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“This book is undeniably hip, full of student uprisings, free love, booze and 1960s pop, it's also genuinely emotionally engaging, and describes the highs of adolescence as well as the lows “

—Independent on Sunday

“Evocative, entertaining, sexy and funny; but then Murakami is one of the best writers around”

—Time Out

Author: Haruki Murakami

Year: 1987

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Summary:

Stunning and elegiac, Norwegian Wood first propelled Haruki Murakami into the forefront of the literary scene.

Toru, a serious young college student in Tokyo, is devoted to Naoko, a beautiful and introspective young woman, but their mutual passion is marked by the tragic death of their best friend years before. As Naoko retreats further into her own world, Toru finds himself drawn to a fiercely independent and sexually liberated young woman.

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"Incendiary...[The Imperial Cruise] is startling enough to reshape conventional wisdom about Roosevelt's presidency."

-- New York Times

"For readers under the impression that history is the story of good guys and bad guys...this book could be useful medicine."

-- USA Today 

Author: James Bradley

Year: 2009

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Summary:

In 1905 President Teddy Roosevelt dispatched Secretary of War William Howard Taft on the largest U.S. diplomatic mission in history to Hawaii, Japan, the Philippines, China, and Korea. Roosevelt's glamorous twenty-one year old daughter Alice served as mistress of the cruise, which included senators and congressmen. On this trip, Taft concluded secret agreements in Roosevelt's name.

In 2005, a century later, James Bradley traveled in the wake of Roosevelt's mission and discovered what had transpired in Honolulu, Tokyo, Manila, Beijing and Seoul.

In 1905, Roosevelt was bully-confident and made secret agreements that he though would secure America's westward push into the Pacific. Instead, he lit the long fuse on the Asian firecrackers that would singe America's hands for a century.

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“Ikigai urges individuals to simplify their lives by pursuing what sparks joy for them”

—Marie 'KonMari' Kondo 

Author: Hector Garcia, Albert Liebermann

Year: 2016

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Summary:

“Only staying active will make you want to live a hundred years.” —Japanese proverb
 
According to the Japanese, everyone has an ikigai—a reason for living. And according to the residents of the Japanese village with the world’s longest-living people, finding it is the key to a happier and longer life. Having a strong sense of ikigai—the place where passion, mission, vocation, and profession intersect—means that each day is infused with meaning. It’s the reason we get up in the morning. It’s also the reason many Japanese never really retire (in fact there’s no word in Japanese that means retire in the sense it does in English): They remain active and work at what they enjoy, because they’ve found a real purpose in life—the happiness of always being busy.
 
In researching this book, the authors interviewed the residents of the Japanese village with the highest percentage of 100-year-olds—one of the world’s Blue Zones. Ikigai reveals the secrets to their longevity and happiness: how they eat, how they move, how they work, how they foster collaboration and community, and—their best-kept secret—how they find the ikigai that brings satisfaction to their lives. And it provides practical tools to help you discover your own ikigai. Because who doesn’t want to find happiness in every day?

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Author: Christopher Pellegrini

Year: 2014

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Summary:

For hundreds of years, shochu and awamori have dwelled near the center of Japan's vaunted culinary traditions. Despite outselling most other alcoholic beverages in Japan, however, these premium distilled treats have largely remained hidden from the rest of the world. But that is beginning to change. Written by licensed sommelier and longtime Japan resident, Christopher Pellegrini, The Shochu Handbook is the first major reference published on the subject in a language other than Japanese. Illustrated with dozens of beautiful photographs, the book covers everything from how distilled beverages arrived in Japan to a step-by-step overview of the distilling process. There are also detailed chapters devoted to deciphering bottle labels, food pairing, serving styles, and speaking the language of these divine drinks. Packed with information, The Shochu Handbook also includes an extensive list of recommended bottles, a chapter devoted to cocktail and homemade liqueur recipes, and Japanese-English language assistance for everything from ordering shochu in a bar to telling the difference between single-distilled and multiple-distilled drinks. This book is essential for Japanese food enthusiasts, restauranteurs, distributors, journalists, retailers, beverage professionals, and everyone in between.

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Students of Japanese studies, as well as casual readers, will learn a lot."

- Japan Reference

Author: Osamu Ikeno, Roger J. Davies

Year: 2002

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Summary:

Readers of this book will gain a clear understanding of what makes the Japanese, and their society, tick. Among the topics explored: aimai (ambiguity), amae (dependence upon others' benevolence), amakudari (the nation's descent from heaven), chinmoku (silence in communication), gambari (perseverance), giri (social obligation), haragei (literally, "belly art"; implicit, unspoken communication), kenkyo (the appearance of modesty), sempai-kohai (seniority), wabi-sabi (simplicity and elegance), and zoto (gift giving), as well as discussions of child-rearing, personal space, and the roles of women in Japanese society. It includes discussion topics and questions after each chapter.

