The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan
by Donald Richie
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Book Summary Information
Author: Donald RichieEditor: Arturo Silva
Edition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 2001-06-01
ISBN: 1880656612
Number of pages: 288
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
Book Reviews of The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan
Book Review: 50 years, yet always something new to discover
Summary: 5 Stars
Humanity and insight. That is what separates Donald Richie from the numerous authors of that swollen genre, "books on Japan." Throughout his career, he has concocted a subtle blend, both of his own perspective and that of the people in a land foreign to him but home to them. He has shown Japan as a living place populated by these people, as opposed to of a set of cultural rules to be memorized, food to be eaten and temples to be visited.
If Donald Richie offers insight into Japan, then "The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan" gives a similar insight into Richie. An anthology, or course, it sifts through Richie's lifetime of work and condenses the finest, most representative pieces. A keen observer, Richie acknowledges his own eyes as part of the observation process. He is, first and foremost, a writer, and the fact that Japan is his muse is only a lucky happenstance. The essays and chapters here are as much about Donald Richie as they are about Japan.
From masterpieces like "The Inland Sea" and "Ozu" to unpublished fiction like "The View from the Chuo Line," Richie's unique insight can be gleaned from this volume in a way that no single book could encapsulate. Some of his rarest works, such as "The Erotic Gods," his 1966 anthropological study of Japan's fading phallic religions, can possibly only be found in this volume. Same to this are passages from his first book, "Where are the Victors?," giving a rare view on Occupation Japan, when Richie first arrived.
A further look into Richie is the excellent and long introduction by Arturo Silva. Heavily foot-noted and photo-referenced, the introduction sets the stage for the journey into Richie's psyche that you are about to take. The photos make Richie human, from the young robustness of his early days in Japan, to the wisdom of the Old Guarde that Richie has become. It is amazing how many Japanese people of note that Richie has known. Kawabata Yasunari, Ozu Yasujiro, Mishima Yukio, Kurosawa Akira...
"The Donald Richie Reader" should probably not be your first Donald Richie book. For that I recommend "The Inland Sea" to start, and you should probably have a few of his smaller books, such as "The Honorable Visitors," under your belt before you come to this anthology. After that, I can recommend nothing better than this anthology.
Summary of The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan
No one has written more, or more artfully, about Japan and Japanese culture than Donald Richie. Richie moved to Tokyo just after World War II. And he is still there, still writing. This book is the first compilation of the best of Richie's writings on Japan, with excerpts from his critical work on film (Richie helped introduce Japanese film to the West in the late 1950s) and his unpublished private journal, plus fiction, Zen musings, and masterful essays on culture, travel, people, and style. With a critical introduction and full bibliography.
Donald Richie's many books include The Films of Akira Kurosawa, The Japanese Tattoo, and the PBS favorite The Inland Sea. Vienna resident Arturo Silva lived in Japan for 18 years.
"To read [The Donald Richie Reader and The Japan Journals] is like diving for pearls. Dip into any part of them and you will surely find treasures about the cinema, literature, traveling, writing. The passages are evocative, erotic, playful, and often profound." Japanese Language and Literature
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