Description
Book Synopsis"An indispensable guide to Japanese cinema and culture." --Library Journal "Viewed any which way, Japan through the eyes of Donald Richie is an interesting and rewarding place to read about. This is...yet another reminder that he is a master of the short essay and a thought-provoking guide to his subject." --Jeff Kingston, The Japan Times This definitive new collection of essays by the writer Time calls "the dean of arts critics in Japan" ranges from Kyogen drama to the sex shows of Shinjuku, from film and Buddhism to Butoh and retro rock 'n' roll, from wasei eigo (Japanese/English) to mizushobai, the fine art of pleasing. Spanning some fifty years, these thirty-seven essays--most never anthologized before--offer cross-sections of Japan's enormous cultural power. They reflect the unique perspective of a man attempting to understand his adopted home. The writings of Donald Richie--film critic, reviewer, novelist, and essayist--have influenced generations of Japan observers around the world.
Trade Review"Viewed any which way, Japan through the eyes of Donald Richie is an interesting and rewarding place to read about. This is the third collection of Richie's essays...and yet another reminder that he is a master of the short essay and a thought-provoking guide to his subject. The spare style and distinctive phrasing grow on the reader and are apt for unveiling and imparting...These elegantly brief essays are packed with insights that one needs to unravel and contemplate at one's leisure."-The Japan Times
Table of ContentsIntroduction I Intimacy and Distance: On Being a Foreigner in Japan Japan: A Description Japanese Shapes Japanese Rhythms Japan: Half a Century of Change The Nourishing Void The Coming Collapse of Cultural Internationalization Interpretations of Japan Crossing the Border II The Japanese Way of Seeing Japan and the Image Industry Traditional Japanese Design Signs and Symbols The Tongue of Fashion Japan the Incongruous Pink Box: Inside Japanese Sex Clubs III The Presentational Urge as Theatre Some Loose Pages on Japanese Narration Notes on the Noh The Kyogen TV: The Presentational Image Outcast Samurai Dancer Retro Dancing IV A Definition of the Japanese Film Some Notes on Life and Death in the Japanese Film Buddhism and the Film Women in Japanese Film The Japanese Eroduction Trains in Japanese Film Subtitling Japanese Films V Wasei Eigo: A Beginner’s Guide Mizushobai: The Art of Pleasing Car Culture The Window and the Mirror: Some Thoughts on International Culture An Alternate Way of Thought Foreign Thoughts on Watching the Passing of a Matsuri Procession My View Acknowledgments
