This is a fresh & surprising account of Japan`s culture from the `opening up` of the country in the mid-nineteenth century to the present.` How much I admired it, what a lot I learned from it &, above all, how very much I enjoyed it.. . Masterly.` Neil Mac Gregor It is told through the eyes of people who greeted this change not with the confidence & grasping ambition of Japan`s modernizers & nationalists, but with resistance, conflict, distress. We encounter writers of dramas, ghost stories & crime novels where modernity itself is the tragedy, the ghoul & the bad guy; surrealist & avant-garde artists sketching their escape; rebel kamikaze pilots & the put-upon urban poor; hypnotists & gangsters; men in desperate search of the eternal feminine & feminists in search of something more than state-sanctioned subservience; Buddhists without morals; Marxist terror groups; couches full to bursting with the psychological fall-out of breakneck modernization. These people all sprang from the soil of modern Japan, but their personalities & projects failed to fit. They were `dark blossoms`: both East-West hybrids & home-grown varieties that wreathed, probed & sometimes penetrated the new structures of mainstream Japan. ...

This book describes & defines what ‘ Japan style’ is. It explores specific achievements in Japanese art & architecture, but also offers an in-depth analysis of the whole of Japanese culture, its vision of the world & of humankind. ‘ Japan style’ is something recognizable to everyone: a beautifully arranged flower, an elegant piece of calligraphy or a simple rock garden, but it is also something that is very difficult to define. This book gives the reader the tools to fully understand Japanese art & culture. As Gian Carlo Calza says, the path to understanding & appreciating Japanese culture is slow & long, & in order to develop the right sensibility on the journey, it is imperative that the reader acquires the necessary means. With this in mind, the author reveals & shares his experience in & knowledge of Japanese culture, defining the essence of Japanese style. The book is divided into three main sections. In the first one (‘ Irregular Beauty’), the author delineates the different aspects of Japanese culture & draws interesting connections between art, architecture, religion, philosophy & mythology. The second part of the book (‘A Feeling of Nature’) follows a chronological path from ancient times to the present explaining more specifically how to interpret the different forms of Japanese art (literature, painting, sculpture, etc.). The third part of the book (` Art Masters`) contains short monographs on Japanese masters in the history of Japanese art & culture. Calza’s comprehensive & insightful text is accompanied by 150 full-colour images of a great variety of examples from Japanese art & culture, examples of which you can see to the right of this page. ...

Travellers Japan takes you to the heart of a country that is a beguiling mix of opposites
- old & new, east & west; the most modern
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The highly successful Globetrotter Travel Series, which

Includes:: Travel Guides, Travel Maps, Road Atlases,

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This entertaining & endlessly surprising book takes us on an exploration into every aspect of Japanese society from the most public to the most intimate. A series of meticulous investigations gradually uncovers the multi-faceted nature of a country & people who are even more extraordinary than they seem. Our journey encompasses religion, ritual, martial arts, manners, eating, drinking, hot baths, geishas, family, home, singing, wrestling, dancing, performing, clans, education, aspiration, sexes, generations, race, crime, gangs, terror, war, kindness, cruelty, money, art, imperialism, emperor, countryside, city, politics, government, law & a language that varies according to whom you are speaking. Clear-sighted, persistent, affectionate, unsentimental & honest
- Alan Macfarlane shows us Japan as it has never been seen before.
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Indexed A5 paperback travel atlas of Japan at 1:850, 000 from ITMB, with over 27 pages of regional & city enlargements, including Tokyo city, Kyoto city & more. Main mapping shows national highways, major & secondary roads, as well as ferry routes, airports, shinkansen, privatised & Japanese railway lines. Administrative & international boundaries are indicated; points of interest such as national parks, temples, resorts, & heritage sights are marked with a variety of symbols. Topography is shown through altitude colouring, with selected spot heights also. The rest of the atlas

Includes:: regional & city mapping at varying scales, including: Tokyo, Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, & Kobe; city maps show expressways, major, secondary, & minor roads, as well as rail lines & stops for multiple rail networks, such as subways, shinkansen, trams, monorail etc. City maps also include district names & zones highlighted in light grey. Subway maps are also included for each city enlarged in the atlas.

