A Year in Japan

by 凱特·威廉森 and Kate T. Williamson

The Land of the Rising Sun is shining brightly across the American cultural landscape. Recent films such as Lost in Translation and Memoirs of a Geisha seem to have made everyone an expert on Japan, even if they've never been there. But the only way for a Westerner to get to know the real Japan is to become a part of it. Kate T. Williamson did just that, spending a year experiencing, studying, and reflecting on her adopted home...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1568985401
• ISBN13: 9781568985404
• Release Date: March 2006
• Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.1" x 8.0"

Customer Reviews

Painterly Masterpiece

"A Year in Japan" plays-up the quirky side of Japanese culture with observations of the random differences an American student encounters in the Japanese culture. All short descriptions are illustrated in delicate watercolor paintings. The pages of full of vibrancy, life and a sense of humor, while it remains clear that the artist/author still appreciates and admires the culture she is experiencing.

This book stays next to my desk in all seasons.

It is a great pleasure to be able to casually open A YEAR IN JAPAN, which stays next to my desk, and find a page by chance. On any given day, I might see a lovely two-page spread of maple leaves; an absorbing story (one of my favorites) in the author's fine print/cursive mix about her task of carefully tracing out the characters of a sutra in order to gain admittance to the Moss Temple; a tempting diagram of "sweets made especially for moon viewing"; an account of GUYS AND DOLLS performed by an all-female, Japanese cast; an illustration of a very comforting view from the inside of a Japanese taxi. Every page is a pleasant portal into a world other than my own. The book is built loosely around the seasons and their shifting, and is thus also exciting as a work to be read through from front cover to back. Occasional references to the seasons provide an anchor for the reader, for example, you find out how traditional Japanese sweets have a specific shape and flavor in autumn, and about the kinds of umbrellas available during the rainy season. The illustrations and texts are crafted with such thoughtfulness, brightness and love (much like the above-mentioned sutra text) that I am immediately transported into the author's world when I open the book, and feel delighted to share in her enchantment and exploratory spirit. I always show friends this book when they visit.

Aiming at a country's soul, not its sites

This witty, finely observed book is reflective about Japan and travel in ways that traditional guidebooks are not. With beautiful drawings and carefully chosen text, it provides insight into a culture that outsiders often find difficult to penetrate. More broadly, it is a moving and understated story of visiting a new place for the first time. I'll give this book as a gift to friends with an interest in Japan or plans to visit, and would use it as a supplement to traditional tourist guides in my own travels there. I only wish that that there were more books like this one, striving to represent the spirit of a place instead of just telling you about its tourist sites.

Beautiful and stylish

All of the above reviews are right, incl. the guy who said it lacks depth. Yes, if what you are searching for is a travel guide or a novella, this is not it. If you are however, looking for a beautiful book of visuals and yummy little insights on Japanese culture, then you will not be disappointed. I've not lived there, have visited a number of times, but the very day I received this book, I made plans to get back there ASAP! Inspiring!

Truly Special

I love this book. It beautifully and poignantly focuses on observing the smallest details of Japanese life, and through these details creates a portrait of a culture, and of a place. What I found really refreshing was the book's unique, personal point of view. The handwritten text and striking illustrations, the delicately written observations, and the spare layouts are reverant and perfectly pitched. This book meditates on and explores Japan generously and honestly. It doesn't claim to be definitive, doesn't attempt to objectively document Japan as a monolithic, easily consumed thing. It instead, through the accretion of detail, leaves one with a sense of wonder, a sense of timelessness, and a sense of grace. The tone is personal and diaristic, but what emerges is an experience that the reader is engaged in and delighted by, and suggests an enriching, enchanting way of seeing and interacting with the world. I felt like the book, and the author, were sharing with me. Very highly recommended.