Though diverse in religious practices and ideas, a network of individuals in 19th century Tokugawa Japan, converging on an ideology of "personal cultivation" (mi o osameru; shusin), began to form coal
Best known for his interpretations of Western Continental philosophy, Japan's Kuki Shuzo (1888-1941) was also the author of several collections of poetry. This volume contains translations of his coll
Unger (East Asian languages and literature, Ohio State U.) dispels the myth that Chinese characters directly convey meaning without any reference to specific languages and cultural contexts. Written
Mak (economics, U. of Hawai'i) presents a text for students in tourism studies and tourism economics and related fields, and for tourism professionals and policymakers. Coverage includes a definition
The collection of sermons, statements, and acts attributed to the Chinese Zen master Linji Yixuan (d. 866) has been an essential text of Chinese and Japanese Buddhism for a thousand years. This transl
Himself a practitioner, Hershock (Asian studies, East-West Center, Honolulu) offers a philosophical introduction to the practice tradition of Chan Buddhism, the Chinese forebear of Korean Son and Japa
Nine out of ten Japanese claim some affiliation with Shinto, but in the West the religion remains the least studied of the major Asian spiritual traditions. It is so interlaced with Japanese cultural
Maynard (Japanese language and linguistics, Rutgers U.) presents a reference text for both students studying Japanese language and culture at institutions and students studying on their own. Featuring
In Light of Shadows is the long-awaited second volume of short fiction by the Meiji-Taishô writer Izumi Kyôka. It includes the famous novella Uta andon (A story by lantern light), the bizarre, antipsy
Twelve essays from anthropologists and scholars of religion explore, in the words of editor Skidmore (Centre for Cross Cultural Research, Australian National U.), "how everyday negotiations about cult
Originally published in German in 1939 as Grammatik der Jabem- Sprach auf Neuguinea (Friederichsen de Gruyter & Co.), Dempwolff's (1871-1938) work appears here in English, translated by Joel Brads
Larmour (political science, Australian National U.) explores how Western government institutions have been applied in the Pacific Islands by colonists, missionaries, consultants, and other forces. He
Kawano (sociology and anthropology, U. of Guelph, Ontario) investigates religious rites, or those often defined by their associations with supernatural entities and powers, and analyzes how people con
In postindustrial societies, people must consciously define their individuality through the choices they make. Recently, death has become yet another realm of personal choice, making a "good death" on
There have been many studies that focus on aspects of the history of Japanese Buddhism. Until now, none have addressed important questions of organization and practice in contemporary Buddhism, questi
Handmade Culture is the first comprehensive and cohesive study in any language to examine Raku, one of Japan’s most famous arts and a pottery technique practiced around the world. More than a history
McAra (anthropology, U. of Auckland, New Zealand) describes how a group of New Zealanders of Anglo-European affiliated with the British-based international movement Friends of the Western Buddhist Ord
General Nogi Maresuki paid a decades-old debt of honor by disemboweling himself on the day of his emperor's funeral. Nogi Shizuko, his wife, joined him in self-inflicted death. News of their suicide s
Mirror of Morality takes an interdisciplinary look at an important form of pictorial art produced during two millennia of Chinese imperial rule. Ideas about individual morality and state ideology wer
Mostly American scholars of Japanese history and culture offer new approaches to and interpretations of the first three centuries of the Heian period, 794-1086, focusing on the real or imagined config
