The Tale of Genji20 reviews Murasaki Shikibu, Edward G. Seidensticker Knopf, 1978 The purple wisteria blooms only for me + The best Genji yet + Ketrice Evans review + The Tale of Genji             Secret Rendezvous6 reviews Kobo Abe Vintage, 2002 The labyrinth of a Hospital + weird, but good + A Japanese "Kafka" at His Best + A sort of pseudo-Freudian sex nightmare...             Spring Snow43 reviews Yukio Mishima Vintage, 1990 the beauty and destructive power of all-consuming love + Romeo and Juliet, Japanese version + Mishima's Masterpiece: Forbidden Love and the Reincarnation of Kiyoaki Matsugae. + Spring Snow             Unbeaten Tracks in Japan: The Firsthand Experiences of a British Woman in Outback Japan in 18781 review Isabella L. Bird Japan & Stuff Press, 2006 Engrossing-- a must read for travel-lovers and Japanophiles Isabella Bird's firsthand account of the Japanese countryside and its inhabitants is fascinating for its detailed description of nature and is full of interesting observations of the customs and characteristics of both the Japanese and Ainu people. Isabella Bird deliberately chose to avoid the main ...             The Face of Another8 reviews Kobo Abe Vintage, 2003 Great! + A face to meet the faces that we meet... + The absurdity is almost a character. + 5-stars for the eerie film version by master director Hiroshi Teshigahara + Suspenseful with a mind boggling affect!             The Ruined Map: A Novel5 reviews Kobo Abe Vintage, 2001 One of Kobo Abe's finest writings + Truly mind-bending! Kobo Abe, one of the greatest surrealistic novelists, liked to depict, with the precise calculation and unconstrained freedom of mind that Picasso gave his work, entangled and precarious relatiionships between an individual and the society to which he "belongs". In "The Ruined Map", Kobo Abe casts ...             The Kabuki Theatre of Japan A. C. Scott Dover Publications, 1999 One of the most comprehensive handbooks available on Kabuki theatre provides readers with all the information they need to understand and appreciate this exciting amalgam of dramatic and musical arts. A clear and thoughtfully written text describes the theater’s development in the context of Japanese history, with detailed analyses of actors’ techniques, music and dance, plays and ...             The Box Man: A Novel9 reviews Kobo Abe Vintage, 2001 It's hip to be square... + Soul of the Minimalistic Realism Having put off reading this book until I moved back to Tokyo I'd say the box man mentality fits nicely with foreigners trying to understand Japan. Someone first descibed living in Tokyo to me like floating in a warm bubble. Unless you speak the language or fit in culturally you'll always be a ...             The Decay of the Angel11 reviews Yukio Mishima Vintage, 1990 Staggering + A fine last volume leading up to a nihilistic but utterly fascinating ending. + A fine last volume leading up to a nihilistic but utterly fascinating ending. + Sea of Silence ... + brilliant             The Obituary Arrives at Two O'Clock1 review Shizuko Natsuki Ballantine Books, 1988 Murder in Modern Japan So many goodies of modern Japan are here: golf courses, greed, love, debt, family honor, Western style consumerism, fraud, and murder. I enjoyed this mystery of a golf course scheme gone really bad. The creepy little twist at the end wasn't half bad. I understand this author is very popular in ...             Thousand Cranes20 reviews Yasunari Kawabata Vintage, 1996 Evanescent Eroticism and Death, the Japanese Forte + Subtle prose, powerful content + Kawabata rocks! + Essence of sublime + Tea without Sympathy             The Makioka Sisters35 reviews Junichiro Tanizaki Vintage, 1995 Outstanding + Family Life in late 1930's Japan + Every Family Has Their Ups and Downs This book is an immediate pleasure to read from the moment a bretrothal is attempted to be found for Yukiko through to the last page. Set just before World War Two, the Makioka family is of an old and fast fading aristocratic line. The world is rapidly changing around them, yet they continue to ...             Murder at Mt.fuji1 review Shizuko Natsuki Ballantine Books, 1987 "Conspiracy at Mount Fuji" This is an absorbing thriller set at Mount Fuji. The drama all takes place over a snowy New Year's weekend, with Japan's most celebrated mountain in the background. The plot is rather intricate and there are some very interesting twists and turns, plausibly recounted by the author (who has been ...             The Narrow Road to Oku (Illustrated Japanese Classics)4 reviews Matsuo Basho Kodansha International, 1997 ...lovely... + A True Work of Art + Simply beautiful + "The Narrow Road To Oku"             The Sound of Waves59 reviews Yukio Mishima Vintage, 1994 The Sound of Waves reveals the genius of Yukio Mishima + A Wonderful Story About Love and Hope + sound of waves , a story of simple life on a Japanese fishing island + Mishima's unseen solitude             Seven Japanese Tales11 reviews Junichiro Tanizaki Vintage, 1996 Another Delightful Book by Tanizaki + Strange and wonderful? + Different Facets of a Gifted Writer + a master storyteller + Memorable yes. . . but not for quality             The Temple of Dawn10 reviews Yukio Mishima Vintage, 1990 Moving, shocking, thought-provoking, and superbly elegantly constructed, the height of the "Sea" so far + A weaker link in Mishima's tetralogy + Moving, shocking, thought-provoking, and superbly elegantly constructed, the height of the "Sea" so far + Sea of Silence ... + Great book, makes you think long after reading it             Beauty and Sadness13 reviews Yasunari Kawabata Vintage, 1996 Revenge + A bleak study of intertwined sexual relationships + Art and suffering + Beauty and Sadness             Snow Country47 reviews Yasunari Kawabata Vintage, 1996 Multi-layered thematic subtlety + Exploration of futile emotion + A Beautiful Story Set In Snow Country + Book Order             Five Women Who Loved Love: Amorous Tales from 17th-century Japan4 reviews Ihara Saikaku Tuttle Publishing, 1989 Lovely + Life is short. Love is long + Loved to death + The Price of Love