reveal the complexity of the human being, as well as the hues of erotic, spiritual and familial love. There are also some modern style poems which confirm, again the genius and sensibility of the greatest 20th century woman poet of Japan.
"Raindrops continue
to fall on white lotus leaves.
While my lover paints
I open the umbrella
on his little boat....." Long live Akiko!

I liked the comparison that the introduction made between the thinking of Yosano Akiko and the High Moderns like Eliot and Pound. For all that they were working from different cultures and probably entirely different world views, I think that Akiko shared with them that kind of glittering precision that makes her work very pure to read-- particularly the Tanka.

I was a little bit less impressed with the selection of "Modern Poetry" that came after the Tanka. I'm not sure whether it would have been true of all her non-traditional form poetry, but the poems chosen for this section were not nearly as strong as some of the others, and honestly seemed as though they'd been chosen to illustrate her political thinking rather than the body of her aesthetic work.

Also, compliments to Shambhala Publications for the lucid translation and for the non-irritating introduction. Everything seemed just enough and well done.

This volume of poetry has the same high quality one has come to expect of Sam Hamill. It is enhanced by brush and ink illustrations by Stephen Addiss and a brief biographic introduction to the poem Yosano Akiko.

The most jarring poems are the twelve in modern style - jarring in the sense of being furthest from the reader's expectations. "Women Are Plunder" is a feminist poem opening with the image of a department store sale as a universal call to women. "The Town of Amazement" describes a Utopia - one without student plays - in which the power structure (political, educational, legal, religious. famial) is leveled. "Cold Supper" explores family financial troubles, a plight frequent in the poet's life. "You Shall Not Be Killed, Brother!" is a pacifist poem. Most of these modern poems are relatively time bound - interesting but ephemeral with some exceptions.

The poems written in the traditional tanka form, however, are more universal exploring sensuality, sexuality, religion ... An example: "On her cheek and mine, / although our minds so differ, / like utter strangers, / the pine winds blow equally - / almost as though we were friends." In these poems one sees a genius transforming traditional image and form into something new, expressing experience previously hidden and confronting the changing views of society.

"River of Stars" is one of the more sophisticated books of Japanese poetry that I have read. It is artfully translated and beautifully presented. If you like tanka, you will love the selected poems of Yosano Akiko.

As a poet, I can barely open this book without the muse whispering in my ear. The translations are superb - page after page of delicious tanka with a small section of "modern style poems" at the end. The brush illustrations by Stephen Addiss visually enhance a magnificent experience. Don't miss it!

Marjorie Randell's recollection of her life growing up in a close-knit family on a Michigan farm, and her subsequent heartbreak of losing her brother and the search for meaning in his death is both sentimental and memorable. She captures the innocence of the mid-West that was torn apart as her brother, and other small town boys, were thrust into the horrors of war. The story shifts with her brothers letters - both from his service days, and then more harrowing,when he was a POW. Through his letters, we see a boy turn into a man, and at age 23, we see how his death aboard a Japanese war ship at the hands of American bombers brought agony and questions to a family back home. Sweet recollections of an innocent time lost, and the loyalty of a sister that looks for answers, even 60 years later.

I just finished reading Searching for Friday's Child for the second time. Each time I couldn't put it down until I finished.
Searching for Friday's Child is more than a portrait of an intelligent sensitive young man, it is a book about warm human relationships. Although Jack, a prisoner of war being transported from one Philippine Island to another or perhaps to Japan by the Japanese aboard the Shinyu Maru, died in his early twenties (a result of the torpedoing of the Shinyu Maru by an American submarine toward the end of Second World War), he lives in this book! It is clear from his letters to his family, his girlfriend and to his friends that we all lost a person who had much to offer to those he loved and cared about and to society.
Jack's words, through his letters, show us that he had a gift for writing and storytelling, as does the author, his younger sister. Searching for Friday's Child tells us of the author's emotional journey to find her brother, to discover things about him she hadn't known before, on an intimate level that I haven't found in any other memoir, autobiography or biography about the courageous soldiers of World War II. I highly recommend this book.
Nancy Sampson, Woodbridge, VA

Marjorie Randell's recollection of her life growing up in a close-knit family on a Michigan farm, and her subsequent heartbreak of losing her brother and the search for meaning in his death is both sentimental and memorable. She captures the innocence of the mid-West that was torn apart as her brother, and other small town boys, were thrust into the horrors of war. The story shifts with her brothers letters - both from his service days, and then more harrowing,when he was a POW. Through his letters, we see a boy turn into a man, and at age 23, we see how his death aboard a Japanese war ship at the hands of American bombers brought agony and questions to a family back home. Sweet recollections of an innocent time lost, and the loyalty of a sister that looks for answers, even 60 years later.

