Jrock and Catgirls in The Asian Reporter

Jrock, ink. and Cosplay: Catgirls and Other Critters were both reviewed in the Asian Reporter. In the October 10 issue, Oscar Johnson writes (p.5) that jrock, ink. is "truly a smart little book. Josephine Yun packs pithy prose with passion...to convey the very sound and feel of [jrock] music..." In the October 17 issue, Josephine Bridges notes (p. 3) that Catgirls arrived "just in time to inspire and instruct readers in search of a new look this Halloween!"

Patrick Galloway, Oregon's Preeminent Samurai Film Critic

Film critic and author Patrick Galloway was recently interviewed by Michael Street for the Asian Reporter. The intriguing interview can be found here (scroll down to page 15). Here's an excerpt from the interview with "Oregon's preeminent critic of samurai film":

AR: What was it about samurai films that grabbed your interest so suddenly and completely?

PG: I'd have to say a combination of intellectual sophistication, intense sword action (sometimes elegant, sometimes savage), and a refreshingly frank and cynical approach to political intrigue. Add the occasional Zen aphorism, along with an aesthetic refinement unique to Japanese culture, and you've got an unbeatable formula for a stirring, sublime film experience.

Makes us all the more excited for Patrick Galloway's forthcoming Asia Shock: Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, & Thailand!

Helen McCarthy, Jayne Pilling, and Koji Yamamura in London!

The Japan Foundation (U.K.) brings Koji Yamamura, one of Japan’s most successful and distinctive animators, to London to discuss his work and his position in the growing Japanese animation industry. The event will commence with an illustrated talk by Helen McCarthy, co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia and the very exciting, soon-to-be-released The Anime Encyclopedia 2. This talk will be followed by the seminar, which will take the shape of a conversation between Koji Yamamura and Jayne Pilling, founder and director of the British Animation Awards.

Bringing Pictures to Life:
Japanese Animation and the World of Koji Yamamura

October 16, 2006

6:30pm, The Japan Foundation, 10-12 Russell Square, London

WC1B 5EH

Fax: 020 7323 4888; E-mail: event@jpf.org.uk

more info

In the Pool reviewed at hackwriters.com and in Metropolis

Recently, Hideo Okuda's In the Pool received rave, educated reviews at both hackwriters.com and Metropolis!



An excerpt from Hillel Wright's review in Metropolis, issue 164:

"My favorite was “Cell,” a story in which high school student Yuta Tsuda becomes addicted to his cell phone and develops an uncontrollable nervous twitch when he’s unable to use it. The story offers great insight for every one of us, from Luddite to geek, regarding this pervasive contemporary phenomenon."

And from Charlie Dickinson's engaging review at hackwriters.com:

So while In the Pool has many laugh-aloud moments, at a deeper level, this comedic collection has some intellectual backbone. These are stories about characters tamping down their neuroses and getting on about life.

In that regard, a note about Japanese psychotherapy with which Japanese might be more familiar than English readers: Okuda has Dr. Irabu refer to the great pioneer in Japanese psychotherapy, Morita. A contemporary of Freud, Dr. Masatake Morita (1874-1938) cared little about the roots of neurosis, preferring to educate patients to accept neurosis and go on with action-oriented steps to improve their lives. "Just do it!" might have been his slogan. As one student of Morita, Takehisa Kora, has written, accepting reality as it is or "arugamama means to jump in anyway, fear and all."

[quatation from Kora, Takehisa, How to Live Well: Secrets of Using Neurosis, State University of New York Press, 1995, p. 13]

J SELECT pays tribute to Donald Richie

The Oct/Nov issue of J SELECT (Vol. 50 No. 10)features a cover story on Donald Richie, author of The Japan Journals, A Lateral View, The Inland Sea, and many more seminal volumes. You can see an excerpt from the article and interview, here. If you live on the East Coast, you may have a chance to see Mr. Richie in one of his many appearances throughout October. Here's his schedule.

