The Stone Bridge Blog News and Reviews from Stone Bridge Press New Website! by Stone Bridge Press 14 Oct 2009 at 11:30am This blog is now closed. Please visit the new Stone Bridge Press website for news, reviews, community, and so much more! CHOICE reviews A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors by Stone Bridge Press 25 Jun 2009 at 8:46pm We love libraries, we love librarians, and we love library media. So we're especially happy about CHOICE's recent, very positive review of Alexander Jacoby's new book, A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors. N. A. Baker of Earlham College writes: This useful volume offers a critical overview and filmography of over 150 Japanese directors from the silent era to the present, excluding anime....[It] ought to please both scholars in search of a handy (and unique) reference title, and more casual Japanese film enthusiasts seeking information....Recommended. Man of Manga by Stone Bridge Press 17 Jun 2009 at 3:21pm As we already noted, Frederik L. Schodt is receiving a major award ? Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette ? from the Japanese Government. In the Nichi Bei Times, Ben Hamamoto profiles and interviews Schodt in honor of the award, writing: Frederik L. Schodt has the distinction of not only being one of the pioneers who brought manga to the English-speaking world ? both through his translations of important manga works and the books on manga he has authored ? but he is also one of the foremost authorities on the subject today. Anyone with an interest in Schodt's work or the history/future of manga should check out the entire article, "Man of Manga: Fred Schodt's Indispensible Contributions to the Art of Manga." The Wall Street Journal reviews Pop Goes Korea by Stone Bridge Press 4 Jun 2009 at 7:58pm In the Wall Street Journal, Evan Ramstad reviews Pop Goes Korea: Behind the Revolution in Movies, Music, and Internet Culture by Mark James Russell: "Mr. Russell's book is the first by a non-Korean to explain the rise of Korea's entertainment industries. With lots of pictures, lists (top TV shows, most expensive movies, worst flops) and sidebar articles, the book could hardly be more approachable." Read the whole review, "Riding the 'Korean Wave': Exporting ideas and culture, not just steel and silicon." Review of A Critical Hand Book of Japanese Film Directors by Stone Bridge Press 19 May 2009 at 7:07pm In the Japan Times, Mark Schilling reviews the recently released A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors by Alexander Jacoby. Schilling praises Jacoby's "diligence and precision" and writes that "Jacoby has written a book to not only consult but also argue with." The review is now online here. Issac Stone Fish reviews The Pearl Jacket by Stone Bridge Press 12 May 2009 at 6:40pm The Pearl Jacket and Other Stories: Flash Fiction from Contemporary China, by Shouhua Qi, was recently reviewed by Issac Stone Fish. Fish?s review, originally published in the Asian Review of Books, has since popped up on other websites such as UPIasia.com and the Red Room. He discusses the books' many stories. One in particular is the story of the ?Parrot.? Fish gives an analysis of the story by saying, ?The collection ends with the dystopian "Parrot," about a poet whose parrot spews prophecies: "Now, including yourself, there are only 13 people left in this town. That's reality, you understand?" The poet examines the town and finds the parrot's words to be true. Returning home, the parrot's mouth (its body has disappeared) exclaims that the other townspeople have died. The poet concludes all that's left for him is to become a parrot. Possibly symbolizing the death of individuality, this story, like the best of the genre, leaves the reader desiring something longer.? Watch Donald Richie on FORA.tv by Stone Bridge Press 11 May 2009 at 7:10pm Last month in Berkeley, we were honored by a fantastic evening of conversation between Donald Richie and Tom Luddy, hosted by Berkeley Arts & Letters. FORA.tv has put the whole thing online, including the introduction by SBP publisher, Peter Goodman. Topics include Ozu's tombstone, Kurosawa, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, China vs. Japan, and much more! Frederik L. Schodt awarded The Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by Stone Bridge Press 29 Apr 2009 at 2:00pm Stone Bridge author Frederik L. Schodt (The Astro Boy Essays, Dreamland Japan, Native American in the Land of the Shogun, America and the Four Japans, Manga! Manga!, The Four Immigrants Manga) has been awarded the prestigious Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette by the Japanese Government for his contribution "to the introduction and promotion of Japanese contemporary popular culture in the United States of America." The announcement includes a list of Schodt's numerous accomplishments. This is a spectacular honor, and we are grateful for the recognition! Eve Kushner and Crazy for Kanji at Nikkei Matsuri in San Jose this weekend! by Stone Bridge Press 23 Apr 2009 at 3:14pm Eve Kushner, author of the newly released, super-fun book Crazy for Kanji (and the blogger behind Kanji Curiosity) will be at Nikkei Matsuri in San Jose Japantown this Sunday, April 26th, signing books and chatting about the mysteries of kanji. If you haven't bought your copy yet, don't worry--books will be available for sale, and for now you can check out these sample pages. Eve will be in the info booth all day. See you there! Thanks to the San Francisco Chronicle for listing the event. Donald Richie in Berkeley, April 21st by Stone Bridge Press 1 Apr 2009 at 4:38pm We couldn't be more excited to announce this upcoming event with Donald in Berkeley! Don't miss it! Tuesday, April 21 A Life in Japanese Film: DONALD RICHIE in conversation with TOM LUDDY 7:30 PM at First Congregational Church of Berkeley (2345 Channing Way at Dana) $10 ($5 students) at the door; co-sponsored by The Booksmith (they'll be selling books) http://berkeleyarts.org/ Praised by critics from Susan Sontag to Tom Wolfe, Donald Richie is the foremost writer on Japanese culture in English. Born in Ohio in 1924, he has lived in Japan since 1947, except for time at Columbia University in the early 1950s and as curator of film at New York's