Customer Reviews

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (Kodansha's Illustrated Japanese Classics)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter was my introduction to Kawabata and I loved it. Yasunari Kawabata was the first Japanese writer to be honored with a Nobel Prize. Taketori Monogatari (The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter) is an extremely old Japanese story, credited to around the late ninth or early tenth century under disputed authorship.

Donald Keene has done a wonderful job of translating Kawabata. This is a fast paced fable beautiflly presented in an oblong book. Physically it is one of the most attractive books I have ever purchased.

This translation of Tale of the Bamboo Cutter had been delayed by twenty years before the translator Keene came across a brilliant series of paintings done by Miyata Masayuki of the same story. The elements finally came together to create one of the most beautifully presented books I've come across.

The book is 176 pages long, presented with Japanese and English on opposite pages. Don't expect a long read here, perhaps only a day or so's worth, but you won't be disappointed. This is truly a beautiful story that I hope you, like me, will return to from time to time to enjoy.

This is an elegant package. The story is a classic Japanese folktale interpreted by one of Japan's greatest writers. A cautionary tale about love between humans and spirits, it is a well paced story, calm and quiet like a new moon. The text is balanced with the original Japanese script on one side and the English translation on the other. Interspersed though out are beautiful paper-cut illustrations. "Tale of the Bamboo Cutter" is very much a piece of book art.

The only drawback of this edition is the size. It is small, and would have benefited from a hard-backed coffee table edition. As it is, it is too fragile to be a child's book.

There's some confusion in the earlier reviews. Keene has translated the early 10th-century Japanese tale (with the original on facing pages), NOT Kawabata's modern version, which is printed in back in Japanese (no translation). I also have to take issue with the Amazon reviewer's use of "heartlessness" to describe the main character. She's not of this earth, and consequently can't marry anyone: her actions are taken to spare the feelings of others, not out of heartlessness. (She's got plenty of heart for her adopted parents.) The tale is a wonderful example of early Japanese literature, and the art is gorgeous. Highly recommended.

This is a wonderful story beautifully told. The excellent translation brings across Kawabata's style. The pictures are gorgeous. It is short, but wonderful.

The book is lovely. The artwork is beautiful and printed in beautiful vivid colours. The book makes one wish to save up to try to purchase artwork by the artist, Masayuki Miyata (not because the illustrations in the book are in any way not fully satisfying but because they are so incredible). Keene's translation is, as one would expect, wonderful. It is also wonderful to have the Japanese as well as Keene's English translation, another very attractive aspect of this book for the person receiving it as a gift. As the book contains a translation from the traditional story into modern Japanese by the Nobel laureate in literature Yasunari Kawabata a student wishing to read the Japanese need not be concerned about struggling to read Ancient Japanese.

Even though it is described a 'paperback' it is a very high quality book that feels as if it has been made with care to last a long time. This is a time when I wish I could give extra stars to indicate an utterly extraordinary book.

Originally a pick for a Final Presentation in my World Literature class, my group and I read this book and not only found it more exciting than other epics in class, but the instructor enjoyed it as well. This story helped us get a perfect in class not because of the nearly-flawless presentation and resources, but because it was different and introduces romantic literature in a whole different perspective than other stories such as Gilgamesh, and the Iliad (typical epics often presented). It also breaks the boundaries as evidence that other countries such as Japan do have their own literary work. A must buy also for Asian Studies students like myself. The size of the book may be intimidating, but in reality one side of the pages is in Japanese (simply translated) and the other in English (compromised translation).

`The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' like `Love Songs from the Man'yôshû' has also been illustrated by the highly talented Miyata Masayuki. Though there were not enough pictures in `The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter' which is a pity as it would have been an excellent opportunity for Miyata to display his talent.
As for the story itself well, it's certainly different from most fairy tales in that the heroine is in many ways a villain, the only other similar character would be Princess Turandot... Aside from that it is not an especially interesting story.