Customer Reviews (2)

The tip of the ice-berg
Japan Swings is undoubtedly an eye-opener for those who've always though of Japan as the land of conformity and homogeneity. Through an esily digestible style of writing, McGregor describes Japan as he saw it while working there. Although a good introductory read, Japan Swings does not go into great detail about the various issues that it raises and is best supplemented with other academic sources for a better understanding of modern Japanese culture.

Ammunition for Japan bashers
If you're a Japan-basher, this book is a must read as it will supply you with an almost endless supply of ammuntion for your battles with Japanophiles.Written by Richard McGregor, an Australian Journalist who spent years in Japan, this book provides the low-down on all the scandals, corruption, monopolies, bloody-minded politicians, right-wingers, human-rights violations, sexism and conformity that Japan-bashers love to hate. McGregor's topic is the collapse of the bubble economy, and how it has affected Japanese business, government and culture.One of the most interesting sections of the book is the chapter on "Money Politics", which tells the unbelievable story of Prime Minister Tanaka's involvement with right-wing groups, and his use of them to silence political opponents."The Nanny State" which tells about the ways Prime Ministers become pawns of bureaucrats, and about why Japan's courts have a 99% conviction rate is also fascinating.In the "Bad Girls and Mummie's Boys" chapter, you will read nearly unbelievable stories of women passively accepting sexual harassment and cases of gender-based discrimination being routinely swept under the carpet. Although Japan Swings seems to focus rather obsessively on Japan's problems, and could have been a much better book if it had talked about some positive changes as well, it is definitely worth reading. ... Read more

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Founded in 1913 as a counterpart to the all-male Kabuki theater, the all-female Takarazuka Revue is world-famous today for its rococo musical productions and fanatically devoted fans. Anthropologist Jennifer Robertson draws from over a decade of research to explore how the Revue illuminates popular culture in 20th-century Japan. 29 photos. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

An Academic Look at Girls Playing at Being Boys
The Takarazuka Kagekidan (usually referred to in English as the Takarazuka Revue) has almost as many official publications as the Chinese Communist Party. Most of the information available about the famous all-female theatre troupe has been thoroughly blue-pencilled by the revue administration before being disseminated to its leagues of fans. Kobayashi Ichiyo, founder of the Hankyu Railway and the man behind Takarazuka, promoted the revue as wholesome family entertainment. He would do back-flips in his grave if he were to discover that his beloved Takarasiennes were the subject of a book on gender and sexuality. The Hankyu-Toho fortress is hard to penetrate. A recent publication on Godzilla was subtitled "The book that Toho doesn't want you to read." One Takarazuka fan warned Jennifer Robertson during her research, "[The Takarazuka administration] is mean. They have their ways. They could twist your arm the way developers do when they want you to sell land." Undeterred, Prof. Robertson has succeeded not only in demystifying the revue but also in framing it against the background of Japan's turbulent sexual politics.

Interest in the revue in the West has been limited until recently and even then it was Takarazuka's curious sexuality was the focus of attention. When Takarazuka performed in London in 1994, members of the city's gay community filled the houses. A documentary film on the revue from the same year, Dream Girls, directed by Kim Longinotto and Jano Williams, is a homosexual interpretation of the revue that has been shown widely at lesbian and gay film festivals. Robertson's interpretation is not so simplistic, nor is there any of the underlying sarcasm of Dream Girls. Indeed it is obvious that she is a fan. "I was hooked," she writes, "not by the retrograde, if steamy, sexual politics of the story, but by the mostly female audience whose intense absorption in the wrenching action made the auditorium sizzle with eroticized energy."

The key chapters of the book, "Staging Androgyny" and "Performing Empire" are re-workings of Robertson's articles previously published in American Ethnologist. In "Staging Androgyny," Robertson examines the imprecise nature of gender in Japanese theatre and a history of cross-dressing. She also looks at how this is reflected in Japanese society as a whole. More importantly, she draws the distinction between sex (i.e. the sexual act) and gender, somewhat strengthening the argument of Takarazuka as wholesome entertainment. (Guardian critic Michael Billington, for example, dubbed their London performance "curiously sexless").

"Performing Empire" offers a fascinating insight into wartime Japan when Takarasiennes dressed in khaki and theatregoers could enjoy such spectacles as Made in Nippon and The Children of East Asia. That a bastion of chintz and glitter could work as a propaganda machine would seem unrealistic until you discover that the revue's founder served as a member of the cabinet in the 1940s.

