9 May 2011
Until the Second World War individual Japanese houses retained some elements of the aesthetic which so pleased and inspired Edward Morse [author of “Japanese Homes and their Surroundings” – 1885], Bruno Taut [author of “Houses and People of Japan” – 1938] and others. In the war huge swathes of Japanese cities were destroyed by bombing and fire. Japan’s housing stock had to be almost completely replaced. Except in some country areas and in a few exclusive urban districts, the old style individual house generally ceased to exist.
15 December 2010
Dr A.M. Kanter’s Collection Laura Bordignon Antique Collectors’ Club pages 302 coplously illustrated with colour plates ISBN 978-1-85149-609-9 Review by Sir Hugh Cortazzi Laura Bordignon is an antique dealer who has developed a close interest in the arts and crafts of the Meiji era. Dr Kanter has collected many fine pieces of ivory carvings made [...]
14 December 2010
My Song Story in My Life – The Youth of the Showa Era [わが人生の歌がたり 昭和の青春], by Hiroyuki Itsuki [五木寛之], Kadokawa Shoten, 2008, 206 pages, ISBN: 978-4-04-883994-5
Reviewed by Mikihiro Maeda
14 December 2010
Soul Dance: Selected Poems, by Takako Arai, Translated by Jeffrey Angles, with Sawako Nakayasu and You Nakai, Mi’Te Press, 2008, 64 pages, ISBN: 978-4-9904416-0-9
Review by Adam House
6 August 2010
by Christine Guth, Yale University Press, 2010 (soft back edition), 176 pages including index, glossary and chronology, copious colour illustrations, ISBN 978-0-300-16414-8
6 August 2010
Hyperart: Thomasson, by Genpei Akasegawa, translated by Matt Fargo, Kaya Press, 2010, 352pages, ISBN:9781885030467
6 August 2010
Prince and Princess Chichibu, Two Lives Lived Above and Below the Clouds, by Dorothy Britton, Global Oriental 2010, 223 including index, ISBN 978-1-905246-24-3
9 April 2010
This is not a guide to Japanese gardens. Nor is it a history of Japanese gardens. It consists of photographs with brief descriptions of selected gardens. The photos are well and artistically taken, but as there are only a few for each garden covered they inevitably do no more than show limited aspects of particular gardens. Anyone who wants some nice pictures of Japanese gardens as a souvenir of a visit to Japan may enjoy this book which would be a good addition to their pile of coffee table books
1 September 2009
Edited by Glenn D Hook
Sheffield Centre for Japanese Studies/RoutledgeCurzon Series, Abingdon,2005, 288 pages, 978-0-415-36419-5
Review by Roger Buckley
1 September 2009
By Yuko Kawanishi
Global Oriental, 2009, 175 pages including index and bibliography, ISBN 978-1-906876-00-5, £30
Reviews by Sir Hugh Cortazzi & Sandra Lawman
