Japan Books

The measure of a great book is not in the total sum of its pages; it is a book written concisely, informatively, clearly and with an abundance of information- "We Few: The Marine Corps 400 in the War Against Japan" is that kind of book. For a book of only 248 pages Dickenson is able to fill those pages with details, facts, statistics, profiles of courage and much more.... Dickenson amasses large amounts of valuable data on the American military build up and, sadly, its losses in men and military armament during the war in the Pacific.

Dickenson describes the purpose for the creation of the Special Officers Candidate School, or the SOCS Program; the motives of young college students into the SOCS and the training they went through to become lieutenants in the Marine Corps. Although the focus of Dickenson's book primarily focuses on telling the story of the SOCS Marine, but the book also devotes a good portion of its words to describing the World War II generation-a generation that when the "call to arms" went out, it was quickly answered by young Americans from all walks of life and from all over the country. They scurried to enlist in the United States Army, Navy, Air Force, and naturally the Marines and the Marine, and the Marine "Special Officers Candidate Schools" (SOCS). Those who would make it through the SOCS Program would became Marine Lieutenants.

This book overflows with stories of leadership, heroism, and sacrifices by young Marine lieutenants. Dickenson writes of the enormous responsibilities that fell upon these young lieutenants. They were charged with leading their men, but leading by example. In the battles against Japanese forces, the Marine Lieutenants would make decisions that determined the fates of men under their command. In some instances these young lieutenants would make the ultimate sacrifice-their life. A clear and moving example of this can be read in the case of Lt. Jack Lummus;

"Lt Jack Lummus, rose up to rally his men and was knocked down by a grenade blast. He got up, charged the position and killed its defenders with his submachine gun, and was seriously wounded in the shoulder by another grenade. He attacked another emplacement and killed its occupants. Directing the fire of supporting tanks, he again moved into the open, rushed a third heavily defended position, and killed the Japanese in it. He led his men in attacking individual foxholes and spider traps, and, twenty yards in front of his platoon, he motioned them to follow him forward again. He suddenly disappeared in a huge explosion. When the rocks and debris finished falling, his men could see Lummus and it looked like he was standing in a hole. He had stepped on a mine that blew his legs off. He yelled at his cursing, weeping men as they stopped to help him and urged them on to a three hundred yard advance across the area's ravines and ridges. The surgeons in the division hospital could only relieve his pain and give him blood transfusions to try to keep him from bleeding to death. They kept him alive for several hours "... He was smiling as he closed his eyes and died".

"We Few: The Marine Corps 400 in the War Against Japan" is a grand ccomplishment of military history, the statistics are awesome and saddening, the profiles in leadership and courage are inspiring, the details are at time frightening. It forces the reader to think of war in a different light. It is a winner and belongs on the shelves with other great military history books on World War II.

This is a fascinating and well organized story covering the rather unique Navy-Marine Corps "V-12" college officer program in World War II. The program was much larger than might be assumed. Using oral history, interviews and historical facts, the author follows a dozen or so members of a special USMC officer training program in 1944 -- abbreviated so that the men could be rushed into Pacific combat (Iwo Jima and Okinawa). Emphasis of the book is well balanced between early training and later combat experiences. This is a very good peek into the activities in our country "behind the scenes" of the grand theaters of war. It is also a rewarding affirmation of the quality and character of the nation's young men at that time. Good work, author Dickenson.

A worthy companion to "With The Old Breed" and "We Were Soldiers Once and Young" both harrowing tales of horror and heroism in war "on the ground". "We Few" provides another insight into what these men marched into "doing what needs to be done" without much fan fair. Many of these men found bravery and fortitude they did not know they had, but cared little to share more that a few words about it. Not something to brag or even talk much about unless with those "where were there". I know as my father is on the back cover. Thanks to the author for writing it..

Unfortunately their is so much revisionist junk history about the atomic bomb and the cold war. Nuclear diplomacy, racism and other unfounded theories about the bomb have found their way into textbooks and classrooms. Anyone who does not think Truman used the bomb to end WWII quickly and with less lives lost is simply ignoring the obvious and the evidence. This book helps set the record straight. The decision to use the bomb was simple: to get Japan to stop fighting. Truman wanted to save lives and end the war: end of arguement. This book helps set the record straight.

