#nonficnov
Click on the logo to see the detailed schedule
Be The Expert/Ask the Expert/Become the Expert
hosted by Rennie of What’s Nonfiction
Three ways to join in this week!
You can either share 3 or more books
on a single topic that you have read and can recommend (be the expert),
you can put the call out for good nonfiction on a specific topic
that you have been dying to read (ask the expert),
or you can create your own list of books
on a topic that you’d like to read (become the expert).
This year, two of the nonfiction books I have read are about Japan.
I would love to go there one day, plus I have a couple of friends living there, which would help navigate in a country with a totally different language.
Alas, I’m too old to learn Japanese.
And with Covid and other things, I will probably never be able to visit.
So, it’s the perfect time to ask experts here about Japan.
Please share with me any nonfiction title you have read about Japan:
its landscapes, birds, history, culture, food, whatever, I want them all!
ありがとうございました
HAVE YOU READ ANY NONFICTION BOOK
ON JAPAN?
PLEASE SHARE THEM HERE
Words And Peace 
Great post! This is such a great idea to swap book titles on Japan. I also would love to know what others would recommend. I love Japan and dream of going there too one day. It has such a fascinating culture. I am not sure if you read, but I recommend the books by Alex Kerr. He goes into all the nuances of the culture, and I particularly enjoyed his book Another Kyoto. Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows is a slim “must-read” essay on Japanese aesthetics too. Recently, I have also finished Home Life in Tokyo by Jukichi Inouye. This is very old and dense book, but it was totally fascinating to read how families lived in Tokyo in 1910.
LikeLiked by 1 person
wow, thanks so so much!
You did it: I just added Another Kyoto and Home Life in Tokyo to my TBR.
In Praise of Shadows is actually already on my list, I had forgotten!
LikeLiked by 2 people
I second Tanizaki’s In Praise of Shadows. A tremendous view into the zen aesthetic of his time. I’ll certainly look into Another Kyoto and am surprised to be unfamiliar with Alex Kerr, as a Literary researcher of Kyoto myself. Excited about this one! Home Life sits eager to be read on my desk at the moment Inouye is lovely. Thanks for the recommendations!
LikeLiked by 2 people
These are all books recommended to me. I’m so glad i asked recommendations on that topic
LikeLiked by 1 person
Where the Dead Pause and the Japanese Say Goodbye is about a Japanese-American woman visiting Japan after the reactor meltdown
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, never heard of! The combo between the Buddhist temple and Fukushima sounds intriguing
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, I’m I’m unfamiliar with Dead Pause, looking into this ASAP!
LikeLike
Glad you discovered something new here
LikeLiked by 1 person
I have read plenty of fiction set in Japan. Don’t think I have read any nonfiction. Thus I am not an expert!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Same here, so much Japanese fiction, classics and modern
LikeLiked by 1 person
Many great pieces, I’m especially fond of the court literature of the Heian Period. Some acting as “novels” when really autobiographical , such the Tale of Genji, the Tale of the Heike, and my favorite, Sei Shonagon’s Pillow Book
LikeLike
I definitely want to dig deeper into these
LikeLiked by 1 person
I read Children of the Atomic Bomb by James N. Yamazaki many years ago. It was a bit dry but devastating from memory. I hope others can recommend some great reads for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
thanks. sounds indeed tough
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hope you get some good suggestions! I’m racking my brain but I really have a blind spot on Japan. The only thing that came to mind right away was The Hare with the Amber Eyes, but it’s a tenuous connection, just through the ceramic figurines that lead the author back to researching the family history. They’re a form of Japanese culture called netsuke. It’s a really interesting book, but I know not exactly what you’re looking for. Fingers crossed some other bloggers come through for you!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks! I have heard about tis book, but never thought there was a connection with Japan!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s not a massive connection, but closest I could think of from my limited reading! Might give you interesting artistic perspective, though!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks!
