Lost Japan
 2004 edition cover | |
| Author | Alex Kerr |
|---|---|
| Country | Japan, United States |
| Language | Japanese, English |
| Genre | History, Japan |
Publication date | 1993 (Japanese), 1996 (English) |
| Media type | |
| ISBN | 978-0-86442-370-2 |
Lost Japan (美しき日本の残像, Utsukushiki Nihon no Zanzo) is a 1993 book written by Alex Kerr.[1] It deals with his life in Japan and on aspects of Japanese culture that he was fascinated by. He wrote it in Japanese, and it was translated into English with the help of Bodhi Fishman and published as Lost Japan in 1996.
The original Japanese version was published by Shinchosha in 1993; a paperback version has been published since 2000 by Asahi Shuppan.
The English translation was first published by Lonely Planet in 1996; in 2015 the book was reissued by Penguin UK with a new preface written by Alex.
Translations have also been published in Traditional and Simplified Chinese characters, Italian, Polish, and Spanish.
Reception
The book won the Shincho Gakugei literature award in 1994. Kerr was the first non-Japanese winner.[2][3]
Chapters
- Looking for a Castle
- Iya Valley - the author purchases and repairs Chiiori
- Kabuki - the author describes 1977 Minami-za theatre shows and meeting then 65-year-old Nakamura Jakuemon IV, an onnagata dancer
- Art Collecting - the author describes collecting centuries-old calligraphy cheaply
- China versus Japan
- Calligraphy
- Tenmangu (after the Ōsaka Tenmangū Shrine)
- Trammell Crow - the author describes his job as an art collector for this person
- Kyoto
- The Road to Nara
- Outer Nara
- Osaka
- The Literati - the author compares Oxford All Souls' Warden John Sparrow as Western literati with the educated leisure class of Japan
- Last Glimpse
References
- ^ Komano, Tsuyoshi INTERVIEW/ Alex Kerr: Japan needs to learn how to 'bypass' contentious issues with neighbours November 15, 2013 Archived October 7, 2015, at the Wayback Machine Asahi Shimbun Retrieved October 7, 2015
- ^ Alex Kerr.com - Lost Japan Retrieved October 6, 2015
- ^ Kendrick, Vivienne Alex Kerr September 9, 2006 Japan Times Retrieved October 6, 2015