Tag: Japan
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Review: The Roads to Sata, A 2000-Mile Walk Through Japan, by Alan Booth
Japan seems to inspire long walking trips; pilgrimages are an old and respected tradition. Even by that standard, what Alan Booth did is remarkable: he walked from the northernmost tip of mainland Japan (Cape Soya on the island Hokkaido) to the southernmost tip (Cape Sata on the island Kyushu), a distance of more than 3000 kilometers.…
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Things to do: visit the Baur foundation – Museum of Far Eastern Art in Geneva
Alfred Baur (1865-1951) was a Swiss businessman who spent a lot of time in Asia, and took the opportunity to collect Chinese and Japanese art. What makes his collection remarkable is first of all his impeccable good taste: he always chose quality over quantity, and the refined over the gaudy. Moreover, a few years before his death…
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Review: The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon
The Pillow Book by Sei Shonagon, was written in the approximate period of 990 to 1000 by a court lady serving empress Teishi. It is one of the earliest surviving pieces of Japanese literature. The book consists of small and large fragments of text with observations made by Sei Shonagon. As such it is comparable with many…
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Review: Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō
Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō (Record of a Yokohama Shopping Trip) is a Japanese cartoon series, (a manga) written and drawn by Hitoshi Ashinano. However, the title is somewhat irrelevant, because it only covers the first few pages of a long story. Manga like Yokohama Kaidashi Kikō are published as serials in thick weekly magazines printed in black-and-white on rather coarse…