Spring Snow

Book Description

The first novel of Mishima's landmark tetralogy, The Sea of fertility

Spring Snow is set in Tokyo in 1912, when the hermetic world of the ancient aristocracy is being breached for the first time by outsiders -- rich provincial families unburdened by tradition, whose money and vitality make them formidable contenders for social and political power.

Among this rising new elite are the ambitious Matsugae, whose son has been raised in a family of the waning aristocracy, the elegant and attenuated Ayakura. Coming of age, he is caught up in the tensions between old and new -- fiercely loving and hating the exquisite, spirited Ayakura Satoko. He suffers in psychic paralysis until the shock of her engagement to a royal prince shows him the magnitude of his passion, and leads to a love affair that is as doomed as it was inevitable.

Customer Reviews:

Boring and maudlin.......2007-10-08

Maybe it was a bad transalation. Maybe I could not relate as a westerner to an old Japanese story, but I really did not enjoy this book. It was maudlin and unbelievable. Story was boring. Character development was terrible and it was poorly written/transalated. I recommend Murakami's Norwegian Wood for those who want to read books by Japanese authors.

the beauty and destructive power of all-consuming love.......2007-07-23

Mishima's Spring Snow is a coming-of-age tale for nouveau riche Kiyoaki, whose naive childhood crush on the more mature Satoko grows into something much more powerful, beautiful and, ultimately, destructive. Kiyoaki's failings are human and familiar; acting on rash impulses, immaturity, a failure to realise what he wants till he has lost it. Mishima's characterisation is finely drawn and accurate. The scheming Tadeshina turns out to have her own secret heartbreak, enervated Ayakura lacks guile but not luck, the ancient loyalties of the Abessess make her a formidable eminence grice. The characters are at once individually drawn and representative of a unique and fascinating era of flux and change in Japan, as ancient modes of behaviour gave way to modernising forces. Mishima's novel is both of its time and timeless. A true masterpiece.

First Novel of Mishima's Masterpiece.......2007-07-01

Just finished reading an excellent book, just a few minutes ago, and I feel compelled to write a review, while ideas are still fresh in my mind.

This is the first book I've finished reading for my Summer Reading. The book is called Snow Spring (Haru no Yuki) by Mishima Yukio and its the first book in his masterpiece, The Sea of Fertility or Hojou no Umi. The Sea of Fertility is a series of four novels by one of Japan's greatest authors. The book I have is the Vintage International edition, translated by Michael Gallagher.

This novel really moved me. In the last 100 pages, I couldn't do anything but finish it. Just like a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, where the reader hangs onto every word until the truth and mystery is finally revealed in the last word, so does this novel grip the reader.

On the surface is a conventional tale of the Japanese idea of unrequited love, a theme that is done over and over again in Japanese fiction. What sets this piece apart from others, is Mishima narrative drive and richly detailed characters and the psychological insight into every major and minor character involved.

Kiyoaki begins his ill fated relationship with the beautiful Satoko, whom he has known all his life. At first he disregards her and then he is on fire to obtain her love after she is engaged to a Prince. Wealthy families are invovled in making the Wedding ceremony a success and any type of scandal leaking out to the press must be avoided at all costs. But Kioyaki single minded determination to pursure Satoko, despite such obstacles, causes the reader to want him to succeed.

On the one hand, Kiyoaki lets his desires and emotions rage out of control and on the other all those emotions put him into action. He used to sit around in his room all day, lonely and depressed, until he just decided to pusure love. Its his drive to obtain love and his selfish quest for Satoko's heavenly beauty that pushes him along page after page. These type of overly romantic novels can quickly turn unwittingly comical in lesser writer. But Mishima combines the richness of Japanese traditional and culture with romantic ideas of love and realistic views, based in concrete reality, that prevent the work from becoming a low form of soap opera.

