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Stone Bridge Press Authors Andrew Horvat Visiting professor at Tokyo Keizai University and lecturer at Showa Women's University, Andrew Horvat teaches courses on cross-cultural communication, language policy, and Northeast Asian regional issues. Born in 1946 in Hungary, Horvat escaped from his homeland in the aftermath of the abortive uprising of 1956. He and his family emigrated to Canada where he graduated in 1968 from the University of British Columbia and obtained his M.A. in Japanese literature in 1971. His thesis was on the short stories of novelist Kobo Abe. Between 1999 and 2005 he was the Japan representative of the Asia Foundation. Horvat is competent in English, Japanese and, Hungarian and has studied Korean, Russian and Spanish. He has written and translated nine books including Kaikoku no susume (Open Up, Japan!) (Kodansha 1998) and Japanese Beyond Words (Stone Bridge Press 2000). Andrew Horvat lives in Tokyo. Formerly a reporter for the Associated Press, Tokyo correspondent for the Los Angeles Times , and Tokyo Bureau Chief for American Public Radio, he is now a visiting professor at Tokyo Keizai University and lecturer at Showa Women's University, where he teaches courses on cross-cultural communication and language policy. Titles by Author Japanese Beyond Words Andrew Horvat A knowledge-based approach for students looking to speak and listen well. Read More

Stone Bridge Press Authors Holly Thompson Holly Thompson was raised in New England and earned a B.A. in biology from Mount Holyoke College and an M.A. from New York University's Creative Writing Program. Longtime resident of Japan, she teaches creative writing at Yokohama City University. Holly's fiction often relates to Japan and Asia. Her YA verse novel The Language Inside deals with language both spoken and unspoken and, through poetry that crosses boundaries, connects a Japan-raised American girl with a Cambodian-American boy and the patients they assist in a long-term care center. In her YA verse novel Orchards , which received the 2012 APALA Asian/Pacific American Award for Literature, Kana, a half Japanese and half Jewish-American girl, is sent to spend the summer with Shizuoka relatives after the death of a classmate. Her novel Ash , set in Kagoshima and Kyoto, has been recommended as a teaching tool in high school and university classrooms studying Japan, Asia and intercultural issues. Her picture book The Wakame Gatherers depicts a bicultural girl who goes seaweed gathering with her Japanese and American grandmothers. Holly edited, and wrote the foreword to, Tomo: Friendship through Fiction--An Anthology of Japan Teen Fiction , a young adult anthology of Japan-related fiction to benefit teens in the earthquake- and tsunami-affected areas of Tohoku. For more information about Tomo, visit the Tomo blog. Holly's short stories, poetry and articles have been published in magazines and journals in the United States and Japan and anthologized in The Broken Bridge: Fiction from Expatriates in Literary Japan . She is a regular contributor to Wingspan , the ANA inflight magazine. Holly serves as Regional Advisor of the Tokyo chapter of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI Tokyo). http://www.hatbooks.com Titles by Author Ash Holly Thompson Ash is a bittersweet novel of redemptive beauty, of startling images and alluring details. Read More Tomo Holly Thompson This aptly named fiction anthology—tomo means “friend” in Japanese—is a true labor of friendship to benefit teens in Japan... Read More

Stone Bridge Press Authors Toshimi A. Kayaki Toshimi A. Kayaki, born and raised in Japan, moved to the USA in 1989. She has written for newspapers, magazines, and advertising and has been a radio and TV reporter. She has published 22 books, mostly about cultural comparisons, women's issues, housekeeping hints, and self-improvement. She lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her husband and son and cat. http://www.greentealiving.com/ Titles by Author Green Tea Living Toshimi A. Kayaki Homespun wisdom from Japan updated for today's "green lifestyle" choices. Read More

Stone Bridge Press Authors Judith Clancy Judith Clancy has lived in Kyoto since 1970, writing and teaching about Japanese culture. Her books describe the many traditions of Kyoto, including music, tea ceremony, and ikebana, and she acts as a guide and interpreter for groups and workshops. She is also the author of Kyoto Machiya Restaurant Guide , Kyoto Gardens , Kyoto: City of Zen , and The Alluring World of Geiko and Maiko . She lives in a 120-year-old converted weaving studio in Nishijin, Kyoto's weaving and dyeing district. http://www.kyotoscapes.com/ Titles by Author Exploring Kyoto Judith Clancy The Japan travel classic and cultural guide gets you wandering from downtown quarters to remote mountaintop temples.... Read More Kyoto Machiya Restaurant Guide Judith Clancy Enjoy delicious Japanese food in some of Kyoto's most tucked-away and spectacular townhouses. Read More

