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Preprinted with bold and beautiful designs in easy-to-fold large formats. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog OriGrafix Japan Traditional Designs (Out of Print) Origami Graphics Unit Studio Cochae THIS TITLE IS OUT OF PRINT Are you ready for a new kind of origami? Preprinted tear-out paper with colorful pop art designs on the front and folding lines on the back turn into 3-D objects for play and display. Each volume includes twenty designs, sixty all-different sheets of folding paper, and four sheets of backgrounds for staging your creations. With OriGrafix Japan , you can make a cicada, turtle, crane, frog, little prince, Daruma, goldfish, and many more. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 12/7/10 PISBN PRICE 9780893469528 $16.95 GENRE Craft Books EISBN PRICE NA NA DIMENSIONS 11 x 8" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 128 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Studio Cochae An origami graphics unit founded in 2003, whose principals are Yosuke Jikuhara and Miki Takeda in Tokyo. It has been featured widely on TV, newspapers, and magazines in Japan taking a whole new approach, with the idea of making origami "More Pop!" Learn More

A new and remarkable look at the sake produced in Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Discovering Yamaguchi Sake A Taster’s Guide to Breweries, Culture, and Terrain Author Jim Rion Foreword Melinda Joe A new and remarkable look at the sake produced in Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture. This book is the first of its kind, a deep-dive into a single sake-producing region to highlight its delicious brews as well as the people, land, and culture behind them. Brewing in Yamaguchi—in southern Honshu, Japan—reflects the whole history of sake in Japan, from boom to bust to resurgence, and many of its brands are now at fine restaurants around the world. Expert Jim Rion takes us on a tour of all 23 Yamaguchi breweries to introduce the character of each and its brewmasters’ best picks. Along the way he provides background on such topics as rice farmers, drinkware, brewing methods, and the controversy over sake “terroir” (does it exist?). An added bonus for travelers is a mini sightseeing guide to the region and its many delights. Illustrated with photographs and quick-reference sake labels. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 02/21/23 PISBN PRICE 9781611720808 $19.95 GENRE Nonfiction EISBN PRICE 9781611729603 $9.95 DIMENSIONS 5 x 7" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 228 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "A thoroughly valuable book for anyone interested in sake, food and this corner of Japan." —Florentyna Leow, The Japan Times "Highly interesting and cleverly written... Discovering Yamaguchi Sake is a very nice way to discover a prefecture while highlighting the hot topic of terroir in Japanese sake." —Chloé Cazaux Grandpierre, BKWine Magazine "Fascinating & important. Made me want to try them all!" —Dave Broom, award winning author of The Way of Whisky and A Sense of Place “Every prefecture in Japan has a story to its sake. History, climate, culture, and cuisine all play into these stories and inevitably lead us to a fuller appreciation of all things sake. While most books in English focus on grades and famous brands (of which Yamaguchi has its share), Jim’s is among the first to dive into the important concept of regionality. And it’s about time!” —John Gauntner, author of Sake Confidential and world-renowned sake authority “Jim Rion offers a deep and intimate look at Yamaguchi’s wonderful sake tradition. The result isn’t only an illuminating look at the people who make the drink, but also a fascinating examination on how the region and its culture influence it. Let's drink to that. Kanpai !” —Brian Ashcraft, author of The Japanese Saké Bible and Japanese Whisky Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Jim Rion Jim Rion is a licensed international kikizakeshi (like a sake sommelier), certified sake professional, and freelance translator and writer working in the sake industry since 2018. Learn More Melinda Joe Melinda Joe is an American journalist and certified sake and wine specialist based in Tokyo, Japan. Learn More

The classic historical account of Japan’s first encounters with the West. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog A Diplomat in Japan The Inner History of the Critical Years in the Evolution of Japan When the Ports Were Opened and the Monarchy Restored Author Sir Ernest Satow The classic first-hand account of Japan’s emergence as a modern state by the diplomat who witnessed it. Ernest Satow's storied diplomatic career followed many of the major events of Japanese history in the 19th century, from the Battle of Shimonoseki and Japan's opening to the First Sino-Japanese War and Japan's emergance as a global power. Based on the author’s detailed diary, personal encounters, and keen memory, this book is a record of the inner history of the critical years of social and political upheaval that accompanied Japan’s first encounters with the West around the time of the Meiji Restoration. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 10/10/09 PISBN PRICE NA NA GENRE Nonfiction EISBN PRICE 9780893469610 $2.95 DIMENSIONS 5.25 x 7.5" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 472 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Sir Ernest Satow In his retirement he wrote A Guide to Diplomatic Practice , now known as 'Satow's Guide to Diplomatic Practice ' – this manual is widely used today, and has been updated several times by distinguished diplomats, notably Lord Gore-Booth. Learn More

