In the tradition of Laura Joh Rowland, Ann Woodward makes fuedal Japan come alive for the average reader. The plot is well thought out, and definitely believable. A wonderful read!

honestly I have only read parts of the book, but of those that I've read, I think Miyoshi does a great job discussing notions of power withing Japan, and various phases of contact between Japan and the 'west'. There is a great chapter on Junichiro Tanizaki entitled: "the Lure of the West." and another chapter on Japanese women and women writers discusses how women pose a threat to the traditional patriarchy in Japan. Overall a really good book about Japanese contact with 'others'. i plan on reading the entire book after finals.

This late 11th-early 12th c. Japanese text is, like another of William and Helen McCullough's fine translations, A Tale of Flowering Fortunes, a memoir of the life and career of the great Fujiwara Michinaga, who also figures prominently in Sei Shonagon's Pillow Book.

Okagimi is written in an unusual style, which, one might say, anticipates Truman Capote's In Cold Blood by nearly a millennium. Written as a purported record of of a series of reminiscences set down by an impossibly old man, it is told by a fictional character yet claims to be true history, and, indeed, in general Okagimi generally conforms to the known facts. The text consists of a series of vignettes taken from the lives of people whose lives impinged on Michinaga's, both contemporaries and predecessors, as well as a history of Michinaga himself. It very successfully gives a picture of political and social life in Heian Japan. Lively, informative, beautifully written (and translated) and very amusing.

The book Okinawa Dreams Ok provides a much needed update on the current situation in Okinawa, with a particular emphasis on the developments that occurred after the brutal rape of a 12-year-old Okinawan girl by three U.S. servicemen. Delving into not only the everyday impact of the U.S. military and the Japanese government's decisions to keep the military in Okinawa, this book also focuses on the Okinawan people (Uchinanchu) as they continue to define themselves culturally and and collectively on their own terms, in the face of the constant threats from the military. Overall this book is a must read for all people interested in issues of social justice and who stand firmly against imperialism wherever it rears it's head, and who stand for the right to self-determination for all people. With the advent of the "Pacific Century" this book helps to demonstrate that the myth of Japan's homogeneity has always been imagined, and that now, more than ever, the Okinawan people are coming into their own, and increasingly defining themselves, and their land, on their own terms.

The illustrator of this book, Marek Zawadzki, is my cousin. Ithink it is a beautifully illustrated book, as well as a nice story. Iwould highly recommend it to anyone who appreciates art and well-written stories.

Harriet Sergeant lived several years in Japan and gives in this book an account of her experiences in that country. It is an appalling picture: endemic corruption (even for the purchase of a house), racketeering, religion as business, the excessive importance of the group to which one belongs to. A merciless, brutal, egoistic and aggressive social environment: already at school children are badgered, resulting in several deaths per year.
But the biggest victims in this overcrowded country are a Japanese minority group (the burakumin) and women.
The burakumin should be compared to the pariahs in India. Because of their discrimination, many of them joined the yakuza (the powerful, also politically, Japanese gangsters) and are now feared.
Women are totally subordinate to men. The comment of Amélie Nothomb in her book 'Fear and Trembling', where she says that she admires Japanese women because they don't commit suicide, are here completely confirmed.
An eye-opening book.

Translations of and commentary on one author's Taoist poems are presented in a warm blend of spiritual, religious and philosophical inspection which considers the last of the great poet-painters of Japan. Over 150 of his poems are treated to an appraisal which considers both form and content in a fine coverage worthy of inclusion in any strong Asian collection.

It is a story about a Canadian soldier, George MacDonell who was sent to Hong Kong and fought with the Japanese during the World War II. In this book MacDonell started with how he became a Canadian soldier and then described how he was sent to the Pacific War zone during the World War II. When the Canadian army lost the battery in Hong Kong, he became the prisoner of War. He depicted how the Japanese in the Prison of War camp in Hong Kong, then Japan treated him and other soldiers. After years in the prison, he was eventually released in the year of 1945. He then described how he struggled through and became a successful businessman. It is an excellent memoir. The only minor "mistake" is the inconsistent of the names of the place. For instance, the Hong Kong Tai Tam Reservoir sometimes is romanized as "Ty Tam Reservoir." Other than that, the book is well written and organized.