Howard "Jack" Irish was born to Michigan farm life. His family was close, his friends were true. He was a 4H lad, strong and faithful. He went to college, joined the ROTC and was drafted after he graduated in May of 1941. He was commissioned a lieutenant after training and sent to the Philippines. The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December and all of a sudden Jack's sweet duty in the tropics evaporated like steam on hot pavement.

Jack saw action on Corrigador before he was captured by the Japanese. He endured life as a POW as well as anybody could, but sadly he lost his life in September of 1944, while being transported along with 749 other prisoners of war on the Japanese freighter Shinyo Maru. The Shinyo Maru was torpedoed by the USS Paddle. The sub's commander had no way of knowing the POWs were on board.

It all happened so long ago, but Marjorie makes it seem like only yesterday, so timeless is her writing. Jack was her brother and she lovingly tells this story through the numerous letters written by Jack to his family and friends before the war, the all to brief correspondence between Jack and his family after his family discovers he has been taken prisoner and the volume of letters between Jack's mother and different officials as she relentlessly sought to find out what happened to her son.

This book is so well crafted that at times it seemed as if I was reading a novel as I read the night away. I should have read the book long ago and I'm ashamed to say that that I did not, for you see, Marjorie's Uncle Ray was my grandfather. So many of the characters in her book have passed away, as has my father, Jack's cousin, who fortunately survived the war. Soon all the people from that time will have passed this mortal coil, but thanks to people like Marjorie Randall, who can tell a story without making it seem like dry history, there will be those of us left behind who remember.

I read this book in the past few days, only days after the beginning of America's 3/03 war with Iraq, which may be a partial explanation of why I found "Searching for Friday's Child" such a compelling read.

The book begins with the author's recollection of growing up on a Michigan farm, with her parents, and her brother, "Jack", four years her senior. We are then provided with copies of her brother's letters to home, and to his girlfriend, while he attends Michigan State College, when he is called into the Army Air Corps, from bootcamp, then when he is sent to the Philippines only months prior to Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941 and Japan's simultaneous attack on the Philippines.

As of 12/7/41, the letters from Jack stop, and we are treated with reply letters to Jack's family from U.S. military, the Red Cross, etc., as the family is desparately trying to find out what's happened to Jack, with the advent of the US/Japanese war. Subsequently, the family learns Jack is a POW in the Philippines, but they cannot find out how he is, whether he is alive, healthy, or been a victim of the myriad of attrocities committed by the Japanese solders in the Philippines upon our servicemen, as well as the Filipinos.

Jack's family is advised of the POW camp within which Jack is held, and advised they should continue to write Jack as he may receive their letters. They do continue to write, but have no way of ascertaining if Jack is receiving any of their letters. After several months, they receive the first of about four "postcards" from Jack, from the POW camp, but these tell little of Jack, as little can be said due to censorship by his captors.

Ultimately, the family is informed that Jack was aboard a Japanese ship, one of 750 POWs being transported in September 1944 by the Japanese to another island, or perhaps Japan, that on September 7, 1944, that ship is torpedoed by the US during which 83 POW's swim to shore and are rescued by Filipinos, and ultimately returned to the US. Unfortunately, Jack was not one of the lucky ones. Thereafter, he is listed as Missing In Action(MIA), and again the family has no way of knowing if Jack is alive or dead, whether he drowned, was shot by the Japanese, who were murdering all visible POWs after the torpedo struck, or whether he somehow survived.

We are then treated to many letters from several surviving POWs, some who knew Jack, were his friends at the POW camp.

This is a wonderful historical account of a family's desparate, yet compassionate, attempts to try to find out about Jack's well-being, his life during those years, anything to fill the gaps. It begins primarily with the efforts of Jack's mother, but is continued with those of the author, his younger sister, efforts which continued all the way up the late 1990's, over fifty years after WWII.

