Blog Archives - Page 3 of 12

Review—The Art of Emptiness

September 30, 2021

The Art of Emptiness gives the reader insight into one of the most famous lineages of Japanese pottery.

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By Chad Kohalyk The Art of Emptiness gives the reader insight into one of the most famous lineages of Japanese pottery. Interviewer Watada Susumu starts off with a seeming digression: Kakiemon—the fourteenth generation heir to the famous Japanese pottery tradition—gives a detailed and insightful description of how to smoke a pipe. The charismatic Sakaida Kakiemon More…

Review—Grit, Grace and Gold: Haiku Celebrating the Sports of Summer

July 28, 2021

In celebration of the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games, some summer sports haiku.

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Books on Asia is live in Japan to kick off the Tokyo 2020 Summer Olympic Games! In these unusual times, we offer you an unusual take on a book review, written by Michael Dylan Welch. No more delays, let’s go for the Gold! “Hello, everyone, and welcome to Haiku Playmakers and today’s episode of the More…

Review—Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku

July 26, 2021

A collection of three hundred modern haiku by different poets, curated from Ozawa’s commentary in the magazine Haiku Arufa from 2008-2018

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By Ozawa Minoru, translated by Janine Beichman, photographs by Maeda Shinzō and Akira (Japan Library, 2021) Review by Cody Poulton Ozawa Minoru is a celebrated haiku poet, winner of the 2006 Yomiuri Literature prize in Poetry, and contributor to a variety of newspapers and literary journals. Well-Versed: Exploring Modern Japanese Haiku is a collection of More…

Secrets of Things: Andon Floor Lamp

July 12, 2021

In this episode of Alex Kerr’s YouTube channel “Secrets of Things,” Kerr introduces the Japanese andon floor lamp, an item you’ll often come across in classic Japanese literature.

Review—Bullet Train, by Kōtarō Isaka

July 11, 2021

Shenanigans on the Shinkansen

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An action-packed thriller with mature themes exploring the nature of evil, loyalty, mankind’s weaknesses and the morality of killing.

Excerpt—Koreans at Work

July 8, 2021

John Spiri traveled to Korea to ask Koreans about their jobs: what they do all day and what they think of it.

Secrets of Things: Ruyi Scepter

July 7, 2021

In this episode of Alex Kerr’s Youtube Channel Secrets of Things, he introduces a Ruyi (如意) scepter, the Chinese “wish-fulfilling” symbol of magical power. To see the first episode of Secrets of Things, see “Cinnabar Bowl.”

Review—Rabbit in the Moon

July 7, 2021

The author falls in love with Fred, marries him, and then grapples with understanding his Chinese background.

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The reader follows the author, experiencing culture shock, as she falls head over heels for Fred, marries him, and then grapples with understanding his Chinese background.

New Release—Another Bangkok, by Alex Kerr

July 1, 2021

Just released by Penguin, U.K. Alex Kerr’s latest book Bangkok Found: Reflections on the City, now available only on Amazon.jp, Amazon U.K, and Book Depository, U.K. (free shipping world-wide). Stay posted for a talk with Alex about this book on an upcoming Books on Asia YouTube podcast where he visually walks us through some of the More…

Alex Kerr’s new YouTube Channel: Secrets of Things

June 30, 2021

By Amy Chavez Alex Kerr once told me, in a previous interview, about his mentor David Kidd: “David was a genius of Asian aesthetics. He would put a group of snuff bottles or something on the table and say, ‘Now Alex, tell me what you see.’ Then we’d talk about it for hours and he’d More…