In the Pool reviewed in the Daily Yomiuri

From Gordon Kanki-Knight's review of In the Pool:

"Okuda's collection of short stories in its original Japanese has sold close to a quarter of a million copies and has been made into a film. The translator of this English version, Giles Murray, deserves special praise for taking Okuda's deceptively easy prose and finding a way of expressing it that is readable, modern and avoids the pitfalls of many standard translations that attempt to be too literal...In The Pool has a story for everyone. It helps put into perspective the annoyances and disappointments we all face in modern society as well as giving the reader a chance to reflect on ways to make his or her life a bit better. Dive into it."

Donald Richie on the East Coast in October

Donald Richie will visit the East Coast in October. Events include:

Friday, October 13: Amherst College. “The Structure of Culture: The Japanese Example,” a lecture by Donald Richie for the Annual Meeting of the Friends of the Amherst College Library. The lecture and the following reception are free and open to the public. Mr. Richie is Amherst College's 2006-07 Robert Frost Library Fellow. Pruyne Lecture Hall, 115 Fayerweather. 4 p.m. Event details

Monday, October 16: Harvard University. Two events:
"Japan the Incongruous and Myself," a lecture by Donald Richie, presented by the Japan Society of Boston, Proogram on U.S.-Japan Relations and Reischauer Institute. Tsai auditorium (S010), CGIS South Bldg., 1730 Cambridge St., Cambridge. 4:00 - 5:30 p.m. Event details.

Donald Richie introduces a showing of Kenji Mizoguchi's "Street of Shame" for the Harvard Film Archive. Carpenter Center, 24 Quincy St., Cambridge. 6:30 p.m. Event details.

Tuesday, October 17: Yale University. Donald Richie and Professor Dudley Andrew present Japanese Film Aesthetics Across Film History: Shifting Paradigms of Japaneseness from the 30s to the Present, a workshop for undergraduate and graduate students. Henry R. Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave, Room 202. 5 p.m.

Wednesday, October 18: Yale University. "Japan the Incongruous and Myself," a lecture by Donald Richie at 4 p.m., followed by a screening of Mr. Richie's experimental films at 8 p.m. Linsly-Chittenden Hall, Room 101, 63 High Street. Event details.

Thursday, October 19: Yale University. Two events:
3:30 p.m. Experimental film workshop. Henry R. Luce Hall, 34 Hillhouse Ave, Room 103.

8 p.m. A special 35mm screening of Akira Kurosawa's Stray Dog (1949) introduced by Donald Richie. Screening followed by panel discussion with Donald Richie and faculty from EALL, Film Studies, and History. Whitney Humanities Center Auditorium, 53 Wall Street. Details.

Saturday, October 21: Museum of the Moving Image, New York City. The Japanese Film: A Tribute to Donald Richie runs October 20 - 29. Mr. Richie will be present on October 21 to introduce "Rashomon" at 5 p.m. and to introduce a showing of four of his own experimental films - "Life," "Atami Blues," "Dead Youth," and "Five Filosophical Fables" - at 2 p.m. Full details.

Sunday, October 22: Kinokuniya Bookstore, NYC. Book signing. 3 p.m. (Rockefeller Center) 10 W. 49th St., New York, NY 10020.

Monday, October 23: New York Film Festival's '50 Years of Janus Films' Series. Donald Richie introduces "Fires on the Plain," 6:15 p.m., Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street between Broadway & Amsterdam Avenues on the plaza level. The festival. The Series. This particular film.

Thursday, October 26: New York Film Festival's '50 Years of Janus Films' Series. Donald Richie introduces "High and Low," 1:00 p.m., Walter Reade Theater, 165 West 65th Street between Broadway & Amsterdam Avenues on the plaza level.. The festival. The Series. This particular film.

Updates will be made within this post. Nonetheless, please check with venues themselves for the most current info!

