A unique and comprehensive collection of photographs that capture all the ceremonies that mark the ritual restoration of the Ise Grand Shrine, one of the most important and profound symbols of Japanese society.

Architecture and religion come together in this never-before-published record of Japanese culture. The book presents the 63rd restoration of the Shrine, beautifully captured by photographs of all the ritual ceremonies, along with descriptive texts. The restoration of the sanctuary takes place every 20 years and lasts over a period of 8 years since 690 A.D. An extraordinary variety of large format photographs depict profound spirituality and festive local participation. Including drawings of the main buildings and maps of the area, this is a book not only for architects, but also for those with a strong interest in Japanese religion and culture.

About the Author:

J.K. Mauro Pierconti is a historian of architecture at Waseda University in Tokyo. His more recent research focuses on traditional Japanese architecture and the work of important architects. Masaaki Miyazawa is a photographer and winner of the International Center of Photography Award in 1985.

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Пролистать книгу Sengu: The Reconstruction of the Ise Shrine: Holy Japan photographed by Miyazawa Masaaki

Japandi is the newest and hottest trend in interiors: a harmonious combination of functionality, comfort, and the minimalist look that characterizes Scandinavian design with the purest elegance of traditional Japanese craftsmanship.

Japandi harmoniously blends Scandinavian hygge with wabi-sabi, a concept derived from Zen Buddhism that advocates peaceful sobriety and invites us to admire the beauty hidden in slight imperfections in nature. This first major survey of Japandi style will introduce the reader to the fundamentals and to iconic objects that will transform an interior into a Japandi-inspired retreat.

Chapter one of the book examines the converging principles that have contributed to the emergence of Japandi Style such as functionality, neutral colors, the importance of organic materials, and the thoughtful simplicity of shapes. Chapter two presents some of the most emblematic works of Japandi Style, and the design studios behind them. Chapter three gives examples of how to decorate and furnish rooms - the living room, dining room, bedroom, bathroom, winter garden, or home office - in Japandi Style.

About the Author:

Agata Toromanoff is an art and design historian who has curated numerous contemporary art projects. She has written features for the art press and is the author of several books, including Chairs by Architects (2016), Sofas: 340 Iconic Designs (2018), Vases: 250 State-of-the-Art Designs (2019) and Designs for Children (2022). Pierre Toromanoff studied mathematics and Russian literature. After a career of over twenty years in the book industry as international sales manager and then as managing director for several art publishers, he co-founded with his wife Agata a book packaging agency in 2014. Since then, he has authored several publications on contemporary art, pop culture, and fashion.

For the art enthusiast, the doll collector, as well as the casual reader, the world of Japanese dolls is a fascinating one to explore. For many centuries Japanese doll artisans created spectacular works of art, invested with both significant cultural meaning and elemental beauty. The focus of this book is on collecting: What types of ningyo are available for the collector of today? What are some of the features and characteristics which will help collectors identify the ningyo they find and evaluate them? Who were some of the earliest collectors in Japan, Europe, and the United States? and, How do we preserve and care for these invaluable artifacts from Japan's past?

About the Author:

Alan Pate was born in Florida and studied in France, Korea and the US. He has an MA in East Asian Studies from Harvard University. He is the owner of the Japanese antique firm Akanezumiya in St Ignatius, Montana, specializing in the religious and figural art of Japan from the Edo period and earlier. He is the leading expert on Japanese dolls in the US, where he has curated exhibitions and lectured extensively. He has also published widely in journals focusing on Japanese antiques. He has been appointed Guest Curator for an exhibition on important US collections of Japanese dolls to be held at the Mingei International Museum in San Diego, CA, in 2005.

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Пролистать книгу Japanese Dolls: The Fascinating World of Ningyo на Google Books.

The first book to tell the stories of the most revered living Japanese ceramists of the century in their own words, tracing the evolution of modern and contemporary craft and art in Japan, and the artists' considerable influence, which far transcends national borders.

Listening to Clay: Conversations with Contemporary Japanese Ceramic Artists is the first book to present conversations with some of the most important living Japanese ceramic artists. Tracing the evolution of modern and contemporary craft and art in Japan, this groundbreaking volume highlights sixteen individuals whose unparalleled skill and creative brilliance have lent them an influence that far transcends national borders.

