In Spring it is the Dawn

Remembering 3/11: Second Anniversary

2013-03-10T21:48:00.000-07:00

Image: AP Photo/Kyodo News

It's hard to believe that two years have already passed since the massive earthquake and utterly devastating tsunami occurred in Japan. The earthquake struck the Tohoku region of Japan on March 11th at 2:46 PM (which translates to 10:46 PM Sunday evening here in California). We left Tokyo over a year ago for San Diego, but Japan was my home for more than a decade, and our thoughts are still often back there, especially now as the second anniversary approaches. The terrible loss experienced by so many families and communities in the areas worst hit by the tsunami is still keenly felt, and the reconstruction work will take many, many years to come. We can only hope that, two years on, they are a little step closer to finding some return to normal life, and some peace.

Image: AP Photo/Kyodo News (via Huffington Post)
Before: March 19, 2011 / After: March 1, 2013

Visit the Huffington Post UK at the following link for a slideshow of before-and-after photos: Japan Earthquake and Tsunami: Dramatic Pictures Mark Two-Year Anniversary.

The year so far ...

2013-02-13T17:20:00.000-08:00

Happy Lunar New Year to everyone who celebrated this past weekend.

As for what I've been reading in this Year of the Snake so far* ... not a whole lot, but what I have read has been great.

In January I read two books by contemporary Japanese authors: The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa, and The Briefcase by Hiromi Kawakami for Tony's January in Japan event, and Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge. I thoroughly enjoyed both of these books and am looking forward to reading more by both of these authors. Click on the links to read my reviews.

At the beginning of this month I started reading Wolf Hall by Hillary Mantel for a book group. However, I just couldn't get into it so I decided to put it back on the shelf and try again some other time. I'm not quite over my year-long reading slump yet, so for the most part I'm letting my mood choose my reads. I'm giving myself permission to not stress about reading. So instead I picked up Hikikomori and the Rental Sister by Jeff Backhaus, and it captured me right from the start. It is a beautiful story about overcoming grief that I hope to tell you more about soon.

After I finished Hikikomori and the Rental Sister, it took me a few days to finally settle on another book. I kept picking up books but putting them back down again. Not helped by the fact that I kept thinking about Thomas and Megumi, the characters from Hikikomori and the Rental Sister. Well, apparently sometimes you just need a fun 'stranded-on-a-remote-island' love story, because I ended up devouring On the Island by Tracey Garvis Graves this weekend. Hey, it is almost Valentine's Day after all.

Now I'm back to indecision about what to read next. The Briefcase was one of five titles short-listed for the Man Asian Literary Prize. I'd like to read some of the other titles, and the winner will be announced in mid-March, so they are high on my list. I have several books that I started last year but never finished that I would like to return to at some point. Or one of my many unread JLit books. Or... or... always too many choices!

What great book(s) have you read so far this year?

Speaking of Japanese literature, thank you to everyone for their kind comments about my blogiversary! I wish I could give all of you the Japanese books you mentioned, but alas, there can only be one this time. The lucky winner of one Japanese literature book of their choice is Kristen M. (We Be Reading), who will be getting a copy of Revenge by Yoko Ogawa. That's a book I'm very much looking forward to reading as well. I hope you enjoy it, Kristen!

*Japan adopted the Gregorian calendar over a hundred years ago, so unlike many of its Asian neighbours who celebrate the lunar New Year, in Japan the Year of the Snake began on January the first.

The small print: Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Another Year Gone By

2013-02-01T23:30:00.000-08:00

On January 31, 2006 I posted here for the very first time. This means that In Spring it is the Dawn is now 7 years old! Can you believe it? I know I've said it before, but I will say it again - Thank you so much to everyone who kept in touch with me during my hiatus (on Facebook, or Twitter, or by email) and to everyone that never gave up encouraging me to return. It's because of you and your friendship that I'm here! Since I have only just begun blogging again after more than a year away, and since I didn't celebrate the blog's anniversary last year, I think I'll actually count this as the 6th Blogiversary. But regardless of the math, I think this calls for a giveaway!

To commemorate Tony's first (annual?) January in Japan event, and Bellezza's Japanese Literature Challenge 6, both of which, sadly, have just concluded, one lucky winner will get the Japanese Literature title of their choice*.

I'm keeping things simple so to enter all you have to do is leave a comment on this post with the title of the book you would like, if you win. Also, if necessary, please include an email address or some other way to contact you.

If you need some ideas, or haven't already, check out the accumulated reviews from all the participants of both challenges:
January in Japan Reviews
Japanese Literature Challenge 6

Then on Sunday, February 10th, a winner will be selected at random.

The fine print:
*Up to $15 value from The Book Depository. Except in the case that the winner lives in the US, then the book will possibly be ordered from B&N (whichever is cheaper).

Good luck!

'The Briefcase' by Hiromi Kawakami

2013-01-31T15:56:00.000-08:00

I ordered a copy of The Briefcase not too long before it was shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, but even if it hadn't been selected as a contender for the award, I knew I wanted to read it. Heck, I'm always interested to discover a new-to-me Japanese author but the story appealed to me as well.

From the back cover:

Tsukiko, thirty-eight, works in an office and lives alone. One night, she happens to meet one of her former high school teacher, "Sensei," in a local bar. Tsukiko had only ever called him "Sensei" ("Teacher"). He is thirty years her senior, retired, and presumably a widower. Their relationship - traced by Kawakami's gentle hints at the changing seasons - develops from a perfunctory acknowledgment of each other as they eat and drink alone at the bar, to an enjoyable sense of companionship, and finally into a deeply sentimental love affair.

As Tsukiko and Sensei grow to know and love one another, time's passing comes across through the seasons and the food and beverages they consume together. From warm saké to chilled beer, from the buds on the trees to the blooming of the cherry blossoms, the reader is enveloped by a keen sense of pathos and both characters' keen loneliness.

The story begins with Tsukiko meeting her old high school teacher, "Sensei", by chance at the local bar (izakaya). For a while they remain simple acquaintances who occasionally drink together, but as time goes on their relationship deepens.

Like many Japanese stories, The Briefcase revels in the small details of everyday life. On the surface, it can appear that not much is happening, but it all slowly builds to a certain important moment, much like their relationship does. As they begin to spend more time together, and to learn more about each other, we can almost see the quiet affection growing between them.

One thing I always loved about living in Japan is the reverence there for nature and the distinct seasons. I thought Kawakami did a lovely job in The Briefcase to express the passage of time, from mushroom hunting in the autumn, to celebrating the New Year, to picnicking under the cherry blossoms in spring. And I have to say all the descriptions of seasonal dishes made me hungry. And thirsty.

Yudofu had always been one of my favorite dishes. It's not the kind of thing that children usually like but, since before I started elementary school, I always loved my mother's yudofu. In a small cup she mixes sake with soy sauce, sprinkling it with freshly shaved bonito, and then warms the cup along with the tofu in an earthenware pot. When it's hot enough, she opens the lid of the pot and a thick cloud of steam escapes. She heats the whole block of tofu without cutting it, so I can then ravage the firm cotton tofu with the tips of my chopsticks. (p. 54)

There was one rather strange episode in the book for which I don't understand the significance. Was it a dream? Or some kind of shared consciousness? For me, it just didn't fit with the rest of the story, but this is only a minor complaint in an otherwise lovely story. Although if you have read the story, can you enlighten me?

At its heart, The Briefcase is a love story, but there is sadness as well. A melancholy flavour to it that the Japanese do so well. Both Tsukiko and Sensei are lonely souls, for the most part drifting along in their own individual worlds. It is difficult for them to connect with others, and to abandon themselves to love. Despite the obvious age difference, and the difference in their personalities: Tsukiko is often childish and impulsive, while Sensei is always very traditional and proper, they develop a strong, emotional attachment to each other.