The novel is both realistic novel and emotional charged romantic that causes the entire work to be a cleverly crafted paradox. For example, Honda is Kiyoaki's best friend in high school. Honda has a revelation that he must prevent Kiyoaki from pursuing Satoko becomes of his friend's harmful obession. The fact that Honda can't bring himself to hurt his friend by giving him a cold rational arguement, shows love between friends that isn't distorted by irrational love. Kiyoaki's love for Satoko is more based on his own selfish fantasy. It is this fantastic love that wins out between Satoko and over Honda, who had good intentions but failed to act on them. Irrational love wins out over the gloom of reality.

Without giving away any more of the story, let me just end with how this book took over my imagination and wouldn't let it go for 2 whole days. All day Saturday and all Sunday afternoon, I cared more about the characters in this story then my own family. I couldn't do anything else except finish reading it.

It starts out slow but builds to a breakneck speed in the end. It is highly recommended for anyone who wants to read an excellent novel this Summer. Forget about it being Japanese and look past all that exoticism and you will see the novel for all its beauty.

Today I will start on the second novel in the series, called Runaway Horses.

I can't wait.

Landscapes -- Interior and Exterior.......2007-03-06

In "Spring Snow," Yukio Mishima has chosen the perfect title for his novel. The narrative is as gentle and as beautiful as wet snow on spring blossoms, and indeed there is a poignant scene where two lovers have a tryst in a rickshaw under such conditions. It was my first foray into the world of Mishima -- indeed, of Japanese literature -- and will not be my last.

The story of a young and handsome aristocrat, Kiyoaki Matsugae, and the beautiful and mysterious Ayakura Satoko, comes from the same time-honored tradition of as more familiar star-crossed lovers such as Romeo and Juliet, Pyramus and Thisbe, Tristan and Isolde, and Lancelot and Guinevere. Set just after the Russo-Japanese War in the early 20th century, the novel offers intriguing insights into a Japanese culture that is at once in flux and clinging to traditions.

If you love a writer whose strength is description of nature, Mishima is not to be missed. His words are as fit as any Nature Channel special on the wonders of Japan and he is equally adept at describing the contours of his young lovers' bodies. In addition to the sensual and sensuous wonders, the inner psychology of passion-plagued minds is a point of expertise for this writer. He deftly avoids sentimentalism while walking the thin line between hatred and love, between passion and pain.

Symbolism, description, psychology, and a gentle narrative pace. What's not to love? Readers looking for a fast-paced plot might not be overwhelmed, but those who love it when they stumble upon a "writer's writer" will be glad they tried Yukio Mishima. It is the first book of the tetralogy, "The Sea of Fertility."

Beautiful Modern Allegory for the Aristocrats of the Soul.......2006-11-21

Suprisingly, after reading the reviews for Yukio Mishima's literary masterpiece "Spring Snow," I was unable to find anyone who interpreted this tragic Romeo and Juliet like love story the same way that I did. Perhaps, because of my own right wing and nationalistic belief systems that were similar to Mishimas I was able to catch the subtle hints of greater depths beneath the somewhat simple and cliched story of two lovers whose desire to be with one another was thwarted by unfortunate circumstances. I understood "Spring Snow" to be an elegantly written allegory full of symbolism and metaphors and describing the decline and gradual dissolution of the traditional world of the past; a society that existed as a thriving, living hierarchy wherein the Emperor represented the peak. I understood the main protagonist Kiyoaki, a son of an ancient traditional samurai family, to represent a weakened and diluted traditional Japanese society that has become listless and frail due to the inroads that "progressive" Western society and influence had made on it, but which still retained some residue of its health. Satoko, Kiyoaki's love whom he is obsessed with, is the soul of that traditional society. Honda, Kiyoaki's best friend, represents the modern world with its emphasis on all of its afflictions such as rationality, reason, "progressiveness," intellectualization, and industrialism. The ending is a tragic scenario describing symbolically and microcosmically what has happened on a macroscopic scale. The life and spirit of the traditional world has separated (Satoko willingly renounces this world and becomes a nun at a Buddhist convent, swearing an oath never to see Kiyoaki again in this life), Kioyaki, representing the traditional world, lacking the very spirit that gives it life, dies, leaving only his dreams to Honda (the best friend who is compassionate, caring, and sympathizing, but incapable of understanding Kiyoaki) the new sterile modern world which replaces the old. However, once our declining civilization finally self destructs, a world will be reborn in which Kiyoaki and Satoko will be reunited, and a mechanistic sort of life will be again reinvested with a passionate spirit. Also described is the corruption in the nobility who no longer follow principles and modes of behavior that arise not through the acknowledging of rules and ideas that are imposed on them from the outside, but a way of life that permeates from within, overflowing and filled with an organic livelihood, and who are instead preoccupied with pettiness and a pathological preoccupation of appearances.
"Spring Snow" is the first book I have had the fortune of reading by this luminary literary figure from Japan and it will not be the last.

