Book Description
Written by the master swordsman and undefeated samurai Miyamoto Musashi in 1643, The Book of Five Rings has become a classic on the arts of strategy and confrontation. Musashi's wise and penetrating advice and observations are applicable not only to martial artists but for leaders in all professions; he analyzes the process of struggle and mastery over conflict that underlies every level of human interaction.
In this exquisite illustrated edition, Thomas Cleary's accessible translation and illuminating introduction are enhanced by forty-five full-color illustrations from Japanese sources, including battle scenes, reproductions of fine samurai swords and armor, and art from the Zen tradition (which had a close relationship with the Japanese martial culture).
Also included is Cleary's translation of another important Japanese classic on leadership and strategy: The Book of Family Traditions on the Art of War by Yagyu Munenori, which highlights the ethical and spiritual insights of Taoism and Zen as they apply to the way of the warrior.
Pages 68–69
Pages 94–95
Pages 120–121
Customer Reviews:
Beautiful Book.......2007-05-07
Book was a Gift for a friend that is into Japanese history. The book was packaged so no damage could occur and New & Unique as described. I definately recommend this seller.
Not Enough of Musashi's Art.......2007-05-06
The title led me to hope that the book would contain photographs of Musashi's fine art. It doesn't. It does contain photographs of works by other artists, some of which are quite well done. That fact, however, did not compensate for its complete lack of photographs of Musashi's works, which are at a level above those of all but a few of the most famous Japanese fine artists.
Average customer rating:
- The definitive resource on Japan, wrapped like a candy.
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Japan : An Illustrated Encyclopedia
Kodansha International
Manufacturer: Kodansha, Limited
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 4069310983 |
Book Description
A current and comprehensive source of information on contemporary Japanese society, history, and culture. This monumental work is packed with data on the economy, government, and politics of Japan, as well as articles on Japanese art, culture, and history. In addition to the main entries and over 4,000 fullcolor illustrations, nearly 100 feature articles and pictorial essays expand on subjects of particular interest 4,000 color photos and illustrations 2 million words in 12,000 entries Easy-to-use reader's guide to entries 20 pages of maps 14 page bibliography of major works on Japan Japanese-English bilingual title entries and index
Customer Reviews:
The definitive resource on Japan, wrapped like a candy........1996-10-19
Japan: An llustrated Encyclopedia is a condensed two-volume offspring
of a venerable predecessor. Kodansha first published its 10-volume
Encyclopedia of Japan in 1985. It was a landmark reference work
that immediately made space for itself on the shelves of every major
library in the world. It also became at once the standard by which
all other reference material on Japan is judged.
Illustrated was introduced specifically for homes and libraries that
wished for the wealth of the original in a more manageable format. It
includes high-quality colour photographs, charts, and tables, and raises
the standards of its near-perfect parent to even higher levels. The
text of articles has been taken directly from the parent and this ensures
the same high quality of research.
The articles are written by renowned academics and scholars, Japanese as
well as others. They represent a fair range of points-of-view that lends
objectivity as well as variety to this beautiful and entertaining work.
Some issues, such as Japan's role in the War and the conduct of the war
crimes trial, are approached from a novel standpoint that does justice
to all parties involved.
All in all, Japan: An Illustrated Encyclopedia is as much as can be said,
and as beautifully, about a nation as complex and unique as Japan in two
handy cloth-bound volumes.
Book Description
Samurai: An Illustrated History brings the violent, tumultuous, and, at the same time, elegant world of the medieval Japanese samurai to life. With a general introduction that examines the origins of the samurai and their rise to power, Samurai presents a chronological coverage of samurai history detailing the main battles, personnel, and general themes. Additional chapters are studies of samurai armor and weaponry, fortifications, and the changes in strategy and armor upon the introduction of firearms and cannon. All chapters are illustrated by photographs of battle re-enactments meticulously conducted by the enthusiastic historical re-enactment societies of Japan, and by line drawings of fortifications and armor. Samurai vividly details the long bloody era of the samurai, when sons killed their fathers, brothers attacked their brothers, wives betrayed their husbands and hosts their guests, and the forces of the samurai rulers destroyed those of the emperors and the monasteries. The samurai fought for property, lands, and money, and only rarely for honor--Samurai tells that compelling story with vigor.
Customer Reviews:
Readable overview of the samurai throughout history........2007-07-30
Following some points made by Marc Winter's review, whereas I agree with some of what was said, I disagree on at least three things.
Obviously the recoloured photos that we do have represent only a very narrow slice of time - that time of the absolute dying embers of the Samurai - the thin slice between the relatively late invention of photography and the class' demise in the reformation. However, I too would have liked to have seen more included, though their worth should not be overvalued. There are books that specialise in these posed samurai photos, for what its worth.
This book visually and accurately shows all the historical developments of the armour over time - obviously of which there are no extant photos. If you recheck the book, it *does* have many colour photos, line drawings and ukiyo-e(musha-e) reproductions of historical armour and more.
It's an exaggeration to say this is poor scholarship, it is not an academic text admittedly (and often that's a very good thing), but reenactment photos or not, is an accurate and in depth overview of samurai history.
