How to Take a Japanese Bath [Paperback]

Leonard Koren (Author), Suehiro Maruo (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2006

“This book is a physical work of art—as it should be, because the Japanese bath is an aesthetic event.”—Whole Earth Review
 
Since its first publication in 1992, this book has become a curious classic, taking a -simple (yet often incorrectly performed) activity and depicting it with a graphic, manga-style edge. In twelve drawings a young Japanese man is shown preparing, rinsing, soaking, communing, relaxing, contemplating—all an encouragement to readers to slow down, ease into the hot water, and enjoy this timeless ritual of purity and release.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Guaranteed to rinse away all your doubts and fears." -Look Japan -- -Look Japan

"Guaranteed to rinse away all your doubts and fears." -Look Japan -- Review --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Leonard Koren, who was trained as an artist and architect, writes books about design and aesthetics. Among his most popular books are WABI SABI: For Artists, Design, Poets & Philosophers and Arranging Things: A Rhetoric of Object Placement. Cult-favorite Maruo has been "discovered" since the first publication of this book.

Product Details

• Paperback: 40 pages
• Publisher: Stone Bridge Press (September 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933330082
• ISBN-13: 978-1933330082
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5.5 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #515,742 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #37 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Customs & Traditions

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

30 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book is like a beautiful poem, August 11, 2000

By 

fred smithers (Vancouver, BC) - See all my reviews

This review is from: How to Take a Japanese Bath (Zzz) (Paperback)

Though this book has few words, it conveys the sense of the Japanese bath and bath ritual with exquisite illustration and word images. There is no other book I have found that deals with this subject matter in such a poetic, thorough, yet unsentimental manner. It was especially useful prior to my first visit to Japan. It helped make sense of a simple but somewhat mystifying cultural tradition.

23 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Informative and Enjoyable, both for Japanese & Non-Japanese, November 12, 2001

By 

Hiroo Yamagata (Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Japan) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: How to Take a Japanese Bath (Zzz) (Paperback)

As a Japanese, I find this small book to be very accurate and informative. The procedure and the idea behind Japanese bath taking is clearly explained, without the oft-found orientalism. This is exactly the bath taking manners that our parents teach their kids (well, at least they are supposed to).

Another great point about this booklet is the artist, Maruo. He is the Dario Argento of Japanese comics, known for his extremely detailed and beautiful drawings of the grotesque. In this book, you'll find a lot of very pleasant drawings about Japanese bath taking, but to the people who are used to his normal works, you sort of expect some blood, gore, beheadings and freakshows that are Maruo's signature themes at every turn of the page. Whether that expectation was satisfied was... I'll leave it up to you to find out.

Highly reccomended. Informative to non-Japanese (and the younger generation Japanese --- you kids have no idea how to properly take a bath these days, shame on you), and enjoyable to Japanese.

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Buyer be warned, August 3, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: How to Take a Japanese Bath (Zzz) (Paperback)

While this book does provide information on how to take a Japanese bath, any buyer should be aware that the book is only about 30 pages long and half of those pages are illustrations. Where there is actual text, most of it consists of no more than one or two sentences. This book literally took me about three minutes to read.

If you are interested in the art of the Japanese bath, there are many books about Japan in general that cover the topic in at least as much detail as this book, if not more.