Download or read book Kyoto Revisited written by Jennifer S. Prough and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2022-02-28 with total page 241 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is a charm to Kyoto. Surrounded by lush green hills, the city feels alive with nature, history, culture—and tourists. At once ancient capital, modern city, and home to numerous cultural heritage sites, Kyoto looms large in the promotion of Japanese culture at home and abroad. In the wake of years of economic recession followed by the national promotion of “cool Japan” in popular culture and tourism of the twenty-first century, anthropologist Jennifer Prough sets out to examine how the city’s history and culture have been mobilized to create heritage experiences for today’s tourists. The heart of her book, Kyoto Revisited, centers on what it means to produce these for visitors, why seeing and feeling culture and tradition appeal to both domestic and international travelers, and the challenges faced by a heritage tourism city. As Prough’s study suggests, heritage has multiple meanings. It is created as interested parties—state and local, public and private—tell different stories about the past, which are marketed in response to tourists’ desire for face-to-face engagement in an experience economy. Her work examines several prominent features of Kyoto tourism, including promotion plans, heritage neighborhood renovation, the role of the seasons and traditional aesthetics in citywide events, the appeal of sites commemorating the Meiji restoration, and the trend of walking in the heritage district in a rented kimono. Throughout Prough brings together scholarship from Japanese studies, heritage studies, and the anthropology of tourism to highlight the interplay between the romantic desire for heritage tourism and the emphasis on “personal experience” (taiken) in the visitor industry today. Experience has long been an integral part of tourism—even as what counts as experience has shifted across time and place (from taking a photo to staying with locals to trying one’s hand at a traditional craft)—yet these touristic desires take on a new tinge in the experience economy. Kyoto Revisited demonstrates not only how the past has been used to construct the city’s identity and shape understandings of Japan for travelers, but also how these speak to broader trends in our contemporary moment.
Download or read book The Mad Kyoto Shoe Swapper and Other Short Stories written by Rebecca Otowa and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2020-03-24 with total page 157 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "Otowa has woven a series of delightful vignettes of life in Japan, from a true historical story of feuding villages to a man who steals shoes at temples…and some highlighting the cultural differences between Japanese and American sensibilities, especially for women." -- Ginny Tapley-Takemori, translator of Convenience Store Woman From the unique standpoint of an American woman who married into a Japanese family and has lived in Japan for more than thirty years, Rebecca Otowa weaves enchanting tales of her adopted home that portray the perspective of both the Japanese and the foreigner on the universal issues that face us all--love, work, marriage, death, and family conflict. The collection includes: A Year of Coffee and Cake--A young American wife in the Tokyo suburbs suspects her next-door neighbor of murdering an elderly relative. Rhododendron Valley--An elderly man decides to commit suicide to deal with his terminal illness and to spare his family pain. The Mad Kyoto Shoe Swapper--A reclusive young Japanese man enjoys the strange hobby of stealing shoes from temples, but it gradually consumes him. Genbei's Curse--A downtrodden woman loses her temper with her demanding, sick father-in-law. Years later, old and sick herself, she can now empathize with him. Trial by Fire--A true story passed down through the author's family of a gruesome trial to settle a land dispute in 1619. Love and Duty--The Japanese custom of "duty chocolates" (chocolates gifted by women to men on Valentine's Day) has repercussions for an American and a Japanese woman. Uncle Trash--Told in the form of newspaper articles, this is the story of an old man, his hoarding addiction, the annoyance it brings his family, and his eventual revenge. Watch Again--A man starts stalking his ex-wife and learns something about himself in the process. Three Village Stories--A tea ceremony teacher, a vengeful son, and an old man ostracized by his community are the protagonists in three vignettes of village life. The Rescuer--After meeting his death in a train accident, a young man finds himself in the position of rescuing others from the same fate. Showa Girl--Based on a true story from the author's family, a girl of fifteen has an arranged marriage with an older man just back from a POW camp in Russia in 1948. Rachel and Leah--An older American woman reflects on her long and not always happy marriage to a Japanese man. The Turtle Stone--Going from the 1950s to the present, this is the story of one man's efforts to keep the family cake shop alive in a Kyoto that is constantly modernizing. Illustrated throughout with the author's own black-and-white drawings, this captivating volume offers a unique and lovingly rendered insight into everyday life in modern Japan.