Mr. Maddox has done a great service in analyzing the decision to use the atomic bomb on Japan. He systematically demolishes the arguements used by those who (for whatever reason) think that the bombing was unjustified. He shows through intercepted transmissions how the Japanese were ready to commit themselves to a bloodbath to fight off an invasion and how the Japanese military still wanted to fight even after Hiroshima was destroyed. Overall, the book is great work and should be required reading in schools and the Smithsonian Museum.

Some of the most popular books on the atomic bombing of Japan are filled to a depressing extent with distortions and incaccuracies. These books argue that there was no military necessity to use the bomb. Various nonsensical theories are offered to explain its use e.g.: The bomb was deployed to provide diplomatic leverage against the Soviets or as a result of American racism. These authors routinely take many indisputable facts and ignore or twist them beyond recognition in order to justify their arguments.

Robert James Maddox does a great public service by exposing these abuses of truth in Weapons for Victory. Point by point the tendentious butchering of historical source materials is exposed until there is little doubt that the methods used by these writers are the historian's equivalent of junk science. Various quotes, documents and other pieces of information are often used selectively and taken out of context. This process drastically alters the real meaning of these sources as facts are chopped up and forced to conform to predetermined conclusions. Maddox reproduces many of these misused sources in their full context and thereby shows their true meaning to be something quite different than what these authors claim. In addition, many basic facts that contradict the revisionists' claims (and that are usually ignored by them) are recited. For example, it's often said that the Japanese would have surrendered by mid-1945 if they had only been assured that their emperor could remain in place. Drawing on U.S. intercepts of Japanese diplomatic communication, Maddox shows that the Japanese wanted the emperor to remain the actual ruler of Japan, not the figurehead that he became after the surrender. Many other revisionist arguments become farcical after Maddox compares them to the documentary evidence.

This book is an indispensable antidote to such widely known and wrongly respected travesties as The Decision to Use the Atomic Bomb by Gar Alperovitz and Hiroshima by Ronald Takaki. Weapons for Victory clearly exposes the malpractice of the historian's profession contained in these books. A similar work of equally high quality is Truman and the Hiroshima Cult by Robert P. Newman.

The issue here is not about varying interpretations fo history, which are completely legitimate. It is about the proper and responsible use of source materials by certain authors who hold themselves out to the public as careful historians. We should all hope that despite the popular appeal of conspiracy theories and gratuitous America bashing that has propelled many revisionists to fame, good scholarship like Maddox's will still prevail.

Although I am very much an casual student of Japanese, I was attracted by the contents of this publication as I flicked through it at the bookshop. It is a translation of an old (1973) work by Takao Suzuki, a Japanese linguistics academic. Surprisingly the book is written in a quite light style, with some humor even if a little dated. On the surface I found the book quite exciting because it helps explain how words which appear to have similar meanings from a 'dictionary' viewpoint, can have very different social meanings and cultural usage. Examples are the verbs "cut" and "wear", which appear relatively simple to English speakers, yet have a range of different verbs and very different contexts in their Japanese usage. The section on the cultural context of the words "lips", "nose" and "chin", for example, start to bring a feeling for the complexity of meaning, and perhaps the inadequacy of many dictionary definitions which up to now I had taken at face value.

Moving through to the last chapter "Words for Self and Others" I found myself totally captivated by Suzuki's clear exposition of the misclassification of these parts of Japanese speech according to a misunderstanding of their relationship to English personal pronouns. It sounds heavy, but it is not, on the contrary it is a clear insight into the social context of words and language. I will never see those words in the same light again, and my Japanese will be certainly better for it.

At a much more profound level Suzuki expounds his core belief that words create things, in contrast to our "natural" acceptance of the idea that objects exist independently of language. If this is too deep then fortunately it does not impose on the value of the book at the more pedestrian level at which I thoroughly enjoyed it.

