Search results for ""Author Allison Markin Powell""

Black Box details the harrowing experience of sexual assault Shiori Ito faced as a young journalist in Japan, as well as the national reckoning that followed.In 2015, Ito charged Noriyuki Yamaguchi, one of Japan’s best-known TV journalists, with rape. But when Ito went to the police after the assault, she was told that her case was a “black box”: it had happened behind closed doors and was therefore unprosecutable.Ito became aware of the alarming amount of black boxes built into legal and investigative systems in Japan, and the inaccessible economy around legal advice for victims of sexual assault and gender-based violence. From the attitude of investigators to the difficulties retrieving time-limited security camera footage, Ito’s experience navigates the labyrinthine expectations placed upon victims.Upon publication in 2017, Ito’s account was integral to the #MeToo movement in Japan and became a necessary catalyst for cultural and legal change. As international outlets covered every step of her story – documented in the BBC film Japan’s Secret Shame – this book launched a societal reckoning. At the end of 2019, Ito won a civil case against Yamaguchi.Ito's personal story is the kernel of a searing journalistic exposé, exposing how Japan’s relatively low official rates of sexual assault mask a culture of victim-shaming and institutional failure on the part of the police, law and media to bring perpetrators to justice.Winner of an English PEN Award"Shiori Ito radiates with passion and conviction for seeking the truth." —Ryuichi Sakamoto, musician and activist

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From the bestselling author of Strange Weather in Tokyo, here is a story of treasure hoarders, bargain hunters and would-be lovers. Among the jumble of paperweights, plates, typewriters and general bric-a-brac in Mr Nakano's thrift store, there are treasures to be found. Each piece carries its own story of love and loss - or so it seems to Hitomi, when she takes a job there. And her fellow employees are just as curious as the items they sell. There's the store's owner, Mr Nakano, an enigmatic ladies' man with several ex-wives; Sakiko, his sensuous, unreadable lover; his sister, Masayo, an artist whose free-spirited creations mask hidden sorrows. And finally there's Hitomi's fellow employee, Takeo, whose abrupt and taciturn manner Hitomi finds, to her consternation, increasingly disarming. A beguiling story of love found amid odds and ends, The Nakano Thrift Shop is a heart-warming and utterly charming novel from one of Japan's most celebrated contemporary novelists. 'A charming read' Good Housekeeping 'One for the holiday suitcase' Vogue

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Discover why 90% of your worries won’t come true in this highly practical, internationally bestselling guide by the renowned Zen Buddhist author of The Art of Simple Living and How to Let Things Go.Think of a time when you were worried about something, but then you suddenly realized how insignificant it was. Isn’t it amazing how much lighter you felt? The key is to focus only on the here and now. By doing so, you free yourself from unnecessary anxiety, and your mind will be at peace. In Don’t Worry, you will learn to: Lesson #1: stop comparing yourself to others—90% of your obsessions will disappear; Lesson #4: remove unnecessary things from your life and make your life absolutely simple; Lesson #10: stop seeking, stop rushing, stop obsessing; Lesson #11: interpret things positively—you are the one to decide whether you are happy or not; Lesson #14: stop taking in too much information; Lesson #19: take a break from competition—it’s the Zen way of avoiding anxiety; Lesson #24: act instead of worrying—things will definitely work out better.By following this book’s 48 simple lessons—and taking to heart the nearly 30 zengo, or Zen sayings, quoted throughout—you’ll enjoy a calmer, more relaxed, more positive version of yourself.A PENGUIN LIFE TITLE

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From the best-selling author of Strange Weather in Tokyo and The Nakano Thrift Shop 'Charming... Beguiling and beautiful' The Times Over the course of his life, Mr Nishino falls hopelessly in love again and again. One woman is a colleague, another a chance encounter; one is the girlfriend of a classmate, another the best friend of Nishino's latest conquest. Some are entranced by Nishino, others care more for their freedom, their children (or their cats). As we come to learn of the torments, desires and delights of each woman, a portrait emerges of a complicated man whose great capacity for love may well be the cause of his downfall. 'Quirky and delicate... Timeless... I fell totally under the spell of this beautiful book' Daily Mail

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A tale of modern Japan and old-fashioned romance. 'Enchanting, moving and funny in equal measure, this compelling love story is expertly crafted against a backdrop of modern Japanese culture' Stylist Tsukiko is in her late 30s and living alone when one night she happens to meet one of her former high school teachers, 'Sensei', in a bar. He is at least thirty years her senior, retired and, she presumes, a widower. After this initial encounter, the pair continue to meet occasionally to share food and drink sake, and as the seasons pass - from spring cherry blossom to autumnal mushrooms - Tsukiko and Sensei come to develop a hesitant intimacy which tilts awkwardly and poignantly into love. Strange Weather in Tokyo is perfectly constructed, warmly funny and deeply moving. This edition contains the bonus story, 'Parade', which imagines an ordinary day in the lives of this unusual couple. 'A dream-like spell of a novel, full of humour, sadness, warmth and tremendous subtlety. I read this in one sitting and I think it will haunt me for a long time' Amy Sackville 'Kawakami transforms an affecting cross-generational romance into an exquisite poem of time and mutability... Delicate and haunting' Independent

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'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction' David Peace, author of Tokyo Year ZeroOne of Japan's great modern writers, this second half of Lady Joker brings Kaoru Takamura's breathtaking masterpiece to a gripping conclusion.Five men who meet at a Tokyo racetrack every week carry out a heist. They have kidnapped the CEO of Japan's largest beer company to extract blood money from the company's corrupt financiers.Known as Lady Joker, the men make their first attack on the beer company when their demands are not met. As the attacks escalate, the shady networks linking corporations to syndicates are exposed, the stakes rise, and bring into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains. Some will lose everything, even their lives.Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines this watershed episode in modern Japanese history.'A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts' Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police

