The Shakuhachi - A Manual for Learning by Christopher Yohmei Blasdel
(with practice CD), Music/Education. Paperback, 224 pages, ISBN 978-195560615-6
$35.00, yen 3,500

Praise for the book
Christopher Yohmei Blasdel (the middle name is the one he received from his teacher, the late Yamaguchi Gorô), came to Japan in 1972 and later completed graduate work in ethnomusicology and became a professional shakuhachi performer himself. He is now considered one of the finest performers on this instrument and those wishing to know why should hear his numerous recordings or read this book. Divided into two sections, there is a complete “manual for learning” which starts properly, with the bamboo stalk, goes through “structure, handling and care,” to a whole chapter on producing a tone. There are then sections on various registers, on fingering, on ornamentation and on deciphering the traditional cursive notation. Musical examples given in the text (and in the practice exercises) are in both the notation and the standard Western notation, though the focus in this book is on learning to read the Japanese cursive tablature and the stave notation is added as reference.

Japan: 6000 miles on a bicycle by Leigh Norrie
Non-fiction/travel, Paperback, 256 pages, ISBN 078-193360614-9
$20.00, yen 2,000

This book is not about tour cycling, but it is. It’s not about Japan, but it is. It’s not about sightseeing, but it is. In short, this book is about six months of someone’s life—a journey. As with most journeys, it begins with uncertainty and ends in reward. It may inspire you. If it does, this adventure will have achieved more than I ever imagined.
-Leigh Norrie

Birnbaum; A Novel of Inner Space by Michael Hoffman
Fiction, Paperback, 326 pages, ISBN 988-193360613-2
$20.00 yen 2,000

"Often as I wrote, I had no idea where this was going. The characters seized hold of me and took me with them, me following as best I could." —Michael Hoffman

Jungle Crows: a Tokyo expatriate anthology edited by Hillel Wright
Prose and Poetry, Paperback, 256 pages, ISBN 978-193360612-5
$25.00, yen 2,500

About Jungle Crows:
The voices of expatriates issue from the edges of existence, and in Tokyo, this means half-empty cars on wee-hour train commutes, sparse benches in swimming pool-sized parks, darkened cinemas at the peak of the morning rush-hour—precious loci of intimacy in the world’s most populous mega-city. (“At night Tokyo expands,” writes Jonathan Mack. “Air rushes in.”) Some of these writings move far beyond the city’s perimeters to recount pasts often desperately escaped but still longed for, still present (we even visit Dostoevsky in Germany!), because living elsewhere provides a fresh perspective on the new land and the old. Samuel Johnson wrote: “To be happy at home is the ultimate result of all ambition,” and perhaps of all expatriates. This rich collection of stories, poems and musings is a testament to the power of language to traverse time and space in the global sprawl of the 21st century—and its writings strongly suggest that ‘home’ is fast being redefined.

Aquiline by Jane Joritz-Nakagawa

Border Town by Hillel Wright
Fiction, Paperback, 176 pages ISBN 1-933606-08-8
$15.00, yen 1,500

About Border Town
Border Town, the life, loves and legend of a fictional female manga artist whose controversial comix story challenges a Japanese Emperor.

I enjoyed Border Town and the author’s wry sense of humor. It’s semi-absurdist tone reminded me of some of Tom Robbins’ novels, which I always enjoyed.
—Frederik L. Schodt
author of Manga! Manga! the World of Japanese Comics

Border Town, Hillel Wright’s zany tale of manga madness, relationship mayhem and fish fetishism takes us into J-pop Tokyo with just the right mix of absurdism and realism, humor and humility.
—Leza Lowitz
author of Green Tea to Go: Stories from Tokyo

Companions of the Holiday by Donald Richie
Novel, Paperback, 188 pages, ISBN 1-933606-06-1
$15.00, yen 1,500

About Companions of the Holiday, a novel by Donald Richie

. . . a wry, affectionate, humorous novel, entirely out of the ordinary, which I shall read again and again . . .
James Merrill

. . . a tale of intricately wrought illusion and refined below-stairs debate . . . this most delicate of dramas yet encompasses hatred, love, and death . . . told with loving humor and nostalgia for the old Japan.
The New Yorker

. . . the real theme is the importance of honoring the past, of continuity . . . the old and new blend most felicitously . . . the book is most praiseworthy for its sympathetic and often funny insights into the Japanese character.
The New York Times

. . . an American author who dares write about things Japanese from Japanese eye-level had better know his subject . . . Richie’s success in a dangerous literary undertaking is due to the fact that he knows the Japanese . . . he has accepted the challenge and marvelously succeeded.
Associated Press

Lightning in the Void: the Authentic History of Miyamoto Musashi by John Carroll
Novel. 524 pages, Paperback, ISBN 1-933606-02-9
S25.00, yen 2,500

The temple bell at evening
Echoes the gospel of Nirvana,
Yet few awaken.

Though leaves fall,
Spring returns, and with it birds to their nests.
But we, alas, continue on a journey of no return.

In what is certain to be a controversial book, John Carroll presents a totally new and deeply disturbing portrait of the renowned swordsman Miyamoto Musashi. It will change forever the way you think about this Japanese popular hero and cultural icon.

Carroll describes his first novel as an “exploration of Buddhist themes against the backdrop of the Musashi legend.” The book introduces the reader to various elements of a society which was as violent and as vital as Italy during the Renaissance. It is a Japan that will surpass your wildest imaginings!

Tokyo Nights by Donald Richie
Novel, Paperback, 240 pages ISBN 1-933606-00-2
$25.00, yen 2,500

“A bizarre manga, a post-modern comedy of manners full of withering insights into contemporary Japan.”
—Joseph Lapenta in The Japan Times.

“A satire on Tokyo night life . . . like a fugue in that the characters are interwoven by their constant changing of partners.”
—John Haylock in London Magazine.

“A witty short novel about nightlife in Tokyo . . . perhaps no other author could have written about it in quite this way.”
—David Burleigh in The Mainichi Daily News.

“The tension between the neutral style and the maddening characters creates the real drama of the novel . . . repetition and humor make of a programmed text a dizzying experience.”
—Arturo Silva in Tokyo Journal.

“It is Richie’s unswerving commitment to make it only too plain what these sorts of people do say (and don’t say) to each other that makes the novel so suffocatingly authentic.”
—William March in Intersect.