We lay this little book at the Feet of Sensei, a Yogi in a track-suit. Who has sat with great patience on many boulders with us and even lifting the boulders that have sat on us. A man of pure integrity, whose selfless service to humanity has guided many a person back to their path.
This book examines the complex relationship between gender and class among Japanese tea ceremony (chadō) practitioners in Japan. It argues that chadō has a cultural, economic, social and symbolic value and is used as a tool to improve gender and class equality.
When a California surfer turned teacher takes a second chance at marriage, he not only marries his bride's family but her nation, Japan. This story follows the trials and tribulations amid the culture shock of a middle-aged couple as well as the challenges facing a small foreign community working at an English immersion school in Numazu, Japan. After fifteen years of single life, former California surfer turned teacher, Will Mast, marries the coquettish Yumiko Hirota, an English teacher from Gotemba, Japan. Will takes a job at a prestigious English immersion school and quickly gets into trouble from his lack of knowledge of Japanese ways. Will commits one faux pas after another while eating at the family restaurant and attending a tea ceremony conducted by Yumiko's father, the tradition-loving, kendo-wielding master chef, Hirota Akihiro-san. At first seeming to be a simple tale of a cross-cultural marriage, one finds oneself immersed in the many layers of cultural interaction that America and Japan have faced, from Commodore Perry's Black Ships to the dropping of the bomb in Hiroshima. Weeks' first novel, Gaijin Teacher; Foreign Sensei, captures the courage, humor, embarrassments, idiosyncrasies, and tragedies of these special individuals as they interact with traditional Japanese culture.
This book provides a comprehensive introduction to chado, the Japanese tea ceremony. Unlike other books on the subject, which focus on practice or historical background or specific issues, this book considers the subject from multiple perspectives. It discusses Japanese aesthetics and philosophy, outlines how the tea ceremony has developed, emphasizing its strong links to Zen Buddhism and the impact of other religion influences, and examines how chado reflects traditional gender and social status roles in Japan. It goes on to set out fully the practice of chado, exploring dress, utensils, location – the garden and the tea house – and the tea itself and accompanying sweets. Throughout, the book is illustrated both with images and with examples of practice. The book will be of interest to a wide range of people interested in chado – university professors and students, tourists and people interested in traditional Japanese arts.
This is the account of the experiences of a farm boy from the western prairie and a girl from the Bronx. These two spent 35 years in Japan. No two societies could be more different This is the story of their struggle to understand, their mistakes, the humorous situations they find themselves in, all against the background of the American occupation and the Korean conflict next door. It contrasts American and Japanese life and tells the story of many courageous Japanese and their response to life situations. It tells of their being ushered in to meet the Emperor and of his kind words of thanks. It is the account of the trip from culture shock to true bi-cultural living.
Part Samurai history, part martial arts guide, this is THE book for anyone interested in Japan's fabled Samurai culture. Author Alexander Bennett is the ultimate insider--holding multiple black belts in Kendo and Naginata, as well as a Ph.D. in Japanese literature and history. In this book he shares his vast personal experience and knowledge with readers seeking to undertake their own personal quest in the Japanese martial arts. Bennett outlines the Japanese history of Bushido and the Samurai--from early times up until the present. Then, as only someone steeped in this world can, he surveys the contemporary martial arts scene and provides the essential knowledge young foreigners need to find a teacher and learn successfully. Unlike any other book on this subject, Japan The Ultimate Samurai Guide is written by a Japanese speaker who has studied and taught martial arts in Japan for many decades. Chapters include: The Real Samurai The Concept of Bushido Development of the Japanese Martial Arts Martial Arts Masters You Should Know About Budo in Japan Today Key Martial Arts Concepts Life in a Japanese Dojo A Japan Survival Guide Written in a down-to-earth and easy-to-read style, this book will captivate anyone interested in Japan, as well as martial arts teachers and practitioners around the world. With both history and humor, this vividly illustrated book has a more personal touch than many (for example, read up on "Fifteen Famous Japanese Cultural Indiosyncrasies" and Bennett's favorite martial arts movies). As Bennett says, "This book is supposed to be genuinely from the heart. Without the pretense…misconceptions or romantization that often accompanies martial arts."
Two women. Two cultures. One music. The word sensei in Japanese literally means “one who came before,” but that’s not what Janet Pocorobba’s teacher wanted to be called. She used her first name, Western-style. She wore a velour Beatles cap and leather jacket, and she taught foreigners, in English, the three-stringed shamisen, an instrument that fell out of tune as soon as you started to play it. Vexed by the music and Sensei’s mission to upend an elite musical system, Pocorobba, on the cusp of thirty, gives up her return ticket home to become a lifelong student of her teacher. She is eventually featured in Japan Cosmo as one of the most accomplished gaijin, “outside people,” to play the instrument. Part memoir, part biography of her Sensei, The Fourth String looks back on the initial few years of that apprenticeship, one that Janet’s own female English students advised her was “wife training,” steeped in obedience, loyalty, and duty. Even with her maverick teacher, Janet is challenged by group hierarchies, obscure traditions, and the tricky spaces of silence in Japanese life.
By combining anthropological observation with historical examination of the tea ceremony, this book radically revises mainstream discourses surrounding women and the tea ceremony in Japan.
First Published in 1996. The quickest way to understand another culture is through its language. This is because language is a living thing, an everchanging system of words and meanings that mirrors the society that it describes and defines. This is the background to the writing of Japanese Business Language. Having recognized the persistent difficulties foreign executives in Japan have in understanding Japanese business practices and being equally well aware of the difficulties Japanese executives abroad experience in trying to explain their ways to foreigners, the Mitsubishi Corporation compiled a reference work of key Japanese business terms rendered and explained in English, for the use of its own clients and executives.