We are treated to the insights of several POW's, their own accounts of life in a Japanese POW camp, their accounts of life with Jack, Jack's excellent accomplishments in the Army Air Corps, his unique skills with operating anti-aircraft artillery, his command's success is shooting down 15 Japanese aircraft, which as I recall, was a record during the war.

By the time one completes Searching for Friday's Child, one feels one knows Jack Irish, his mother, father, and certainly his sister, the author, she who joined the U.S. Marines Reserves during WWII. One is certainly treated to a wonderful account of a close-knit family's quest during unimaginable times of the tragedies of war.

This is a wonderful read. I highly recommend it.

Regards,

Frank Rankin
Sacramento, CA

I do not recommend this book to the beginner who is just getting into Bonsai care-taking. This is more of a comprehensive book explaining how to create, shape, and nurture Bonsai trees. This book is very well written for and advanced level Bonsai owner. It goes into detail about how to start Bonsai trees, wire them, how to pick out the right environment, etc.
So if you're beginning, I think you should pass this book by at first. If, however, you have been into Bonsai trees for a while, this is the book to go with.

In short, my opinion is that this is an excellent book if you are serious about bonsai and would like to get started, or to complement your knowledge from other books.

Before I purchased this book, I checked out several books from my local library. Some books seem to show many pictures of finished bonsai without really getting into details and I feel as if I still don't have the knowledge to even start on a bonsai. This book is a bit more helpful with step-by-step pictures from repotting to pruning, diagrams of undesirable branches, and methods of propagation.

There is a lot of information in this book that I read in this book that other books brush by, but I found helpful to me. Without a doubt, it is important to read different books because each author has their own views on certain issues.

Other books that you might want to look into are "Bonsai (101 Essential Tips)" by Harry Tomlinson and "The Bonsai Workshop" by Herb Gustafson.

This is a fine work on Advanced Techniques for the Bonsai enthusiast, in particular giving full particulars on specialty tools and pruning shears in Bonsai Culture. It is kind of surprising the great tips one can get, from just the one paragraph tips that the authors son added after his father death. Very concise and precise is a great summary for this book.

This is a great little book for the beginner because it explains everything simply but thoroughly.

The Secret Techniques of Bonsai: A Guide to Starting, Raising, and Shaping Bonsai An understandable, complete book on Bonsai .

Very good purchase.
Arrived in France rapidly.

This is a much needed book on general swordsmanship skills. About 1/3 of it is a technical manual, and the rest is various history, philosophy, etc.

There are not many reliable books on swordsmanship, so I'd highly recommend this one to new or experienced students of Japanese sword!

This book is a MUST HAVE for anyone studying Shinkendo!!!! If you are new to the art (like me) it gives you good info on etiquette and other essentials that may be hard to pick up during classroom settings. It also breaks down the basic kata just in case you cant remember them after class.

Even if you are not studying Toyama-Ryu Shinkendo (the style advertised in this book) this book is still VERY beneficial. As always in kenjutsu one should study under a qualified instructor, but this book is a perfect companion to class work.

One can not learn Shinkendo or any other martial art from a book or video, but this book is a great introduction to Shinkendo and Japanese swordsmanship in general. It is well worth getting. Obata Toshishiro is a respected swordsman who has studied several different styles of martial arts and has taken elements from each and created a very well rounded school of Japanese swordsmanship.

You can also get a Shenkendo video from their web page that makes a great companion to the book. Then look for your nearest Shinkendo dojo.

As the beginning of the book says, books, movies, etc. are no way to learn shinkendo, but this book is amazingly helpful. It does things in the right order. The first 2/3s of the book describe the philosophy, review, etiquette, etc. of Shinkendo, which is a great way to prepare for instruction.

My daughter got this from the library at school this week and immediately my husband and I decided this is a book she should have. In the 5th grade living in Missoula, Montana, I was told by my Japanese-American teacher that Missoula had been the site of such a camp. I didn't want to believe her because I thought of the prison camps in Germany and immediately equated the two. Though the history of the American prison camps has been all-but buried, it's works like this that will allow us to teach our children and hopefully they will learn from the mistakes made. This heart-wrenching tale is of a family forced away from the sea where the grandfather had his boat and his fishing business to the camp in the Sierra Nevadas. The small boy at the camp later took his own family to the site to leave offerings at his father's grave at the camp. During this time, his daughter, Laura, left his cub scout scarf - an acknowledgement of a childhood stolen and that they were no less American than those who had imprisoned them there. The lessons of empathy and love are needed now more than ever. I would HIGHLY suggest this book to anyone able to read. My first grader has checked it out two weeks in a row - this is one book worth owning!

