Japanese Festivals, known as Matsuri, are integral part of Japanese culture. Learn celebrations and seasons through 22 traditional and contemporary melodies and songs. Each song is written in Kana (Hiragana and Katakana), the romanization of Japanese, and the English translation. Includes pronunciation guide, English-Japanese glossary, and instructional and cultural notes. For all ages. Paperback book. 8.5"x 11". 32 pp. Songs include: 1. Haru ga Kita (Spring Has Come) 2. Ureshii Hinamatsuri (Happy Doll Festival) 3. Koinobori (Flying Carp) 4. Hanabi (Fireworks) 5. Kiku no Hana (Chrysanthemums) 6. Tako no Uta (Kite Song) 7. Jankenpon (Rock, Paper, Scissors) 8. Oshoogatsu (New Year's Day) 9. Usagi (Rabbit) 10. Oyako Donbori (Chicken and Egg in a Bowl) 11. Hitori, Futari (One Person, Two People) 12. Shabondama (Soap Bubbles) 13. Kata Tataki (Shoulder Patting) 14. Muramatsuri (Village Festival) 15. Onaka no Heru Uta (I'm Hungry Song) 16. Seikurabe (Who's Taller?) 17. Asa wa Doko Kara (Where does the Morning Come from?) 18. Momiji (Maple Leaf) 19. Furusato(Home) 20. Makkana Ohana no Tonakaisan (Red-Nosed Reindeer) 21. Shiawasenara Te o Tatakoo (If You're Happy, ...) 22. Sakura (Cherry Blossoms)

**2012 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award Winner!** A cultural adventure for kids, All About Japan offers a journey to a new place—and ways to bring it to life! Dive into stories, play some games from Japan, learn some Japanese songs. Two friends, a boy from the country and a girl from the city, take us on a tour of their beloved land through their eyes. They introduce us to their homes, families, favorite places, school life, holidays and more! Celebrate the cherry blossom festival Learn traditional Japanese songs and poems Make easy recipes like mochi (New Year's sweet rice cakes) and okonomiyaki (Japanese pizza or pancakes) Create origami frogs, samurai helmets and more! Beyond the fun and fascinating facts, you'll also learn about the spirit that makes Japan one-of-a-kind. This is a multicultural children's book for families to treasure together.

"A wonderful introduction the Japanese tradition of jisei, this volume is crammed with exquisite, spontaneous verse and pithy, often hilarious, descriptions of the eccentric and committed monastics who wrote the poems." --Tricycle: The Buddhist Review Although the consciousness of death is, in most cultures, very much a part of life, this is perhaps nowhere more true than in Japan, where the approach of death has given rise to a centuries-old tradition of writing jisei, or the "death poem." Such a poem is often written in the very last moments of the poet's life. Hundreds of Japanese death poems, many with a commentary describing the circumstances of the poet's death, have been translated into English here, the vast majority of them for the first time. Yoel Hoffmann explores the attitudes and customs surrounding death in historical and present-day Japan and gives examples of how these have been reflected in the nation's literature in general. The development of writing jisei is then examined--from the longing poems of the early nobility and the more "masculine" verses of the samurai to the satirical death poems of later centuries. Zen Buddhist ideas about death are also described as a preface to the collection of Chinese death poems by Zen monks that are also included. Finally, the last section contains three hundred twenty haiku, some of which have never been assembled before, in English translation and romanized in Japanese.

Nearly 5000 haiku by Jane Reichhold, written in English between 1993 - 2013 have been arranged according to the five seasons and seven traditional saijiki categories of Japan. However the haiku within the categories are arranged alphabetically - which makes this a dictionary.

With vivid prose, Karen Ma takes us on a momentous journey with a Chinese family as it tries to grow new roots in a foreign land."-Geling Yan, author of Banquet Bug, White Snake, and The Flowers of War Karen Ma's debut novel chronicles two Chinese sisters, one raised in China during the desolate years of the Cultural Revolution; the other in Japan during the freewheeling years of bubble capitalism. They reunite as adults in Tokyo in the early 1990s, and as the sisters circle warily, their distrust grows, fueled by family lies and secrets. Exploring themes of identity, alienation, love, jealousy, and family obligations in the face of cultural and geographic adversity, ultimately each must confront a fundamental question: what's the meaning of home when your roots aren't secure? Karen Ma is the author of The Modern Madame Butterfly (Tuttle Publishing, 2006). She has lived a combined twenty years in China and Japan working as a writer and journalist."