Böcker utgivna av Stone Bridge Press

One of the most spectacular vendettas ever: the history and haiku behind the mass-suicide featured in the 2013 film 47 Ronin

Two women. Two cultures. One music.

Oh, Tama! describes the haphazard lives of Natsuyuki Kanemitsu and his loosely connected circle of dysfunctional acquaintances and family. Natsuyuki is prevailed upon by his friend Alexandre, an occasional porn-film actor, to adopt the very pregnant cat Tama, who gives birth and remains throughout the novel as a silent observer of her human hosts. Further complications arise surrounding the mystery of who the father of Alexandre's sister Tsuneko's unborn child is, with Tsuneko (a bar owner) happy to collect money from anyone who may be responsible. One of these possible dads turns out to be Natsuyuki's half-brother, abandoned and forgotten long ago as easily as Tama has parted with her kittens. A "e;fast and comedic novel,"e; Oh, Tama! plays out against a backdrop of cramped apartments and cheap food and drink where everyone seems to have an opinion on film, photography, and fashionable French art theory. It is part of the author's esteemed series of "e;Mejiro"e; novels, named after the northwest area of Tokyo that so richly informs their urbanity and outlook.

The novel focuses on two incidents during the Battle of Okinawa, 1945: the rape of Sayoko, 17, by four US soldiers and Seijis stabbing revenge. Narrations through nine points of view, Japanese and American, from 1945 to present reveal the full complexity of events and how war trauma ripples through the generations. Medorumas first full-length English translated work.

The third volume of the Understanding China Through Comics series, Barbarians and the Birth of Chinese Identity, tells of the founding of the Song Dynasty and its attempts to reinvigorate a flagging economy and government while defending against invading barbarians and the eventual invasion of China by Genghis Khan and the Mongols.

A remarkable cross-cultural history that rescues the swastika, an ancient Buddhist symbol, from its deployment by the forces of hate.

A "documentary comic book" from 1931, depicting the true adventures of four young Japanese men in America.

A new translation of one of the greatest works of postwar Japanese literature, acutely capturing modern anxiety and alienation

Married to a Zen monk in training, an American woman in Japan chronicles her own year of growth and discovery.

"An excellent introduction to the large trends of early Chinese history; ideal for those new to the subject." School Library Journal

With todays sake drinkers increasingly informed and adventurous, now is the time for a truly expert guide to take you deeper into appreciation of this complex but delightful Japanese beverage, brewed from rice and enjoyed both warm or chilled.And what better mentor than John Gauntner, the Sake Guy and the worlds leading non-Japanese sake educator and evangelist? Here in over two dozen no-holds-barred essays, John reveals the truth about sake from a connected insiders perspective. No other book or website presents such a knowledgeable, practical, and concise yet complete guide to sake idiosyncrasies, misperceptions, and controversies.Sake Confidential is the perfect FAQ for beginners, experts, and sommeliers. Indexed for easy reference with suggested brands and label photos. Includes: Sake Secrets: junmai vs. non-junmai, namazake, aging, dry vs. sweet, ginjo, warm vs. chilled, nigori, water, yeast, rice, regionality How the Industry Really Works: pricing, contests, distribution, glassware, milling, food pairing The Brewers Art Revealed: koji-making, brewers guilds, grading John Gauntner John Gauntner is the only non-Japanese certified Master of Sake Tasting. A resident of Japan since 1988, he has worked in the sake industry promoting and educating since 1994. Each year he conducts Sake Professional Courses for sake professionals and aficionados, and several of his students have gone on to open thriving sake shops, breweries, and izakaya in the United States.

Born into the burakuminJapan's class of outcastsKenji Nakagami depicts the lives of his people in sensual language and stark detail. The Cape is a breakthrough novella about a burakumin community, their troubled memories, and complex family histories. Includes House on Fire and Red Hair. Kenji Nakagami (194692) was a prolific writer admired for his vigorous prose style.

One night, alone on a hilltop, a young boy is swept aboard a magical train bound for the Milky Way. A classic in Japan, this tender fable is a book of great wisdom, offering insight into the afterlife.One of Japan's greatest storytellers, Kenji Miyazawa (18961933) was a teacher, author, poet, and scientist.

A guide to the key spiritual concepts behind yoga and other branches of Eastern wisdom

These devotions inspired by ancient Shinto rituals are a series of calls-and-response that directly address the awesome power of the natural world to heal and restore the soul. Readers are invited to stand before rivers, stones, and trees, to listen to thunder, and to be touched by the wind and rain in order to cultivate a spirit of reverence for Nature and awaken the cosmic content within the human. Included are steps for conducting misogi (waterfall purification) and resources for learning more about Shinto practice in North America.Stuart Picken, an ordained minister, has taught religion in Japan since 1972 and is international adviser to the High Priest of Tsubaki Grand Shrine. He is author of Essentials of Shinto.

"e;Shono conveys both intimacy and distance, tranquility and tension, as he explores the shifting relations between husband and wife, father and son, brother and sister."e; -Publishers Weekly"e;These stories are so artful... they seem like the artless productions of life itself."e; -Kenyon College Book Review -- Kenyon College Book Review"e;This collection should be sipped and savored like warm sake."e; -Small PressWinner of the Pen Center West Award, this delicate collection of thirteen linked tales reveals the flow of daily life in the modern Japanese family. Junzo Shono's artful layering of commonplace events, images, and conversations has been compared to haiku poetry crossed with an Ozu film.

A "real manga, real Japanese" study guide and resource for language students and teachers

A luminous translation of the classic Buddhist poem

Matsuo Basho (1644-94) is considered Japan's greatest haiku poet. Narrow Road to the Interior (Oku no Hosomichi) is his masterpiece. Ostensibly a chronological account of the poet's five-month journey in 1689 into the deep country north and west of the old capital, Edo, the work is in fact artful and carefully sculpted, rich in literary and Zen allusion and filled with great insights and vital rhythms. In Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages, poet and translator Hiroaki Sato presents the complete work in English and examines the threads of history, geography, philosophy, and literature that are woven into Basho's exposition. He details in particular the extent to which Basho relied on the community of writers with whom he traveled and joined in linked verse (renga) poetry sessions, an example of which, A Farewell Gift to Sora, is included in this volume. In explaining how and why Basho made the literary choices he did, Sato shows how the poet was able to transform his passing observations into words that resonate across time and culture.