Download or read book Kyoto written by John Dougill and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 2006 with total page 265 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kyoto, the ancient former capital of Japan, breathes history and mystery. Its temples, gardens and palaces are testimony to many centuries of aristocratic and religious grandeur. Under the veneer of modernity, the city remains filled with countless reminders of a proud past. John Dougillexplores this most venerable of Japanese cities, revealing the spirit of place and the individuals that have shaped its often dramatic history. Courtiers and courtesans, poets and priests, samurai and geisha people the pages of his account. Covering twelve centuries in all, the book not onlyprovides a historical overview but also brings to life the cultural magnificence of the city of "Purple Hills and Crystal Streams."
Download or read book Zuanch in Kyoto written by Kenichirō Yokoya and published by Stanford University Press. This book was released on 2008 with total page 46 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Catalogue of an exhibition of Japanese woodblock-printed books of design ideas for kimonos. Generously illustrated in full color with images demonstrating the changes in surface design for kimono in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries (ca. 1890-1940).
Download or read book The Shogun s Queen written by Lesley Downer and published by Corgi. This book was released on 2017-07-27 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Japan, and the year is 1853. Growing up among the samurai of the Satsuma Clan, in Japan's deep south, the fiery, beautiful and headstrong Okatsu has like all the clan's women been encouraged to be bold, taught to wield the halberd, and to ride a horse. But when she is just seventeen, four black ships appear. Bristling with cannon and manned by strangers who to the Japanese eyes are barbarians, their appearance threatens Japan's very existence. And turns Okatsu's world upside down. Chosen by her feudal lord, she has been given a very special role to play. Given a new name Princess Atsu and a new destiny, she is the only one who can save the realm. Her journey takes her to Edo Castle, a place so secret that it cannot be marked on any map. There, sequestered in the Women's Palace home to three thousand women, and where only one man may enter: the shogun she seems doomed to live out her days.
Download or read book Another Kyoto written by Alex Kerr and published by Penguin UK. This book was released on 2018-07-05 with total page 336 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Another Kyoto is an insider's meditation on the hidden wonders of Japan's most enigmatic city. Drawing on decades living in Kyoto, and on lore gleaned from artists, Zen monks and Shinto priests, Alex Kerr illuminates the simplest things - a temple gate, a wall, a sliding door - in a new way. 'A rich book of intimate proportions ... In Kyoto, facts and meaning are often hidden in plain sight. Kerr's gift is to make us stop and cast our eyes upward to a temple plaque, or to squint into the gloom of an abbot's chamber' Japan Times 'Kerr and Sokol have performed a minor miracle by presenting that which is present in Kyoto as that which we have yet to see. I know that I will never pass a wall, or tread a floor, or sit on tatami the same way again' Kyoto Journal
Download or read book Structures of Kyoto written by Rebecca Otowa and published by Independently Published. This book was released on 2021-07-14 with total page 174 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Structures of Kyoto explores the physical, spiritual, and artistic elements of Japan's ancient capital and beckons one to "step through the gate" to interact with them. Bookended by the insights of authors Judith Clancy (Exploring Kyoto) and Alex Kerr (Finding the Heart Sutra), readers will find themselves amidst temple gardens and gates, within a tea ceremony and a calligraphy class, observing a children's boat regatta, and amongst writers channeling their muse in literary cafes. The spirits of the city - ancestors, ghosts, supernatural creatures, and benevolent deities - also have their place. From Ryoanji Temple in the west to Mount Daimonji in the east, and from Sanzenin Temple in the north to Fushimi Inari Shrine in the south, established authors, upcoming writers, and featured artists will transport you to the cultural heart of Japan with their non-fiction, fiction, prose, poetry, and images, which together paint a stunning and informative portrait of the world's favorite city.
Download or read book Kyoto written by John H. Martin and published by Tuttle Publishing. This book was released on 2014-06-17 with total page 386 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital and modern-day center of tourism and traditional culture, is one of the world's most beautiful and historic cities. Founded nearly 1,300 years ago and undamaged by the war, Kyoto today is the home of over 1,600 Buddhist temples, 400 Shinto shrines, countless national treasures and 17 World Heritage sites, including the famed Golden Pavilion, Nijo Castle and Kiyomizu Temple. This book presents 29 easy–to–follow walking tours through Kyoto's history, its many unique districts and scenic areas full of charm and character. You'll discover not only the most renowned sites, such as the Silver Pavilion, the rock garden at Ryoan–ji Temple and the garden of the Heian Shrine, but also little–known areas off the beaten track. Much more than a guidebook, this volume tells the historical and cultural story of Kyoto's great monuments. The colorful tales, fascinating facts, larger–than–life characters and grand events that shaped the city and Japan at large will enthrall every reader. This updated and greatly expanded guide features over 100 color photos, full–color maps that trace each route and detailed diagrams of many individual sites.