The landmark anthology of contemporary Japanese women's poetry in English translation. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog A Long Rainy Season Haiku and Tanka (Out of Print) Author Leza Lowitz THIS TITLE IS OUT OF PRINT Winner of the 1995 Benjamin Franklin Award, this is a landmark anthology of traditional short verse. In haiku and tanka, fifteen Japanese women poets reveal universal female themes through the lens of a challenging spiritual and physical Japanese environment. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 7/1/98 PISBN PRICE 9781880656150 $14.95 GENRE Poetry EISBN PRICE NA NA DIMENSIONS 5.4 x 7.2" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 198 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Leza Lowitz Collaborated with her husband Shogo Oketani, on a book about kanji for tattoos, a collection of poetry by a pacifist Japanese soldier, and a Young Adult trilogy about a young female ninja's quest to save her ancestral land. Learn More

Speak and write with confidence while avoiding common mistakes! SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar A Student's Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors Authors Larry and Qin Herzberg Learn to speak and write Chinese with confidence while avoiding common mistakes! Here is a concise guide to supplement any course of study and help with homework, travel, and test preparation. Topics include word order, time, nouns, verbs, adjectives, word choices with verbs and adverbs, and letter writing. The simple format has one goal: quick mastery and growing confidence. This volume makes an ideal companion to any popular Chinese-language textbook, such as Integrated Chinese and New Practical Chinese Reader. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 12/21/10 PISBN PRICE 9781933330891 $12.95 GENRE Nonfiction EISBN PRICE 9781611725285 $7.95 DIMENSIONS 5.4 x 8.4" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 128 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "I am stunned, stuffed and totally amazed that "Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar...." wasn't one of the compulsory first year texts for a Mandarin speak-read-write course ! It is critical for any student aspiring to speak Mandarin / Hanyu to buy this book as soon as possible ( I can't emphasize this entreaty strongly enough - BUY THIS BOOK ). Others have given the technical reasons for buying it so as a struggling, long-suffering, ongoing student I'll restrict myself to endorsing it." —Typically enthusiastic ONLINE reviewer Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Larry and Qin Herzberg Co-authors of Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar: A Student’s Guide to Correct Structures and Common Errors (Stone Bridge Press, 2011) and Chinese Proverbs and Popular Sayings: With Observations on Culture and Language (Stone Bridge Press, 2012). Learn More

A unique blend of the spiritual and psychological to help you examine your life, renew your relationships, and reshape your future. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Naikan Gratitude, Grace, and the Japanese Art of Self-Reflection (Out of Print) Author Gregg Krech THIS TITLE IS OUT OF PRINT A unique blend of the spiritual and psychological to help you examine your life, renew your relationships, and reshape your future. Drawing on Eastern tradition, Naikan ("nye-kahn") is a structured method for intensely meditating on our lives, our interconnections, our missteps. Through Naikan we develop a natural and profound sense of gratitude for blessings bestowed on us by others, blessings that were always there but went unnoticed. This collection of introductory essays, parables, and inspirations explains what Naikan is and how it can be applied to life and celebrations throughout the year. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 11/1/01 PISBN PRICE 9781880656631 $14.95 GENRE Religion and Spirituality EISBN PRICE 9780893469924 $9.95 DIMENSIONS 6 x 7" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 220 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Gregg Krech Gregg Krech is the author of five books on Japanese Psychology, including The Art of Taking Action (2015), which has been an Amazon bestseller for five years. His books have been translated into Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, German, and Romanian. Learn More