Haiku Apprentice reviewed in ForeWord

The September/October 2006 issue of ForeWord Magazine: Reviews of Good Books Independently Published includes Melanie Drane's review of The Haiku Apprentice by Abigail Friedman. The review is available online and in the print edition. Here's an excerpt from the insightful review:


Legions of Westerners have pursued idealized notions of “traditional” Japan through enchanted forays into ikebana, martial arts, ink painting, or tea ceremony. The pitfall of such adventures is that they (sometimes willfully) overlook the more complex, ambiguous reality of contemporary Japanese culture and politics. In contrast, Friedman distinguishes herself through depth and rigor of inquiry, which ultimately leads to a revised understanding of both her host country and herself.

Basho's Narrow Road reviewed at Reader Views

Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages, the elegant Stone Bridge Press edition of "Narrow Road to the Interior" and the renga sequence, "A Farewell Gift to Sora," both by Matsuo Basho, was recently reviewed at Reader Views. From the review:

"Without the annotations, I would have enjoyed Basho’s story, but I would not have understood much of what was written...a beautiful story about Basho’s travels...the beauty of the countryside and the spirit of the people that he encounters."

Yoshiyuki Tomino in Chicago!

Mobile Suit Gundam Director Yoshiyuki Tomino will be in Chicago in October for a series of events relating to the US cinema debut of the "Z-Gundam Anime Series," including a booksigning of Mobile Suit Gundam at Border's:

October 6, 2006 from 12:30pm to 1:30 pm
Borders Books (State Street store)
150 North State Street
Chicago, IL 60601
(312) 606 - 0750

Borders Books
Information about Borders’ State Street store

Please check the FULL EVENT LIST for updates and specifics about many screenings, signings, and talks!

From the JASC's announcement:

The Japan America Society of Chicago is delighted to host a series of anime-related events as a prelude to the US debuts of Mobile Suit Z Gundam I, II, and III at the Chicago International Film Festival. With book signings, movie screenings, and panel discussions, the month of September is filled with action! Come and share the excitement as we gear up for the US release of Yoshiyuki Tomino’s Mobile Suit Z Gundam I, II, and III at the Chicago International Film Festival!

New film to be based on Teruyo Nogami book

Following the enormous success of the samurai trilogy that included 2004 Academy Award nominated film “The Twilight Samurai,” “The Hidden Blade” and most recently “Bushi No Ichibun” (original title), Shochiku Films will produce and distribute legendary director Yoji Yamada’s next film – a period drama titled “Kabei” (Japanese working title), based on the nonfiction novel "Chichi eno requiem” ("Requiem for a Father") written by Teruyo Nogami, author of Waiting on the Weather: Making Movies with Akira Kurosawa, forthcoming from Stone Bridge Press. The new film will star Sayuri Yoshinaga.

"Chichi e no requiem” describes the wartime Showa period through the eyes of a mother. "I would like to make this film with homage to [every mother] who held her family in her arms and lived through hard times like a raging roller storm,” Yamada commented.

Here's the official press release from Shochiku.

Four Immigrants Manga encountered in Nikkei Family Magazine

The current issue of Nikkei Family Magazine includes an article by Chiori Santiago, "Finding Ourselves in the Pages of a Book," which includes discussion of Four Immigrants Manga by Henry (Yoshitaka) Kiyama, translated and with an introduction by Frederik L. Schodt.

An excerpt from the feature:

"Four Immigrants is immediately engaging because it demonstrates that early arrivals survived partly through their sense of humor. What strikes me about more recent retrospectives of [Japanese American] history is their grim and mournful view of the injustices unquestionably heaped upon us; a litany of hurt recorded by younger writers who expect better treatment and can enjoy the luxury of indignation."

Leza Lowitz's Sun and Moon Yoga in the Japan Times

On Saturday, September 16, The Japan Times featured an article on Leza Lowitz, author of Yoga Poems, which has just been released in a gorgeous paperback edition.

Lowitz on writing Yoga Poems:

"The first line came to me one evening in 1995 as I was struggling in The Downward Dog: 'Within my body, there's a city.' After that, as I practiced poses, the poetry just began to flow."

