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瘋關西：探索日本文化心臟地帶
若無悠久綿長的歷史 讓它逃過二戰期間的轟炸
日本文化的心臟——關西地區 無法跳動迄今
一本直探大和本質的絕妙散文集
現代版本的《菊與刀》京阪神篇
美國人類學家帶你了解關西、理解日本
日本多山，南北狹長，日本史與其說是國家的歷史，不如說是地區的歷史。往航海圖大略一瞥就可明白，日本列島除了四座大島外，其實還涵蓋三千餘座小島，森林覆蓋的陸地達一半以上。除了海洋高山構成自然屏障外，昔日交通運輸的不便，更是讓各地區的交流往來橫遭阻礙。一段時日過後，這種島國特性反倒促使日本各區穩健邁向多元化發展，即使時至今日，仍是日本的鮮明特色。
雖然日本可劃分成八個地區，但是這本短文選集僅描繪其中一區——關西。關西位於本州——日本中間的大島——南部中央處。這片寬闊區域有兩府五縣，分別為京都府、大阪府、奈良縣、兵庫縣、滋賀縣、和歌山縣、三重縣。日本居民有一億兩千七百萬人，約有百分之十九住在關西地區。春秋時節，關西地區的人數暫且增加，日本各地居民紛紛前來觀賞春季飄落的櫻花，秋季溫暖的色調，重新領略共有的文化寶庫。關西的歷史縱深極具魅力，日本國內外皆視關西為日本文化精髓代表，不僅有底蘊豐厚的茶道、花藝、表演藝術（歌舞伎、能劇、人形淨瑠璃）、傳統料理、文學典籍（例如《枕草子》、《源氏物語》，兩部的作者皆為女性）、神社與寺院建築、古老的參拜道，更是各派佛教的中樞。
曾為日本首都的大阪、奈良、京都，全都座落於關西的心臟地帶，亦稱近畿。日本早期跟亞洲其他地方交流往來之時，本州與四國間的瀨戶內海成為通往日本的重要門戶，外來的思想與貨物經由難波津的港口（即大阪港）遍及關西各地。外來的影響即由此地區輻散出去，日本國內無一處不受影響。奈良是日本第一個永久首都，坐擁全世界最古老的木造建築——法隆寺。在鹿群自由漫步的奈良城，法隆寺猶如一份恰如其分的獻禮，標出絲綢之路最東邊路線的末站。
本書為《讀賣新聞》英文版〈關西文化地景〉專欄的集結，該專欄每月挑選一項主題，以一整頁的篇幅刊登於周日的旅遊版，透過「人類學者的眼光」描寫關西。在這本兼具知識性、趣味性的散文集中，作者跳脫評論，向讀者介紹他們可遊覽的實際景點，同時附上相片，進一步吸引讀者前往旅遊。《讀賣新聞》英文版的許多讀者都是移居國外的人士，要是列出遊客首次遊歷時會喜歡的景點，他們肯定會覺得無趣，所以作者想方設法介紹特別景點，就連嫻熟日本習俗與特性的老手都會感到新奇不已。
日本文化的心臟——關西地區 無法跳動迄今
一本直探大和本質的絕妙散文集
現代版本的《菊與刀》京阪神篇
美國人類學家帶你了解關西、理解日本
日本多山，南北狹長，日本史與其說是國家的歷史，不如說是地區的歷史。往航海圖大略一瞥就可明白，日本列島除了四座大島外，其實還涵蓋三千餘座小島，森林覆蓋的陸地達一半以上。除了海洋高山構成自然屏障外，昔日交通運輸的不便，更是讓各地區的交流往來橫遭阻礙。一段時日過後，這種島國特性反倒促使日本各區穩健邁向多元化發展，即使時至今日，仍是日本的鮮明特色。
雖然日本可劃分成八個地區，但是這本短文選集僅描繪其中一區——關西。關西位於本州——日本中間的大島——南部中央處。這片寬闊區域有兩府五縣，分別為京都府、大阪府、奈良縣、兵庫縣、滋賀縣、和歌山縣、三重縣。日本居民有一億兩千七百萬人，約有百分之十九住在關西地區。春秋時節，關西地區的人數暫且增加，日本各地居民紛紛前來觀賞春季飄落的櫻花，秋季溫暖的色調，重新領略共有的文化寶庫。關西的歷史縱深極具魅力，日本國內外皆視關西為日本文化精髓代表，不僅有底蘊豐厚的茶道、花藝、表演藝術（歌舞伎、能劇、人形淨瑠璃）、傳統料理、文學典籍（例如《枕草子》、《源氏物語》，兩部的作者皆為女性）、神社與寺院建築、古老的參拜道，更是各派佛教的中樞。
曾為日本首都的大阪、奈良、京都，全都座落於關西的心臟地帶，亦稱近畿。日本早期跟亞洲其他地方交流往來之時，本州與四國間的瀨戶內海成為通往日本的重要門戶，外來的思想與貨物經由難波津的港口（即大阪港）遍及關西各地。外來的影響即由此地區輻散出去，日本國內無一處不受影響。奈良是日本第一個永久首都，坐擁全世界最古老的木造建築——法隆寺。在鹿群自由漫步的奈良城，法隆寺猶如一份恰如其分的獻禮，標出絲綢之路最東邊路線的末站。
本書為《讀賣新聞》英文版〈關西文化地景〉專欄的集結，該專欄每月挑選一項主題，以一整頁的篇幅刊登於周日的旅遊版，透過「人類學者的眼光」描寫關西。在這本兼具知識性、趣味性的散文集中，作者跳脫評論，向讀者介紹他們可遊覽的實際景點，同時附上相片，進一步吸引讀者前往旅遊。《讀賣新聞》英文版的許多讀者都是移居國外的人士，要是列出遊客首次遊歷時會喜歡的景點，他們肯定會覺得無趣，所以作者想方設法介紹特別景點，就連嫻熟日本習俗與特性的老手都會感到新奇不已。
336 pages, Paperback
First published February 4, 2014
17 people are currently reading
480 people want to read
About the author
Christal Whelan
