Japanese Books

I found this manga completely by accident and have been addicted to it ever since. If you like Gravitation, or any other shounen-ai type mangas, this one is for you. It is a series of different stories, all based around a club called B&B. The club is a member's only, exclusive host club, where if you're rich enough, you can rent a boy for a day, a week, a month, or the rest of his and your lives. Every story is about someone who is connected in some way to the B&B. Each story is very sweet (though there is almost always sex, so this is not for someone under 18). It's really too bad that no one has licensed this story, and that it's so hard to find now. I really recommend it to all yaoi/shounen-ai connoisseurs.

This is more of a hardcore BL series than a softcore yaoi. It's almost like watching a soap opera with no female characters.

The art style in the series changes over time. In book one it's clear that the mangaka's strong points are clothing, hair, backgrounds, & hands. The faces are well drawn, but the eyes & eyebrows make everyone look hideous, with the ecception of Aoe. Skip ahead to the last page of book 8 & you see that that problem has been resolved.

This is an angsty series, & yes it does have many of the same elements as Gravitation. The story is thouoghly enjoyable & I hope it gets translated.

With its slightly tongue-in-cheek title, "Made in Japan" is a nice, beautifully printed art book focusing on the heyday of the creative art print (sosaku hanga) from the immediate postwar years until the late 1960's. Originally intended as an exhibit catalog for a 2005 exhibition by the same name at the Milwaukee Art Museum, it stands on its own just fine as well (except for a little blurb frustratingly listing the exhibited pieces not shown herein). It also works well as a bit of art history, including as it does two interesting articles by Alicia Volk and Helen Nagata. The latter takes a careful look at the complex, ambiguous relationship between creative print artists and Ukiyo-e, a premodern tradition of mass production from which they stridently distinguished themselves even as it subtly influenced and informed some of their work. The former focuses on the role of this art form in Japanese-American relations in fascinating detail, discussing among other things the initial enthusiasm for prints on the part of American Occupation officials in the late 1940's, the efforts of people like James Michener and Oliver Statler to draw attention to these prints as a form of fine art both in America and Japan itself, and Japanese artists' intentions and motivations for using their works as a medium of cultural diplomacy between the two recently belligerent nations within the context of the Cold War. Volk does a wonderful job too of attending to the historical context and to the sociopolitical realities involved without being reductive or cynical.

And that's just the beginning. What about the actual art itself? The majority of the book is indeed dedicated to presenting a selection of 78 prints (actually more, for in a few cases there's a set of several prints under an overarching series title) by 59 artists, all in full color. Most artists are represented by one or two works as is appropriate to such an overview, though a few major figures in the field get more of a spotlight, especially the ever favorite Munakata Shiko. The prints are also organized in roughly chronological order and according to themes (nature, process and materials, abstraction, things Japanese, and pop and conceptualism), which aids one in appreciating and distinguishing the different artists and their styles as well as the gradual development of this art form during the decades in question. If the book has one imperfection, it's that some of the illustrations are a bit small. The format of the book makes this a necessary evil perhaps, though the decision-making process behind which prints get a single full page and which get crowded together with two or three others seems a tad arbitrary. So be it, though. One minor nitpick aside, this thin little volume is an immensely interesting and visually stunning look at one surprisingly significant aspect of modern art in Japan.

P.S. For a fine book on this subject published during the actual time period when Japanese creative prints were at their peak of popularity, check out CONTEMPORARY JAPANESE PRINTS.

In the rebuilding of Japanese society in the years after its defeat in World War, there was a "creative print movement [that] brought modern European artistic attitudes such as self-expression and formalist innovation to the Japanese woodblock print, a medium that had been rooted in the mass-production of popular images for several hundred years." The latest stages of this movement are becoming more widely known in the United States with the popularity of the Japanese manga and anime. The predecessors of this recent Japanese art are seen in the colors, designs, collages, subjects, and treatments of the post-war prints in this volume. One or two prints of 59 artists are shown in the main section of about 70 pages. These range from dark, tangled visions from having witnessed the devastation from the atom bombs to abstract designs to brightly-colored, comically erotic figures. Biographical sketches of the 59 artists follow the main section.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi is one of Japan's most significant yet perhaps least-recognized educators. His fame as the founder of Soka Gakkai has somewhat eclipsed his reputation as an educator. (Soka Gakkai International is now the largest Buddhist organization in the world with over 12 million members in 128 nations.)

