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Kodansha
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Chinese contemporary art is currently enjoying a worldwide boom, fetching record-breaking prices at auction houses around the globe. The country's rapid transition from Communism to consumerism, and the dizzying changes brought about by urbanization, globalization and new technologies have created a fascinating explosion of art overwhelmingly concerned with the search for self-identity in a society that, from Confucius to Mao, has traditionally disregarded individualism for the collective good. Avatars and Antiheroes reflects the schizophrenic undercurrents of a nation in continuous fast-forward. From the Cynical Realism and Political Pop movements associated with the post-Tiananmen generation of artists such as Yue Minjun, whose grinning representations of himself as antihero seem to mock the revolutionary heroes of old, to the pop-culture generation spearheaded by Cao Fei, whose digital avatars live in a world without borders, this book showcases the work of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from China in recent years. Stunning full-color plates of the work of Chinas leading painters, photographers, sculptors, performance artists, video artists, and even a fireworks artist are complemented by insightful commentary from Beijing-based art specialist Claudia Albertini, who personally interviewed many of the artists featured. |
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Though certainly a shopping paradise, Tokyo was once a daunting experience to even the most determined shopper from overseas. Though Japanese language guides abound, there was no help available in English. Now help has arrived: in this handy, extensively researched guide, the author shares her massive data base of shopping outlets, with descriptions of the shops, objective commentary, and other pertinent information and maps to over 600 shops in Tokyo. The alphabetic listing includes categories, cross-indexes and a Tokyo best list of particular favorites. The book also features easy-to-read maps of areas and shops. From the highest quality (and prices) of the biggest international brand names to tiny trendy fashion shops that cater to the Harajuku teenager, Tokyos shops are now readily accessible to anyone, from long-time resident to the first-time tourist. |
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This is the story of a contemporary Japanese teenager who, in a search for an identity, became fascinated with the world of geisha, and discovered in herself the will and the commitment to embark on the many years of apprenticeship necessary to become one. It is also the story of a young Japanese photographer who grew up overseas, and who also was captivated by the traditional lives of these women who choose to dedicate themselves to their art. He began following and documenting the life of teenager Komomo as she studied and grew into her role. Naoyuki Oginos photographs follow Komomos entire journey, from her first tentative visits after finding the geisha house on the internet through her commitment to the hard schedule of an apprentice, learning arts that go back centuries, all the way to the ceremony where she officially became a geiko, as Kyotos geisha are known and beyond. From the cobbled streets where she walks in her elaborate dress to the inner sanctums of her dressing room, these pages offer a rare look at a unique, living art. The photographs are accompanied by autobiographical text and captions by Komomo, as she shares her thoughts and emotions, and describes the day-to-day existence of a Kyoto apprentice. It is an illuminating view of seven years in the life of a very special young woman. |
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Chinese contemporary art is currently enjoying a worldwide boom, fetching record-breaking prices at auction houses around the globe. The country's rapid transition from Communism to consumerism, and the dizzying changes brought about by urbanization, globalization and new technologies have created a fascinating explosion of art overwhelmingly concerned with the search for self-identity in a society that, from Confucius to Mao, has traditionally disregarded individualism for the collective good. Avatars and Antiheroes reflects the schizophrenic undercurrents of a nation in continuous fast-forward. From the Cynical Realism and Political Pop movements associated with the post-Tiananmen generation of artists such as Yue Minjun, whose grinning representations of himself as antihero seem to mock the revolutionary heroes of old, to the pop-culture generation spearheaded by Cao Fei, whose digital avatars live in a world without borders, this book showcases the work of the most important contemporary artists to emerge from China in recent years. Stunning full-color plates of the work of Chinas leading painters, photographers, sculptors, performance artists, video artists, and even a fireworks artist are complemented by insightful commentary from Beijing-based art specialist Claudia Albertini, who personally interviewed many of the artists featured. |
