David Knight is still having a rough time... Having survived the implanting of another man’s memories, ballet dancer David Knight is struggling to adjust. He has been hunted, attacked, and almost killed because a TV minister wanted the acquired memories destroyed; injuring his best friend. Now a year later, the memories are gone, but his life will never be the same. While trying to find his new normal in Canada’s premier dance company and living a pauper’s life, he’s fired because of anger issues. But when friend and aging spymaster Asher Fitzsimmons offers him a three-day contract for some light surveillance of one of the world’s largest security software companies, he jumps at it. However, David is soon embroiled in a corporate conspiracy that drags him to Japan to save the life of a billionaire’s daughter and uncover the greatest sleight of hand in history. Will David Knight survive The Tokyo Diversion?

Nishiyama Matsunosuke is one of the most important historians of Tokugawa (Edo) popular culture, yet until now his work has never been translated into a Western language. Edo Culture presents a selection of Nishiyama’s writings that serves not only to provide an excellent introduction to Tokugawa cultural history but also to fill many gaps in our knowledge of the daily life and diversions of the urban populace of the time. Many essays focus on the most important theme of Nishiyama’s work: the seventeenth to nineteenth centuries as a time of appropriation and development of Japan’s culture by its urban commoners. In the first of three main sections, Nishiyama outlines the history of Edo (Tokyo) during the city’s formative years, showing how it was shaped by the constant interaction between its warrior and commoner classes. Next, he discusses the spirit and aesthetic of the Edo native and traces the woodblock prints known as ukiyo-e to the communal activities of the city’s commoners. Section two focuses on the interaction of urban and rural culture during the nineteenth century and on the unprecedented cultural diffusion that occurred with the help of itinerant performers, pilgrims, and touring actors. Among the essays is a delightful and detailed discourse on Tokugawa cuisine. The third section is dedicated to music and theatre, beginning with a study of no, which was patronized mainly by the aristocracy but surprisingly by commoners as well. In separate chapters, Nishiyama analyzes the relation of social classes to musical genres and the aesthetics of kabuki. The final chapter focuses on vaudeville houses supported by the urban masses.

The Asian Institute of Research Journal of Social and Political Sciences is a peer-reviewed International Journal of the Asian Institute of Research. The journal covers scholarly articles in the fields of Social and Political Sciences, which include, but not limited to, Humanities, Arts, Psychology, Anthropology, Government Studies, Political Sciences, Sociology, International Relations, Law, Public Administration, History, Philosophy, Arts, and Cultural Studies. The Journal of Social and Political Sciences is an Open Access Journal that can be accessed and downloaded online for free. Thus, ensuring high visibility and increase of citations for all research articles published. The journal aims to facilitate scholarly work on recent theoretical and practical aspects of Social and Political Sciences. Academics, Policymakers, and researchers are open to submit their manuscript at any time.