Culture

Edo Japan Encounters the World
Edo Japan Encounters the World continues the conversation, begun nearly twenty years earlier in The...

Every Day a Good Day
I could not walk correctly.I did not know where to sit.I did not know which hand to use, what to...

Flowers, Birds, Wind, and Moon
Japanese culture is deeply rooted in nature—from literature to the visual arts, and from religious...

An Introduction to Yōkai Culture
Since ancient times, the Japanese have lived with superstitions of strange presences and phenomena...

The Japanese Linguistic Landscape
Languages change over time. No matter how hard we try to control and regulate them, they exist in a...

Kabuki, a Mirror of Japan
In this delightfully engaging look at Japan’s traditional dance-drama, Matsui Kesako approaches...

Making Xavier’s Dream Real
This book reveals how St. Francis Xavier’s (1506–1552) dream of evangelizing Japan has been...

Noh as Living Art
Noh is recognized as one of the oldest and greatest theatrical traditions in the world. Embraced by...

The People and Culture of Japan
This book features conversations between Donald Keene, a preeminent scholar of Japanese literature,...

Traditional Cuisine of the Ryukyu Islands
In recent decades, Okinawan cuisine has earned a place in the Japanese food scene due to its...

Well-Versed
This volume of seasonally-arranged poems is a guide to the appreciation and enjoyment of the great...