Download or read book Sunday in Kyoto written by Gilles Vigneault and published by La Montagne secrète. This book was released on 2009-11 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The title track "Sunday in Kyoto" tells the story of a Cajun musician who lives with his Japanese partner in Kyoto, enjoying Sunday afternoon jam sessions with friends from far away places. The other songs on the album introduce Joe's mother who snorts like a hog, little Miss Adèle who calls herself "Hello," and a rooster who serves eggs for breakfast. It's zany-crazy and kids will love it!
Download or read book The Kyoto Collection written by and published by . This book was released on 1989 with total page 216 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The Gardens of Kyoto written by Kate Walbert and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001-05-06 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the National Book Award nominated, New York Times bestselling author of A Short History of Women and The Sunken Cathedral, Walbert’s beautiful and heartbreaking novel about a young woman coming of age in the long shadow of World War II—“An intricately plotted, thrillingly imagined narrative...A masterpiece” (The New York Times Book Review). Forty years after enduring the Second World War as a young woman, Ellen relates the events of this turbulent period, beginning with the death of her favorite cousin, Randall, with whom she shared Easter Sundays, childhood secrets, and, perhaps, the first taste of love. When he dies on Iwo Jima, she turns to the legacy he left her: his diary and a book called The Gardens of Kyoto. Each one subtly influences her perception of her place in the world, the nature of her memories. Moving back and forth through time and place, Kate Walbert recreates a world touched by the shadows of war and a society in which women fit their desires into prescribed roles. Unfolding in lyrical, seductive prose, The Gardens of Kyoto becomes a mesmerizing exploration of the interplay of love and loss.
Download or read book The Gardens of Kyoto written by Kate Walbert and published by Simon and Schuster. This book was released on 2001 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kate Walbert recalls the death of her favorite cousin on Iwo Jima and her romance six years later with a man on the eve of his departure for Korea.
Download or read book Kyoto written by Matthew Stavros and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2014-10-31 with total page 258 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Kyoto was Japan’s political and cultural capital for more than a millennium before the dawn of the modern era. Until about the fifteenth century, it was also among the world’s largest cities and, as the eastern terminus of the Silk Road, it was a place where the political, artistic, and religious currents of Asia coalesced and flourished. Despite these and many other traits that make Kyoto a place of both Japanese and world historical significance, the physical appearance of the premodern city remains largely unknown. Through a synthesis of textual, pictorial, and archeological sources, this work attempts to shed light on Kyoto’s premodern urban landscape with the aim of opening up new ways of thinking about key aspects of premodern Japanese history. The book begins with an examination of Kyoto’s highly idealized urban plan (adapted from Chinese models in the eighth century) and the reasons behind its eventual failure. The formation of the suburbs of Kamigyō and Shimogyō is compared to the creation of large exurban temple-palace complexes by retired emperors from the late eleventh century. Each, it is argued, was a material manifestation of the advancement of privatized power that inspired a medieval discourse aimed at excluding “outsiders.” By examining this discourse, a case is made that medieval power holders, despite growing autonomy, continued to see the emperor and classical state system as the ultimate sources of political legitimacy. This sentiment was shared by the leaders of the Ashikaga shogunate, who established their headquarters in Kyoto in 1336. The narrative examines how these warrior leaders interacted with the capital’s urban landscape, revealing a surprising degree of deference to classical building protocols and urban codes. Remaining chapters look at the dramatic changes that took place during the Age of Warring States (1467–1580s) and Kyoto’s postwar revitalization under the leadership of Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Nobunaga’s construction of Nijō Castle in 1569 transformed Kyoto’s fundamental character and, as Japan’s first castle town, it set an example soon replicated throughout the archipelago. In closing, the book explores how Hideyoshi—like so many before him, yet with much greater zeal—used monumentalism to co-opt and leverage the authority of Kyoto’s traditional institutions. Richly illustrated with original maps and diagrams, Kyoto is a panoramic examination of space and architecture spanning eight centuries. It narrates a history of Japan’s premodern capital relevant to the fields of institutional history, material culture, art and architectural history, religion, and urban planning. Students and scholars of Japan will be introduced to new ways of thinking about old historical problems while readers interested in the cities and architecture of East Asia and beyond will benefit from a novel approach that synthesizes a wide variety of sources. For more on Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital, visit www.kyotohistory.com.