Despite forging illustrious careers and earning international recognition for their work, these sixteen artists have been little known in terms of their personal stories. Ranging in age from sixty-three to ninety-three, they embody the diverse experiences of several generations who have been active and successful from the late 1940s to the present day, a period of massive change. Now, sharing their stories for the first time in Listening to Clay, they not only describe their distinctive processes, inspirations, and relationships with clay, but together trace a seismic cultural shift through a field in which centuries-old but exclusionary potting traditions opened to new practitioners and kinds of practices.

Listening to Clay includes conversations with artists born into pottery-making families, as well as with some of the first women admitted to the ceramics department of Tokyo University of the Arts, telling a larger story about ingenuity and trailblazing that has shaped contemporary art in Japan and around the world. Each artist is represented by an entry including a brief introduction, a portrait, selected examples of their work, and an intimate interview conducted by the authors over several in-person visits from 2004 to 2019. At the core of each story is the artist’s personal relationship to clay, often described as a collaboration with the material rather than an imposing of intention.

The oldest artist interviewed, Hayashi Yasuo, enlisted in the army during WWII at age fifteen and trained as a kamikaze pilot. He was born into a family that had fired ceramics in cooperative kilns for generations, but he rejected traditional modes and went on to be the first artist in Japan to make truly abstract ceramic sculpture. In the late 1960s, another artist, Mishima Kimiyo, developed a technique of silkscreening on clay and began making ceramic newspapers to comment on the proliferation of the media. She became fascinated with trash, recreating it out of clay, and worked in relative obscurity for decades until she had a major exhibition in Tokyo in 2015.

Featuring a preface by curator, writer, and historian Glenn Adamson, and a foreword by Monika Bincsik, the Associate Curator for Japanese Decorative Arts at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Listening to Clay has been a project more than fifteen years in the making for authors Alice and Halsey North, respected and knowledgeable collectors and patrons of contemporary Japanese ceramics, and Louise Allison Cort, Curator Emerita of Ceramics, National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution. The book also includes conversations with five important dealers of contemporary Japanese ceramics who have played and are playing a critical role in introducing the work of these artists to the world, several detailed appendices, and a glossary of terms, relevant people, and relationships.

Listening to Clay is a long-overdue and insightful book that, for the first time, spotlights some of Japan’s most celebrated contemporary ceramic artists through personal, idiosyncratic accounts of their day-to-day lives, giving special access to their creative process and artistic development.

About the Authors:

Alice and Halsey North are pioneering collectors and advocates of contemporary Japanese ceramics. They produced and organized ceramic tours of Japan for the New York Japan Society. Their collection was featured in the exhibition Contemporary Clay: Japanese Ceramics for the New Century, held at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in 2005-6 and New York’s Japan Society 2006-7. A primary focus of their collecting and advocacy has been to introduce new audiences to this art form. They have donated the major portion of their collection to American museums, notably The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; and the National Museum of Asian Art, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC. The Met also houses the database, archives, and library for their collection

Following up on Layout Now and Color Now, SendPoints continues to craft practical guidebooks for readers in the design cosmos. This time, it is about the type, which we read and use every day.

Typography Now guides readers through everything they need to know to understand, create, and use Latin, Chinese, and Japanese typefaces in an increasingly interrelated world. The fundamentals, including typographic terms, character structures, style classifications, size, weight, text families, and more will provide readers with prerequisite knowledge to understand and identify different types. Typography Now introduces readers to esteemed type foundries and their design processes and techniques to demonstrate how type is created. The coverage of layout rules will help readers grasp how to effectively design with text on the page as well as combine text with mixed scripts (Chinese, Japanese, and Roman).

In addition, you will find some of the best examples of typographic choices, as well as talks with experts at type foundries about the present and future of type, and demonstrations of some of the hottest new typefaces.

In love with all things Japan or looking to absorb a little Japanese wisdom into your daily life?

From the philosophies of ikigai and wabi sabi to kitsch karaoke nights and futuristic robot restaurants; traditional tea ceremonies and tranquil onsen dwellings to cosplay culture and J-Pop megastars; Japan is full of intriguing contradictions.

