#Japanese book

[heaveninawildflower]

Wood block prints taken from 'The Insect Book' by Utamaro Kitagawa (1753?-1806).

Wikimedia.

[jareckiworld]

Setsu Asakura (1922-2014) "Switchyo Cat" Japanese Picture Book, 1971.

[ihayachii]

Review of one of my favorite books 🇯🇵

跡を消す means "Erase the Traces"

But what do they mean by traces? It basically means, erase the existence of what the deceased left behind.. especially if the landlord or the police found out about the dead body weeks or months later... Usually that happens when the dead person dies alone.. with no family or friends around.. they only get divorced when the smell becomes so hard to bear.. the smell of a dead body left to rot makes the whole building stinks and there will be so many worms and naturally.. the waste and the liquids of the dead body.. so that's what they do.. they cleans the houses of the deceaseds and erase their traces.. like these traces weren't here from the very beginning..

I never expected this book to hurt so much yet touch my heart in so many places.

You can see how cruel the world is..the families who don't give a shit about the dead person.. the angry landlords.. and many many more.

And because I don't want to spoil you, I will stop here so you could discover the rest of the book on your own.

This is my first time reading a book by this author and definitely won't be my last time. I absolutely love her writing style and it makes you feel like you are part of the story and feeling every emotion the protagonists feels..

She is also a nurse which isn't surprising because you could tell by reading this book that she has so much knowledge. A Lot of medical information was explained in a really easy way.

Trigger warnings: death (including infants), bodily waste, medical issues, blood, horrific scenes, corpses, suicide, insects

Level: N3-N2

[redsamuraiii]

Strange Tales From Japan : 99 Chilling Stories of Yokai, Ghosts, Demons and the Supernatural

I like how to book starts with the author storytelling how his hiking and pilgrimage experience in the countryside of Japan lead him into writing this book.

Hearing tales from the locals sparks his interest and curiosity into knowing more about them as he discovers that each prefecture has its own unique tales.

So he began curating and translating various stories he heard and documents he acquired, consolidating them into 99 short stories, complete with illustrations and paintings.

What’s unique and interesting about Japanese folktales is that the ghosts are like humans. Some are good, some are bad. The problem is knowing which is which.

So the stories have a mix of variety. Some are tragic that it breaks your heart, some are funny or wholesome that it makes you smile, some are terrifying that it freaks you out.

Despite of how the stories are categorised based on its genre, I still can’t tell how each story goes and how it will end until i finish each chapter. The outcome is always unexpected.

Sometimes it’s good, with a happy or satisfying ending. Sometimes it’s bad, with a sad ending. Sometimes it even end with a cliffhanger leaving you to your own conclusion.

But nonetheless, it’s an enjoyable read as it also provides insight into the unique culture of each prefecture in Japan, making you understand why some customs are that way.

I feel like a Ronin traveling across Japan reading this, with each chapter taking me to a different town, with different characters, ghosts and stories as I try to figure out what’s going on.

If you feel like reading something thrilling and unexpected, going on misadventures, this is for you. Don’t worry, nothing in this book is more terrifying than toxic people. 🤭

[kimosaka]

Japanese Folding Book for BiDamas Art Gallery Book Project

[quoth-the-worm]

“But I wasn’t crying because I was sad. I guess I was crying because we had nowhere else to go, no choice but to go on living in this world. Crying because we had no other world to choose, and crying at everything before us, everything around us.”

― Mieko Kawakami, Heaven

[nostalgiahime]

Pokemon Gold & Silver Cartridge Stickers included on the first page of the Japanese strategy guide "Pokémon Gold and Silver Adventure Clear Guide" (1999) [✩]

[oldbrain]

忘れはやするミス・ニューヨカー（For ladies） 常盤新平 by Shinpei Tokiwa Japanese book that analyzes America and the women who lived in New York. - Published in 1977.

(Source)

[muramatsu-takehiko]

東京デザインセンター 33周年記念年譜 1992-2024 H297 × W192mm（本文＝H297 × W190mm）

[wildbeautifuldamned]

Kobunsha Kappa Comics Astro Boy #8 CGC SS 5.0 Sketch Mari Shimizu Rare 1964 ebay TM

[heaveninawildflower]

Birds taken from 'Keinen kacho gakan' (a Japanese woodblock printed book of twelve designs of birds and flowers) by Imao Keinen.

© The Trustees of the British Museum.

Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0) license.

[theinyshlobster]

butter by asako yuzuki [review]

read from august 6th - august 19th

review:

i really dont know how to explain *why* i enjoyed this book so much. all i know is that it made me cry and i had a good time and i didnt expect a book about food to do this to me. i think this book hit so hard as i did relate to rika quite a bit - daddy issues & perpetual feelings of loneliness? yeahhhh we're twinning. i really enjoyed how she was written, and could put myself in her shoes constantly. she was incredibly likeable and probably contributed to >90% of my enjoyment of reading this. side characters such as reiko & shinoi were also well-written, as was the star of this book, kajii.  i found kajii intriguing, as it was difficult to tell her underlying motives. just like rika, im sitting here contemplating the kajii beyond what she display(ed) to the public. truly fascinating character, and i especially liked her ending. and in general i loved this book's ending. felt like a nice full-circle. speaking of, not only did i not expect to love a book about food, but i really loved how the book centers itself on relationships. relationships in terms of friends, family, and lovers, were superbly covered in this book. ngl i think the ending regarding rika's relationships is what made me cry. idk i didnt expect it and it hit me Hard. what else did i like? i mean there really wasnt a plot if im honest. yeah sure we're following kajii & rika.... but there's no logical flow. there's no beginning, middle & end to this. it follows rika and honestly that was fascinating. seeing rika switch between admiring to fearing to resenting to loving kajii was great. honestly i think the no-plot only works because rika is written so well and is very relatable. without it, i think i would've dnf'd this a chapter in. i really like how the book lowkey changes halfway through. it was unexpected yet it felt realistic based on the setting and characters' presented. especially with reiko's chapter, i liked how the story turned into something else. now the real question is - why is this not a 5-star if i seemed to live laugh love everything? well im ngl but even though rika is so likeable so i said the no-plot wasnt an issue.... it kind of is. there's almost no resolution regarding the plot proposed to readers for the first half of this book. im not saying i needed a "where are they now" of kajii and a complete resolution - i understand it was likely written as ambiguous or not mentioned at all to fit rika's characterisation at the time. still, as a reader, i can't lie and say it didnt annoy me slightly. plus, as much as i loved the passages with rika & her foodgasms, after the first 4 paragraphs about how great butter is i was.... not bored? moreso it felt redundant. girl i know butter is orgasmic u said so literally 2 sentences ago. can we move on to the actual story staring me right in the eye. i mean i didnt hate the food chapters, but i didnt love them. they were... fine.  anyways im so serious after reading this ive had to contain myself from not going to the shops to buy a ridiculously expensive butter to see if rika is actually just a weirdo or if butter is *that* good. lock ur doors yall if you have butter in ur fridge the clobster is coming to yoink it all tonight 😈

[ihayachii]

Kanji N1 - let's go 🇯🇵✨

[redsamuraiii]

Book Recommendation : JAPAN JOURNEYS

Unlike today where you can post countless travel photos on social media for all to see, in Edo Period Japan, people share pictures of beautiful travel destinations via woodblock art.

After years of civil wars and restrictions on individual mobility, travel became a popular leisure activity in Japan, thanks to the development of a network of well built and fairly safe roads.

Like today, traveling provides opportunities to experience culinary and cultural specialties. This enjoyment was reflected vividly in woodblock prints for those who did not get to travel.

These prints were sold or displayed at marketplaces or festivals where people get to see beautiful sceneries of places they had never been to before, which encouraged more to travel.

The historic views of Japan have been preserved over the generations, offering a fascinating perspective on familiar locations for tourists both domestic and foreign today.

In this book, art historian, Andreas Marks, has gathered a selection of detailed woodblock prints depicting scenic spots and cultural icons that still delight visitors today in Japan.

You’ll see what places like Kyoto, Osaka and Tokyo looked like in the 19th century. And you’ll be surprised to see how the temples and castles look the same but not the background.

Buildings and architectures that have withstood the test of time, being rebuilt or preserved from Edo Period till today, which makes Japan one of the most unique travel destinations.

A pleasant read for travel and Japan enthusiasts who love photography and art. As each woodblock print has a story of its own through the eyes of the Japanese artists.

[liddopixie]

Rosen Blood (1) - Manga Review and My Thoughts *SPOILER FREE*

[quoth-the-worm]

“Because we’re always in pain, we know exactly what it means to hurt somebody else.”

― Mieko Kawakami, Heaven