Japan Books

"The koto...is a thirteen-string Japanese zither." The traditional koto is about six feet long with thirteen movable bridges placed under its strings. The player sits at the end known as the "head." Nontraditional kotos can vary in length as well as some of the design details. As with many objects and activities in Japanese society, the koto and the playing of it have been used to signify the social class and certain social situations. Varied individuals such as aristocrats, blind male professionals, and female amateurs indicated their status by how they played the instrument. An ethnomusicologist at the U. of Otago in New Zealand, Johnson ranges through the construction and design of the koto, music for it and the performance of this, the koto's place in Japanese culture, and changes in these as Japanese society has changed. Color photographs of different perspectives, including close-ups when called for, accompany the technical, historical, and sociological topics. With the size and quality of a coffee-table art book, this work makes this somewhat specialized subject readily accessible to readers with different interests about Japanese culture and musicology.

The Koto: A Traditional Instrument In Contemporary Japan is a thorough, illustrated history of a traditional stringed Japanese instrument. The text goes into depth on the koto's useage throughout history, techniques for tuning and playing it, its performance today, methods for constructing individual instruments as works of art, and much more. A comprehensive resource covering just about anything and everything there is to know about the haunting melodies that continue to be played on this remarkable instrument, up to the modern day.

Along with Mt. Fuji, Cherry Blossoms, Geisha, and the Shamisen, the Japanese koto is THE symbol of traditional Japan. Other then a couple of advanced musicological studies, and a chapter or two in other books about Japanese music, no other book gives such a complete reference to this all important instrument. Not only does this book include just about every aspect about the history, design, construction, and music theory of the Japanese koto, but it is also a beautiful book with wonderful photos, diagrams, and charts covering the full spectum of knowledge about this instrument. From Yatsuhashi to the most modern "Doremi Popcorn" koto, "The Koto" is also very accessible to the average reader. As a student of the koto, I only dared to dream about a work such as this, and now my dream has come true. My only small complaint (if any) is that for the price, a CD might have been included with a sampling of koto pieces, illustrating the diverse music that the koto has produced over its almost 2,000 year history.

All the more impressive because the author is not a polished writer. He merely recounts the most astounding events as if he just happened to be taking a walk.

This book brought me to tears, when I realized what our soldiers went through. He talks about beatings and bombings and life in Japanese POW camps, and it sounds like you are there. Somehow all the documentaries I've seen and all the books I read never made me understand what it was REALLY like.

I highly recommend this book as a first person account for anyone who wants to know the truth about being a POW in Japan, and the Bataan Death March.

I started this book with the thought that it needed an editor. I ended the book with the thought that this book was one of the best books I have read in years. It is a very personal view of a young man from a small rural world dumped into big time history as it happend. He is thrilled and scared and constantly in the present of the war itself. You feel for the teen age kid as he reels through the events like a pinball in a pinball machine. He jumps in sometimes and other times just rolls with the punches. His discriptions are weak (not a writer) but real and griping.

I started this book with the thought that it needed an editor. I ended the book with the thought that this book was one of the best books I have read in years. It is a very personal view of a young man from a small rural world dumped into big time history as it happend. He is thrilled and scared and constantly in the present of the war itself. You feel for the teen age kid as he reels through the events like a pinball in a pinball machine. He jumps in sometimes and other times just rolls with the punches. His discriptions are weak (not a writer) but real and griping.

Now, this was my first Let's Draw Manga book, and I wondered what I would get out of it, but as soon as I opened it, I was amazed. The art is amazing, it shows you things you would not even consider, and it's not even just about Fantasy, though it goes into a great deal about it. It doesn't just throw you into the world of Fantasy. It makes sure you know the basics b4 you drown in all the knowledge that may be ahead of you. It's really great for beginners. I, personally, am not one, but needed a reference for different fantasy worlds (Feudal Japan and Medieval Europe, for example which this book includes), so this book is an amazing reference book for those who are intermediates and experts as well. With that said, it's for anyone and is well worth your money.