Though renowned for its ultramodern capital Tokyo - a sprawling neon-lit metropolis straight from the pages of a science fiction novel - Japan is still deeply rooted in ancient tradition. And while the country runs with clockwork precision, the cultural life of the inhabitants is transformed with the changing of the seasons, a testament to the enduring power of nature's rhythms.

With each page alive with facts, history and inspiration, Be More Japan unlocks the secrets behind modern Japanese living - whether you're eating sushi in London or enjoying the cherry blossoms in San Francisco. And if you're dreaming of a future trip to Japan, this book will get you closer to your destination before you've even departed.

About the Author:

Experience the world with DK Eyewitness.
DK Eyewitness' highly visual guides show you what others only tell you, with easy-to-read maps, tips and tours to inform and enrich your trip.
Our travel writers report on what to see, eat, drink and do around the world, while the very best photographs and illustrations bring cities, regions and countries to life. We publish guides to more than 200 destinations around the world, from handy pocket-sized city guides to comprehensive country guides.
DK is the world's leading illustrated reference publisher, producing beautifully designed books for adults and children in over 120 countries

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Пролистать книгу Be More Japan: The Art of Japanese Living на Google Books.

Timeless Beauty. Land of the Rising Sun at the Turn of the Century

The Golden Age of Travel neatly overlaps with the reign of the Emperor Meiji, which began in 1868 with the overthrow of a feudal order that had kept Japan secluded from the outside world for more than 200 years. In the ensuing four-and-a-half decades, Japan became a less remote and more attractive destination for the international traveler and a popular subject for photographers, both Japanese and foreign.

In 536 pages, this book presents more than 700 vintage images of Japan, texts by a specialist in early Japanese photography, and extensive commentary through thematic sections exploring traditions as varied as tea, silk and Buddhism, as well as itineraries across five regions, all of which guide the reader through this captivating land.

Our travels take us from the enchanting vistas of Nagasaki to the seagirt shrine of Miyajima, long esteemed among the "Three Views" considered the most beautiful in Japan; from the rambling streets of Kobe to the energetic bustle of Osaka; from the cornucopia of historic sights in the ancient cities of Kyoto and Nara to the twin delights of shopping and sex in the vibrant modern port of Yokohama; from the timeless beauty of Mount Fuji and the mountainside scenery of nearby Hakone to the urban melange of Japan’s modern capital, where the traditions of Edo and the modernity of Tokyo co-existed; and, finally, from the jewel-like architecture of Nikkō set amidst forests and waterfalls to the islet-studded bay of Matsushima, until our journey ends in the remote wilds of Hokkaido, home to the indigenous Ainu.

The authors:

Sebastian Dobson is an independent scholar of the history of early photography in Japan and East Asia. He lectures widely in Europe, the United States, Australia and Japan, and his publications include encyclopedia entries, book reviews, numerous articles and catalogue essays for exhibitions hosted in Boston, Singapore and Tokyo.

Sabine Arqué is a photo researcher, editor, and author. She has collaborated on numerous publications on the themes of travel, the history of tourism, and photography.

'a mixture of artistic sensibility and imagery that leaves nothing to the imagination'  - The Telegraph

In early modern Japan, thousands of sexually explicit paintings, prints, and illustrated books with texts were produced. These were euphemistically called ‘spring pictures’ (shunga) and were originally created by the artists of the ukiyo-e school of the floating world to advertise brothels in 17th-century Yoshiwara, including the celebrated artists Utamaro and Hokusai.

This catalogue of an exhibition in 2013/4 at the British Museum aims to answer some key questions about what shunga is and why was it produced. Erotic Japanese art was heavily suppressed in Japan from the 1870s onwards and it is only in the last twenty years or so has it been possible to publish unexpurgated examples in Japan. 

Drawing on the latest scholarship and featuring over 400 images of works from major public and private collections, this book sheds new light on this unique art form within Japanese social and cultural history.