All in all, this book is an easy-to-use introduction to the distinguishing characteristics of Japanese society; an invaluable resource for anyone—business people, travelers, or students—perfect for course adoption, but also for anyone interested in Japanese culture.

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"Astonishing . . . breathtaking . . . You are seduced completely."

--Washington Post Book World

"A story with the social vibrancy and narrative sweep of a much-loved 19th century bildungsroman. . . . This is a high-wire act. . . . Rarely has a world so closed and foreign been evoked with such natural assurance."

--The New Yorker

Author: Arthur Golden

Year: 1997

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Summary:

Speaking to us with the wisdom of age and in a voice at once haunting and startlingly immediate, Nitta Sayuri tells the story of her life as a geisha. It begins in a poor fishing village in 1929, when, as a nine-year-old girl with unusual blue-gray eyes, she is taken from her home and sold into slavery to a renowned geisha house. We witness her transformation as she learns the rigorous arts of the geisha: dance and music; wearing kimono, elaborate makeup, and hair; pouring sake to reveal just a touch of inner wrist; competing with a jealous rival for men's solicitude and the money that goes with it.

In Memoirs of a Geisha, we enter a world where appearances are paramount; where a girl's virginity is auctioned to the highest bidder; where women are trained to beguile the most powerful men; and where love is scorned as illusion. It is a unique and triumphant work of fiction—at once romantic, erotic, suspenseful—and completely unforgettable.

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Memoirs of a Geisha is also a film

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Author: Wallpaper*

Year: 2010

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Summary:

Wallpaper* City Guides present a tightly edited, discreetly packaged list of the best a location has to offer the design conscious traveller. Here is a precise, informative, insider’s checklist of all you need to know about the world’s most intoxicating cities.

Whether you are staying for 48 hours or five days, visiting for business or a vacation, we’ve done the hard work for you, from finding the best restaurants, bars and hotels (including which rooms to request) to the most extraordinary stores and sites, and the most enticing architecture and design. Wallpaper* City Guides enable you to come away from your trip, however brief, with a real taste of the city’s landscape and the satisfaction you’ve seen all that you should.

In short, these guides act as a passport to the best the world has to offer.

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"One of the best books of the Year"

--The Economist, The Guardian, and New Statesman

A work not only of page-turning intensity but also of touching sensitivity and deep insight."

--David Pilling, Financial Times

Author: Richard Lloyd Parry

Year: 2010

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Summary:

Lucie Blackman―tall, blond, twenty-one years old―stepped out into the vastness of Tokyo in the summer of 2000, and disappeared forever. The following winter, her dismembered remains were found buried in a seaside cave.

Richard Lloyd Parry, an award-winning foreign correspondent, covered Lucie's disappearance and followed the massive search for her, the long investigation, and the even longer trial. Over ten years, he earned the trust of her family and friends, won unique access to the Japanese detectives and Japan's convoluted legal system, and delved deep into the mind of the man accused of the crime, Joji Obara, described by the judge as "unprecedented and extremely evil."

The result is a book at once thrilling and revelatory, "In Cold Blood for our times" (Chris Cleave, author of Incendiary and Little Bee).

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Author: Koushun Takami

Year: 1999

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Summary:

Koushun Takami's notorious high-octane thriller envisions a nightmare scenario: a class of junior high school students is taken to a deserted island where, as part of a ruthless authoritarian program, they are provided arms and forced to kill until only one survivor is left standing. Criticized as violent exploitation when first published in Japan—where it became a runaway best seller—Battle Royale is a Lord of the Flies for the 21st century, a potent allegory of what it means to be young and (barely) alive in a dog-eat-dog world.

A new translation by Nathan Collins.

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This book is also a film

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"Engrossing. . . . fast-paced."

--The Atlanta-Journal Constitution

"A journalist's memoir unlike any I've ever read."

--Dave Davies, Fresh Air 

Author: Jake Adelstein

Year: 2009

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Summary:

A riveting true-life tale of newspaper noir and Japanese organized crime from an American investigative journalist.
 
Jake Adelstein is the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police Press Club, where for twelve years he covered the dark side of Japan: extortion, murder, human trafficking, fiscal corruption, and of course, the yakuza. But when his final scoop exposed a scandal that reverberated all the way from the neon soaked streets of Tokyo to the polished Halls of the FBI and resulted in a death threat for him and his family, Adelstein decided to step down. Then, he fought back. In Tokyo Vice he delivers an unprecedented look at Japanese culture and searing memoir about his rise from cub reporter to seasoned journalist with a price on his head.

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