Masako's Story

Masako's Story
Author: Kikuko Otake
Publisher: Author House
Total Pages: 115
Release: 2011-12-28
Genre: Poetry
ISBN: 1463443366

On August 6, 1945, when the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Furuta family was living one mile away from the hypocenter. Five year old Kikuko, her mother, Masako, and her two brothers barely escaped with their lives. However, their soldier father was not so fortunate. Masako never talked about her family's experiences on that day and the grim days following the bombing. Then one day, Masako started to talk about what happenedbreaking a silence of nearly fifty years. Written by Kikuko (Furuta) Otake, now a retired assistant professor of Japanese in the United States, Masako's story is a collection of prose-poetry, based on the true story of her family's tragedy. It is written with an "Objectivist" lineation similar in its understated power to Charles Reznikoff's Testimony. Kikuko Otake's Masako's Story is a powerful addition to the literature of the Atomic Bomb, and yet more evidence that we should all work together to stop the Nuclear madness.

Storytelling in Japanese Art

Storytelling in Japanese Art
Author: Masako Watanabe
Publisher: Metropolitan Museum of Art
Total Pages: 122
Release: 2011
Genre: Emaki Jōruri (Scrolls)
ISBN: 1588394409

Presents 17 classic Japanese stories as told through 30 illustrated handscrolls ranging from the 13th to 19th centuries.

Princess Masako

Princess Masako
Author: Ben Hills
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2006-12-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1101216107

The tragic true story of Japan's Crown Princess-with a new afterword by the author. It's the fantasy of many young women: marry a handsome prince, move into a luxurious palace, and live happily ever after. But that's not how it turned out for Masako Owada. Ben Hills's fascinating portrait of Princess Masako and the Chrysanthemum Throne draws on research in Tokyo and rural Japan, at Oxford and Harvard, and from more than sixty interviews with Japanese, American, British, and Australian sources-many of whom have never spoken publicly before-shedding light on the royal family's darkest secrets, secrets that can never be openly discussed in Japan because of the reverence in which the emperor and his family are held. But most of all, this is a story about a love affair that went tragically wrong. The paperback edition will contain a new afterword by the author, discussing the impact this book had in Japan, where it was banned.

Tea with Milk

Tea with Milk
Author: Allen Say
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Total Pages: 28
Release: 1999
Genre: Juvenile Fiction
ISBN: 0395904951

After growing up near San Francisco, a young Japanese woman returns with her parents to their native Japan, but she feels foreign and out of place.

The Toho Studios Story

The Toho Studios Story
Author: Stuart Galbraith
Publisher: Scarecrow Press
Total Pages: 556
Release: 2008-05-16
Genre: Performing Arts
ISBN: 1461673747

Since its inception in 1933, Toho Co., Ltd., Japan's most famous movie production company and distributor, has produced and/or distributed some of the most notable films ever to come out of Asia, including Seven Samurai, Godzilla, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kwaidan, Woman in the Dunes, Ran, Shall We Dance?, Ringu, and Spirited Away. While the western world often defines Toho by its iconic classics, which include the Godzilla franchise and many of the greatest films of the legendary director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune, these pictures represent but a tiny fraction of Toho's rich history. The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography provides a complete picture of every Toho feature the Japanese studio produced and released—as well as foreign films that it distributed—during its first 75 years. Presented chronologically, each entry in the filmography includes, where applicable, the original Japanese title, a direct translation of that title, the film's international, U.S. release, and alternate titles; production credits, including each film's producers, director, screenwriters, cinematographers, art directors, and composers, among others; casts with character names; production companies, technical specs, running times, and release dates; U.S. release data including distributor, whether the film was released subtitled or dubbed, and alternate versions; domestic and international awards; and plot synopses.

The Master Key

The Master Key
Author: Masako Togawa
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Total Pages: 193
Release: 2021-11-23
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1782277722

A new edition of this prizewinning classic mystery from one of Japan's best-loved crime writers A building full of secrets. A key that will unleash them all... The K Apartments for Ladies in Tokyo conceals a sinister past behind each door; a woman who has buried a child; a scavenger driven mad by ill-health; a wife mysteriously guarding her late husband's manuscripts; a talented violinist tortured by her own guilt. The master key, which opens the door to all 150 rooms, links their tangled stories. But now it has been stolen, and dirty tricks are afoot. For a deadly secret lies buried beneath the building. And when it is revealed, there will be murder.