4 books7 followersChristal Whelan, author-anthropologist, grew up in Munich, Honolulu, and Washington D.C., and has lived and worked in Japan intermittently since 1990. Six years after her arrival, she published The Beginning of Heaven and Earth: The Sacred Book of Japan's Hidden Christians, a book based on her experiences among the few remaining clandestine communities with whom she lived on the remote Goto Islands, and about whom she later made the documentary Otaiya, screened at the Margaret Mead Film and Video Festival. From a focus on rural and local religion, Whelan's interest expanded to include monastic Buddhism, Shinto, and even the country's newer globalizing religious movements. As a stringer for RNS, she was the first person in the U.S. media to break the news of the sarin gas attack on the Tokyo subway as perpetrated by the cult Aum Shinrikyo.
Her new book Kansai Cool (2014) is a collection of twenty-five short essays about the Kansai region—the font of Japan's unique cultural traditions, and draws from Whelan's ten years of experience in the country, including her work for The Daily Yomiuri newspaper as columnist of "Kansai Culturescapes." A contributor to Fodor's Japan, her work has also appeared in The Japan Times, Kyoto Journal, and various publications of the Asahi Shimbun. From memorial services for needles to anime, fashion, Buddhist temples, and the culinary arts, Kansai Cool provides a cultural compass to a region vibrant in diversity.
Since 2007 Whelan began to visit Mongolia where she has worked in both the contemporary capital of Ulaan Baatar and in Kharkhorum, the ancient capital of the Mongolian Empire. Fascinated by the current trend of nomadic herders quitting the land for an urban lifestyle, the reinvention of Genghis Khan as the father of Mongolian democracy, the expanding sphere of Korean influence from hospitals and universities to television docudramas, and by the dilemmas generated by religious options in this post-Soviet democracy—Tibetan Buddhism, American Mormonism, Korean Protestantism, and Mongolian shamanism—Whelan's upcoming book on Mongolia will offer an unusual portrait of a country and its people as they navigate a complex political, social, and spiritual landscape.