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'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction' David Peace, author of Tokyo Year ZeroOne of Japan's great modern writers, this second half of Lady Joker brings Kaoru Takamura's breathtaking masterpiece to a gripping conclusion.Five men who meet at a Tokyo racetrack every week carry out a heist. They have kidnapped the CEO of Japan's largest beer company to extract blood money from the company's corrupt financiers.Known as Lady Joker, the men make their first attack on the beer company when their demands are not met. As the attacks escalate, the shady networks linking corporations to syndicates are exposed, the stakes rise, and bring into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains. Some will lose everything, even their lives.Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines this watershed episode in modern Japanese history.'A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts' Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police

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*THE JAPANESE CRIME CLASSIC - ONE MILLION COPIES SOLD*'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction and one of the must-read books of this or any year' David PeaceTokyo, 1995. Five men meet at the racetrack every Sunday to bet on horses. They have little in common except a deep disaffection with their lives, but together they represent the social struggles and griefs of post-War Japan: a poorly socialized genius stuck working as a welder; a demoted detective with a chip on his shoulder; a Zainichi Korean banker sick of being ostracized for his ethnicity; a struggling single dad of a teenage girl with Down syndrome. The fifth man bringing them all together is an elderly drugstore owner grieving his grandson, who died in suspicious circumstances.Intent on revenge against a society that values corporate behemoths more than human life, the five conspirators decide to carry out a heist: kidnap the CEO of Japan's largest beer conglomerate and extract blood money from the company's corrupt financiers.Inspired by the unsolved true-crime kidnapping case perpetrated by "the Monster with 21 Faces," Lady Joker has become a cultural touchstone since its 1997 publication, acknowledged as the magnum opus by one of Japan's literary masters.'A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts' Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police'Takamura's prismatic heist novel offers a broad indictment of capitalist society' New York Times'Lady Joker is a work you get immersed in, like a sprawling 19th century novel or a TV series like The Wire' NPR

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'One of the great masterpieces of Japanese crime fiction' David Peace, author of Tokyo Year ZeroOne of Japan's great modern writers, this second half of Lady Joker brings Kaoru Takamura's breathtaking masterpiece to a gripping conclusion.Five men who meet at a Tokyo racetrack every week carry out a heist. They have kidnapped the CEO of Japan's largest beer company to extract blood money from the company's corrupt financiers.Known as Lady Joker, the men make their first attack on the beer company when their demands are not met. As the attacks escalate, the shady networks linking corporations to syndicates are exposed, the stakes rise, and bring into riveting focus the lives and motivations of the victims, the perpetrators, the heroes and the villains. Some will lose everything, even their lives.Inspired by the real-life Glico-Morinaga kidnapping, an unsolved case that terrorized Japan for two years, Lady Joker reimagines this watershed episode in modern Japanese history.'A novel that portrays with devastating immensity how those on the dark fringes of society can be consumed by the darkness of their own hearts' Yoko Ogawa, author of The Memory Police

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The Kappa is a creature from Japanese folklore known for dragging unwary toddlers to their deaths in rivers: a scaly, child-sized creature, looking something like a frog, but with a sharp, pointed beak and an oval-shaped saucer on top of its head, which hardens with age. Akutagawa’s Kappa is narrated by Patient No. 23, a madman in a lunatic asylum: he recounts how, while out hiking in Kamikochi, he spots a Kappa. He decides to chase it and, like Alice pursuing the White Rabbit, he tumbles down a hole, out of the human world and into the realm of the Kappas. There he is well looked after, in fact almost made a pet of: as a human, he is a novelty. He makes friends and spends his time learning about their world, exploring the seemingly ridiculous ways of the Kappa, but noting many—not always flattering—parallels to Japanese mores regarding morality, legal justice, economics, and sex. Alas, when the patient eventually returns to the human world, he becomes disgusted by humanity and, like Gulliver missing the Houyhnhnms, he begins to pine for his old friends the Kappas, rather as if he has been forced to take leave of Toad of Toad Hall…

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"Does for mental clutter what Marie Kondo has done for household clutter." --Publishers WeeklyRelax and find happiness amid the swirl of the modern world with this internationally bestselling guide to simplifying your life by the renowned Zen Buddhist author of Don’t Worry and How to Let Things Go.In clear, practical, easily adopted lessons--one a day for 100 days--renowned Buddhist monk Shunmyo Masuno draws on centuries of wisdom to teach you to Zen your life. Discover how . . . Lesson #4: lining up your shoes after you take them off can bring order to your mind; Lesson #11: putting down your fork after every bite can help you feel more grateful for what you have; Lesson #18: immersing yourself in zazen can sweep the clutter from your mind; Lesson #23: joining your hands together in gassho can soothe irritation and conflict; Lesson #27: going outside to watch the sunset can make every day feel celebratory; Lesson #42: planting a flower and watching it grow can teach you to embrace change; Lesson #67: understanding the concept of ichi-go ichi-e can make everyday interactions more meaningful; Lesson #85: practicing chisoku can help you feel more fulfilled.A minimalist line drawing appears opposite each lesson on an otherwise blank page, giving you an opportunity to relax with a deep breath between lessons. With each daily practice, you will learn to find happiness not by seeking out extraordinary experiences but by making small changes to your life, opening yourself up to a renewed sense of peace and inner calm.A PENGUIN LIFE TITLE

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