Museum of Modern Art in 1968?73. The author of some thirty books and dozens of essays, Richie is especially well known for his instrumental role in introducing Japanese film to the West and for his travel memoir The Inland Sea, which was adapted into a popular PBS documentary. In addition to The Inland Sea, his books published by Berkeley-based Stone Bridge Press include Travels in the East, A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics, The Donald Richie Reader, and The Japan Journals. He recently wrote the forewords to A Critical Handbook of Japanese Film Directors by Alexander Jacoby, and Waiting on the Weather: Making Movies with Akira Kurosawa by Teruyo Nogami. Richie is also an experimental filmmaker. In 1988, he was invited to be the first guest director at the Telluride Film Festival. At this special evening of recollection and conversation, Richie will discuss Japan and his insights into Japanese culture and especially Japanese film with Tom Luddy, co-founder and current co-director of the Telluride Film Festival and an executive and film producer with American Zoetrope. Watch out! Anime Classics Zettai! likely to "convert newcomers" by Stone Bridge Press 31 Mar 2009 at 8:00pm Brian Camp and Julie Davis' Anime Classics Zettai! gets a full-length review by critic Brett Taylor in the new issue of Video Watchdog (No. 148). Discussing the enthusiastic film guide alongside Dani Cavallero's 2007 book, Anime Intersections, Taylor notes that Zettai! is special because it can be "enjoyed by the newcomer as well as the fan." In fact, he thinks that it's likely to "convert newcomers"--we totally agree, and that's a big part of why we publish books about Japanese film, animated and otherwise. The review also appreciates that "Camp takes the time to patiently explain the different formats and styles of Japanese animation," and that Camp and Davis cover such a large selection of intoxicating animated works. "Tale of Two Sisters" welcomes "The Uninvited" by Stone Bridge Press 26 Jan 2009 at 11:06am Looking forward to the next fright flick The Uninvited? It's a remake of director Kim Jee-woon's Tale of Two Sisters. Like a lot of other Horrorwood movies these days. Check out more about Kim, Two Sisters, and other Asian fright movies in Patrick Galloway's Asia Shock: Horror and Dark Cinema from Japan, Korea, Hong Kong, & Thailand. (no title) by Stone Bridge Press 16 Jan 2009 at 1:35pm Today the New York Times had a front-page article on the outcast "burakumin" in Japan and their changing fortunes. For more insight into buraku communities in Japan and their social problems of generational violence, see Eve Zimmerman's translation of Kenji Nakagami's The Cape and Other Stories. Powerful and insightful, these grim yet energetic stories present a little-seen view of modern Japan. We used to have more information about this book on our website, but it seems to have been replaced by a shorter listing. I'll see if we can restore the older version. Readers, this is an amazing story collection. Kawabata fans, hmm, maybe this isn't for you. Here's the link to the Times' story. And here's a link to the Times' review of The Cape when it was first published. You can obtain The Cape online or at booksellers worldwide. A time to be thankful by Stone Bridge Press 26 Nov 2008 at 2:09am We've got a lot to be grateful for this season, despite our economic woes and the growing preference for screens and 'zines over tomes. Americans seem to want gravitas in everything except what they read.  But things could be worse, I suppose. McCain could have won. But he didn't, so in January there'll be one less turkey in Washington. One could tell the departing foul (sic) to get stuffed, or just flip him a bird on the way out.  But why be mean-spirited? Let's enjoy family and friends and all the things in our lives that we like, and let's be grateful for all the people who have gone out of their way this year to give us a kind word, a pat on the back, a hot meal.  For those who want to explore the web of their relationships with others, I encourage them to look at Gregg Krech's fascinating book about Naikan, a Japanese form of psychotherapy that explores not the self alone but the self in society. In our more crowded world and amid a growing sense of interdependence and mutual concern, it's important to understand not justwhat makes me me, but what makes me and you us. For more about naikan, visit the Todo Institute. Happy Thanksgiving! "A good night for the English language" by Stone Bridge Press 13 Nov 2008 at 12:29am So glad I dipped into James Wood's wonderful parsing of Obama's speechifying in this week's New Yorker. Since Obama's election I've watched You Tube and other postings of Obama's oratory, in particular his fabulous treatise on race in America last spring and his acceptance speech in Chicago. I"ve listened to these two speeches a couple times, yet still I get chills and now, with his victory, even teary-eyed. George never made me cry, only cry out, and Sarah made me wince. But listening to Obama, I get carried off on a near-dreamlike sea of rhetoric and meaning, and feel connected once again to my own past, my country, my civilization.  Wood's article analyzes the magic behind the power of Obama to move. It's magic, yes, but not a trick or a fabrication. While Obama  of course, like any great orator, weaves together words, rhythms, and images, he shows himself to be more a master allusionist, an exploiter of phrases that resonate through the American subconscious. "By the people, for the people" is maybe the most obvious example. Wood also points to Obama's clever archaism of "where we are met with cynicism" echoing Lincoln's "met on a great battlefield," and his use of the word "promise" to evoke the "promised land" that MLK claimed to see on the eve of his assassination. Barack being smart, and gifted, it is no coincidence that he is drinking from the well of these two leaders, both of whom have become iconic vessels of our nation's yearning for both heroes and salvation. It's great to see smart language in a public place. And it's great to see powerful oratory used to generate hope instead of fear. I'm basically a words-on-the-page guy, but when it comes to making sweet music out of language, Obama's got my vote.