Japanese Books

The first of Reynolds' books, _Playing Ball_ is the gateway book. From one perspective, this book with its emphasis on practical, pragmatic ways of coping with life is all you'll ever need. However, you may find it so useful and meaningful that you will want the rest of his books, too, for exactly the same reasons. They're all useful on a day-to-day basis. The best part of _Playing Ball on Running Water_ is that there is no filler, no b.s.. It is all practical, useful, immediate, sensible advice. No matter what shape your life is in, this book can make it better. And it doesn't hurt that Reynolds is an excellent writer.

"Playing Ball on Running Water" by David K. Reynolds is a book that advocates conscious living. The subtitle belays that concept, "The Japanese Way to Building a Better Life." Reynolds takes the Morita psychotherapeutic concepts and adapts them to Western life. The whole basis for this Morita approach is to live life by doing it. Doing it conscientious, with full awareness. This approach is based in Zen Buddhism and it is deceptively simple.

It is amazing that so many of us who are not present and get caught up worrying about the future and bemoaning the past. The book's contention is that we paralyze ourselves with thinking and speaking too much. Reynolds contends that we are not acting on life, not doing life, not actively observing where we are now and not noticing what is around us right now. "...every act provides the opportunity for purposeful accomplishment and personal growth. Every act can involve moments of directed attention."

The author's emphasis is on accepting the current state of being, not letting that keep you from moving on in life, and creating purposeful action. The doing is the important process, not the result. Not having your emotional state or your past keep you from going on at this moment is how Morita is applied. To put what Morita is succinctly, "...to teach students to accept feelings as they are, to know their purposes, and to do what needs to be done."

In summary, Reynolds does more than to illustrate what Morita psychotherapy is with client cases, with Zen Buddhist koans (puzzle), parables, and a clear process to follow. Reynolds gives the reader a blueprint to a life without regrets, to a life that you are fully responsible for.

Ishikawa Takuboku's great poetry will take you deep inside your soul. Writing in the most ancient form of Japanese poetry called Tanka, Takuboku became perhaps its greatest master. In a few short lines his poems will touch you with it's somber insights. Tragedy was a hallmark of Takuboku's life. Born in poverty. His mother, wife and baby would die of tuberculosis before he himself would die of it as well at age 27. In poverty. It is a travesty that this book is out of print. This is a work of greatness. I deeply wish someone could do something to revive this wonderful book.

"Poems to Eat" presents a wonderful, melancholic view of life. The beauty of Japanese poetry surrounds Leonard Cohen-like romanticisms of drunkenness and egoism.

Quick & Easy: A Taste Of Tofu is a straightforward guide to preparing tofu according to classic Japanese and Chinese recipes, as well as some more contemporary preparations like "Braised Beef and Tofu." Quick & Easy: A Taste Of Tofu is most assuredly not a vegetarian cookbook, since it includes recipes with meat, poutry, and seafood, but vegetarians will delight in the wealth of useful ways to prepare a delicious staple such as Seasoned Frozen Tofu and Fermented Soybean Soup. Full- color photographs on every page combined with step-by-step illustrations explicitly reveal not only how to prepare tofu, but also exactly what the dishes will look like at each step of their cooking. Above all, Quick & Easy: A Taste Of Tofu emphasizes the efficient utilization of time, and is perfect for the tofu lover on the go.

Although I have always considered myself a tofu fan, my use of it had been limited to fairly typical stir fries or eating it uncooked on its own. I'd never really considered crumbling it up to use in crab cakes, or marinating it and cooking teriyaki style for tofu steaks.

"A Taste of Tofu: Mastering the Art of Tofu Cooking" has opened up a new world of uses for this delicious and nutritious soybean product. The book has recipes for Appetizers, Soups, Just Tofu, Seafood, Poultry, Meats, Vegetables, Salads, Eggs and Cheese, Rice and Noodles and even Desserts. (You know you want to make a tofu cheese cake!) The selection is varied enough that both vegetarians and meat eaters will find value. There is also a good mix of "ethnic" (mainly Japanese) and American-style recipes, some traditional and some original creations.

I was surprised at how authentic the ethnic recipes were, and not "Americanized" The Japanese recipes freely use notorious ingredients like natto and konnyaku and other interesting items. I do wish the author had used the Japanese names for the dishes, as some of the new names she gives them, such as calling Oden "Tofu Casserole" are a bit of a stretch.

There are easy-to-follow instructions on handling and cooking the tofu, which does take some practice. I have had a difficult time draining the tofu properly, but am getting the hang of it more and more with each attempt. There are also some basic instructions on Japanese cooking, such as how to make your own dashi stock and other tips. There is also a glossary of ingredients in the back for some of the more unfamiliar Asian foodstuffs.