The site of the Manzanar Relocation Center is found on Hwy 395 South in the Owens Valley of California at the foothills of the Sierras. I have stopped there on several occasions and imagined life as it might have been for the Japanese held there during WWII. Also, I have seen the display of artifacts and photographs at the Eastern California Museum in nearby Independence, CA. It is worth visiting.
I had read stories written for adults on this topic, but Eve Bunting's story for children truly captured my heart. It is beautifully written and well illustrated and moved me to tears. It seemed especially poignant now in the light of the recent events resulting from terrorism; thank God we no longer suspect every one. I will always remember reading this book.

Wonderful, chilling book about the imprisonment(more euphemistically called internment by the governmeny) of Japanese-Americans during world war too, told from the point of view of a child who goes to visit one of the prisons(more euphemistically called "camps"), where her grandfather died, so far from the sea, where he had lived before his life was interrupted. It is sad and engulfing, with snippets of irony, that gets the message across with the help of bright pictures.

Every time I read this story to the children in the library I worked at I cried. A year later I still remember it vividly. The book showed the atrocity of what we did simply by showing the emotions of Japanese-Americans 50 years later. One truly feels for the father uprooted from his life and culture; the grandfather uprooted from the sea and his fishing. I can relate to the tragedy of being removed from the water. Eve Bunting builds to a dramatic, emotional climax- which is not easy to do in a short children's book. Chris Soetpiet's illustrations are beautiful, with excellent use of both color and black and white. And the short historical synopsis at the end provides opportunity to discuss with children the reality behind the story.

This story is told through the eyes of a little girl, Laura, who is going to visit her grandfather's grave one last time before the family moves out of the area. The grandfather's grave is located in the abandoned Manzanar Relocation Camp.

Laura's parents tell of their struggles and their lives inside of the relocation camps. Laura listens of the injustices and trys to understand.

This is a wonderful story, with a message of hope and moving on told as only Eve Bunting can.

upon reviewing the several hundred books in my library on world war II, i noticed my reading was skewed heavily to the european theatre (particularly the eastern front) ... i felt this book was a good start to creating more balance in my studies.

with a firm understanding of japanese brutality during the war ("the rape of nanking" illustrates this very clearly), i felt i needed more than the bataan death march, hari kari and suicide pilots to better understand the japanese disdain for surrendering. this book proved to be a real jaw-dropper.

i had no idea as to the horrific conditions of the prison camps or the brutal treatment received by the men who were confined in them. as gratuitous as the violence and disgusting conditions were within these prison camps the book supplies more than enough examples of how utterly brilliant man can be in his will to survive. the stories that these survivors recall so vividly will keep the reader thoroughly engrossed to the very last page.

if someone desires to gain a deeper knowledge of world war II's pacific theatre, i would definately recommend this book ... it is a superb resource.

Brian MacArthur has done a tremendous service to the people who fell under the sway of the Japanese during World War II. Since that war was sixty years ago, it is easy to forget how nasty, brutish, and malevolent were the ways in which the Japanese treated their prisoners. This book performs admirably in reminding those who forgot, how bad it really was.

The book concentrates on the plight of the British and Australian POWs that were captured primarily in the fall of Singapore. While this may seem restricted, it is actually a good grouping as most of the war in the far east was fought by Americans and another recent book - Conduct Under Fire - covers that ground. It is an interesting exercise to read these books in close proximity to each other - as I did, inadvertantly!

The story is told in essentially three parts. The first part focuses on the building of the Burma-Thailand Railway and the horrors of the initial descent into the hell that was a Japanese POW camp. A film that was produced some decades ago also showed this event which was called "A Bridge on the River Kwai". The author takes umbrage at the movie and spends many pages comparing the reality to the fictionalized version and indeed, the movie was a complete whitewash and a twisting of the real events. I say it was a whitewash because after reading the accounts of the suffering workers, it is impossible to see the movie's opening sequence with the lines of actors cheerfully whistling "Colonel Bogey" as having any connection to the reality.