About the author:

Timothy Clark, Head of Japanese Section, British Museum

Nippon Nests. Today’s most exceptional Japanese homes

So rich and unique is traditional Japanese architecture that it’s nearly impossible to improve upon. Yet contemporary Japanese designers and architects keep finding fresh approaches to refurbish and take inspiration from the ways of old. Whether it’s a pristinely preserved traditional house or a sleek modern apartment, the best Japanese homes share a love of cleverly designed spaces and warm materials like wood, brick, and bamboo.

From a thatched roof farmhouse occupied by a Zen priest to Tadao Ando’s experimental 4x4 House, from Shigeru Ban’s conceptual Shutter House to a beautiful domestic homage to bamboo, this elegant compendium traverses the multifaceted landscape of Japanese living today.

Enriched by 170 brand new, unpublished photographs, this edition takes you on breathtaking journey through the Land of the Rising Sun — complete with a list of addresses, should you wish to undertake this journey to Japan’s most fascinating inns and homes yourself. An insightful glossary of key terms, such as tatami, shoji, and noren, will also help you come to grips with all elements of Japan’s unique aesthetic of Eastern minimalism.

The photographer

Swiss photographer Reto Guntli, based in Zurich, regularly travels the world shooting for international magazines. He has published numerous books and contributed to such TASCHEN publications as Inside Asia, Living in Japan, Living in Bali, Great Escapes Asia and Great Escapes Europe.

The authors

Author, art collector, calligrapher, and restorer of old houses, Alex Kerr has lived in Japan and Thailand since 1964. As a writer, he is known for Lost Japan (1996), Dogs and Demons (2001), and Another Kyoto (2016).

Kathy Arlyn Sokol is a writer, interviewer, and award-winning narrator. Her published works include Rasta Time, based on her exclusive interview with Bob Marley, and Another Kyoto, co-written with Alex Kerr, on the secrets of the ancient city. She presently resides in Udaipur in Rajasthan, India.

The editor

Angelika Taschen studied art history and German literature in Heidelberg, gaining her doctorate in 1986. Working for TASCHEN from 1987, she has published numerous titles on art, architecture, photography, design, travel, and lifestyle.

About the series:

TASCHEN is 40! Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible publishing, helping bookworms around the world curate their own library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia at an unbeatable price. Today we celebrate 40 years of incredible books by staying true to our company credo. The 40 series presents new editions of some of the stars of our program — now more compact, friendly in price, and still realized with the same commitment to impeccable production.

An in-depth exploration of the sometimes charming, sometimes gruesome feline creatures and ghosts of Japan. Davisson illuminates the vast realm of kaibyō, or supernatural cats, with historical and modern cultural context. Lushly illustrated in full colour with dozens of ukiyo-e prints and drawings. A must-have book for the Japanophile and cat-lover alike! First in a forthcoming series about the supernatural animals of Japan.

"Kaibyō: The Supernatural Cats of Japan is an extremely diverting and stunningly produced celebration of the phantom feline in its myriad of manifestations ― some alluring, others humorous and many outright terrifying. Award-winning translator, writer, lecturer, manga scholar, Japanese folklore expert and author of Yūrei: The Japanese Ghost, Zach Davisson is the ideal guide to this furred and fanged underworld. An expertly researched and engagingly penned text is embellished by the inclusion of an intriguing selection of uncanny cat tales by other authors and centuries’ old legends newly translated by Mr. Davisson. The publishers must be congratulated for creating a book of extraordinary lavishness. Although a paperback release, no expense has been spared in an exquisitely designed book brimming with a toothsome array of full-colour artwork reproductions."

― review by Scot D. Ryersson and Michael Orlando Yaccarino, co-authors of Infinite Variety: The Life and Legend of the Marchesa Casati and The Marchesa Casati: Portraits of a Muse

About the Author:

Zack Davisson is an award-winning translator, writer, and scholar of Japanese folklore and ghosts. He is the author of Yūrei: The Japanese Ghost (Chin Music Press), translator of Eisner Award-winning and Harvey-nominated Shigeru Mizuki’s Showa 1926-1939: A History of Japan, and a 2014 nominee of the Japanese-US Friendship Commission Translation Prize. Other translation works include the famous folklore comic Kitaro (Drawn and Quarterly) and the works of Satoshi Kon (Dark Horse).