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«We know almost nothing of Hung Ying-ming, except that he lived around the end of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and that he was extraordinarily well-read and cultured. The Unencumbered Spirit is his classic work, a tour de force offering wise words distilled through the fundamental teachings of Taoism, Confucianism and Zen Buddhism. Hung's poetic prose embodies the infinite transformations of the world's opposites, what the Chinese called yin and yang--good and evil, honesty and deception, wisdom and foolishness, heaven and hell. Wise, profound, spiritual, humorous, witty, and timeless, The Unencumbered Spirit is, in short, a book about putting greed and competition aside, about getting at the true, clear essence of things, free of distractions and encumbrances. It is a book about living without stuff, whether it be material, psychological, or spiritual. About living with simplicity and awareness. «It has been rare for one person to develop a thorough grasp of Taoism, Confucianism and Buddhism, such is their profundity. But there have been a few. Among them, one person's work stands above the rest: namely, Hung Ying-ming's The Unencumbered Spirit. I can recommend this work to anyone interested in the way of the world's greatest sages, whose teachings can help us all to see into and to improve our own lives.» Bill Porter (aka Red Pine), from the Foreword» |
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The Lone Samurai is a landmark biography of Miyamoto Musashi, the legendary Japanese figure known throughout the world as a master swordsman, spiritual seeker, and author of The Book of Five Rings. With a compassionate yet critical eye, William Scott Wilson delves into the workings of Musashi's mind as the iconoclastic samurai wrestled with philosophical and spiritual ideas that are as relevant today as they were in his times. Musashi found peace and spiritual reward in seeking to perfect his chosen Way, and came to realize that perfecting a single Way, no matter the path, could lead to fulfillment. The Lone Samurai is far more than a vivid account of a fascinating slice of feudal Japan. It is the story of one man's quest for answers, perfection, and access to the Way. By age thirteen, Miyamoto Musashi had killed his opponent in what would become the first of many celebrated swordfights. By thirty, he had fought more than sixty matches, losing none. He would live another thirty years but kill no one else. He continued to engage in swordfights but now began to show his skill simply by thwarting his opponents' every attack until they acknowledged Musashi's all-encompassing ability. At the same time, the master swordsman began to expand his horizons, exploring Zen Buddhism and its related arts, particularly ink painting, in a search for a truer Way. Musashi was a legend in his own time. As a swordsman, he preferred the wooden sword and in later years almost never fought with a real weapon. He outfoxed his opponents or turned their own strength against them. At the height of his powers, he began to evolve artistically and spiritually, becoming one of the country's most highly regarded ink painters and calligraphers, while deepening his practice of Zen Buddhism. He funneled his hard-earned insights about the warrior arts into his spiritual goals. Ever the solitary wanderer, Musashi shunned power, riches, and the comforts of a home or fixed position with a feudal lord in favor of a constant search for truth, perfection, and a better Way. Eventually, he came to the realization that perfection in one art, whether peaceful or robust, could offer entry to a deeper, spiritual understanding. His philosophy, along with his warrior strategies, is distilled in his renowned work, The Book of Five Rings, written near the end of his life. Musashi remains a source of fascination for the Japanese, as well as for those of us in the West who have more recently discovered the ideals of the samurai and Zen Buddhism. The Lone Samurai is the first biography ever to appear in English of this richly layered, complex seventeenth-century swordsman and seeker, whose legacy has lived far beyond his own time and place. |
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Recently the West has been inundated by a steady flow of images from manga, anime, and the video games that are a key part of todays Japanese visual culture. At the same time, Japanese contemporary artists are gaining a higher profile overseas: many Westerners are already familiar with Takashi Murakamis brightly colored, cartoonlike characters, or with Junko Mizunos grotes-cute Lolita-style girls. Perhaps less familiar are the absurd fighting machines of Kenji Yanobe, the many disguises of Tomoko Sawada, or the grotesque fairytale landscapes of Tomoko Konoike. Warriors of Art features the work of forty of the latest and most relevant contemporary Japanese artists, from painters and sculptors, to photographers and performance artists, with lavish full-color spreads of their key works. Author Yumi Yamaguchi offers an insightful introduction to the main themes of each artist, and builds up a fascinating portrait of the society that has given birth to them: a Japan that still bears the scars of atomic destruction, a Japan with a penchant for the cute and the childish, a Japan whose manga and anime industries have come to dominate the world. Warriors of Art takes its title from a phrase used to describe Taro Okamoto (1911-1996), perhaps the first truly influential contemporary artist to emerge in postwar Japan, who fought to bring modern art to a wider audience. Following in Okamotos footsteps, the forty artists featured in this book are a new generation of warriors, attacking our senses with a shocking mix of the cute, the grotesque, the sexy, and the violent, forcing us to sit up and take notice of their vision of Japan. |