Her new book Kansai Cool (2014) is a collection of twenty-five short essays about the Kansai region—the font of Japan's unique cultural traditions, and draws from Whelan's ten years of experience in the country, including her work for The Daily Yomiuri newspaper as columnist of "Kansai Culturescapes." A contributor to Fodor's Japan, her work has also appeared in The Japan Times, Kyoto Journal, and various publications of the Asahi Shimbun. From memorial services for needles to anime, fashion, Buddhist temples, and the culinary arts, Kansai Cool provides a cultural compass to a region vibrant in diversity.
Since 2007 Whelan began to visit Mongolia where she has worked in both the contemporary capital of Ulaan Baatar and in Kharkhorum, the ancient capital of the Mongolian Empire. Fascinated by the current trend of nomadic herders quitting the land for an urban lifestyle, the reinvention of Genghis Khan as the father of Mongolian democracy, the expanding sphere of Korean influence from hospitals and universities to television docudramas, and by the dilemmas generated by religious options in this post-Soviet democracy—Tibetan Buddhism, American Mormonism, Korean Protestantism, and Mongolian shamanism—Whelan's upcoming book on Mongolia will offer an unusual portrait of a country and its people as they navigate a complex political, social, and spiritual landscape.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
February 27, 2015
The essay on Japanese gratitude is the best one, giving a window onto an aspect of the Japanese cultural psyche with a beautiful depth that i can't say the other essays quite attain. However, the entire book creates a whole new genre of travel writing for me—one of which i wish i had a specimen for every place i visited. Whelan certainly proffered some unique perspectives into Japanese and Kansai life and culture—glimpses i would not have had on my own even i lived there. Thank you, Ms. Whelan! I hope you will publish more.
February 22, 2015
Christal-san, moukarimakka?
I'd rate Kansai Cool 5 stars even if Christal didn't mention my own book (Colloquial Kansai Japanese/Kinki Japanese) in the intro. This book is a unique, insider look into the many worlds of Kyoto culture. Though I lived in Japan for many years, this book took me to places I've never been, with wonderful writing and great insights.
This book is for someone already intimate with Japan but interested in the nooks and crannies of Kyoto. The book appears to be mostly an anthology of columns she wrote for the Yomiuri. Nothing wrong with that, each chapter is only a couple of pages, which makes for easy reading though it does lack depth.
I did, however, have two criticisms: First, there were a surprisingly large number of typos and some factual errors. Also, since these were newspaper articles, there were frequent references to current events that are no longer current and a small amount of editing would have helped to make it more suitable as a book. If Tuttle prints a second edition, I hope they go through and fix these things.
Second, despite the title "Kansai Cool" this is primarily a book on Kyoto culture. The parts of the book that work best are when Christal takes us behind the scenes in Kyoto, the vegetable market for example, or the Edison worship. It's clear that she lived in Kyoto and spoke daily with the people there. Certainly, Kyoto is a lovely, lively city that I visited whenever I could. But if we talk about local culture, Osaka, Kobe, and Nara, all have their own stories, even towns like Sakai or Amagasaki are steeped in history and have a culture all their own, even their own foods, own dialects, and own way of viewing the world. The book should have better been titled Kyoto Cool, though I do hope that Christal does at some point write a second volume that brings the same level of insights to the rest of the region.
I'd rate Kansai Cool 5 stars even if Christal didn't mention my own book (Colloquial Kansai Japanese/Kinki Japanese) in the intro. This book is a unique, insider look into the many worlds of Kyoto culture. Though I lived in Japan for many years, this book took me to places I've never been, with wonderful writing and great insights.
This book is for someone already intimate with Japan but interested in the nooks and crannies of Kyoto. The book appears to be mostly an anthology of columns she wrote for the Yomiuri. Nothing wrong with that, each chapter is only a couple of pages, which makes for easy reading though it does lack depth.
I did, however, have two criticisms: First, there were a surprisingly large number of typos and some factual errors. Also, since these were newspaper articles, there were frequent references to current events that are no longer current and a small amount of editing would have helped to make it more suitable as a book. If Tuttle prints a second edition, I hope they go through and fix these things.