Great illustrations.......2006-11-10
Best illustrated english text on Japan's Samurai. Covers most topics giving enough general info to satisfy the casual student of this genre. Amazon has the BEST price on this book!
Excellent for Japanese Samurai historians.......2005-07-05
The pictures and documentation on the Samurai in ths book are great. It is a gerat coffee table book and is really a great find.
Buy it for the pictures.......2005-01-05
I agree with Marc Winter's review. I had hoped that the book would contain old photographs of samurai with artificial coloring, but instead, the book was filled with modern day photographs. Nonetheless, I enjoyed looking through the book. The pictures make good reference material for conceptual, illustrative artwork, which is why I bought the book in the first place. It could have used more pictures to make up for its lack of authenticity, but I was happy with the numerous photographs provided.
The written-text is an interesting read as well. It discusses many different aspects of samurai, such as their overall history, military strategies, fashion trends of certain periods, weaponry, how to put on armor, etc. The book contains a good number of fun facts as well. It's not a heavy read, but it's very detailed.
Poor scholarship without historical pictures .......2004-12-17
This is a coffes table book at its best: nice format, high quality paper and illustrations, thus the two stars.
The contents though are mainly photos from a Japanese festival where modern day Japanese history buffs wear reproductions of uniforms. There are no historic armors, the historic swords are only depicted in the sheaths, and the old photo of the warrior on the front is the only historic photo.
So you get a fair idea about today's reception of Samurai period Japan among Japan's clerks, but there is more to a warrior than the clothes - the look in their eyes for instance. Imagine a history of the Civil War with no pictures from the 1860, but rather only photos taken at the re-enactment that takes place in Gettysburg every once in a while.
The text written around the pictures is not very high standard scholarship, but rather "history lessons for foreigners", which really is not so surprising, since the author is a surgeon. Not baldy written, but sort of what you get from the introductory section of a well-written travel guide (more detailled though).
Customer Reviews:
Anybody interested in Japanese culture..........2005-06-28
...will find a treasure-trove of information in this wonderful book. The nobles had Noh, the commoners had Kabuki. Noh is tragic, intense, and performed with no scenery. Kabuki is melodramatic (when it isn't funny), diffuse, and depends on elaborate costume and scenery changes, some so entertaining they're done while the audience watches.
On the Left Coast, when most people hear "Japanese Art," they think of the Zen-influenced sumi ink painting, calligraphy, the cha-ya-nu ceremony, and ikebana. A tour through this book shows that much of Japanese art is unrestrained, brash, colorful, and fun.
I'm an old Japanese woodblock print collector and can vouch for the excellence of the prints used to illustrate every story. If you are a Westerner going to see your first Kabuki, this book is the authoritative source for understanding not only 85 separate Kabuki plays, but the whole wonderful set of conventions that have been built up around it.
The publisher has a catalog of Japanese and Asian art books which range from the terrific to the merely splendid.
illustrated study of Kabuki theater.......2005-03-01
The large, coffee-table quality book offers a particularly engaging, different way to learn about the kabuki theater that has long been an integral part of Japanese society. With full-color pictures of Japanese woodcuts on nearly every page, it's really an art book on kabuki. One aspect of the woodcuts relating to the theater are woodcuts of actors. These testify to the important place of kabuki in Japanese society, while they sometimes served as a sort of publicity. Besides offering a multi-dimensional treatment covering origins and evolution, playwrights and actors, the yearly cycle of kabuki, costumes, staging, and music, the work is also a lifelong reference--with its six indexes for instance. The Dutch authors are steeped in the subject from extensive research and attraction to Japanese prints. Thirty-seven kabuki dramas are reviewed with casts of characters, narratives of story lines, appropriate woodcuts, and endnotes and references.
Book Description
An Illustrated History of Japanis a riveting account highlighting some of the most important events in Japanese history. This book is suitable for all ages and a must-read for those interested in a pictorial overview of this economic and cultural powerhouse.
Book Description
Music, poetry, the visual arts, literature, and theater have played a vital part in Japanese society. But, although Japanese artists, musicians, actors, and authors have written much over the centuries about the creation, meaning, and appreciation of these various arts, most of these works are scattered among countless hard-to-find sources or make only a fleeting appearance in books devoted to other subjects. Compiled in this volume is a wealth of original material on Japanese arts and culture from the prehistoric era to the Meiji Restoration (1867). These carefully selected sources, including many translated here for the first time, are placed in their historical context and outfitted with brief commentaries, allowing the reader to make connections to larger concepts and values found in Japanese culture.
Although the book focuses on the visual and literary arts, it contains material on topics not easily classified in Western categories, such as the martial and culinary arts, the art of tea, and flower arranging. More than 60 color and black and white illustrations enrich the collection and provide further insights into Japanese artistic and cultural values. Included as well are a bibliography of English-language and Japanese sources and an extensive list of suggested further readings.
