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A Beginner's Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations
A playful and profound guidebook full of surprising, brief, incisive glimpses into Japanese culture
Pico Iyer has been living around Kyoto for more than thirty-two years, but he admits at the outset of this book that he sometimes feels he knows less now than when he arrived. In the constantly surprising pages that follow, he shows how an evening with Meryl Streep, a walk through a ghostly deer park, even a call to the local Apple service centre can open up his adopted home in fresh and invigorating ways.
Why does anime make sense in an animist culture? How might Oscar Wilde reveal a culture too often associated with conformity? How can Japanese friends in a typical neighbourhood turn every stereotype on its head? His provocations may infuriate you � may even infuriate himself � Iyer confesses in his opening salvo, but maybe it's only by setting its love hotels next to its baseball stadia, its wild fashions against its eighth-century values, that Japan can be made new again for both the first-time visitor and the jaded foreign resident.
Pico Iyer has been living around Kyoto for more than thirty-two years, but he admits at the outset of this book that he sometimes feels he knows less now than when he arrived. In the constantly surprising pages that follow, he shows how an evening with Meryl Streep, a walk through a ghostly deer park, even a call to the local Apple service centre can open up his adopted home in fresh and invigorating ways.
Why does anime make sense in an animist culture? How might Oscar Wilde reveal a culture too often associated with conformity? How can Japanese friends in a typical neighbourhood turn every stereotype on its head? His provocations may infuriate you � may even infuriate himself � Iyer confesses in his opening salvo, but maybe it's only by setting its love hotels next to its baseball stadia, its wild fashions against its eighth-century values, that Japan can be made new again for both the first-time visitor and the jaded foreign resident.
198 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 3, 2019
340 people are currently reading
4,030 people want to read
About the author
Pico Iyer
116Ìýbooks1,052ÌýfollowersPico Iyer is a British-born essayist and novelist of Indian descent. As an acclaimed travel writer, he began his career documenting a neglected aspect of travel -- the sometimes surreal disconnect between local tradition and imported global pop culture. Since then, he has written ten books, exploring also the cultural consequences of isolation, whether writing about the exiled spiritual leaders of Tibet or the embargoed society of Cuba.
Iyer’s latest focus is on yet another overlooked aspect of travel: how can it help us regain our sense of stillness and focus in a world where our devices and digital networks increasing distract us? As he says: "Almost everybody I know has this sense of overdosing on information and getting dizzy living at post-human speeds. Nearly everybody I know does something to try to remove herself to clear her head and to have enough time and space to think. ... All of us instinctively feel that something inside us is crying out for more spaciousness and stillness to offset the exhilarations of this movement and the fun and diversion of the modern world."
Iyer’s latest focus is on yet another overlooked aspect of travel: how can it help us regain our sense of stillness and focus in a world where our devices and digital networks increasing distract us? As he says: "Almost everybody I know has this sense of overdosing on information and getting dizzy living at post-human speeds. Nearly everybody I know does something to try to remove herself to clear her head and to have enough time and space to think. ... All of us instinctively feel that something inside us is crying out for more spaciousness and stillness to offset the exhilarations of this movement and the fun and diversion of the modern world."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 279 reviews
January 28, 2021
Darn you Pico Iyer! I have three other books going, but this is so tantalizing, bite sized insights into Japanese culture, the little moments that reveal so much--it's completely jumped the queue.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This irresistible little book will be the perfect gift for every lover of Japan, presented here in little mots that are perfect encapsulations of Japanese moments, attitudes, surprises and contradictions. A book you can open anywhere for a burst of insight. Iyer has lived in Japan for 30 years, and still considers himself a 'beginner', speaking Japanese "like a 2 year old girl" (even the word "I" is gendered, and he learned his Japanese from his wife) But it is in that very bifocal view, the insider/outsider observer, that makes all Iyer's travel work so good, and this book in particular benefits from the cultural surprises.
The format--the tiny insights that are one step from haiku--already signals the reader that this is not going to be a standard cultural travelogue, but tiny fragments or pictures of the Japanese way of life as it strikes the foreigner. The way a garden is cultivated and used. "In Europe a garden is something you enter, walk around in and leave behind; in Kyoto, a garden is more like something that enters you, inviting you to become as silent and well swept as everything around you." "A garden is therefore observed as a ceremony might be."
The aphoristic layout encourages Iyer to spread his net wide--we have Zen, we have the Japanese attitude towards choice (that it's wearying, that peace comes from the relief from choice. Most Japanese restaurants, he points out, have a prix fixe menu), we have the adherence to hierarchy and the importance placed on uniformity and harmony. The acceptance of one's place and the absence of a philanthropic tradition. The preference for problem-solving in physical reality over innovation and big abstract ideas. The how more important than the why.
"Japanese "indifference to the Mystery of the Universe," my cousin's great-grandfather was wse enough to add, "is that which enables them to give more time and to spend more energy on the solution of the problems near at hand."
"When he gives lectures in the West, I heard the Dalai Lama say in Japan, the audiences tunes out the minute he starts speaking about ritual and comes to life as soon as he speaks about philosophy; in Japan, the formula is reversed."
"A Japanese psychiatrist asked every prospective patient to keep a daily journal. He consented to see each one only after all her sentences were devoted to the world outside her." was one of the little entries. Like so many others, it set me moving in a new direction. What would that be like, that a world in which we subtracted ourselves would be seen as the beginning of healing?
Iyer considers the Japanese attitude toward emptiness--in the garden, in the teahouse, in Zen... agains the backdrop of the population density and the cramped quarters in which the Japanese live. "Emptiness in Japan becomes the luxury that grandeur is in the West."
The importance is the inner life. Four days of a trip can yield forty years of memories. It's about what enters. "A night of love is less important than the way we anticipate it, the words with which we communicate it. What we do with our feelings last longer than the feelings themselves." He describes a host's white kimono, revealed to be extensively embroidered--on the inside.
Haunting glimpses of a culture whose mystery is this internality:
"A perfect date in Japan involves accompanying a loved one to a movie, watching the film together in silence and then, on the way home, takin pains not to talk about it."
The very format allows for the emptiness that is essential to this world view.
>>>>>>>>>>>>>
This irresistible little book will be the perfect gift for every lover of Japan, presented here in little mots that are perfect encapsulations of Japanese moments, attitudes, surprises and contradictions. A book you can open anywhere for a burst of insight. Iyer has lived in Japan for 30 years, and still considers himself a 'beginner', speaking Japanese "like a 2 year old girl" (even the word "I" is gendered, and he learned his Japanese from his wife) But it is in that very bifocal view, the insider/outsider observer, that makes all Iyer's travel work so good, and this book in particular benefits from the cultural surprises.