So far, I have really enjoyed the "Crabmeat and Tofu Patties," "Spicy Grilled Tofu," "Natto-jiro," "Tofu with Oyster Sauce," "Homemade Tofu Burgers," (Yum!) "Sauteed Shrimp with Hoisen Sauce" and oh...everything I have tried. I haven't hit a bad recipe yet!

Great details on how to slice the parts of the fish and how to distinguish fish.

I bought this book in a bookshop here in Tokyo actually after reading through it, I worked in Japanese resturants both in Australia and Japan for about 4 years and after making a change in my line of work I wanted a reference book on some of the areas that I didn't get time to learn in full. I'd made Sushi professionally but wasn't doing it long enough to rotate through all of the different areas of prep

There are very good step by step picture (glossy photos) instructions for how to cut fish and prepare different types of fish plus there are some great novelty chirashi items for kids too.

The proof in the pudding for me though was the part on Shari (sushi rice), if that more fundumental part isn't good then it calls the quality of the whole book into question. It was certainly not lacking!

In the end, with the sushi rice in this book so good the fact that there are lots of imaginative recipes in here that you might get in a japanese home but never in a resturant on top of the standard stuff really makes this book worth while. All the fundamentals are here, plus a lot of fun stuff so you get to involve yourself to a level that suits you.

During World War II, Japanese railway soldiers constructed the 415-kilometer (258 miles) Burma-Thailand railway, very ardous task deep in rugged mountains heavily infected by cholera and tropical diseases. Building the urgently-needed railway within fifteen months was a great engineering achievement, but one accomplished at the cost of unfortunate death of 12,656 prisoners of war, including 133 Americans, and 8600 local workers. Both Japanese soldiers and the prisoners of war worked in a punishing enviroment, facing almost continious rain, shortage of supplies and food. The Japanese officers and the Korean guards of the prisoners camps were under the intense psycological strains, caught between strict military orders and demands of humanity.
After Japan surrendered in August 1945, two railway officers and 43 men from the prisoners camps were hanged, through military crimes courts. A prisoners camp commander wrote in his will (abstrated)
'Under these most adverse conditions, I proceeded to perform my duty with selfless devotion to my country, as well as doing my best to improve and rationalise the situation in the camp. It was not in my power to prevent many precious lives being lost during the construction work because of such adverse conditions.
However Heaven did not favor us and we were defeated, and I am now to fade away'
This book tells, vividly and for the first time in English, the personal accounts of these railwaymen throughout the war.

The book is a wonderful addition to the English-speaking literature on the World War II which gives a fine impression of the young men of the Japanese Railway Regiment and their attitude to the life. It will help Westners to understand the Japanese better, and make better connections between the Japanese today and the Japanese then - however much we have all changed, there are a lot of misconceptions we can still have about each other, and this is sad. It is not suprizing that some of the Prisoners of War were able to get on well with the Japanese railwaymen, and and it is a pity that this is not better known, but such episodes will be known by the book.

Comprised of eleven stories, one play, and five poems written in Japan during the first half of the 20th Century, A Rainbow In The Desert: An Anthology of Early Twentieth-Century Japanese Children's Literature presents a seminal and invaluable contribution to the study of Japanese literature for American students. The stories themselves reflect an essential element of Japanese popular culture, while illustrating the evolving concept of children in early 20th Century Japanese thought including such issues as motherhood, education, and gender as applied to childhood. The contributors represent a full spectrum of Japanese literary talent and their work is very ably translated into English by Yukie Ohta. Also available in hardcover ..., Rainbow In The Desert is an exceptional body of work and highly recommended for students of modern Japanese literature, culture, and history.

Comprised of eleven stories, one play, and five poems written in Japan during the first half of the 20th Century, A Rainbow In The Desert: An Anthology of Early Twentieth-Century Japanese Children's Literature presents a seminal and invaluable contribution to the study of Japanese literature for American students. The stories themselves reflect an essential element of Japanese popular culture, while illustrating the evolving concept of children in early 20th Century Japanese thought including such issues as motherhood, education, and gender as applied to childhood. The contributors represent a full spectrum of Japanese literary talent and their work is very ably translated into English by Yukie Ohta. Also available in hardcover ..., Rainbow In The Desert is an exceptional body of work and highly recommended for students of modern Japanese literature, culture, and history.

I liked this approach best out of all the books I've seen that try to help you "decode" real Japanese texts. I'm by no means an expert by the way, I've only been studying Japanese for about 1 1/2 years, and I've heard that reading texts before having studied for 3 or 4 years is out of the question. I try anyway:-) Anyway, Janet Ashby doesn't try to give you one continous English text as translation but more or less translates sentences or even just parts of sentences. As far as I've seen this approach enables her to stay closer to the original without having to compromise any subtle points just because you can't connect the sentences as smoothly in English. In addition, there are quite a few notes on usage and background that help you with other texts, too.
In all, I think this is a pretty good book for those who want to start reading Japanese texts.