Lowitz on her yoga studio in Tokyo, Sun and Moon Yoga, which currently has some 1,000 students:


"The students who like our down-to-earth attitude are a wonderful mix. Fifty percent are Japanese, and they come, they say, because they feel they can be themselves."

Stone Bridge Press Announces Spring Season Titles

Stone Bridge Press has a very exciting Spring Season in the works. Here's the list:

APRIL

The Art of Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles
by Tommy Yune, with a foreword by Carl Macek
April, $19.95, Paper, 144 pages, 8.5” x 11”, 200 color illustrations
1-933330-29-5

A Dictionary of Japanese Buddhist Terms
by Hisao Inagaki, with contributions by PG O’Neill
April, Paper
1-933330-05-8

Family Crests of Japan
April, $18.95, Paper, 156 pages, 8.25” x 7.875”, 850+ b&w illustrations & photos
Reprint
1-933330-30-9

Indonesian fables of Feats and Fortunes
by Kuniko Sugiura, with illustrations by Koji Honda
April, $16.95, Case, 32 pages, 8.25” x 11.25”, 24 color illustrations 0-893469-50-5

Indonesian Tales of Treasures and Brides
by Kuniko Sugiura, with ollustrations by Koji Honda
April, $16.95, Case, 32 pages, 8.25” x 11.25”, 24 color illustrations 0-893469-50-5

MAY

Anime Classics Zettai!: 100 Must-See Japanese Animation Masterpieces
by Brian Camp and Julie Davis
May, $18.95, Paper, 400 pages, 7” x 7”
1-93333-22-8

China for Businesswomen: A Strategic Guide to Travel, Negotiating, and Cultural Differences
by Tracey Wilen-Daugenti
May, $16.95, Paper, 200 pages, 6” x 9”
1-933330-28-7

The Films of Kiyoshi Kurosawa: Master of Fear
by Jerry White
May, $19.95, Paper, 224 pages, 7” x 9”, 15 b&w photographs
1-933330-21-X

A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics
by Donald Richie
April, $9.95, Paper, 80 pages, 5” x 7”
1-933330-23-6

JULY

Crazy for Kanji: A Student’s Guide to the Wonderful World of Japanese Characters
by Eve Kushner
July, $19.95, Paper, 200 pages, 8.5” x 11”, 200 b&w illustrations and charts
1-93333-20-1

STONE BRIDGE CLASSICS

APRIL

The Book of Tea
by Kakuzo Okakura
April, $9.95, Paper, 128 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”
1-933330-17-1

A Diplomat in Japan: The Inner History of the Critical Years in the Evolution of Japan when the Ports were Opened and the Monarchy Restored
by Sir Ernest Satow
April, $14.95, Paper, 672 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”, 3 b&w illustrations and photographs
1-933330-16-3

Epochs of Chinese and Japanese Art: An Outline History of East Asiatic Design
by Ernest F. Fenellosa
April, $18.95, Paper, 800 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”, 257 b&w illustrations and photographs
1-933330-26-0

The Ideals of the East: With Special Reference to the Art of Japan
by Kakuzo Okakura
April, $10.95, Paper, 200 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”
1-933330-25-2

Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things
by Lafcadio Hearn
April, $10.95, Paper, 160 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”, 2 b&w illustrations
1-933330-24-4

The Mikado’s Empire: A History of Japan from the Age of Gods to the Meiji Era (660 BC – AD 1872)
by William Elliot Griffis
April, $14.95, Paper, 512 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”, 2 b&w illustrations
1-933330-18-X

Things Japanese: Being Notes on Various Subjects Connected with Japan
by Basil Hall Chamberlain
April, $14.95, Paper, 540 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”
1-933330-27-9

Unbeaten Tracks in Japan: An Account of Travels in the Interior including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrine of Nikko
by Isabella L. Bird
$12.95, Paper, 352 pages, 5.25” x 7.5”, 39 b&w illustrations
1-933330-19-8

Gilles Poitras at Japantown Anime Faire this weekend in San Francisco

Gilles Poitras, author of The Anime Companion, The Anime Companion 2, and Anime Essentials, will be speaking on spotting Japanese culture in anime at the Japantown Anime Faire in San Francisco this weekend.