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Road Atlas of Japan from the Tokyo based publishers Tuttle presenting the country divided in 11 colour-coded sections, each offering a selection of street plans, detailed road maps for most visited areas, plus touring maps of larger regions. All highlight numerous places of interest & various facilities, including on street plans & on the more detailed maps hotels & restaurants. Street plans also show names and/or numbers of individual wards or municipalities, & of metro/railway stations. One combined index cover all the sections &

Includes:: places of interest. All place names are in the Latin alphabet. Map legend & names of sights, etc, are in English. The 11 sections cover:
- Central Tokyo on 16 pages of detailed street plans plus a map of Greater Tokyo.- Mount Fuji & Around Tokyo, including plans and/or maps of Yokohama, Kawasaki, Mt Fuji, Hakone, Izu Peninsula, etc.- Central Honshu with maps & plans of Nagoya, Kanazawa, Noto Peninsula, etc.- Kyoto with detailed plans & road maps of the city, plus Takao Village, etc.- Kansai Area with maps & plans of Osaka, Kobe, Nara, Lake Biwa, etc.- Hiroshima & Western Honshu including maps & plans of eight more towns & a map of Shodo Isl&.- Northern Honshu with 16 maps & plans.- Hokkaido, including a plan of Sapporo & maps of the island’s national parks.- Shikoku with several maps & plans.- Kyushu with plans of Nagasaki & 8 more towns & a map of the Aso area.- Okinawa & the south-western islands.


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Japan in the National Geographic Traveler guide series, produced by America’s leading travel publishers, exploring a range of cities, regions & countries worldwide & using the expertise & tradition of National Geographic to provide a comprehensive survey of each destination. Each of the guides in the series draws upon National Geographic’s rich history of travel experience & is researched by authors familiar with the area. Whilst the content is influenced by an American editorial style, individual titles are still accessible to a non-American audience, with a combination of practical guidance & detailed information included in each guide. The series also relies upon the extensive image libraries of National Geographic to present a rich visual image of each destination. Individual National Geographic Traveler titles are organised uniformly, allowing readers to access information quickly & easily. Introductory sections provide information on Charting your Trip, with details of getting there & around & a History & Culture chapter profiling history, food & drink, land & landscape, flora & fauna & arts & literature. Chapter are arranged geographically by region, with notable cities & areas principally describing the main sites & attractions, with further information on directions, history & practicalities. There are also a number of individual features & insider tips throughout each guide covering subjects such as walking tours, local culture, driving tours, recommended local experiences & in-depth thematic short histories of the culture & histories of individual regions. A Travelwise section at the back of each guide provides essential practical information on when to go, what to take, further reading, getting there & around, local etiquette, media, holidays, money matters, religion, smoking, time differences, opening times, travellers with disabilities & accommodation. Restaurants & hotels are listed with brief descriptions & information on prices, location, contact details & facilities for the relevant regional chapters in the guide. ...

The latest edition of this popular guidebook, updated by Japan travel expert Perrin Lindelauf, covers all the main cities, towns, & regions of Japan, helping travelers negotiate one of Asia`s most popular yet challenging destinations. Travel information tips for Tokyo & Japan`s eight main islands & regions are fully revised & updated in this latest edition, with useful new sidebars giving simple directions on getting to & from popular destinations. This book outlines detailed city walks & regional drives, complete with maps & reservation information. Also included are features on the Age of the Samurai, Buddhism, Geisha, Shinto, Sacred Mount Fuji-San, Japan After Dark, & the remarkable Blue Zone of Okinawa. A br&-new feature will explore the future of travel, Japanese style--including a look at ANA`s Dreamliner Aircraft. ...

How can you shake off those niggling everyday worries? Immerse yourself in these detailed designs inspired by Japan. You will become totally absorbed in the wonderful images drawn from nature & from legend (cherry trees, clouds, waves, dragons, tigers, carp & much more). Many are redolent of the age of the Samurai. Choose an illustration at random, then make a start, using whichever colours you like & choosing from felt-tips, pencils, gouaches or pastels. Gradually, you`ll find calm returning as your thoughts focus purely on the action of colouring in. The sheets in this pad are all detachable, so you can display your favourite creations. Just 5-10 minutes a day of colouring in is enough to encourage mindfulness. ...