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Young, pretty Junko Aoki has an extraordinary ability she can start fires through sheer force of will. When she begins using her gift of pyrokinesis to take the law into her own hands and punish violent criminals, her executions attract the attention of two very different groups: the Guardians, a secretive vigilante organization that tries to recruit her, and the arson squad of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department. Soon the police are on Junkos trail, most notably Detective Chikako Ishizu, a rationalist who must come to terms with the existence of paranormal forces. As Junkos crusade against evil escalates and she finds it harder to control her power, we are taken on a breathtaking and brutal journal through the urban landscape of Tokyo. . .a journey that challenges us, along with Chikako, to think about whats right and whats wrong in the name of justice. |
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«In Shadow Family, Miyuki Miyabe draws readers into the amorphous world of Internet chat rooms-a world of people from all walks of life attracted by the possibility of being whomever they want to be. Police investigating the murder of a middle-aged office worker discover e-mail correspondence on the victim's computer that indicates he had been a regular participant in an Internet chat room, as the «father» in a fantasy «family.» Meanwhile, a female detective is assigned to protect the dead man's real-life daughter who complains of being stalked. As the real daughter confronts her father's alternate life, we are pulled into a psychological drama that pits reality and illusion against each other in astonishing ways.» |
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Judo, or the Way of Gentleness, an ideal form of physical exercise and a reliable system of self-defense, was specially created from traditional Japanese martial arts. This book by the creator of Kodokan judo is uniquely comprehensive and the most authoritative guide to this martial art ever published. |
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From Japan's first Nobel laureate for literature, three superb stories exploring the interplay between erotic fantasy and reality in a loner's mind. He was not to do anything in bad taste, the woman of the house warned old Eguchi. He was not to put his finger into the mouth of the sleeping girl, or try anything else of that sort. With his promise to abide by the rules, Eguchi begins his life as a member of a secret club for elderly gentlemen who have lost their sexual powers. At an inn several hours from Tokyo they indulge in their last pleasure: lying with beautiful young girls who are sleeping nude when the men arrive. As House of the Sleeping Beauties unfolds in Kawabata's subtle prose, the horrified reader comes to see that the sexual excitement is a result not of rejuvenescence, but of a flirtation with death. The three stories presented in this volume all center upon a lonely protagonist and his peculiar eroticism. In each, the author explores the interplay of fantasy and reality at work on a mind in solitude-in House of the Sleeping Beauties the elderly Eguchi and his clandestine trips to his club; in One Arm the bizarre dialogue of a man with the arm of a young girl; in Of Birds and Beasts a middle-aged man's memories of an affair with a dancer mingled with glimpses of his abnormal attachment to his pets. All of these stories appear in English for the first time outside of Japan. Of Birds and Beasts written in the early 1930's, is one of Kawabata's earlier works, while One Arm and House of the Sleeping Beauties the latter hailed by novelist Yukio Mishima as the best of Kawabata's works, are among his later works. |
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«At last, the complete and authoritative introduction to all the fundamentals of Aikido, coauthored by the two direct successors to the Founder of the martial art, Morihei Ueshiba. Coauthors Kisshomaru Ueshiba and Moriteru Ueshiba, son and grandson of the Founder, seek to carry on his legacy and to share with the millions of men and women around the world practicing Aikido today the most important techniques and principles of the art. This book is the quintessential training aid for all Aikido practitioners-whether beginning or advanced-who wish to further their understanding of the forms and spirit of Aikido. Underlying the forms, or physical techniques, are the spiritual principles of Aikido, which are based on the notion of ki, or «life force.» Ki is the fundamental element to understanding Aikido. But as the authors explain, it cannot be learned merely by watching a demonstration or reading a book. Rather, one must come to experience it through practice, in unifying body and mind. Best Aikido helps guide the practitioner to this goal. It offers step-by-step instruction that will complement knowledge learned in the dojo. The text is illustrated with a wealth of never-before-seen photographs that feature Aikido master Moriteru Ueshiba demonstrating the fundamental techniques of the art. Best Aikido is authorized by the Aikikai Foundation, the central organization set up by Morihei Ueshiba.» |
