For the first time, English readers have access to Soseki’s Spring Miscellany . Originally published as Eijitu Shohin in serial form in the Asahi newspaper in 1909, before appearing in book form, Spring Miscellany is an pastiche of twenty-five sketches, referred to as shohin (little items), heir to the great zuihitsu tradition of discursive prose. These personal vignettes are clearly autobiographical and reveal Soseki’s ...
"A Japanese writer of genius."— Japan Quarterly Soseki Natsume is considered to be one of Japan's most beloved and respected authors. And Then is ranked as one of his most insightful and stirring novels.Daisuke, the protagonist, is a man in his twenties who is struggling with his personal purpose and identity as well as the changing social landscape of Meiji-era Japan. As Japan enters the Twentieth Century, ancient custom ...
The Tosa Diary reveals the life of a traveler in tenth-century Japan whose journey lasted 55 days on a ship from Tosa, where Ki no Tsurayuki served as governor, to Kyoto. This engaging translation provides the modern reader with a fascinating look at ancient Japanese life and travel, and is written with an artless simplicity and quiet humor. Seasickness, grief, and pride are just a few of the emotions readers will feel as Tsurayuki's person ...
First published as Nihyaku Toka in 1906, The 210th Day is published here for the first time in English. Focusing on two strongly contrasting characters, Kei and Roku, as they attempt to climb the rumbling Mount Aso as it threatens to erupt, it is a celebration of personal experience and subjective reaction to an event in the author's life. During their progress up the mountain—where they encounter a storm on the 210th day (the luna ...
"A richly entertaining series of Hawaiian tales with explanatory facts, which will delight and inform both the folklore fan and the general reader. Until now, long out of print."—The Honolulu AdvertiserIn bringing together this collection of Hawaiian legends, the author of this little book has conferred a great favor upon all those residents of Hawaii and of those visitors to its shores who pay take an interest in its original inh ...
These classic Japanese short stories are masterfully translated and a joy to read.The medieval period in Japan, spanning the years from about 1200 to 1600, was a time of rapid cultural development that saw the emergence and refinement of many new art forms. One of these was the religious folk tale, or setsuwa, many collections of which were compiled during this time. Like the classic fables and parables of the West, these stories are varied in o ...
This book of Zen poetry and art blends simple, haiku-like poetry with bold minimalist ink brush drawings.Zen Brushpoems connects the creative insights of Haiku-like poetry with the dynamic interplay of the written word and painted image. This subtle and profound medium of poetic expression has been inspired by the revolutionary work of artist Paul Reps.Each of the 100 brushpoems in this Zen art book is a statement, a declaration, an answer, and ...