If you are a curious student of Japanese, then you will enjoy this book. I intend to read it again, and expect to enjoy it at least as much as the first time.

This is a wonderful book. Suzuki teaches us how to see our own language and culture "from the outside" (from the perspective of a non-Indo-European mentality); because of this I have assigned Suzuki's book as a required text in several college courses on language and culture. I particularly recommend the sections on "translatability" (especially chapters 1 and 2) and the chapter on "Words for Self and Others" (chapter 6). The latter reports a splendid bit of linguistic research and analysis that any reader can understand and appreciate: in it Suzuki undertakes to explain how and why "I" and "You" relate to one another differently in Japanese- and English-speaking cultures.

Wors In Context will give you an angle by which you may evaluate your deeply held cultural concepts, especially those that you may not consciously consider as cultural (and therefore, fluid) concepts.

For example, the author considers the concept of mercy killing of animals. The average American mind would consider it a cruelty not to "alleviate misery" and through this lens, any alternate behavior becomes a violation of Natural Law. The Japanese concept as put forth in this book considers "mercy killing" a human-centered concept that, as such, is the antithesis of holding the animal's corporeality in high regard. Nature should decide the fate of an animal, instead.

So, we have here two differing ideas of right-to-life concepts that people hold with the highest integrity. what to do??

Another example extends the differing concepts on animals by examining our relationships with pets. Whereas the American must have complete obedience of the animal to his every whim, the Japanese concept of a pet recognizes this treatment as a larger distortion of nature and gives more leeway for a dog to be a dog.

(New York city in this light is an eye-opening case indeed as the New Yorker's near pet-worship is held in its highest dysfunctional relief when a man kneels to pick up after his dog, while the dog stares on and seemingly recongnizes and enjoys this debasing servitude. "Kind master, you missed a bit.")

Despite that last poke, don't take the book as a polemic. It's not. It's just a solid exposition with ample reflection that, at a minimum, gets you far away from any of the common and misguided blanket statements on Japanese culture. However, in a wider view, the book gives many opportunities for you to evaluate your own culture.

It is difficult to understand your own culture by holding it up to its own standards.

Use this book to take a look inside yourself and learn something about Japan along the way.

Few things carry the taint of Imperialism like Yasukuni Shrine. Dedicated to war dead, the shrine became a symbol for the Emperor cult of WWII Axis Japan, with Class A war criminals such as General Tojo being honored there. In modern Japan, it is a last remaining relic, after State Shinto was banned by the US occupation forces, and even today an official visit by a government official creates an uproar in the Asian nations abused by the Japanese army.

With this in mind, a book titled "The Yasukuni Swords" carries the same aura as a book titled "The Auschwitz Bayonets" or "The Mai Lai Guns." Even amongst Nihonto enthusiasts, WWII era swords were known for their inferior quality and mass production, handed off to soldiers before being sent off to slaughter. But this book, "The Yasukuni Swords: Rare Weapons of Japan 1933-1945" is not about ignominious history or garbage blades. It is about the preservation of an ancient art, rescued from oblivion. In this case, it is the end, not the means that matter.

By the time of the inauguration of the Yasukuni Forge, in 1933, there were less than 10 swordsmiths in remaining in Japan. The sword-banning act of the Meiji Restoration had almost caused the extinction of perhaps the most refined tradition of swordcraft the world has ever known. Even of the 10, only one, Gassan Sadakatsu, was able to make blades of ancient quality. The military government in power, attempting to foster their aggression with the resurrection of the samurai spirit, gathered the remaining swordsmiths at Yasukuni Shrine, and established the forge. This is their story.

Their story is fascinating indeed, as is the tale of the slow and painful resurrection of the swordsmithing art. Not only the smiths themselves, but all the accompanying crafts needed revival. The unique ore needed was in short supply, and the oral tradition of its processing was in the minds of 80-year old men. The blade polishers and the hilt wrappers all needed to be sought out and new craftsmen trained. Specific to the Yasukuni Forge, only traditional hand-craft was used, forging blades for officers and high-ranking Imperials, rather than the machine-forged blades of the common soldier during the war.

