The newly arrived books in the library are now on display.
A list of books received in the past 40 days (continuously updated)
Recommended materials by the library staff from newly arrived books:
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1. The invention of religion in Japan / Jason Ānanda Josephson The “invention of religion” in Japan by Japanese officials in the Meiji period is described in this book. The author argues that Japan had no concept of religion until Western powers demanded freedom of religion at the end of the Edo period. To counter the request, the author reveals, the Meiji government later formulated the concept of “religion” which has been carried through to the present, excluding Shinto from the category to use it politically as a national ideology. Publisher description: |
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2. Death and the afterlife in Japanese Buddhism / edited by Jacqueline I. Stone and Mariko Namba Walter This book contains nine different papers about the funeral rites and view of life and death in Japanese Buddhism, from Pure Land Buddhism in medieval Japan to the posthumous precept names problem today. Publisher description: |
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3. A discipline on foot: inventing Japanese native ethnography, 1910-1945 / Alan Christy Japanese native ethnography, born in the Meiji period, was led by nonacademic intellectuals, local dignitaries and hobbyists for nearly a half century. Publisher description: |
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4. Building resilience: social capital in post-disaster recovery / Daniel P. Aldrich Dealing with four natural disasters, namely the Great Kanto earthquake, Great Hanshin earthquake, Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, and Hurricane Katrina, the book looks at the situation at the time and roads to recovery. Publisher description: |
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5. Taiko boom: Japanese drumming in place and motion / Shawn Bender With its thunderous sounds and dazzling choreography, Japanese taiko drumming has captivated audiences in Japan and across the world. The book argues that taiko developed within and has come to express new forms of communal association in a Japan increasingly engaged with global cultural flows. This study also reveals how the discourses and practices of taiko drummers dramatize tensions inherent in Japanese conceptions of race, the body, gender, and authenticity. Publisher description: |
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6. Sacred rites in moonlight: Ben no Naishi nikki / introduced, translated, and annotated by S. Yumiko Hulvey An English translation of Ben no Naishi nikki, a diary written by a woman poet of the Kamakura period, Ben no Naishi, describing her life serving at the imperial court, along with her Japanese poems. The book also includes detailed description of Ben no Naishi and the diary. Publisher description: |
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7. The isle of South Kamui and other stories / Kyotaro Nishimura; translated by Ginny Tapley Takemori An English translation of a collection of short stories, Minami Kamuito by Kyotaro Nishimura (Kodansha, 1992). It includes the title story and four other stories: “A summer reverie,” “The monkey that clapped its hands,” “House of cards,” and “The detective.” Publisher description: |