Second, despite the title "Kansai Cool" this is primarily a book on Kyoto culture. The parts of the book that work best are when Christal takes us behind the scenes in Kyoto, the vegetable market for example, or the Edison worship. It's clear that she lived in Kyoto and spoke daily with the people there. Certainly, Kyoto is a lovely, lively city that I visited whenever I could. But if we talk about local culture, Osaka, Kobe, and Nara, all have their own stories, even towns like Sakai or Amagasaki are steeped in history and have a culture all their own, even their own foods, own dialects, and own way of viewing the world. The book should have better been titled Kyoto Cool, though I do hope that Christal does at some point write a second volume that brings the same level of insights to the rest of the region.
August 1, 2016
I received Kansai Cool: A Journey into the Cultural Heartland of Japan as part of Goodread's First Reads giveaway.
A history book, travel guide, and an engaging exploration of Japanese culture, the book explores the best the Kansai area has to offer in a tone of respect and admiration; from serene Buddhist temples to the quirky and expressive manga, anime, and cosplay subculture, Whelan writes about Japan without patronizing Japanese culture as exotic or far-off. The addition of "practical information" sections at the end of every chapter allow readers to further explore the places mentioned and forms a handy itinerary for clueless travelers. Factual inconsistencies, as a previous reviewer noted are sprinkled around the book but they are rare and don't take away from the overall grand experience. An exciting, in-depth introduction to Japan (past and present) make this book a handy guide for travelers and Japanophiles alike.
A history book, travel guide, and an engaging exploration of Japanese culture, the book explores the best the Kansai area has to offer in a tone of respect and admiration; from serene Buddhist temples to the quirky and expressive manga, anime, and cosplay subculture, Whelan writes about Japan without patronizing Japanese culture as exotic or far-off. The addition of "practical information" sections at the end of every chapter allow readers to further explore the places mentioned and forms a handy itinerary for clueless travelers. Factual inconsistencies, as a previous reviewer noted are sprinkled around the book but they are rare and don't take away from the overall grand experience. An exciting, in-depth introduction to Japan (past and present) make this book a handy guide for travelers and Japanophiles alike.
July 11, 2014
This book claims that Japan has 127,000 inhabitants. That is on page 1. The total lack of copy editing makes it hard to read, with an abundance of typos and misspellings just on the first few pages alone. What is worse are the blatant factual mistakes and misleading statements. Osaka was not a former capital of Japan. Some basic fact checking would have saved this book to some extent, given its interesting focus on Kansai. However, in its current state, it will either misinform those not already familiar with Japan or madden those who are. I am among the latter, and couldn't even make it through the first chapter of this book. I acquired it for my university library and thoroughly regret that decision.
December 22, 2014
A collection of Kansai-related articles by the author, previously published in a magazine. A fast-read with interesting teed-bits, however nothing too spectacular or too distanced from writing intended for fleeting and shallow attention of magazine readers.
I would recommend it to anyone interested in Japan, but with no great expectations in terms of information. The articles serve more as a prompt for further investigation.
I would recommend it to anyone interested in Japan, but with no great expectations in terms of information. The articles serve more as a prompt for further investigation.
June 1, 2015
I loved the first essay on gratefulness. Fascinating and touching. The rest of the essays were all interesting, although I found that many ended rather abruptly which was disconcerting. Despite it being published in 2014, many of the essays dated from the early part of the century, and as they were about modern phenomena like Anime and Cosplay, seemed a bit dated. The copy editing was a bit woeful.
June 6, 2015
Mildly interesting, though the writing was so disjointed that it made the reading experience difficult. Could've used a (better) copy/line editor. Good primer if you're interested in Japanese culture, but there are better books out there that cover this same scope.
December 14, 2017
This is a collection of short essays about Kansai and Kyoto. It covers everything from cosplay to Japanese toilets.