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In Japanese, register — the way you change your words according to who you are speaking with — plays a key role. The rules of register in Japanese are far more complicated than they are in English, but until now there hasn't been a book that lays it all out in an accessible format. Japanese for All Occasions is a much-needed introduction to this bewildering aspect of the language. Through 57 dialogues, veteran teacher Taeko Kamiya shows learners how the Japanese change their way of speaking depending on the social setting or their relationship with the listener, with examples ranging from casual to super polite. Chapters are ordered according to function (Introducing People, Identifying Things, etc.) so that learners can absorb the most common sentence patterns used in daily life at the same time that they study casual, polite, and honorific styles. Each one presents three similar dialogues that show contrasting styles of speech. Detailed notes explain the grammar or usage at work in the dialogues, and quizzes at the end of each chapter allow learners to test their understanding. Best of all, the book comes with a free CD containing all the dialogues, narrated by professional Japanese actors. For intermediate students and above. |
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With his multinational and ever expanding empire of thirteen restaurants, Nobu Matsuhisa has become one of the most talked-about international restaurateurs and arguably the world's greatest sushi chef. In his first, long awaited book, Nobu: The Cookbook, Matsuhisa reveals the secrets of his exciting, cutting-edge Japanese cuisine. Nobu's culinary creations are based on the practice of simplicity the art of using simple techniques to bring out the flavors in the best ingredients the world's oceans have to offer and on his unique combinations of Japanese cuisine and imaginative. |
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Highly qualified food and nutrition scientists combine with some of the world's greatest chefs to produce this superbly illustrated revelation of the mysterious 'fifth taste' that has gained global recognition in recent years and has become such a key component in cooking. |
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Long-awaited by teachers and students, Read Real Japanese Fiction presents short works by six of todays most daring and provocative Japanese writers. The spellbinding world of Hiromi Kawakami; the hair-raising horror of Otsuichi; the haunting, poignant prose of Banana Yoshimoto; even the poetic word-play of Yoko Tawada whatever a readers taste, he or she is sure to find something of interest and value in this book, suitable for students at the intermediate level and above. As in real Japanese novels, the text on each page runs from top to bottom and from right to left. Each double-page spread features translations of all the difficult passages. In the back of the book, moreover, is a built-in Japanese-English learners dictionary and a notes section covering issues of nuance, usage, grammar and culture that come up in each story. Best of all, the books comes with a free audio CD containing narrations of the stories, performed by a professional voice actress. |
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Some Japanese words and phrases, even though they lie at the core of the language, forever elude the student's grasp. They are not explained satisfactorily in dictionaries or textbooks for the simple reason that they cannot be conveniently defined. Japanese Core Words and Phrases brings these recalcitrants to bay. The book is divided into two parts, each of which is arranged in alphabetical order. The first part is devoted to words indicating physical as well as psychological distance-roughly equivalent to this, that, that over there, and where, but quite different in usage. Physical distance is covered in most textbooks, but psychological distance-every student's nemesis-is not. The second part of the book covers a variety of idiomatic expressions, many of which appear in Japanese proficiency tests. Each entry word or phrase is not simply explained but exemplified in sentence form, clarifying its meaning (in the case of many students) for the very first time. Japanese Core Words and Phrases has a great deal to offer the beginning student and much to offer the intermediate student. Little more can be asked of a book on the Japanese language. Previously published in the Power Japanese series as Core Words and Phrases: Things You Can't Find in a Dictionary. |
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Born to a wealthy and powerful yakuza boss, Shoko Tendo lived the early years of her life in luxury. However, when she was six, everything changed: her father was jailed, and the family fell into debt. Bullied by her classmates because of her father's activities, and terrorized at home by her father, who became a drunken, violent monster after his release from prison, Tendo rebelled. As a teenager she became a drug addict and a member of a girl gang. At the age of 15 she spent eight months in a juvenile detention center after getting into a fight with another gang. |
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