About eight years ago, I read Peter Sano's story when it was in its earliest form. I knew then that he should have it published - and finally, he did. Peter was born in America but at the age of 15, in 1939, he was sent to Japan to become the adopted son of his childless aunt and uncle. Drafted into the Japanese army in 1945, Peter was sent to war. By being in the wrong place at the wrong time, Peter ended up in Siberian POW and labor camps for three years before finally being released. During those years, Peter made life bearable for many of his fellow prisoners, often at his own expense - and though he downplays his heroism, he kept some people alive who would otherwise have perished. His is a tale both humorous and tragic and in the end, inspiring. Today, Peter is back in America, an accomplished architect, husband, father, and one of the kindest and gentlest souls I have ever met. It was impossible to put down his manuscript once I started it until I had devoured every page. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys tales of triumph over adversity, love beating hate, and quick wits winning out over the harshest odds.

This is a review from the Financial Times in London. JRB Copyright 1994 The Financial Times Limited; Financial Times (London) November 2, 1994, Wednesday By CHRISTOPHER HOWE 'OPENING JAPAN'S FINANCIAL MARKETS' By J. Robert Brown Jr. Routledge, Pounds 45, 272 pages ... The Japanese began systematic preparations to penetrate the western economies about 130 years ago. Serious, large-scale efforts to reverse the process date only from the rise of the Japanese trade surplus in the early 1980s. Given the linguistic, psychological, institutional and other barriers between the parties, it is not surprising that the balance of economic advantage in recent years has seemed to be so much in Japan's favour. Furthermore, although the west is beginning to catch up, at least in consciousness of the problem, the problem itself gets more difficult. For whereas the main challenge used to be how to penetrate the markets for goods, there is now increasing concern with the markets for services and with the obstacles to making a success of direct investment in Japan. J. Robert Brown's book is one of the most interesting accounts of these subjects yet to appear. Based on careful study of the literature and on more than 100 detailed interviews, it throws new light not only on the banking sector, but on the wider issue of how public and private sectors can interact in the process of market opening. A small number of western banks had established themselves in Japan before the Pacific War, including the old British Far Eastern banks, and Citibank, representing America. These mainly supported foreign trade and the banking needs of foreign companies in Japan. In the case of Citibank, at least, care was taken not to compete with domestic banks, on whom it relied for advice on local creditworthiness. During the post-war occupation, foreign banks had a new opportunity to re-enter the market and three prominent American Banks did so. Again, however, the foreigners were sidelined rather than integrated into the mainstream of the financial system, focusing on trade finance and short- to medium-term dollar lending. After the occupation, the Japanese government and the Ministry of Finance (MOF) resumed control. No new foreign entrants were allowed in for many years and a highly regulated financial system was established. In this system, Japanese institutions were assigned designated, highly specialized roles and the volume, direction and price of credit flows were each tightly controlled by an MOF with enormous legal and discretionary authority. The only way in which foreigners could be fitted into the picture was to restrict them to specific classes of business, such as foreign exchange, trade and dollar lending. Foreign banks acquiesced in these arrangements through much of the 1960s and early 1970s partly because their niches were exceptionally profitable. So much so, that in the early 1960s Citibank's profits from only four branches were larger than those of Fuji Bank, the largest of the Japanese City Banks. The other reason for acquiescence was that in the Japanese system, since banks rather than security markets were the main source of industrial finance, they were called upon to provide what was in reality a form of risk-sharing, equity finance, and were also expected by the authorities to provide both leadership and, when necessary, bail-outs for large companies. At the time, western bankers, with their short term, balance sheet approach to lending, found these practices unacceptable and hence were unwilling to undertake a lead role in company lending, even had they been encouraged to do so. All this began to collapse after the oil shock of the 1970s and the rise of US-Japan trade frictions in the 1980s. What Brown brings out so clearly is that liberalisation and market opening occurred because it was in the interests of both the western banks and the Japanese City Banks. Both sides wanted new instruments and avenues to funds and both wanted abolition of the old division between banking and securities business. The government had ultimately to agree to change, and all that this entailed, because of its need for large-scale bond financing to cover its budgetary deficit. Brown also shows that, although driven by these underlying factors, the occasion of the big breakthrough was the Reagan-Nakasone summit of 1983, when an embarrassing absence of business allowed the Americans to put the financial services issue on an unexpectedly high-level agenda. In spite of all the change and the formal steps towards liberalisation that have taken place, the longer term results remain disappointing. On the positive side, examples such as Citibank have shown that by taking a long view and making a careful analysis of the market, by a shrewd combination of conformity and innovation, and by good training and personnel policies, it is possible to make a success of business in Japan. On the other hand, the overall profitability and market shares of western banks as a group, remain very low. A fundamental reason for this is that there remain strong traditional elements in both the relationships between the financial system and the MOF, and between the institutions and their customers. Whether the political economy of the post-'Bubble' era will change this, or whether western companies will adapt even more flexibly to Japanese ways, remain fascinating questions for the future.