October 30, 2020
Kansai merupakan wilayah bagian selatan-tengah Honshu, pulau terbesar di Jepang. Wilayah ini mencakup tujuh prefektur (kurang lebih setara dengan provinsi): Kyoto, Nara, Osaka, Hyogo, Shiga, Wakayama, dan Mie.
Buku ini dapat menjadi panduan bagi pelancong yang punya waktu leluasa di Kansai--entahkah karena liburan panjang, studi, kerja, atau malah warga asli sana--dan tertarik melakukan perjalanan tematik. Ada enam bagian dalam buku ini: Nature, Industry, A Sense of Place, The Arts, Youth Culture, dan Religion. Tiap-tiap bagian terdiri dari empat esai, kecuali pada bagian pertama terdapat lima esai.
Sebelum memasuki kumpulan esai itu, buku ini diawali dengan bab pengantar yang menjelaskan tentang Kansai dari berbagai segi: geografi, sejarah, budaya, bahasa, dan seterusnya. Di samping itu, tentunya dijabarkan pula garis besar buku. Rupanya sebagian esai ini sebelumnya pernah dimuat pada kolom "Kansai Culturescapes" di The Daily Yomiuri (yang telah berganti nama jadi The Japan News sejak 2013), koran nasional Jepang berbahasa Inggris. (Kalau di Indonesia, koran ini mungkin seperti The Jakarta Post.)
Tiap-tiap esai dalam buku ini memiliki tema masing-masing: menyebut berbagai tempat di Kansai (terutama Kyoto) yang berkaitan, menampilkan figur-figur yang dapat ditemui, dilengkapi dengan sumber-sumber sekunder, dan diakhiri dengan daftar kontak (alamat, nomor telepon, dan situs) untuk informasi lebih lanjut. Kelebihan buku ini mungkin ada pada daftar kontaknya itu.
Bagi pembaca yang tidak begitu menguasai bahasa Inggris, buku ini bisa menjadi tantangan. Pastinya sudah banyak film dokumenter yang mengupas soal tempat-tempat unik di Jepang, sehingga media tersebut sepertinya lebih efektif ketimbang membaca esai yang sebagian kosakatanya tidak dimengerti.
Saya sendiri selama pembacaan buku ini sekali-sekali berhenti sekadar untuk googling dan melihat gambar atau video dari objek yang sedang diceritakan. Objek yang menarik saya untuk googling di antaranya Sanogawa Ichimatsu (aktor kabuki tampan yang menginspirasi pembuatan Boneka Persahabatan (populer pada era Meiji, 1868-1912), Super Dollfies, Asimo, Paro, Geminoid F, Hijikata Tatsumi (perintis teater butoh; 1928-1986), Ohno Kazuo (ikut merintis bersama HT; 1906-2010), Carlotta Ikeda (figur teater lainnya), dan sebagainya.
Bukan berarti buku ini tidak disertai gambar-gambar (baik berwarna maupun tidak). Tapi, selain tidak meliputi semua objek, sebagian besar gambar itu lokasinya terpisah dari esai-esai yang terkait--dikumpulkan di tengah-tengah buku--sedang saya sebetulnya termasuk generasi yang apa-apa mengandalkan visualisasi dan ingin serbacepat. Ya, bahkan saya yang biasanya menimbang diri sebagai pencinta walls of texts dan tidak begitu mementingkan gambar, kali ini mengaku bahwa dalam hal ini lebih baik menonton saja daripada membaca.
Meski begitu, film dokumenter enggak efisien untuk menyajikan daftar kontak, ya enggak sih?
Buku ini dapat menjadi panduan bagi pelancong yang punya waktu leluasa di Kansai--entahkah karena liburan panjang, studi, kerja, atau malah warga asli sana--dan tertarik melakukan perjalanan tematik. Ada enam bagian dalam buku ini: Nature, Industry, A Sense of Place, The Arts, Youth Culture, dan Religion. Tiap-tiap bagian terdiri dari empat esai, kecuali pada bagian pertama terdapat lima esai.
