Japanese Journeys : : Writings and Recollections / / Geoffrey Bownas.

• VerfasserIn: Bownas, Geoffrey,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden; , Boston : : BRILL,, 2005.
• Year of Publication: 2005
• Edition: 1st ed.
• Language: English
• Physical Description: 1 online resource.

Geoffrey Bownas, widely known over the last half century for his writings, translations, broadcasts and commentaries relating to Japan, and an eminent Japanese Studies scholar who pioneered teaching in this field at Oxford (1954) and Sheffield (1966), has at last completed a memoir. It is both a literary triumph and a compelling read - not least for the many who have known him - as well as a historical record of some significance tracking Japan's post-war history from abject poverty to unimaginable prosperity as the world's second largest economy, and the 'lost' post-bubble years. In particular, the author includes a detailed account of his association with Mishima Yukio while preparing the Penguin New Writing in Japan, his early years in Kyoto and his experience of living in Tenri City. He also offers a critical appraisal of the Japanese aesthetic, documents an extraordinary meeting with Honda Soichiro, and takes a nostalgic journey back to the writing of his many books on Japan, including the Penguin Book of Japanese Verse (with Anthony Thwaite), Japanese Rainmaking and Other Folk Practices , and Japan and the New Europe. Equally, his involvement and input at some of Japan's key turning points over the last fifty years make fascinating reading, such as the 1964 Tokyo Olympics when he was the BBC's interpreter, and more recently the New Kansai International Airport in the early 1990S as consultant to Watson Steel, a member of the AMEC Group.

Table of Contents

Preface -- Acknowledgements -- Part I: A Memoir -- Prologue -- Chapter 1 1923 to 1952 -- Chapter 2 Kyoto 1952-54 -- Chapter 3 Tenri and Yamato 1956 -- Chapter 4 Shiga Prefecture 1960 -- Chapter 5 The 1960s -- Chapter 6 Mishima Yukio - the Man I Knew - Recollections 1957-1970 -- Chapter 7 The 1970s -- Chapter 8 The 1980s -- Chapter 9 1990 to 2005 -- Chapter 10 The Japanese Aesthetic -- Part II: Selected Writings -- One: The Origin and History of the Gion Festival -- Two: Rainmaking -- Three: The Village Year on Okinoshima -- Four: From Japanology to Japanese Studies -- List of Abbreviations -- Glossary -- Select Bibliography -- Index.