Traditional Japanese Arts and Culture offers an authentic look at the conceptual richness, diversity, and continuity of the Japanese cultural traditions. Rather than impose a thick layer of interpretation, this inspired and diverse collection allows the original writers and artists to speak directly to people in all areas of Japanese studies interested in what lies beneath the surface of Japanese arts and culture.
Book Description
In the Buddhist parable of the ox herder, a herdsman's search for his missing ox is likened to an individual's journey toward enlightenment. Buddhist masters composed this parable, whose origins reach as far back as the literature of ancient India, to guide students of Buddhism in their spiritual journeys. The Ox Herder: A Zen Parable Illustrated presents the earliest known Japanese handscroll illustrating the parable and the only one with paintings in color. Unlike many early Japanese handscrolls and books, it is intact, from its preface explaining the basic tenets of Buddhism to its signed inscription dated 1278.
Extremely popular among Zen Buddhists in medieval Japan, "The Ten Ox Herding Songs," as the parable is best known, divides the herder's journey into ten stages, each illustrated by a circularly framed image accompanied by a four-line poem. The paintings, rendered in the graceful traditional manner of Japanese narrative illustration, show the progress of the ox herder (a seeker of truth) toward enlightenment (the ox). Appearing with the ten pictures are the preface and the ten songs that accompany the images, both in the original and in translation, and the final inscription. Stephanie Wada's introduction traces the history of the Zen and ox-and-herdboy theme in Japan, and discusses the importance of this particular work within Japanese Zen Buddhist painting.
For students of Zen Buddhism, of Japanese art, and seekers of truth from all walks of life, The Ox Herder: A Zen Parable Illustrated offers ancient lessons of spiritual growth and beauty. 10 color and 15 b/w illustrations.
Average customer rating:
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Encyclopedia of Japanese Descendants in the Americas: An Illustrated History of the Nikkei
Kikumura-Yano Akemi
Manufacturer: AltaMira Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover
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ASIN: 0759101493 |
Book Description
The Encyclopedia is the first comprehensive guide to the history of Japanese immigrants in the western hemisphere. It is the story of the Nikkei (people of Japanese descent and their descendants) from early immigration to the present, as they settle
Average customer rating:
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Japanese History (Kodansha Bilingual Books)
Japanese Illustrated Encyclopedia
Manufacturer: Kodansha Europe
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
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ASIN: 4770020244 |
Book Description
From 1603 to 1868, the city of Edo was the seat of power of the Tokugawa shogunate and the political center of Japan. In 1868 the city was renamed Tokyo and made the official capital of the nation. Both literally and figuratively, present-day Tokyo rests upon the foundations of Edo, and much of what is now thought of as traditional Japanese culture (woodblock prints, kabuki, sumo, haiku poetry) found its final form in Edo. In this book, through over 200 black and white drawings and an insightful text, old Edo is brought vividly to life -- its planning, its construction, and the cultural energy that made it one of the most exciting, and populous, cities on the face of the earth.
Customer Reviews:
Visual Feast.......2005-04-10
Originally published in Japanese in 1982, Naito's book attempts to outline the early rise of Edo, from 1603-1867, the period when the city served as the capital of the Shogun. These were the military leaders who in theory served the Emperor in Kyoto, but who in practice ran the country. This period gave birth to much of what is now considered to be the core of Japanese culture: kabuki, ukiyoe, geisha, sumo, and the haiku poets. When Japan was finally forced to open to the outside world by Admiral Perry and his Black ships, at the very end of the book, Tokyo was the largest city in the world.
Naito has organized his text chronologically, with much commentary on the construction of the Imperial Palace and land reclamation projections on and around Tokyo Bay. He also provides simple primers on the class system in effect-warriors, farmers, artisans, and merchants-and the slow rise of the commoners.
Perhaps inevitably, the text has a Greatest Hits feel to it. 250 years of history of one of the world's great cities cannot possible be conveyed with much depth in 200-odd pages. Also, the omission of some of the more unsavory aspects of Tokyo's history-organized crime, the untouchable class, etc.-leaves the reader with a rather sanitized version of the city. However, the book has something for everyone: the opening sections on urban design, kabuki, riots, storms, artisans, festivals, gangs, etc.-and all packaged in short, delectable bite-size bits.
Average customer rating:
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Clip Art Physics
Future Graph
Manufacturer: Future Graph
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Diskette
Clip Art
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ASIN: 1886943281 |
Books:
- The Illustrated Rumi: A Treasury of Wisdom from the Poet of the Soul
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- The Last King of Scotland
- The Lost Men: The Harrowing Saga of Shackleton's Ross Sea Party
- The Medieval Fortress: Castles, Forts and Walled Cities of the Middle Ages
- The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (Barnes & Noble C: An American Slave (Barnes & Noble Classics)
- The Official Red Book a Guide Book of Buffalo and Jefferson Nickels: Complete Source for History, Grading, and Values (Official Red Book)
- The Reader's Digest Children's Atlas of the World (RD Children's Atlas)
- The Real Vikings : Craftsmen, Traders, and Fearsome Raiders
- The Sanskrit Language: An Introductory Grammar and Reader. Revised Edition
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