The format--the tiny insights that are one step from haiku--already signals the reader that this is not going to be a standard cultural travelogue, but tiny fragments or pictures of the Japanese way of life as it strikes the foreigner. The way a garden is cultivated and used. "In Europe a garden is something you enter, walk around in and leave behind; in Kyoto, a garden is more like something that enters you, inviting you to become as silent and well swept as everything around you." "A garden is therefore observed as a ceremony might be."
The aphoristic layout encourages Iyer to spread his net wide--we have Zen, we have the Japanese attitude towards choice (that it's wearying, that peace comes from the relief from choice. Most Japanese restaurants, he points out, have a prix fixe menu), we have the adherence to hierarchy and the importance placed on uniformity and harmony. The acceptance of one's place and the absence of a philanthropic tradition. The preference for problem-solving in physical reality over innovation and big abstract ideas. The how more important than the why.
"Japanese "indifference to the Mystery of the Universe," my cousin's great-grandfather was wse enough to add, "is that which enables them to give more time and to spend more energy on the solution of the problems near at hand."
"When he gives lectures in the West, I heard the Dalai Lama say in Japan, the audiences tunes out the minute he starts speaking about ritual and comes to life as soon as he speaks about philosophy; in Japan, the formula is reversed."
"A Japanese psychiatrist asked every prospective patient to keep a daily journal. He consented to see each one only after all her sentences were devoted to the world outside her." was one of the little entries. Like so many others, it set me moving in a new direction. What would that be like, that a world in which we subtracted ourselves would be seen as the beginning of healing?
Iyer considers the Japanese attitude toward emptiness--in the garden, in the teahouse, in Zen... agains the backdrop of the population density and the cramped quarters in which the Japanese live. "Emptiness in Japan becomes the luxury that grandeur is in the West."
The importance is the inner life. Four days of a trip can yield forty years of memories. It's about what enters. "A night of love is less important than the way we anticipate it, the words with which we communicate it. What we do with our feelings last longer than the feelings themselves." He describes a host's white kimono, revealed to be extensively embroidered--on the inside.
Haunting glimpses of a culture whose mystery is this internality:
"A perfect date in Japan involves accompanying a loved one to a movie, watching the film together in silence and then, on the way home, takin pains not to talk about it."
The very format allows for the emptiness that is essential to this world view.
November 14, 2019
I hope to make it to Japan one day, and even though I’m fairly well-versed in Japanese cinema and have a general gist of Japanese culture, I could obviously still learn a thing or two in preparation for my travels. I thought Pico Iyer’s “beginner’s guide� might be a good place to start, but I unfortunately found that to be far from the truth.
My biggest problem is how the book offers its information. The vast majority of the content is in bullet-point format (usually just one or two sentences each), which means that information is either severely condensed or altogether missing. Most of the information that is present *does* focus on Iyer’s observations and provocations, but they’re personal and highly specific and they don’t translate well to a general understanding of Japanese culture. Iyer frequently name drops Japanese authors, filmmakers, and historical events too, which would undoubtedly make it difficult for a beginner to understand and connect the dots. These little quips also aren’t that enjoyable to read—I guess bullet-point lists just don’t do it for me. We do get small essays at the end of each section, and those I did enjoy for the most part, but I still think that an actual beginner would be lost.
There is information in this slim book, but it’s buried underneath personal memories, and the reader has to extract what they can from Iyer’s lists. If you want an introduction to Japanese culture, this ain’t the book. I found this to be more of a disappointing chore than anything else.
My biggest problem is how the book offers its information. The vast majority of the content is in bullet-point format (usually just one or two sentences each), which means that information is either severely condensed or altogether missing. Most of the information that is present *does* focus on Iyer’s observations and provocations, but they’re personal and highly specific and they don’t translate well to a general understanding of Japanese culture. Iyer frequently name drops Japanese authors, filmmakers, and historical events too, which would undoubtedly make it difficult for a beginner to understand and connect the dots. These little quips also aren’t that enjoyable to read—I guess bullet-point lists just don’t do it for me. We do get small essays at the end of each section, and those I did enjoy for the most part, but I still think that an actual beginner would be lost.
There is information in this slim book, but it’s buried underneath personal memories, and the reader has to extract what they can from Iyer’s lists. If you want an introduction to Japanese culture, this ain’t the book. I found this to be more of a disappointing chore than anything else.
June 5, 2019
Japan is traditionally called mysterious, inscrutable, and stoic. It prefers total isolation to dealing with the rest of the world (It used to destroy ships and cargo and execute those onboard upon arrival). Now Pico Iyer, who has lived there for 32 years tells us the how and why. In A Beginners� Guide To Japan, a short book of even shorter anecdotes (often one-liners) he describes living in Japan as the Japanese do, and how very different that can be from the rest of the world.
The basic theme is keeping personal (self) control. This means not standing out. It means women dressing to not be noticed, never showing hurt, or emotion, and keeping civil for the common good. Nudity is not taboo, but asking people to express feelings is offensive. Iyer says passengers routinely sleep with their heads on strangers� shoulders on Japanese trains, and the leaned-upon agree not to flinch. A sign of trust—of community, perhaps—but also a reminder that what constitutes public and what constitutes private is something subtler than homes and walls.
There is an emphasis on cleanliness, honesty and harmony: “Keeping up appearances, my neighbors might reply, is not the same as denying what’s beneath. It’s simply a way of placing the needs of the whole before those of the self.�
There is a lot of contradiction in Japan, and therefore throughout the book. The Japanese have adopted it and value it. The book cites Oscar Wilde numerous times. He was famous for pithy contradictions that made fun of human society, habits and morals. In Japan, this is not for laughter, it is for satisfaction of the Japanese way. Iyer cites the first time an American, Bobby Valentine, was brought over to manage a professional Japanese team, in 1995. He was fired after leading his hapless squad to a stunning second-place finish, because, a team spokesman announced, “of his emphasis on winning.�
Iyer has learned not to fit in or pretend he is Japanese. He needs to be accepted as an exception who nonetheless respects Japanese ways. He found that friends will come over, sit in the garden with him and say nothing. Total silence makes for a satisfying visit in Japan. Temples guide the eye toward a peaceful opening in the roof, where nothing is going on. Gardens are not spectacles, they are oases.
The silence and the separation and the holding it all in also breed unusual workarounds for human needs:
“The company Family Romance employs fourteen hundred actors to pretend to be family members for clients who are going through hard times. Its boss has acted as a husband to one hundred women, and as a young girl’s father for months on end; one of his workers played a wife to one man for seven years. Another such company, Support One, sends actors to offer apologies on a client’s behalf, to pretend to be a betrayed wife, to act as an inconsolable friend.�
A Beginners� Guide To Japan is not comprehensive; it is instead whimsical. It is Iyer’s almost childlike fascination with and appreciation of a totally different society. In true Japanese fashion, no one should take offense; none is intended.