The Cherry Blossom Festival: Sakura Celebration

Average customer rating:

4.5 Stars
History of the Cherry Blossom Festival.
I have not seen this book, this is what I've read about it

The Cherry Blossom Festival: Sakura Celebration
Ann McClellan
Manufacturer: Bunker Hill Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1593730403

Book Description

The most significant of the more than 175 varieties of Japanese ornamental trees featured, along with a discussion of Japanese garden design, and cultivation tips for home gardeners.

Customer Reviews:

4.5 Stars.......2006-10-01

This is an excellent book if you would like to get an overview and history of Washington DC's Cherry Blossom Festival. There's some really good historical photographs and drawings and it was enjoyable to read about the development, meaning, symbolism, etc. of the Cherry Blossom Festival. I would rate this book 4.5 stars only because while there are some great photos of the spectacular trees there aren't nearly as many as there should be. This is a great book if you are new to Washington and/or looking for a gift.

History of the Cherry Blossom Festival........2005-04-09

The book is very detailed and wonderfully illustrated. It starts with the traditions and roots of Cherry Blossom Festivals from Japan. Then it explians how the cherry blossom trees came to Washington and how the US picked up the traditions of the Cherry Blossom Festival. It ends with a chapter about how to care for cherry blossoms and how they exist, not only in cities of Japan and Washington, D.C., but also in other parts of the US, such as New York and Ohio, Missouri and California. Lovely book.
Funny enough, the book was printed in China.

I have not seen this book, this is what I've read about it.......2005-03-24

Lots of illustrations and facts about the role of the cherry blossom tree in diplomacy and landscapes. Info on the trees' cultivation, how the U.S. got the trees, places outside of Washington, DC to see them.

The author has worked at the Smithsonian and is a resident of D.C.

Average customer rating:

You may already have this

Zen Poetry: Let the Spring Breeze Enter
Lucien Stryk , and Takashi Ikemoto
Manufacturer: Grove Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Anthologies | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0802134076

Book Description

This anthology, jointly translated by a Japanese scholar and an American poet, is the largest and most comprehensive collection of its kind to appear in English. Their collaboration has rendered translations both precise and sublime, and their selection, which span 1,500 years, from the early T’ang dynasty to the present day, includes many poems that have never before been translated into English. Stryk and Ikemoto offer us Zen poetry in all its diversity: Chinese poems of enlightenment and death, poems of the Japanese masters, many haiku — the quintessential Zen art — and an impressive selection of poems by Shinkichi Takahashi, Japan’s greatest contemporary Zen poet. With Zen Poetry, Lucien Stryk and Takashi Ikemoto have graced us with a compellingly beautiful collection, which in their translations is pure literary pleasure, illuminating the world vision to which these poems give permanent expression.

