Product Description
This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

"When one has tea and wine one will have many friends."
Arthur Lindsay Sadler's "Cha-No-Yu" is one of those indispensable yet oddly quaint classics from the golden age of studies in Japanese Culture, back in the day when such was merely a small subset of "Oriental Studies" and you could get away with giving your book an obvious and self-explanatory title with a straight face. These were also the days when simply making knowledge on Japan available to English speakers was rightfully considered worthy of scholarly care in and of itself--no obscurely verbose excursions into critical theory nor bad-humored ideological critiques, just the facts narrated with warm sympathy. Which means that these good old classics remain useful years and even decades after their first publication, and that's certainly the case for this book, a fine facsimile reprint by Tuttle of the original 1933 edition. The wealth of information on the Japanese Tea Ceremony contained within the confines of these pages is as staggering as it is intriguing.

Perhaps accidentally mirroring Tea aesthetics, the book is astoundingly asymmetrical, consisting of three chapters of wildly varying length and character. The first chapter is 92 pages and goes into the many details about the actual tea ceremony: its customs and procedures, its utensils and settings, its early history and philosophical background. Some of the seemingly nitpicky step-by-step descriptions herein can border on the tedious at times, but it is what it is (as they say)--if you want to know what the Tea Ceremony is like, this is an important part of it. The massive second chapter takes up more than half of the book and is perhaps the most interesting in some ways. It brings together well over a hundred anecdotes related to Tea, from its early practitioners and formulators in the late 1500's (Murata Shuko, Ashikaga Yoshimasa, Sen no Rikyu, and so on) until those of the mid-1800's, roughly around the end of the Tokugawa period (Ii Naosuke and Shibata Zeshin, for instance). An overwhelming majority of these involve Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and the Tokugawa Shoguns as well as daimyo lords and samurai more generally. These are of great historical interest (even if not all the tales are literally true exactly--especially so, in fact) and demonstrate the gradual but inexorable mutual imbrication of the Tea Ceremony and warrior culture during this formative time in Japan's history. Many are entertainingly witty, too. Finally chapter three is less than ten pages (!) and is more like an appendix, listing the different schools of Tea Ceremony, genealogical details, and sample programs and menus.

If the book has one major drawback, it's that it's a bit disorganized (asymmetrical perhaps?). The occasionally random arrangement can well lead to confusion or at least disorientation, and whole chunks of narrative on another related but distinct subject will at times interrupt the flow of Sadler's discussion. In other ways the passage of time has been, well not unkind exactly, but a bit bad-tempered with this classic. The anecdotes of chapter two seem to be extremely loose translations and paraphrasings from a jumble of primary and secondary Japanese sources with no real notes or clear source indications--apparently okay at the time but bound to strike us today as an unacceptably blithe disregard for basic scholarly method. The many illustrations throughout the book are also state of the art 1930's--and are indeed still helpful but unavoidably a bit meager by our printing standards today. But that's as may be, and anyway with this book as a solid basis the curious reader will know what to look for if they want to find out more. And A.L. Sadler's warm enthusiasm and pleasantly erudite presentation here is surely bound to inspire such curiosity.

Not for beginners, great none the less
I purchased this book thinking that it would be a very good source for beginners, it is not.

However this book is a MUST HAVE for more advanced tea ceremony praticioners. The book is very detailed and contains a vast wealth of knowledge and information. The book has a history section, and even goes itno the various elements of tea gardens. Everything and anything I can think of is covered in this book, its an amazing reference.

If you are a beginner look elsewhere - this book is perfect for indepth knowledge and research into the matter.

An important overview, with fascinating anecdotes.
I have the ninth edition (1989) which does not credit Michele Sadler.This is the most enjoyable and informative overview of the topic I have yet found. It covers everything from the shapes of the tea kettles to thelandscape design surrounding famous tea rooms.

The book is interestingin that it discusses many particulars of the tea ceremony and itsequipment, but balances this information nicely with many anecdotes whichconvey the "feeling" of the tea ceremony.The book also providesthe reader with valuable historical insight about the development of thetea ceremony.

An important feature of the book is that the index containsthe Kanji characters for the items listed.

I did not give the book a fivestar rating because it has black and white plates which do not adequatelyconvey the colors of the tea bowls, and because many particulars of the teaceremony could have been given more comprehensive treatment.

I have,however, re-read my copy several times, and I think that it is well worthadding to your book collection. ... Read more

Product Description
Kokoro: Japanese Inner Life Hints by Lafcadio Hearn

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Product Description
This volume was published in 1901.

