Hidden Japan: An Astonishing World of Thatched Villages, Ancient Shrines and Primeval Forests

by Alex Kerr

In Alex Kerr's critically acclaimed Lost Japan and Dogs and Demons, he documented the decline of the traditional landscapes of Japan, his adopted home of many years. Here, in Hidden Japan he makes a journey of rediscovery to find the wonders that still remain.

Originally published in Japanese as a call to preserve disappearing facets of Japan's rich and ancient culture, Hidden Japan records Kerr's travels to various remote and lesser-known places where pockets of traditional culture can still be found. Some are faraway—like Aogashima Island, 200 miles south of Tokyo—while others are easy to reach, such as Mii-dera temple just east of Kyoto. The ten engaging essays in this book describe surprising remnants of Japan's fragile physical and cultural environment, including:

• Avant-garde Butoh dancing in the remote village of Tashiro in Akita Prefecture
• How shochu liquor is distilled from tropical ferns on the Pacific island of Aogashima
• An austere but delicious kaiseki meal in rural Tottori Prefecture composed of local herbs and meats
• Anecdotes relating to Kerr's childhood growing up in Japan and his passion for restoring old houses
• The damage caused by governmental infrastructure and reforestation policies, as well as by tourism
• Plus many other topics!

Kerr's sharp eye for detail and exquisite descriptions of Japanese, arts, architecture and foods will inspire readers who already appreciate his unique look at the "reality" of Japan beyond the romance. His personal involvement and obvious love for his subjects encourage us all to think more carefully about our own traditions and environment, and to challenge ourselves to search for better solutions to preserve what is of value all around us.

Genres: Japan, Nonfiction, Travel, History, Asia, Cultural

256 pages, Paperback

Published September 5, 2023

About the author

Born in 1952, he's an American writer and Japanologist that has lived in Japan since 1977.


Librarian note: There are other authors with the same name. To see the English historian go to Alex Kerr.

Reviews

[Onírica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cuánto hay guardado aquí como una cápsula del tiempo que quizá ya no existe...pueblos, parajes, bosques...el Japón más ignoto y rural, el menos conocido incluso para los nativos...Todo se expone desde los ojos de uno de los mejores testigos posibles.

[Alex Pler · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Cuando vamos en busca de lugares ocultos, a veces vale la pena volver a sitios que ya hemos visitado. A la vuelta de la esquina puede haber todavía más secretos".

Alex Kerr recorre Japón en busca de lugares interesantes: por su historia, por las tradiciones que allí sobreviven, por la Naturaleza a salvo (por ahora) de la vida moderna. Un camino hacia la belleza donde también se pregunta cómo podemos protegerla, viajando de manera consciente, despacio para que los lugares que visitamos nos calen en el alma y aportándoles algo más que basura o una foto en Instagram.

[R.C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it's imbued with a bit too much history for my taste, Hidden Japan is a passionate examination of several locations (and customs) around the country that are lesser-known. I could've done with increased focus on landscape writing and engagement with local peoples instead of history lessons, but it's still an engaging literary tour that carries an important message. Thanks to Kerr's inspired thoughts on being tourists with good intentions, I'll certainly aim to travel to those places which would benefit the most from my presence, and strive to honor the sanctity of those places better left alone. The most popular temple in a big city will not only be a tourist madhouse, but also doesn't need me in any way; an out-of-the-way hamlet, however, might truly need my support of their local economy. Excellent food for thought as tourism finds its way again in the mid-2020s.

[William · Rating 5 out of 5]

Alex Kerr is a cultural conservationist and writes a lot about changes in traditional villages in Japan. In this new volume, pieced together from articles in newspapers, he writes about several short journeys into lesser known Japanese destinations.

One of the chapters is on the "Jurassic Beach" on Amami island, which is a pristine beach in a subtropical environment in Japan. Building a beach wall would close off the beach, like so many other beaches in Japan.

The sense of pristine forest and enchantment is palpable in Kerr's writing. He is a good read and teaches a lot about the traditional arts in Japan.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

For a type of book I wouldn’t usually read I’m surprised I actually quite liked it. Something between a memoir and an (anti) travel guide, this book did an excellent job of revealing cool Japanese history as well as highlighting a more hidden side of Japan, and more importantly discussed the dangerous of overtourism and the impact that has on the country/nature/sites.

[Gerard Robert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Necessari per reflexionar sobre el sentit de viatjar a qualsevol lloc, no només al Japó. (Però obligat de llegir abans de viatjar al Japó!)

