Product Description

Originally written in Japanese, this passionate, vividly personal book draws on the author's experiences in Japan over thirty years. Alex Kerr takes us on a backstage tour, as he explores the ritualized world of Kabuki, retraces his initiation into Tokyo's boardrooms during the heady Bubble Years, tells how he stumbled on a hidden valley that became his home...and exposes the environmental and cultural destruction that is the other face of contemporary Japan. Winner of Japan's 1994 Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #153752 in Books
• Published on: 1996-04-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 276 pages

Synopsis
Drawing on the author's personal experiences of Japan over a period of over 30 years, this book takes its readers on a backstage tour, exploring different facets of the author's involvement with the country. The Japanese edition of this book was awarded the 1994 Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize.

Customer Reviews

A well informed and interesting perspective on Japan
, Jul 15 2007
This book consists of what were originally 15 separate essays on different aspects of Japan, ranging from Kabuki to Osaka life, to the remote Iya Valley. The author, Alex Kerr, is an American who has spent most of his interesting and varied life in Japan. Each essay is based on his own experience, e.g., the years he spent backstage at the Kabuki theater, his experience as a businessman during the "bubble years" when Japan's economy was booming, and restoring a house in the Iya Valley.

While Kerr loves Japan, much of the book is very negative. He feels that Japan has lost much of what is valuable and unique in both culture and environment during the rush to rebuild in the post WW II years. The book ends on an artificial high note, almost as if the editor said, "Give me a positive ending!"

All said, Kerr's book is very worth reading. He offers a unique perspective, he is intelligent, thoughtful and readable.

Descriptive
This is a short yet descriptive look at Japan and how it's culture and countryside has changed over the years. The author is obviously biased in that he lived in Japan and loves the country and laments the loss of those things he held dear, and there is nothing wrong with that. This is a personal account of life in Japan and the way it is changing and is an interesting, informative read. Well worth a read.

Inspiring
This is not a book that will help you understand the Japanese, this is a book that will show you a very small glimpse of Japan, and its transformation over the past 30 or so years. The author had written his view of Japan in such a way that it doesn't feel like he is imposing it, it is almost like he is pushing you to go and find out for yourself create your own opinions and impressions. Alex Kerr is so descriptive that you can easily find yourself in the places he talks about, amongst the people, and the art works. It is a book that shows you the decline of some of Japan's most famous art forms, the lost countryside, the forgotten rituals, and yet it manages to make you fall in love with the Japan of today, it gives you a nudge in the right direction if you do want to find places that still have traces of the "Lost Japan". It's a touching piece of work