Japanese Books

Paul Howard Takemoto made a very moving account of his parents treatment during WWII. He used interviews of both parents to tell their story. Interesting to read as well as an excellent account of America's treatment of the Japanese Americans during the war. I hope we learn from it.

The forced movement of thousands of Japanese-Americans from the West Coast of the United States to camps inside the country is not one of America's better moments. At a political level the arguments are still raging. A group of activists have succeeded in getting not only an official apology but a cash payment. On the other side, there are reports that the recently declassified Magic intercepts confirm that there was an active spy ring operating in the West Coast Ports. I frankly don't know.

This book, however, is not on the larger political aspects. It is on the personal issues of two people, the author's parents. They were stripped of their property, sent to camps, and generally deprived of the rights we expect as citizens. Their stories match those of several people I have known.

The stories of his father in the 442 Regimental Combat Team have particular meaning to me as I have met several veterans of the 442. All had been wounded in action.

In one volume, Spain takes the reader through Noritake's art deco production. That is an important point--this volume is not about the dinnerware lines, but rather concerns itself with the art deco "fancyware" or giftware items. Organized alphabetically, beautiful cake plates, dresser boxes, vases, etc. are illustrated, and chapters start off with excellent introductions. The opening chapter itself is very helpful, outlining the overlapping "Nippon" and "Noritake" collecting periods. Not just a collector book, this book also provides a history of the company, and is well-written, accurate, and the best collector book available on the subject. Highly recommended.

Even if you have absolutely no idea what Noritake is, you'll love this book. Why? The writing is masterful, the photography superb, and the many pictures in brilliant colour which show off the glorious lustre of these precious antiques. A coffee table book not to be missed! :-)

A wonderful guide to Noritake. History, basic patterns, unusual pieces and much more. Any collector or dealer in Noritake should have a copy of this book.

Finally, a book on Noritake collecting that does not sound like it was written by a snobby, snooty museum curator! Most Noritake collectors are lovely people who enjoy the "thrill of the hunt" and delight over every lemon plate and berry bowl they are able to obtain no matter how common and inexpensive the pieces may be. Who needs a book with pictures and prices of Noritake pieces they will never see except in private collections? Robin Brewer writes in a "down to earth style" and communicates her love for porcelain beautifully. Her photographs are excellent and her prose is charming. Some of the names she assigns the backstamps are homey and silly but descriptive. (Alot better that decimals) A wonderful book for the experienced Noritake enthusiast but especially appropriate and helpful for the beginner.

I'm reading this book from beginning to end, and I must say it is very interesting. It has improved my understanding of Japanese people and how they think in general; why Japanese often tend to respond to situations the way they do, differences between the Japanese' way of thinking and the western etc.

Highly recommended; I'm glad I chose to buy this book.

Is there a more comprehensive and well laid out guide into how the Japanese think and, more importantly, what their emotional turn on and off buttons are than this? The book should, however, be read more as a guide to Japanese root words, idioms, and philosophical expressions. For instance, WA meaning HOLY HARMONY is not commonly used. It would be like saying BENE means GOOD in English when it is a root for many words that have something to do with good - like benevolent, benefit, benediction ect... . But WA can be found in HEIWA (peace) and WAFU (Japanese style) amoung others. The book is full of stereo-types, both good and bad, which should not be taken too seriously or read like a Bible. Japan is a complex country undergoing constant change and it is full a wide variety of individuals with varied interests and talents and prejudices. But the book contains some general insights that one can explore on their own and judge for oneself whether they agree or not with it. Some of the expressions are not popularly used and if one were to say them to Joe Yamamoto on the street they would have no clue what you were talking about. But again, however, the roots, or part of what is being said in the book, can be found in other expressions. You would need the help of a native speaker to truly make good use of this book, a dictionary would do some good.

I find that many Japanese people I know are interested in the expressions contained in the book, as they are deep and abstract in nature, important, but not always thought about. I find it lends to people helping me learn Japanese as they also have something interesting to explore, and many Japanese enjoy talking to me about these terms and ideas. It serves as a great ice breaker.

If you are just interested in the world of ideas, or how language helps formulate or reflect those ideas and the sources by which they came, then the book could serve as something of value and interest. Again, is there a better book?

The book gives a Japanese expression, or word, and then discuses, in English, the significance of it and how it reflects the Japanese psyche and sometimes how it can be found in other words. The author writes in a mature style and has a world of knowledge and experience about and in Japan.