"That's how love is," [my great-aunt] used to say. "If the love is true, then treat it the same way you would a plant - fertilize it, protect it from the elements - you must do absolutely everything you can. But if it isn't true, then it's best to just let it wither on the vine." (p. 147-8)

In the end, this is the story of two people whose lives crossed, and touched each other's, for a short time. The ending was rather poignant and tied up the story beautifully while leaving the reader with a final image that lingers long after having closed the book.

This was my first time to read Kawakami but it will not be the last. I'll definitely be picking up the previously published Manazuru at some point, as well as the new, Strange Weather in Tokyo, supposedly coming out later this year.

Other thoughts on The Briefcase:
Tony's Reading List | Dolce Bellezza | Contemporary Japanese Literature | Winstonsdad's Blog

The Briefcase by Hiromi Kawakami
Original Title: センセイの鞄 (sensei no kaban)
Originally published in Japan in 2001
Winner of the Tanizaki Prize, 2001
Shortlisted for the Man Asian Literary Prize, 2012
Translated from the Japanese by Allison Markin Powell
Counterpoint Press, 2012
[Amazon.com] [BookDepository.co.uk]

Bonus:
Mogera Wogura by Hiromi Kawakami - a very bizarre short story in the Paris Review.

The small print: I purchased this book for my personal library. Links in this post to Amazon or The Book Depository contain my Associates or Affiliates ID respectively. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

'The Diving Pool' by Yoko Ogawa

2013-01-29T13:09:00.000-08:00

The Diving Pool is actually a collection of three novellas that were originally published in Japan around 1990: The Diving Pool (ダイヴィング・プール), Pregnancy Diary (妊娠カレンダー), and Dormitory (ドミトリイ). Yoko Ogawa won the Akutagawa Prize for Pregnancy Diary in 1990.

From the publisher's website:

A lonely teenaged girl falls in love with her foster-brother as she watches him leap from a high diving board into a pool - an unspoken infatuation that draws out darker possibilities.

A young woman records the daily moods of her pregnant sister in a diary, but rather than a story of growth the diary reveals a more sinister tale of greed and repulsion.

Out of nostalgia, a woman visits her old college dormitory on the outskirts of Tokyo. There she finds an isolated world shadowed by decay, haunted by absent students and the disturbing figure of the crippled caretaker.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading both The Housekeeper and the Professor, and Hotel Iris, by the same author (click on the links to read my reviews) a couple of years ago. So I'd been meaning to read this collection of three of her earlier stories for quite some time now and I'm glad I finally did.

Much like the two novels, the stories here are told in lovely, spare prose, almost elegant in their simplicity. However, where The Housekeeper and the Professor is a quiet, sweet story, Hotel Iris is a dark, disturbing story of obsession and violence. The stories in The Diving Pool are somewhere in between.

At the start, they each appear simple stories of the everyday. In The Diving Pool, a teenage girl watches her foster-brother, who she is infatuated with, practice diving. In Pregnancy Diary, a younger sister records the details of her sister's pregnancy. In Dormitory, a young wife visits her old dormitory when her nephew starts university and needs a place to stay. But as we read on, the stories begin to reveal the little cruelties of human nature.

The effect is subtle, but Ogawa does a good job at creating tension without you even realizing it. By the end, each story has become something rather unsettling, and in the case of the last story especially, downright creepy. The more time that passes since reading these stories, the more they seem to haunt me.

Revenge, a new collection of stories by Yoko Ogawa, has just been published, and I'm quite looking forward to discovering these new dark tales.

Other thoughts on The Diving Pool:
Contemporary Japanese Literature | Sam Still Reading | Melody's Reading Corner | JoV's Book Pyramid | The Parrish Lantern

The Diving Pool by Yoko Ogawa
Translated from the Japanese by Stephen Snyder
Harvill Secker, 2008
[Amazon.com] [BookDepository.com]

For more January in Japan reviews, click on the button above.

Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2013

2013-01-23T18:13:00.002-08:00

It's back! A couple of people asked me if I was going to revive the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge this year, so for those of you with an ear fetish, a love of cats, or simply a fondness for the surreal, I do hope you'll join us. As always, it's very flexible and you can participate by reading just one book by Haruki Murakami this year, and even if you're new to Murakami, what better way to give one of his books a try? If you'd like to sign up for the challenge, just click through to the dedicated blog and add your name to the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge 2013 Sign-up Post.

For myself, I think this year I'd like to focus on the books that I haven't read yet:
South of the Border, West of the Sun, a kind of love story. From the Times Literary Supplement blurb on the back it is "memorable for its unflinchingly extreme treatment of romantic love".

Blind Willow, Sleeping Woman, a collection of short stories which apparently include, among other things, "animated cows, a criminal monkey, an ice man, as well as the dreams that shape us and the things we might wish for".

And What I Talk About When I Talk About Running, a memoir in which Murakami, an avid runner, "reflects upon the influence the sport has had on his life and his writing".

For some time now I've also been wanting to re-read Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World, a kind of "Kafkaesque science fiction detective story", so maybe I'll try to fit that in sometime this year as well.

If you'd like to read along with me for any of these, please let me know!

So, what do you say? Will you be reading anything by Murakami this year?

The small print: Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

January in Japan

2013-01-19T14:41:00.000-08:00

Hey there! Remember me? I used to actually read books and talk about them here sometimes. I can't believe we've been living in the US for a year already. I really don't know where the time has gone but I think for me, 2012 will be remembered as my 'lost' year, at least where reading is concerned. Whatever it was, or wasn't, it was certainly a year filled with many adjustments, reverse culture shock, and everyday distractions, as we got used to life surrounded by palm trees and sunshine.

I must say thank you to those of you who have been "gently" nudging me back to blogging for several months now. I'm sorry it has taken me so long, but I do think I'm finally in a place where I'm ready to ease myself back in. Your continued support really means a lot to me.

One of those nudges came from Tony (Tony's Reading List) who is hosting a fabulous Japanese literature event this month. Sadly, I'm still more of a book-buyer than a book-reader these days (more on that another day), but January in Japan is the perfect motivation to spend some time reading JLit this month. If you haven't already, check out the January in Japan blog for some great posts on some JLit Giants, and other Japanese literature related goodies.

As for my own JLit reading this month, so far I've finished Yoko Ogawa's The Diving Pool, and have just started on The Briefcase by Hiromi Kawakami for the group readalong. I really enjoyed the three stories that make up The Diving Pool, and having heard some good things about it, I have high hopes for The Briefcase. After that, we'll see how it goes. I certainly have plenty of JLit on my shelves to choose from.

Happy belated Year of the Snake, by the way! I'm not at all fond of snakes but as the snake is a symbol of resurrection and regrowth, I'm hoping for a good year. Bear with me as I try to get back into the swing of things here, and in the meantime, there's still time to pick up a book and join in January in Japan.

It's good to be back!

The small print: Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon

2012-10-13T10:51:00.002-07:00

I AM taking part in Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon today, but only over on the In Spring it is the Dawn Facebook Page and on Twitter (@inspringthedawn). So if you want to see how I'm faring please stop by, and be sure to let me know if you're reading too!

Out with the old, in with the new

2012-06-26T18:28:00.000-07:00

It may have looked very quiet here over the last couple of weeks, or so, but I've actually been busy having my own personal Bloggiesta to get In Spring it is the Dawn up and running again. As I mentioned before, I was quite happy with the previous design and layout, so for the most part, I've tried to recreate a similar look with the new template. However, it has also been a good chance to freshen things up just a little bit.

