Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Sacred Sanskrit Words reviewed in The Asian Reporter


Read the review here or as a PDF (p. 13).
From The Asian Reporter on Sacred Sanskrit Words: "This slim volume is a lot more than its title lets on...Four pages of sidebars treat readers to fascinating facts about Sanskrit. The pairing of the spiritual and the cybernetic on facing pages is particularly delicious."

Thursday, May 26, 2005

Author Donald Richie featured in Interview Magazine



Interview Magazine's June 2005 issue is a special "Goes to Tokyo with Karl Lagerfeld" that features Donald Richie discussing his time in Japan and his latest book, The Japan Journals.

The Yakuza Movie Book author Mark Schilling is a contributor to this issue, and many of the people mentioned and photographed appear in numerous Stone Bridge titles!

Tuesday, May 24, 2005

Stone Bridge Press catalog now online!

Stone Bridge Press's newest catalog for 2005 (and Winter 2006) is online now! See it here as a PDF.

Friday, May 20, 2005

The Midnight Eye Guide reviewed in Choice


Choice: Current Reviews for Academic Libraries: "Anyone interested in exploring current works in world cinema will appreciate [The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film]...interesting and valuable first-hand observations about an incredibly energetic, creative national film industry. Highly recommended."

Author Gilles Poitras is a Guest of Honor at FanimeCon 2005



FanimeCon 2005 has added Gilles Poitras to its Guests of Honor list. Gilles is author Anime Essentials, The Anime Companion, and the upcoming The Anime Companion 2.

Thursday, May 19, 2005

Japanese the Manga Way reviewed in School Library Journal


Japanese the Manga Way
From School Library Journal
"Grade 10 Up -– In concise, meticulous prose, Lammers intends to teach absolute beginners how to use manga to learn to speak and read conversational Japanese. This seems like a daunting task, and it is, but for someone who has the patience, drive, and desire to learn the language, the book will be an immense help. The author's primary method for teaching it is to present a panel or scene from a manga (a list of the manga used is included in an appendix), then offer a four-tier translation of what the character is saying. Beneath the written Japanese is the romaji ('Roman letters') text, then comes a word-for-word translation so nonnative speakers can understand the structure of the Japanese, and finally a polished translation that expresses what the sentence means in natural English. Between these panels and translations (which take up the bulk of each page) are detailed explanations of the grammar, pronunciation, and sentence structure of each example. Although Lammers suggests that this book will be useful for beginners, he presents information in such a fast-paced way that readers will best be served by using the book as a supplement to a language class. No exercises are included, but the author does recommend specific titles for the purpose of self-testing. This volume will be useful for libraries in schools in which Japanese is taught as well as public libraries serving college-bound patrons." -– Steev Baker, Kewaskum Public Library, WI 2005
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Photographer Markuz Wernli interviewed at Ikjeld.com

Journalist Kjeld Duits in Japan interviews photographer Markuz Wernli about Mirei Shigemori at Ikjeld.com

Wednesday, May 18, 2005

Photographer Markuz Wernli offers more images from Mirei Shigemori book


Markuz Wernli is a visual artist and photographer active in Japan, Europe, and the United States. Here he offers a display of his work in Mirei Shigemori, as recently praised in Publisher's Weekly.

Native American in the Land of the Shogun is on Millikin Reading List


Millikin English Summer Reading List 2005: "If you are interested in Asian Studies, or have a fondness for discovering the source of the barriers in language comprehension, then this biography may be of some interest to you."
See the book here.

