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Category: Blog
Excerpt—The Wedding Party, by Liu Xinwu
Set at a pivotal point after the turmoil of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Liu Xinwu’s tale weaves together a rich tapestry of characters, intertwined lives, and stories within stories
Review—Where the Wild Ladies Are
In Matsuda’s collection, familiar ghosts are treated as commonplace: They are neither surprising nor frightening as they comfortably situate themselves in the modern world
Review—Buddhism and Modernity: Sources from Nineteenth-Century Japan
First Book—The Short Story Collective
A thirteen-part journey through contemporary Japan taking in themes as disparate as mental illness, Buddhism, the human drive for validation, workplace harassment, cults, tourist pollution, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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A thirteen-part journey through contemporary Japan taking in themes as disparate as mental illness, Buddhism, the human drive for validation, workplace harassment, cults, tourist pollution, and the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Review—On Haiku, by Hiroaki Sato
Hiroaki Sato reveals how the radical brevity of the haiku genre contains worlds within worlds. This is a book to cherish, and which nurtures in return.
First Book—Can Machines Bring Peace?: Hope in a Post-Apocalyptic Age
“First Book” is a column where we ask first-time authors what inspired them to write their debut book/novel/translation. Books on Asia: What’s your book’s elevator pitch? Floor Kist: The novel is about a young diplomat who builds a Thinking Machine to bring peace, but instead, it discovers a plot for war. BOA: Can you explain More…
Secrets of Things—Charcoal Quenching Jar
In this episode of Alex Kerr’s Youtube Channel Secrets of Things, he introduces a Japanese sumikeshi-tsubo (“charcoal quenching jar”). This video takes place at his home “Chiiori” in the Iya Valley of Shikoku.
Review—Structures of Kyoto: Writers in Kyoto Anthology 4
Review by Renae Lucas-Hall Judith Clancy and Alex Kerr book-end this remarkable anthology (edited by Rebecca Otowa and Karen Lee Tawarayama), a publication offering incredible insight into the physical, spiritual and artistic elements of Kyoto. In the Foreword, Clancy reminisces on the past fifty years she has spent in Japan’s ancient capital, commenting on how More…
Review—Kokoro, by Natsume Sōseki
Review by Tina deBellegarde First published in 1914, Natsume Soseki’s timeless classic Kokoro has been graced with three translations. My first exposure to this book was through Edwin McClellan’s lovely 1957 version. For my re-introduction to Kokoro, I had the pleasure of reading Meredith McKinney’s 2010 translation. Kokoro (which means heart) offers deep insight into More…