Sebelum memasuki kumpulan esai itu, buku ini diawali dengan bab pengantar yang menjelaskan tentang Kansai dari berbagai segi: geografi, sejarah, budaya, bahasa, dan seterusnya. Di samping itu, tentunya dijabarkan pula garis besar buku. Rupanya sebagian esai ini sebelumnya pernah dimuat pada kolom "Kansai Culturescapes" di The Daily Yomiuri (yang telah berganti nama jadi The Japan News sejak 2013), koran nasional Jepang berbahasa Inggris. (Kalau di Indonesia, koran ini mungkin seperti The Jakarta Post.)
Tiap-tiap esai dalam buku ini memiliki tema masing-masing: menyebut berbagai tempat di Kansai (terutama Kyoto) yang berkaitan, menampilkan figur-figur yang dapat ditemui, dilengkapi dengan sumber-sumber sekunder, dan diakhiri dengan daftar kontak (alamat, nomor telepon, dan situs) untuk informasi lebih lanjut. Kelebihan buku ini mungkin ada pada daftar kontaknya itu.
Bagi pembaca yang tidak begitu menguasai bahasa Inggris, buku ini bisa menjadi tantangan. Pastinya sudah banyak film dokumenter yang mengupas soal tempat-tempat unik di Jepang, sehingga media tersebut sepertinya lebih efektif ketimbang membaca esai yang sebagian kosakatanya tidak dimengerti.
Saya sendiri selama pembacaan buku ini sekali-sekali berhenti sekadar untuk googling dan melihat gambar atau video dari objek yang sedang diceritakan. Objek yang menarik saya untuk googling di antaranya Sanogawa Ichimatsu (aktor kabuki tampan yang menginspirasi pembuatan Boneka Persahabatan (populer pada era Meiji, 1868-1912), Super Dollfies, Asimo, Paro, Geminoid F, Hijikata Tatsumi (perintis teater butoh; 1928-1986), Ohno Kazuo (ikut merintis bersama HT; 1906-2010), Carlotta Ikeda (figur teater lainnya), dan sebagainya.
Bukan berarti buku ini tidak disertai gambar-gambar (baik berwarna maupun tidak). Tapi, selain tidak meliputi semua objek, sebagian besar gambar itu lokasinya terpisah dari esai-esai yang terkait--dikumpulkan di tengah-tengah buku--sedang saya sebetulnya termasuk generasi yang apa-apa mengandalkan visualisasi dan ingin serbacepat. Ya, bahkan saya yang biasanya menimbang diri sebagai pencinta walls of texts dan tidak begitu mementingkan gambar, kali ini mengaku bahwa dalam hal ini lebih baik menonton saja daripada membaca.
Meski begitu, film dokumenter enggak efisien untuk menyajikan daftar kontak, ya enggak sih?
April 29, 2014
Una brújula cultural para pasear por Japón
Si buscas solamente una guía turística que te lleve de A a B... este no es tu libro.
Si crees que este es un simple compendio de cosas curiosas sobre el lejano y misterioso Japón... te estás perdiendo algo.
Si vas buscando frivolidades que contar a tus amigos en una de esas reuniones frikis sobre el país del Sol Naciente... te quedarás corto.
Christal Whelan nos ofrece un maravilloso relato sobre los aspectos más y menos conocidos de Japón, “acercándonos a lugares poco comunes o mostrándonos aspectos poco comunes de lugares que creíamos conocer”.
Más que una facilitadora, Christal asume el rol de traductora cultural. Poco a poco, vamos desgranando los capítulos de su libro como las cuentas de un rosario. La autora nos lleva de la mano por la región de Kansai, -cuna de la cultura nipona- descifrando incógnitas, aclarando e instruyendo de modo sutil y ameno, informativo y lleno de sorpresas.
Sondear el alma y la cultura de un pueblo en unas páginas es tarea complicada: sin embargo, el lector ávido de conocimientos encontrará claves para comprender este país que hace malabarismos entre su cultura milenaria y la constante creatividad e innovación en la vida cotidiana de nuestro siglo. Desde nociones indispensables como la gratitud o el esfuerzo hasta la espiritualidad presente donde menos te lo esperas, la autora nos mostrará micro-templos budistas, la ceremonia del incienso, el significado del agua, la cultura pop (manga, animé, cosplay) la importancia del bambú o el tremendo impacto del café en un país donde el té era y es el pan nuestro de cada día. ¡Y mucho más!
