Natural spring bathing in Japan is a celebration, the lovely pause in hectic lives yearning for moments of tranquillity. The hushed intimacy of rooms behind sliding paper doors, the sweet and the tangy of Japanese fruits, vegetables and seafood, open-air bathing and gardens for repose are featured in this book. Ryokan removes the tension from the journey and shows the way to places of fragile beauty and luxurious peace. It includes: The Japanese Ryokan: A Timeless Retreat, Ryokan and Onsen Etiquette: Essential Knowledge, Around Tokyo, Gora Kadan, Senkyoro, Tsubaki, Atami Sekitei, Kona Besso, Yagyu-no-Sho, Seiryuso, Senjyuan, Naraya, Bankyu Ryokan, Sanraku, Hoshinoya Karuizawa.
Editorial Reviews
Book Description
“A thunderbolt, full of lightning and excitement, one you won’t put down until its last extraordinary page.” —The Japan Times
The violence of twelfth-century Japan explodes in this half-legendary, half-true story of a violent man who becomes a folk hero. A heartless savage, the Ronin, or “wandering samurai,” slashes his way up from the gutter to wealth, honor and status. In spite of his crime sand bloodthirsty cruelty, he bears the strange mark of destiny that the wise see and respect, even as he destroys them.
Told with humor and irony, the tale ranges from the pleasantly colloquial to the brutally satiric, yet never relents in the Ronin’s ruthless search for the truth. The storyteller hides nothing and speaks bluntly, yet this jewel-like tale shimmers with tantalizing riddles that will haunt the reader just as they haunted the Ronin. Sure to shock, confound and ultimately inspire readers,
The Ronin is loosely based upon an ancient legend told to the author by the Zen Master Nyogen Senzaki.
From the Inside Flap
About the Author
Akihiko Seki was born in Tokyo in 1939, and graduated from Keio University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics in 1963. He and his wife travel all over Japan and Asia in search of the ultimate healing and relaxation experience.
American writer and editor
Elizabeth Heilman brooke lives in Japan and is an ardent student of Japan’s natural and cultural heritage. She is a contributing writer for the New York Times, international Herald Tribune and Art News magazine.
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