Mr. Makiguchi had spent a lifetime developing his "value-creating" educational philosophy from his experience as teacher, principal, and teacher of teachers before he founded the Buddhist lay organization.

A man ahead of his time, Mr. Makiguchi made proposals over sixty years ago that are being made anew today. He was staunchly opposed to the rote memorization that was the backbone of Japanese pedagogy in his day (and largely remains so today), and he called for greater involvement by community members in the education of children.

The author, himself an educator, gives a clear and vivid picture of the magnitude and revolutionary quality of Mr. Makiguchi's theories. Until this book, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi has gone virtually unrecognized in the West because so little information on non-Western educators has been available in English. This work fills a need at a time when Mr. Makiguchi's impact on education and society is of increasing importance.

Tsunesaburo Makiguchi is one of Japan's most significant yet perhaps least-recognized educators. His fame as the founder of Soka Gakkai has somewhat eclipsed his reputation as an educator. (Soka Gakkai International is now the largest Buddhist organization in the world with over 12 million members in 128 nations.)

Mr. Makiguchi had spent a lifetime developing his "value-creating" educational philosophy from his experience as teacher, principal, and teacher of teachers before he founded the Buddhist lay organization.

A man ahead of his time, Mr. Makiguchi made proposals over sixty years ago that are being made anew today. He was staunchly opposed to the rote memorization that was the backbone of Japanese pedagogy in his day (and largely remains so today), and he called for greater involvement by community members in the education of children.

The author, himself an educator, gives a clear and vivid picture of the magnitude and revolutionary quality of Mr. Makiguchi's theories. Until this book, Tsunesaburo Makiguchi has gone virtually unrecognized in the West because so little information on non-Western educators has been available in English. This work fills a need at a time when Mr. Makiguchi's impact on education and society is of increasing importance.

it's quite shar

This book doesn't mention every Japanese architecture that one would normally associate. It gives an extremely unique and highly critical and selective account of modern Japanese architecture history particularly based on the powerful architecture of Antonin Raymond, Kazuo Shinohara and Arata Isozaki. From the author's tribute to these selected architects and architecture, the reader would be able to receive a new insight and broader yet more focus understanding of contemporary Japanesearchitecture. Original classic photographs

I feel a bit outrageous in assigning my own book five stars, but what can I say, I'm biased!

I am really just writing this note to let potential readers know that my book is winner of the International Planning History Society book award for best single-author book in planning history 2000-2003, awarded at the IPHS conference in Barcelona in July. For me, that is just about the best possible affirmation of the value of the book.

I am also pleased to inform you that a new paperback edition was released during May of 2004. I have included below three excerpts from recent reviews in relevant journals.

Best wishes,

Andre Sorensen


Reviews:

`Andre Sorensen has written a very important book. More than any English language study now available, it unlocks a major puzzle in understanding modern Japan - why has a country that has excelled at industry and efficiency in its economy (and transport systems) failed so miserably in providing a high urban quality of life for its citizens? ... A very well written work'-
Urban Studies

`Meticulously researched and impressively presented ... a tremendous resource for the serious scholar.' -
Geographical Association

`This book should establish itself as the first port of call for both students and scholars embarking on a study of Japanese urbanism and planning history ... a highly sophisticated work'-
Environment and Planning/Government & Policy

Sorensen's book is a wonderful overview of the history of Tokyo (and Edo before it), from the point of view of the geographical and physical structure of the city and its development over time. The book should be read by anyone with a serious interest in the planning, architecture, or social history of Tokyo. Well illustrated with maps and plans many of which are not, to my knowledge, readily available to an English language audience elsewhere.

This is the definitive book on Maritime Operations in the Russo-Japanese War. Originally a classified document in the British War Ministry it was finally published by the Naval Institute in the 1990's. Used as a principal reference document at the U.S. Naval War College. No longer available anywhere. Corbett provides a insightful contrast to Mahan in the examination of many core concepts on early 20th century naval strategy. The war itself is a perfect vignette on how a lesser power can defeat a more powerful foe given the right political and geographical situation. All the main themes of Land and Sea, Joint Military Operations are displayed in this too often overlooked "first" modern war.