Referencias y direcciones completan las descripciones y animan a profundizar.
Por si fuera poco, el lector hispanohablante encontrará además guiños y referencias a elementos relacionados con la cultura española, como el uso del abanico, la moda contemporánea o el flamenco.
Si los polos opuestos se atraen, nunca estuvimos más cerca...
Si buscas solamente una guía turística que te lleve de A a B... este no es tu libro.
Si crees que este es un simple compendio de cosas curiosas sobre el lejano y misterioso Japón... te estás perdiendo algo.
Si vas buscando frivolidades que contar a tus amigos en una de esas reuniones frikis sobre el país del Sol Naciente... te quedarás corto.
Christal Whelan nos ofrece un maravilloso relato sobre los aspectos más y menos conocidos de Japón, “acercándonos a lugares poco comunes o mostrándonos aspectos poco comunes de lugares que creíamos conocer”.
Más que una facilitadora, Christal asume el rol de traductora cultural. Poco a poco, vamos desgranando los capítulos de su libro como las cuentas de un rosario. La autora nos lleva de la mano por la región de Kansai, -cuna de la cultura nipona- descifrando incógnitas, aclarando e instruyendo de modo sutil y ameno, informativo y lleno de sorpresas.
Sondear el alma y la cultura de un pueblo en unas páginas es tarea complicada: sin embargo, el lector ávido de conocimientos encontrará claves para comprender este país que hace malabarismos entre su cultura milenaria y la constante creatividad e innovación en la vida cotidiana de nuestro siglo. Desde nociones indispensables como la gratitud o el esfuerzo hasta la espiritualidad presente donde menos te lo esperas, la autora nos mostrará micro-templos budistas, la ceremonia del incienso, el significado del agua, la cultura pop (manga, animé, cosplay) la importancia del bambú o el tremendo impacto del café en un país donde el té era y es el pan nuestro de cada día. ¡Y mucho más!
Referencias y direcciones completan las descripciones y animan a profundizar.
Por si fuera poco, el lector hispanohablante encontrará además guiños y referencias a elementos relacionados con la cultura española, como el uso del abanico, la moda contemporánea o el flamenco.
Si los polos opuestos se atraen, nunca estuvimos más cerca...
December 17, 2015
I have to admit that the title threw me a bit. I thought this was going to be the kind of cultural book that tried too hard to be hip and relevant to a younger crowd. I was happily wrong. "Kansai Cool" is a very smart, well-researched collection of essays on a number of aspects of Japanese culture. The author does a very good job of framing each of these aspects of Japanese society within the context of the world at large, helping readers to see that the so-called "uniqueness" of Japan actually has some parallels throughout the greater world.
October 19, 2014
So many books filled quick glimpses of Japan focus almost entirely on Tokyo or the Kanto region. It was refreshing to have that glimpse through the lens of Kansai - the area around Kyoto and Osaka. And it was nice to see the cultural profiles stretch from the past all the way to the oft neglected present. Worth a gander.
May 29, 2016
A nice collection of essays on unconventional topics like incense, bamboo, Biwa pearls and the phrase "okagesama de." I've lived in Japan for almost a decade now, have traveled all over and have read a great deal on the country, its history and culture yet I still found the book's topics refreshing. The author's inquisitive and thoughtful tone made reading it a pleasure.
January 31, 2016
This is a collection of essays based on Japan and its culture written by an anthropologist who seems to have a deep understanding and love for Japan. The mixture is quite varied and will give snippets on things you would never expect.
Enjoyable.
3.5 stars.
Enjoyable.
3.5 stars.
March 30, 2015
Fantastic look at the Kansai region!
Read
July 7, 2015Turned out to be a collection of newspaper columns geared towards locals, so it was a bit more deep-end than I was looking for.
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