Old template 2010-2012

The blog header has been slightly revamped. I've also created some new pages, updated a lot of lists, moved things around, and just generally tried to make it simpler, cleaner, and hopefully easier to navigate. And most importantly, there shouldn't be any more compatibility issues with Blogger's new additions and back-end coding changes. Please do let me know though if you find something that doesn't work, or looks funny. There are still a few things that I'd like to work on, and a few tweaks to be made, but for now it's time to get back to business!

New template June 2012

If you follow me on Twitter, or the In Spring it is the Dawn Facebook page, you'll know that I was in Anaheim, CA this past weekend for the American Library Association Annual Conference (ALA), and I have to say that it was really motivating. I've really missed blogging these past few months as we packed up and moved across the ocean, and I can't wait to get back to chatting books with you, starting with the exciting new books I picked up at the Conference.

Thanks again to everyone for their patience, and support, more recently, and over the years. It's so good to be back!

Under construction... please excuse the mess!

2012-05-22T23:23:00.000-07:00

Graphic courtesy of Dry Icons

The people behind Blogger have been busy recently, and whatever changes they've made over the last while, they no longer play nice with my old custom template. While I can still post (obviously as you're seeing this!), I can not access any other parts of my blog. Perhaps it doesn't really matter, and no one would really notice, but it feels strange to me to have new posts when all of my sidebar content is stuck in 2011. (One of the reasons I still haven't got back to a blogging routine, sorry). So it seems that it is time for a blog overhaul.

I've had this current template for a couple of years now, and for the most part, I do still like it. So for now, I plan to keep the same general colour-scheme, and layout. But it's also a chance to tidy things up, and simplify a few things. So bear with me as I switch over to a new simple template, and implement some design features. I've already spent a few hours on Sunday, and again today, working some things out on my test blog, so hopefully the transition won't be too painful, but things may look a little strange over the next few days. Thanks to everyone for their support and friendship, even during this long blog absence. I hope to have In Spring it is the Dawn up and running again soon.

Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon: Spring 2012

2012-04-20T13:10:00.000-07:00

Note: I'll be mostly doing short updates throughout the read-a-thon on In Spring it is the Dawn's Facebook page or on Twitter (@inspringthedawn). Please follow my progress there. I will update this post half-way and at the end, as well as if I do any mini-challenges along the way. Please scroll down for the most recent content during the day.

HOUR ONE: Let the reading begin!

1) What fine part of the world are you reading from today? San Diego, California!

2) Which book in your stack are you most looking forward to? All of them really although I'm quite looking forward to the Chin Music Press titles. Ultimately it just depends on my mood, I suppose.

3) Which snack are you most looking forward to? Chocolate!

4) Tell us a little something about yourself! This is my first time to take part in the read-a-thon while living in a reasonable time zone (no more starting at 9PM!). But I'm a chronic night owl which means I went to bed far too late last night to be starting at 5AM! Oh, and I'm rather addicted to Cheerios!

5) If you participated in the last read-a-thon, what’s one thing you’ll do different today? If this is your first read-a-thon, what are you most looking forward to?
Well, I wasn't able to take part in either of the 2011 read-a-thons, but I've participated in the past as a reader, a cheerleader, and as both. Today I just simply plan to do what I can, and remember it's not a competition. The most important is to read and have fun!

Happy read-a-thoning everyone!

Reading in Translation Mini-challenge
Hosted by Reading Through Life

If you could read any book that’s been translated into English in its ORIGINAL language, what would it be?

I would love to read any of Murakami's books in the original Japanese, but especially The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. It's one of my favourite Murakami stories and the English version is slightly shorter with a couple parts switched around. So, I'd really like to read it as it was originally written. Plus there are also lots of short stories and essays by Murakami that haven't been translated into English at all, not to mention many Japanese titles from other well-known authors that have never been translated either. Since we're dreaming...

Halfway: The MidEvent Survey

1) How are you doing? Sleepy? Are your eyes tired? Sleepy? Yes. Not getting enough sleep last night is starting to take its toll. Eyes tired? Yes, but this is nothing new. Due to allergies and whatnot, my eyes have pretty much felt tired for the last couple of months!

2) What have you finished reading? I've finished reading A Room Where the Star-spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard by Levy Hideo. It was fun to revisit Tokyo, albeit in the 1960s, through this book.

3) What is your favorite read so far? Well, since I've only finished the one book, I'd have to say the Levy Hideo one. ;)

4) What about your favorite snacks? Salt & Vinegar Pringles. And there is some Ben & Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie FroYo in the freezer waiting for me this evening.

5) Have you found any new blogs through the readathon? If so, give them some love!
Reading Through Life, host of the Reading in Translation Mini-challenge, and fellow Canadian, currently teaching English in Abu Dhabi.

Picturiffic Mini-challenge
Hosted by Stella Matutina

The object: To find an image that represents your current read.

Image Courtesy of Wikipedia Commons

In A Room Where the Star-spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard, the main character runs away from home and finds himself in Shinjuku, where he begins to discover who he is. It's a kind of a coming-of-age story, and a treatise on what it means to be an outsider. It's set in Tokyo in the late 1960s so this photo of Kabukicho, Shinjuku's entertainment district, circa 1960 seems a good representation.

My reading buddy

Update: Hour Twenty

Well, I think Jiro (above) has the right idea! I'm too tired to read anymore so I'm going to call it a night. The final result: I finished one book, and have started two others. After not reading much at all these last three months, this is progress. Plus it was great simply to spend time online chatting with some of you and catching up after being away from blogging for so long. I didn't set any goals for the day, just wanting to take it easy, so it's all good. I'm glad I got to take part!

Thanks to the organizers, the cheerleaders, and everyone who helped make this another fun readathon! And good luck to everyone still reading during these last few hours.

Good night!

The small print: Photos taken by, and belong to, me unless otherwise indicated. Photos or other content cannot be used with permission. Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Greetings from San Diego!

2012-04-20T05:00:00.000-07:00

Del Mar Beach

I was beginning to wonder if I'd ever get back to blogging, but here I am, at last. I've missed blogging these last few months, but it's surprisingly easy to fall out of the habit, especially with all the things to do with the move to distract me.

It was such a chaotic whirlwind of last minute things to do in Japan before we left, but somehow we made it to the airport to begin our new adventure. And I have to say it really was quite an adventure getting the boys here. They did quite well though, despite how terrifying it must have been for them. We had some worries about them in the first few weeks, but they have settled down now, and seem to have adjusted to their new home.

It's been a busy time for us since we arrived here as well. An apartment to find. Various bureaucratic offices to visit. Several trips to Ikea. And lots of just figuring out how things work here, and getting used to our new life and all it entails.

It has certainly been a change from Tokyo. There are things that I miss about Tokyo, and others that I'm glad to have left behind. Much as I expected, I really missed seeing the cherry blossoms this spring, but I love having a dryer!

One of the biggest changes is simply how big everything is here! The wide open spaces, the bulk shopping, the roads! I think it's definitely going to take awhile to get used to these mega multi-lane freeways.

It has also been interesting to discover how life here differs to England, H's last transfer, where we lived for four years, and even to Canada. We haven't done much exploring outside our neighbourhood, and some of the nearby areas, but we're looking forward to getting our cameras out and doing so soon.

Thanks to a couple of book friends and loyal followers (Jeanne, and Agi) for their support, and gentle nudges on the blogging front. Expect to see more of me from now on, starting tomorrow as I've just signed up for Dewey's 24 Hour Read-a-thon. With everything going on, I feel like I've almost become a non-reader. Scary! But I've only 4 books so far this year, can you believe it?! So the read-a-thon seems like a good way to get back into both reading and blogging.