This book is wonderful in so many ways. I was a bit skeptical when I was about to buy this book. Not because of the cover, which is cute by the way, but because I have at least 2 books from let's draw manga, and the books are ok, but nothing to fascinating. I was totally wrong about this book! I love everything in this book. This book is a good foundation for those growing imaginations, as well as expanding imaginations to help feed your ideas and make you manga even better. This books contents includes:

Chapter one: Let's create some characters!...

1. Drawing human bodies
practice corner
planning page

2. Illustrating human sized characters
Western style-medival characters
planning page/ let's draw western-style
medival characters
sci-fi style
science fantasy character illustration
asain-style characters
Planning page/let's draw asian-style characters

Chapter 2: Let's establish our world!

1. Creating a western medival world
Let's illustrate our western
medieval world in color

2. The world of science fantasy
Let's draw a picture board

3. Creating an asian-style world
Let's illustrate our asian-style world in color

Chapter 3: Enemy and supporting characters!

1. New relationships
Planning page

2. Let's create enemy monsters
Sample drawing/ color process

3. let's create friendly monsters
planning page
drawing process: digital color illustration

Fantasy variations
drawing process: black and white illustration

Chapter four: Magic and eguipment

1. Weapons and armor

costumes
weapons
accessories
2. Magic and magical equpiment
medival
science fantasy
asian
let's digitally illustrate a magical scene

Chapter five: Let's draw fantsy manga!

steps:
1. Ideas
2.Ecstablishing the plot
3. story boarding
4. drawing and inking a draft

Manga " the spring seekers"

Chapter six: Author illustrations

All in all, I think this is a fun and interesting book. It is a good foundation to start you off in your manga processes. I difintely recommend this book! It is a total steal. Plus there is no nudity at all in this book, so those of you who are offended by nudity, this book is right up your alley!

I have a collection of How to Draw Manga books, but this was my first Let's Draw Manga and I love it. Simply put: The book is extremely well done - no skimping on the art quality (what you see on the cover resembles the inside art, if not better) and excellent color graphics. It is probably for upper-level beginners and up as far as details in how to draw.
There are six chapters, each with about two subsections. The chapters are:
Let's create some characters
Let's establish our world
Enemy and Supporting characters
Magic and equipment
Let's draw fantasy manga
Author illustrations.

There are body shapes that you can photocopy (intelligent move by the authors), very detailed descriptions, CG instructions(which are great), background development and explanations, character designs and costumes, and finally a book with a good proportion of male character information (which I find hard to get out of the How to Draw Manga book series). It is almost like a compilation of the many of the How to Draw Manga books. Well worth the purchase. Useful. Great addition to collection.

Professors Yamanouchi & Quinn offer a much needed corrective to the five-decade old demonization of the Japanese soldier. This evocative, poetic, and compelling collection of soldiers' letters strikes down the dusty image of Japan's warriors as mindless, unthinking fanatics. In this volume we discover an entirely new and fresh insight into the mind-set and attitudes of young sailors, soldiers, and airmen who died in the service of Japan. The reader cannot help but be impressed by the sensitivity of these young men, by their literary yearnings, by their touching hopes for their families and futures, by the lyrical portraits they paint of even the grim and dangerous settings to which the war brought them. No little debt is owed to the editors for their masterful translation of these letters into useful and understandable American idiom. This is a rare and unforgettable reading experience which illuminates once again the common threads which bind humanity.

Dr. Midori Yamanouchi's translation of this post World War II collection of letters is brilliant. The work is a deeply moving collection of diaries written by young Japanese soldiers who gave their lives in a series of battles going from China, through the Pacific to the skies closer to Japan. Many of them were cultivated young university students, full of life and dreams, reflecting on the beauty of life, the love of their families and the painful duty that was their lot. These are sad voices, the now stilled voices of tragedy. Overall, an insight into war and the human spirit that rivals such western classics as "The Red Badge of Courage" or "All Quiet on the Western Front". Generations often forget the 'sins' of the past. Reading this book - now in English - may just remind us to avoid the trajedy of war at all costs.

One of the best Pacific War stories told by the people who had to be there.
Each story captures your soul and makes you wonder why we even had to fight.
The saddest thing of all is that war still goes on somewhere in this world and that young people are still being killed just like the ones in the book.