Mirei Shigemori, a historian trained in painting and ikebana, is increasingly admired for his contemporary Japanese garden designs. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Mirei Shigemori Modernizing the Japanese Garden. Author Christian Tschumi THIS TITLE IS OUT OF PRINT Mirei Shigemori (1896-1975), a historian trained in painting and ikebana, is increasingly admired for his contemporary Japanese garden designs. Believing the garden had fallen into cliche, Shigemori applied modernist shapes, colors and materials to create stunning avant-garde works that also celebrated the ancient Japanese gods and rituals. This book explores 10 major Shigemori works' from the checkerboard garden of Tofukuji (1939) and the "Hidden Christian" dry landscape at Zuiho-in (1961) to the masterful stone settings at Matsuo Taisha (1975), using design/cultural analysis, garden plans and photographs. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 4/1/05 PISBN PRICE 9781880656945 NA GENRE Nonfiction EISBN PRICE NA NA DIMENSIONS 8.2 x 7.6" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 128 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Christian Tschumi Has written numerous articles on Japanese gardens and won awards, including the Ikea Award 1996 for landscape design and the Monbusho Grant 2000 from the Japanese Ministry of Education. Learn More

A stimulating exploration of the haiku masterpiece. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Basho's Narrow Road Spring and Autumn Passages (Rock Spring Collection of Japanese Literature) Author Matsuo Basho A stimulating exploration of the haiku masterpiece. Matsuo Basho (1644-94) is considered Japan's greatest haiku poet. Narrow Road to the Interior (Oku no Hosomichi) is his masterpiece. Ostensibly a chronological account of the poet's five-month journey in 1689 into the deep country north and west of the old capital, Edo, the work is in fact artful and carefully sculpted, rich in literary and Zen allusion and filled with great insights and vital rhythms. In Basho's Narrow Road: Spring and Autumn Passages , poet and translator Hiroaki Sato presents the complete work in English and examines the threads of history, geography, philosophy, and literature that are woven into Basho's exposition. He details in particular the extent to which Basho relied on the community of writers with whom he traveled and joined in linked verse (renga ) poetry sessions, an example of which, A Farewell Gift to Sora , is included in this volume. In explaining how and why Basho made the literary choices he did, Sato shows how the poet was able to transform his passing observations into words that resonate across time and culture. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 9/1/96 PISBN PRICE 9781880656204 $18.95 GENRE Poetry EISBN PRICE 9781611725278 $9.95 DIMENSIONS 5.4 x 8.9" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 192 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise “A remarkable translation.” —Cor Van Den Heuvel Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Matsuo Basho Most famous poet of the Edo period in Japan. During his lifetime, Bashō was recognized for his works in the collaborative haikai no renga form; today, after centuries of commentary, he is recognized as the greatest master of haiku (then called hokku). Learn More

Prolific, award-winning translator of classical and modern Japanese poetry Hiroaki Sato recorded his thoughts on American society in mainly two columns across 30-plus years, collected here for the first time. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog A Bridge of Words Views across America and Japan Author/Translator Hiroaki Sato Prolific, award-winning translator of classical and modern Japanese poetry Hiroaki Sato recorded his thoughts on American society in mainly two columns across 30-plus years, collected here for the first time. This anthology of over 60 of Sato’s commentaries reflect the writer’s wide-ranging erudition and his unsentimental views of both his native Japan and his adopted American homeland. Broadly he looks at the Pacific War and its aftermath and at war (and our love of it) in general, at the quirks and curiosities of the natural world exhibited by birds and other creatures, at friends and mentors who surprised and inspired, and finally at other writers and their works, many of them familiar—the Beats and John Ashbery, for example, and Mishima—but many others whose introduction is welcome. Sato is neither cheerleader nor angry expatriate. Remarkably clear-eyed and engaged with American culture, he is in the business of critical appraisal and translation, of taking words seriously, and of observing how well others write and speak to convey their own truths and ambitions. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 10/25/22 PISBN PRICE 9781611720785 $24.95 GENRE Essays EISBN PRICE 9781611729580 $10.95 DIMENSIONS 5.5 x 8" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 324 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "Japan Times and Mainichi Daily News columnist, Hiroaki Sato, has left us with a thought provoking, educational and entertaining anthology of his columns, ranging from 1984 to 2017." —Paul de Vries, Japan Forward "These pieces, most of which appeared originally as columns in the Mainichi Daily News and the Japan Times, have a conversational informality that allows for unexpected digressions and interjections. “I am prejudiced against golfing courses and golf courses,” he announces, and explains why. He quotes a scientist’s argument for limiting wild geese populations— “When you see geese, they’re eating or they’re defecating”— and immediately responds: “Isn’t that what we human beings do as well, too well?” The back and forth is continual, and continually energizing." —Geoffrey O’Brien Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Hiroaki Sato A prolific, award-winning translator of classical and modern Japanese poetry into English. American poet Gary Snyder has called Sato "perhaps the finest translator of contemporary Japanese poetry into American English." Learn More