Anyway, it's nice to be back, and I look forward to re-connecting with all of you again! Please say hi, and let me know what you've been up to.

The small print: Photos taken by, and belong to, me unless otherwise indicated. Photos or other content can not be used without permission. For more information please visit my About Page.

One Year Later: Remembering 3/11

2012-03-10T23:48:00.000-08:00

Image credit: Reuters/Kyodo

More photos showing the same scenes from one year ago, and now.

I don't really have anything eloquent to say, but I wanted to recognize here, on the blog, the one-year anniversary of the devastating earthquake and tsunami that changed so many people's lives last year. I'll never forget where I was, or what I was doing, one year ago at exactly 2:46 pm on March 11th, 2011, and even though we have now left Japan and moved to the US, my thoughts, especially today, are of Japan. Of the terrible loss. There are so very many sad stories. Of the devastation. Of the fear. Of the slow recovery efforts, and the rebuilding that will take many years to come. But also of hope for a better future.

(Sorry, the video of the documentary is no longer available. Hope you got a chance to see it!)

More photos of then and now from the BBC. Amazing!

JEARS (Japan Earthquake Animal Rescue and Support) has continued to provide care to hundreds of animals stranded by the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster. As you can imagine, this involves a lot of resources and if you feel so inclined, they could certainly still use a little help.

I have mentioned them before too, but these story anthologies are also no less relevant now, one year on.

Kizuna: Fiction for Japan

Aftershocks: Stories from the Japan Earthquake

Write for Tohoku: Stories of Japan

Plus a new anthology I just found out about, that looks pretty cool.

Fables for Japan

がんばって日本！

P.S. We're settling into our new home here in San Diego, and I'll be back to blogging soon.

Books Read in 2012

2012-01-15T23:55:00.000-08:00

List of all books read in 2012. Click on the titles to read my reviews, where available.

1. The Lola Quartet - Emily St. John Mandel
2. Mariana - Susanna Kearsley
3. The Happiness of Kati - Jane Vejjajiva
4. The Patchwork Marriage - Jane Green
5. A Room Where the Star-Spangled Banner Cannot Be Heard - Levy Hideo
6. Moloka'i - Alan Brennert

For books read in previous years, click on the appropriate link below:
Books Read in 2011
Books Read in 2010
Books Read in 2009
Books Read in 2008
Books Read in 2007
Books Read in 2006

Virtual Advent Tour: Christmas in Japan (Photo Edition)

2011-12-19T00:09:00.000-08:00

It's hard to believe that this is our last Christmas in Japan. I've taken part in the Virtual Advent Tour for the last couple of years so even though we're in the midst of sorting, packing, throwing out, and all the other craziness that comes with moving in just over two weeks (two weeks!) I couldn't let the year pass without joining in again. So, to keep it simple, here is a taste of what Christmas looks like in Tokyo this year.

Christmas in Tokyo is...

Christmas trees. Sometimes even interactive, musical ones.

Sparkly lights on trees...

Penguins. Why not?
(They're the Japan Railways mascot.)

More sparkly lights...

Colonel Sanders dressed up as Santa. But of course!

Christmas cake.
This is the cake we've ordered this year. For more Christmas cakes, click on the photo or the shop link below. Which one would you choose?

Image © ア・ラ・カンパーニュ / à la compagne

As usual, we'll also be having our annual Christmas sushi on Christmas Day.

And it wouldn't quite be Christmas without a festive outfit for your pet. Don't tell me you don't have shops that only sell doggy clothes where you live? ;)

If you'd like more details on what Christmas in Japan really means, please visit my posts from Christmases past.
A Japanese-style Christmas (2010)
Christmas in Japan (2009)
Christmas 2007

I do have to say that there are less decorations and lights around this year. Tokyo is still in a power shortage due to the earthquake in March, which critically damaged the Fukushima nuclear plant. So while there are displays of sparkly lights (mostly LED lights which consume less power) here and there, they seem more subdued than usual. Plus the general mood of the country as the year draws to a close, is one of sadness at all the destruction and lives lost this year in Japan. There was a story on the news recently how even for the annual exchanging of New Years cards, people are choosing ones that are less cheerful. We can only hope that 2012 will be a better year for Japan and that all the people and areas affected by the terrible tsunami will begin the long road to recovery.

Thanks to Marg of The Adventures of an Intrepid Reader, and Kelly of The Written World for organising another fun Virtual Advent Tour this year.

I wish you all a happy holiday season, and all the very best in the New Year!

P.S. I don't expect to have much time for blogging over the next little while until we have successfully arrived in California. However, in the meantime, please feel free to follow me on Twitter (@inspringthedawn) or to "Like" the In Spring it is the Dawn Facebook page for updates on the move, reading or the lack thereof, and life on the other side (of the ocean that is!). See you next year!

The small print: Photos were taken by, and belong to, me unless otherwise indicated. Photos or other content can not be used without permission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Hello Japan! mini-challenge: November links

2011-12-14T06:26:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who took part in the last Hello Japan! mini-challenge for this year. November's task was to share five Japanese favourites. Click on the links to find out more about everyone's favourite books, TV shows and much more.

Novroz of Polychrome Interest shared her all-time favourite Japanese TV series.

Gary of The Parrish Lantern shared "five" of his favourite Japanese novels:
Kafka on the Shore, the first Haruki Murakami I read.
Strangers, Taichi Yamada & the third Japanese book I had read.
The Sea & Poison, Shusaku Endo, the book that sold me on Japanese Literature
In Praise of Shadows, this book by Jun'Ichiro Tanizaki explained to me ideas on Japanese Aesthetics
Underground, another Haruki murakami, but one that showed me, his humanity in a way far different from his fiction.
But he couldn't stop there and came back to share five more! Be sure to scroll down to the comments on the Hello Japan! November mini-challenge post to find out the rest.

Francisca shared her Top 5 Albums that she discovered this year.
1. Eternal Elysium - Spiritualized D (I got this CD frm my mother :D)
2. Boris - New Album (I have seen them live and enjoyed it!)
3. lloy - STRANGE IMMIGRANT HAUS (This album is from last year, but I got to listen it this year)
4. Church of Misery - The Second Coming (I have seen them live this year, very great live band)
5. Mono - Hymn to the Immortal Wind (Beautiful instrumental music!)

Litera of Litera-Tour couldn't decide on one category so she shared 5x5 Japanese favourites! Including favourite J-dramas, favourite short stories, favourite anime series, favourite characters from Japanese mythology, and favourite books.

Gnoe of Graasland shared her five favourite Hello Japan! topics! Thank you so much for your kind words, Gnoe! I'm so glad you've enjoyed the Hello Japan! mini-challenge. :)

For sbk of Pictures, Thoughts and Comments, the Bodhisattva, Jizo, is one of her favourites so she shared five places that she's photographed Jizo statues.

And I cheated a little since I didn't stick strictly to five, but I shared some of the things I will and won't miss about Japan after we move next month.

November's prize is a selection of Japanese candy.
- Fran MeltyKiss matcha green tea/white chocolate dipped sticks (like Pocky)
- きのこの山 (kinoko no yama): little cookies in the shape of mushrooms. Usually the caps are chocolate but for this special version they are zunda flavoured. ずんだ (zunda) is essentially a paste of crushed, sweetened green soybeans often served with mochi (rice cakes) and is a specialty of Sendai in the Tohoku region of Japan that was hard hit by the earthquake and tsunami in March.
- アポロ (Apollo) strawberry chocolates
- CRUNKY chocolate bar
- Azuki (sweet red bean) flavoured caramels
- 梅 (ume) plum flavoured chewing gum
And since 2012 is the Year of the Dragon, a little dragon figurine made out of paper. :)

And the winner is ... Litera! I sure hope you have a sweet tooth. ;)

Also, just a reminder that this was the last Hello Japan! mini-challenge, at least for a little while. Thanks again to everyone who has participated in the various Hello Japan! tasks over the last two years. (Click on the link, or the button at the top of this post, for links to all the past topics and tasks.) I have really enjoyed reading about your discoveries and adventures through literature, food, culture and everything in between. Hopefully once we're settled in and life calms down a bit, I can look at bringing it back in a modified format. Please let me know if you have any suggestions, or ideas, and in the meantime I hope you will continue to add a little touch of Japan to your lives.