LikeLike
Yes! Netsuke is a fascinating aesthetic. Quite charming and insightful to worldview of 17th-18th century Japan 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for confirming how good this is
LikeLiked by 1 person
I like Japanese fiction, but I can’t think of any nonfiction books. I too have ambitions of going to Japan one day. Fingers crossed, you’ll find some great literature and I am sure you’ll manage to visit – the vaccine should be on its way 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Some experts have really been helping here, as you can see in the other comments. I love Japanese fiction as well, and hoping to see yu during the Jan-March Japanese Literature Challenge. Unfortunately, a trip to Japan would be beyond my financial means, nothing to do with covid actually.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Ah sorry to hear that. I am glad you have found some good books about Japan, in any case.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Armchair traveling is great too 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yup, preferable even, these days!
LikeLike
I unfortunately don’t have any recs, but this is a great topic and I hope you get some good recommendations!
LikeLiked by 1 person
No worry, I have a long list! Thanks for stopping by
LikeLike
We were talking about places we’d love to visit but probably never will, and my place was Japan.
My favorite nonfiction books about Japan are:
The Roads to Sata: A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan;
Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa; and
A Year in Japan by Kate T. Williamson.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I had the feeling you would come to the rescue, thanks so much! All these titles are going to be awesome to read during Jan-March, for the Japanese Lit Challenge
LikeLike
Japanland! Im so eager to read this 🙂 Also, Pure Invention by Matt Alt, on the development of pop culture as we know it and the origins of modern culture in Japan.
LikeLike
ooh, thanks, just added to my TBR. Be sure to join the Japanese Literature Challenge in January-March: https://dolcebellezza.net/2020/12/06/the-japanese-literature-challenge-14-coming-january-2021/
LikeLike
I’d like to visit Japan. I’ve been watching the walking videos on youtube (mostly Tokyo area but others as well) and it’s fascinating!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes, thanks to you, I have been through some of these walking tours. Probably the closest I’ll ever get. The problem is not covid, but the money, lol
LikeLike
Great idea, interesting subject, I’d love to participate but unfortunately, I don’t have much time nowadays…
LikeLiked by 1 person
No worry, thanks for stopping by anyway. Good luck for all you have to do
LikeLike
I wish I could help!! I also love to read everything about a place or area. 🙂 Good luck! It looks like you have a few really good suggestions!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by. Yes, I already have a good list!
LikeLike
I visited Japan (Tokyo, Mount Fuji and Kobe) in 1985. It was a fantastic trip. I am no expert though, and cannot recommend any nonfiction books on Japan. I am sure there must be a lot out there. I do hope you will have the possibility to visit it one day.
LikeLiked by 1 person
So glad you had the chance to do it
LikeLike
My favorite book on Japan is Hitching Rides with Buddha by Will Fergusen. His travels through Japan while following the Sakura blossoms made me want to do the same.
LikeLike
Just this sentence is enough to captivate me, thanks so much for the recommendations
LikeLiked by 1 person
Last year, my be the expert post was….Japan!!
http://bronasbooks.blogspot.com/2019/11/week-3-non-fiction-november.html
LikeLike
Since then, I have come across this book, which I’ve only just started, but looks very promising – https://www.europaeditions.com/book/9781787702196/the-passenger-japan
LikeLike
Sounds great too, thanks! I had no idea Europa was also publishing nonfiction!
LikeLiked by 1 person
OMG, how did I forget that, thanks!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Will Ferguson’s “Hokkaido Highway Blues” is an excellent travel book set in Japan. And we’re never too old to learn a new language!
LikeLike
This sounds so so good. I added it to my TBR.
I am in my late 50s, and currently learning Italian (for reading) and Russian, and I’m not retired lol. Can you read Japanese? It seems to me it’s harder than speaking it, isn’t it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
No Japanese knowledge here although my husband studied it at classes for a couple of years before I met him! I’m doing Spanish for eventually considering getting a home there (husband with SAD) and it’s not too bad as I already have OK French and there is a lot of overlap.
