Books published by Stone Bridge Press

A remarkable cross-cultural history that rescues the swastika, an ancient Buddhist symbol, from its deployment by the forces of hate.

A "documentary comic book" from 1931, depicting the true adventures of four young Japanese men in America.

Learn the second key Japanese syllabary from every angle: reading, writing, and real-world examples.

Learn the basic Japanese syllabary from every angle: reading, writing, and real-world examples.

A new translation of one of the greatest works of postwar Japanese literature, acutely capturing modern anxiety and alienation

Married to a Zen monk in training, an American woman in Japan chronicles her own year of growth and discovery.

"An excellent introduction to the large trends of early Chinese history; ideal for those new to the subject." School Library Journal

This definitive new collection of essays by the writer Time calls "e;the dean of arts critics in Japan"e; ranges from Kyogen drama to the sex shows of Shinjuku, from film and Buddhism to Butoh and retro rock 'n' roll, from wasei eigo (Japanese/English) to mizushobai, the fine art of pleasing. Spanning some fifty years, these thirty-seven essaysmost never anthologized beforeoffer cross-sections of Japan's enormous cultural power. They reflect the unique perspective of a man attempting to understand his adopted home.The writings of Donald Richiefilm critic, reviewer, novelist, and essayisthave influenced generations of Japan observers around the world.

One night, alone on a hilltop, a young boy is swept aboard a magical train bound for the Milky Way. A classic in Japan, this tender fable is a book of great wisdom, offering insight into the afterlife.One of Japan's greatest storytellers, Kenji Miyazawa (18961933) was a teacher, author, poet, and scientist.

These devotions inspired by ancient Shinto rituals are a series of calls-and-response that directly address the awesome power of the natural world to heal and restore the soul. Readers are invited to stand before rivers, stones, and trees, to listen to thunder, and to be touched by the wind and rain in order to cultivate a spirit of reverence for Nature and awaken the cosmic content within the human. Included are steps for conducting misogi (waterfall purification) and resources for learning more about Shinto practice in North America.Stuart Picken, an ordained minister, has taught religion in Japan since 1972 and is international adviser to the High Priest of Tsubaki Grand Shrine. He is author of Essentials of Shinto.

"e;Shono conveys both intimacy and distance, tranquility and tension, as he explores the shifting relations between husband and wife, father and son, brother and sister."e; -Publishers Weekly"e;These stories are so artful... they seem like the artless productions of life itself."e; -Kenyon College Book Review -- Kenyon College Book Review"e;This collection should be sipped and savored like warm sake."e; -Small PressWinner of the Pen Center West Award, this delicate collection of thirteen linked tales reveals the flow of daily life in the modern Japanese family. Junzo Shono's artful layering of commonplace events, images, and conversations has been compared to haiku poetry crossed with an Ozu film.

A "real manga, real Japanese" study guide and resource for language students and teachers

A luminous translation of the classic Buddhist poem

Matsuo Basho (1644-94) is considered Japan's greatest haiku poet. Narrow Road to the Interior (Oku no Hosomichi) is his masterpiece. Ostensibly a chronological account of the poet's five-month journey in 1689 into the deep country north and west of the old capital, Edo, the work is in fact artful and carefully sculpted, rich in literary and Zen allusion and filled with great insights and vital rhythms. In Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages, poet and translator Hiroaki Sato presents the complete work in English and examines the threads of history, geography, philosophy, and literature that are woven into Basho's exposition. He details in particular the extent to which Basho relied on the community of writers with whom he traveled and joined in linked verse (renga) poetry sessions, an example of which, A Farewell Gift to Sora, is included in this volume. In explaining how and why Basho made the literary choices he did, Sato shows how the poet was able to transform his passing observations into words that resonate across time and culture.