Hello Japan! Goodbye Japan!

2011-12-12T05:46:00.000-08:00

As our move across the ocean gets closer, I can't help thinking about all the things that I'll miss about Japan, and equally those things I Won't Miss. So for the last (at least for a little while) Hello Japan! mini-challenge, which asked us to share some Japanese favourites, I thought I'd share some of them with you.

Showa Kinen Park, Tachikawa, Tokyo

I WILL miss ... spring-time in Japan. Spring is such a beautiful time of year in Japan, first with the ume (plum blossoms) and then a little later the sakura (cherry blossoms). I love the fact that the Japanese still celebrate nature and I love the pale pink and white petals everywhere. So pretty!

I WON'T miss ... the miserable (for me anyway) hot and horribly humid summers that follow those few short weeks of spring. From June to the end of September I always wish I were somewhere else. And I won't miss the winters either. Despite the fact that it never gets REALLY cold in Tokyo (I grew up in the Canadian Prairies!), since most homes and apartments have almost no insulation, and you generally only heat one room at a time, winter feels very chilly indeed.

I WILL miss ... traditional Japanese temples and gardens. There's something so calming and peaceful about the simple Japanese nature aesthetic. Even in the middle of crowded Tokyo, you can escape the madness just by entering one of the many beautiful gardens, and the Zen temples of Kyoto are always some of my favourite places to visit there.

Nanzen-ji, Kyoto (October 2011)

I WON'T miss ... the crowds and the lack of space though. It still amazes me that if you compare the numbers, approximately the entire population of Canada (the whole country!) lives in Greater Tokyo. No wonder the apartments can be so tiny and there are no yards. I have to admit I really miss the wide open spaces of Canada.

I WILL miss ... Japanese food, especially the variety and regional specialities. Apparently you can get some decent Japanese food in California so I guess we'll have to see. I will definitely miss Japanese vending machines! So many choices of teas, coffees and other drinks. Especially UNsweetened teas, which I'll surely miss. And the hot drinks in winter. Such a great idea!

The drinks with the red tags beneath are hot: various coffees, green tea, hot chocolate, and even corn soup.

I WON'T miss ... natto, or octopus. Or uni (sea urchin). ;)

I WILL miss ... Japanese ceramics and the artful presentation of food. I've always liked the unique and varied hand-made ceramic Japanese dishes, but ever since my trip to Kyoto in October I'm a little obsessed. I especially love the slightly rustic, rough style of traditional ceramics. It's very Japanese to see the beauty in imperfection. And I love the beautiful way that the dishes and food complement each other, both often chosen according to the season.

I WILL miss ... the shopping. Tokyo is a cosmopolitan wonderland. You can find all kinds of things here from all over the world. (Except breakfast cereal, and shoes for my big "gaijin" feet!). Everywhere you turn there are shops to explore. And don't get me started on the stationery stores with their clever erasable pens and whatnot, and the beautiful washi and other traditional Japanese products. Not to mention the polite, customer service that is standard.

Ginza, Tokyo

I WON'T miss ... lugging said shopping home on the train. I have to admit I really am looking forward to having a car again. Not having to carry heavy bags of groceries home during the hot summer months sounds fabulous!

I WILL miss ... the convenience of public transportation. The train map looks complicated but once you get the hang of it, you can get around Tokyo quite easily. After living in England, where the trains weren't always punctual *cough*, or in Victoria where the only option is the slow city bus, the reliability of the trains in Japan is pretty impressive. And I can't forget the bullet train!

I WON'T miss ... having to buy most of my books online. ;)

Showa Kinen Park, November 2011

In total, I've spent over 11 years in Japan. Not consecutively (we had our 4-year stint in England in the middle) but it's still a fairly long time, and over the last couple years I've really noticed how my perspective has changed. When I first arrived, the hustle and bustle of Tokyo was exciting and everything was an adventure. Now, 11 years on, I think if I boil it down, the main reasons I'm looking forward to leaving Japan are climate, language, and quality of life.

It's probably just me, but each summer seems hotter, more humid, and longer than the last. No fun. And somewhere along the line I lost my motivation to study Japanese. It is a difficult language but this means that there are a whole lot of things I can't do by myself, or can't do very well. Which is frustrating.

Also, even though Japan is great at creating weird and wonderful technology, the houses can still seem quite primitive, by North American standards anyway. In addition to no central heating (brrr!), my friends in Canada, especially those with kids, can't believe that we don't have a clothes dryer, or even an oven. And as I'm getting older, I find myself wanting the ease and comfort of those things too. And the Canadian in me is really longing for some space.

So, those are some of my thoughts on leaving Japan. I hope this hasn't come across as negative because I will always love Japan and I truly think that a little distance will be a good thing. Besides, we'll still be back sometimes to visit the in-laws. And by bringing some of our favourite bits of Japan with us, we'll hopefully be able to have the best of both worlds. :)

The small print: Photos were taken by, and belong to, me. Photos may not be used without permission. For more information please visit my About Page.

JLit Book Group Discussion: '1Q84' by Haruki Murakami

2011-12-03T04:35:00.000-08:00

1Q84 by Haruki Murakami
Original title: 1Q84 (ichi-kyu-hachi-yon)
Book One & Two originally published in Japan in 2009, Book Three in 2010. English translation released in October 2011.
Book One & Two translated from the Japanese by Jay Rubin; Book Three translated by Philip Gabriel
Longlisted for the 2011 Man Asian Literary Prize

The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo.
Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a stand-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult.

Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true?

Both Aomame and Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, the two come closer and closer to intertwining.

After what seemed like a very long wait, the English translation of Haruki Murakami's latest novel was finally released at the end of October. I know many of you wouldn't want to wait long to read it, despite being a rather long book, so it easily filled the last slot on our JLit Book Group schedule for this year. If you have finished reading, please share your thoughts on the book below. And if you haven't quite finished, or are still waiting to read it, feel free to come back and discuss it with us once you have.

The discussion questions below are just a guide to start the conversation. If you have any other thoughts or questions about the book, don't hesitate to bring them up.
Warning: For anyone who hasn't yet read the book, the comments may contain spoilers so please proceed at your own risk!

DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

What did you think of 1Q84? His best one yet? Or disappointing?
There was a lot of buzz and hype leading up to the publication day. Do you think your reaction to the book was affected either positively, or negatively, by all the publicity?

How does 1Q84 compare to Murakami's other books? How was it similar, or different, to his other books that you've read?

Do you have any favourite quotes, or scenes, to share?

Who was your favourite character? Did you like the narrative alternating between Tengo and Aomame, and also including Ushikawa in Book Three? Did your feeling towards any of the characters change over the course of the novel?

When talking with Tengo about how well Air Chrysalis is selling, Komatsu says:
“But still, you couldn’t call this a commercial novel. It’s got no sex scenes, it’s not a tearjerker. Not even I imagined it would sell so spectacularly.” (p. 317)
Do you think a book must have sex and tears to be a best-seller?

On that note, 1Q84 did contain a fair amount of sex, and Murakami has been nominated for the Bad Sex in Fiction Award for 1Q84. Do you think the 'bad sex' nomination is justified?

