Japanese Books

It is beautiful, you should have a coloring book like this one.

Ming-Ju Sun is a favorite paper doll artist of mine, and this book helps show why. The lovely lines and clean colors show why the kimono, while no longer a part of a modern Japanese wardrobe, will forever be concidered a wonderful artform.
My only wish with this book is that it had other clothing besides the formal kimono. Perhaps "Traditional Kimono Fashions" would have been a better name. Still, Ming-Ju Sun remains high on my list.

As a teacher of Japanese literature, I am thrilled to have this resource. Everything one needs for a serious study of pre-modern Japanese literature in translation is here. It is an "everything in one place" book around which one can plan a great college course.
I am one of the translators included in this volume, and I am aware of the immense amount of hard work, on the part of the editor and the many translators involved, that has gone into this project. It is a resource that will be invaluable in our field for years to come.

A comprehensive selection of Japanese texts from the ancient, Heian and medieval periods, this book is a very valuable addition to the existing range of anthologies of classical Japanese writing available in English. It far exceeds any other anthology of its kind in terms of both the breadth of its selections and the depth of its secondary supporting material.

A wide range of primary texts is included, with extensive excerpts not only from major classics such as The Tale of Genji (Genji monogatari), The Pillow Book (Makura no soshi), or The Tales of the Heike (Heike monogatari), but also passages from texts less commonly included in anthologies of Japanese literature, such as the Hitachi Province Gazetteer (Hitachi fudoki) or The Essentials of Salvation (Ojo yoshu). Other genres represented include poetry in Chinese, setsuwa, noh, kyogen, linked verse, and sermon-ballads (sekkyo-bushi). Some texts in this volume have been selected to complement each other: for instance, one can read the account of the death of Taira no Atsumori in The Tales of the Heike, read a dramatization of the event in the noh Atsumori, and also read a letter from Honen, the founder of Pure Land Buddhism in Japan, to Kumagai, the man who killed Atsumori ("Reply to Kumagai Naozane, the Monk Rensei"). Likewise, the anthology includes both the famous essay An Account of a Ten-Foot-Square Hut (Hojoki) and part of the less widely read Record of a Pond Pavilion (Chiteiki), which addresses similar themes. Selections from poetry anthologies such as New Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems (ShinKokinshu) are accompanied by passages from critical works on poetry such as Essentials of Poetic Composition (Eiga no taigai); similarly, the anthology includes both noh plays and excerpts from noh treatises such as Teachings on Style and the Flower (Fushikaden).

In addition to its careful selection of primary texts, the anthology also features well-written and informative introductions to the translations and, more generally, to the historical and cultural background of the texts included. The general introduction to the volume treats broad themes such as "Language and Writing", "Love and Eroticism", and "Performance and Narration", while there are separate introductory essays to each of the major historical periods covered and then more specific introductions to the texts and genres included. These introductions are invaluable in placing the works in their historical and social context within the almost one-thousand-year span of history covered by this anthology.

These features--the selection of texts and the introductions--not only give the casual reader a more multidimensional view of the works included, but make the anthology a extremely useful teaching tool. This anthology should be of great interest to scholars and instructors in the field, and to students or to any reader wishing to gain a comprehensive understanding of early and medieval Japanese literature.

This anthology of traditional Japanese poetry, presents a grand collection of more than 1,100 poems assembled by Steven D. Carter, and translated by Carter and his colleague, Helen Craig McCullough. Carter trace's Japan's poetic tradition from the poets of early courts, as recorded in the Kojiki (712 A.D.) and Man'yoshu (759 A.D.) through the beginnings of the Modern Age (early 1900's), in both transliterated Japanese (romaji) and English, headnotes with brief biography on each poet, and extensive footnotes and appendices on many aspects of the poetry. Carter, Professor of Japanese at the University of California, Irving, has provided us with a solid reference for exploring the great cross-section of one of the world's most fascinating subjects. I purchased my paperbound copy several years ago, and keep it at hand.

Stephen Carter is one of the better translators of Japanese poetry, and his anthology presents a good history of traditional Japanese poetry from the Manyoshu to modern era. Also appreciated are the Japanese versions of poems in the margin, albeit in romaji. For those who have no knowledge of Japanese, the translations and notes enable understanding, but having the original poems included provides those who know Japanese an opportunity to read them for themselves and compare them to the translation.

I am a Japanese and love pickles. This book shows me how to make many kinds of vegetable pickles which I can't get recepi in Japan.