Mirei Shigemori : Modernizing the Japanese Garden reviewed in Publishers Weekly


From Publishers Weekly:
Deeply rooted in Japanese tradition, Mirei Shigemori (1896 - 1975) began his study of the tea ceremony and ikebana (the Japanese art of flower arranging) as a teenager. He pursued a career in fine arts and went on to revitalize the practice of Japanese gardening. Shigemori's approach combined 'the garden's religious roots' with 'the consciousness of his own place in history' to create a 'compelling manifesto for continuous cultural renewal.' Tschumi, a landscape architect who has written extensively on Japanese gardens, introduces the master's work to an American audience through an analysis of 10 of Shigemori's finest designs. An informative, meditative introduction sets the tone, followed by chapters devoted to individual gardens in Japan, each one presenting the project's historical context -- often going back centuries or more -- and describing the garden in detail. As readers move from one chapter to the next, insights accumulate. By the thoughtful afterword, serious scholars of Japanese gardening and neophytes alike will find new understanding of the discipline and Shigemori's unique contribution to it. Saito's perceptively framed photographs deepen the experience, providing a view of 'beautiful texture and detailing' that is 'hardly visible to the ordinary garden visitor.' Notes, a time line, a list of contacts, maps of locations and a glossary are helpful starting points for the further study this elegant volume inspires. (Apr.)
Copyright (C) Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Yakuza Movie Book reviewed at MBR



The Yakuza Movie Book
MBR: Internet Bookwatch, May 2005

Monday, May 16, 2005

Gardens of Gravel and Sand reviewed in Tri-County News



Gardens of Gravel and Sand
The Tri-County News: "Featuring over 30 photos of graval and sand gardens taken in Kyoto, Japan, this thin paperback underscores the importance of 'experienceing the garden as garden.'"

Final Cover for Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves


This is the final cover image for Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook and here is the copyright information:
Front-cover image from Nemuri Kyoshiro 4: Joyoken, © 1964 Kadokawa Pictures Inc.

Stray Dogs & Lone Wolves: The Samurai Film Handbook will be out this summer!

Wednesday, May 04, 2005

Native American in the Land of the Shogun reviewed in International Journal of Maritime History


International Journal of Maritime History: "Native American in the Land of the Shogun is superbly researched. Schodt has done exhaustive work in archives in the United States, Canada, and Japan, has visited most of the important historical sites, some twice, and has subjected earlier scholarship on MacDonald to relentless and careful anaylysis. If readers find the narrative structure a bit discursive, they will be rewarded with well-written and knowledgeable introductions to a range of topics such as the history of whaling, Chinook royalty, Anglo-Indian marriage, the fur trade, and so on. In addition, they will be treated to memorable and sharply etched portraits of wild frontiersmen, powerful chiefs, wily traders, and refined samurai. This is a thoughtful, well-written and fascinating work that will appeal to readers interested in Japanese, American and Pacific history and in global cultural encounter."

SBP authors present Manga Mania! at The Japan Society



Wayne P. Lammers (center) joined Frederik L. Schodt (left) and Patrick Macias (right) at The Japan Society last night in San Francisco. Fred Schodt, author of books such as Dreamland Japan, presented a history of manga, Wayne Lammers, author of Japanese the Manga Way, presented a lesson in Japanese along with examples of how to use manga to learn Japanese and a history of Mangajin. Patrick Macias, co-author of Cruising the Anime City, moderated the panel and audience members asked all three about manga recommendations for learning the Japanese language along with Japanese culture.

The Japan Society offers Japanese language classes at various levels throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and are enrolling for the Summer 2005 semester.

Tuesday, May 03, 2005

AZNetNews offers Sacred Sanskit Words in contest

AZNetNews is offering Sacred Sanskrit Words and nine other titles in a drawing. Register for their email updates for a chance to win. AZNetNews named Sacred Sanskrit Words as an Editor's Choice for April/May 2005.

SBP titles reviewed in Santa Cruz Sentinel

Book Briefs Domo arigato, Mr. Roboto May 1, 2005

Sacred Sanskrit Words featured in Yoga Magazine


Yoga Magazine reprinted the introduction and the definitions to several words from Sacred Sanskrit Words. Yoga Magazine called the book, "A refreshing addition to anyone's book collection and useful for yoga practictioners."

Monday, May 02, 2005

Native American in the Land of the Shogun in Dragonfly Review


April 2005 - Dragonfly Review of Native American in the Land of the Shogun: "Like a novelist, Frederik L. Schodt explores the crucial role this little-known adventurer played in the historic opening and modernization of the forbidden land. His depictions of 1,000-mile fur-trading treks across the West and the gritty international whale-oil trade that took Macdonald to Japan make exciting history."