This book is full of beautiful descriptions of the Phillippines, and other islands and the sea between them and Australia. The author also mentions some of the horrors of the tropics, for instance leaches. He did things the way people did from the beginning of time until the present, being a horse soldier, (in the last U. S. Army cavalry company;) and sailing a small Moro sailboat from the Phillippines to Austrailia. He tells us of the many primitive people who shared what they had with him, as well as others who betrayed him to the Japanese. An escaped prisoner, the Japs wanted to get him, and kill him. They didn't make it. His strong personality got him back to U.S. forces, but many others didn't make it.

In a nutshell, this is the story of a young cavalry officer who escapes from captivity shortly after the surrender of US forces to the Japanese, and his trek across the Philippine archipelago returning to US command. Although there are some descriptions of combat, this is not the standard war story.

The book is broken down into four parts. These are Before the War, The Japanese Invade, Derelicts, and The Long Sail. These four parts are further broken down into 41 chapters of varying lengths. Before the text, there are six maps. After the epilog, there is a short photo section, with some photos from the author's collection and others taken from the American Historical Collection.

The book starts with the author sailing from San Francisco, headed for his new command. The first chapter, only a page and a half, takes him across the Pacific to Luzon. The next nine chapters are extremely informative. The author explains the Philippine Scouts, while giving an interesting view of life as an officer in the pre-war Philippines. By relating his experiences off-post, both on and off duty, one also gets an interesting glimpse of life in the Philippines in general. He also manages to give a short history lesson, as far as the background of the peoples that inhabit the many islands in the region.

As everywhere else where US forces served, everything changed on 8 December 1941 for the men of the Philippine Scouts. Whitehead manages to convey the surprise, and the lack of preparation for what came when the Japanese attacked. The confusion present on that day is readily apparent, as no one seemed to really know what was going on. Whether it was lack of communications, outdated weapons, or inadequate supply, the author relates all of what was going on as the Japanese assault continued. However, through it all, the Scouts continued to fight the enemy, doing what they could to hamper his advance. By the end of December, though, the author was struggling to rejoin organized US forces.

The surrender of US forces came as a shock to most of the men. It is interesting to read first hand accounts of this event. Many people will not realize that there was good reason to surrender, and not "run to the hills" after the men received this order. Military law dictated that anyone who refused the order to surrender became an outlaw immediately. However, the author realized that once he followed his last order and surrendered, his next duty was in fact to escape. By following this somewhat convoluted logic, he and his comrades complied with military law, although such niceties probably wouldn't have meant much had he been recaptured.

During his trek, the author experienced much that was good and bad in an occupied country. He continually stresses that the average Filipino was always a decent person, and more than willing to provide hospitality and assistance to those who were in need. Like anywhere else, though, there were exceptions to the norm.

At one end of the spectrum, there were still aboriginal tribes who kept to themselves, and knew little more than the daily struggle for food and shelter. The author ran into these people several times during his travels, and speaks highly of them. There were also people the author dealt with that were willing to risk all they had in order to assist an American soldier. Even though there were many people that were dismayed by the lack of US response to the invasion, there were some who were more than willing to share what little they had. In between those two extremes, the author had some experiences that would dispute the conventional wisdom of an enthusiastic, organized resistance to Japanese occupation.

The occupied Philippines were just like any other occupied nation. Some Filipinos felt extreme loyalty to the US, and would do whatever was necessary to help Americans, and to hasten the day when the US came back to throw out the invaders. There were also quite a number of Filipinos who if they didn't completely support the Japanese, were willing to work with another Asian nation to throw off "US Imperialism." It was not easy to determine where people stood, and in quite a few cases, men didn't find out until it was too late. However, the author managed to elude the grasp of those who were looking to turn him over to the Japanese, and luckily found supportive people to stay with while evading recapture.

As a cavalryman, Whitehead had next to no knowledge of boating or seamanship. By necessity, he gains this knowledge through experience as he found ways to travel between islands. At first, he was nothing more than baggage. With each leg of the trip, though, he gained a little more that would serve him in good stead when he and his comrades set out to reach Australia. Understanding the vagaries of local weather, geography would be crucial. In the end, it turned out to be enough, barely.

A good, continually absorbing study of a contemporary though tradtional Japanese poet names Kodojin(d. 1943). The writing style holds one's interest throughout and the story of the poet's life along with his poems,paintings and drawings is always delightful and interesting. If you love Japanese haiku by such masters as Bassho and chinese poetry from the Tang you will find this study worthy of your attention. I have never read a book quite like it.

Translations of and commentary on one author's Taoist poems are presented in a warm blend of spiritual, religious and philosophical inspection which considers the last of the great poet-painters of Japan. Over 150 of his poems are treated to an appraisal which considers both form and content in a fine coverage worthy of inclusion in any strong Asian collection.