The Lady Killer

The Lady Killer
Author: Masako Togawa
Publisher: Pushkin Vertigo
Total Pages: 225
Release: 2018-10-30
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1782274103

A dizzying tale of lust, mystery, and murder—from a beloved Japanese crime fiction author and LGBT icon The Lady Killer leads a double life in Tokyo's shadowy underworld. By day, he is a devoted husband and hard worker; by night, he cruises cabaret bars and nightclubs in search of lonely single women to seduce. But now the hunter is being hunted, and in his wake lies a trail of gruesome murders. Who is the culprit? The answer lies tangled in a web of clues—and to find it, he must accept that nothing is what it seems. The Lady Killer pulls from author Masako Togawa’s vibrant personal life as a cabaret performer for Tokyo’s gay nightclub scene during the ‘50s and ‘60s. Throughout her writing career, Togawa continued to champion the LGBT community as a queer woman—sealing her reputation as one of Japan’s most prominent crime fiction authors and LGBT heroines.

Mexican Textiles

Mexican Textiles
Author: Masako Takahashi
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Total Pages: 156
Release: 2003
Genre: Architecture
ISBN: 9780811833783

Whether its a hand-woven sarape, a festive square of oilcloth, or a delicate trimming of lace, Mexican textiles reflect passionate appreciation for color, pattern, and design. In the dazzling pages of Mexican Textiles, photographer and Mexican art aficionado Masako Takahashi shares her love of the form, taking readers on a journey through this sun-drenched land. She visits artisan workshops, weaving centers, lace makers, and family-owned rug manufacturers for an inside view of how traditional fabrics are designed, dyed, woven, and finished. Takahashi also takes her camera into scores of unique homes to show how new and antique woven treasures are used to advantage in modern dcor. In the text, readers discover insightful notes on regional differences, history, technique, and tips for identifying quality materials and craftsmanship. Overflowing with exuberance and creative ideas, and including a resource section listing the major textile markets and vendors throughout Mexico, Mexican Textiles is an indispensable resource book for appreciating and collecting artfully crafted Mexican fabrics.

Heroic with Grace

Heroic with Grace
Author: Chieko Irie Mulhern
Publisher: Routledge
Total Pages: 345
Release: 2015-02-12
Genre: Business & Economics
ISBN: 1317468686

This work presents the lives and times of eight prominent Japanese women who epitomize the tragedies and triumphs of eight characteristically female roles. In examining the lives of the mythological Empress Jingu, Jito Tenno (645-702), Murasaki Shikibu (970s-1000s), Tomoe Gozen (12th century), Hojo Masako (1157-1225), Hani Motoko (1873-1957), Takamine Hideko (b.1924) and Ariyoshi Sawako (1931-1984), the contributors provide a mosaic of Japanese history and culture that encompasses issues of women's status in various stages of Japanese history, the social climate conducive to positive female roles, the concept of Japanese womanhood in relation to the male hero types of each age and the popular need for strong female figures.

Secrets, Sex, and Spectacle

Secrets, Sex, and Spectacle
Author: Mark D. West
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
Total Pages: 416
Release: 2008-09-15
Genre: Law
ISBN: 0226894118

A leader of a global superpower is betrayed by his mistress, who makes public the sordid details of their secret affair. His wife stands by as he denies the charges. Debates over definitions of moral leadership ensue. Sound familiar? If you guessed Clinton and Lewinsky, try again. This incident involved former Japanese prime minister Sosuke Uno and a geisha. In Secrets, Sex, and Spectacle, Mark D. West organizes the seemingly random worlds of Japanese and American scandal—from corporate fraud to baseball cheaters, political corruption to celebrity sexcapades—to explore well-ingrained similarities and contrasts in law and society. In Japan and the United States, legal and organizational rules tell us what kind of behavior is considered scandalous. When Japanese and American scandal stories differ, those rules—rules that define what’s public and what’s private, rules that protect injuries to dignity and honor, and rules about sex, to name a few—often help explain the differences. In the cases of Clinton and Uno, the rules help explain why the media didn’t cover Uno’s affair, why Uno’s wife apologized on her husband’s behalf, and why Uno—and not Clinton—resigned. Secrets, Sex, and Spectacle offers a novel approach to viewing the phenomenon of scandal—one that will be applauded by anyone who has obsessed over (or ridiculed) these public episodes.