Roberston's book is the first major work in English on the Takarazuka Revue, but as she herself states, it is not a history of the revue, but a discussion of sexuality and popular culture in Japan that leaves the reader asking what is "normal." Never has the blurring of gender been more engaging than in this study of transvestism, sexual ambiguity and subversion that stretches far beyond Takarazuka Grand Theatre.

Robertson's Revue of Japanese Sex Politics Deserves a Standing Ovation
Jennifer Robertson attempts to use the all-female Takarazuka theater revue as a model for the sexual politics and gender relations present in modern Japanese society.Robertson does this by looking at overlapping discussions of sexuality, gender roles, popular culture, Japanese fan culture, and Japanese national identity as these aspects are portrayed by the Takarazuka Revue.Robertson discusses taboo subjects like cross-dressing and lesbianism, and forms of public gender performance in theater and popular culture in order to dismantle cultural stereotypes of Japanese women and men.The important idea that I believe Robertson is trying to express in this ethnography is that gender and sexuality are not monolithic nor are male and female distinct categories.In fact, sexuality and gender are constantly being redefined through history and are therefore more fluid in nature.If you are at all interested in gender relations, alternative gender roles, Japanese culture, or female theater this book will surely entertain and enlighten you.

An interesting... something.
Someone should really recommend a dictionary in addition to this book.

Words like 'dearth', 'didactically', 'enantiomorph', 'cancan', 'croon', 'corporeal koan', 'cachet', and 'largess', just to name a few, are completely unnecessary. Rewrite this book in ENGLISH and I may just take another look at it.

From the small bit I was able to understand through this screen of nonsense, there is only a minimal amount of real content to be gained. Takarazuka is a fascinating aspect of Japanese culture, and I was greatly disappointed by this book.

The author's first mistake seems to have been to take on too big of a task. The chapters do not connect with each other. And there is a general failure to trace various aspects of the theatre either from or two underlying Japanese cultural ideas.

A simple way to start such an investigation would be to write about which roles the (female) audience identifies with, is it the otokoyaku (men played by women) who caresses the happy blonde haired female? Or do they imagine themselves as the women who are seduced on stage by the otokoyaku? Does it matter which they identify with? Answers to questions even as simple as this one are never addressed in the text.

The whole time I read this book I felt as though the author was just trying to disguise the fact that she really doesn't have anything at all important to say, even after a decade of research.

If you're linguistically inclined, you may want to give it a try.But it doesn't seem likely that there's much of importance here.

amazing
The mere fact that the author puts so much effort into examining sexuality and androgeny in Japan is commendable.The book gives a lot of insight to Sexuality in Japan (mostly 2oth C.) through her analysis of the all-female Takarazuka Revue founded in 1919.

Chapters include (1) Ambivalence and Popular Culture; (2) Staging Androgeny; (3) Performing Empire; (4) Fan Pathology; (5) Writing Fans.

Chapters 1,2 and 3 I thought were particularly well-written and informative.Robertson does a great job examining gender roles and performances that are often very permeable (despite the fact that many people are in delian of this).great book. ... Read more

Product Description
From swift steeds to ritually slaughtered deer to symbolic serpents, nonhuman animals of every stripe have participated from the earliest of times in the construction of the cultural community that we know as Japan. Yet the historical accounts that have hitherto prevailed, claim the authors of this innovative volume, relegate our fellow animals to a silent and benign 'nature' that lies beyond the realm of narrative and agency. What happens when we restore nonhuman creatures to the field of historical vision? This book challenges many of the fundamental assumptions that have shaped contemporary scholarship on Japan, engaging from new perspectives questions of economic growth, isolation from and interaction with the outside world, the tools of conquest and empire, and the character of modernity. Essay by essay, this provocative collection compels readers to acknowledge the diversity of living beings who exist at the ragged edges of our human, as well as our historical, horizons. ... Read more

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A house is a site, the bounds and focus of a community. It is also an artifact, a material extension of its occupants' lives. This book takes the Japanese house in both senses, as site and as artifact, and explores the spaces, commodities, and conceptions of community associated with it in the modern era.

