A Year in Japan (Paperback)

by Kate T. Williamson (Author) "As soon as I walked out of the train station on my first day in Kyoto, I knew that I would love Japan..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This delicately crafted artist's journal offers colorful impressions of a young woman's extended visit in Kyoto, Japan. Williamson's watercolors are playful, bright and spare, and each section illustrates a theme or topic that has inspired the artist/author over her travels to a country devoted to attention to detail. For example, Williamson explores numerous rituals of dining, such as offering a guest green tea accompanied by a piece of wagashi, or bean paste confection, and illustrates over two pages the elegant lunch she ordered at a temple serving shojin ryori, the vegetarian cuisine of Zen Buddhist monks. The sacred rope that unites the "male" and "female" rocks of the Shinto site Meoto-Iwa warrants both an intimate view (the rope) and a full, breathtaking seascape of the wedded rocks. Williamson renders eye-catching holidays from August's O'bon, featuring a trio of three white-socked and sandaled feet under pink kimonos, to April's stately sakura (cherry blossom) season. Some of the people Williamson depicts are sumo wrestlers wearing headphones and riding the subway, and two geishas side by side in full regalia—one apprentice, the other professional. For travelers to Japan, and those who treasure their visit, this is a splendid record. 350 color illus. (Mar.)
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Review
As soon as you open her book... everything from cherry blossoms to breathtaking seascapes, you'll fall in love (with Japan) as well. -- Radiant, Winter 2007

Best Postcollege Memoir: An insightful journal with text and illustrations of the wonders and oddities she saw. -- Glamour Magazine, April 2006

watercolors and text that explores everything from washi paper to karaoke etiquette (hint: singing Elton John, okay; Mariah Carey, not). -- Travel + Leisure, April 2006

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Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press; 1 edition (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1568985401
• ISBN-13: 978-1568985404
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #39,407 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

24 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasing Illustrations Brighten a Sock Designer's Idiosyncratic Observations of Japan, June 29, 2006

By	Ed Uyeshima (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 100 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

It's actually an interesting exercise to compare this colorful journal with Karin Muller's recent "Japanland: A Year in Search of Wa". Whereas Muller approaches her sojourn as an almost anthropological expedition, author-artist Kate Williamson takes a decidedly more visual approach based on her own yearlong stay in Kyoto where she was studying, of all things, sock design. What sets apart Williamson's book are the bright watercolor illustrations that depict somewhat random aspects of Japanese life and culture. They show a sharp eye for authenticity and concurrently a sense of playfulness that reinforces the allure of Japan to the foreigner's eye.

She is fascinated by the famous wedded rocks at Meoto-Iwa, the patterns on washcloths, the colors available for backpacks, the foam cozies around apples, the difference in accessories between maiko girls and geishas, the everyday dress of sumo wrestlers, and the delicacies in a bento box. Luckily so am I. In between the pictures are brief essays that serve to provide back stories for the illustrations. Her impressions reflect an idiosyncratic eye, and her topics range from Hiroshima's one thousand paper cranes to karaoke private rooms to the details of the vegetarian cuisine of shojin-ryori to the rock n' roll-obsessed temple carpenters of the Kyoto Rockabilly Club. It is obvious her designer instincts are well stimulated by the variety of textiles, umbrellas and accessories she discovers there. Williamson is able to bring this all together thanks to her singular perspective and an eye for minutiae that can truly define a culture. Nippon-ophiles can rejoice at her graphically pleasing book.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This book stays next to my desk in all seasons., July 11, 2006

By	D. M. DiGregorio (New York) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

It is a great pleasure to be able to casually open A YEAR IN JAPAN, which stays next to my desk, and find a page by chance. On any given day, I might see a lovely two-page spread of maple leaves; an absorbing story (one of my favorites) in the author's fine print/cursive mix about her task of carefully tracing out the characters of a sutra in order to gain admittance to the Moss Temple; a tempting diagram of "sweets made especially for moon viewing"; an account of GUYS AND DOLLS performed by an all-female, Japanese cast; an illustration of a very comforting view from the inside of a Japanese taxi.

Every page is a pleasant portal into a world other than my own. The book is built loosely around the seasons and their shifting, and is thus also exciting as a work to be read through from front cover to back. Occasional references to the seasons provide an anchor for the reader, for example, you find out how traditional Japanese sweets have a specific shape and flavor in autumn, and about the kinds of umbrellas available during the rainy season.

The illustrations and texts are crafted with such thoughtfulness, brightness and love (much like the above-mentioned sutra text) that I am immediately transported into the author's world when I open the book, and feel delighted to share in her enchantment and exploratory spirit.

I always show friends this book when they visit.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Aiming at a country's soul, not its sites, June 25, 2006

By	Rachel (Charlottesville, VA) - See all my reviews

This witty, finely observed book is reflective about Japan and travel in ways that traditional guidebooks are not. With beautiful drawings and carefully chosen text, it provides insight into a culture that outsiders often find difficult to penetrate. More broadly, it is a moving and understated story of visiting a new place for the first time.

I'll give this book as a gift to friends with an interest in Japan or plans to visit, and would use it as a supplement to traditional tourist guides in my own travels there. I only wish that that there were more books like this one, striving to represent the spirit of a place instead of just telling you about its tourist sites.