Customer Reviews:

You may already have this.......2006-04-17

If you loved Lucien Stryk's 'Penguin Book of Zen Poetry' then you'll definately love this book, because they are the exact same book! Don't make the same mistake I did, thinking it was a new book, its not, just the old book renamed and packaged as new. When I read reviews about this book elsewhere, its said this was Stryk's latest book on Zen poetry, his best poetry book on Zen poems to date. I agree though, it is his best, again!

In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life and Writings of Higuchi Ichiyo, a Woman of Letters in Meiji Japan

Average customer rating:

Aren't titles rather hokey?
One of the great classics of world literature

In the Shade of Spring Leaves: The Life and Writings of Higuchi Ichiyo, a Woman of Letters in Meiji Japan
Robert Lyons Danly
Manufacturer: W. W. Norton & Company
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0393309134

Customer Reviews:

Aren't titles rather hokey?.......2002-03-26

After celebrating a golden age that was hundreds of years ahead of other civilized nations, women in Japan quickly fell from the cultural vanguard they had enjoyed during the Heian and were silent throughout the succession of bakufu governments that ended with the Meiji restoration in 1868. Ichiyo is widely credited as one of the first female voices to re-emerge after this extended silence. Though her career was cut short by her early death, several of her short stories are still in wide circulation in Japan and elsewhere. The beauty of this book is that it not only includes her own writings but also a rather deftly crafted biography. It has been my experience that non-Japanophiles tend to shy away from Japanese literature for lack of understanding the culture. The inclusion of the biography in this work makes it more approachable for those wishing to delve into the world of Japanese literature without undertaking a study of Japan's history and culture.

One of the great classics of world literature.......1999-04-23

Deservedly, this 19th century's woman's writings are considered some of the greatest in the world. Robert Danly has done a wonderful job of bringing Ichiyo to us. Out of a different time and world, he has still managed to make her accessible to an English reader.

The first half of the book is devoted to biographical material about Japan's unique and memorable real-life heroine. The second half presents nine of her short stories in translation. Each story its own literary jewel.

Customer Reviews:

The meaning of Japanese -Canadians during WW2.......2004-01-04

I thought that this was a great book for kids in 6th grade because we learn about Canadians and WW2. I felt sorry for Sara Warren because she is trapped inside feeling like she has to choose between Mr.Ito and her family because of the War. This is a wonderful book for our time going through the war against Iraq. The front cover is all ready a great description of the book.

Great book!.......2000-11-18

In my state we have something called Readind Competition.It's where you have to read a book and answer qustions about it. I raed this book for it and loved it.It's sad and exiting so please buy it it's worth the money!

Stephanie's Student Review - E.W. Miles Middle School.......2000-04-28

This story "The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito", was about the hardships a girl named Sara Warren and her friends and family faced while World War II was going on. Sara Warren lived with her parents in England, but because Germans were bombing England, her parents sent her to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to live with her relatives. She stayed with her Aunt Jean, Uncle Duncan, cousins Mary & Jamie, and their friends. Many horrible and unexpected things happened.

This was a really interesting novel. To me this novel explained life and all the horrible things that happen. Mr. Ito was a very special man to Sara.

To me this novel means a lot. It means that even when things are at their worst, there is still hope. And that little hope may be strength and courage to move on.

The significance of this novel within the theme of Heroic Adventures was expressed a couple of ways. Sara stood up for herself and the way she cared for things and helped people made her a hero. She looked beyond everyone's face and saw something different that made her want to help people. Sara displayed heroism in a way that she cared for her plant, and everyone around her. She especially cared for the Itos because of all the trouble they were going through. Sara was very strong when things were at their worst.

The genre I would include this story in is realistic fiction. Everything in the story was true. World War ll really happened, and sadly people do die. Comparing this novel to the last novel I read, I like this novel much better. Their similarities were both about heroes and a girl that tries to save the day.

I would absolutely recommend this book to others because it is very interesting. I guess I could say that I learned something from this book. That is that once you read this book, you can't put it down!