Discover the exceptional artistry and rich traditions being kept alive by Japanese artisans in the 21st century.

In an era where global interest in handmade, small-batch products is heightening as a response to mass production, Handmade in Japan takes a look inside the workshops of the country’s artisans, revealing their endless pursuit of excellence, and what it means to dedicate one’s life to the stewardship of irreplaceable cultural heritage. Find inspiration in the exploration of handmade processes using sustainable materials and discover the lengths these makers go to in ensuring every product is perfect.

From hand-painted kimono dyeing to wooden trays carving, Handmade in Japan meets the craftspeople of Japan's diverse regions with unique insights into their traditions and how they work.

About the Author:

Irwin Wong is an editorial and commercial photographer based in Tokyo. Originally from Melbourne, Australia, he moved to Japan in 2005. He developed an interest in craftsmanship after photographing several artisans for work. His clients include Apple, The Washington Post, Forbes, and Nike.

Station to Station. A historic trail through the heart of Japan, as told by two legendary woodblock artists

This XXL edition reprints Keisai Eisen and Utagawa Hiroshige’s legendary series The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaidō, a stunning representation of the historic route between Edo (Tokyo) and Kyoto. Sourced from one of the finest surviving first editions, this vivid tapestry of 19th-century Japan is in equal parts a major artifact of its imperial past and a masterwork of woodblock practice.

The Kisokaidō route through Japan was ordained in the early 1600s by the country’s then-ruler Tokugawa Ieyasu, who decreed that staging posts be installed along the length of the arduous passage between Edo (present-day Tokyo) and Kyoto. Inns, shops, and restaurants were established to provide sustenance and lodging to weary travelers. In 1835, renowned woodblock print artist Keisai Eisen was commissioned to create a series of works to chart the Kisokaidō journey. After producing 24 prints, Eisen was replaced by Utagawa Hiroshige, who completed the series of 70 prints in 1838.

Both Eisen and Hiroshige were master print practitioners. In The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaidō, we find the artists’ distinct styles as much as their shared expertise. From the busy starting post of Nihonbashi to the castle town of Iwamurata, Eisen opts for a more muted palette but excels in figuration, particularly of glamorous women, and relishes snapshots of activity along the route, from shoeing a horse to winnowing rice. Hiroshige demonstrates his mastery of landscape with grandiose and evocative scenes, whether it’s the peaceful banks of the Ota River, the forbidding Wada Pass, or a moonlit ascent between Yawata and Mochizuki.

Taken as a whole, The Sixty-Nine Stations collection represents not only a masterpiece of woodblock practice, including bold compositions and an experimental use of color, but also a charming tapestry of 19th-century Japan, long before the specter of industrialization. This TASCHEN XXL edition revives the series with due scale and splendor. Sourced from the only-known set of a near-complete run of the first edition of the series, this legendary publication is reproduced in optimum quality, bound in the Japanese tradition and with uncut paper. A perfect companion piece to TASCHEN’s One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, it is at once a visual delight and a major artifact from the bygone era of Imperial Japan.

The editor and author:

Andreas Marks studied East Asian art history at the University of Bonn and obtained his PhD in Japanese studies from Leiden University with a thesis on 19th-century actor prints. From 2008 to 2013 he was director and chief curator of the Clark Center for Japanese Art in Hanford, California, and since 2013 has been the Mary Griggs Burke Curator of Japanese and Korean Art, head of the Department of Japanese and Korean Art, and director of the Clark Center for Japanese Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The author:

Rhiannon Paget studied at Tokyo University of the Arts and received her doctorate in Japanese Art History from the University of Sydney, Australia. The curator of Asian art at the John & Mable Ringling Museum of Art in Sarasota, Florida, she has published research on Japanese woodblock prints, textiles, board games, and nihonga.

Woodblock Wonders. A visual history of 200 Japanese masterpieces

The Japanese woodblock print is a phenomenon with no Western equivalent, one where breathtaking landscapes exist alongside blush-inducing erotica; where demons and otherworldly creatures torment the living; and where sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, and courtesans are rock stars. This XXL book lifts the veil on a much-loved but little-understood art, revealing the stories and people behind the 200 most exceptional prints from 1680–1938. Drawing from the finest impressions in museums and private collections around the world, it features the work of 89 artists as well as 17 fold-outs.

