The Lean Manufacturing Pocket Handbook

Product Description

Speak the Language - Understand the Concepts - Know the Techniques

The Lean Manufacturing Pocket Handbook is intended as a reference guide covering the terms, concepts and techniques involved in Lean Manufacturing. It is written in an easy to understand fashion making it useful to both the seasoned Professional and the Novice.

Paper Back - .125" x 3 ¾" x 5 ½" - 44 Pages - 27 Visuals - 34 Definitions - 16 Examples

Customer Reviews:

Very tiny book.......2007-05-10

Very tiny book. I was not expecting such a small book. Very expensive item for its size.
Book arrived with a grease stain on the cover!

Handy Reference, Perfect for Training Seminar.......2007-01-13

If I had to give a 1-2 day seminar on the subject, this would be a handy handbook. For that purpose, it should be used, not as a general reference on lean manufacturing.

If this review was helpful, please add your vote. Thanks.

The Lean Manufacturing Handbook.......2007-01-09

I purchased this handbook to be used as a quick reference guide and as part training aid when I talk to my Clients in the manufacturing sector. It has completely satisfied these requirements and the other factor that appealed was its true "pocket" size.

Lean .......2006-08-28

Delighted with this book. Firstly it's size is great as when you are on the Gemba (Floor) you can have this in your back pocket and referance it when needed. It goes through the various concepts of Lean in an easy format and then explains the techniques. As a Lean BlackBelt myself, it's a great tool to use in every day situations.

Fantastic Little Book.......2006-06-13

This is a fantastic little book on lean manufacturing written by an experienced and knowledgeable industrial engineer. The author's in-depth knowledge on the subject enabled him to distill the critical and important elements of lean manufacturing and convey it in an easy to understand and follow format.

The book has clear definitions and explanations of concepts like JIT, lean manufacturing, waste (over-production, wait time, transportation, processing, inventory, motion and defect waste), value stream mapping, quality at source, cellular manufacturing, production leveling, Kanban and Kaizen, among other useful and interesting concepts.

The book is excellent value for money. It is recommended that one buys it for the whole company if involved in manufacturing operations.

Japanese Bookbinding: Instructions From A Master Craftsman

Average customer rating:

Nothing New
At the Master's Feet
Lots of choices, clear directions
Japanese Bookbinding an excellent teaching tool
Excellent and complete resource on Japanese Bookbinding

Japanese Bookbinding: Instructions From A Master Craftsman
Kojiro Ikegami
Manufacturer: Weatherhill
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 0834801965
Release Date: 1986-06-01

Book Description

A third-generation traditional bookbinder gives easy-to-follow instructions for making all the major, historically important styles of Japanese bindings as well as traditional book casesâthe custom-made folding boxes that afford handsome protection for Japan's exquisite books. The authoritative text, written by one of Japan's leading professional bookbinders, has been fully adapted for Western readers. Both American and Japanese suppliers of traditional tools and materials are provided and substitutes are recommended for items not readily available. For centuries the West has admired Japanese books, but only now can we make them ourselves and take full advantage of their creative possibilities. Stunning and practical, these bindings are ideal for preserving calligraphy, letters, artwork, and poems, for adding a distinctive touch to limited-edition books, and for use as diaries or gifts.

Customer Reviews:

Nothing New.......2006-08-17

I bought this book hoping for a new spin on Bookbinding lit. It turned out to be more of the same: lots more stab bindings. The explanations are vague as well. The chapter on Scroll-making was interesting, but overall, this book is not worth the price. If you have other bookbinding books, there's nothing new here.

At the Master's Feet.......2005-01-30

As an amatuer bookbinder with varying levels of attention span, I found this book really useful. The illustrations and directions are very clear and can be followed very closely or used as a jumping off point. It covers many styles of binding, tools and paper. I especially enjoyed the pictures where the bookbinder's foot is used to to hold something down leaving the hands free to work. Ever read a craft how-to book and thought...well I could do that if I had 3 hands?

