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This really intrigues, Iliana. Thanks very much for sharing the link, since, it exists, but at a dear price. I am also a huge fan of In Praise of Shadows.

Further, you've sent me down a rabbit hole represented by this list of 126 titles, which I hadn't known existed.

Reading Japanese Philosophy

/list/show/3...

Carol wrote: "This really intrigues, Iliana. Thanks very much for sharing the link, since, it exists, but at a dear price. I am also a huge fan of In Praise of Shadows.

Further, you've sent me down a rabbit hol..."

Oh, thank you for sharing this list, Carol! Now I also want to dig more books, there are some interesting ones on this list!... Not much into reading spiritual related books in particular though but you never know what future brings...

As for the link, I was so grateful it was attached in the thesis sources since the student had also read this online and had to include it, as it seems!

Let's see if we can find anything in non-fiction that interests enough people to give it a go.

Here are the non-fiction books I have on hand to read (just as a starting point for the discussion):
A Diplomat In Japan by Satow, Sir Ernest
A History Of Japan, volumes 1-2 by Sansom, George
Folk Religion In Japan by Hori, Ichiro; Kitagawa, Joseph Mitsuo; Miller, Alan L.
Kojiki: Records Of Ancient Matters by Chamberlain, Basil Hall
Manchurian Legacy: Memoirs Of A Japanese Colonist by Kuramoto, Kazuko
Peasants, Rebels, and Outcastes by Hane, Mikiso
Population, Disease, and Land in Early Japan, 645-900 by Farris, William Wayne
Princess Masako: Prisoner of the Chrysanthemum Throne by Hills, Ben
Remembering Aizu: The Testament Of Shiba Goro by Shiba, Goro; Ishimitsu, Mahito; Craig, Teruko
Sacred Texts and Buried Treasures : Issues on the Historical Archaeology of Ancient Japan by Farris, William Wayne
State Of War by Conlan, Thomas
The Autobiography Of Yukichi Fukuzawa by Fukuzawa, Yukichi
The Changing Worlds of Older Women in Japan by Freed, Anne O
The Great Pacific War: A History of the American-Japanese Campaign of 1931-1933 by Bywater, Hector C
The Inland Sea by Richie, Donald
The Okagami
They Came to Japan
Western World and Japan by Sansom, George

Some of these I picked up in bargain bins and may never get around to reading. Apparently some of them have been on my shelf longer than I've been on GR, and never got entered here before.

Thanks Bill will check those out.

The ones I have immediately to hand are
:
Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World

Japan Story: In Search of a Nation, 1850 to the Present

The Bells of Old Tokyo: Meditations on Time and a City

Another Kyoto

A Brief History of the Samurai: The Way of Japan's Elite Warriors

Stranger in the Shogun's City is the most interesting (to me) of your selections.

I've added links to my last post, to make it easier to check them out.

Thanks Bill, that helps, really just need to look at availability/price etc too.

Alwynne wrote: "The ones I have immediately to hand are
:
Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World

Japan Story: In Search of a Nation, 1850 to the Present

[b..."
I have the Bells of Old Tokyo which I have not read yet, so would join in with that one.

Bill and Alwynne, thanks for pulling these lists together and starting the conversation.

I would be up for reading any of these, in order of excitement.

Stranger in the Shogun's City: A Japanese Woman and Her World - 352 pages

Another Kyoto - 336 pages

The Inland Sea - 288 pages

A Brief History of the Samurai: The Way of Japan's Elite Warriors - 356 pages

Lost Japan - 256 pages

The Bells of Old Tokyo: Meditations on Time and a City - 352 pages

I find this one really interesting, but I know myself and I won't stick with a nonfiction book over 450 pages: Japan Story: In Search of a Nation, 1850 to the Present - 528 pages

My struggle, Bill, is that you're often ready to drop everything and read a nonfiction within a couple of weeks of agreeing on one, which I heartily admire. I can only read 5 - 6 nonfiction books (that aren't graphic novels) per year, realistically, so I need to space them out and have several weeks in between, notwithstanding my deep interest in the subject matter. I'm overextended in terms of reading commitments in multiple groups - online and offline, which is my bad.

Stranger is at my library, so I'm putting it on hold now in hopes we can read it together.

I'm sorry I gave the impression of dropping everything to start a new non-fiction book. What I'd like to do is try (by consensus rather than voting) to find a book a few of us want to read. After that, we can schedule to start it when it's convenient for people. Starting it too early would mean fewer readers and fewer comments, and we don't want that.

If people choose to read A Brief History of the Samurai, I'll be happy to provide comments from other books I've read on the samurai era as topics come up, but I don't really need another book on the subject.