Two women. Two cultures. One music. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog The Fourth String A Memoir of Sensei and Me Author Janet Pocorobba Two women. Two cultures. One music. The word sensei in Japanese literally means “one who came before,” but that’s not what Janet Pocorobba’s teacher wanted to be called. She used her first name, Western-style. She wore a velour Beatles cap and leather jacket, and she taught foreigners, in English, the three-stringed shamisen, an instrument that fell out of tune as soon as you started to play it. Vexed by the music and Sensei’s mission to upend an elite musical system, Pocorobba, on the cusp of thirty, gives up her return ticket home to become a lifelong student of her teacher. She is eventually featured in Japan Cosmo as one of the most accomplished gaijin , “outside people,” to play the instrument. Part memoir, part biography of her Sensei, The Fourth String looks back on the initial few years of that apprenticeship, one that Janet’s own female English students advised her was “wife training,” steeped in obedience, loyalty, and duty. Even with her maverick teacher, Janet is challenged by group hierarchies, obscure traditions, and the tricky spaces of silence in Japanese life. Anmoku ryokai , Sensei says to explain: “We have to understand without saying.” By the time Janet finds out this life might not be for her, she is more at home in the music than the Japanese will allow. For anyone who has had a special teacher, or has lost themselves in another world, Janet Pocorobba asks questions about culture, learning, tradition, and self. As Gish Jen has said of The Fourth String , “What does it mean to be taught? To be transformed?” Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 3/12/19 PISBN PRICE 9781611720464 $16.95 GENRE Memoir EISBN PRICE 9781611729344 $9.95 DIMENSIONS 5.5 x 8.5" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 228 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "The Fourth String reconfigures the typical Japan fish-out-of-water memoir into a meditation on music and mastery, relationships, culture and narrative." —The Japan Times "Sometimes Janet and Sensei argue, sometimes Sensei favors other students over Janet, but each encounter offers a little more insight into music, Japanese culture, and into Janet herself." —Education About Asia "This memoir provides a picture of the ever present tension between the traditional and modern in Japan. It also provides great detail on the learning and playing of Japanese traditional music." —The Asian Review of Books "In this candid memoir, Pocorobba recounts the years she spent in devotion to her teacher and to learning the intracacies of the shamisen—a traditional Japanese three string instrument famously difficult to play." —The Pacific Rim Review of Books “Moving and provocative, The Fourth String charts a profound journey into the heart of another culture. What does it mean to teach and be taught? What does it mean to transform and be transformed? Are teacher and student finally, above all, comrades? This memoir --part biography, part autobiography, part portrait of an alchemy -- is as transmuting as its subject, and a joy to read.” —Gish Jen, author of The Girl at the Baggage Claim: Explaining the East-West Culture Gap "A detailed and intimate portrayal of the relationship between two women." —Hippocampus Magazine "Impressively well written with a distinctive narrative storytelling style, The Fourth String is an inherently fascinating, thoughtful, and compelling read." —The Midwest Book Review "Elegantly spare yet detail rich, The Fourth String is a beautifully crafted, moving memoir." —Alexandra Johnson, author of The Hidden Writer , recipient of PEN/Jerard Fund Award Citation for nonfiction. "An insightful and deeply generous book written by a woman as open to surprises within herself as she is to the revelations she discovers about her temporarily adoptive country of Japan. Janet Pocorobba is by turns curious, funny, sensitive, and always, always brave." —Pamela Petro, travel writer and author of Travels in an Old Tongue , The Slow Breath of Stone , and Sitting Up With the Dead "The Fourth String is a piercingly insightful memoir of a young woman's search for herself by diving into the demanding traditional art form of the shamisen in a country renowned for keeping outsiders at arms' length." —Liza Dalby, author of Geisha , Kimono , Tale of Murasaki, and others "The Fourth String transports you into the exquisite minutiae of thoughtful, aesthetically oriented "gaijin" life in Japan." —Leonard Koren, author of Wabi- Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers , Gardens of Gravel and Sand , and others "An eloquent and insightful story about Japanese music and culture. Her observations shed light on our longing for beauty and purpose." —Kyoko Mori, author of the memoir Yarn: Remembering the Way Home "With lyrical prose and elegant precision, Pocorobba tells a gripping story of teacher and student, practice and dreams, and the ways we listen to our own music and discover our true self." —Hester Kaplan, author, Unravished , The Tell , The Edge of Marriage , and others "Exquisitely written … takes us on a spiritual quest in a new country and culture, … the soul of a place whose past secures hope and whose present yearns for modernity." —Rachel Manley, author of Drumblair trilogy and winner of Canada's Governor General's Award for Literature "The intimate, evocative world unveiled in Janet Pocorobba’s The Fourth String is a compelling place to visit... An effortless read by a writer who manages the impossible – capturing the ephemeral." —Elizabeth Dowd, Noh Training Project US, Producing Director Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Janet Pocorobba Involved with Japan includes two decades of performing Japanese arts on two continents. She plays shamisen, the three drums of the kabuki orchestra (kotsuzumi, otsuzumi, and shimedaiko ), and Japanese dance. Learn More