Wow what a book!.......1998-02-20

This is agreat book. Anyone who is looking for a Historical Fiction book, this is great!!!

Right Under the Big Sky, I Don't Wear a Hat: The Haiku and Prose of Hosai Ozaki (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)

Average customer rating:

Details of Simplicity.

Right Under the Big Sky, I Don't Wear a Hat: The Haiku and Prose of Hosai Ozaki (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)
Hosai Ozaki
Manufacturer: Stone Bridge Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japanese | World Literature | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1880656051

Book Description

One of Japan's most gifted poets, Hosai Ozaki started out as an insurance salesman, but alcohol and despair finally led him to a small Buddhist temple on an island off Shikoku in southern Japan. There he spent his remaining days doing simple chores, subsisting on a diet of toasted rice and water, and writing about loneliness and poverty. Hosai's great gift was his ability to place himself at a slight distance from existence and observe with a razor-sharp awareness the everyday objects that inhabit our world: doorways, shadows, leaves, food containers, the fingers on a hand. The effect is magical and disturbing. Also here are Hosai's prose pieces from "On Entering a Temple House," which meditate on his past, on the workings of his mind, and on the sounds, smells, and views outside his temple window.

Customer Reviews:

Details of Simplicity........1998-07-15

Whilst this is an account of lonliness, it certainly isn't one of despair. Ozaki's time spent alone gave him an extrordinary eye for detail and respect for the world around him. Pebbles are 'alive', flowers 'nod' to him. This book will calm and enchant by taking you to the nature of things with the gentlest of direction. It can make things come alive.

Basho's Narrow Road: Spring & Autumn Passages : Narrow Road to the Interior and the Renga Sequence : A Farewell Gift to Sora : Two Works (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)

Average customer rating:

A Japanese journey during the 17th century
Nice
To start with it's Basho.

Basho's Narrow Road: Spring & Autumn Passages : Narrow Road to the Interior and the Renga Sequence : A Farewell Gift to Sora : Two Works (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)
Matsuo Basho
Manufacturer: Stone Bridge Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Poetry | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1880656205

Book Description

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.

Customer Reviews:

A Japanese journey during the 17th century.......2006-09-28

Reviewed by Paige Lovitt for Reader Views (9/06)

Matsuo Basho (1644-94) was a famous Japanese haiku poet. In 1689, he took a 1,233 mile journey across Japan. His travels lasted five months. He was joined by his friend Kawai Sora. Basho wrote about this trip. He titled it, "Oku No Hosomichi," which translates to "Narrow Road to the Interior." This story is considered to be a masterpiece of Japanese literature. He took four years to write it and revise it.

Basho started this trip when his house burned down. He had two goals. One goal was spiritual; it involved "poetic truth." The other goal was a practical one in which he would use his travels to become well known as a poet. Sora developed stomach problems and had to end his travels with Basho. Basho wrote a short piece for him. In the second part of this book, there is a translation of "A Farewell Gift to Sora."

Basho funded his travels with donations from wealthy friends and students. He felt that there were three types of poets. The first type is confused noisemakers. The second type is wealthy people who desire to write instead of gossip. The third type is poets who work hard at writing true poetry. These poets write to "soothe their heart." Basho was the third type of poet.

Hiroaki Sato includes annotations to go along with the writings. This adds richness to the story and helps explain more about the culture and what was happening at the time. I read the story first with the annotations to gain understanding of what I was reading; then I went back and reread the story by itself so that I could feel how it flowed. Without the annotations, I would have enjoyed Basho's story, but I would not have understood much of what was written. Sato also includes pages of notes and commentaries. This is a well researched piece. "Basho's Narrow Road" is a beautiful story about Basho's travels. In it he reflects on the beauty of the countryside and the spirit of the people that he encounters.

I recommend "Basho's Narrow Road" to people that enjoy Japanese poetry, especially Haiku. It would also be a great book to use for a college literature class. I really enjoyed Basho's journey.

