Written by Japanologist Natalie Leon, this beautiful guide unlocks the secrets of Japan's seasonal culture to help you relish the seasons wherever you are. Relish every day with the secrets of Japan’s seasonal culture In traditional Japanese culture, people eat, sleep and wear the seasons, from kimono motifs to petal-shaped sweets, and festivals dedicated to nature’s spectacular displays. This mindful celebration of nature leads to a deep awareness of the seasons, called kisetsukan. This book reveals the hidden depths of kisetsukan, and how its concepts can transform your life. Discover: Shun, eating what is fresh and bountiful. Preserve edible flowers to use in homemade sweets, or taste the spring with “seven herb” porridge. Mottainai, zero-waste living. Learn about boro boro, visible mending that honours the history of a cherished garment, or wrap gifts in sustainable, seasonal fabrics. Kadō, the Way of Flowers. Learn the rules of ikebana and arrange flowers according to the seasons, or throw a cherry blossom-viewing party. Momijigari, the ritual of leaf hunting. Explore local nature with “forest bathing”, or learn simple ways to bring the outside inside. This treasure trove of folktales, recipes and activities is an invitation to celebrate each day, for increased creativity, harmony and happiness.

Elegant representations of nature and the four seasons populate a wide range of Japanese genres and media—from poetry and screen painting to tea ceremonies, flower arrangements, and annual observances. In Japan and the Culture of the Four Seasons, Haruo Shirane shows how, when, and why this practice developed and explicates the richly encoded social, religious, and political meanings of this imagery. Refuting the belief that this tradition reflects Japan's agrarian origins and supposedly mild climate, Shirane traces the establishment of seasonal topics to the poetry composed by the urban nobility in the eighth century. After becoming highly codified and influencing visual arts in the tenth and eleventh centuries, the seasonal topics and their cultural associations evolved and spread to other genres, eventually settling in the popular culture of the early modern period. Contrasted with the elegant images of nature derived from court poetry was the agrarian view of nature based on rural life. The two landscapes began to intersect in the medieval period, creating a complex, layered web of competing associations. Shirane discusses a wide array of representations of nature and the four seasons in many genres, originating in both the urban and rural perspective: textual (poetry, chronicles, tales), cultivated (gardens, flower arrangement), material (kimonos, screens), performative (noh, festivals), and gastronomic (tea ceremony, food rituals). He reveals how this kind of "secondary nature," which flourished in Japan's urban architecture and gardens, fostered and idealized a sense of harmony with the natural world just at the moment it was disappearing. Illuminating the deeper meaning behind Japanese aesthetics and artifacts, Shirane clarifies the use of natural images and seasonal topics and the changes in their cultural associations and function across history, genre, and community over more than a millennium. In this fascinating book, the four seasons are revealed to be as much a cultural construction as a reflection of the physical world.

The first cocktail book from the award-winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido of Katana Kitten in New York City, on the craft of Japanese cocktail making Katana Kitten, one of the world's most prominent and acclaimed Japanese cocktail bars, was opened in 2018 by highly-respected and award-winning mixologist Masahiro Urushido. Just one year later, the bar won 2019 Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Award for Best New American Cocktail Bar. Before Katana Kitten, Urushido honed his craft over several years behind the bar of award-winning eatery Saxon+Parole. In The Japanese Art of the Cocktail, Urushido shares his immense knowledge of Japanese cocktails with eighty recipes that best exemplify Japan's contribution to the cocktail scene, both from his own bar and from Japanese mixologists worldwide. Urushido delves into what exactly constitutes the Japanese approach to cocktails, and demystifies the techniques that have been handed down over generations, all captured in stunning photography.

"Features include an interesting use of light, different types of wood, asymmetrical designs and balance, and a harmonious mixture of the old and new. This is much more than solar panels on roofs and recycled materials! --HaikuGirl's Japan blog"

Learn the Japanese secrets to finding calm, contentment and happiness With its roots in Buddhist thinking, Japanese culture is known for its sincere and mindful approach to life. From ikigai (finding your purpose) to ikebana (the art of flower arranging), Japanese ideas offer the wider world the promise of peacefulness and inspiration. Discover these calming insights and more inside this beautiful volume. Including tips on mindfulness, finding contentment, and doing more with less, this book will be your guide to the land of the rising sun, and help you to live a rich, joyful and thoughtful life.

From the warm smell of freshly-baked gingerbread to the sweet scent of sachets, fill every room with enticing fragrance. Follow the seasonal suggestions for scents heady or delicate--including candles, flowers, foods, and more. And, the exquisite photos are as pleasing to your eyes as the fragrances are to your nose!

Author and herbalist Brittany Wood Nickerson understands that food is our most powerful medicine. In Recipes from the Herbalist’s Kitchen she reveals how the kitchen can be a place of true awakening for the senses and spirit, as well as deep nourishment for the body. With in-depth profiles of favorite culinary herbs such as dill, sage, basil, and mint, Nickerson offers fascinating insights into the healing properties of each herb and then shares 110 original recipes for scrumptious snacks, entrées, drinks, and desserts that are specially designed to meet the body’s needs for comfort, nourishment, energy, and support through seasonal changes. Foreword INDIES Gold Award Winner IACP Cookbook Awards Finalist