Lots of choices, clear directions.......2004-07-12

This is an excellent introduction to the varied forms of Japanese bookbinding. As with so many other crafts in Japan, it is both like and very unlike matching Western craft.

First, there is the wide variety of different binding styles. Some are very distinctive. In the accordion and 'flutter' books, the first and last pages are bound to the covers. The rest of the pages are fan-folded, either one long strip or sheets pasted together. Other bindings, whether Chinese, Korean, or uniquely Japanese in style, tie or glue the pages into a more Western stack. The end of this book shows traditional outer covers for books, partial or complete boxes. The are made uniquely for each volume or set, to give it additional protection.

The tools, materials, and techniques are laid out clearly. The authors show first show the traditional craft, as it has been practiced since the Heian era (ca. 1000 AD). They also show how modern materials can be used instead of or in addition to the older ones. The technique for each binding or box is spelled out in clear pictures and text.

Clear technique is what makes this book. It gives the scholar a good understanding of how a master artisan would prepare or repair each artifact. It also gives the home crafter the ability to adapt classic techniques to modern uses, from keepsake albums to collections of a child's art. The structure of most Japanese books is simple enough for a child to imitate with some kind of success, even though the book's examples approach museum quality. With a little thought, the techniques can be adapted to almost any level of skill.

This is book is very enjoyable, even if you just read it. If you go ahead and try some of the techniques shown, you'll enjoy it even more. You may even get results that you'll enjoy for years to come.

//wiredweird

Japanese Bookbinding an excellent teaching tool.......2002-04-10

As a professional artist I found the step by step instructions and black and white photos and drawn illustrations to be exceptional. Each part of the craft of book making including the proper tools and glues for the job are described in easy detail. A variety of Japanese style books are included in this book. A valuable addition to the library of a paper craftsman.

Excellent and complete resource on Japanese Bookbinding.......2000-02-15

After a brief history of bookbinding in Japan, Ikegami gives wonderful details of the tools and methods of bookbinding. Covering the tools and materials, he not only shows and details the classical, but lists more accessible western tools and materials that can be used as well. Ikegami begins covering the actual methods of bookbinding with a section on the basic techniques used. What follow are detailed descriptions of the construction of 19 different book styles, grouped into categories ( Four-Hole, Accordian, Ledgers, Other.) The last chapters cover the construction of book cases and the book mending using Japanese techniques. Finally appendices include an extensive Selected reading list (with both English and Japanese titles), and a suppliers list. Throughout the book the numerous illustrations are extremely clear, and used to show the step by step construction of the books. The text accompanying them is detailed and clear. 8 pages of full page, color plates show each of the books described in the text.

This book has found a permanent spot on my studio bookshelf, and has in fact prompted me to renew my own love affair with Japanese books. I have already completed two projects, with nice results, after only 1 week with copy of this book from the library. Ordered my own copy today.

Average customer rating:

Needs to be replaced by the 1945 edition.

The definitive work on the Japanese military

Excellent one volume work.

Handbook on Japanese Military Forces
U. S. War Department
Manufacturer: Louisiana State University Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Japan | Asia | History | Subjects | Books
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Handbook on German Military Forces

Us Army Handbook 1939-1945 (Military Series)

The British Army Handbook 1939-1945 (Army Handbook)

Fighting Techniques of a Japanese Infantryman in World War II

The Japanese Army 1931-45 (Volume 2, 1942-45)

ASIN: 0807120138

Customer Reviews:

Needs to be replaced by the 1945 edition........2003-09-24

Although its not widely known, the October 1944 edition of the Handbook on Japanese Military Forces was completely revised, updated and lengthened in September of 1945 with more accurate information after the war ended.

The definitive work on the Japanese military.......2000-10-29

While not as comprehensive as its companion volume on the German military forces, it is still the most complete work on the Japanese military you can find in the West. Although prepared by the US War Dept., it is not at all the dry treatise one expects from government printing offices, but a highly readable work encompassing every little detail like tactics, uniform, training, equipment (lots of it) and everything you could possibly want to know. The book, though, could have used an index.