Nice.......2002-11-24

This was the first time that I have read Basho's Narrow Road to Oku, snd I enjoyed it a great deal. Actually I read it twice this week. The first time I read through it I tried to read it without using the notes. I was lazy, so it came out that I really didn't enjoy what I was reading because I really didn't know what was going on throughout most of the book, so I read it again using the notes, and I got much more out of it. The annotations are on the left page while the actual text is on the right page, so there is no flipping to the back of the book every time that you need to look up something. There are endnotes that give more information about the haiku Basho writes. This is a very cool book, that gives the reader a glimpse at the literary world of japan back during the 17th century.

To start with it's Basho........1998-08-08

This is a very well translated and annotated edition of this great work.

Milky Way Railroad (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)

Average customer rating:

angry
BEYOND OUTER SPACE TO INNER SPACE
Fascinating story, Questionable translation
Superb translation/Inspiring and entertaining for kids.
A senseless slaughter of fine literature

Milky Way Railroad (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature)
Kenji Miyazawa
Manufacturer: Stone Bridge Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Contemporary | General | Literature & Fiction | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1880656264

Book Description

Teased by his friends and alone on a hilltop, young Kenji is suddenly swept aboard a magical train bound for the Milky Way. Representing the soul's passage to heaven, the train is a passage from this life to the next. Kenji meets many of the newly departed on his journey, but only he will be allowed to return to Earth, where he dreams of being reunited with his father. Miyazawa uses a wealth of literary, scientific, and religious allusion to depict a universe that is sad yet miraculous. A classic in Japan for its original and artful evocation of a young boy's yearnings, this is a book of great wisdom that teaches acceptance and compassion.

Customer Reviews:

angry.......2006-07-13

I am soooo angry that this is the only translation in print. I want to use the story in classes I teach, but these idiots butchered the story. Miyazawa GAVE THE KIDS ITALIAN NAMES FOR A REASON! These so-called translators are too pedantic, too arrogant, or simply too stupid to get that. Sarah Strong wrote an excellent translation, which even includes an excellent readers guide. Granted, it's not really for kids, but the story was not meant only for kids. Come on Professor Strong, get it back in print!

BEYOND OUTER SPACE TO INNER SPACE.......2001-08-17

This is the best of several available English translations of Japan's bestloved children's sci fi fantasy story. Although it takes the controversial step of simplifying the title and changing the characters' names to Japanese instead of the original Italian, it removes one layer of mystification from the story and simplifies our perceptions of a multifaceted work that appeals as easily to adults as to children. This tale of the friendship between a poor boy and a rich boy in a small country town in northern Japan and their journey to the heavens, from which only one returns, shows a small boy contending with social rejection, death and his place in the universe. Told in simple but sparkling prose, it is accompanied by illustrations by the eminent Japanese illustrator Ryu Okazaki, some of which are in the same order as works by such masters as Leonard Baskin and Rockwell Kent. The translators, Joseph Sigrist and D.M. Stroud, are both Americans who lived for many years in Japan and who are intimately acquainted with the geographic and literary milieu of the author.

Fascinating story, Questionable translation.......1999-11-16

A surreal dream journey combining religious and scientific imagery; this version includes some good B&W illustrations. However, for various reasons I am seeking out an alternate translation after buying this book. My first encounter with NIGHT ON THE GALACTIC RAILROAD (GINGA (Galaxy) TETSUDO (Railroad) NO YORU (Night)... the "Night" somehow dropped out of the title in this version) was with the gorgeous animated film, towards which my expectations are admittedly biased. Also, I don't read Japanese, so my comments on the translation must be taken with a grain of salt. However, one error stands out -- changing the character's Italian names to arbitrary Japanese equivalents. Did the translators really expect readers to be somehow confused by the fact that a Japanese author was writing about Italian characters, however universal or archetypal such characters are supposed to be? It's not a gripe that would destroy the story for a first-time reader, but for me, it leaves a negative impression.