Stone Bridge Press Authors Andrew Osmond Andrew Osmond is a British journalist specializing in film and animation. His first book, BFI Film Classics: Spirited Away , was published by Palgrave Macmillan in 2008 -- "Persuasively and fluidly written" (Time Out London ), "the kind of poetic, insightful examination that Spirited Away deserves" (Ain't It Cool News). Osmond has gained high praise for his thoughtful and intellectual take on animation, and is seen as an expert in his field. His new work Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist , about veteran Japanese animator and director Satoshi Kon, is a stunningly rich exploration of an influential filmmaker. Titles by Author Satoshi Kon: The Illusionist Andrew Osmond An introduction to the work and vision of Satoshi Kon, anime's premier illusionist. Read More

Stone Bridge Press Authors Shigetaka Komori Shigetaka Komori is Chairman and CEO of Fujifilm Holdings Corporation. Mr. Komori was appointed CEO in 2003 and chairman in 2012. Titles by Author Innovating Out Of Crisis Shigetaka Komori CEO Shigetaka Komori's own story of why Fujifilm succeeded where Kodak failed... Read More

SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Kyoto Stories ​ Author Steve Alpert An American student in 1970s Kyoto rambles among the city’s beauties and traditions, learning as he goes. Don Ascher is a young American living in Kyoto in the 1970s. He is a student of Japanese. He also teaches English, works at a shabu-shabu restaurant, and hangs out in the company of gangsters, hostesses, housewives, tea teachers, and fellow foreigners. Set amidst the timeless beauty of the ancient capital and its garish modern entertainments, this collection of fanciful episodes from Don’s life is a window into Japanese culture and a chronicle of romance and human connections. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 07/05/22 PISBN PRICE 9781611720747 $19.95 GENRE Fiction EISBN PRICE 9781611729559 $9.95 DIMENSIONS 5.5 x 8" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 320 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "Alpert brings new life to the “foreigner in Japan” genre that is under constant threat of being milked dry by repetition. There is an almost sepia quality to the world he describes, his prose tinged with nostalgia." ⁠— Iain Maloney, The Japan Times "For American student Don Ascher, Kyoto is the stage for odd and hilarious episodes, including flirtations with geisha and burning down a traditional teahouse. Playfully diverting and full of descriptions of a place for which its author clearly feels affection, Kyoto Stories may be fiction or memoir. Does it matter?" ⁠— Stephen McCarty, South China Morning Post "Alpert’s incisive eye, something already apparent in his memoirs of his later life at Studio Ghibli, never fails to pick up the sort of detail that eludes the less focused observer..." —Jonathan Clements, All the Anime "The author has taken the experiences of one Don Ascher, an American living in Kyoto during the 1970s, and fashioned seven stories about one man’s initiation into Japanese life as it was lived at that time in the small spaces and around the corners of the culture. The stories are full of interesting historical and cultural detail, and well describe the complexities of being a foreigner in the days before Kyoto was an international tourist destination." ⁠—Rebecca Otowa, author of At Home in Japan "These engaging stories bring to life what it was like to be a gaijin in 1970s Kyoto. From the tea ceremony to hostess bars, the narrative entertains as much as it informs. All in all, a delightful collection with many memorable moments." —John Dougill, founder of Writers in Kyoto and author of Kyoto: A Cultural and Literary History "Kyoto Stories is a subtle but sharply observed take on the “Japan journal” genre. By giving his characters space to speak, Alpert finds the human connection in even the most fish-out-of-water situations." —Matt Treyvaud, translator of Natsume Soseki's Ten Nights Dreaming "Playful, funny, intelligent, often nostalgic for people and places lost, Alpert is a true storyteller who carries readers through his collection with ease. These are some of the most honest and entertaining gaijin stories I’ve ever read.” —David Joiner, author of Kanazawa "These are not your regular Kyoto Stories: Alpert's conversational style draws you into a Japan that tourists never see, a Japan that lifers know, a Japan that is, for better or worse, long gone. A compulsive read, with all the pleasure of drinking late with a natural born raconteur." —Iain Maloney, author of The Only Gaijin in the Village Praise for Sharing a House with the Never-Ending Man “It’s a fabulous book. Informative and illuminating.” —Neil Gaiman, author of American Gods , Sandman , and The Ocean at the End of the Lane “An insider’s view of how cultural products are translated and transformed, also how art and commerce collide in the world of cinema.” —Japan Forward “A comedic and detailed portal into what it was like to work with one of the world’s most influential animators.” — Metropolis Magazine “An utterly priceless insider account, loaded with shouting matches, dastardly deals, moments of searing creative wisdom and fist-gnawing awkwardness. Ghibli, and anime, will never look the same again.” —Jonathan Clements, author of Anime: A History Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) Steve Alpert Speaks Japanese and Chinese fluently, having lived in Tokyo, Kyoto, and Taipei for a combined total of over thirty-five years. For fifteen years beginning in 1996, he was a senior executive at Studio Ghibli. He lives in New Haven, Connecticut. Learn More