David Wineberg
The basic theme is keeping personal (self) control. This means not standing out. It means women dressing to not be noticed, never showing hurt, or emotion, and keeping civil for the common good. Nudity is not taboo, but asking people to express feelings is offensive. Iyer says passengers routinely sleep with their heads on strangers� shoulders on Japanese trains, and the leaned-upon agree not to flinch. A sign of trust—of community, perhaps—but also a reminder that what constitutes public and what constitutes private is something subtler than homes and walls.
There is an emphasis on cleanliness, honesty and harmony: “Keeping up appearances, my neighbors might reply, is not the same as denying what’s beneath. It’s simply a way of placing the needs of the whole before those of the self.�
There is a lot of contradiction in Japan, and therefore throughout the book. The Japanese have adopted it and value it. The book cites Oscar Wilde numerous times. He was famous for pithy contradictions that made fun of human society, habits and morals. In Japan, this is not for laughter, it is for satisfaction of the Japanese way. Iyer cites the first time an American, Bobby Valentine, was brought over to manage a professional Japanese team, in 1995. He was fired after leading his hapless squad to a stunning second-place finish, because, a team spokesman announced, “of his emphasis on winning.�
Iyer has learned not to fit in or pretend he is Japanese. He needs to be accepted as an exception who nonetheless respects Japanese ways. He found that friends will come over, sit in the garden with him and say nothing. Total silence makes for a satisfying visit in Japan. Temples guide the eye toward a peaceful opening in the roof, where nothing is going on. Gardens are not spectacles, they are oases.
The silence and the separation and the holding it all in also breed unusual workarounds for human needs:
“The company Family Romance employs fourteen hundred actors to pretend to be family members for clients who are going through hard times. Its boss has acted as a husband to one hundred women, and as a young girl’s father for months on end; one of his workers played a wife to one man for seven years. Another such company, Support One, sends actors to offer apologies on a client’s behalf, to pretend to be a betrayed wife, to act as an inconsolable friend.�
A Beginners� Guide To Japan is not comprehensive; it is instead whimsical. It is Iyer’s almost childlike fascination with and appreciation of a totally different society. In true Japanese fashion, no one should take offense; none is intended.
David Wineberg
January 9, 2020
This is a very short (just over 200 pgs) and physically small (it will fit in a shirt pocket) book. It is the observations of a journalist who has lived in Japan for more than 30 yrs and is married to a native. It is written in a bullet point format with some of the observations only a sentence or two while others take two or three pages. The observations are organized by topic and the author uses Japanese novelists and other cultural figures in making and explaining some of those observations. The bullet point format makes it difficult to just sit down and read this book. In spite this I finished it in 2 days. Surprising, to me at least. the author claims in spite of having lived there more that 30 yrs, not to speak Japanese.
I lived in Japan for a couple of yrs in the late '70s I found my self nodding in agreement, thinking I didn't know that but it makes sense or wondering just where that came from while reading his observations. Because of the style, it was only a 3+ star read for me, but I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Japan or Japanese society
I lived in Japan for a couple of yrs in the late '70s I found my self nodding in agreement, thinking I didn't know that but it makes sense or wondering just where that came from while reading his observations. Because of the style, it was only a 3+ star read for me, but I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in Japan or Japanese society
December 20, 2019
Iyer has lived in Japan for 32 years and these are random observations and quotes about Japan. Things to delight and frustrate.
Why I started this book: Short, sweet and about Japan... I couldn't say no.
Why I finished it: Tiny tidbits of things that stop and make you think about Japan. Some will make you smile and some will make you pull your hair out. Japan is country of hospitality and hostility, honesty and hypocrisy, stunning precision and wabi-sabi, purposeful imperfections. It is a country that can still feel strange and surprising after 32 years.
Why I started this book: Short, sweet and about Japan... I couldn't say no.
Why I finished it: Tiny tidbits of things that stop and make you think about Japan. Some will make you smile and some will make you pull your hair out. Japan is country of hospitality and hostility, honesty and hypocrisy, stunning precision and wabi-sabi, purposeful imperfections. It is a country that can still feel strange and surprising after 32 years.
September 23, 2024
I read this in Japan and it was the perfect book. It's not a guide, but rather a series of brilliant observations. You don't have to know anything about Japan to thoroughly enjoy this book.
November 3, 2022
i give it 4* because Pico is amazing writer but...there really amazing observations on Japan but every time he is going astride and leaning on side stories like comparing Oscar Wild to Japanese perception i was at a loss. it is a book of fragments. some are great and some... maybe to personal to be understood.
November 19, 2019
I hadn't heard of this author, when I stumbled upon this book in the travel section of my local library. I was so intrigued by the format and the few brief passages I read that I checked it out. I'm glad I did. I now have a new author to follow, an author whose TED talks I have started watching.
I have long been fascinated by Japan, its culture, history, and arts. Having lived there as a child, I felt a deep homesickness for the country when my family returned to the States. That prompted me as a young adult to read some of the classic works of Japanese fiction and poetry, to fall in love with Japanese cinema, and to read works about the country written by Westerners, most notably Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, which to my mind captured much of what makes the Japanese so different from Americans. A Beginner's Guide to Japan is this century's extension of that ground-breaking work, although it is nothing like it in style.
The subtitle, "Observations and Provocations," is a fit description of what transpires in these pages. Iyer, an Indian American, married to a Japanese woman and a 30 plus year resident of Kyoto, is a travel writer, but this is not a travel guide. Rather it's a deep dive into some of the aspects of Japanese culture that foreigners don't easily understand. The style is pithy, the narrative, such as it is, carried forward primarily with short epigrammatic, sometime enigmatic, passages, and occasionally longer stories that frame each section, e.g., "On the Streets," "At the Counter," "In the Temple," etc.
It is a brilliant tour de force, replete with references to the great Japanese writers from Lady Murasaki to Yukio Mishima, but there are a fair number of references to Oscar Wilde and Classical writers, as well. Iyer draws from his community in Kyoto and from the perspectives and actions of his Japanese friends, references films, including Lost in Translation, which he contends perfectly captures the Japanese ethos (dead on, and one of the reasons this is my favorite film), and Japanese history and custom. It is the work of an agile and subtle mind, a mind that has a lifetime of experiences to draw from to foster a deeper understanding in his reader of what makes Japanese culture unique.
I'm getting other books by this author ... don't you love it when you find an author new to you that you want to read everything they've written?
I have long been fascinated by Japan, its culture, history, and arts. Having lived there as a child, I felt a deep homesickness for the country when my family returned to the States. That prompted me as a young adult to read some of the classic works of Japanese fiction and poetry, to fall in love with Japanese cinema, and to read works about the country written by Westerners, most notably Benedict's The Chrysanthemum and the Sword, which to my mind captured much of what makes the Japanese so different from Americans. A Beginner's Guide to Japan is this century's extension of that ground-breaking work, although it is nothing like it in style.
