"What better way to invite a reader to explore the lavish surfaces and lonely depths of contemporary Japan than with a book so well-designed it whispers covet me from across the room? ... Inconclusive in the best possible way, by turns pointed and generous, Kuhaku paints a shifting portrait of a shifting place." Ellis Avery, Kyoto Journal

"Kuhakuis much more than accounts of modern Japanese living; we are also treated to the emotional landscape of the Japanese people." - Todd Shimoda, author of two novels: The Fourth Treasure, and 365 Views of Mt. Fuji

"[A]ll contained in a handsome and beautifully designed clothbound volume ... The traps that snare commentators on this peculiar nation are either expertly avoided or ignored completely, and in the sundry tales of families, affairs, pets, beverages, garbage and loves Japan emerges in fits and starts, stripped of its abstractions - defiant, utterly unique, and surprisingly tender." - Joseph Badtke-Berkow, Papersky Magazine

Description

Travel past the temples and tourist sites and into the mind of modern Japan with this anthology of essays.

This first offering from Chin Music Press is the literary equivalent of a knockdown pitch. Sixteen stories and essays by different writers destroy the many stereotypes about Japan. Say farewell to Madame Butterfly and the samurai ethic, and say hello to a complex nation that makes both a frustrating and fascinating home.

This collection includes stories on everything from taking out the garbage to cheating on your spouse. It also has an irreverent and informative glossary of real-world Japanese terms, four-color artwork and a Zen whiskey priest who would make Graham Greene proud.

When we set out to find stories for Kuhaku & Other Accounts from Japan, we knew what we wanted: candid tales of life in Japan that weren't trying to slice and dice the country and the culture into digestable nuggets. We weren't looking for Ph.D. dissertations, just smartly told tales from the street.

Having lived in Japan for a long time, we realized these stories were everywhere. We tracked the writers down, asked permission to publish their tales, or more often, prodded them to put that story they had told us down on paper. Just about everybody responded favorably.

The stories in Kuhaku come from everywhere: tall tales told over beers in a pub, stories of corporate drudgery related during the lunch hour, doodlings on napkins at the local Starbucks and professional pieces produced on deadline for far-away readers.