This book must be read by as many people as possible, so perhaps we learn something and war will never start again.
I wonder when we, the human beings, will stop fighting and begin talking, negotiating...

There are books like this for the US as well as Germany soldiers. And, they are equally powerful.
It is said: People who never learn from the past will repeat the same mistakes all over again.

Ever since this book was originally published in 1949, four years after the end of the World War II, it has been one of the best sellers in Japan, even to this day.

Books on Japan that are worth reading must fulfill three criteria. They must be based on a direct access to primary sources, which presupposes a high degree of familiarity with the Japanese language and social history. They have to build upon the scholarly literature, including analysis and commentary presented by Japanese scholars. And they have to offer a theoretical perspective that is relevant to the subject under consideration.

The Logic of Japanese Politics meets these three criteria with a wide margin. Professor Curtis seems to know every major political figure firsthand and has developed with many of them a personal relationship since their rookie years as junior Diet members. As a distinguished political scientist, he brings intellectual breadth as well as historical depth to his topic, and has himself published extensively in Japanese. He is careful not to placate preconceived notions on the Japanese political system, and develops useful comparisons with politics in Europe (whereas most observers, including Japanese political actors, tend to overuse the comparison with US politics).

The 1990s was an important turning point for Japanese politics. From 1989 to 1998, Japan had nine prime ministers; there had been only eleven over the previous thirty-four years. From 1955 to 1993, only one party, the LDP, was in power at the national level. Then during one year beginning in August 1993, every party in the Diet except for the Communists participated in one coalition government or another. Among parties opposed to the LDP, affiliations were in such a flux that a number of Diet members stopped indicating their party membership on their name cards. Although the PLD's absence from power lasted for less than a year, before they returned to government in an alliance with their former arch-rival the Japan Socialist Party, the period marked a dramatic rupture in Japanese politics, with the end of the so-called '55 system and the quest for a new political landscape that took some time consolidating.

Each chapter focuses on a particular phase of this transition: the ouster of the LDP from government and its replacement by a seven-party coalition led by the charismatic prime minister Morihiro Hosokawa; the unraveling of this coalition that nonetheless achieved to pass an important electoral reform; the LDP's return to power in a coalition led first by the Socialist Party's chairman Tomiichi Murayama, then by former MITI minister Ryutaro Hashimoto; the disappointing results of the 1998 upper-house election and the appointment of Keizo Obuchi over Junichiro Koizumi as party chairman and head of government.

The result of these changes and reorganization was immobilism and confusion precisely at a time when Japan needed policy change and strategic direction in order to deal with an ailing economy. Despite the rhetoric on the need for political reform, administrative restructuring and deregulation, Curtis shows that the Japanese public felt ambivalent toward undoing the system that brought Japan its postwar success, and that the authorities delivered relatively little in terms of real departures from the past. He also castigates the Japanese's infatuation with the idea that the two-party system of Westminster democracy would magically cure Japanese politics from all its ills, arguing instead that the "rice-roots" quality of Japanese democracy is its strength rather than its weakness.

Distinctly Japanese political institutions are introduced throughout the text. The zokugiin is a Diet member who concentrates on a single issue, developing expertise and influence through his contacts with the bureaucracy and special interest representatives. The habatsu is a faction within the LDP bound together by ties of personal allegiance more than doctrinal content. The most powerful faction usually leaves the position of party president (and thus prime minister) to someone from another faction, while exercising power from the shadow through control of the post of party secretary-general and through controlling the composition of the prime minister's cabinet. The all-important secretary-general has final say on candidate nominations and is in charge of the party's funds, two sources of power that enable him both to do favors and to punish party members.

The kokutai or kokkai taisaku iinkai is a party's Diet-strategy committee that doubles the formal House Management Committee (giin unei iinkai, or giun) and that offers the channel for backroom deals between parties or for informal contacts with the bureaucracy. The innai kaiha is a parliamentary caucus that can be distinct from the political party (or parties) it supports. It came to play a critical role after the collapse of LDP one-party dominance in 1993 as politicians seeked to restructure the party system.