CONTENTS -
STRANGE STORIES:

I.Of a Promise Kept

II.Of a Promise Broken

III.Before the Supreme Court

IV.The Story of Kwashin Koji

V.The Story of Umetsu Chubei

VI.The Story of Kogi the Priest



FOLKLORE GLEANINGS :

I.Dragon-Flies (illustrated]

II.Buddist Names of Plants and Animals

III.Songs of Japanese Children (illustrated}



STUDIES HERE AND THERE:

I.On a Bridge

II.The Case of O-Dai

III.Besie the Sea (illustrated]

IV.Drifting

V.Otokichi S Daruma (illustrated)

VI.In a Japanese Hospital ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Dragonflies, Samurai ghosts and Buddhist rituals
Like all of Lafcadio Hearn's writings, "A Japanese Miscellany" is full of wandering musings, thoughts and observations of Japan freshly under the Meiji Restoration, when hints of old Japan could still be seen in the life of the people.All of the stories are fairly short, and reflect Hearn's love of folk magic, ghosts and moonlight themes.

The book is broken into three section.Strange Stories are all short fiction ghost tales.Folklore Gleanings is made up of scientific observations and reports, and Studies Here and There collects some interesting non-fiction tales of death and Buddhist rites.

Strange Stories - "Of a Promise Kept" is a honest, honorable Samurai ghost story."Of a Promise Broken" is the opposite, an eerie tale of Samurai dishonor."Before the Supreme Court," "The Story of Kogi the Priest" and "The Story of Kwashin Koji" are Buddhist folk tales full or morality and magic."The Story of Umetsu Chubei" is a Samurai tale of heritage and strength.

Folklore Gleanings - "Dragon Flies" is an in-depth article on Dragon Flies, including drawings, myths and a collection of translated haikus.It is one of the longer pieces in the book."Buddhist Names of Plants and Animals" is just that, showing the Buddhist origins of the names of several species."Songs of Japanese Children" is also self-explanatory and is the longest article.

Studies Here and There - "On a Bridge" is a short bit of non-fiction about Samurai and peasants."The Case of O-Dai" is a sad tale of early Christian missionaries, and their lack of respect for the native culture leading to one woman's destruction."Beside the Sea" tells of a Buddhist ocean ritual for drowned sailors."Drifting" is the story of a typhoon, and a brush with death."Otokichi's Daruma" talks about the Daruma, a tiny Buddhist god of luck. ... Read more

Product Description
The journey was more tiring than they expected, for they did not know much about traveling, and halfway between the two towns there arose a mountain which had to be climbed. It took them a long time and a great many hops to reach the top, but there they were at last, and what was the surprise of each to see another frog before him! ... Read more

Product Description
This Japanese memoir was published in 1918.

A short summary from the book's Foreword:

The contents of this book are primarily personal experiences
of a seven years' stay in the house of a Japanese nobleman,
having been gleaned from jottings in my diary and such
reminiscences as my memory recalls.In writing of a
country so steeped in century-old traditions and of a
people so loath, in many ways, to adopt Western culture,
it is necessary to introduce a little history at the outset,
for the reader will have to familiarize himself with certain
strange names and systems that had dominated the
social order in Japan without change for generations, and
still influenced both ruler and ruled at the time of my arrival
in that country in 1901.

Since the house of a Daimyo was my destinationn, it will be
perhaps well for me first to explain the meaning of that
title, and the standing and identity of such an all-powerful
nobleman as the Prince of Satsuma.Up to 1868 Japan had
a Feudal System, and under the Emperor there was a
Viceroy or Military Suzerain, kinown officially by the title of
"Shogun", who swore fealty to the Emperor, and in his
turn had as his vassals the Daimyos or dukes of the country,
who were some two hundred and sixty-seven in number.The
Provinces of Japan were formerly governed by Daimyous
under the Shogun, to whom they paid homage, and their
vassals were in turn the Knights of their Province, who as
a class bore the name of Samurai.

The Samurai of old had very high standards of duty loyalty
and obedience to their lord and master being foremost.
Their sword was the very expression of their soul, a weapon
for defending right and subduing wrong.They regarded all
kinds of trade as beneath them, never coveting gold, and,
in fact, preferring poverty as being decidedly more honour-
able than riches.In their eyes it would have been an insult
to receive payment for any duty rendered to their lord.But
they expected of their Daimyo that his soul should be that
of an ideal warrior, of a brave fighter untouched by the
things of this world, and for this reason he has kept as a
recluse in his castle.

The Shogun was appointed by the Emperor, who was given
a free choice in the matter until 1603, when lyeyasu was
appointed to this office.He was a member of the Tokugawa
family and a man of tremendous influence, and for two
hundred and sixty-five years from his being appointed the
Shogunate remained exclusively in the Tokugawa family as
an hereditary office. The appointment was still nominally
made by the Emperor, but he was compelled to offer it to
a member of this family.

As time went on the Shogun became more and more powerful,
and the Emperor ceased to take any active part in the affairs
of government.He resided in Kyoto, the capital, and lived in
complete seclusion, the Shogun visiting him once a year to pay
homage as his vassal.The Daimyos lived half the year in their
own Province and during the other hals in Tokio, by command
of the Shogun, who resided there, and who fixed the time of
their yearly visit.When the day came for a Daimyo to visit
Tokio it was a very big undertakig.He was carried in a palan-
quin, with curtains all round it, and was accompanied by a
large retinue consisting of a number of pedestrians and a
few horsemen.






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