Vanishing Japan: Traditions, Crafts & Culture

by Elizabeth Kiritani

This classic text of Japanese culture contains a wealth of information about traditional Japan and Japanese customs.Pawnshops and handmade paper, shoe shiners and Shinto jugglers, money rakes and mosquito netting--all these were once a familiar part of daily life in Japan. Many elements of that daily life, like the Obon dances and oreiboko apprenticeships, have no counterpart in any other they are purely unique to Japan.But with the tremendous changes of the modern age, most traces of traditional life in Japan are fast disappearing, soon to be gone forever. Still, there are a few holdouts, especially in Japan's shitamachi, or working-class neighborhoods, where many of the survivors of Japanese crafts, art forms, and festivals are making their last stand.Vanishing Japan is a must-read for tourists, historians, architects, or artists who are interested in Japanese culture.

Genres: Japan

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 1900

Reviews

[hotsake (André Troesch) · Rating 3 out of 5]

While the title is a little misleading the information in it is interesting, even if it is more of a fluff piece, as these are just a bunch of newspaper articles from a column collected together. Also, the fact that almost everything was Tokyo-centric, was a bit disappointing.

[Yan Yang · Rating 4 out of 5]

So many old things have disappeared, makes one nostalgic for the past. Too bad I can’t relate to that nostalgia because I didn’t personally experience most of the things described in this book. I wish I had.

[Jason Keenan · Rating 5 out of 5]

An interesting snapshot of the vanishing aspects of Japanese culture. Written in the mid-1990s it's a lament of the rapid loss of traditional things from daily life - kids candy stores to repair shops to traditional umbrella makers. I suspect that in the two decades since many of these things have had a revival. Not to the point where they once again permeate the culture, but at least so that traditional skills are being preserved.

It is a wonderful glimpse at the unique pieces of Japanese life. And one line from the book explains why it seems so unique:

“But Japan, a distant archipelago which cut itself off from the world for centuries and had over the years evolved its own peculiar culture—there is no place else like this. And so when its various products—the traditional ryokan, older ways of counting and measuring, the tatami mat—slowly disappear, we are aware that we will never see them again.”

Here's hoping they stick around for a long time.

[Amy Castle · Rating 5 out of 5]

what a fascinating insight into traditional Japan. This book really sets the standard for continued studies on this culture. A must read for anyone interested in Japanese tradition.