The reality was that the prisoners were mistreated and abused horribly, torture was practiced by the Japanese as a tool for slaking their sadistic tendencies and starvation was a tool to slowly kill off the prisoners. Clearly the goal of the Japanese was to get the most amount of work out of the prisoners as they could while spending the least amount possible to maintain them. We read over and over again about how the Japanese kept food and medicines away from the prisoners preferring to hoard the materials rather than save any lives.

The second part of the book chronicles the lives of the surviving prisoners after the railway was concluded. Many of the prisoners were transported around the theater by ship and many stories are told about these "Hellships". I thought it was instructive to note that more people died on the Hellships than did during the construction of the railway which was the object of the first part of the book! The only discordant note in this section was when the author describes one set of events and points out that throughout the war, only Americans descended into killing their own in this one event. That was an unnecessary and gratuitous slap at a group of fellow prisoners.

the final part of the book is simply a collection of disparate anecdotes. The author recounts the horrors of some of the worst-known events - for example an island where a force of 2401 prisoners were building an airfield and only 6 survived it - as well as focus on the prisoners in Japan and their efforts. The final set of chapters tell the story of the end of the war, the release of the prisoners, their journeyes home, and their unwillingness and inability to tell their story. A poignant chapter towards the end of the book tells the story of what probably turned the author on to the writing of this book - it is a newspaper article authored by Brian MacArthur of the final meeting of the association of POWs that decided to stop meeting while their few remaining members still had any dignity left.

This book was a fascinating read and served to remind me of the difference between real atrocities as committed by the Japanese and the so-called atrocities of today at Guantanamo. Reading this book places these two events in such a different light that it makes me think that mankind's future is hopeful.

Brian MacArthur has written a stirring account of the plight of the prisoners of the Japanese during WWII. The book goes far beyond David Lean's fictional "Bridge on the River Kwai," presenting details and first-person accounts that Hollywood never could. The book reveals the scope of Japanese abuses in individual camps, as well as the distribution of these camps throughout SE Asia. And while the story is heart-wrenching at face-value, there is an overriding theme that words are inadequate to express the misery that was actually endured by these tortured souls, many of whom never made it home. The mortality rate among prisoners of the Japanese was five times that of the Germans, a fact that may surprise many who get most of their history from the media. This book represents a new look at the darker side of the Pacific War, and is a glowing tribute to the perseverance of the allied prisoners of war.

I couldn't leave the book. The author's ability to describe the prisoner's horrific treatment kept me spellbound.

I read this book in a matter of days simply because it was so moving and fascinating that I could not put it down. It is an horrific account of the atrocities that occurred in the Japanese POW camps during WWII and the way the prisoners dealt with the injustices and hardships that were dealt upon them on a daily basis.
If you are interested at all in learning the truth about the shocking way our soldiers were treated this book is a must.
I highly recommend it.

"Dazzling" is just the word to describe this collection, with each poem an intense & passionate work of lapidary perfection. While utilizing traditional Japanese poetic symbols drawn from Nature, this is far from being just blandly pretty "Nature poetry" -- it explores the landscape of the heart. And it does so with gorgeous precision, constantly evoking subtleties of color & emotion. An extraordinary woman's soul is laid bare in these pages ... and she celebrates her body & the joys of the flesh with equal honesty.

First published in 1901, this is sensual & stirring work that's timeless -- certainly far more real & lasting than the superficial treatment of sexuality in too much of today's popular culture. For those who seek lush beauty & love's anguish in all of its Romantic splendor, this is where you'll find it. Most highly recommended!

Goldstein & Shinoda's translation of selections from Midaregami, Tangled Hair by Yosano Akiko is unsurpassed for its simple elegance that perfectly matches the sensual spareness of the original. Yosano Akiko ranks not only as one of the world's great women poets, but great poets, period. Her imagination challenged the limits of her culture and dared to speak of the fullness of womanhood while simultaneously overcome old conventions and breathing new life into the genre of tanka poetry.

This tradition continues today, and readers who liked this book should seek out M. Kei's Fire Pearls and Leza Lowitz's A Long Rainy Season: Haiku and Tanka (Contemporary Japanese Women's Poetry, Vol 1).

"To punish-- Men for their endless sins,-- God gave me-- This fair skin,-- This long black hair!"