Detailed knowledge of the functioning of these institutions and others is important in order to understand how politicians operate within particular institutional constraints. Politics in Japan makes sense in Japanese terms, and clear reasoning can make sense of Japanese politics.

I have lived in Japan for a few years in the 1990s and have always assumed that (at least for now) the politicians there don't really matter. And compared to American politics, Japanese politics seemed dry with one party rule until 1993. But Curtis shows how exciting it all is under the surface. I read this book very slowly, wanting to absorb every detail; however, Curtis writes well and will keep you moving through the events of the 1990s.

So if you are a student of Japan and are trying to piece together some of the highlights you already know, read this book. Curtis has done us a great service.

As the title of the book suggests, there is a logic to Japanese politics, just as there is a logic, a coherence, to other social phenomena and behavior. This will no doubt disturb those students of the Asian "mind" who are prone to boil down Japanese "national character" to some sort of ahistorical essence. As Professor Curtis says, he hopes he "will leave the reader with a sense of the culture of Japanese politics. It is not a book that argues that culture explains Japanese politics." This is revisionism operating in a healthy sense. There are a couple of specific points I would like to make. In dissecting electoral reform, he does not mention recent play given to direct election of the prime minister, an idea first raised by Nakasone in the 1960s. Of course, the conservatives are betting this would benefit the election of a strong right-wing leader in the mold of Shintaro Ishihara, the present governor of Tokyo. Secondly, in speculating on the direction Japanese politics may take, he mentions only briefly what he terms the New Right and the implications for U.S.-Japan relations. The drift to the right in Japanese politics is unmistakable, which in its worst form would lead to remilitarization and indeed pose a problem for Far East security. Already, the national anthem and national flag, replete with their war-time associations, have been officially recognized. This past February both the upper and lower houses of the Diet formed committees to study revising the Constitution. The New Right, or neo-nationalists, if you will, see this as an opening for revising Article 9, the anti-war article. Just one small error to point out in a name: read Taku Yamasaki vice Yamazaki. All in all, this is a tremdously valuable study.

This was the first Japanese craft book I ever owned (I got it for my 14th birthday - I'm now 27), and given the recent popularity of Japanese crafts, I'm surprised that it's not still in print. "Lovable Mini-Dolls" provides patterns for making 165 little (about 3 - 4 inch) felt dolls, including costumed dolls (a pirate, a soldier, a princess, a king, etc), insects, birds, fish, zoo animals and story book characters. Most of these dolls are very simple to make, particularly the animals (I can guarantee that they are easy enough for a 14 year old with minimal sewing skills to make) and colour pictures of the dolls are provided throughout. People who like this book should also consider buying "The Cute Book", which is the closest book to this one, which is currently in print.

The patterns and ideas in this book are adorable. The instructions and patterns (full size patterns) are clear and easy to understand. You'll love it!

This book was definitely worth the price and more! You get 165 different patterns! If this book does not inspire the dollmaker-crafter,then I don't know what to say. The instructions were wonderful with the cute illustrations! Even the novice would understand and create these dolls,no problem. So go ahead and get this book, you won't be disappointed!!

I live by this book. Every remedy that I have tried has worked! I can't stress enough the importance of the information within this books pages. Micho Kushi and his wife are very very wise people. Every household should have a copy of this book!

easy, helpful remedies. would recommend to anyone

I would highly recommend this book to anyone, even if they aren't macrobiotic. The remedies are easy and best of all, completely natural. Michio Kushi is the leader of macrobiotics today and Marc Vancauwenberghe is one of the great teachers. Their knowledge of nutrition and natural medecine seems to be neverending!

I read this book twice. This in itself should be sufficient recommendation!

But I'll give you some of the reasons why I like it so much.
It is rich in historical detail and sociological examination, as well as the author's personal experiences. I was thoroughly entertained, informed and sometimes surprised. There were some unexpected revelations - such as the raucus behavior of passengers on the train to Osaka and the ubiquitous noise pollution with apparent little effect on the serenity of the Japanese people.

