Podcasts
In this episode of the Books on Asia podcast, podcast host and island-dweller Amy Chavez and Gifu countryside village-dweller Iain Maloney discuss their experiences living in Japan’s countryside. Iain’s book The Only Gaijin in the Village: A Year Living in Rural Japan is dedicated to the subject of himself moving to the the countryside with his Japanese wife, while Amy in her latest book The Widow, the Priest and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island documents the countryside living experience with an emphasis on the Japanese people she lives among. See what similarities and differences these authors reveal in this “shared experience” of moving to, and living in, Japan’s countryside.
Ep. 24 Show Notes:
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Podcasts
Podcast host Amy Chavez talks to Robert Weis, curator of Luxembourg’s National Museum of Natural History’s upcoming exhibit, “Spirit of Shizen – The Nature of Japan Through its 72 Seasons” running from July 1 to August 31, 2022. An accompanying catalogue, in the form of an anthology, is also available featuring essays on Japan’s seasons.
Ep. 23 Show Notes:
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Podcasts
Podcast host Amy Chavez talks with author Cody Poulton about Japanese theater, in particular Noh theater. Poulton recently retired from University of Victoria in Canada, where he taught Japanese literature, theater and culture for over 30 years. He is also a translator of Japanese fiction and drama. He is author of Spirits of Another Sort: The Plays of Izumi Kyōka (2001), A Beggar’s Art: Scripting Modernity in Japan, 1900-1930 (2010), and he is co-editor of The Columbia Anthology of Modern Japanese Drama (Columbia University Press, 2017) with Thomas Rimer, Mitsuya Mori, et al.
Ep. 22 Show Notes:
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Podcasts
This week author and translator John Stevens joins us from Hawaii. Stevens has penned many books over his long exalted career, mainly books dealing with Japanese martial arts, poetry and biography.
“A book should be enlightening for the writer, and for the people reading it.” —John Stevens
Ep. 21 Show Notes:
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Podcasts
Today we have with us Abby Denson, award-winning author of Cool Japan Guide: Fun in the Land of Manga, Lucky Cats and Ramen, Cool Tokyo Guide: Adventures in the City of Kawaii Fashion, Train Sushi and Godzilla the Kitty Sweet Tooth series (with Utomaru) and her upcoming book which we’re going to talk about today, Uniquely Japan: A Comic Book Artist Shares Her Personal Faves – Discover What Makes Japan The Coolest Place on Earth! (April 5, 2022).
Abby has scripted comics for Amazing Spider-Man Family, Powerpuff Girls comics, Simpsons comics, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, Disney Adventures and many others.
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Podcasts
In this episode of the Books on Asia Podcast, sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, podcast host Amy Chavez talks with novelist David Joiner about his new novel that takes place in Kanazawa, a city in Japan’s Ishikawa Prefecture.
The novel introduces the city of Kanazawa, its connection to the famous Japanese literary master Izumi Kyōka, and provides the setting for a story that revolves around an American married to a Japanese, and the Japanese family’s dynamics. Highlighted are some of the differences between traditional and modern Japan and the foreigner’s place in it.
At the end of the podcast, Amy asks Joiner what his 3 favorite books on Japan are and he elaborates on his choices:
Sound of the Mountain and Snow Country, both by Yasunari Kawabata.
Dawn to the West by Donald Keene
The Roads to Sata, by Alan Booth
Read a review of David Joiner’s novel Kanazawa by Tina DeBellegarde on the Books on Asia site.
The Books on Asia Podcast is sponsored by Stone Bridge Press. Check out their books on Japan at the publisher’s website. Amy Chavez, podcast host, is author of Amy’s Guide to Best Behavior in Japan and the upcoming The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island (May, 2022). Don’t miss out on upcoming episodes with authors and translators on Asia by subscribing to the Books on Asia podcast.
Podcasts
In this episode of the Books on Asia Podcast, sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, host Amy Chavez talks with anthropologist, shamisen player, author and translator Liza Dalby about her books and her new translation of the recently deceased novelist cum Buddhist nun Setouchi Jakuchō’s memoir Places. Liza is author of the Geisha, Kimono: Fashioning Culture, East Wind Melts the Ice: A Guide to Serenity Through the Seasons, and Hidden Buddhas: A Novel of Karma and Chaos. Her previous translations are: Little Songs of Geisha: Traditional Japanese Ko-Uta.
Ep. 18 Show Notes:
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Podcasts
In this episode of the Books on Asia Podcast, sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, host Amy Chavez talks with Kathleen Burkinshaw in the U.S. about her book The Last Cherry Blossom, and about hibakusha, the Japanese word that refers to victims of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki that ended WWII.
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Podcasts
In this episode of the Books on Asia Podcast, sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, we have guest interviewer Lisa Wilcut speaking with award-winning writer and translator Meredith McKinney. McKinney is translator of many Japanese classics such as Sei Shonagon’s 11th century classic The Pillow Book, and the 14th century Essays in Idleness, published together with Hōjōki. She has also translated Kusamakura and Kokoro (see our review) by Natsume Sōseki, one of Japan’s most celebrated modern writers. Today, she is going to talk about her long career and also about her just released book on the wandering poet Saigyō called Gazing at the Moon (Shambhala, September, 2021)
Books on Asia Podcast 16: Show Notes
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Podcasts
On this episode of the Books on Asia Podcast, sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, we have returning to the show Alex Kerr, author of such notable books as Lost Japan, Dogs and Demons, Finding the Heart Sutra and Another Kyoto. Today Alex is going to talk to podcast host Amy Chavez about his latest book Another Bangkok released July 1, 2021. He introduces Thailand’s capital city via its architecture, arts and culture, and shows us how they are similar to Japan. Just a note to listeners that, in addition to the podcast, Alex has provided some visuals of the interior pages of the book for those interested, which can be accessed on the Books on Asia YouTube channel.
Books on Asia Podcast 15: Show Notes
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