MEETING WITH JAPAN

by Fosco Maraini ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 1959

Report repeated from p. 484 of the July 1st bulletin; this title was postponed for selection by the Book of the Month. ""If one were to grasp even a small part of what this book teaches of Japan, the bridge between the Western and Eastern mentality would not seem quite so formidable. Written by an Italian linguist and photographer who has resided for many years in Japan, Meeting With Japan not only introduces the reader to noteworthy places and occasions, but to that subtle and intricate pattern based on Japanese history, recondite Buddhism, and an internal sense of tradition, twice shocked by the West into chaos. Fosco Maraini, fully cognizant of the obstacles facing a Westerner in taking the pulse of Japan, nevertheless seems uniquely free of Western provincial attitudes. He writes for the Caucasian, but at no point compromises his understanding of the East for the sake of congeniality. Written with an urbane informality, this book deals easily with the subject of the geisha and then in transition turns to the content of Japanese art, the Japanese political scene, the problems of intermarriage, the origins of Japanese mythology, the evolution of Japanese Buddhism, the war, and other aspects of a vital culture. Respectful, imbued with the dignity of his subject, Fosco Maraini, author of Secret Tibet, is a knowledgeable host to the complexities of Japan.

Pub Date: Jan. 4, 1959

ISBN: 1163811416

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 1959

Categories: NONFICTION