What do you think the "Town of Cats represents? (click on the link to read an excerpt)
Have you ever been to a 'Town of Cats'?

And who exactly are the 'Little People'?

Were you satisfied with how the story ended?
In Japan, Books One & Two were originally published in 2009. Book Three followed about a year later. Would you have been satisfied if the story had stopped with Book Two?

What did you think of the translation? Especially as there were two translators. Book One & Two were translated by Jay Rubin, and Book Three by Philip Gabriel. Did you notice any difference between the two?

Well, I think that's enough to get us started. I'd really love to get a conversation going about the book so please do come and share your thoughts. And if you've posted about 1Q84, let me know and I'll link to it here.

Other thoughts:
Dolce Bellezza
Sam Still Reading - Books One & Two | Book Three
And the plot thickens...
Book Dilettante
Tony's Reading List - Book One | Book Two
Words and Peace
Experiments in Manga

1Q84 at: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | Amazon.ca | BookDepository.co.uk | BookDepository.com

I started the Japanese Literature Book Group to read and discuss Japanese literature with others, and by doing so to hopefully gain a deeper understanding of the literature and culture of Japan. I enjoyed having a little push to read more Japanese lit, and have thoroughly enjoyed reading these contemporary and classic Japanese novels with you. Please click on the button for information on all our past reads. The Japanese Literature Book Group will be on hiatus for the next few months while we pack, move, and get settled in to our new home across the ocean, but I hope you'll join me in reading some more Japanese Lit come spring 2012.

The small print: I purchased this book for my personal library. Links in this post to Amazon or The Book Depository contain my Associates or Affiliates ID respectively. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

'Kokoro' by Natsume Sōseki (JLit Book Group)

2011-11-24T17:40:00.000-08:00

Kokoro by Natsume Sōseki
Original title: こころ (kokoro)
Translated from the Japanese by Meredith McKinney
Fiction, Published in Japan in 1914
(new English translation, 2010)
Penguin Classics, 234 p.

No collection of Japanese literature is complete without Natsume Soseki's Kokoro, his most famous novel and the last he completed before his death. Published here in the first new translation in more than fifty years, Kokoro--meaning "heart"-is the story of a subtle and poignant friendship between two unnamed characters, a young man and an enigmatic elder whom he calls "Sensei".

Haunted by tragic secrets that have cast a long shadow over his life, Sensei slowly opens up to his young disciple, confessing indiscretions from his own student days that have left him reeling with guilt, and revealing, in the seemingly unbridgeable chasm between his moral anguish and his student's struggle to understand it, the profound cultural shift from one generation to the next that characterized Japan in the early twentieth century.

First of all, my sincere apologies if you looked for this post last month. I think you must be tired of hearing me say that our life is rather hectic and unsettled at the moment, so I'll just say I'm sorry for the major delay and move on to a few thoughts on the book.

I’ve been a little disappointed in the Japanese literature classics I’ve read lately but Kokoro was a pleasant surprise and one of the more enjoyable Japanese classics I’ve read over the last year. Where I found The Temple of the Golden Pavilion to be very dreary, and painfully slow. And where The Silent Cry was also quite dense and failed to engage me, Kokoro was a completely readable, rather compelling human story.

The story focuses on the relationship between a young university student, and an older man he happens to meet one summer on holiday. He calls the older man “Sensei”, meaning “teacher”, and he comes to look up to Sensei although the older man lives a rather reclusive, unproductive life. Sensei insists repeatedly that he is not worthy of the young man’s respect or growing attachment, although he refuses to elaborate on the reason why he feels that way.

The book is divided into three sections. In the first one, “Sensei and I”, we are introduced to the two men. In the second section, “My Parents and I”, the young narrator has graduated and returns to his country home as his father is very ill. While he contemplates his father’s death, he receives a long letter from Sensei in which he finally explains the incident that took place in his own school days, and which has haunted him for the rest of his life. In essence, making him into the man he became. This letter, a kind of confession, makes up the final section of the book.

Even though we are kept at a certain remove from them throughout, I was interested in the characters and eager to learn more about them and their special friendship as the narrative progressed. Both of the characters live quite insular lives, and isolation is a clear theme running through the story, a common theme really in many works of Japanese literature, either classic or contemporary. Just look at the works of Haruki and Ryu Murakami respectively, to name just a couple of contemporary examples.

Sōseki, who died in 1916, and considered one of the most important writers of the Meiji era, was also quite critical of the encroaching Westernization in Japan, and the social implications of Japan’s desire to emulate the West. This study of the difference in Western and Japanese culture is apparently present in most of his work, and it was obvious in Kokoro as well. The young man has difficulty understanding the traditional values and morality that Sensei adheres to, and their relationship represents the transition to Western values.

The only other novel by Natsume Sōseki that I’ve read so far is his famous I Am a Cat. While I found that I Am a Cat was a bit too long, and lost its focus as it went along, my main complaint about Kokoro would be that I thought it was too short. The story ends with an assumption of what has occurred but we are left to imagine for ourselves the consequences of this act. When I turned the last page, I was a little disappointed, wanting to know more. However, after having let the story sit for a while, I’ve come to think that it wouldn’t have been as memorable if it insisted on wrapping things up. It wouldn’t be very ‘Japanese’ either if it did! Like many Japanese novels without a clear, distinct ending, there is a kind of elegance in leaving off where it did. And I’m definitely looking forward to reading more by Sōseki.

A final, quick note on the translation: I really enjoyed Meredith McKinney’s translation of The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon, and I think it was her smooth, readable translation that helped to make Kokoro such an enjoyable read. The translation of Sōseki's I Am a Cat (by a pair of different translators) is actually somewhat outdated, and awkward, so I hope Meredith McKinney will continue to refresh, or translate more Japanese literature classics in the future.

What did you think of Kokoro?
If you've read Kokoro, please share your thoughts or questions about the book. And if you've posted about it on your own blog, please let me know so I can link to it here.

Other thoughts:
Experiments in Manga
Litera-tour

Kokoro at: Amazon.com | Amazon.co.uk | BookDepository.com | BookDepository.co.uk

The Japanese Literature Book Group was started to enjoy reading and discussing Japanese literature with others, and by doing so to hopefully gain a deeper understanding of the literature and culture of Japan. The schedule for the Japanese Literature Book Group for 2011 is largely made up of suggestions from fellow JLit devotees and we'd love to have you join us. Click on the button for more information about past and upcoming reads.

Our next selection will be 1Q84 by Haruki Murakami with discussion to begin on November 28, 2011.

The year is 1984. Aomame sits in a taxi on the expressway in Tokyo.
Her work is not the kind which can be discussed in public but she is in a hurry to carry out an assignment and, with the traffic at a stand-still, the driver proposes a solution. She agrees, but as a result of her actions starts to feel increasingly detached from the real world. She has been on a top-secret mission, and her next job will lead her to encounter the apparently superhuman founder of a religious cult.

Meanwhile, Tengo is leading a nondescript life but wishes to become a writer. He inadvertently becomes involved in a strange affair surrounding a literary prize to which a mysterious seventeen-year-old girl has submitted her remarkable first novel. It seems to be based on her own experiences and moves readers in unusual ways. Can her story really be true?

Both Aomame and Tengo notice that the world has grown strange; both realise that they are indispensable to each other. While their stories influence one another, at times by accident and at times intentionally, the two come closer and closer to intertwining.

Happy reading!

The small print: I purchased this book for my personal library. Links in this post to Amazon (including book cover) or The Book Depository contain my Associates or Affiliates ID respectively. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Sunday Salon: Is there such a thing as too much hype? ( + giveaways old and new)

2011-11-13T06:47:00.001-08:00

So like many people, I'm currently reading Haruki Murakami's latest book to appear in English translation, 1Q84. After waiting about two and a half years since Book One and Two were published in Japan in May 2009 (and Book Three which followed in April 2010), at last all three Books were released in English translation late last month.