Superb translation/Inspiring and entertaining for kids........1998-09-05

This extremely well-written translation doesn't even sound like a translation most of the time. It is the best of the four available translations of the number-one Japanese children's classic of this century which has sold millions of copies in Japan. It is an inspiring tale of two young boys on a trip through the cosmos as one of them learns to deal with social ostracism (ijime), a missing father, the death of his best friend -- and finally with the meaning of life.

A senseless slaughter of fine literature.......1998-02-25

I have been a Kenji Miyazawa fan for a long time, and upon finding a (fairly cheap) version of Night on the Galactic Railroad, I was ecstatic. Upon recieving it, to my horror, they had changed ALL of the names and severely rewrote major sections. The original names are Italian, and they are changed to lame Japanese names to "avoid confusion". Pure arrogance on the part of the translator. The only thing that saves this title is the original material, which still manages to shine through. Buy the other version, or watch the animated version put out by Central Park Media.

Average customer rating:

the best for travelers to Japan
You need this guidebook!
Hot hot hot springs ahhhh....

A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs
Anne Hotta , and Yoko Ishiguro
Manufacturer: Kodansha America
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Exercise & Fitness | Health, Mind & Body | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 0870117203

Customer Reviews:

the best for travelers to Japan.......2006-07-29

Covers all major hot springs in the regions of Japan.

You need this guidebook!.......2004-12-31

Hot springs, called Onsens in Japanese, are one of the greatest pleasures Japan has to offer. Due to its volcanic nature, the entire country is literally bubbling with thermal waters, and thousands of years of careful refinement has created a paradise of hot water soaking. Anyone coming to Japan should have a few onsens on their travel agenda, and a copy of "A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs" in their luggage. Anyone living in Japan should definitely have a copy on their bookshelf.

Authors Anne Hotta and Yoko Ishiguro have divided Japan into regions, then highlighted some of the best onsens in that area. Each onsen is sub-classified by location, properties of the water (the different types of mineral waters each boast a healing power,) around and about detailing special information about the onsen and its area, close accommodations and a few extras such as local foods and legends surrounding the onsen.

Although it was written in 1986, I have found the information to still be current, with all of the directions and accommodations still accurate. Of course, the prices have altered since then, but that is to be expected with every guidebook. Perhaps a good rule of thumb is to double every price in the book, for a more modern assessment.

The only flaw in the guidebook is a lack of ranking, or recommendations. Onsens are only classified by area, and there is no quick method for sorting which are the best. A "10 Onsens worth planning your trip around" section, a star-system, or something of the sort, would have been appreciated. Also, the background and history of onsens is slim, and could have been a more interesting section.

Overall, however, "A Guide to Japanese Hot Springs" is an indispensable book, and one that has greatly added to my time in Japan.

Hot hot hot springs ahhhh...........2000-12-04

Despite it being written many years ago, the reviews and information on most of the springs are still true. I think I've visited about 11 of the springs mentioned in this book - and all were just as it said they would be. There are interesting stories about the springs, and what kind of waters they have (for example: water to make you youthful, water to promote pregnancy, or water to "invigorate"). The instructions on how to get there and where to stay are clear and easy to follow. I've never been lost on the way to any of these springs. I've read this book cover to cover several times, and then flicked back and forth as a reference. The hardest thing is deciding which of all the springs you want to visit - the authors make them all sound good by picking up points of interest about each one. If you like being lazy, soaking in hot water, having pummelling massages from heated waterfalls, eating and drinking until all you can do is drag yourself back into a hot tub...this book is essential for any trip to Japan. Enjoy reading it before you go - and then make a list of where to visit while you are there. The book itself is not too big, so it will fit in your bag to take along with you. I only gave 4 stars because I am waiting for a new edition to come out!

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