The subtitle, "Observations and Provocations," is a fit description of what transpires in these pages. Iyer, an Indian American, married to a Japanese woman and a 30 plus year resident of Kyoto, is a travel writer, but this is not a travel guide. Rather it's a deep dive into some of the aspects of Japanese culture that foreigners don't easily understand. The style is pithy, the narrative, such as it is, carried forward primarily with short epigrammatic, sometime enigmatic, passages, and occasionally longer stories that frame each section, e.g., "On the Streets," "At the Counter," "In the Temple," etc.
It is a brilliant tour de force, replete with references to the great Japanese writers from Lady Murasaki to Yukio Mishima, but there are a fair number of references to Oscar Wilde and Classical writers, as well. Iyer draws from his community in Kyoto and from the perspectives and actions of his Japanese friends, references films, including Lost in Translation, which he contends perfectly captures the Japanese ethos (dead on, and one of the reasons this is my favorite film), and Japanese history and custom. It is the work of an agile and subtle mind, a mind that has a lifetime of experiences to draw from to foster a deeper understanding in his reader of what makes Japanese culture unique.
I'm getting other books by this author ... don't you love it when you find an author new to you that you want to read everything they've written?
April 17, 2021
The Japanese have a unique culture that is unlike almost any other on this planet. It has been influencing the world since the end of the Second world war too, partly through the high quality and reliable cars and electronic products that they make and that have become household names, but also things like anime, Hello Kitty, the cherry blossom and their distinctive gardens to name but a few. Their tiny archipelago of islands is home to 120 million people. I have never yet been fortunate to visit, one day perhaps.
One man who has lived there for over 30 years is Pico Iyer. He is married to a Japanese lady who has taught him Japanese, even though he still considers himself a beginner when speaking. But that length of time that he has spent immersed in the culture means that he has a rich seam of information to draw on for this book.
‘Emotions� writes the Zen philosopher, D. T. Suzuki, ‘are just the play of light and shadow on the sea�
Written in a series of small observations and vignettes, Iyer explores what makes the Japanese and their culture so very different from all that he has grown up with and experienced in the UK and America. In each of these sentences or paragraphs are nuggets of information or insight into the country he has chosen to make his home. There is no middle ground, he can either be or not be Japanese.
They are a people constrained by tradition, a people who prefer to be a player rather than be seen to be a leader. It is as he describes it, a land of hesitation. Even though tradition is important, they are constantly reinventing themselves. Partly because this is a land of earthquakes and things are never permanent, there is a shrine at Ise that is rebuilt around every 20 years. The trees used are 300 � 500 years old, so it is simultaneously new and ancient at the same time.
‘The contradictions that the mind comes up against,� writes Simone Weil, ‘these are the only realities.�
This is not a travel book in the conventional sense. These shards of his observations of the country are bought together in the style of kintsugi, the technique that the Japanese repair broken ceramic with gold and resin to often make a more beautiful object. It might not be for everyone, but I have found that reading four books on one country from very different perspectives has given me a range of insights and perspectives on the place and I would love to visit it one day.
One man who has lived there for over 30 years is Pico Iyer. He is married to a Japanese lady who has taught him Japanese, even though he still considers himself a beginner when speaking. But that length of time that he has spent immersed in the culture means that he has a rich seam of information to draw on for this book.
‘Emotions� writes the Zen philosopher, D. T. Suzuki, ‘are just the play of light and shadow on the sea�
Written in a series of small observations and vignettes, Iyer explores what makes the Japanese and their culture so very different from all that he has grown up with and experienced in the UK and America. In each of these sentences or paragraphs are nuggets of information or insight into the country he has chosen to make his home. There is no middle ground, he can either be or not be Japanese.
They are a people constrained by tradition, a people who prefer to be a player rather than be seen to be a leader. It is as he describes it, a land of hesitation. Even though tradition is important, they are constantly reinventing themselves. Partly because this is a land of earthquakes and things are never permanent, there is a shrine at Ise that is rebuilt around every 20 years. The trees used are 300 � 500 years old, so it is simultaneously new and ancient at the same time.
‘The contradictions that the mind comes up against,� writes Simone Weil, ‘these are the only realities.�
This is not a travel book in the conventional sense. These shards of his observations of the country are bought together in the style of kintsugi, the technique that the Japanese repair broken ceramic with gold and resin to often make a more beautiful object. It might not be for everyone, but I have found that reading four books on one country from very different perspectives has given me a range of insights and perspectives on the place and I would love to visit it one day.
January 7, 2024
A beginner's guide to Japan - Pico Iyer
Rating 2.5/5
Sometimes I wonder, "how good am I at picking bad books for reading?". It surprises me, considering I have limited restricted time to read, I end up, out of curiosity picking up books which turn my curiosity into a distasteful (deceit rather) pursuit. I overlooked the reviews so I am to blame here.
This book, my second in a row this year, about Japan, which Pico Iyer calls "Observations and Provocations" has been more towards "Irritations and Frustrations".
The book stayed with me for a good week, and all the while, let alone getting to know about Japan, the only thought which came to my mind was - how will I finish this book.
Now that I am done with the book, I have few observations of mine about the book.
- It is a cleverly marketed piece of misguided missile.
- Under the name of observations are a bulleted list of abstract writings on / about Japan.
- The writings encompass many areas.
- Many of the writings appears judgemental and writer's own opinion which, the general reader (who like me might have never been to Japan) may not agree or may not even want to know in the first place.
- I like to follow a particular protocol, footsteps when I wish to learn about a particular country, culture - starting with history, religion, culture, world influence, economics many others in a particular order. But when I am flung against a list of things abstract, I am unable to complete the jigsaw puzzle with my knowledge inventory (about Japan). This leaves me utterly frustrated as I cannot search on the internet for stuffs mentioned (unknown to me) owing to shortage of time.
- I really do not want to bad mouth a book, but considering Pico Iyer can do the same more with a bit more of (writer's) sophistication (aka provocations), and considering the book is printed on paper which needs felling of trees and resources, I thought I too write a brutally honest review here.
There are plenty of good books on Japan apart from this.
Cheers,
Rating 2.5/5
Sometimes I wonder, "how good am I at picking bad books for reading?". It surprises me, considering I have limited restricted time to read, I end up, out of curiosity picking up books which turn my curiosity into a distasteful (deceit rather) pursuit. I overlooked the reviews so I am to blame here.
This book, my second in a row this year, about Japan, which Pico Iyer calls "Observations and Provocations" has been more towards "Irritations and Frustrations".
The book stayed with me for a good week, and all the while, let alone getting to know about Japan, the only thought which came to my mind was - how will I finish this book.
Now that I am done with the book, I have few observations of mine about the book.
- It is a cleverly marketed piece of misguided missile.
- Under the name of observations are a bulleted list of abstract writings on / about Japan.
- The writings encompass many areas.
- Many of the writings appears judgemental and writer's own opinion which, the general reader (who like me might have never been to Japan) may not agree or may not even want to know in the first place.