SBP 2023-2024 Catalog The Heron Catchers ​ Author David Joiner 2023 American Writing Awards Finalist | 2023 Foreword Indies Awards Finalist Joiner's second novel set in the fabled Kanazawa area is an intimate yet understated look at an American who seeks recovery after his marriage to a Japanese woman has failed. After Nozomi abandons Sedge and their marriage, taking all their money and leaving him with a ceramics shop he can’t manage alone, her brother and his wife offer him a lifeline at their Japanese hot spring inn until he can get back on his feet. As he proceeds forward from this devastation in his life, he becomes involved with the wife of the man Nozomi ran off with as well as her stepson, a troubled 16-year-old whose jealousy and potential for violence contrasts with his interest in birds, origami, and the haiku of Matsuo Basho. What unfolds in the shadow of “the immortal mountain of cranes” will change their lives forever. Set in Kanazawa and Yamanaka Onsen near the Sea of Japan, The Heron Catchers explores the importance of recognizing suffering both in others and in oneself, of being compassionate, and of trusting those who offer love in the shattering wake of loss. The Heron Catchers is the second in a series of novels set in and around the Japanese city of Kanazawa. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 11/21/2023 PISBN PRICE 9781611720815 $19.95 GENRE Literary Fiction EISBN PRICE 9781611729627 $9.95 DIMENSIONS 8.5 x 5.5" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 280 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "A couple navigates their doomed marriage while living in Yamanaka Onsen, a beautiful yet claustrophobic town where gossip is rife and private lives are public knowledge." —Iain Maloney, The Japan Times "A multi-sided geometry of love and pain set in rural Ishikawa." —DC Palter, Japonica "[The Heron Catchers ] is an emotional drama about the daily lives of ordinary people, but it also manages to be at times amoral, violent, and sensual, and it keeps the reader engaged…reminiscent of the works of Kawabata Yasunari, Mishima Yukio, and other great writers of the Showa period.” –Daiya Hashimoto, Editor for Booklogia "An enjoyable look at life outside the major Japanese tourist haunts, and an examination of the issues faced by those who attempt to make a life for themselves there." —Tony's Reading List "The Heron Catchers , is at once a novel about a particular place, but is also a novel for us all, as our fates and feelings are intertwined with the natural world. Joiner's deeply felt and sensitive rendering of the inner lives of men and women in midlife, who are more affected by the place they live than they are aware, shifts in subtle waves, like the ocean that borders the town of Kanazawa where much of the novel is set. Closely observed and with care paid to emotional nuances, Joiner has written a book about adult life, and the endless striving we feel for meaningful connection." —Marie Mutsuki Mockett, author of Where the Dead Pause, and the Japanese Say Goodbye and The Tree Doctor "This slow burn of a novel sears itself into your consciousness with equal parts tension and poignancy. The Heron Catchers skillfully captures one blended, broken family's experience of growth and healing amidst the beauty and precariousness of Kanazawa's natural world." —Leza Lowitz, author of In Search of the Sun: One Woman's Quest to Find Family in Japan "Joiner reels the reader in with characteristic fine plotting, carefully crafted writing, vivid imagery and descriptions of life in the Japanese countryside, and a tone of authenticity belonging to a writer who knows and loves Japan. A riveting and worthy follow-up to Kanazawa.” —Amy Chavez, The Widow, the Priest and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island “David Joiner’s The Heron Catchers introduces us to the quiet green abundance of the Japanese mountains, the slow beauty of pottery, and the pain of love ended. We follow wounded characters, Sedge and Mariko, as they learn to heal after each has suffered from devastating betrayals. Like the herons they ultimately rescue from injuries incurred by natural and human calamities, they too strike out at those who seek to help them. Not unlike the wandering poet Matsuo Basho who steps into the frame of the story here and there, Joiner offers flashes of insights as sharp and beautiful as a heron taking flight. Readers will find in this elegiac, imaginative work, space for reflection and discovery.” —Rebecca Copeland, author of The Kimono Tattoo , co-editor of Yamamba: In Search of the Japanese Mountain Witch "An intimate, rewarding novel of people linked by misfortune who search for redemption, wholeness, and purpose. Joiner evokes his protagonist’s inner world vividly among descriptions of the life, culture, festivities, and natural environment of a small hot-spring town near Kanazawa. The Heron Catchers is an engrossing sojourn in one of Japan’s most charming off-the-beaten-path destinations." —Jeffrey Angles, translator of Hiromi Ito’s The Thorn Puller and author of My International Date Line (Winner of the Yomiuri Prize for Literature) Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) David Joiner David Joiner's writing has appeared in literary journals and elsewhere, including Echoes: Writers in Kyoto 2017 , The Brooklyn Rail , Phoebe Journal , The Ontario Review , and The Madison Review. His first novel, Lotusland , set in contemporary Vietnam, was published in 2015 by Guernica Editions. Learn More