Murakami fans all over the world were impatiently waiting and there was some serious hype in the lead-up to the publication date. Quite impressive for a book in translation, there were some stores that even had midnight openings to cope with the demand! And it's very long story too at around 1000 pages between the three books.

Well, I'm kind of sad to admit that while I like it (I do like it!), I'm not loving it. So far anyway. I'm about half way through Book Three, and still have several chapters to go so anything is still possible. I got quite bogged down in Book Two, and it has picked up for me in Book Three but overall it just hasn't engaged me as much as some of his other stories. Like The Wind-up Bird Chronicle. Or Kafka on the Shore. Or Hard-boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Or A Wild Sheep Chase. Those books each grabbed me and carried me along for an often bizarre, but very enjoyable ride. However, something is keeping me from fully getting lost in 1Q84. I have to wonder, is it because of the Hype? With all the buzz and anticipation, were my expectations simply too high?

But I also wonder if it's my fault. There's a lot going on for us right now and perhaps I'm simply not in the right head space for such a long book, or for Murkami's style of storytelling. As you know, with books it is often all about the timing. Many people have already finished reading it, and loved it, so I already think I'll need to re-read it at some point once life has calmed down to see if it really was just me. Or bad timing.

I'll be talking about 1Q84 in more detail later this month and I'll let you know my final verdict once I've finished it. It's the last Japanese Literature Book Group selection for this year and the discussion will begin on November 28. So if you're reading it, or have read it, I hope you'll stop by and share what you think of it. And perhaps tell me what I am missing!

Has your enjoyment of a book ever been affected by hype, or life getting in the way?

Thank you to everyone who entered my Literary Giveaway for some books that needed new homes, held in conjunction with Leeswammes' Literary Giveaway Blog Hop last month. Announcing the winners is long overdue, my apologies for that. However, better late than never, I hope you agree. If you remember, these were the books on offer:

Each entry was numbered in the order received on the Google Form and with some help from random.org, this is how it played out. The following entrants were selected and will receive these books:

blackplume gets To Kill a Mockingbird
Sam gets Roxanna Slade
Marta gets The Big Sleep
sakura gets Comfort Woman
Jet gets Underground
miki gets The Count of Monte Cristo

Everyone received either their first or second choices. I love how that worked out!

And while we're talking about giveaways, a new one is up over at the Haruki Murakami Reading Challenge blog. Any participants of the challenge are welcome to enter so be sure to check it out.

Happy Sunday!

The small print: Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Hello Japan! mini-challenge: September and October links

2011-11-07T05:48:00.000-08:00

The Hello Japan! mini-challenge for September and October was When One Isn't Enough, a double dose, and the task was to compare two works or other elements of Japanese literature, culture, or entertainment.. Thank you to the two of you who took part... twice each! Click on the links below to read their posts.

Novroz of Polychrome Interest looked at both food and fiction. She compared Indonesian Lontong to Japanese onigiri. Plus she also compared the manga Death Note to both the anime and live-action films.

Ash at Experiments in Manga reviewed the novel Mardock Scramble by Tow Ubukata, as well as Mardock Scramble the manga. And also reviewed Goth, the novel by Otsuichi along with the manga version of Goth.

The general consensus seems to be that the original books are better. Although I haven't read the stories they mentioned, that often does seem to be the case. Don't you agree?

September and October's prize was a Japanese literature book of one's choice (up to $15 value). Since there were only two participants this time around it didn't seem fair that only one should receive the prize, so congratulations Novroz and Ash, you've both won! I'll be in touch soon for your choices.

And if you haven't seen it yet, the new mini-challenge for November is up. It's time to share some of your Japanese favourites, and as it's the last Hello Japan! mini-challenge (at least for awhile) I do hope you'll join us!

Hello Japan! November mini-challenge: Five Favourites

2011-11-06T23:04:00.000-08:00

Hello Japan! is a monthly mini-challenge focusing on Japanese literature and culture. Each month there is a new task which relates to some aspect of life in Japan. Anyone is welcome to join in any time. Everyone who completes the task will then be included in the drawing for that month's prize. For more information, just click on the Hello Japan! button above.

November's Topic

At the end of last year when I asked you for suggestions on possible Hello Japan! topics, Sakura suggested "Favourite characters" so we're going to go with her idea and expand it to include any of your favourite Japanese things. And since the Japanese traditionally like doing things in odd numbers, Five Favourites has a nice ring to it, don't you think?

November's Task

The task for November is to share five Japanese favourites. In keeping with Sakura's suggestion, this could be a list of five favourite characters, from Japanese books, or anime for example. Or five favourite Japanese books, or authors. Or five favourite films, or actors, or directors. Five favourite haiku. Five favourite Japanese recipes. Five favourite Japanese things you did this year. And so on.
Or as Gnoe wondered, even a list of five different favourites, one each of a favourite book/movie/actor/food/drink/etc/etc. Sure! If it's Japanese, and you like it, please tell us about it!

November's Prize

This month's prize will be a surprise. One winner will receive a small selection of something typically Japanese, most likely involving candy or other sweets.

You can complete this month's mini-challenge by writing a blog post, telling us about what you did, and adding a link to your post, or by simply leaving a comment with your answer(s) on this post. If you prefer, you can also email me at inspringthedawn AT gmail DOT com with your submission. You are welcome to post or comment more than once and add the relevant links below. I love it when you are enthusiastic about a topic!

Once you have completed the task, don't forget to come back here to add your link to the Mr. Linky below. Please submit the link to the actual post, not just to your top page, and please only submit links to posts relating to the Hello Japan! task for this month. Any other links will be deleted. Please let me know if you have any questions.

Note: Due to my delay in posting the new mini-challenge for November, and since there is not a new Hello Japan! task in December, you have until December 10th to complete the November Favourites mini-challenge.

Please also note that this will be the last Hello Japan! mini-challenge. At least for a while. Participation has been quite low over the last several months. This is partly my own fault for not having the time to promote it, or even participate in it myself, properly. However, I also wonder if there simply isn't enough interest. I will revisit the possibility of a modified version of the Hello Japan! mini-challenge in a few months so please feel free to let me know your thoughts, or ideas on how to make it more appealing. In the meantime, I do hope you'll take part this month, and will continue to enjoy all things Japanese in the weeks, months and years to come! It has been a pleasure to see Japan through your eyes! :)

The small print: Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

There's just something about Kyoto...

2011-11-05T07:38:00.000-07:00

Kyoto Gosho (Kyoto Imperial Palace)

I can't believe it's November already! My apologies for disappearing yet again. These last couple of months have just completely slipped away from me! Sick for most of September plus a trip to Canada, and more recently a few days in Kyoto. Plus we're also in the midst of preparations, and the oh-so-fun bureaucracy involved with a big international move. It really has been a busy time but I feel bad that the blog has been so dormant lately. Sigh.

Garden on the grounds of Kyoto Gosho

Kyoto was wonderful as always though. There's just something special about Kyoto. Some places are fun to visit but once you've been, you feel that once is enough. Kyoto, however, is one of those places that you can visit over and over again. In my opinion anyway. The reason for the trip at the end of last month was because Bookfool and hubby decided to visit Japan while H and I are still here. I really wanted to visit Kyoto again before we left Japan so I was very happy to volunteer as their guide. As expected, while we were there, we saw some beautiful sights, ate some great food, and I'm already hoping that I'll get a chance to visit again someday!