The Gundam creator's own vision of his spectacularly successful cult franchise, in a new edition for hungry fans. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Mobile Suit Gundam Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation Author Yoshiyuki Tomino Author/Translator Frederik L. Schodt The Gundam creator's own vision of his spectacularly successful cult franchise, new fans and old will find something in this essential reimagining of Mobile Suit Gundam. In the world of the near future, an epic war rages between the Earth Federation and the rebel space colonies that call themselves the Principality of Zeon. The most fearsome weapons of the new era are the robotic vehicles known as mobile suites, armored giants with the firepower of battleships. The Federation has pinned its hopes for victory on its advanced mobile suit prototypes, but when a young cadet named Amuro Ray becomes the pilot of the Gundam mobile suit, he discovers that machines alone will not be the decisive factor in the conflict. For a new stage of human evolution is dawning, and the future—if humanity has a future—may well belong to the Newtypes. Mobile Suit Gundam: Awakening, Escalation, Confrontation returns to the Universal Century timeline, following the characters of Amuro Ray and Char Aznable. Tomino, Gundams creator, provides a new take on the events of the original series in this novelization. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 3/9/12 PISBN PRICE 9781611720051 $19.95 GENRE Fiction EISBN PRICE NA NA DIMENSIONS 5.5 x 8.5" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 520 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "A great read." —Asian Reporter Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Yoshiyuki Tomino One of Japan's best known science-fiction directors and best known for creating the Gundam anime franchise. Learn More Frederik L. Schodt Fluent in spoken and written Japanese, is an author and translator of impressive breadth. He has written extensively on Japanese manga, as well as on pop culture, technology, and history. Learn More

The much-anticipated follow-up to the author's highly popular Yoga Poems: Lines to Unfold By. SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Yoga Heart Lines on the Six Perfections Author Leza Lowitz Poems designed to inspire the journey toward awareness, interconnectedness, and bliss. These sixty poems on the Buddha's six "perfections," or qualities for a meaningful life—generosity, kindness, patience, joy, stillness, wisdom—were written over years of yoga and meditation practice, inspired by Tibetan Heart Yoga, nature, Buddhism, Osho, Tantra, ancient Japanese and Chinese poetry, Rumi, Kabir, haiku, love, and life. They seek to capture a journey from the physical body to the subtle body to the light body, until the heart bursts open into the beautiful radiance of divine energy in the world. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 7/19/11 PISBN PRICE 9781933330938 $12.95 GENRE Poetry EISBN PRICE 9781611725124 NA DIMENSIONS 5 x 7" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 112 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "Yoga Heart is a tiny treasure to hold and to behold. Even the typography and colors are food for contemplation...highly recommended for people who will not only read the lines for enjoyment, but also use them for contemplation and right action in life." —New York Journal of Books Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Leza Lowitz Collaborated with her husband Shogo Oketani, on a book about kanji for tattoos, a collection of poetry by a pacifist Japanese soldier, and a Young Adult trilogy about a young female ninja's quest to save her ancestral land. Learn More