- I like to follow a particular protocol, footsteps when I wish to learn about a particular country, culture - starting with history, religion, culture, world influence, economics many others in a particular order. But when I am flung against a list of things abstract, I am unable to complete the jigsaw puzzle with my knowledge inventory (about Japan). This leaves me utterly frustrated as I cannot search on the internet for stuffs mentioned (unknown to me) owing to shortage of time.
- I really do not want to bad mouth a book, but considering Pico Iyer can do the same more with a bit more of (writer's) sophistication (aka provocations), and considering the book is printed on paper which needs felling of trees and resources, I thought I too write a brutally honest review here.
There are plenty of good books on Japan apart from this.
Cheers,
August 18, 2021
Although he has lived in Japan for over thirty years, sees it as a closed society which he still doesn't pretend to understand. So he wrote , which consists of a number of short, sometimes cryptic observations as he tries to explain to us his understanding of Japan. Here is a typical entry:
After a woman threw herself off the roof of a Tokyo apartment complex in 1970, roughly one hundred and fifty others threw themselves off the same roof.Another example:
Shinto has no texts or doctrines; Buddhism in Japan is so much a matter of rites and recitations that for centuries no one even bothered to translate many of its canonical texts into Japanese.So what we have here is a collection of feuilletons that alternatively shed light (and darkness) on the subject. I must admit that the book is a fascinating read. I am not sure, however, that I understand much more about Japan than I did when I started the book. But then Iyer tells us that is his situation as well, even as a resident of Japan with a Japanese wife.
January 28, 2020
It's hard to conclude anything about any one person, let alone an entire culture, from a single snapshot. But how about 50 snapshots? Or 500?
Pico Iyer gives us a panoramic collage of Japanese culture in freeze frame format, and strangely enough, it works. Some of these pictures are beautiful, others are bizarre, and I take the lack of consistency to be a sign of authenticity. The anecdotal nature of Iyer's approach is provocative, as the title suggests, but it isn't sensational. Iyer still sees Japan as a foreigner might, as a tourist even, despite his decades of living in the country, but that's precisely his point. It's impossible for a non-Japanese person not to be an outsider in Japan. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
Pico Iyer gives us a panoramic collage of Japanese culture in freeze frame format, and strangely enough, it works. Some of these pictures are beautiful, others are bizarre, and I take the lack of consistency to be a sign of authenticity. The anecdotal nature of Iyer's approach is provocative, as the title suggests, but it isn't sensational. Iyer still sees Japan as a foreigner might, as a tourist even, despite his decades of living in the country, but that's precisely his point. It's impossible for a non-Japanese person not to be an outsider in Japan. And that's not necessarily a bad thing.
June 23, 2023
Ahhh…this book is a meditation. You have to read it in a certain state of mind. A state that accepts contradiction without getting confounded, that accepts emptiness without hurrying to fill the gaps, that accepts the beauty of internality without harmonising with externality. I’ll say it took some trying for me. =)
Trying to re-integrate the rubble of a ragged, frayed attention span resulting from an exceedingly busy job took some effort, but Pico Iyer makes it an exercise in delight. I’ve read a few of his books - his life is an unusual one, made even more interesting by his remarkable powers of observation, the hallmark of a great writer. He’s spent thirty years in Japan and still considers himself a beginner in Japan. His beautiful book sheds light on how he brings this beginners mindset to his life in Japan to unearth profound insight and bursts of pure joy in the most mundane.
Travelling through Japan this week, this book was an incredible companion to partake in the paradoxes that Japan and the Japanese people offer, while having the privilege of watching them up close. There are way too many parts of the book I enjoyed to highlight just a few, but those that read it like a travelogue or a literal travel book will be disappointed. That’d be like using a diamond to cut a sheet of paper - might eventually get the job done but the beauty is certainly wasted.
Trying to re-integrate the rubble of a ragged, frayed attention span resulting from an exceedingly busy job took some effort, but Pico Iyer makes it an exercise in delight. I’ve read a few of his books - his life is an unusual one, made even more interesting by his remarkable powers of observation, the hallmark of a great writer. He’s spent thirty years in Japan and still considers himself a beginner in Japan. His beautiful book sheds light on how he brings this beginners mindset to his life in Japan to unearth profound insight and bursts of pure joy in the most mundane.
Travelling through Japan this week, this book was an incredible companion to partake in the paradoxes that Japan and the Japanese people offer, while having the privilege of watching them up close. There are way too many parts of the book I enjoyed to highlight just a few, but those that read it like a travelogue or a literal travel book will be disappointed. That’d be like using a diamond to cut a sheet of paper - might eventually get the job done but the beauty is certainly wasted.
August 23, 2021
Good set of notes by my favorite author from his time living in Japan as a foreigner. Good book to acquaint oneself with the contradictions and complexities of the Japanese ways.
October 13, 2019
I used to love reading Pico Iyer's books. Read him after a long time, and I must say I really liked this unconventional book. It's a collection of notes, thoughts, philosophical musings, observations; there's no narrative, but it feels cohesive despite the odd structure. At times profound, thought-provoking, at others a bit irritating.
There are so many nuggets like these:
__________
Strangers routinely sleep with their heads on strangers' shoulders on Japanese trains, and the leaned-upon agree not to flinch. A sign of trust � of community, perhaps � but also a reminder that what constitutes public and what constitutes private is something subtler than homes and walls.
To make oneself up, in a deeper way, is a mark of courtesy. In the face of great suffering, the very English novelist Jane Gardam writes, an English person has to put on a brave face, "a mask slapped on out of consideration, out of a wish not to increase concern and also out of a genetic belief that our feelings are diminished when we show them."
When Ansel Adams took pictures of Japanese internees in Californian concentration camps during World War II, his subjects were so determined to offer bright smiles and to project a hopeful confidence to the world that the photographer was criticized for falsifying the truth.
_________________
When conflict arises in Japan, it's often because one person wishes to give up her needs as much as another wishes to give up hers. Such duels of self-sacrifice leave everyone stranded in an agony of thwarted self-denial.
_________________
Several hours after my wife is made to wait a few minutes at the bank, there's a knock on our door, twenty minutes away by car: the bank manager, here at our distant apartment at 9:00 p.m., to offer an apology and to hand us a small gift in recompense.
_________________
In England, I was taught never to take anything seriously, least of all myself. When I moved to America, I was encouraged to take everything seriously, especially myself. In Japan, the people I know don't seem to take themselves very seriously � but only because they take their roles, the parts they have to play in the national pageant, very seriously indeed.
There are so many nuggets like these:
__________
Strangers routinely sleep with their heads on strangers' shoulders on Japanese trains, and the leaned-upon agree not to flinch. A sign of trust � of community, perhaps � but also a reminder that what constitutes public and what constitutes private is something subtler than homes and walls.
To make oneself up, in a deeper way, is a mark of courtesy. In the face of great suffering, the very English novelist Jane Gardam writes, an English person has to put on a brave face, "a mask slapped on out of consideration, out of a wish not to increase concern and also out of a genetic belief that our feelings are diminished when we show them."