Imagine writing that in turn of the century Japan, at a time when women were considered to be barely human and feminism was unheard of! Yosano Akiko's beautiful poems broke with tradition and spoke of love, the emancipation of woman, and the pleasures of the flesh. Attacking conventional morals, she glorified the female body and defended sexuality, but there is more to her poems even, than that. The title, Midare Gami means "tangled hair" and is a typically oblique Japanese expression that, despite its indirectness, is utterly fraught with nuance and meaning. Tangled hair refers not to hair that is messy or untidy, but to hair tousled by love making and is a constant theme in her poems. Yosano Akiko brought new meanings to the term, and used it to connote female emancipation and sexual freedom.

Although Yosano Akiko is important in Japanese literary circles because she wrote about things that no one had ever dared to write about before, her poems are more than just historical curiosities. They are hauntingly beautiful, and her choices of images are incredibly vivid.

She says so much in so few words, that one can spend days thinking about a simple three or four line poem no matter how many times one reads her work, one can always find new things that one had not seen before. It is fascinating to read the thoughts of a woman who truly lived her life for love and art, and who was constantly struggling to come to grips with the conflict between one's ideas about the way that life ought to be and the way it really is. Her poems about being betrayed by men who go off to have affairs, or the sad verses about women waiting for men to come home, or the lamentations on the emphemerality of beauty and youth are unforgettable. As Pico Iyer discusses in his book The Lady and the Monk some of her best poems have to do with the conflict that the monk faces when he is torn between his love for a woman and his quest to escape from the longings and desires of the material world.

Yosano Akiko's poems are very difficult to understand, as the many of the cultural references and symbols she uses are not familiar to westerners, but fortunately there is an excellent appendix which provides explanations for all the poems.

Tangled Hair: Selected Tanka From Midaregami is a selection of Akiko Yosano's rather impressive Japanese poetry, which was originally published in 1901, and is here superbly translated by the combined efforts of Sanford Goldstein (Professor Emeritus, Purdue University and Keiwa College, Japan) and Seishi Shinoda (Niigata University, Japan) into English for a new generation of readers. The "tanka" is the most popular form of Japanese poetry, representing 1,200 years of literary history and tradition. These translations are sensitive to context and subtle word meaning, are presented with extensive notes concerning the poems themselves, and include facets relating to the author's life. 95: Through these pines/The breeze equally/On her cheeks and mine,/Yet how like strangers/Our thoughts.

The tanka collected in this volume are simple and elegant. I would say perfect, but I suppose that's a dangerous word. Heck, I like danger; they're perfect. Not one extra word or unessesary image in the whole book. Now, in my fast food culture "without excess" is a rare,beautiful,almost inconcievable thing. I suppose that's one reason I cherish this particular book. Using quiet traditional images from nature; moonlight,cherry blossoms, morning dew, the high cries of the cranes the author cuts deep into the collective human experience. It quiets my soul. I'm amazed. In the words of Josef Albers "Less" in this case certainly "is more".

This book was suggested to me by a very famous tattoo artist when I was considering getting some work done. To say I was completely astonished by my own ignorance of the art form is an understatement. Although much of the book was a little too complex for me to understand, the pictures, process and artists were a great tool to study. The book also provided surprising information on American artist Ed Hardy--a fashionable rage right now--who apparently was one of the rare American artists to be allowed access into this world. Highly recommended

I just bought this over the weekend. If you like japanese tattoos as much as i do, you may wanna check out there other 2 books I also got last weekend.

The japanese Tattoo
Bushido : Legacies of the Japanese Tattoo


It's worth every penny! I also want to get Horiyoshi III's book too but can't find one. =(

Takahiro Kitamura's "Tattoos of the Floating World" is far from a be-all and end-all guide to Japanese tattoos. However, it is for the moment without peer in providing a cultural context, and it thus adds depth to a reading of many other favorites, including Fellman's "The Japanese Tattoo," Addiss' "Japanese Ghosts and Demons," and Klompmakers' "Of Brigands and Bravery: Kuniyoshi's Heroes of the Suikoden."

In this slender volume, Kitamura's primary focus is the linkage of the woodblock printing tradition of the Edo period (1615-1868) to the development of the tattoo as art. With such a focus, afficionados of the print artists Kuniyoshi, Kunisada, and Kunichika will find many illustrations to delight them, and there are as well photographs of the current artistry being worked by tattoo masters. Adding to the value of the book are a preface written by Donald Richie and an afterword by Don Ed Hardy. The first essay is elegiac and lyrical in tone; the second provides personal insights by a Western connoisseur of the tattoo art form.