I've been a fan of Japanese food, especially sashimi and tsukemono, since the 70's and was delighted to find this book. It is well writted and provides historical, nutritional and equipment information, as well as pictures and recipes. Recipes include complex processes for making Umeboshi (pickled plums)and Takuan-zuke (rice bran pickled daikon) as well as quick and easy cucumber, radish, turnip and cabbage pickles. It also has a section on Pacific Rim pickles such as Vietnamese pickled bean sprouts and Korean Kim Chee. All in all a very well written and informative book about Asian pickles and the art of making them. A must for Asian food lovers and your cook book library. Thank you Kay Shimizu and might we expect another book from you soon? Now for that bowl of hot rice and some Hakusai-zuke .............

Tony and Tammy are late for a business dinner party. Nothing too serious at first but soon they discover that the gated community where Tammy's boss lives is an impossible maze to navigate, especially due to the fact that all the streets and houses look exactly alike.
Eventually, they find themselves just driving around aimlessly, hoping they'll catch a break somewhere and that Tammy's boss doesn't fire her for being so tardy.
And so begins the strange adventure that is Mellick's Ultra "Flippers". Immediately hilarious as well as a scathing social satire along the lines of his previous novel, The Menstruating Mall, this book is probably one of Mellick's most accessible for those unfamiliar with his work. More absurd than extreme--my own personal preference--it has easily climbed to the top of my favorites list, proving yet again exactly why Carlton Mellick III is the king of the new bizarro genre. Clever and entertaining, this is the perfect read for anyone sitting outside the box of "normality" and shaking their heads at the medicated masses of our current culture. Highly recommended.

First, if you aren't familiar with Carlton Mellick III, you may be disappointed at the length of this book. It's short. It'll take maybe an hour or less to read it. But even with CM3's short works, sometimes it helps to stop and let the imagery and ideas sink in, so you are getting far more for your money than just page length.

PROS:
The theme. It's an anti-suburban, anti-conformity, anti-corporate world novella that's both fun and scary at the same time. The author disapproves of any sort of career where you are obligated to hide your true self or to come up with a false exterior to please your co-workers or superiors. I tend to agree with this theme so I liked where the author was coming from.

The imagery. Again, if you aren't familiar with Mellick, then you are missing out on some of the best absurd imagery in fiction today. It's not overly descriptive so you're not going to be bored with a bunch of weird details. He is concise in his descriptions and because of that, you will be able to envision the story with great clarity.

The humor. The arguments between Tony and his wife are pretty funny and so are the Japanese punk characters.

CONS:
Again, some would fault the length of the book. I would agree with some of Mellick's books (some of which would benefit from more pages), this one is at a PERFECT length for the story. I can imagine a few other authors who would take this same concept and stretch it out to 300 pages making it tiring and redundant. That's not a problem here. So depending on your view, the length may be a con especially if you are not familiar with his other books.

The Japanese characters. I know that the author has a great love for Japanese punk noise bands and everything else Japanese..(I happen to have some of the same interests) but it seems like the characters were a little out of place as if he had these great characters to use and decided to stick them into this story. That's just the vibe I got. It's not that I didn't enjoy the characters but they didn't fit in quite as well as I would have liked.

CONCLUSION:
This is one of Carlton Mellick III's more focused efforts in terms of theme and one of his most pertinent in today's day and age. Don't let the f-word in the title turn you off into thinking that it's some shock-value book. I assure you, it is anything but that. Whether you are familiar with the bizarro genre or not, this is an enjoyable and weird book that'll keep you entertained. It also has that re-readable quality which I love.

So yes, you should put this in your Amazon cart along with some of CM3's other books (I suggest Sausagey Santa and War Slut).

I stumbled across this book because I have fallen in love with Allen Say's illustrations. It is a wonderful, funny, old Japanese story retold by Say. The illustrations are as funny as the story and really add to the experience. This is a delightful story to tell or to read aloud for listeners of any age. I bought a copy for myself, one for my cousin and next time I buy some books for my grandchildren I'll buy one for them too.

My three-year-old daughter and I happened across Under the Cherry Blossom Tree by Allen Say at our local library. It was different from any other kids' book we had read--strange, funny, and maybe a little disturbing. (Face it. We're talking about an old man with a tree growing out of his head.) But because of the humor, the beautiful illustration, and the poetically just ending, it soon became our favorite.

One problem was that the library wanted it back. The other problem was that it was out of print.