When Ansel Adams took pictures of Japanese internees in Californian concentration camps during World War II, his subjects were so determined to offer bright smiles and to project a hopeful confidence to the world that the photographer was criticized for falsifying the truth.
_________________
When conflict arises in Japan, it's often because one person wishes to give up her needs as much as another wishes to give up hers. Such duels of self-sacrifice leave everyone stranded in an agony of thwarted self-denial.
_________________
Several hours after my wife is made to wait a few minutes at the bank, there's a knock on our door, twenty minutes away by car: the bank manager, here at our distant apartment at 9:00 p.m., to offer an apology and to hand us a small gift in recompense.
_________________
In England, I was taught never to take anything seriously, least of all myself. When I moved to America, I was encouraged to take everything seriously, especially myself. In Japan, the people I know don't seem to take themselves very seriously � but only because they take their roles, the parts they have to play in the national pageant, very seriously indeed.
March 4, 2023
Pico Iyer is such a great writer, observer, and amateur philosopher. This book is filled with factoids and aphorisms on Japan and its people. Iyer lives with is wife Hurito in Kyoto and they have called Kyoto home for over 30 years. His and his wife's experience make this book a hidden treasure.
July 24, 2024
This book was leant to me by a friend who had taken interest in Japan after learning I'll be going soon. The title of this book is quite misleading, as it's not really a guide to anything, but more a collection of thoughts and memories. There are some facts and ideas revealed in his writing that may not be as well known for people who haven't been exposed to Japanese culture.
Read
July 1, 2023I have no idea how to rate this. It has given me a lot to think about. 🙃
August 9, 2024
Have you watched Bob Ross paint? He seems to be "revealing" a landscape that already exists. You never get the sense that he is painting from start to finish. It's always a few strategic brush strokes here and a few squiggles there. By the end of it, there is a beautiful landscape and you can't quite tell how it came into existence.
The words in this book feel like Bob Ross's brushstrokes. Powerful, sparse, and completely intentional. Always revealing Japan, little by little.
Having been to Japan myself, I enjoyed reliving my experience through Iyer's rich descriptions of what it feels like to be in Japan, among Japanese people. He uses vignettes to tell stories, rather than conventional chapters. The effect is a rich, complex portrait of the country and its people.
Pico Iyer points out the contradictions within Japanese society as a loving parent would, the various antics of a child.
I can say for sure that this book gave me the joy of travel without going anywhere.
The words in this book feel like Bob Ross's brushstrokes. Powerful, sparse, and completely intentional. Always revealing Japan, little by little.
Having been to Japan myself, I enjoyed reliving my experience through Iyer's rich descriptions of what it feels like to be in Japan, among Japanese people. He uses vignettes to tell stories, rather than conventional chapters. The effect is a rich, complex portrait of the country and its people.
Pico Iyer points out the contradictions within Japanese society as a loving parent would, the various antics of a child.
I can say for sure that this book gave me the joy of travel without going anywhere.
October 4, 2019
A collection of observations (not all necessarily about Japan) that confuses more than illuminates. Even the claim that it is a beginner's guide is rather inaccurate, as a beginner trying to get some handle on the country will only be more addled. That's not to say there isn't material in the book that is interesting or worthwhile, but overall it is a mess. I liked many of the insights, but definitely not all, and even some glimpses into his relationship with his wife. Surely there are better books for someone interested in getting to know this admittedly unique culture.
December 28, 2024
Book 32
A lot of sweeping statements which is totally cool but a lot of it seems to come from other authors or people he’s quoting so it feels like a diary of jumbled thoughts only loosely tied together
Surprisingly because he’s lived there nearly half his life with his Japanese wife!
“Japan has taught me how deeply the truest things lie beyond the reach of any language.� P 3
The first geisha in 13th century were men
“The Buddha himself took pains to say opposite things in different situations, since what works for a crowd of monks will make no sense to a group of businessmen. what we call “inconsistency� speaks in fact for a consistent wish to do the appropriate thing.� Going off of this, I found that the Japanese tend to anthropomorphize everything - this perhaps ties the individual more closely to the whole when you emphasize a spirit in all things to be cared for/considered! � “mountains and rivers, grasses and flowers, can all become Buddhas.�
If nothing’s personal in public Japan, you may conclude that Japan is an impersonal place� but really you’re in The realm of the transpersonal. Everything is deeply personal; it just has nothing to do with you. P 14
Keeping up appearances, my neighbors [in Japan] might reply, is not the same as denying what’s beneath. It’s simply a way of placing the needs of the whole before those of the self. P 25 - “no one married to a Japanese would ever call her “repressed.� She simply has a sharp and unwavering sense of where emotion is appropriate and where not.� Pg 132
We marvel at the tininess of devices and spaces in Japan; we fail to recognize the compactness of dreams. My friends in Japan are less inclined to try remaking the world than simply to redecorate its corners.� P 44
Japan is the spiritual home of the service industry: the wish to serve - to be industrious - sits at the heart of a culture of shared obedience
~6MM vending machines in Japan (highest number per capita on the planet) - and convenience stores, while usually the place for holdups, are the places you’re advised to go when there’s a threat or assault, they’re the safest place in the public domain. The ultimate convenience is of course uniformity.
Perfection is part of what makes Japan wonderfully welcoming to foreigners, and unyieldingly inhospitable deep down
He writes “the mother of Jesus, I sometimes remember, was visited by an angel and is seen as a saint; the mother of the Buddha died at his birth. Is it any surprise that Buddhism is about learning to live with loss, while Christianity is about salvation from above?� P 85
More people live within 30 miles of Tokyo than on the entire continent of Australia - “the extreme physical intimacy of this society necessitates emotional reserve�
Old world cultures cherish grace in defeat because they know we all lose in the end; Mew World cultures remain confident they can keep destiny at bay, perhaps forever
The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible - Oscar Wilde
Have more than thou showest, and speak less than thou knowest - the Fool advised King Lear
A lot of sweeping statements which is totally cool but a lot of it seems to come from other authors or people he’s quoting so it feels like a diary of jumbled thoughts only loosely tied together
Surprisingly because he’s lived there nearly half his life with his Japanese wife!