[Stefan Fairweather · Rating 3 out of 5]

A somewhat tedious mix of history and author-on-a-soapbox. 2.5 stars

[Patrick McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I always appreciate when Alex Kerr publishes a book. His perspective is usually extremely well-informed and focused. In the past he as written books about Japan that extol its virtues (Lost Japan and Another Kyoto) and that caution the future direction of the country (Dogs and Demons). There is some of both of these attitudes in his latest book, Hidden Japan. In this book he visits some magical places that are off the beaten path and analyzes some of the problems Japan is facing with over tourism now and in the future. In Chapter 1: "Hidden Hamlets" Kerr goes north to Minami-Aizu in Fukushima prefecture to appreciate some small villages and the beautifully preserved thatched roof houses there. I have visited near there, but have yet to visit any of the hamlets he mentions here-something I should like to do someday-despite his warnings not to go or at least think two or three times about it before venturing off. Chapter 2: "Taste of the Countryside" concerns two small towns, Yazu and Chizu in Tottori prefecture-again a place I have visited, but no the specific villages mentioned and a place I found charming because there are so few visitor there-it's hard to access from Tokyo as well. The next stop was Chapter 3: "Shinto and Buddhist Stones" where he visits Hiyoshi Taisha, Jigendo, Ishiyama-dera in Shiga Prefecture and while earlier this summer I did visit Otsu, it was another place that Kerr writes about in another chapter (Chapter 8: "Esoteric Secrets" Miidera Temple, Shiga Prefecture-where the famous Japanologist Ernest Fenollosa is buried with two contemporaries). Chapter 4: "The Origin of Butoh Dance" sees Kerr travel back to Tohoku, Ugomachi Taishiro and Ani-Neko in Akita Prefecture, a prefecture I have been to, but not to either hamlet. Chapter 5: "The Luxury of Nothing There" sees Kerr travel to the Noto Peninsula in Ishikawa Prefecture-a place that I have wanted to visit as I have seen its beauty depicted in two films by directors I admire, Shohei Imamura's Warm Water Under a Bridge and Hirokazu Kore-eda's debut Marobosi. Chapter 6: "Jurassic Beach" on Amami Oshima in Kagoshiam Prefecture is another location that was on my radar as I have heard of its great beauty and location halfway between Kyushu and Okinawa, thus a subtropical island paradise. In Chapter 7: "Old Castle Town" Kerr visits a place that I have also been to and also appreciated-Hagi, Yamaguchi Prefecture. In Chapter 9: "Living on a Volcano" sees Kerr visit Aogashima Isalnd, inexplicably part of Tokyo Municipality despite its remoteness. He ends the book in Chapter 10: "Return to the Misaki Houses" on the Miura Peninsula, Kanagawa Prefecture that he remembers from his youth. The final section is the Postscript "A New Philosophy of Travel" in which he asks travelers to go and stay in remote places so that they can benefit from the exposure of overnight guests who contribute financially to the communities rather than casual stops by bus tours and what not. It is a thought provoking and inspirational book.

[Rosa PP · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hidden places that Alex Kerr wonderfully describes are those that he would like tourists not to visit so that they would remain just as they are.

But, also there are many places he writes about which he knew when he was young and have already changed and, in his view, not for the better; he mentions, for instance, "the postwar transformation of Japan´s mountains": " A lot of what I was searching for as I traveled through "Hidden Japan" was things that are not there. That is, rural villages without aluminum railings, tin huts and blue plastic sheeting; oceanside cliffs without concrete embankments; temples and shrines without garish signage; and mountains without Sufi and hinoki. Despite being known as the land of aesthetics, the physical environment of Japan could be better called the land of junk."

"Build Up theNation with Tourism" was a slogan pioneered by Prime Minister Kouizumi (2001-2006) and used since to refer to Japan´s new emphasis on encouraging foreign tourism, but, in Alex Kerr´s opinion, it has now turned tourism in Japan into "zero-dollar tourism" (= thousands of people descending all at once on a small island or beach...it can literally destroy the place) and "over-tourism" (= tourism as an engine of destruction)

[Ryan Murdock · Rating 5 out of 5]

Japan is a country I know fairly well. I lived on Tokyo’s western edge in my late twenties, and I go back every couple years to visit my in-laws. I love Alex Kerr’s writing because his books explain so many things that I find strange about the country, and they open my eyes to so much more. His newest book (in English) takes us to remote, little-known corners where pockets of traditional culture and nearly extinct nature can still be found. It’s a book that helps you look beyond the hyper-modern to connect to the country’s essence.

I also re-read two of his earlier books that are longtime favourites of mine: Lost Japan and Dogs and Demons: The Fall of Modern Japan.

You can listen to my conversation with Alex Kerr on Personal Landscapes podcast.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

The chapters of this book were originally published as separate articles. As such I think they would have been easier to take. I struggled to read (and enjoy) this book, since the point was belabored that much of Japan's beauty has either disappeared, been destroyed, or is existing on borrowed time. This made for a rather depressing reading experience. There were some chapters delving into details of religious/architectural lore - only for those whose interests in these areas are well developed already. Not that it was difficult to follow, but it didn't exactly draw in the layman.

[Mariadesotto · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Lost Japan and had very high expectations about this book. While I loved how he approaches the topic of tourism, discovering Japan, and all the changes it has gone through in the last 50 years… You can tell Kerr knows and truly understands japanese culture, nature, hidden treasures… but I find it sometimes hard to follow.

[John Gossman · Rating 4 out of 5]

A series of essays on various little known places in Japan, with Kerr's usual focus on architecture, art, and landscape. Compared to "Lost Japan" and "Another Kyoto," these essays are a little uneven. Still a good book, but read the other two books first.

[Jacinta · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book answers questions about Japan, that I had not been able to formulate. Wonderings about all the cliffs that needed reinforcements and all the dilapidated houses and deep green forests that caused landsides. An outsider view with profoundly deep understanding of place and people.