Julian Corbett is a great contrast to the likes of Alfred Thayer Mahan. While presenting the Russo-Japanese War in an unbiased play-by-play way, he does not guide his analysis by mathematical strategies nor does he judge battles solely by their tactical outcome.

The more interesting Strategic topics covered herein are the ideas of "Fleet in Being," naval blockade and torpedo warfare. It is an eye-opening analysis for the way it shows the naval war between Japan and Russia as being in a far more precarious situation than anyone might have expected. Thorough and well-written, Corbett has produced a solid, well thought-out and intriguing analysis of the naval strategy of the Russo-Japanese War.

The most commonplace items of the past occasionally become treasured collectibles today. But miniature advertising graphics that adorned Japanese matchboxes were more striking (forgive the pun) than common as one discovers in this delightful introduction to Matchibako by Maggie Kinser Hohle.

The matchbox labels depicted in forty-two full-color plates are from the collection of designer Naomichi Kawahata. The collection itself spans the 1920s and 30s and provides snapshots of a country in transition and internal turmoil, both embracing and decrying modernist influence of industrialist nations.

Above all, the images in this micro gallery had one intent, to advertise anything from sox to sex. These palm held billboards enticed the holder with promises of "modern" life, euro-hairstyles, jazz cafés with sexy moga (modern girls) or pitched the entaku (yen-taxi) delivering fares anywhere in Tokyo for only one yen.

It is said that "good things come in small packages" as does this superb gallery of 42 plates, with one matchbox label to a page, perfectly frames the near-actual sized labels so that each reproduction appear larger than life.

Another highly unique aspect of Matchibako is the accordion page format, which if you were to unfold would stretch over fourteen feet from cover to cover. Hohle's 4.75 x 4.75 inch art book was not meant for the bookshelf, but to be left in plain view to entice closer inspection in the same way the original matchbox labels delivered their messages over seventy years ago.

This tiny little book is a perfect gift for any Japanophile or matchbox collector. Built like an accordian, its pages exhibit gorgeous Japanese matchbox covers from the 20's and 30's, images like I've never seen before, accompanied by explanations chronicalling why the covers are so unique: they were manufactured during a time when Japan was transforming from traditonal to modern, from culturally-singular to Western-influenced. One panel, for example, shows a Japanese girl depicted in a strikingly untraditional manner, not simply because of the flapper haircut she sports or the cigarette hanging from her mouth, but because of the decidedly cubism-influenced illustration style.

This is a wonderful book that demystifies and illuminates the role of the exuberant textiles and costumes at Shinto-Buddhist celebrations. Through her extensive ethnographic research, she uncovers not only the symbolism and social significance of Japanese festivals, but also how modern people today actively engage and exult in this tradition. Particularly fascinating is the chapter on imported textiles in Kyoto's Gion festival. Gonick's investigations in Japan and China reveal a story of trade and transmission that unexpectedly links several cultures. Central Asian tribal artisans, Indo-Persian ateliers, as well as Ainu chieftains create or convey the astonishing artworks which adorn Japanese festivals (matsuri). I recommend Matsuri! as the epitome of a crossover book that will interest academics and general readers alike.

This book documents the fascinating history of Matsuri - colorful Japanese village-level festivals. It seeks to convey an understanding of Shinto, the indigenous belief-system of Japan, through color illustrations, field and studio photographs, as well as scholarly descriptions of the lively artworks that accompany Shinto rites. The text parts of the book are interesting and well-researched. The high-quality images add elegance. "Matsuri!" is an academic resource and a lavish coffee table book. I recommend "Matsuri!" it to anyone who enjoys learning about Japanese culture and history.

If you are a fan of modern Japanese Film and have the Internet, it is most likely that you are familiar with the website Midhight Eye opperated by Tom Mes and Jasper Sharp. The website is a treasure trove of not only movie and book reviews, but interviews with numerous directors and actors, including the likes of Suzuki Seijun and Asano Tadanobu.

The book covers around 50 years of film, beginning with older, but still popular, directors Imamura Shohei and the above mentioned Suzuki Seijun to younger directors such as Tsukamoto Shinya and Ishii Sogo. The book portrays well known directors such as Kitano Takeshi and Miike Takashi as well as lesser known directors such as Kawase Naomi, also the only female director in the book, whose base of opperation is the ancient capital of Nara rather than Tokyo or Osaka.

