Samurai Castle

Bilingual Guide to Japan

by Masayuki Miura

A must-have for tour guides and volunteer guides!

Japanese castles are very popular with foreign visitors to Japan. The historical background and architectural structure of Japanese castles are completely different from those of European castles, but there has never been a book that explains them in easy-to-understand English.

This book covers the world heritage sites of Himeji Castle (Hyogo) and Nijo Castle (Kyoto), as well as the national treasures of Matsumoto Castle (Nagano) and Hikone Castle (Shiga). It is full of trivia that will double your enjoyment if you know about familiar tourist spots for Japanese people, such as Edo Castle (Imperial Palace), Osaka Castle, and Nagoya Castle.

The same series also includes the Ninja Bilingual Guide, and castle fans should definitely get both. There are also other themes suitable for introducing Japan in English, such as "Buddha statues" and "Shrines," and the book is affordable and the perfect souvenir for overseas visitors.

Editor's Recommendations

With the rapid increase in foreign tourists, a wide variety of English guidebooks are now available, but this "Bilingual Guide to Japan" series is specialized in providing information that is useful to Japanese people as well. We have received many comments such as "There were many things that even I, a Japanese person, didn't know" and "It's a good brain exercise because you can learn English at the same time!"

Genres: Japan, History, Nonfiction

128 pages, Tankobon Hardcover

Published September 1, 2017

Reviews

[Marvin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice introduction and overview to the Japanese castles and good explanations of the various techniques at the beginning.

Unfortunately, using all the Japanese expressions during the book makes it quite hard to read or at least understand.

But still a good source for inspiration for travels to Japan!

[Reza Zin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and easy to read book. As some reviewers have commented, it's a bit hard to remember the Japanese terminology so you have to keep flipping back and forth to the glossary at the back or the place where they first explained to refresh your memory. But an informative book which will hopefully improve your appreciation when you next visit a Japanese castle.

[Powersamurai · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pity the English wasn't proofread properly. Also, you need a good memory for the technical Japanese jargon, or you'll spend a lot of time flipping back and forth refreshing your memory. And there's no index to help you. Despite all this, I still feel it's a good resource.