In the end, up to 200 new swordsmiths were raised from the fires of the Yasukuni Forge, ensuring the survival of Japanese swordcraft for future generations.

In addition to this fascinating history, "The Yasukuni Swords: Rare Weapons of Japan 1933-1945" catalogs the blades of that era, showing the distinct markings and techniques and rediscovery of the art. There are articles on the Yasukuni Forge from the 1940s, as well as modern essays on the blades. Photographs bring the whole history to life, and this is one of the most fascinating books I have read for some time.

Books on Japanese swords are by their nature scarce and expensive. Many of them are out of date, or of supeficial scholarship. And many of the best ones are in Japanese, which makes it difficult for the English speaking collector/ enthusiast to use. But this book is an essential reference
in this field of interest.

Most books of Japanese swords cover the old historic swords. But since there are only so many of these surviving, a new market in swords made after the age of the Samurai have become popular. Hence the interest in swords made in modern times, but in the traditional manner.

This book originally appeared in Japanese in 1998, and was translated in 2004. It covers the efforts in the 1980s to commemorate the traditional
Japanese sword smithy and manufacturing unit that existed at Yasukuni
shrine from 1933 to 1945. Yasukuni shrine was founded in the late 19th century in Tokyo to commemorate the spirits of Japanese war dead.
A number of these smiths were located, and some made swords which
were part of special exhibition. Eventually a special presentation sword was made by a group of these artisans, and given to the shrine marking the 50th anniversary.

Most of the production of these swords were given as presentation pieces
to graduates of the Army and Naval officer schools. Also a number were ordered by the Imperial household. All of the swords made at Yasukuni
were of the highest quality, and rigid quality control was enforced.

The book is full of wonderful details about the smiths and artisans working in Yasukuni, the establishment and history of the unit, and its demise at the end of WW II. There are numerous pictures of these swords, their inscriptions, production notes, even the layout of the sword
shop. There are also the basics about Japanese sword making and the
traditional forge and tools involved. For a slim volume like this, there is
an amazing amount of information and research packed into it. In all
approximately 8100 swords were made at Yasukuni from 1933 to 1945.

This is an excellent book and essential addition to anyone with an interest in Japanese swords, Japanese history, arms & armour, or WW II in the Pacific theatre.

The Japanese sword occupied a position in their military culture not unlike that of the engraved pistols in American culture. One important class of Japanese swords are the 8,100 swords produced on the grounds of the Yasukuni Shrine between 1933 and 1945. The group of swordsmiths collected there preserved the time-honored forging methods and the aesthetic and apiritual traditions of the samurai warrior.

In the aftermath of World War II sword ownership was banned in Japan and many of these swords were destroyed. Others became war booty and were removed to the victors countries.

After the manufacturing of swords was allowed in 1954 many of the smiths began making swords again, but independently.

This book is both a collection of photographs of Yasukuni swords and a story of the swordsmiths and the institution. It is a book that speaks of these historic swords with reverence.

This book is exactly what I've been looking for. It has simple and cute sewing projects. I bought the book yesterday and I have already started on the bunny wallet today.

Full of great sewing projects that are unique, well explained and useful. I found several that I look forward to making, including the bunny wallet and bunny pencil case. Very unique, high quality projects.

If you are addicted to those adorable Japanese Craft Magazines, but find yourself frustrated by their lack of instructions in English, then you should check out this book. There are 25 projects here - from the very simple such as potholders and book covers to the more complicated such as comfy room shoes.

The book is beginner friendly with a section on simple sewing techniques, and descriptions of tools & materials needed. A person with more advanced skills may find some of the projects too simple. And some may wonder about the necessity of projects like covered tape measures or corsage pincushions. Still, other projects hit home. For me, the slippers are a must-do. These are nearly impossible to make if you have to rely solely on Japanese instructions. Other favorites of mine are the sashiko projects and the bird pillow. There is a list of helpful resources in the back.

Cute! I hope this is the first of many more English language zakka books to come.