“Japan has taught me how deeply the truest things lie beyond the reach of any language.� P 3
The first geisha in 13th century were men
“The Buddha himself took pains to say opposite things in different situations, since what works for a crowd of monks will make no sense to a group of businessmen. what we call “inconsistency� speaks in fact for a consistent wish to do the appropriate thing.� Going off of this, I found that the Japanese tend to anthropomorphize everything - this perhaps ties the individual more closely to the whole when you emphasize a spirit in all things to be cared for/considered! � “mountains and rivers, grasses and flowers, can all become Buddhas.�
If nothing’s personal in public Japan, you may conclude that Japan is an impersonal place� but really you’re in The realm of the transpersonal. Everything is deeply personal; it just has nothing to do with you. P 14
Keeping up appearances, my neighbors [in Japan] might reply, is not the same as denying what’s beneath. It’s simply a way of placing the needs of the whole before those of the self. P 25 - “no one married to a Japanese would ever call her “repressed.� She simply has a sharp and unwavering sense of where emotion is appropriate and where not.� Pg 132
We marvel at the tininess of devices and spaces in Japan; we fail to recognize the compactness of dreams. My friends in Japan are less inclined to try remaking the world than simply to redecorate its corners.� P 44
Japan is the spiritual home of the service industry: the wish to serve - to be industrious - sits at the heart of a culture of shared obedience
~6MM vending machines in Japan (highest number per capita on the planet) - and convenience stores, while usually the place for holdups, are the places you’re advised to go when there’s a threat or assault, they’re the safest place in the public domain. The ultimate convenience is of course uniformity.
Perfection is part of what makes Japan wonderfully welcoming to foreigners, and unyieldingly inhospitable deep down
He writes “the mother of Jesus, I sometimes remember, was visited by an angel and is seen as a saint; the mother of the Buddha died at his birth. Is it any surprise that Buddhism is about learning to live with loss, while Christianity is about salvation from above?� P 85
More people live within 30 miles of Tokyo than on the entire continent of Australia - “the extreme physical intimacy of this society necessitates emotional reserve�
Old world cultures cherish grace in defeat because they know we all lose in the end; Mew World cultures remain confident they can keep destiny at bay, perhaps forever
The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible - Oscar Wilde
Have more than thou showest, and speak less than thou knowest - the Fool advised King Lear
February 9, 2022
I bought this hoping that I'd genuinely learn something new, intriguing and appealing about Japan being a so called beginner. As I started reading, I was merrily told that it's a beginner's guide because the author is a beginner, mind you he's been living there for 30 years. I'd say this was a clever play on words, a pun, if you will but it was otherwise misleading and confusing or even false advertising rather than helpful. It shows that he is a beginner as he is incapable of conveying helpful points for beginners despite having been through all the ups and downs. He at least does outline certain differences between American culture and Japanese customs and there is indeed a clear cut difference. I love the rich history of Japan and feel as though I'd fit right in. It would help me to live in a disciplined country where unspoken rules are more important than those engraved in stone.
Though a quick read, it's solely a list of thoughts and provocations or observations and not all are even about Japan... No wonder this received an award, it's terrible in giving valid reasons or objections for as to why or why not one should travel to Japan. In a sentence, I'd describe this book as being a lot of trivial, unimportant and seemingly out of place information. Why are there so many blank pages? To allow the reader to take notes perhaps? I see this happening in so many Maltese books too and it pisses me off as there shouldn't be any waste to make the book seem longer and give the reader the impression that he's read more or to make it look aesthetically pleasing.
I don't think I got anything out of this except for the fact that in Japan, the concept of individuality isn't present but rather, everybody considers themselves as part of a whole where the slightest nudge would bring down any progress that would have had been made in a ripple effect sort of motion. I suppose it goes both ways though whereby work gets done quicker when everybody knows their place in the hierarchical system. Iyer, I wouldn't say is a particularly great writer either and he includes so many quotes from various books and movies which don't necessarily make sense in the context of the chapter. I grew bored and my attention started wavering. Perhaps because I already know so much about the culture and due to the fact that there were too many pauses, with no relevant connection between the points used. One thing I appreciate about Japan, is how the people there embrace the past and buildings or artefacts which survived the wars and so many disasters of nature and rather than bulldozing them, they build them in their entirety from scratch once every twenty years or repair rather than rebuild. They are very respectful people! Iyer, I wouldn't say is...
Having bought this as a Birthday gift, it wasn't worth it. I'm glad I'm over and done with it however. If you're here from insta please leave a comment, if you'd like to follow me there, my page is called thepoetrycorner2021, thank you so much!
Though a quick read, it's solely a list of thoughts and provocations or observations and not all are even about Japan... No wonder this received an award, it's terrible in giving valid reasons or objections for as to why or why not one should travel to Japan. In a sentence, I'd describe this book as being a lot of trivial, unimportant and seemingly out of place information. Why are there so many blank pages? To allow the reader to take notes perhaps? I see this happening in so many Maltese books too and it pisses me off as there shouldn't be any waste to make the book seem longer and give the reader the impression that he's read more or to make it look aesthetically pleasing.
I don't think I got anything out of this except for the fact that in Japan, the concept of individuality isn't present but rather, everybody considers themselves as part of a whole where the slightest nudge would bring down any progress that would have had been made in a ripple effect sort of motion. I suppose it goes both ways though whereby work gets done quicker when everybody knows their place in the hierarchical system. Iyer, I wouldn't say is a particularly great writer either and he includes so many quotes from various books and movies which don't necessarily make sense in the context of the chapter. I grew bored and my attention started wavering. Perhaps because I already know so much about the culture and due to the fact that there were too many pauses, with no relevant connection between the points used. One thing I appreciate about Japan, is how the people there embrace the past and buildings or artefacts which survived the wars and so many disasters of nature and rather than bulldozing them, they build them in their entirety from scratch once every twenty years or repair rather than rebuild. They are very respectful people! Iyer, I wouldn't say is...
Having bought this as a Birthday gift, it wasn't worth it. I'm glad I'm over and done with it however. If you're here from insta please leave a comment, if you'd like to follow me there, my page is called thepoetrycorner2021, thank you so much!
June 4, 2021
In the before times, when travelling was possible, I’ve never been the sort of traveller who sees multiple places or cities in a short period of time. I like to sink into a place, spend weeks if possible in that place, find the hyper local delights and stay put. It is less about marvelling about how people in a different place do things, but more about realizing things about my own beliefs and ways of being. One of my favourite trips was spending almost four weeks in Bandung Indonesia for a field course in grad school.
For that reason, travel memoirs have always been one of my favourite types of books. Japan is a place that has been on my list of places to visit for a while now, and this week, I indulged in some armchair travelling and read Pico Iyer’s wonderful book “A Beginner’s Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations.� The structure of the book is unusual. It is split into six section, with each chapter in that section linked to its overall theme. (The chapters in “On the Streets� are about public life for example). Each chapter for the most part, is made up of observations, micro snippets of life in Japan, pithy reflections, or references to art. To break up the structure, some chapters are longer stories. For the most part this works well, but as I was nearing the end, it did get a bit tiring.