I'd be glad to hear from anyone who is also just starting on Japanese texts or who can help me find more material that includes notes (or even without notes - I've found it difficult to find anything in Japanese except newspapers).

Tina

This book is wonderful because it uses real Japanese to teach, and it doesn't put the reader to sleep. The explanations are easy to understand, the stories are funny, and it's a good way to refresh your memory or build your vocabulary in Japanese. Highly recommended!

The book has been indispensible in creating a reading list for Japanese Literature. Where to start in such a foreign genre? Why not a list of classic authors, modern authors and current authors, with recommended translations? The book delivers on it's goal.

The only knock - there's a heavy emphasis on poetry, which is not my cup of ocha. But I could spend a dozen years reading the rest of Mr. Rimer's recommendations. No other book like it! Do get the current edition as the state of the art in translations has advanced remarkably since the 1988 original.

Afraid to make your first foray into the magical and majestical world of Japanese literature? Then here is a perfect introduction for you. Within this slim volume numerous wonderful recommendations abound, although there is one small oversight -- "Musashi" by Eiji Yoshikawa isn't mentioned. Ah well. Also look into, "The Pleasures of Japanese Literature," by Donald Keene. And for lovers of poetry, I cannot say enough wonderful things about, "The Ink Dark Moon," translated by Jane Hirshfield, and "Modern Japanese Tanka" by Makoto Ueda.

What a great book. The organization and layout of the entire book worked in a smooth and methodical manner. I could easily find someing if I needed to in a quick and efficient moment. The text covers things from the fairly simply to extremely advanced areas of Japanese grammar and writing.

Most of the information presented is not mentioned in conventional textbooks of the Japanese language, and is rarely found in dictionaries. An absolute must have for any advanced, experienced, or serious student of Japanese. I definitely recommend this book.

The book is a straightforward alphabetized handbook to Japanese grammar. Obviously not used by itself to learn Japanese, it certainly helps with comprehending sentences more clearly. Easy to use and lots of examples for each entry. I think it's great, as I am studying the language myself.

This outstanding resource, designed for our 21st century English language learners and ESL teachers, fills a critical gap. Providing practical exercises that explain 94 confusing idioms that fill news articles from the BBC, VOA, and CNN, this text helps international students become both better news customers and world citizens. As an English teacher who works with international students develop their writing skills, I found these exercises exceptional. "Reading English News on the Internet" also includes chapter quizzes to test and re-enforce vocabulary and skills.
While the news idioms chapter stood out as the strongest aspect, I also found the sections
on connectors and vocabulary very effective - especially for computer labs and homework. The section quiz on connectors will become my pre-test for my next class on academic writing. The book's clear, concise structure will allow me to individualize assignments, focusing on the connectors that students missed. These 28 connectors, each explained in a lucid manner, will improve the cohesion and flow of ESL student essays and reports.
In short, I strongly recommend this information-packed, up-to-date ESL text for intermediate and advanced ESL students, IEP programs, and English language trainers. Don't be surprised if this becomes a classic ESL textbook!

As the author, I'm adding this review to complement the brief product description above. I should also clarify that the book is intended for teen or adult learners.

From the Back Page:
Ideal for the intermediate to advanced ESL classroom, this guide helps students make sense of "media English" as found online, in newspapers, and in magazines.

Nearly 200 reference entries:
- Connectors ("in the event of", "provided that", "on the other hand")
- Phrasal verbs ("to brush aside", "to pull out of", "to put into")
- Idiomatic verb-phrases ("to mark a new chapter in", "to sink in")
- Everyday expressions ("an eyesore", "cause for alarm", "off the cuff")

Mini-quizzes after each section, and a comprehensive final exam

Plus practice tips on reading "media English":
- Computer-related vocabulary
- Popular English-language news, sports, and finance websites
- Practice with registration forms
- Overview of news article structure
- Features of headlines (with suggestions for reading strategies)
- Overview of financial websites (key vocabulary, elements of financial
advice, understanding financial predictions)
- The basics of sports websites (key vocabulary, writing style, elements
of sports articles and features)

English online is difficult. Let this easy-to-use guide help boost your learning curve.

About the author:
David Petersen graduated from the University of Calgary with a B.Sc. in psychology. After acquiring a TESL certificate, he spent nearly 10 years teaching English in Japan, Hungary, and South Korea. He obtained a Ph.D. from the University of Malta in 2003, and then returned to Japan to earn a Level I on the national Japanese proficiency test. He currently works as a writer and freelance translator.