Bob was an exceptional person. I had heard numerous tales about him before I met him.I was fortunate to meet him in person during the Fifties during some advanced training at the Diving School in Wash DC, that he and I were class mates at the time. He was very reluctant to talk about his experiences as a POW. It seemed only after we had some Cocktails, He would open up. The most Interesting persons I have ever Known.A gerat friend

I may be somewhat prejudiced,since my father. Pete Protz, was one of the two others who were Bob Sheats' survival companions, but I found this account fascinating. As a Vietnam veteran, I found this story beyond anything I had ever experienced. Not knowing if or when you would be liberated, especially when you are hungry and sick and see others dying all around you, is beyond my comprehension. Read this account and begin to understand what our fathers and grandfathers had to endure to give you the freedoms you now enjoy. Everything my father told me about being a prisoner of war is verified by Bob Sheats' account. Buy this book!

Number 18 has the wonderful pleasure of introducing Ace, Luffy's older brother. this is seriously one of the funniest and most entertaining of all the One Piece manga. Ace is one awesome character even if his appearance is a short one. We get to see all sorts of D brother wackiness, Luffy gets smacked by Vivi and we learn who Mr.0 is. One Awesome Manga. Go get it.

One Piece is my favorite series, due to its creative design, comic insanity, and superb character development. That said, over time, the Viz Media translation of the manga has disappointed me more than once, as Viz sometimes softens dialog with poor choices of insults, threats, and exclamations. However, this particular volume of One Piece is one of the best written released so far. Having read this section online at a fan-scan site, and having watched a subbed episode of anime of these events, I can honestly say that the translator/writer for this piece understands that child-like language is not particularly welcome.(Viz rotates translators, which results in inaccuracies in subsequent volumes)

This volume chronicles the point of the Straw Hats journey from when they encounter Mr. 2 Bon Clay, a flamboyant ballerina man, to Luffy's and Vivi's resolution to go straight to Sir Crocodile's headquarters and take him out. Along the way, Luffy and crew meet the awesome Portgaz D. Ace and travel the harsh desert of Alabasta only to discover ghost towns that have been eradicated by endless sandstorms, plus the backstory of Princess Vivi and Koza, and the members of Crocodile's Baroque Works join together to meet their boss and initiate their final plan, Operation Utopia.

This is a pretty thick volume, one of the thickest released. There is lots of content in this volume, and it will disappoint you to see that the next volume won't be released until October. As I said, this volume is pretty well translated, and of course, this part of the story sets up so much for the rest of the arc. I recommend this one.

This book is a perfect introduction in modern Japanese literature, how to
understand the contamporary culture and view of the japanese society.

Karatani Kojin, probably one of Japan's most important contemporary theoretician/philosophers gives a great introduction to Modern (with a capital M) Japanese literary theory. He clearly explains the Modernization of Japanese artistic philosophy, and illustrates each with references to some classic Japanese literature.

Of course, a book on this subject wouldn't be complete without reference to Natsume Soseki. Karatani discusses much of Soseki's literary and theoritical work, nicely putting it into perspective against the overall backdrop of Modern trends in Japanese literature.

This book should definitely be on the bookshelf of every serious student of Japanese Modern literature.

E.H. Norman's seminal work, , is now available in other places, but when John W. Dower issued this volume, Norman's work was difficult to find in print, and so this collection was as welcome as it was valuable, especially for rising PhD hopefuls who wanted to read Norman but had trouble getting their hands on his stuff. In the end, though, it was Dower's long introductory essay that really caught everyone's attention, with its discussion of Norman's adventures in McCarthy's red scare America, and its innuendoes about other prominent Asia scholars. It set off a flurry of reviews in the scholarly journals, reviews noteworthy for their vituperative attacks on Norman's scholarship, more than for their implied criticisms of a young colleague who would presume to dignify Norman's scholarly accomplishments by editing a reissue of his work. Now at the other end of a long and distinguished career as scholar and teacher, Dower can look back on this volume as an achievement that still merits careful attention, not only by students of Japanese history, but equally by anyone interested in the politics of scholarship. Likewise, anyone interested in the historiography of modern Japan needs to come to grips not only with Norman's work but also with the political controversies that came to surround it as a result of American Cold War culture.

Before his premature death in 1957, the Canadian scholar-diplomat E. Herbert Norman had established himself as the pre-eminent Western interpreter of early modern and modern Japan. This present edition includes the classic Japan's Emergence as a Modern State. It also introduces materials by Norman never before made widely available in the West, including an essay on the role of the historian and chapters from an unpublished book, Feudal Background of Japanese Politics.
--- from book's back cover.