Overall though, I loved the reflections here about Japan and enjoyed learning about the authors� experience living in Japan for over 30 years. I loved so many of the reflections here: especially the ones about the freedom created through structure and limited choice, the meaning and philosophy that underpins Japanese gardens and the longer stories in this book (my favourite being about Apple)
For that reason, travel memoirs have always been one of my favourite types of books. Japan is a place that has been on my list of places to visit for a while now, and this week, I indulged in some armchair travelling and read Pico Iyer’s wonderful book “A Beginner’s Guide to Japan: Observations and Provocations.� The structure of the book is unusual. It is split into six section, with each chapter in that section linked to its overall theme. (The chapters in “On the Streets� are about public life for example). Each chapter for the most part, is made up of observations, micro snippets of life in Japan, pithy reflections, or references to art. To break up the structure, some chapters are longer stories. For the most part this works well, but as I was nearing the end, it did get a bit tiring.

Overall though, I loved the reflections here about Japan and enjoyed learning about the authors� experience living in Japan for over 30 years. I loved so many of the reflections here: especially the ones about the freedom created through structure and limited choice, the meaning and philosophy that underpins Japanese gardens and the longer stories in this book (my favourite being about Apple)
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March 18, 2025Why I read this: I admire Pico Iyer's epigrammatic style and find Japan a fascinating place.
This is a quick read, and maybe a bit too epigrammatic for its own good, though Mr. Iyer seeks to disarm reproof by essentially admitting as much in his introduction. You don't have to work very hard to read it, which is nice in a way in these trying times.
It definitely had its moments, and if Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ would still let me share my notes and highlights, I would remember better what they are.
The parts that resonates most for me are things I have experienced myself in Japan: about the small deer that roam around Nara, for instance, or the account of visiting a James Turrell work on Naoshima that is just a plain room, open to the sky. Doesn't sound like much, described so flatly, but it is magical, and I urge everyone reading this who can possibly manage to go to Naoshima and experience it for themselves.
Reading Mr. Iyer's description reminded me of just how amazing it was. But I don't know if the written account would have made an impression, had I not already experienced it myself.
This is a quick read, and maybe a bit too epigrammatic for its own good, though Mr. Iyer seeks to disarm reproof by essentially admitting as much in his introduction. You don't have to work very hard to read it, which is nice in a way in these trying times.
It definitely had its moments, and if Å·±¦ÓéÀÖ would still let me share my notes and highlights, I would remember better what they are.
The parts that resonates most for me are things I have experienced myself in Japan: about the small deer that roam around Nara, for instance, or the account of visiting a James Turrell work on Naoshima that is just a plain room, open to the sky. Doesn't sound like much, described so flatly, but it is magical, and I urge everyone reading this who can possibly manage to go to Naoshima and experience it for themselves.
Reading Mr. Iyer's description reminded me of just how amazing it was. But I don't know if the written account would have made an impression, had I not already experienced it myself.
February 17, 2020
Enjoyable and easy to read in bursts. While my kids are studying Japan this gave me some extra reading to enjoy in my down time.
The author's presentation is irregular, a paragraph blurb format for most of the book broken up by longer anecdotes every few sections. Knowing the author is British born, living in Japan for 30 years to a native Japanese woman helps shed light on his unique perspective. He has a beautiful love of the country and its people, no doubt encouraged by the love for his wife. His observations may be at times uncomfortable, revealing too much or not enough of the Japanese people, but it is enough information to wet the appetite.
In fact, "wetting the appetite" is an excellent description of this book. It is an appetizer to further reading on the subject of Japan. It has been sustaining my vigor in teaching my children and I plan to pick up the author's companion book, Autumn Light.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in Japan and the mystery of its culture.
The author's presentation is irregular, a paragraph blurb format for most of the book broken up by longer anecdotes every few sections. Knowing the author is British born, living in Japan for 30 years to a native Japanese woman helps shed light on his unique perspective. He has a beautiful love of the country and its people, no doubt encouraged by the love for his wife. His observations may be at times uncomfortable, revealing too much or not enough of the Japanese people, but it is enough information to wet the appetite.
In fact, "wetting the appetite" is an excellent description of this book. It is an appetizer to further reading on the subject of Japan. It has been sustaining my vigor in teaching my children and I plan to pick up the author's companion book, Autumn Light.
I would recommend this to anyone interested in Japan and the mystery of its culture.
April 28, 2021
Iyer channels and writes one-sentence paragraphs to explain My Japan�. unfortunately, I think Iyer is a gentle soul, and missing the forest for the trees. interestingly, the lead review on this book is , author of the renowned . so I am disagreeing with the experts' gallery, and maybe the GR crowd wisdom of 3.79.
I feel Iyer's take on Japan is too naive basically. however, I greatly respect his book .
I feel Iyer's take on Japan is too naive basically. however, I greatly respect his book .
March 13, 2024
Subtitled “Observationssnd Provocations,� this is a collection of incidents, reflections, explanations, and impressions drawn from 30+ years of living as a foreigner in Japan. The writer, married to a Japanese citizen, if Indian, though he was born in England and grew up in California…definitely not Japanese
But in love with it
This set of musings, then, is offered as background for the foreign world to understand Japanese culture…just a bit
Sometimes funny, always insightful, these pensees open new ways of seeing the world, not just Japan
But in love with it
This set of musings, then, is offered as background for the foreign world to understand Japanese culture…just a bit
Sometimes funny, always insightful, these pensees open new ways of seeing the world, not just Japan
January 19, 2025
Most of the content in this book is in bullet format. They are mostly Iyer's personal observations or provocations of Japan and Japanese culture. So, they don't translate into general observations for the common public, with very little context. Hence, this is not a guide! Personally, I felt more confused than enlightened after reading the book!
January 28, 2025
I loved how this book weaved quotes, personal anecdotes and observations from varying sources into a coherent piece for every theme. It unearthed new cultural perspectives, both universal and specifically about Japan. It was an enjoyable read and since every chapter is short and independent of the rest, it’s easy to pick up on a quick break
May 16, 2021
This Beginner's Guide to Japan is a far cry from being a "guide" and it certainly isn't for "beginners".
I knew beforehand what kind of book to expect from a renowned author and essayist; I also knew there'd be no info on how to correctly recycle or that you are not supposed to eat, drink, or smoke while walking. I was, however, not prepared for what I did find: The Beginner's Guide to Japan resembles a collection of posthumously published bits and pieces (I mean, recollections and aphorisms, of course) hurriedly thrown together in order to get the stuff ready for publication.
For people interested in obtaining info for beginners, maybe in preparation for a visit to Japan, the nutritious value is low: Go to Nara, they have a huge deer park there and the stupid animals sometimes even cross the street when the light is red.
I knew beforehand what kind of book to expect from a renowned author and essayist; I also knew there'd be no info on how to correctly recycle or that you are not supposed to eat, drink, or smoke while walking. I was, however, not prepared for what I did find: The Beginner's Guide to Japan resembles a collection of posthumously published bits and pieces (I mean, recollections and aphorisms, of course) hurriedly thrown together in order to get the stuff ready for publication.
For people interested in obtaining info for beginners, maybe in preparation for a visit to Japan, the nutritious value is low: Go to Nara, they have a huge deer park there and the stupid animals sometimes even cross the street when the light is red.
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