The author proved open to all aspects of life in Japan, and presents his story with vivid detail and an eye for beauty. He must have possessed an enormous amount of energy. He describes his business career (with admirable modesty) and Japan's economy, business philosophy and practices with an insider's knowledge. He found time to explore Japan's countryside, and immerse himself in the pursuit of understanding Japan's culture. This included the study of the Japanese language, art and religion. I was struck by the author's keen and objective observations about Japanese life. And he didn't limit occasional criticisms to the Japanese, but had some strong opinions about the Dutch and Americans as well.

But this is not the whole story. His and his wife's personal lives are lovingly described. The tale is well paced and contains many fascinating details of their experiences with friends and family, and many other people they encountered. I highly recommend this book - it provides insight far beyond the standard western ideas about Japan.

Nora Hines, Prescott, Arizona, USA

Magatama Doodle is an intriguing memoir by a young Dutchman who settles into the banking business in Japan following its surrender after WW II. The reader enters an exotic yet emerging modern world, reflecting the author's growing love of the country tempered by the developing knowledge of cultural contradictions including the stifling of individuality. Brinckmann's vivid descriptions reflect his extensive knowledge of history and a remarkable memory for details conveyed with wry and whimsical humor. A sense of time and place is brilliantly presented through the author's creative and poetic skills no doubt enhanced through his intimate knowledge of the country after acquiring a beautiful and artistic Japanese wife. This reader was enchanted and enlightened and eagerly awaits another volume.

There is hardly any book available by a Westerner looking back over more than half a century's contact with Japan - , culturally, economically and socially. Well, Hans Brinckmann's The Magatama Doodle fills the gap. The author starts with entering Japanese life in the service of a Dutch bank in 1950. By means of anecdotes and observations he tells us how his experiences became an 'affair' with Japanese culture. He explains the backgrounds of its sometimes strange customs and how he dealt with them. Not only by means of anecdotes and examples but also by going back into history he brings Japanese life into relief. At the same time we follow his career from bank employee to banking executive, and from bachelor to being married to a Japanese young lady of `good family'. As such he was able to meet Japanese leaders and gaining an insight into the manifold reasons for their decisions and actions.
The title refers to a habit he noticed early on among some Japanese men in authority: that of doodling imaginary comma-like figures on some handy surface, whenever they avoided expressing an opinion or making a decision. The doodles reminded him of magatama, ancient comma-shaped precious stones found in prehistoric tombs. They seemed to him an appropriate symbol for one of the book's underlying themes: that a deeply conservative ethos lies at the root of both Japan's distinctive and much-admired culture and the undeniable rigidity of its political, educational and managerial structures.
The author stresses he is not suggesting a simple key to understanding the `Japanese mind', let alone presuming to offer prescriptions for change. As he sees it, Western attempts to make Japan `more like us' are doomed to fail. Japan must build on its own considerable strengths and rely on the fresh energies of a new generation of leaders to meet the challenges of a globalized society.
I should consider this book essential reading for everyone interested in understanding the often-mystifying ethics, politics and economics of this country that has left its mark on world history in more than one way.
Michael Rogge.

I am currently researching teaching opportunities in Japan, and they are plentiful. While I have yet to go to Japan, reading Don Best's book has answered a lot of questions I had had (e.g. how can one afford to live in Japan?). It includes information on the English industry in Japan, qualifications for teaching, suggested preparation before leaving for Japan, finding jobs, surviving in Japan, the interview (including hints on creating a demonstration lesson), pay, work visas, and settling in.

One concern I had was that this book was written in 1994. I wrote to two address in the book and both letters were sent back to me claiming the addresses were incorrect. I suggest checking (possibly through internet searches) addresses before writing to them. There are also a lot of informative websites to check out. If you are looking to get hired from outside Japan, look for websites of these employers: Aeon, Nova, Geos, Berlitz, and ECC.

Overall, this book seems like an excellent place to start if you're interested in teaching English in Japan. Even if some of the information may be outdated, it answers a lot of questions that readers will have about teaching in Japan and about Japan itself.