As Japan modernized, the principles that had traditionally related house and family began to break down. Even where the traditional class markers surrounding the house persisted, they became vessels for new meanings, as housing was resituated in a new nexus of relations. The house as artifact and the artifacts it housed were affected in turn. The construction and ornament of houses ceased to be stable indications of their occupants' social status, the home became a means of personal expression, and the act of dwelling was reconceived in terms of consumption. Amid the breakdown of inherited meanings and the fluidity of modern society, not only did the increased diversity of commodities lead to material elaboration of dwellings, but home itself became an object of special attention, its importance emphasized in writing, invoked in politics, and articulated in architectural design. The aim of this book is to show the features of this culture of the home as it took shape in Japan.

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This book examines Japanese tourism and travel, both today and in the past, showing how over hundreds of years a distinct culture of travel developed, and exploring how this has permeated the perceptions and traditions of Japanese society. It considers the diverse dimensions of modern tourism including appropriation and consumption of history, nostalgia, identity, domesticated foreignness, and the search for authenticity and invention of tradition.

Japanese people are one of the most widely travelling peoples in the world both historically and in contemporary times. What may be understood as incipient mass tourism started around the 17^th century in various forms (including religious pilgrimages) long before it became a prevalent cultural phenomenon in the West. Within Asia, Japan has long remained the main tourist sending society since the beginning of the 20^th century when it started colonising Asian countries. In 2005, some 17.8 million Japanese travelled overseas across Europe, Asia, the South Pacific and America. In recent times, however, tourist demands are fast growing in other Asian countries such as Korea and China. Japan is not only consuming other Asian societies and cultures, it is also being consumed by them in tourist contexts. This book considers the patterns of travelling of the Japanese, examining travel inside and outside the Japanese archipelago and how tourist demands inside influence and shape patterns of travel outside the country.  Overall, this book draws important insights for understanding the phenomenon of tourism on the one hand and the nature of Japanese society and culture on the other.

Customer Reviews (1)

A MUST READ
An excellent book and a first class and lively description of an important period in Japan's history. A pleasure to read and a must for any visitor to Japan. ... Read more

Product Description
Exploring the emergence and evolution of theories ofnationhood that continue to be evoked in present-day Japan, SusanL. Burns provides a close examination of the late-eighteenth-centuryintellectual movement kokugaku, which means "the study of ourcountry." Departing from earlier studies of kokugaku that focusedon intellectuals whose work has been valorized by modern scholars,Burns seeks to recover the multiple ways "Japan" as social andcultural identity began to be imagined before modernity.

Central to Burns's analysis is Motoori Norinaga’s Kojikiden, arguablythe most important intellectual work of Japan's early modernperiod. Burns situates the Kojikiden as one in a series of attempts toanalyze and interpret the mythohistories dating from the early eighthcentury, the Kojiki and Nihon shoki.Norinaga saw these texts as keysto an original, authentic, and idyllic Japan that existed before beingtainted by "flawed" foreign influences, notably Confucianism andBuddhism. Hailed in the nineteenth century as the begetter of a newnational consciousness, Norinaga's Kojikiden was later condemned bysome as a source of Japan's twentieth-century descent into militarism,war, and defeat. Burns looks in depth at three kokugakuwriters—Ueda Akinari, Fujitani Mitsue, and Tachibana Moribe—whocontested Norinaga's interpretations and produced competing readingsof the mythohistories that offered new theories of community as thebasis for Japanese social and cultural identity. Though relegatedto the footnotes by a later generation of scholars, these writers werequite influential in their day, and by recovering their arguments,Burns reveals kokugaku as a complex debate—involving history,language, and subjectivity—with repercussions extending well intothe modern era. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Clear and Creative Kokugaku Study
All in all, this book both clarifies and drastically changes one's ideas about kokugaku in Japan. The exploration of what are today considered "unorthodox" kokugaku scholars is interesting and really brings to light the complexity and plurality within this "school of thought" (if one may still call it that). And the comparison of different scholars' glosses on the first part of the "Kojiki" for what it tells us about their differing agendas is a masterful method. Really fascinating.