Bill wrote: "I'm sorry I gave the impression of dropping everything to start a new non-fiction book. What I'd like to do is try (by consensus rather than voting) to find a book a few of us want to read. After t..."

There's nothing to be sorry for, Bill. I'm sensitive as someone with ADHD that I am letting people down when I can't join when I said I would, etc. and when my reading commitments become a source of shame I roll my eyes at myself since this is supposed to be the fun part of my life.

It's all good.

Well I don't know if this works as a starting place but why not have the Stanley with me, Bill and Carol, the Bells with me and Lucy, and the Ritchie with me and Bill (definitely) because it covers one of Bill's books and makes it fair in terms of the lists of possibilities so far, but Carol would be happy to read it too. Does that sound okay? Fair? The only thing would then be to iron out dates. BUT if doesn't sound fair/okay I'm flexible.

Alwynne wrote: "Well I don't know if this works as a starting place but why not have the Stanley with me, Bill and Carol, the Bells with me and Lucy, and the Ritchie with me and Bill (definitely) because it covers..."

Let's set up threads for all 3 in either the Buddy Reads or Book Club folder (I don't care, you pick) and see, yes, how the proposed dates work out. I own Inland Sea, can get Stranger from the library and will buy Bells. This is awesome, Alwynne. Thank you.

@Carol

I've leave it to you to pick the start dates for these three books, when you think you can get to them.

Bill wrote: "@Carol

I've leave it to you to pick the start dates for these three books, when you think you can get to them."

@Bill, Alwynne, Lucy - thoughts?

Stranger - Jan 10?
Bells - Alwynne and Lucy - what works best for you?
Inland Sea - March 5?

The dates for stranger and the Ritchie are fine with me, Lucy any ideas about when you'd like to tackle Bells?

I'm reading Every Human Intention: Japan in the New Century right now, if anyone wants to join me.

Alwynne wrote: "The dates for stranger and the Ritchie are fine with me, Lucy any ideas about when you'd like to tackle Bells?"
Anytime is good for me, but I will suggest February. I would also like to join in with Stranger and Inland Sea - all the books look really interesting. Thank you for organising this.

The more, the merrier, Lucy!

Great that works for me too.

Here are the links to the discussion threads of each of the 3 books mentioned above. All members are welcome to join.

Stranger in the Shogun's City - Starts 10 Jan
/topic/show/...

Bells of Old Tokyo - starts 5 Feb

/topic/show/...

The Inland Sea - starts 5 March
/topic/show/...

The Inland Sea looks very appealing -- also the film made based on the same premise.

Jon wrote: "The Inland Sea looks very appealing -- also the film made based on the same premise."

I just learned about the film, Jon - definitely agree.

Thanks for setting up all these threads Carol.

Alwynne wrote: "Thanks for setting up all these threads Carol."

Bill was way ahead of me; I just connect the dots, but thank you.

I only added the ones I proposed.

I got an email from Stone Bridge Press to alert me to this upcoming online event run by the Japan Society of Boston to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 'The Inland Sea'. The details are below for (free) registration, the event is on 8th December:



Given it's on the list for March I thought some of you might be interested :)

Alan wrote: "I got an email from Stone Bridge Press to alert me to this upcoming online event run by the Japan Society of Boston to celebrate the 50th anniversary of 'The Inland Sea'. The details are below for ..."

I saw that, Alan, and it sounds great. So glad you shared it here.

I saw this tweet today (@nick_kapur) and wondered if any of y'all have read one or more of the mentioned non-fiction books and recommend or don't recommend them.



Medicated Empire: The Pharmaceutical Industry and Modern Japan by Timothy M. Yang

The Company and the Shogun: The Dutch Encounter with Tokugawa Japan by Adam Clulow

Post-Fascist Japan: Political Culture in Kamakura after the Second World War by Laura Hein

Science for the Empire: Scientific Nationalism in Modern Japan by Hiromi Mizuno

Reassessing Japan's Cold War: Ikeda Hayato's Foreign Politics and Proactivism During the 1960s by Oliviero Frattolillo

The Japanese Discovery of Chinese Fiction: The Water Margin and the Making of a National Canon by William C. Hedberg

Author, Chris Glenn, has repackaged a book he wrote several years ago (The Battle of Sekigahara) into a version with a never-ending title and better cover: The Battle of Sekigahara: The Greatest, Bloodiest, Most Decisive Samurai Battle Ever. I'm interested, and the below Japan Times article inspires a certain amount of confidence. Does anyone want to read later this year?