LikeLike
Yes Spanish grammar, conjugation, and vocabulary, have so much in common – Spanish from Spain also easier (at least to my ears) than South American variations). Good luck for your project!
I’m currently teaching myself reading Italian. I work mostly with Duolingo, but instead of saying I speak English (or French!) and want to learn Italian, I chose: I speak Spanish and am learning Italian, so that I’m refreshing my Spanish at the same time
LikeLike
Last year I enjoyed The Book of Ichigo Ichie: The Art of Making the Most of Every Moment, The Japanese Way by Hector Garcia Puigcerver and Francesc Miralles.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/49100630-the-book-of-ichigo-ichie
LikeLike
Thanks Melissa, I have actually read this one, and loved it: https://wordsandpeace.com/2020/02/16/sunday-post-25-2-16-2020/
By the same authors, I love also Ikigai: https://wordsandpeace.com/2018/11/19/its-monday-what-are-you-reading-november-19/
LikeLike
I’ve only read a few non-fiction books on Japan or by Japanese authors. It’s interesting that it’s one of those countries like France that seem to be so culturally attractive to people. For me it’s been India and I have been there.
LikeLike
So glad you were able to go to India. I know 3 friends who’ve been there and they totally fell in love. Not sure why, but I have never been attracted by African countries nor India. Maybe because most of the novels based in India I have read were so depressing
LikeLike
I can’t offer you very many options unfortunately. Most of my reading has been of books relating to Japanese business practices – not the kind of thing that is very entertaining!
One I can recommend however is Beauty and Chaos: Slices and Morsels of Tokyo Life. It’s a series of articles on different aspects of life in the city that originally appeared in Newsweek Japan. I liked them. because they are based so much on observation of just living in the city – things like the fact special maps are produced to show you where to find the best cherry trees during the blossom season, or what you can find in vending machines. I read it after I’d been to Tokyo a few times and it resonated with what I saw myself.
LikeLike
wow, sounds very good, thanks! added to my TBR
LikeLike
Some of the only independently published books I’ve read and loved are a series of essay collections about Japan written by Michael Pronko. He lived in Japan for years, so he’s able to give an outsider’s perspective of lots of little details of daily life in Japan.
LikeLike
Thanks, BookerTalk recommended him as well. And I see he also wrote murder mysteries set in Japan! Two reasons to try him
LikeLike
Great topic. I’ve always been fascinated by Japan and my son went there last year (before Covid, of course, now it’s an even more impossible dream to ever get there). My chosen topic is The Tudors.
But I doubt you’re too old to learn Japanese. You’ve learned several other languages already, right? So, they say it gets easier with every language (and that’s true as long as the languages are similar but your brain already functions in several languages, so that helps). Have you ever tried Duolingo? It’s a great programme. And it’s free.
Anyway, Happy Reading!
LikeLike
Thanks for your encouragement Marianne, so glad your son was able to go there.
I’m currently using Duolingo with Spanish to Italian to refresh my Spanish and learn Italian for reading. And I’m practicing also my Russian.
LikeLike
Wow, that must be a tough one. I did Spanish and Italian courses once at the same time. It makes some things easier, others more difficult.
If you could like to follow me on Duolingo, Here is my profile.
Hasta luego!
LikeLike
Actually not too bad at all. I just followed you, I think you are the first user I follow there! My profile is https://www.duolingo.com/profile/Emmastudent1
I’m impressed by your list of languages!!
à bientôt
LikeLike
Pingback: Nonfiction November 2020: New on my TBR | Words And Peace
Im thrilled to encounter your blog. Will certainly brew up a selection of titles for submission.
LikeLike
Thanks for stopping by. I just subscribed to your blog! Good luck with your adventure in Japanese learning
LikeLiked by 1 person