Note: I'll be posting more about Kyoto with more photos over the next while. And yes, I'm a little addicted to the "Dramatic Tone" [HDR] filter on my new camera but I promise they won't all be like that!

So what have you all been up to? I hope you had a great Halloween!
(And thanks for the birthday wishes last week!)

The small print: Photos were taken by, and belong to, me. They can not be used or reproduced without permission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Across the sea and back again

2011-10-15T09:35:00.000-07:00

East Sooke Park, September 2011

So sorry for my long absence here. If you wondered where I disappeared to over the last while, a combination of illness and travel is what has kept me away from the blog for about a month. (I swear, where does the time go?) I was struck down by a nasty flu halfway through Book Blogger Appreciation Week (which made me sad that I couldn't participate fully), and then came my annual trip "home" to Victoria. I hadn't quite got over the flu by then and it decided to follow me to Canada where it turned into a lung infection. So fun! (Not really!) But even though I was a bit under the weather the whole time I was there, I still had a great time visiting with friends and family, some of which I hadn't seen for a few years! Now I'm back in Japan, mostly over the jetlag (and the lung infection), and getting back in the swing of things.

I really didn't do much reading at all while I was away. However, I did manage to bring a few books home with me. I'm impressed with my self-restraint though as I only bought one of them. Since we'll be moving soon, it seemed silly to buy books to just turn around and pack them into boxes for shipping in another month or so. But luckily I have an aunt and uncle who share my love of reading, and who just had to give me a couple. ;)

My Canadian book loot:

Lafcadio Hearn's Japan: An Anthology of His Writings on the Country and Its People, edited by Donald Richie
My uncle picked this one up for me because of the Japanese connection. I've read one of Hearn's books of Japanese folk tales so it will be interesting to read some of his other writings.

The Fox Inheritance by Mary E. Pearson
This was my Armchair BEA prize from earlier this year. As the publisher could only ship to the US or Canada, I had it sent there and it was waiting for me. I actually haven't read the first book in the series yet, but I have it and have heard good things about the author.

Annabel by Kathleen Winter
This is the one book that I bought myself. It seems to be a book people either love or ... not so much. So of course I'm curious to read it for myself. The reason I made a point to pick up a copy in Canada? Because I really don't like the US or UK covers. The Canadian one is so much better! (Yes, I can be a cover snob but click on the links - the title for the US one - to see for yourself and see if you don't agree with me).

The Winter Vault by Anne Michaels
I can't believe I still haven't read anything by Anne Michaels even though I'm pretty sure I've had her award-winning Fugitive Pieces in my stacks for a while now. Now that my aunt has given me her newer novel, I really must rectify that!

The Cat's Table by Michael Ondaatje
I've been hearing great things about Ondaatje's latest book so I'm thrilled my aunt picked this for me too. Now I only have to find the time to read it!

Have you received any new books lately? And do tell what I've missed in the book blogging world over the last month?

The small print: Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop (October 15 to 19)

2011-10-14T21:06:00.001-07:00

It's time for another Literary Giveaway Blog Hop! The one held in June was a big success so when Judith suggested a fall version, I knew I had to join in again. Since we'll be moving soon, I'm offering some books that have been in my giveaway box for a while. Better to send them to new homes than take them with me, right?

Some of these certainly need no explanation, but here is some information about each of the books. The blurbs are taken from the back of the books themselves. For more on the books, click the titles to read about them on Amazon*. And be sure to visit Leeswammes' Blog for all the information on the Hop.

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
(I bought a 50th Anniversary hardback edition last year so no longer need my old paperback copy. Slightly faded but still in very good condition.)
The unforgettable novel of a childhood in a sleepy Southern town and the crisis of conscience that rocked it, To Kill a Mockingbird became both an instant bestseller and a critical success when it was first published in 1960. Compassionate, dramatic, and deeply moving, To Kill a Mockingbird takes readers to the roots of human behavior - to innocence and experience, kindness and cruelty, love and hatred, humor and pathos. Harper Lee always considered her book to be a simple love story. Today it is regarded as a masterpiece of American literature.

The Big Sleep by Raymond Chandler
(Read once, and has a wrinkle in the cover, but still in good condition.)
Los Angeles PI Philip Marlowe is working for the Sternwood family. Old man Sternwood, crippled and wheel-chair bound, is being given the squeeze by a blackmailer and he wants Marlowe to make the problem go away. But with Sternwood's two wild, devil-may-care daughters prowling LA's seedy backstreets, Marlowe's got his work cut out - and that's before he stumbles over the first corpse...

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
(Never read, I opted instead for the Penguin edition. Note: The print is quite small.)
The victim of a miscarriage of justice, Dantes is fired by a desire for retribution and empowered by a stroke of providence. In his campaign of vengence, he becomes an anonymous agent of fate. The sensational narrative of intrigue, betrayal, escape, and triumphant revenge moves at a cracking pace. Dumas' novel presents a powerful conflict between good and evil embodied in an epic saga of rich diversity that is complicated by the hero's ultimate discomfort with the hubristic implication of his own actions.

Roxanna Slade by Reynolds Price
(Bought used so it is a bit scuffed, and with some damage to the cover, but the pages are clean.)
Roxanna begins her story on her twentieth birthday - a day that introduces her to the harsh realities of adulthood and changes the course of her life forever. From this day on, Roxanna is quick to share with the reader the intimate details of ninety years of life in North Carolina. Her beguiling tale is one that boldly reflects the high and low moments in the development of the modern South and the nation as well as the inner strength of a woman possessed of a piercingly clear vision, forthright hungers and immense vitality.

Comfort Woman by Nora Okja Keller
(Read once, still like new.)
Comfort Woman is the story of Akiko, a Korean refugee of World War II, and Beccah, her daughter by an American missionary. The two women are living on the edge of society - and sanity - in Honolulu, haunted by Akiko's periodic encounters with the spirits of the dead, and by Beccah's struggles to reclaim her mother from her past. Slowly and painfully Akiko reveals her tragic story as a "comfort woman" to Japanese soldiers. As Beccah uncovers these truths, she discovers her own strength and the precious gifts her mother has given her.

Underground by Tobias Hill
(Withdrawn library copy, from the Cambridge Library, UK. Library binding, faded pages but still very readable.)
Among the rush-hour crowds and abandoned levels of the London Underground, someone is pushing women under trains. In his search for a killer, Casimir, a Tube worker, is led ever deeper into this city beneath the city. Below the bright crowds and tunnel musicians is a labyrinth of long-forgotten cross-passages, deep shelters and derelict Victorian stations. Hunting for the clues that will lead him to the killer, Casimir is also drawn back into his own past and the terrible secrets of his Polish childhood. In subterranean London, Casimir has gone to ground. But in his desperate search, he discovers a chance for forgiveness and the emergence of a new life.

Giveaway details
*The giveaway will close on October 19, 2011.
*Anyone can enter, the giveaway is open internationally. All you need is a mailing address anywhere in the world where you can accept packages.
*You do not need to be a follower or have a blog to enter.
*There will be six winners. You can enter to win 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or all 6 books, but you can only win one. Please rank them in order of preference on the form.
*To enter the giveaway please complete this form:
(click on the link below and the form will open in a new window)

Literary Giveaway Blog Hop - October 2011

Note: You must complete the form to be entered in the giveaway. Comments on this post do not qualify as entries. If you have any problems filling in the form, please let me know.

One of the features of this giveaway hop is that all the books being given away should be literary of some sort. So if you like well-written stories with a literary flair, be sure to check out all the other giveaways as well. See the full list of participants below.

Good luck! Now go enter to win some other great books!

*The small print: Links in this post to Amazon contain my Associates ID. Purchases made via these links earn me a very small commission. For more information please visit my About Page.