This guide to the Japanese zodiac gives a complete explanation of all 12 animal years. Like people of the West, Eastern people have a zodiac. Unlike that of the West, however, the Eastern system has a cycle of twelve years instead of months. Each year of the cycle has its own particular animal symbol whose roots of meaning, origin, and influence stretch back to ancient India and China. One of the traditional Japanese stories pertaining to this zodiacal system and how it started runs as follows. On a certain New Year's Day, ages ago, Buddha called all the animals of the world to him. He promised that those who came to pay him homage would receive a gift for their fealty. As a mark of honor, they would be given a year which would thereafter be named for them. Of all the animals in the world, only these twelve came, and they came in this order: the rat and the ox, the tiger and the rabbit, the dragon, the snake, and the horse, the sheep and the monkey, the rooster, the dog, and the boar.

Those who love Japanese food know there is more to it than sukiyaki, tempura, and sushi. A variety of miso-based soups, one-pot cooking (nabemono), and vegetable side dishes with sweet vinegar dressing (sunomono) are just a few of the traditional dishes that are attracting many interested in Asian cooking. Homma presents an intriguing mixture of Japanese country cooking, folk tradition, and memories of growing up in Japan. Cooking methods include techniques for chopping vegetables, making udon and soba noodles, making tofu and using various tofu products, and making rich soup stocks. This is a book to use and treasure for its traditional Japanese cooking methods.

Contemporary Netsuke is an in-depth study of Japanese netsuke—miniature sculptures that are favorites of collectors and artists. In this unusual and engaging Japanese art book the author traces the historical background of netsuke and goes on to examine its current state, at the same time providing the background knowledge that every collector needs concerning authenticity, workmanship, and materials along with a wealth of information on subject matter, techniques, scholarly interest, and investement. Over 110 signatures and brief biographies of present-day netsuke and okimono carvers are included, and there are close-up studies of 27 leading artists. Contemporary Netsuke also includes nearly 200 illustrations, a photo essay showing the creation of a netsuke, and numerous sketches picturing legendary themes. A comprehensive list of dealers, a bibliography, and a glossary-index complete this authoritative, thorough and lively introduction to one of the oldest and newest of Japan's living arts.

Phrenology, the practice of studying character and mental capacity from the confirmation of the skull, has always been a fascinating subject. As Pope said: "The proper study of mankind is man." Here is a book with a lot of character--in fact, many characters, some famous and others infamous, from misers and murderers to presidents, philosophers and plenipotentiaries. These many and varied personalities are presented as illustrations of character traits. An example of Mirthfulness is Artemus Ward, the noted American humorist of a century ago. The contrast between his head and that of Kanosh an Indian chief, is striking if not exactly hair-raising. Sublimity is represented by William C. Bryant, the famous American poet and author of "Thanatopsis." The "organ" of Sublimity is situated on the side-head, directly above acquisitiveness and behind Ideality. "The function of Sublimity, "The book tells us, "is to give perception of grand and sublime in nature, art, and literature--to appreciate lofty mountains, the vastness of the ocean, the grandeur of a thunderstorm, the roar of artillery, the clash of armies…It is also an element in religious faith, and assist our conceptions of God and immortality."