Far from being a self-aggrandizing memoir, a travelogue or a spiritual manual, this book reads like a rich, delicious novel. Sandra Boliver Boehm writes with a sense of humor about her college-age self, and with meticulous and sensual detail about her experiences in Japan in the 1970's. Her descriptions of the food she ate are enough to make a reader crave sushi every night. This is a phenominal coming-of-age tale, and a must for any intelligent young woman with a lust for adventure.

Some of the most exquisite writing I've ever encountered. This delightful memoir is quizzical, poignant, sparkling, honest and brilliant. It conveys the feel of a youthful search for spiritual adventure while unconsciously brimming with maturity and a rare kind of courage, both earthy and lofty. I'm eager for more, much more, from this exceptionally witty, literate and lyrical voice.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I have strong ambivalencies about the time I spent living in Japan, but reading this book evoked such strong, nostalgic images of all that is right and true about Japanese culture that I was ready to hop the next plane. I only wish that I had had her apparently excellent Japanese language skills, the more romantic locale of Kyoto over the more industrial Kobe where I lived, and the better luck with Japanese men!

Authors of books with specialized academic focus are well-aware that they can never hope to reach an audience of more than a couple thousand. However interesting the subject matter, distribution is often too small to attract the attention of even local reviewers, let alone the large national printing enterprises. And however many readers may be completely satisfied with such a book, very few will decide to write a review for it.

Probably for this reason, Amazon provides authors an opportunity to say a few words in their own behalf. Here are mine.

1. "Sand and Pebbles (Shasekishu)" (1985) is the first of what can be seen as a coherent trilogy. It has never been reviewed on Amazon.com -- but it has been favorably reviewed elsewhere. It is the parent of what follows.

2. "Early Kamakura Buddhism: a Minority Report" (1987). 5 star review.

3. "Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes:
Japan's Tokeiji Convent Since 1285" (2006). 5 star review.

I'm almost finished with _Zen Sanctuary of Purple Robes_ and I'm quite impressed with the organization and attention to detail. The Morrells have contributed heavily here to three fields -- Japanese history, Japanese literature, and Japanese Buddhism. The new and carefully-researched details they bring to light on the Tokeiji's history as sanctuary and, later, divorce temple for women, are both timely and historically valuable. In addition, their inclusion of much new translation also sets this book apart. Muju Ichien's (1226-1312) _Mirror for Women_ (1300), for instance, provides valuable insight into not only this monk's advice for women and men both, but into the general belief system of medieval Rinzai Buddhism as well. The volume also includes translation of numerous _senryu_ ("light verse," from the mid- to late Edo Period, 1603-1868), which particularly bring home the contemporary Japanese attitudes (both positive and negative) toward the Tokeiji as a unique refuge and recourse for women in domestic turmoil. The book's appendixes, endnotes, cross-referenced guide to cited texts, bibliography, and index complete this first-class effort. Well done indeed, and many thanks!

I thoroughly enjoyed this excellent book. It has a lot more personality and spunk than most academic titles today, and approaches the subject of Buddhism in very interesting and important ways. Yeah, it also has some oddities and awkward moments, but these are significantly outweighed by its positive qualities.

"Interdisciplinary" is such a buzzword in the ivory tower's postmodern discourse, and yet this book, so adamantly anti-postmodern and thankfully free of francophonic jargon and snide mud-slinging, is ironically one of the most truly interdisciplinary books I've seen. Social History, Buddhist Studies, and Literature are combined in a potent mix along with illuminating illustrations, and translations from a great variety of genres (vernacular sermons, satirical poems, temple records, regional guides, travel diaries, ritual invocations, and such) are used to great effect. All of this gives the reader a richly complex kaleidoscopic view of the Tokeiji Convent and its guiding principles (religious pluralism and the provision of sanctuary) through time. This focus keeps the book well-grounded in specifics even as wider implications for our understanding of Japanese Buddhism in general are addressed--in a rather refreshing unabashedly opinionated manner. I especially liked the authors' take on Mahayana Pluralism as articulated particularly in the Lotus Sutra--indeed, this was not sloppy syncretism or cowardly compromise but an informed, explicit spiritual stance with scriptural basis. Also, the translations are masterfully done and are mostly unabridged so that we can better judge the total effect and intent of the text.