From Edouard Manet’s portrait of naturalist writer Émile Zola sitting among his Japanese art finds to Van Gogh’s meticulous copies of the Hiroshige prints he devotedly collected, 19th-century pioneers of European modernism made no secret of their love of Japanese art. In all its sensuality, freedom, and effervescence, the woodblock print is single-handedly credited with the wave of japonaiserie that first enthralled France and, later, all of Europe — but often remains misunderstood as an “exotic” artifact that helped inspire Western creativity.

The fact is that the Japanese woodblock print is a phenomenon of which there exists no Western equivalent. Some of the most disruptive ideas in modern art — including, as Karl Marx put it, that “all that is solid melts into air” — were invented in Japan in the 1700s and expressed like never before in the designs of such masters as Hokusai, Utamaro, and Hiroshige in the early 19th century.

This book lifts the veil on a much-loved but little-understood art form by presenting the 200 most exceptional Japanese woodblock prints in their historical context. Ranging from the 17th-century development of decadent ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” to the decline and later resurgence of prints in the early 20th century, the images collected in this edition make up an unmatched record not only of a unique genre in art history, but also of the shifting mores and cultural development of Japan.

From mystical mountains to snowy passes, samurai swordsmen to sex workers in shop windows, each piece is explored as a work of art in its own right, revealing the stories and people behind the motifs. We discover the four pillars of the woodblock print — beauties, actors, landscapes, and bird-and-flower compositions — alongside depictions of sumo wrestlers, kabuki actors, or enticing courtesans — rock stars who populated the “floating world” and whose fan bases fueled the frenzied production of woodblock prints. We delve into the horrifying and the obscure in prints where demons, ghosts, man-eaters, and otherworldly creatures torment the living —stunning images that continue to influence Japanese manga, film, and video games to this day. We witness how, in their incredible breadth, from everyday scenes to erotica, the martial to the mythological, these works are united by the technical mastery and infallible eye of their creators and how, with tremendous ingenuity and tongue-in-cheek wit, publishers and artists alike fought to circumvent government censorship.

Three years in the making, this XXL edition presents reproductions of the finest extant impressions from the vaults of museums and private collections across the globe — many newly photographed, especially for this project. Some 17 stunning fold-outs invite us to study even the subtlest details, while extensive descriptions guide us through this frantic period in Japanese art history.

Features:

- The work of 89 artists, from the world-renowned to the unfamiliar
- 7 chapters organized chronologically to trace the history of the medium from 1680 to 1938
- 17 fold-outs, which had to be hand-folded due to their size and specifications
- Exclusive reproductions from museums and private collections
- An appendix listing all artists and works

The author:

Andreas Marks studied East Asian art history at the University of Bonn and obtained his PhD in Japanese studies from Leiden University with a thesis on 19th-century actor prints. From 2008 to 2013 he was director and chief curator of the Clark Center for Japanese Art in Hanford, California, and since 2013 has been the Mary Griggs Burke Curator of Japanese and Korean Art, head of the Department of Japanese and Korean Art, and director of the Clark Center for Japanese Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

A fascinating journey through the world of anime and manga, their genres and styles, roots and creators.

An accessible, informative and fascinating journey through the world of anime and manga, their genres and styles (from the most commercial to the most cutting-edge), their roots and their creators. With a wealth of iconographic content, this book will be the reference book for anyone interested in discovering the diversity and originality of manga and anime.

