Japan

Like a traveller in search of enlightenment, Elizabeth Ingrams has tracked down a wealth of writers who have turned their attention to these enigmatic islands. From the earliest European reports of Japan's sophisticated court culture, to eyewitness accounts of the explosion of the atom bomb at Nagasaki and of street life in present-day Ginza, she builds a complex picture of the islands and their people, their refined culture and religious beliefs as well as their changing lifestyles.Exploring the country topographically, she begins in Tokyo, returning to the main island and its once inaccessible northern extremity via the distant islands of Okinawa and Hokkaido. Between these covers lie Pico Iyer's account of the rigours of training to become a Zen Buddhist monk in Kyoto, Nicolas Bouvier's reminiscences of living in a down-at-heel district of Tokyo in the 1950s, extracts from Basho's masterly Narrow Road to the Deep North and from Yukio Mishima's meditation on Japan, The Temple of the Golden Pavillion.
Written for "Japanophiles" or anyone wanting to know more about Japanese culture and geography, this anthology features writers' perspectives on such topics as the earliest European visitors, eyewitness accounts of the explosion of the atomic bombs and contemporary views on culture, religion and constantly changing lifestyles. Editor Ingrams is an author and journalist who now lives in Japan, and she has collected pieces from such noted writers as Yukio Mishima, Matsuo Basho, Angela Carter and Jan Morris and arranges them in geographic sections. The editor also includes an introductory essay on her own experiences in Japan and provides appendices that offer a timeline of historical events and biographies of the authors. Annotation ©2009 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Extracts of prose, poetry and novels from a rich variety of writers; the most recent addition to Eland's Through Writers' Eyes series.
From the present-day street life of Ginza, to the heights of Mount Fuji in the company of 16th-century traveler and poet Basho: the most recent addition to Eland's Through Writers' Eyes series brings together a chorus of voices from Japan and across the globe. Extracts of prose, poetry and novels from a rich variety of writers, including Jan Morris, Nicolas Bouvier, Oswald Wynd, Peter Popham, Basho, Yasunari Kawabata, Alan Booth, Futabei Shimei, Angela Carter, Joao Rodrigues and Mary Crawford Fraser.
From the present-day street life of Ginza, to the heights of Mount Fuji in the company of 16th-century traveller and poet Basho, this work brings together a chorus of voices from Japan and across the globe. It is a source book for those visiting Japan for the first time and for expatriates.