book cover

Japan Unmasked: The Character & Culture of the Japanese

Author: Boye Lafayette De Mente

Language: English

Summary: The growing globalization of world business, culture and communication—and Japan’s increasingly important role as a leader in that world—makes understanding Japanese culture critical for business people, diplomats, students, educators and anyone else with an interest in Japan.
Continue reading “Japan Unmasked: The Character & Culture of the Japanese”

Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life

Author: Héctor García, Francesc Miralles

Language: English

Summary:  “If hygge is the art of doing nothing, ikigai is the art of doing something—and doing it with supreme focus and joy.” —New York Post

Bring meaning and joy to all your days with this internationally bestselling guide to the Japanese concept of ikigai (pronounced ee-key-guy)—the happiness of always being busy—as revealed by the daily habits of the world’s longest-living people.
Continue reading “Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life”

Book Cover

The Travelling Cat Chronicles

Author: Hiro Arikawa

Language: English

Summary: Nana the cat is on a road trip. He is not sure where he’s going or why, but it means that he gets to sit in the front seat of a silver van with his beloved owner, Satoru. Side by side, they cruise around Japan through the changing seasons, visiting Satoru’s old friends. He meets Yoshimine, the brusque and unsentimental farmer for whom cats are just ratters; Sugi and Chikako, the warm-hearted couple who run a pet-friendly B&B; and Kosuke, the mournful husband whose cat-loving wife has just left him. There’s even a very special dog who forces Nana to reassess his disdain for the canine species.

But what is the purpose of this road trip? And why is everyone so interested in Nana? Nana does not know and Satoru won’t say. But when Nana finally works it out, his small heart will break…

Continue reading “The Travelling Cat Chronicles”

Memoirs of a Geisha

Author: Arthur Golden Language: English Summary: A literary sensation and runaway bestseller, this brilliant debut novel presents with seamless authenticity and exquisite lyricism the true confessions of one of Japan’s most celebrated geisha. In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl’s virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; … Continue reading Memoirs of a Geisha

Kiyo’s Story: a Japanese-American family’s quest for the American dream

Author: Kiyo Sato Language: English Summary: “First generation Japanese-American Sato chronicles the tribulations her family endured in America through the Great Depression and WWII. Emigrating from Japan in 1911, Sato’s parents built a home and cultivated a marginal plot of land into a modest but sustaining fruit farm. One of nine children, Sato recounts days on the farm playing with her siblings and lending a … Continue reading Kiyo’s Story: a Japanese-American family’s quest for the American dream

Kitchen

Author: Banana Yoshimoto Language: English Summary: With the publication of Kitchen, the dazzling English-language debut that is still her best-loved book, the literary world realized that Banana Yoshimoto was a young writer of enduring talent whose work has quickly earned a place among the best of contemporary Japanese literature. Kitchen is an enchantingly original book that juxtaposes two tales about mothers, love, tragedy, and the power of the kitchen … Continue reading Kitchen