This would easily be a five-star book if it weren't for the inconsistent editing. For some reason Tanuma Okitsugu's personal name keeps on showing up here as "Okitsuga." Annoying typos and sentences bearing traces of incomplete revision further mar what is otherwise an excellent and exemplary piece of scholarship. ... Read more

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The first anthology of its kind,The Modern Murasaki brings the vibrancy and rich imagination of women's writing from the Meiji period to English-language readers. Along with traditional prose, the editors have chosen and carefully translated short stories, plays, poetry, speeches, essays, and personal journal entries. Selected readings include writings by the public speaker Kishida Toshiko, the dramatist Hasegawa Shigure, the short-fiction writer Shimizu Shikin, the political writer Tamura Toshiko, and the novelists Miyake Kaho, Higuchi Ichiyo, Tazawa Inabune, Kitada Usurai, Nogami Yaeko, and Mizuno Senko. The volume also includes a thorough introduction to each reading, an extensive index listing historical, social, and literary concepts, and a comprehensive guide to further research.

The fierce tenor and bold content of these texts refute the popular belief that women of this era were passive and silent. A vital addition to courses in women's studies and Japanese literature and history,The Modern Murasaki is a singular resource for students and scholars.

Customer Reviews (2)

Daughters Thinking Outside the Box
"The Modern Murasaki" is one of those rare definitive anthologies, the kind that constitutes a cornerstone contribution to the field while being just in and of itself profoundly interesting and enjoyable to read cover to cover. Within its pages are translations of literary works written during the Meiji era (1868-1911) by Japanese women of various temperaments and backgrounds, all of whom though sought more out of life than the role of "good wife, wise mother" dictated to them. And it's a good thing they did, too, because modern Japanese literature would be much the poorer without the excellent stories, poems, plays, and essays found herein--highly thought-provoking or deeply moving, terribly heart-wrenching or wonderfully entertaining, but all noteworthy and significant.

In many respects too this is an important anthology. Of course it vastly expands the horizons of what we think of as Meiji literature, but the works here are also key representative texts rather than the footnotes of literary history; I know for certain that I have come across countless references to Kishida Toshiko's speech/essay "Daughters in Boxes" in who knows how many historical studies and such, but now finally I got the chance to actually read the real thing for myself. The translations are of an exceptional quality, too, carefully accurate and scholarly and yet vibrant and accessibly literary. Furthermore, the selections seem carefully chosen so as to be equally relevant both in terms of literature and social history, making this book extremely useful to scholars and students in both areas of inquiry--not to mention Women's Studies in general. Finally, the handy format of this book makes it ideal for classroom use so it should hopefully find its way to many a syllabus, and yet it's the perfect book to just sit back with at a coffee shop and read for good old-fashioned enjoyment's sake.

Selections included in this book are:
1. Poems in various styles by Matsunoto Misako, Saisho Atsuko, Shimoda Utako, Nakajima Utako, Higuchi Ichiyo, Nakajima Shoen, Yosano Akiko, Yamakawa Tomiko, Chino Masako, Ishigami Tsuyuko, Okamoto Kanoko, Yazawa Koko, Otsuka Kusuoko, and Takeyama Hideko
2. "Daughters in Boxes" by Kishida Toshiko
3. "Warbler in the Grove" by Miyake Kaho
4. Journal Entries by Higuchi Ichiyo
5. "The Temple of Godai" by Tazawa Inabune
6. "Hiding the Gray" and "Wretched Sights" by Kitada Usurai
7. "How Determined Are Today's Women Students?", "The Broken Ring", and "School for Emigres" by Shimizu Shikin
8. "Wavering Traces" by Hasegawa Shigure
9. "Persimmon Sweets" by Nogami Yaeko
10. "For More than Forty Days" by Mizuno Senko
11. "Lifeblood" and "The Vow" by Tamura Toshiko

Great Service
The book was in perfect condition. It was mailed to me in what I think must be record time. ... Read more

Product Description
Embodying Culture is an ethnographically grounded exploration of pregnancy in two different culturesÂ--Japan and IsraelÂ--both of which medicalize pregnancy. Tsipy Ivry focuses on Â"low-riskÂ" or Â"normalÂ" pregnancies, using cultural comparison to explore

the complex relations among ethnic ideas about procreation, local reproductive politics,

medical models of pregnancy care, and local modes of maternal agency. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (2)

Excellent academic work
This is an excellent overview of a topic that has not received much attention in academic circles, specifically, Japanese women's magazines in the 1920s and 30s. But to be clear, this is an academic book, and specifically addressing the literary/cultural studies field. The comments below that the book does not address economic trends is irrelevant. For scholars who are looking for an informed, well-researched, and well-written guide to prewar women's magazines, and for information on the formation of normative images of Japanese women, this is a good place to start.