You won't know just how happy I was to find that Under the Cherry Blossom Tree had been re-printed until you read this book for yourself.

This book is well written and quite well documented. It contains some of the best endnotes I've seen in a long time. The author drew from several other diaries (often not published) to present a more well rounded view often elaborating in the chapter endnotes. My only complaint is that the notes were presented at the end of the chapter instead of as page footnotes. I was constantly flipping pages to access the notes as I read. Overall an interesting book to anyone fascinated with WWII.

This book kept me glued to the page. A gripping account of a teenager stuck in a concentration camp without having done anything wrong. A surprising lack of rancor, the author gives a picture of the good and bad in the people on both sides of the conflict. Also unusual are the admissions of less than perfect actions on his own part. It almost made me feel like I had been there.

Any person who thinks they understand what nuclear weapons do is mistaken. Unless they were targetted by one, as the survivors drawing this remarkable collection of pictures were. The collection began with one person bringing a hand-drawn picture to NHK, Japan's public broadcasting corporation. When the picture was displayed, thousands of survivors committed their memories to paper and sent in their lay art. This book is a distillation of the exhibit that was created. Many of the pictures have text within them explaining the situation. Translations to English are provided. Although the pictures are haunting enough, additional text of the survivor's recollections, in their own words, is included with each frame, putting the situation in context of what was happening when the explosion occured and what happened afterwards. The eloquence of their words is not easy to describe. The position of this book is that the world must know what these weapons--even the tiny ones used at Hiroshima and Nagasaki--do to living things. I found no trace of anger, only genuine concern that the people of the world find out what these weapons do before they find out firsthand.

From my job, I was familiar with the atomic bomb survivor cancer datasets, the calculated radiation doses, the arguments over how much came from neutrons and how much from penetrating radiation, and was familiar with the with-enough-shovels argument for how we could survive a limited nuclear exchange. I read the paperback version in 1977 and was amazed at how little I realy understood about the effects of nuclear weapons. I recently came across the copy, water-damaged from a minor basement flood, and went online to see what I could find. Finding that it was available in hardback was a relief. Please buy this book. Read it a few times. Share it with friends. Donate it to a library. Then buy another. Seriously.

I have never, ever encountered a book this powerful. The pictures it contains, though not drawn by artists, capture an immediate reality of what they had seen. In this case what they saw was the explosion and afterefects of an atomic bomb. The pictures that were burned in their memory, after many years were recorded on paper and shared. The images will be hard to forget.

Certainly by far the best in print book on the subject. Many good pictures and unlike many books by this publisher it actually has some worthwhile text.I would have like to have seen a little more on late war items and variations but this does not diminish the quality of this book, If you are interested in Japanese Army uniforms and equipment this is an important book to have .

Finally a great book on an often overlooked subject. Mr. Hewitt has made a great effort to get it right and it shows. This book will serve as a stand-alone reference on the subject. With wonderful color photos, supporting text, and several views of many items listed, this book will easily replace the "next best thing" and that book isn't even in English. Mr. Hewitt's attention to detail and collectors eye lend authority to the work. His passion for the subject is obvious on every page. If you want a solid reference on Imperial Japanese uniforms and equipment used during WWII, this book is it.

If you're a fan of Masashi Kishimoto's artwork or just Naruto in general, you need this! I just received mine today and it's incredible. All of the familiar characters are present in these lively, marker illustrations that any fan of Naruto is sure to enjoy.

Uzumaki is a Japanese art book that contains many color illustrations of Masashi Kishimoto's hit series Naruto (currently being translated by Viz).

The art is beautiful. The majority of the book contains only color drawings and illustrations (that's why it's an art book). If you aren't familiar with the series or have only read Viz's translation, some characters and illustrations will be unfamiliar. (In Japan, they're up to chapter 277) All the art is from the manga, however. No anime sketches or stills are present.
The paper is high-quality. Naruto is my favorite series so it is natural that I enjoy this book. The colors are great and the the artwork is truly magnificent. It also contains a fold-out poster. The other portion of the book has a follow through of the creation of the cover drawing that shows Naruto and the 4th Hokage's Rasengan. The rest has an interview and comments on the drawings. NOTE THAT IT IS ALL IN JAPANESE.

If you are a fan of the series, I would recommend this books purchase. It's a reasonably good price and is good quality. If you're new to Kishimoto's masterpiece, I'd start with Naruto Vol. 1.