Donald Richie interviewed in Asahi Shimbun

In a March issue of Asahi Shimbun English edition, Gabrielle Kennedy interviews Donald Richie about The Japan Journals: 1947-2004

"An outsider who stayed the course, endeavoring to become 'the person who penned the best likeness.' His view has come full circle: from the difficult and turbulent days of the occupation when he rode allies-only carriages, the USA was criminalizing war efforts and Ueno was abuzz with an energy akin to Paris's left bank through the economic boom and into the present where the USA has cajoled Japan back into war, albeit this time on its side. Change he admits, but with all the original proportions in tact: things get 'higher,' he writes, but not necessarily 'better.'"