On August 6, 1945, when the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima, the Furuta family was living one mile away from the hypocenter. Five year old Kikuko, her mother, Masako, and her two brothers barely escaped with their lives. However, their soldier father was not so fortunate. Masako never talked about her family's experiences on that day and the grim days following the bombing. Then one day, Masako started to talk about what happenedbreaking a silence of nearly fifty years. Written by Kikuko (Furuta) Otake, now a retired assistant professor of Japanese in the United States, Masako's story is a collection of prose-poetry, based on the true story of her family's tragedy. It is written with an "Objectivist" lineation similar in its understated power to Charles Reznikoff's Testimony. Kikuko Otake's Masako's Story is a powerful addition to the literature of the Atomic Bomb, and yet more evidence that we should all work together to stop the Nuclear madness.

The tragic true story of Japan's Crown Princess-with a new afterword by the author. It's the fantasy of many young women: marry a handsome prince, move into a luxurious palace, and live happily ever after. But that's not how it turned out for Masako Owada. Ben Hills's fascinating portrait of Princess Masako and the Chrysanthemum Throne draws on research in Tokyo and rural Japan, at Oxford and Harvard, and from more than sixty interviews with Japanese, American, British, and Australian sources-many of whom have never spoken publicly before-shedding light on the royal family's darkest secrets, secrets that can never be openly discussed in Japan because of the reverence in which the emperor and his family are held. But most of all, this is a story about a love affair that went tragically wrong. The paperback edition will contain a new afterword by the author, discussing the impact this book had in Japan, where it was banned.

After growing up near San Francisco, a young Japanese woman returns with her parents to their native Japan, but she feels foreign and out of place.

Since its inception in 1933, Toho Co., Ltd., Japan's most famous movie production company and distributor, has produced and/or distributed some of the most notable films ever to come out of Asia, including Seven Samurai, Godzilla, When a Woman Ascends the Stairs, Kwaidan, Woman in the Dunes, Ran, Shall We Dance?, Ringu, and Spirited Away. While the western world often defines Toho by its iconic classics, which include the Godzilla franchise and many of the greatest films of the legendary director Akira Kurosawa and actor Toshiro Mifune, these pictures represent but a tiny fraction of Toho's rich history. The Toho Studios Story: A History and Complete Filmography provides a complete picture of every Toho feature the Japanese studio produced and released—as well as foreign films that it distributed—during its first 75 years. Presented chronologically, each entry in the filmography includes, where applicable, the original Japanese title, a direct translation of that title, the film's international, U.S. release, and alternate titles; production credits, including each film's producers, director, screenwriters, cinematographers, art directors, and composers, among others; casts with character names; production companies, technical specs, running times, and release dates; U.S. release data including distributor, whether the film was released subtitled or dubbed, and alternate versions; domestic and international awards; and plot synopses.

Presents 17 classic Japanese stories as told through 30 illustrated handscrolls ranging from the 13th to 19th centuries.

This book presents the lives and times of eight Japanese women who epitomize the tragedies and triumphs of eight characteristically female roles. In examining the lives of Empress Jingu (mythological), Jito Tenno Murasaki Shikibu, Tomoe Gozen (twelfth century), Hojo Masako, Hani Motoko, Takamine Hideko, and Ariyoshi Sawako, the contributors provide a mosaic of Japanese history and culture that encompasses issues of women's status in various stages of Japanese history, the social climate conducive to positive female roles, the concept of Japanes womanhood in relation to the male hero types of each age, and the popular need for strong female figures. It is the examination of the legends that have accured to the historical presence of these women that sets this book apart.

A dizzying tale of lust, mystery, and murder—from a beloved Japanese crime fiction author and LGBT icon The Lady Killer leads a double life in Tokyo's shadowy underworld. By day, he is a devoted husband and hard worker; by night, he cruises cabaret bars and nightclubs in search of lonely single women to seduce. But now the hunter is being hunted, and in his wake lies a trail of gruesome murders. Who is the culprit? The answer lies tangled in a web of clues—and to find it, he must accept that nothing is what it seems. The Lady Killer pulls from author Masako Togawa’s vibrant personal life as a cabaret performer for Tokyo’s gay nightclub scene during the ‘50s and ‘60s. Throughout her writing career, Togawa continued to champion the LGBT community as a queer woman—sealing her reputation as one of Japan’s most prominent crime fiction authors and LGBT heroines.