Just returned from teaching in Japan. The truth is that finding a job is a lot more difficult than it was, say 5 years ago. But if you are the least bit interested, this is by far the best book available. Felt like I had a friend telling me the ins and outs of how to get my job. If you are really interested in the experience then go for it!

I taught English in Japan for about 2 years in the mid 90's. The experience was fantastic, and I made some of the best freinds of my life. Unfortunately, I read this book after the fact (after I had my job), but I certainly could have avoided some of the common pit-falls. This book really tells it like it is, and is a MUST BUY for anyone contemplating the adventure of a life-time.

I ended up reading the book, Manchurian Legacy, in one sitting even though I had a lot of other things to do. That is rare for me. The story mesmerized me as I felt like I was learning something about my roots, my mother.

My Japanese mother, to get away from the merciless firebombing of her city, at the age of 19 volunteered as a member of a repatriation team assigned to travel to Manchuria and to help in the repatriation of Japanese colonials there. After training for about a month, she flew to a city in the center of Manchuria on what happened to be the same day that the Russians invaded. She had quite an adventure hiding, being captured, incarcerated, starving, transported by rail in box cars and then force marched thru Korea, to be saved ironically by the enemy American soldiers that she was trying to escape. I am amazed at what she had to go through to get back to Japan.

Not only did this book gave me an insight to what life was like in Manchuria for the Japanese during the end of World War II, it also gave me a glimpse of post-war Japan where both my father and father-in-law were stationed as part of the occupation forces. The stories about the period during the Russian invasion and how they and the local Chinese treated the Japanese colonials was very revealing. Even though Mrs. Kuramoto's experience was not so harrowing as my mother's adventure, the description of the area and the everyday life of the colonials helped me to understand this period of history in this part of the world.

Even though the second part of the book about post-war Japan did not relate to my mother since she had a support system in place when she returned to Japan, the description of Mrs. Kuramoto's experiences with members of the American occupation force helped me to understand the situation that my father lived through during his term of duty in Japan.

Enough of how the book impacted me. Here is a synopsis of the book: The Manchurian Legacy is a story about the life of a young woman born in Manchuria to Japanese parents living there during World War II. Her father is a minor Japanese government official which gave the family trappings of luxury which were not enjoyed by the local occupied Chinese residents. Kazuko was a patriotic 17 year old and to her parent's dismay, volunteered to join the Red Cross to aid in the war effort against the corrupt capitalists and communists. When Japan surrendered, the Russians invaded and the Chinese revolted, sending the Japanese colonialists into hiding. How the colonialists fared over the next year is a testament to their entrepreneurship and tenacious desire to survive in a culture hostile to their former oppressors. The post-war portion of the book focused on how Kazuko coped in Japan after being shipped there on U.S. transport ship and after being rejected by other relatives. This is also a story of her relationship with soldiers and contractors with the American occupation forces, and her struggles in a country not so accepting of the returning colonialists.

A great read and highly recommended.

Recently I was given this book to read by a friend who is preparing to teach a university course on Japanese culture and women's narrative. I am voraciously reading the books that she is considering for her course and giving her feedback. I couldn't put this book down and cried at the end. What more can one say? I sit here now as a foreigner living in Japan and find this book offers me a window into Japanese history, culture and the voice of women that is not normally acknowledged. Everyone should read this book.

Manchurian Legacy is the book,I wished that I could have read when I was in the sixth grade.Readers of that age group could easily identify with the character of Kazuko as a young woman. It is rare to find a book that can appeal to both young and old readers. The author, Kazuko Kuramoto apologizes for her writing, as English is her third language. I believe, this is what makes the book so readable. She does not bog the reader down with flowery language. What Kazuko does give the reader is a feeling of what it was like to have lived in Manchuria as a colonialist before and doing WW II.The real charm of the book is that it does not assume the reader has any knowledge of the historical events that shaped the narrative.A brief explanation that doesn't bog down the story gives you a context to understand and enjoy her memoir. The immense popularity of a book, "Angela's Ashes" shows that readers have a desire for personal stories of the ordinary man. Kazuko's story deserves to be read by as wide a audience as "Angela's Ashes"