Fascinating subject, poorly constructed book
The author has found a very interesting topic and assembled a good array of source material.Unfortunately her style, while thankfully relatively free of jargon and theory, fails to develop her ideas and jumps around so the thinking does not develop.

Instead she endlessly repeats that there was a connection between concepts of modernity, consumerism and the 'moga'/'modern woman' without developing how this simple idea played out in Japan in different ways to the similar phenomenon elsewhere at the same time.She does not develop the historical background in a coherent fashion - e.g. the role of World War 1 , given that Japan was the only wartime ally who did not engage in significant fighting but economically gained huge benefits and colonies, all of which had various social impacts.The development of her colonies, particularly Manchuria, is not analysed on her theme.

Most significantly, she fails to put her ideas into the essential political and economic context without which the theme of the book is rendered almost meaningless.It would be impossible from this book to know, for example, that Japan suffered two major economic depressions (at the end of world war 1, and from 1927) during the period covered - what impact did that have?We learn right at the end that even after the war the number of 'love marriages' rather than arranged marriages was still only 15% - so how much social impact had the aims of the new woman really had?

The reason why the author fails to grasp some of these broad themes is that she does not put the 'new woman' into the wider issue - how did the 'new man' of the 1920s and 1930s respond to the aspirations of newly liberated women?How did political discourse engage and change because of these social developments - e.g. from this book it would almost be impossible to understand that Japan invaded East Asia and provoked a world war - what was the 'new woman' doing whilst all that was going on? ... Read more

Product Description
Culture Smart! Is a new series of travel guides written for the traveler on the go. Each volume is a quick, accurate guide to customs and etiquette. Outstanding features of CULTURE SMART!

* all the essential cultural and etiquette points are covered, making you confident in a variety of situations.
* You will know what to expect in each particular culture
* You will learn how to behave in specific social and business situations
* Essential attitudes and values are clearly explained
* You will find each topic a quick, easy read due to the concise writing style
* Small and light, it tucks into your pocket or purse for on-the-go use.
* Your Culture Smart! Books are written by a staff of experts who consult on world travel as a profession. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Disappointing book
I bought this book prior to traveling to Japan earlier this year. While it provided some good historical background on the country, and gave valid sightseeing pointers, its value as an aid to modern customs and etiquette was a disappointment. As a matter of fact, the book contained some advice precisely opposite what I found to be true during my visit in Japan. I would not recommend that a person depend on this book for guidance on these points. As a tourist who speaks no Japanese, I say that hiring a local guide and interpreter would be much more valuable than buying this book.

Short and helpful, but maybe a little out of date
This was a great resource.It was easy to read, and I finished the whole book in a couple of hours on the plane to Japan.It had a lot of helpful tips about things that would be rude.Since it is easy to break social rules but the Japanese people will never tell you that you are being rude, it is pretty nice to have this info in your pocket.

I thought some of the info was a little out of date, especially considering it was published recently.I didn't think this would be a problem, since a common assumption about Japanese culture is that it doesn't change much over time.Many of the things that I found incorrect had to do with gender and how women are treated.However, we spent most of our trip in Tokyo, so it may be that the culture there is considerably more dynamic and Westernized.

All in all, I would definitely pick this book up if you are going to Japan for travel or business.It gives good advice, and shares enough Japanese history to explain many of the cultural values and etiquette. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (5)

Samurai film primer
"Everyday Life in Traditional Japan" is basically a beginner's guide to the Edo period.It gives a short history of the era, of the isolationist policy that allowed traditional Japanese culture to flourish untouched, and the power shift between the Emperor and the Shogun.It then breaks down the four classes, the samurai, the farmers, the craftsmen and the merchants, and shows the daily life, traditions and laws that bound each class.Also included are the fringe element, the doctors, priests, courtiers, actors, artists and outcasts who lived outside the class system but were still ruled by it.

Aside from being a nice little history lesson, I found this book to be the perfect primer to anyone interested in samurai flicks or historical anime.The easy-to-understand outline of the four classes, and what they were and were not allowed to do, own, eat, etc...gave me more than one "Ah-ha!" moment as something suddenly became clear to me in a movie that I had seen before.This is all the detail work, the background stuff going on, like why a big metal fish hangs over the stoves of peasant houses and why warriors wear those big basket helmets.

A short book at only 171 pages, it is still packed with info and easy to read.A bit on the older side, some of the translations and wording is outdated, but that doesn't have any effect on the book on the whole.I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in the period, be it in film, anime, books or even woodblock prints.I have read quite a few Japanese history books before, but not one that laid out the class system so clearly and easily.