SBP 2023-2024 Catalog Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan A Journey by Train from Hokkaido to Kyushu Author John Dougill 2023 Foreword Indies Awards Finalist Observations on the people, culture, and history of Japan from a long-time resident riding the rails along the less-traveled western coastline. This journey the length of Japan takes the reader off the beaten tracks to explore some of the country's remoter regions along the Japan Sea—from Wakkanai in northern Hokkaido to Ibusuki in southern Kyushu—in a fascinating mix of travelogue, anecdote, and personal memoir. At each of the thirty stops along the journey the author, who has lived in Japan for thirty years, goes in quest of the spirit of place, determined to highlight what makes it special. Mixing comments on landscape and culture, the author was inspired by Alan Booth and Donald Richie and brings a contemporary perspective to his writing. The text provides some practical information on travel by rail and railway lines, but goes into far more depth and personal observation than a conventional guidebook for tourists. Preview Goodreads Details PUBLISH DATE 11/07/2023 PISBN PRICE 9781611720822 $19.95 GENRE Travel EISBN PRICE 9781611729634 $9.95 DIMENSIONS 9 x 6" HARDCOVER ISBN PRICE NA NA # OF PAGES 264 AUDIOBOOK ISBN PRICE NA NA Praise "John Dougill's honest observations and deeply personal style leave a lasting impression." —Nikkei Asia "Dougill takes delight in every aspect of Japan, from the fish and pickles he has for dinner, to a weird conversation with a stranger that takes a surprise turn. I know of no Japan journey that is so full of joy as this one." —Alex Kerr, author of Lost Japan and Another Kyoto "Skillfully combining history, culture, food, society, literature, and old-fashioned observation, Dougill educates as well as entertains, soothing the restless spirit of the traveler who is determined to visit every place they read or hear about." —Rebecca Otowa, author of At Home in Japan "Erudite and deftly constructed, Dougill offers an original point of view and a sense of literary composition yoked with a deep knowledge of the country and culture." —Stephen Mansfield, author of Tokyo: A Biography Video Book Photos Retail Outlets Books sold at E-Books sold at Audiobooks sold at About the Author(s) John Dougill John Dougill has lived in Japan since 1994 and is the author of several books about the country. Learn More