About the Authors:

Philip Brophy is a musician, filmmaker, writer and academic.
Carlo Chatrian is a film critic and consultant for several film festivals.
Jonathan Clements is the author of Schoolgirl Milky Crisis: Adventures in Anime and co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia.
Luca Della Casa is a selector of anime and Asian films for Bologna’s Future Film Festival.
Stephane Delorme is Editor-in-chief of Cahiers du cinéma.
Davide Di Giorgio is a film critic and author of a Japanese animation column for the webmagazine Sentieri Selvaggi.
Daniele Dottorini is a film critic, lecturer and consultant for several film festivals.
Stefano Gariglio works in movie subtitling and is a member of the neo(N)eiga cultural association.
Paul Gravett is a critic, lecturer, curator and historian specializing in international comic art.
Erwan Higuinen is a journalist and film critic for Libération, Cahiers du cinéma and Les Inrockuptibles.
Fabrizio Liberti is film programmer for Italian television channel Rai Uno.
Helen McCarthy is the author of The Art of Osamu Tezuka: God of Manga and co-author of The Anime Encyclopedia.
Fabrizio Modina is a multitalented creative and an internationally renowned collector of toys.
Giona A.Nazzaro is a film critic and programmer at the Festival dei Popoli, Florence.
Maria Roberta Novielli teaches Japanese cinema at the University Ca’ Foscari, Venice.
Grazia Paganelli is a film critic and film programmer at the National Museum of Cinema, Turin.
Gianni Rondolino is an internationally renowned cinema historian and columnist for La Stampa.
Michel Roudevitch is a cartoonist, screenwriter, animator and director who has worked in the animated cinema industry since the Sixties.
Mario A. Rumor is editor of MANGA! magazine.
Stephen Sarrazin is a film and media art critic, curator and professor.
David Surman teaches Computer Game Design at the University of Wales, Newport.

Nippon Nests. Today’s most exceptional Japanese homes

Japanese homes are refuges of tranquillity, crafted in a unique domestic aesthetic of Eastern minimalism. Traditional architecture features alongside cutting-edge contemporary dwellings in this collection of homes, with many never-before-seen photographs. Turn to the rising sun and discover the fluid simplicity of these spaces where Zen philosophy breathes.

So rich and unique is traditional Japanese architecture that it’s nearly impossible to improve upon. Yet contemporary Japanese designers and architects keep finding fresh approaches to refurbish and take inspiration from the ways of old. Whether it’s a pristinely preserved traditional house or a sleek modern apartment, the best Japanese homes share a love of cleverly designed spaces and warm materials like wood, brick, and bamboo.

From a thatched roof farmhouse occupied by a Zen priest to Tadao Ando’s experimental 4x4 House, from Shigeru Ban’s conceptual Shutter House to a beautiful domestic homage to bamboo, this elegant compendium traverses the multifaceted landscape of Japanese living today.

Enriched by 170 brand new, unpublished photographs, this re-edition takes you on breathtaking journey through the Land of the Rising Sun — complete with a list of addresses, should you wish to undertake this journey to Japan’s most fascinating inns and homes yourself. An insightful glossary of key terms, such as tatami, shoji, and noren, will also help you come to grips with all elements of Japan’s unique aesthetic of Eastern minimalism.

The photographer:

Swiss photographer Reto Guntli, based in Zurich, regularly travels the world shooting for international magazines. He has published numerous books and contributed to such TASCHEN publications as Inside Asia, Living in Japan, Living in Bali, Great Escapes Asia and Great Escapes Europe.

The authors:

Author, art collector, calligrapher, and restorer of old houses, Alex Kerr has lived in Japan and Thailand since 1964. As a writer, he is known for Lost Japan (1996), Dogs and Demons (2001), and Another Kyoto (2016).

Kathy Arlyn Sokol is a writer, interviewer, and award-winning narrator. Her published works include Rasta Time, based on her exclusive interview with Bob Marley, and Another Kyoto, co-written with Alex Kerr, on the secrets of the ancient city. She presently resides in Udaipur in Rajasthan, India.

The editor:

Angelika Taschen studied art history and German literature in Heidelberg, gaining her doctorate in 1986. Working for TASCHEN from 1987, she has published numerous titles on art, architecture, photography, design, travel, and lifestyle.

About the series:

Bibliotheca Universalis — Compact cultural companions celebrating the eclectic TASCHEN universe at an unbeatable, democratic price!

Since we started our work as cultural archaeologists in 1980, TASCHEN has become synonymous with accessible, open-minded publishing. Bibliotheca Universalis brings together more than 100 of our all-time favourite titles in a neat new format so you can curate your own affordable library of art, anthropology, and aphrodisia.

Bookworm’s delight — never bore, always excite!