Japanese Biography

Nintendo has continually set the standard for video game innovation in America, starting in 1981 with a plucky hero who jumped over barrels to save a girl from an ape. The saga of Mario, the portly plumber who became the most successful franchise in the history of gaming, has plot twists worthy of a video game. Jeff Ryan shares the story of how this quintessentially Japanese company found success in the American market.

Marty Friedman's upbringing was as atypical as his career. Growing up in a Jewish household in Maryland, the son of an NSA executive, he lacked motivation until he discovered the guitar. Enjoying a hazy adolescence overflowing with partying, music, and teen antics, he achieved local stardom in Deuce, then burst onto the national scene by pioneering a radically new style of playing, bringing attention to the guitar aficionado label, Shrapnel Records. Friedman moved to California and scored a gig in Megadeth.

帝国ホテル・大成建設を設立した「大冒険的商人」に学ぶ 混迷の時代を見通す洞察力と覚悟 時代を先見した事業展開により一代で財を築き、勇猛果敢に時代を生き抜いた大倉喜八郎。持ち前の起業家精神で、乾物屋での丁稚を振り出しに、近代産業の礎となる数々の事業を立ち上げる。創立・経営に携わった企業には、大成建設、現在のサッポロビール、帝国ホテル、日清オイリオ、ニッピ、リーガルコーポレーション、東京製綱など200社以上ともいわれている。 民間人で初の欧米視察に赴き、渋沢栄一らと日本初の会社組織による建設業法人を設立するなど、生涯前例のないことに挑み続けた、自身の奮闘をあますところなく語ったのが本書である。

The distinguished filmmaker chronicles his life, from his birth in 1910 to the worldwide success in 1950 of his film Rashomon, and provides a provocative account of the Japanese film industry.

This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain.

Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book distils Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories of 20 remarkable individuals. These vivid and entertaining portraits take the listener from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place.

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER Read by the author. "A fast-paced debut...Espionage buffs will savor this vibrant account." — Publishers Weekly A U.S. naval counterintelligence officer working to safeguard Pearl Harbor; a Japanese spy ordered to Hawaii to gather information on the American fleet...

In Geisha, a Life, Mineko Iwasaki tells her story, from her warm early childhood, to her intense yet privileged upbringing in the Iwasaki okiya (household), to her years as a renowned geisha, and finally, to her decision at the age of 29 to retire and marry, a move that would mirror the demise of geisha culture. Mineko brings to life the beauty and wonder of Gion Kobu, a place that "existed in a world apart, a special realm whose mission and identity depended on preserving the time-honored traditions of the past."

On a late March morning in the spring of 1942, Elaine Yoneda awoke to a series of terrible choices: between her family and freedom, her country and conscience, and her son and daughter. She was the child of Russian Jewish immigrants and the wife of a Japanese American man. On this war-torn morning, she was also a mother desperate to keep her young mixed-race son from being sent to a US concentration camp.

In her most personal book yet, the iconic star of the hit Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and #1 bestselling author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up opens up about the cultural traditions that have inspired her philosophy—and can make our lives better today. “This book...

For 700 years, Japan was ruled by military commanders who waged war against one another incessantly. Shogun tells the fascinating story of Tokugawa Ieyasu, the man who finally unified and brought lasting peace to the nation. He established a new central government which enabled his descendants to rule Japan for the next 260 years—a period in which Japanese culture as we know it today flourished.

My Garden World by Monty Don is a celebration of every living creature that we all share. This year has given us the enforced opportunity to learn more about the fascinating natural world around us. Whether you live in the countryside or the town, Monty's observations and insights are relevant to each and every one of us. My Garden World is Monty Don's personal journey through the natural year, month by month, season by season, observed from the immediate world around him.

The Pillow Book of Sei Shōnagon is a fascinating, detailed account of Japanese court life in the closing years of the 10th century. Written by a lady of the court at the height of Heian culture, this book enthrals with its lively gossip, witty observations and subtle impressions. Lady Shōnagon was an erstwhile rival of Lady Murasaki, whose novel, The Tale of Genji, fictionalized the elite world Lady Shōnagon so eloquently relates.

From the only American journalist ever to have been admitted to the insular Tokyo Metropolitan Police press club: a unique, firsthand, revelatory look at Japanese culture from the underbelly up. At nineteen, Jake Adelstein went to Japan in search of peace and tranquility. What he got was a life...

Immerse yourself in this compelling narrative as it unfolds through the diverse and captivating voices of our talented cast. Featuring unique voice actors, the audiobook brings to life the three intertwining plotlines that make Wounded Tiger an unforgettable experience.

In this haunting work of journalistic investigation, Haruki Murakami tells the story of the horrific terrorist attack on Japanese soil that shook the entire world. On a clear spring day in 1995, five members of a religious cult unleashed poison gas on the Tokyo subway system. In attempt to...

Makoto Saigo is half-American and half-Japanese in small-town Japan with a set of talents limited to playing guitar and picking fights. With rock stardom off the table, he turns toward the only place where you can start from the bottom and move up through sheer merit, loyalty, and brute force―the yakuza. Saigo, nicknamed “The Tsunami”, quickly realizes that even within the organization, opinions are as varied as they come, and a clash of philosophies can quickly become deadly. One screw-up can cost you your life, or at least a finger.

A transformative 300-mile walk along Japan’s ancient pilgrimage routes and through depopulating villages inspires a heartrending remembrance of a long-lost friend, documented in poignant, imaginative prose and remarkable photography. “An epic, exquisitely detailed journey, on foot, through a...

In this groundbreaking biography of the Japanese emperor Hirohito, Herbert P. Bix offers the first complete, unvarnished look at the enigmatic leader whose 63-year reign ushered Japan into the modern world. Never before has the full life of this controversial figure been revealed with such clarity and vividness. Bix describes what it was like to be trained from birth for a lone position at the apex of the nation's political hierarchy and as a revered symbol of divine status.

Sanae Takaichi is a prominent Japanese politician and one of the most influential conservative figures in modern Japan. A long-serving member of the House of Representatives and a senior leader within the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), she is renowned for her intellect, discipline, and unwavering conviction. Her tenure as Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications solidified her reputation for administrative precision and technological foresight, particularly in advancing Japan’s digital transformation and advocating data sovereignty. Known for her principled stance on national ...