Poitras's presentation is at 3 p.m. on Sunday, September 17th at the Kintetsu Mall, Suite 320, 1737 Post Street, San Francisco. Check out this detailed online schedule for more information. See you there!

In the Pool reviewed by the Midwest Book Review

In the September edition of Small Press Bookwatch, the Midwest Book Review agrees that Hideo Okuda's In the Pool is "deliciously twisted":

Award-winning Japanese author Hideo Okuda presents In The Pool, a wildly popular Japanese novel that has been successfully adapted to a major Japanese motion picture. "Doctor of Neurology" Ichiro Irabu is a therapist for the image-conscious and all too often mentally pressured people of Japan, and his odd methodology of sharing his patients' stress-related problems and making them much worse before they get better distinguishes him sharply from his colleagues. His patients include a man who suffers a constant and painful erection, a pretty young woman convinced that every man she meets on the street is a stalker, a high school student addicted to text messaging the "friends" he desperately craves, and a journalist terrified his house will burn down should he leave it. A deliciously twisted commentary on human neuroses, with wit and insight that translates seamlessly between cultures. Highly recommended.

Native American in the Land of the Shogun reviewed at Reader Views

Frederik L. Schodt's Native American in the Land of the Shogun reviewed at Reader Views. The entire review is online, but here's an excerpt:

"Frederik L. Schodt has been meticulous in his background research.
..[An] important narrative on the explorations and settlement of the Pacific Northwest, the whaling industry, and 19th Century Japan."

Abigail Friedman's haiku featured at tinywords: haiku daily

A haiku by Abigail Friedman, author of The Haiku Apprentice, appears on the tinywords website and email feed today. Here it is:

grass tickling
my toes
o-bon festival

Be sure to visit tinywords and subscribe to their haiku emails!
Abigail Friedman's blog, Stone Lantern, is also a great resource.

In the Pool reviewed at Pacific Dreams

Pacific Dreams, Inc., which focuses on Us/Japanese business relations, recently reviewed In the Pool.

From the review:

"In the Pool is a fun and interesting splash...Dr. Irabu's techniques and ideas collide with not only his profession, but his national culture, and although this isn't always comfortable for his patients, it makes for pure entertainment for his readers."

The Haiku Apprentice reviewed in J SELECT

The Haiku Apprentice, Abigail Friedman's eloquent memoir of learning to write haiku in Japan while stationed there as a diplomat, is reviewed in the September/October issue of J Select.

Here's an excerpt from the review:

"An honest account of one woman's cultural journey...Friedman's intimate conversations with sensei Kuroda Momoko, one of Japan's foremost masters of haiku, and scores of other haiku devotees throughout the book help answer myriad questions about the poetry that have long remained a mystery to casual observers."

Star Sighting! Yoga Poems at Fred Segal!

Two Stone Bridge Press titles - Yoga Poems by Leza Lowitz and Right under the big sky, I don't wear a hat by Hosai Ozaki - were recently sighted at Fred Segal Santa Monica. That's right - the Fred Segal - hip collection of boutiques for the famous, the quirky, and the famously quirky.


With Yoga Poems out now in a gorgeous, affordable paperback version, and Right under the big sky, I don't wear a hat continuing to inspire readers around the world, this is one star sighting worth its weight in books.

jrock in the U.K.

Issue 23 of Bubblegum Slut, one of the U.K.'s most popular music fanzines, features an interview with Josephine Yun, author of jrock, ink. Here's an excerpt:

Bubblegum Slut: A number of Japanese bands have toured extensively outside Japan over the last few years, i.e. Shonen Knife, The Mad Capsule Markets, etc., but the first few bands in the new wave of interest in Japanese music have often played at anime conventions. Do you think this detrimental to the music being taken seriously?