Download or read book Opera Stories written by Henry Lowell Mason and published by . This book was released on 1911 with total page 148 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Modern Kyoto written by Alice Y. Tseng and published by University of Hawaii Press. This book was released on 2018-10-31 with total page 290 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Can an imperial city survive, let alone thrive, without an emperor? Alice Y. Tseng answers this intriguing question in Modern Kyoto, a comprehensive study of the architectural and urban projects carried out in the old capital following Emperor Meiji’s move to Tokyo in 1868. Tseng contends that Kyoto—from the time of the relocation to the height of the Asia-Pacific War—remained critical to Japan’s emperor-centered national agenda as politicians, planners, historians, and architects mobilized the city’s historical connection to the imperial house to develop new public architecture, infrastructure, and urban spaces. Royal births, weddings, enthronements, and funerals throughout the period served as catalysts for fashioning a monumental modern city fit for hosting commemorative events for an eager domestic and international audience. Using a wide range of visual material (including architectural plans, postcards, commercial maps, and guidebooks), Tseng traces the development of four core areas of Kyoto: the palaces in the center, the Okazaki Park area in the east, the Kyoto Station area in the south, and the Kitayama district in the north. She offers an unprecedented framework that correlates nation building, civic boosterism, and emperor reverence to explore a diverse body of built works. Interlinking microhistories of the Imperial Garden, Heian Shrine, Lake Biwa Canal, the prefectural library, zoological and botanical gardens, main railway station, and municipal art museum, among others, her work asserts Kyoto’s vital position as a multifaceted center of culture and patriotism in the expanding Japanese empire. Richly illustrated with many never-before-published photographs and archival sources, Modern Kyoto challenges readers to look beyond Tokyo for signposts of Japan’s urban modernity and opens up the study of modern emperors to incorporate fully built environments and spatial practices dedicated in their name.
Download or read book Cutting Back written by Leslie Buck and published by Timber Press. This book was released on 2017-05-03 with total page 280 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This absorbing debut memoir recounts an American gardener’s apprenticeship with the most prestigious gardening firm in Kyoto.
Download or read book Kyoto written by John Dougill and published by . This book was released on 2020-07-09 with total page 132 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This fascinating selection of Kyoto-specific literature takes readers through twelve centuries of cultural heritage, from ancient Heian beginnings to contemporary depictions. The city's aesthetic leaning is evident throughout in a mix of well-known and less familiar works by a wide-ranging cast that includes emperors and court ladies, Zen masters and warrior scholars, wandering monks and poet "immortals." We see the city through their eyes in poetic pieces that reflect timeless themes of beauty, nature, love and war. An assortment of tanka, haiku, modern verse and prose passages make up the literary feast, and as we enter recent times there are English-language poems too. Kyoto: A Literary Guide is a labour of love. It arose from the shared passion of a small group of translators, academics and professors of literature chaired by noted Kyoto author John Dougill. For over ten years they have met for monthly discussion, and when they discovered that there was no book dedicated to Kyoto literature they decided to produce their own. This involved sifting through a large number of poems and prose items, with the eventual selection made according to historical importance, literary merit and reference to specific sites. Translations were carefully finessed, with particular regard to the fine balance between linguistic accuracy and literary rendition. Accompanying the translations are the original Japanese with transcription and an informative footnote. The book is generously illustrated with black-and-white photographs, old prints, and picture scrolls, adding visual accompaniment to the verbal description. Given the centrality of Kyoto to the national culture, the book will not only be a must-have for lovers of the city but for anyone with an interest in Japanese literature. It will enhance appreciation for those visiting "the ancient capital" and it will be cherished by those who live there. Above all, it is the hope of the Kyoto-philes who created the book that the pieces collected here will prove an inspiration to readers to go on and explore the larger works from which they were extracted.