The shortcomings of "Tattoos of the Floating World" concern what is not included. The book would have benefitted greatly from having an index as well as a more generously-executed glossary. Moreover, I regret that Kitamura, who as a tattoo artist is uniquely qualified to do so, did not more systematically and fully catalogue and explain the symbolism of Japanese tattoos.

Most tattoo afficianados are aware that Japanese tattoos are steeped in history and culture. But Tattoos Of The Floating World: Ukiy-o Motifs In The Japanese tattoo explores this history and culture in a way never done before. Takahiro Kitamura's research and unique insight combine to present the reader with not only a history of the Japanese tattoo, but also with an understanding of how it came to be, how it continued to maintain its traditions through centuries of persecution and cultural metamorphosis, and how it both influenced and was influenced by the contemporary arts of early Japan.

The first half of this excellent work explores the early history of the Floating World (as pleasure districts were known as Japan's Edo period), focusing on the "triumvirate of arts": ukiyo-e (wood block prints), irezumi (tattoos), and kabuki theatre. Ukiyo-e and irezumi are so closely intertwined that tattoos of the day were referred to as horimono (carved object) in deference to the process of carving a wood block print. Kabuki was the theatre of the people and expressed not only the history and mythology of Japan, but the people's innermost desires as well. Kitamura's exploration of the ways in which these three arts intertwined demonstrates his love of the topic and inspires a similar affection in the reader.

The latter half of Tattoos Of The Floating World details many of the themes so strongly connected with Japanese Tattoo today. Sections devoted to such heroes as Fudo Myoo, Fujin and Raijin, Kumonryu Shishin, and Tennin give a basic understanding of their characters themselves and their endurance as tattoo motifs. Details are also provided on such traditional images as dragons, koi, shunga, falcons, the Kurikaraken, tigers and the phoenix.

Illustrated throughout with ukiyo-e, original sketches by Horiyoshi III, and photographs by Jai Tanju, this work is as beautiful as it is educational. The pairing of sketches next to their finished tattoos highlights the artistry involved in Japanese tattoo while the presentation of ukiyo-e prints alongside tattoos of the same characters and motifs demonstrates the cultural and historic similarities.

As a special bonus, Don Ed Hardy weighs in with an essay exploring his own discovery of Japanese tattoo. Ed Hardy is the foremost American authority on Japanese tattoo and was one of the first Westerners to write on the subject. This essay follows his discovery of Japanese tattoo and his adventures in crossing the borders (both physical and cultural) between Japanese and Western tattooing.

Never has a book demonstrated so well the relationship between Japanese wood block prints and tattoos. Despite the seeming deluge of complex images that appear in large Japanese tattoos and body suits, the elements and themes are actually not that many and are readily recognized with practice. Tattoo artists will pour over this volume and collectors (both book and tattoo) shouldn't be without it.

This book is a must have for Temari stitchers. It has a beautiful cover and the photos inside are incredible. The instructions are very easy to understand.

Those of you who own Diana Vandervoorts' other books will be delighted to add this to your collection! This book features some unique and new designs for the English-speaking temari enthusiasts. Even if you don't speak English, she has provided plenty of step-by-step illustrations. I really enjoy the new aspect she has introduced with ribbons and fabric. Now I know what to do with all the silk kimono reminants I have! This is a book I will enjoy for some time to come.

this is a wonderful book - I had not heard of this type of crafting earlier, and the women at the local fabric shops looked at me a little funny when I told them what I was buyng all the colored ribbons, threads, charms and such for, but this is a really neat artform!

it also is every bit as easy as claimed. My very first ball turned out well. I'm off to collect the earlier Temari books now. :)

This fourth book by Diana Vandervoort contains some new applications of the craft, using ribbons, trims, fabric, etc., to offer some very easy results for the newcomer, and variations for the more experienced even if they do stray somewhat from traditional Temari embroidery. There are embroidered projects as well... if you were looking though to expand into some more difficult designs, it's a bit short.

This is a wonderful book that illustrates the techniques needed to make these beautiful balls. The author is very familiar with the craft and writes in a style that can be understood easily. I let this book sit on a shelf for quite some time before I got myself motivated. I am sorry now because I truly love creating these wonderful treasures. Buy this book and learn a new and interesting craft.