Josephine Yun: Not at all. Music is music; anime is anime. You can like one and not the other. Besides, there are so many different kinds of anime. Writing anime off as being the same across the board and doing the same with Japanese music, which is produced indpendently of anime, is detrimental only to whoever's dismissing it. That said, several anime conventions, having evolved into Japanese culture or East Asian culture conventions, now name themselves as such to more accurately reflect the media they offer, each rich with variety in its own right.

Haiku Apprentice reviewed at the tweney review

The Haiku Apprentice by Abigail Friedman was recently reviewed on Dylan Tweney's the tweney review, reminding all of us that there are few books like The Haiku Apprentice, "an excellent, companionable guide to haiku and the culture from which it springs."

Anime Companion and Anime Essentials reviewed (in Spanish) on Pananime.com

Pananime.com has reviewed The Anime Companion and Anime Essentials. If you speak Spanish, check out the reviews. If you don't, this is a great reminder to re-read the books!

Patrick Macias brings culinary anime to The World

August 18th -- Patrick Macias, author of Cruising the Anime City shares his knowledge of anime culture on the "Global Hit" section of the BBC's The World. In a strangely hypnotic online video, Orihime Inouye, a character from the anime "Bleach," twirls a leek or negi to a tune by Loituma, a Finnish trance-folk ensemble.

Haiku Apprentice Canadian book launch

The Haiku Apprentice will have its official Canadian book launch at the Morrin Centre in Quebec on Thursday, August 24^th 2006. 5 p.m.-7 p.m. in the Library. Don't miss this opportunity to meet the writer, purchase a signed copy of 'Haiku Apprentice,' and celebrate the rebirth of haiku!

Find event details here.

Friedman is the U.S. Consul General in Québec. She also runs her own blog, The Stone Lantern.

The Japan Journals explored in London Review of Books

Richard Lloyd Parry, Asia editor of the Times, reviews Donald Richie's The Japan Journals: 1947-2004 in this week's London Review of Books. The review, "Smilingly Excluded," focuses on literary exile.

Parry posted an excerpt of the review on his blog, Asia Exile.

Name of the Flower and Haiku Apprentice at Reader Reviews

Reader Reviews has posted their reviews of both The Name of the Flower by Kuniko Mukoda and The Haiku Apprentice: Memoirs of Writing Poetry in Japan by Abigail Friedman.

Read the review for The Name of the Flower
Read the review for The Haiku Apprentice

Native American in the Land of the Shogun reviewed in Kyoto Journal

Kyoto Journal's Issue 63 features Trevor Carolan's review of Native American in the Land of the Shogun: Ranald MacDonald and the Opening of Japan by Frederik L. Schodt:

"Schodt's account of MacDonald's life and his eventual journey to Japan is depicted with the accuracy of a trained academic and the excitedment of a skillful novelist."

Haiku Apprentice reviewed at The Heron's Nest

The Heron's Nest, a journal dedicated to haiku, reviews The Haiku Apprentice: Memoirs of Writing Poetry in Japan by Abigail Friedman:

"This book is delightfully accessible, regardless of the reader's experience (or lack of it) with poetry or Japanese language and culture. I recommend The Haiku Apprentice, not only to haiku aficionados, but also to anyone who enjoys a good read."

Read the entire review

New Reviews at Pacific Dreams

Pacific Dreams reviews several Stone Bridge titles:

America and the Four Japans: Friend, Foe, Model, Mirror

Designing with Kanji: Japanese Character Motifs for Surface, Skin & Spirit

Doing Business with Japanese Men: A Woman's Handbook

Going to Japan on Business: Protocol, Strategies, and Language for the Corporate Traveler

The Haiku Apprentice: Memoirs of Writing Poetry in Japan

Japanese Beyond Words: How to Walk and Talk Like a Native Speaker

The Japan Journals: 1947-2004

Japan Style Sheet: The SWET Guide for Writers, Editors, and Translators

Kanji Pict-o-Graphix: Over 1,000 Japanese Kanji and Kana Mnemonics

The Midnight Eye Guide to New Japanese Film

Practical Guide to Living in Japan: Everything You Need to Know to Successfully Settle In

The Rice-Paper Ceiling: Breaking through Japanese Corporate Culture

The Way of Taiko

Author, art director give away Pocky with jrock, ink.