I can't give up on a lost cause. Maybe we can get this non-fiction reading going again.

Several years ago I read the first volume of Shuichi Kato's History of Japanese Literature and thought it was great. But I've never gotten around to reading the second and third volumes. Volume 2 is on the Edo period, and volume 3 is on Meiji and later.

Does this spark anyone's interest? I doubt these books have to be read in order (though I wouldn't object if people wanted to start with volume 1).

I might be inclined. I have been somewhat in a deep pit of Augustan Rome lately..

Bill, I read books on Japanese Literary history, usually in parallel with readings to fill in the many gaps in my reading. I have the History of Japanese Literature Series.
Currently I am working through Keene’s Travelers of a Hundred Ages and McKinney’s cross sections of travel writing, Travels with a Writing Brush. My reading is mostly concentrated on Classical through Kamakura periods although the June monthly read is outside of my normal area.

Jack, it looks like we read a lot of the same stuff!

Which History of Japanese Literature? I've read History of Japanese Literature, vol 1, and have vol 2 on my to-read pile. I've also greatly enjoyed Travelers of a Hundred Ages ! Though those are all the literary history books I recall. I get most of my literary history from Japanese history books and from the long introductions at the front of translations of classical Japanese literature.

I try to read all the classical Japanese literature I can find in English, though most of it is out of print. I've been lucky to find most of what I looked for used at a reasonable price. Most recently I was reading the Hamamatsu Chunagon Monogatari , which I think is an interesting counterpoint to the character of Genji in the Genji Monogatari.

Bill, I am on travel for a few day to see the Hokusai exhibit at the Boston MFA, an Ozu Yasujiro film at the Harvard archive ( I hope to see Hijosen no onna, “Dragnet Girl��), and maybe working in the “The 15th Quilt Nihon�� at the New England Quilt Museum.

I also like Keene’s �� Traveler’s of a Hundred Ages�� and his �� Seeds of the Heart��. Other Literature history in my reading are Shūichi Katō, A History of Japanese Literature - The First Thousand Years, and Meredith McKinney’s “Travels with a Writing Brush��. I am currently reading that on this trip. I am enjoying her slice through a broad selection of works to concentrate on the travel journaling. It gives me a sense of cutting through time a place and the connecting of various writers through history.

Regards, Jack

Bill wrote: "Is anyone interested in non-fiction group reads about Japan, particularly history? I could nominate a few that are gathering dust on my to-read shelf."

Yes!

DoctorM wrote: "Bill wrote: "Is anyone interested in non-fiction group reads about Japan, particularly history? I could nominate a few that are gathering dust on my to-read shelf."

Yes!"

DoctorM, a few of us have enjoyed non-fiction group reads. I am currently reading history around the Meiji time and was planning to read Donald Keene’s Meiji biography next. My other area of current non-fiction is about Noh theater and also its impact on western performance arts.

What areas are you interested in for a new non-fiction read?
- Jack

DoctorM, I would love to read non-fiction. Both history, or arts like Kabuki, Noh, Bunraku...

With so many people voting for our normal monthly reads now, maybe it's time to try a monthly non-fiction read again.

Should we do that in parallel? I always have 1 nonfiction going.

I see no reason not to do it in parallel. Some people only read fiction, and I expected if we put fiction and non-fiction in the same poll, fiction will win every time.

ok, should I do a nomination for non-fiction post to do a poll from that or something less formal. (anyone can comment on this)

I would do any the formal one, to see how many of the 150+ plus people currently voting are also interested in non-fiction reads.

Bill wrote: "I would do any the formal one, to see how many of the 150+ plus people currently voting are also interested in non-fiction reads."

Ok, i will set it up just after the close out of the current poll today..

I'd be interested in a non-fiction read, although I'm very picky when it comes to non-fiction so whether I join or not reallllyyy depends on which book wins ;-)

please nominate something you would like to read when this is set up. I will post this after the fiction group read is cleaned up for Dec/Jan

I think the reason non-fiction reads rarely succeed is that we have a hard time finding a book everyone wants to read. We're all picky about non-fiction.

We should approach non-fiction nominations differently, given how picky people are (with good reason).

I'll suggest this:
1- Let people nominate as many books as they want
2- Any book with two or more nominations goes into the poll

I am going through my unread non-fiction books that I have or have easy access to. I created a new GR shelf for myself “j-nf-tbr�� to try to organize them�� I will get back to that this afternoon. Then narrow down to a few that are readily available and not expensive.

I'll do similarly. Make a list of the ones I have on the shelf, see which are in print and how expensive they are.