If rice farming is your thing...
This had some decent information, but it was mostly about rice farming. And while that's neat, I didn't feel that my life was missing a book about rice farming. It would taunt you with the occasional bone of interesting info and then snatch it away cruelly and laugh in your face.
Seriously, this book has useful bits of information, but there are better books out there. Everyday Things in Premodern Japan: The Hidden Legacy of Material Culture
I don't think that I would recommend this book, but I don't feel that my time was wasted in reading it.

A Great Introduction
This book covers the everyday life of the Edo period which is from the 1600's to the 1800's.During this period, Japan was shut off from the outside world and developed a unique culture.When people think of old Japan, this is usually the period they think of thanks to the great number of period dramas that depict this era.

The book examines the social divisions of this period.The four main groups are the samurai, the farmers, the craftsmen, and the merchants.Each group has an entire section devoted to it which details the lifestyle of each group.After this, several outsider groups are considered.The book ends with a general overview of life in the old capital Edo which is now called Tokyo.For those who are looking for a resource for information on the world of the samurai, this book gives a good overview of their world.

My only complaint about this book is that it was published in 1969, so the writing style feels a little dated and it seems it was written for a Western audience which was unfamiliar with Japanese culture.Basically, it's style is dated, but the information is accurate and useful.Anyone who is interested in Japan and doesn't know well about the history of Japan will find this to be a great introduction

Extremely Useful Book!
I've just started to read this book for research of a novel in the planning, and it has been very useful, even within the first few pages! It goes thru all the classes from the samuraiclass to the outcasts. I wouldhighly reccommend this book to anyone that needs to know how the Japaneselived during the reign of the Tokugawa shoguns!

A very informative book
Charles Dunn gives a very detailed book on the traditional way of life of Tokugawa Japan. From the lowly peasant to the nobles Mr. Dunn extensively explains what they did, why they did, & how they did everything.Forthe casual reader this book might be a little too detailed; but for thehistorical interested - it is a must.I have yet to find the kind ofinformation that Charles Dunn presents in this book anywhere else. ... Read more

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An interdisciplinary look at the dramatic changes in the contemporary Japanese family, including both empirical data and analyses of popular culture.. ... Read more

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Yoshimasa may have been the worst shogun ever to rule Japan. He was a failure as a soldier, incompetent at dealing with state business, and dominated by his wife. But his influence on the cultural life of Japan was unparalleled. According to Donald Keene, Yoshimasa was the only shogun to leave a lasting heritage for the entire Japanese people.

Today Yoshimasa is remembered primarily as the builder of the Temple of the Silver Pavilion and as the ruler at the time of the Onin War (1467--1477), after which the authority of the shogun all but disappeared. Unable to control the daimyos -- provincial military governors -- he abandoned politics and devoted himself to the quest for beauty. It was then, after Yoshimasa resigned as shogun and made his home in the mountain retreat now known as the Silver Pavilion, that his aesthetic taste came to define that of the Japanese: the no theater flourished, Japanese gardens were developed, and the tea ceremony had its origins in a small room at the Silver Pavilion. Flower arrangement, ink painting, andshoin-zukuri architecture began or became of major importance under Yoshimasa. Poets introduced their often barely literate warlord-hosts to the literary masterpieces of the past and taught them how to compose poetry. Even the most barbarous warlord came to want the trappings of culture that would enable him to feel like a civilized man.

Yoshimasa and the Silver Pavilion gives this long-neglected but critical period in Japanese history the thorough treatment it deserves.

Customer Reviews (5)

other opinion
The title of the book is "the soul of Japan" which means the Silver Pavilion built by Ashikaga Yoshimasa the 8th shogun of the Muromachi period.