The book covers a wide variety of films from yakuza numbers such as Fukasaku's fierce _Battles without Honor and Humanity_ to the Kore-eda's pseudo-documentary _After Life_. horror films, pink films, science fiction, and documentaries are also covered.

The writing is quite clear and informative, and one learns interesting tidbits of information about their favorite directors. this book would be a good guide for fans of Japanese films as well as newcomers.

For modern Japanese film, Midnight Eye is the definitive information source. Tom Mes and Jaspar Sharp's website covers film reviews, interviews, DVD releases, feature articles, a calendar of events and film festivals, and absolutely anything an interested person would want to know. With such a pedigree, there are no more qualified people to write a guide of this kind.

"The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film" is as excellent as one would expect, an essential book for those interested in modern Japanese film. The layout is well-balanced, covering director profiles and film reviews, using both original material and previously featured articles. The writing is crisp and clear, and each chapter provides insight even on topics where one is knowledgeable. Over 100 photos show some of the visual highlights of this visual media.

Each chapter focuses on a director, from history to motivation to style, with a review of that director's top five or six films. Being new Japanese film, the profiles begin in 1956 with Seijin Suzuki ("Elegy to Fighting," "Tokyo Drifter"), a complicated and controversial director. With the Criterion Collection currently making a push of Suzuki's catalog on DVD, this makes a great starting point and leaves me looking forward to each new release. All of the major directors are profiled, such as Shohei Imamura ("The Eel"), Kinji Fukasaku ("Battles without Honor and Humanity" "Battle Royale") Masato Harada ("Bounce KoGals"), Kiyoshi Kurosawa ("Cure"), Studio Ghibli luminaries Isao Takahata ("Grave of the Fireflies") and Hayao Miyazaki ("Spirited Away"), Takeshi Kitano ("Hanabi"), Takashi Miike ("Ichi the Killer," "Audition"), Hirokazu Kore-eda ("After Life"), and Hideo Nakata ("The Ring"). Other, lesser-known directors are also given their due, such as Nara-based naturalist Naomi Kawase ("Suzaku.")

The final section covers what they call "The Other Players," those who have put out a film or two of exceptional quality but hadn't yet established a solid career in the same rank. Animator Satoshi Kon's "Perfect Blue," Masayuki Suo's "Shall We Dance?," Mamoru Oshii's "Avalon," Juzo Itami's "Tampopo" and Mitsuo Yanagimachi's "Fire Festival" are all given their due. More than just simple film-reviews, the authors pack each spotlight with as much interest and insight as their director profiles.

With Donald Richie's seminal "100 Years of Japanese Film" covering the past, it is great to see such a qualified inheritor of the future. Anyone interested in Japanese film will be pleased with "The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film," both for its insights into current favorites as well as the host of new favorites that they will undoubtedly discovered.

Being quite new to Japanese garden architecture I first try to learn and understand what's done and what's not done and the reasons behind it. This book immediately shows you why Shigemori is a so much respected innovator in his time and at the same time explains you why by referring to the classical Japanese gardens. His point of view is that a Japanese garden should fit into the time we are living in. And up until than, Japanese gardens had not changed much. Newer gardens used to be copies of the old methods instead of innovations. This work opens your mind about this and stimulates you to develop the concept of the Japanese garden into something which is more modern/timebound and more a creation of yourself.
An absolute 'mustread' for people that like the Japanese garden.

Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975) was the imaginative creator of very special gardens and a scholar who was trained in painting, flower arranging, and the tea ceremony. Shigemori is still admired for his contemporary designs, the result of his life's objective to restore the evolution of the Japanese garden. In Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing The Japanese Garden, practicing landscape architect Christian Tschumi explores ten major Shigemori projects ranging from the checker-board garden of Tofukuji (1939) and the "Hidden Christian" dry landscape at Zuiho-in (1961), to the masterful stone settings at Matsuo Taisha (1975), all while utilizing a design/cultural analysis, garden plans, and a profusion of illustrative photographs taken by visual artist and photographer Markuz Wernli Saito. Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing The Japanese Garden is a welcome and respected contribution that will be of immense interest to professional gardeners, landscapists, horticultural experts, and non-specialist general readers with an interest in Japanese gardening and culture.