Category: Japan
The End of August — Yu Miri
Gold Rush — Miri Yu
The Art of Peace — Morihei Ueshiba
An interesting look at the life, teachings and philosophy of the creator of Aikido.
It gets all rather Zen in the later pages, it’s rather good food for thought.
Morihei’s Page
#zen #japan #moriheiueshiba
Ikigai — Yukari Mitsuhashi
A really interesting book, well written and full of ideas for how you might find your own ikigai.
A lot of people could benefit from reading this book instead of wandering mindlessly from cradle to grave.
Yukari’s Page
#japan #yukarimitsuhashi
How to Live Japanese — Yutaka Yazawa
An interesting read for those of us who enjoy all things Japanese.
It goes back and forward between the past and the present, giving us historic reasons for modern Japanese culture, and also how foreign influences have creeped in over the years as well.
Yutaka’s Page
#japan #yutakayazawa
Four Seasons in Japan — Nick Bradley
Before We Say Goodbye — Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The fourth book from this rather enjoyable series: at least it had been rather enjoyable up to this book. But i’m beginning to feel that Toshikazu is beginning to get a bit repetitive and the cafe is beginning to become a little stale.
I think that Toshikazu is simply rushing out books and not really making any effort to create something new and interesting, which is a shame. I really feel that what this series needs is for Toshikazu to just put it down for a while and not come back to it until he has something new and interesting to bring to the cafe.
That’s my thoughts on the matter, it really doesn’t need to be ruined to meet a deadline, either with the publisher or with Toshikazu’s bank account.
Bye for now.
Toshikazu’s Page
#scifi #japan #toshikazukawaguchi
Before Your Memory Fades — Toshikazu Kawaguchi
The third book in the Before The Coffee Gets Cold series, and what a great book.
If you haven’t read any of this series yet then i really, whole heartedly, suggest you get back to the beginning and give them a go. The time-travelling-chair-in-a-cafe really is such a great story telling device, especially with the rules that come along with it.
And it’s in those rules that the stories shine. The main one being that you cannot change anything in the present by going back to the past. This rule really does sort the wheat from the chaff and creates stories that are deep and meaningful for all of us.
This third book takes us away from the first cafe to another cafe in Japan with it’s own chair and ghost. The owner has gone away so some of the crew from Tokyo have taken over because only a female over the age of 7 years, from their family, can pour the coffee.
A lot of this book is about death, and how we all deal with the death of a loved one, and the ending is incredible: Toshikazu really nailed the ending, it’s so perfect and so moving. It’s not often that my eyes get soggy at the end of a book, but this one did it perfectly. While the whole book is really good, it’s only when you get to the ending that you realise that it’s all been about building up the ending, where Toshikazu brings everything to a perfectly sharp focus.
And don’t forget, the next book in the series, Before We Say Goodbye, is coming out in September 2023, so be sure to put that in your diary.
Bye for now.
Toshikazu’s Page
#scifi #japan #toshikazukawaguchi
Musashi’s Dokkodo — Miyamoto Musashi
Just before Musashi died, he wrote a set of precepts for his favourite student. In this book the precepts are discussed one by one by five martial artists from different backgrounds and careers.
A really good look at Musashi and his ideas with five different interpretations of both the man, the legend and his precepts.
A must read for those of us who are interested in Japanese culture, especially from the feudal era.
Bye for now.