The book also rambles a bit and sometimes goes off on tangents, and it uses D.T. Suzuki's description of practice at Engakuji Monastery to extrapolate what religious practice was probably like at Tokeiji Convent--this seemed like a rather haphazard method to me despite the two temples' institutional ties, and this quote from another English language source seemed way too long in any case. Also I was sometimes uncomfortable with the way that certain traditions were depicted as almost purely negative; Confucianism certainly comes across as the bad guy here, for instance. To invoke another buzzword, a little "nuance" wouldn't have hurt. But don't let these almost trifling nitpicks interfere with your appreciation of this fine book. The primary appeal will of course be to those interested in Buddhism and its history in Japan, but it has much to offer in the way of Japanese literature too, especially the chapter devoted to senryu (haiku's witty and worldly cousin). And if by chance you are going to Kamakura to visit some temples, you'll definitely want to read this book on the way.

Zero Combat & Development by Robert Mikesh, does a splendid job of telling the story of the history and development of the A6M all models are included and a break down of their history and purpose of coming into play are described. The book covers the successes of the earlier A5M and discusses the specifications handed to Horikoshi. It does an excellent job of explaining the structural defect present in the early model A6M's and what corrective measures were taken to prevent more accidents. It shows many photos interior cut away drawings and specifactons. I am an aviation historian and a model builder and I even learned from reading this book. Also valuable is the information obtained from the captured A6M and the test of many American fighters of that time against the A6M. Don't just take my word for it read it for yourself.

When you are not fluent in Japanese, there are not very much other publications about the A6M Zero I could recommend you to buy. This book has it all: splendid photographs - both historical and of surviving planes-, an indepth text which not just tells the allied side of the story - there is a forword by Zero Ace Saburo Sakai himself -, and a good bibliography of 27 earlier publications about this plane, proving that the author can read the original language himself because most of them are in Japanese. It also list all the classics in the English language up to publication date, only missing the ARCO/Aircam No. 18 by Richard M. Bueschel, published in 1970 and since long out of print, though updated and reissued by Schiffer Books in 1995. The Polish/British Mushroom Publications brought out a Zero monograph by Artur Juszczak as well in November 2001, more focussed on modellers, which can also be used as a sort of 'Walk Around', because there are shots of almost all parts and angles of the plane, something which it has in common with another Polish 'Zero' book by Arthur Lochte.

Mikesh is that rare combination of combat pilot (he was a FAC during the Vietnam War) and historian (former curator at the Natl Air & Space Museum). Japanese military aviation is his speciality, and this book is the definitive history of Japan's remarkable Zero fighter.

Every time my husband and I plan a trip we check this little jewel and discover what exhibits are in vicinities we will be in. In fact, we have planned trips to go to particular exhibitions. Not only are exhibitions listed and clearly described but also accurate museum hours and telephone numbers are given. It is a must-have for us and a great gift for travelers.

This book has once again lead me to include the best exibits when planning my travels. It has helped me coordinate my travel plans with those of touring exhibits. Concise and worth trusting, this guide is a must for those who enjoy great art and love to travel.

I bought several courses. The cards offer basic concepts in small bites. The information was relevant to what was presented by my teacher. The cards and CD's gave good review before exams and a head start at the start of the new school year. The cards had a lot of questions; you can carry them in your pocket and learn a few each day. The software was easy to use. It is like the cards but on the screen. You can take a test or just review. Front is question, click for answer on back of card. The software can also show the cards on the screen at random, first the question, then the answer. They change every few seconds. That keeps you reading and wondering what's coming up next. It's entertaining while you're studying.

Every year I recommend them to my students. The ones who buy them seem to do a little better than they might have. The cards are numbered, so it's easy to tell them which ones they need to know, and which they can set aside based on the curriculum. It's harder to accomplish that type of culling of information with a review book you'd buy at the superstore.