Chapter 1 Ashikaga Yoshinori the 7th shogun, a tyrant killed by one of daimoys
Chapter 2 Childhood of Yoshimasa, his wife Shigeko and his "favorite mistress" Imamairi
Chapter 3 Weakness of the shogunate, preparation of Onin war
Chapter 4 Onin war, the relationship between Japan and Ming dynasty of China
Chapter 5 Japanese Renaissance, Eastern Mountain culture
Chapter 6 Yoshimasa as a patron of Cha-no-yu, his interest in Chinese painting
Chapter 7 Poetry at that time: renga and waka
Chapter 8 The Silver Pavilion, the garden and the architects Zenami and Soami
Chapter 9 Cha-no yu
Chapter 10 Religions of Yoshimasa, art of the no theater

The division of the chapters and the description of their content are very rough because the author usually puts many different topics in one chapter. This informal writing style seems like that the author has no clear plan and he just writes down something when he remembers something. Reading the book from cover to cover may not be the best way to appreciate it. The character I most like is the index of the book. It is complete and interesting. Just choose a word from the index, and read something about the word in the book. For example you can just read the paragraphs about the eccentric Zen monk Ikkyu and his poems. After you finish all the words in the index, you are able to construct a whole story in your mind. It is the post-modern style of V. Nabokov's novel "Pale Fire".

Judging from the book, the author is just a good story-teller not a good historian. Actually he is good at Japanese literature. This book just contains much facts and details which I don't think important. The author does not see the essence of Japanese culture and does not explain why Japanese culture is special. It is not easy to understand the essence of Japanese culture for most Western scholars. Usually they just emphasize bizarre events, strange imaginations or explain things from the Western piont of view. In my opinion, the soul of Japan is the Bushido and Zen. These two topics are not treated deeply in this book. If you are interted in Japanese culture I will recomment to you the other books:
Bushido: the soul of Japan by Inazo Nitobe
Zen culture by Thomas Hoover
Kwaidanby Lafcadio Hearn

By the way, I like this little book. It is beautiful with its poetic language. It is a pleasant experience reading the book on the train passing through Appalachia Mountain in the summer.

Excellent Book on the Soul of Japan
This book was given to me by a friend. Frankly, I wouldn't have bought it based on the back flap. Yet, Donald Keene wrote a great book explaining the importance of possibly the worst Shogun in Japanese history, Ashikaga Yoshimasa. He was a terrible military strategist and his government (especially during the Onin war) was one of the weakest in Japan's history. On the other hand, Yoshimasa was of vital importance to the Arts; calligraphy, Waka and other poetry, the cha-no-yu ceremony and painting all were sponsored by Yoshimasa. He also left the beautiful Ginkakuji, the Temple of the Silver Pavilion, for posterity. Yoshimasa's impact on Japanese culture and the arts is undeniable, even in modern day Japan.

Design for living...
Donald Keene, who probably has done more to make Japanese literature understandable to Americans now turns his attention to the state of Japan during the days of Yoshimasa, one of the Ashikaga shoguns.Like other families to rule Japan in the name of the emperor, the founder of the family generally tended to be a fairly dynamic figure, followed by persons of varying competance before sinking into dynastic decadance.

This book presents a portrait of one of the least competant persons to ever become shogun, but managed to have a positive influence just the same. Keene argues rather convincingly that Yoshimasa, though a weak ruler, was an influental patron of the arts. It is Yoshimasa's aesthetic which eventually prevailed in the Japanese imagination and that is the lasting contribution of both him and the Silver Pavilion.

I thought the book was consistent with the overall general high level of scholarship that characterizes Keene's works in general. However, while I am willing to give this work my highest possible recommendation, I am not sure if I can totally support all of the claims made for Yoshimasa.My main concern is that even though I am ready to concede that he does have an aesthetic legacy, I am not sure (and for that matter no one ever really can be) that he can claim to have originated all of the artistic innovations (though patronage) that Keene claims. My reason for doubt is that many buildings that date back to Yoshimasa's period were themselves destroyed during the Onin war (a war brought about by Yoshimasa's politic ineptness). Lacking anything really to compare the Silver Pavilion to, makes it difficult to determine just exactly how great an influence this building actually had at the time. The fact that it survives at all probably ensures that it has had and continues to have an impact on other generations. I am just not sure on what influence it might have had at the time that it was built.