During Otakon in Baltimore, author Josephine Yun and art director Yelena Zhavoronkova will be signing copies of their book, jrock, ink.: a concise report on 40 of the biggest rock acts in japan.

You can meet them at the nearby Barnes & Noble at the Power Plant in the Inner Harbor on Saturday, August 5 from 3-5 pm. Those who purchase a signed copy get a free box of Pocky!

Also, Barnes & Noble will feature jrock listening stations in their music section all weekend. Listening to jrock while reading a jrock book and munching on Pocky sounds pretty sweet!

Haiku Apprentice reviewed at Imaging Resource

Imaging Resource's Digital Photography Newsletter stumbled upon Abigail Friedman's The Haiku Apprentice: Memoirs of Writing Poetry in Japan:

"Why that appealed to us, we can't say. But we took it home and actually read right through it. We learned about the large amateur interest in haiku, the many sources of information (Web sites, magazines, TV shows) for practitioners, how the short poems rely on images and a few words that evoke specific times of the year, how the poems are shared and what a nice diversion from the pressures of work and joys of family life it was to create them. Ultimately, she wrote, they helped develop her own eye for the world.

"Now just reread that paragraph substituting digital photography for haiku and you'll see the same light bulb flash over your head that we did."

Haiku Apprentice reviewed at MBR

The Midwest Book Review has published its review of The Haiku Apprentice: Memoirs of Writing Poetry in Japan by Abigail Friedman.

Read the review

Becoming Buddha in Multicultural Review

The summer 2006 issue of Multicultural Review features a review of Becoming Buddha: The Story of Siddhartha by Whitney Stewart.

space From the outset, the reader is in a different world. The novel physical orientation of the text and illustrations on the page immediately evoke the world of unbound texts, the pechas found in the ancient libraries of the East. Indeed, the rich, colorful detail and plot turns are sure to capture the interest of the juvenile reader. Although simplified, the tale is a historically accurate retelling of how the boy Siddhartha abandoned his royal upbringing and wealth to become the Buddha, seeking to end for all the suffering inherent to life. The basic Buddhist tenet of the Four Noble Truths, at the heart of recognizing and dealing with all suffering, is a concept that adults might grapple with. Yet Stewart successfully presents suffering in a way both appropriate for preadolescents and comprehensible to their experience. Importantly, the presentation empowers young readers with something they, like the Buddha, might do to develop compassion for others and alleviate suffering. It is no mere courtesy that His Holiness, the Dalai Lama, has participated in this book, bracketing the story with a substantial introduction, then simple instruction on how to meditate, written -- even with humor -- for the young reader. As His Holiness says in the introduction, rather than attempting to increase the number of Buddhists, this book shows a way everyone might pursue to contribute to global peace and the increase of happiness.
space Kudos to illustrator [Sally] Rippin, whose imagination contributes substantially to the fabric of the exotic Eastern world woven in the story.
spaceistheplace--Rinchen Yutso in Prospect Harbor, ME

See trailer for In the Pool movie

Some time ago In the Pool was adapted into a major motion picture in Japan. You can watch the trailer here (in Japanese):

Large Trailer (streaming, Windows Media)
Small Trailer (streaming, Windows Media)

The original collection of tales around Dr. Irabu and his patients can be found in English by IBC Books, available through Stone Bridge Press and found anywhere good books are sold. Read your copy by the poolside this summer, or away from the poolside should someone be clever and throw the book into the pool...