Japan (Traveler's Literary Companions) [Paperback]

Harry Guest (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 339 pages
• Publisher: Passport Books (February 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0844289728
• ISBN-13: 978-0844289724
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,070,348 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Culture, geography, literature are all here in this guide!, November 29, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Japan (Traveler's Literary Companions) (Paperback)

This is a solid 339 pages of literary anthology divided into eleven geographical areas of Japan (excluding Okinawa). The first 35 pages are devoted to a general introductory background of the country, with a map of Japan and sections on "natural background," "religion and beliefs," "history," "language and literature," a booklist, eight literary extracts and two pages of "biographies and major works." Each of the eleven geographical sections follows the same pattern, beginning with an epigraph from a literary work and including photographs in addition to background, booklist and extracts.

This guide is well researched...for example, my favorite author, Natsume Soseki, appears in the Tokyo section with "I am a Cat" as well as in the Kyushu section where an excerpt from "The Three-Cornered World" appears. Acknowledgements and citations are placed at the end of the book, and give the original publisher of the English translations while bookslists preceding each section include all titles of books from which extracts are taken as well as books mentioned in explanatory text. In this case, an available paperback edition in English is given, along with full bibliographical information.

From Lady Murasaki to Kazuo Ishiguro, from Sapporo to Kagoshima, the scope and range of this book is impressive and meets the challenge of both a survey of Japanese literature and a trip around the five main islands, including Sado- ga-shima. The chapter called "Journeys" is an armchair traveller's delight, for it takes us first on Lady Sarashina's Heian period journey from the Boso Peninsula (now Chiba prefecture) back to the capital of Kyoto. We can follow Lady Nijo on some of her pilgrimages as far west as Miyajima and as far north as Asakusa, three days' journey north from Kamakura. We can tread the narrow roads that Basho took in the 17th century and join Isabella Bird for a circuit from Tokyo to Aomori in the late 19th century.

Containing over 100 extracts, this book can be a review, or for the beginner, an overview, of Japanese literature in its entirety. For the resident or traveller it can be a new perspective on the areas visited, a new discovery of the richness of Japanese literature. Even containing a section on "Tokyo in Film," this travel companion has something for everyone interested in the culture of Japan. A treasure of a book, a real delight and an informative guide.