Out of War and Chaos The Birth of Japanese Design
Donald Keene's latest contribution to the field of Japan studies is a masterpiece on the development of Japanese aesthetics and kokoro (heart, soul, mind), much of which evolved during the Higashiyama Period at the Silver Pavilion (Ginkaku-ji) under the leadership of Ashikaga Yoshimasa. Shogun at the time of Onin War (1467-1477), which destroyed nearly all of Kyoto, Yoshimasa was a hapless leader who devoted himself instead to the pursuit of beauty. In this Period, Noh and ink painting flourished, the tea ceremony "originated in a small room at Ginakaku-ji where Yoshimasa offered tea to his friends," and with it the Japanese art of flower arrangement was born. Keene acknowledges the judgment of most historians-that Yoshimasa was weak, extravagant, incompetent in affairs of state, and unable to end a meaningless war and its incumbent famine and suffering-yet posits that he has yet to be recognized for his contribution to Japanese arts and taste. In the midst of wholesale destruction, Yoshimasa precipitated a Japanese renaissance.
Though respecting his grandfather Yoshimitsu, the builder of the Golden Pavilion (kinkakuji), he had no interest in emulating either his life or works. Yoshimasa's Silver Pavilion stands in stark contrast to his grandfather's Golden Pavilion, the later coated in gold leaf, the former the epitome of Kyoto cool wabi sabi understatement. "The simplicity and reliance on suggestion of the buildings and gardens at Higashiyama may indicate that a man who had earlier exhausted the pleasures of extravagance had at last achieved a kind of enlightenment," writes Keene.
This concise work is a complex web of murder, chaos, and endless war that destroys everything in its wake. And, simultaneously-amazingly, ironically, unbelievably-the Period gave birth to some of Japan's best-known art forms. As an insight into medieval Kyoto, there is no better place to begin.

Keene brings a chapter of Kyoto's history to life.
This is a brilliant, concise gem of a book that brings certain sights of Kyoto to life unlike any travel guide. When I visited many of the places described here, I'd no idea that any of this remarkable history had occurred.

I think this book is an essential addition to any serious Japan library, and as it is a slim text - I think it'd be a welcome and portable companion on a reader's visit to Kyoto.

Keene's study of Ashikaga Yoshimasa, who many historians call the worst shogun in Japanese history, is remarkable for its central theme: that this man was actually one of the greatest Japanese persons ever.

Keene does a decent job of recounting the historical context of Yoshimasa's life: it was an era of unending war and brutality when famine and sickness ravaged the peasantry and rich aristocrats vied for power in the most brutal fashion - beheadings, suicide and betrayal were commonplace. These same aristocrats also lead lives of dissipation - spending their lives drinking and "sporting" while the masses suffered and Kyoto was razed time after time.

But where Keene shows his brilliance is in his interpretation of the life of this failed shogun who embraced religion and the arts as an escape for the 'impure world' and in the process invented many Japanese cultural forms.

When Yoshimasa fumbles the choosing of his successor and a civil war is unleashed, he decides then and there to leave his shogun's life behind and build a mountain retreat - the so called 'silver pavilion' - where he spent his days contemplating the arts.

It is clear that an aesthete such as Yoshimasa was incapable of leading the Japanese nation in war. But Keene shows in this book that Yoshimasa's peculiar taste in art - simple unadorned wood, sliding screen doors, rustic tea utensils, and gardens filled with rare trees and stones, poetry, Chinese calligraphy, flower arrangements, No theatre and so on - served as the template for future Japanese cultural expression.

Yoshimasa's silver pavilion was thus an incubator for 'the soul of Japan,' and a location where visitors can still see the building almost exactly as it looked a half millennium ago. Now I want to visit Kyoto again with newly aware eyes.

This book's only shortcoming is its lack of explanation as to how the culture born at the silver pavilion spread throughout Japan. Yet that might require a lengthy tome, and one of the nice aspects of this history is that it can be read leisurely in a couple of days. It also features some nice color photos. Highly recommended. ... Read more

Product Description

A Life Adrift, the memoir of balladeer-political activist Soeda Azembo (1872-1944), chronicles his life as one of Japan’s first modern mass entertainers and imparts an understanding of how ordinary people experienced and accommodated the tumult of life in prewar Japan.  Azembo created enka songs sung by tenant farmers in rural hinterlands and factory hands in Tokyo and Osaka.  Although his work is still largely unknown outside Japan, his poems and lyrics were so well known at his career’s peak that a single verse served as shorthand expressing popular attitudes about political corruption, sex scandals, spiralling prices, war, and love of motherland.  As these categories attest, he embedded in his songs contemporary views on class conflict, gender relations, and racial attitudes toward international rivals.  Ordinary people valued Azembo’s music because it was of them and for them. They also appreciated it for being distinctively modern and home-grown, qualities rare among the cultural innovations that flooded into Japan from the mid-nineteenth century. A Life Adrift stands out as the only memoir of its kind, one written first-hand by a leader in the world of enka singing.