Tokyo Part II
The Bells of Old Tokyo - Anna Sherman
For over 300 years, Japan closed itself to outsiders, developing a remarkable and unique culture. During its period of isolation, the inhabitants of the city of Edo, later known as Tokyo, relied on its public bells to tell the time. In her remarkable book, Anna Sherman tells of her search for the bells of Edo, exploring the city of Tokyo and its inhabitants and the individual and particular relationship of Japanese culture - and the Japanese language - to time, tradition, memory, impermanence and history. The Bells of Old Toyko is a hauntingly original book about Tokyo and the Japanese relationship to time, memory and history.
Some Prefer Nettles - Junichiro Tanizaki
Kaname’s marriage is disintegrating. It is the 1920s in Tokyo and he and his wife, Misako, are trapped in a parody of a progressive Western marriage. He escapes into the arms of a lover, whilst closing his eyes to the likelihood that his wife will do the same. But this unhappy arrangement can’t last. Misako’s father steps in, believing that their relationship has been damaged by the influence of a new and alien culture, attempting to heal the breach by educating his son-in-law in the Japanese traditions of aesthetic and sensual pleasure. Meanwhile a fixation with his father-in-law’s mistress is fermenting within Kaname.
A Tokyo Romance - Ian Buruma
When Ian Buruma arrived in Tokyo as a young film student in 1975, he found a feverish and surreal metropolis in the midst of an economic boom, where everything seemed new and history only remained in fragments. Through his adventures in the world of avant-garde theatre, his encounters with carnival acts, fashion photographers and moments on-set with Akira Kurosawa, Buruma came of age. For an outsider, unattached to the cultural burdens placed on the Japanese, this was a place to be truly free. A Tokyo Romance is a portrait of a young artist and the fantastical city that shaped him, and a timeless story about the desire to transgress boundaries: cultural, artistic and sexual.
Goodnight Tokyo - Atsuhiro Yoshida
Set in the early hours of the morning in and around Tokyo, this ingeniously constructed English language debut is an energetic fresco of nocturnal existence. Matsui is the driver of a taxi the colour of the night sky. Every night between the hours of 1 am and 4.30 am, when Tokyo’s eccentrics and insomniacs emerge, he guides his taxi around the streets of Tokyo, collecting passengers and their stories. Yoshida’s novel offers readers a unique and intimate take on Tokyo as seen through the eyes of a large cast of colourful characters whose lives are mysteriously but intricately interconnected and whose fates converge against the backdrop of the city’s neon-lit streets and night-time alleys.
What You Are Looking For is in the Library - Michiko Aoyama
What are you looking for? So asks Tokyo's most enigmatic librarian, Sayuri Komachi. But she is no ordinary librarian. Sensing exactly what someone is searching for in life, she provides just the book recommendation to help them find it. We meet five visitors to the library, each at a different crossroads: The restless retail assistant eager to pick up new skills. The mother faced with a demotion at work after maternity leave. The conscientious accountant who yearns to open an antique store. The gifted young manga artist in search of motivation. The recently retired salaryman on a quest for newfound purpose. Can she help them find what they are looking for? Which book will you recommend?