Excellent one volume work........1996-10-15

This reprint of a restricted 1944 War Department Publication is a companion to the Handbook on German Military Forces, but necessarily smaller as much less was known about the forces of the Empire at that time. It is an admirable work nonetheless, containing everything of possible use to an Army officer facing the enemy: organization, tactics, weapons and equipment, uniforms and insignia, extensively illustrated and with a glossary of military terms and map signs. An essential resource for WWII buffs, writers and readers of military history, collectors, and modellers.

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Official Strategy Guide

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Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Official Strategy Guide
A new demension to games
Not DoubleJumps best, but not bad either

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Official Strategy Guide
Doublejump Productions
Manufacturer: Prima Games
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0761554475
Release Date: 2006-10-10

Book Description

Learn the terrible secrets of the soulless army

·Crush every opponent
·Find every secret
·Collect every demon

Customer Reviews:

Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Summoner Official Strategy Guide.......2007-05-22

Awesome guide and the service / delivery was great too.

A new demension to games.......2007-04-15

I have never played a game like this. Not only do you solve crimes but you also get to fight with a sword and a gun, not to mention demons! You can capture demons to which after you can summon them into battle. You can also summon them to help you solve crimes effectively. I reccomend the stratagy guide because some parts I was stuck on for a bit, but also so you can get a heads up on extras and demons. Besides, what's a great game like Devil Summoner without a Stratagy Guide? They just go together.

Not DoubleJumps best, but not bad either.......2006-10-13

This guide is probably the guide that most people will consider to be one of DoubleJumps worst. Not because it is bad, but because it is, well, different. We are all used to DoubleJump guides being small and crammed to the brink with detail. This one is distributed through Prima so it is a full sized guide and as far as the detail, there isn't nearly as much to include. Almost all other DoubleJump guides are for epic RPGs and Tactical RPGs, games where there is so much stats and details that they will be huge guides. Since Devil Summoner is an action RPG, there simply isn't nearly the same amount of things to include to create a huge guide. What this one does have though, is sufficient.

The guide goes through the basics and the overviews of characters, controls, etc. Pretty much the norm. Then it takes a page out of Nocturne's guide for anyone familiar with it. They show the area maps from each chapter in one section and then the actual walkthrough breakdown in the next one. While some people have issues with this, it can actually be quite nice for those of us who don't want to pass up any items, but also don't want to be lead by hand through the game either.

The walkthrough is pretty much the meat of the guide, nothing too amazing. There is a secrets section, but surprisingly, there really isn't much in the way of hidden things in the game. There are several subquests or side stories covered in the walkthrough, but the secrets section itself only contains three or four major things (some of which are only for second playthrough).

Luckily the wonderful job that DoubleJump has always done on bestiaries, demon fusion and item/magic tables hasn't changed at all. Everything is all laid out clearly and is easy to understand. For some people this may be the most used section, just to find out the enemies weaknesses.

Overall, the guide isn't anything special. For those of us used to DoubleJump's monster "bible" guides, this isn't it. There just simply isn't that much information to put into the guide in comparison to those of other games. What is in the guide though, is done very well and in a clear and concise fashion. It is a good guide, but definately not a necessity for the game.

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Sake Unmasked
oishii, ne
A must-buy for any sake enthusiast
Best guide on sake' for the drinker
What you need to know about sake is in this book.

Sake Handbook
John Gauntner
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0804834253

Customer Reviews:

Sake Unmasked.......2007-04-11

John Gauntner's "Sake Handbook" is the perfect guide to those who want to explore the art and science of sake. I feel more confident when I am choosing sake for a gift or for my own entertaining. A 'must' for those that want to expand their knowledge of sake.

oishii, ne.......2004-03-21

This book is excellent. It's main sections on How Sake is Made, Drinking and Where to Buy are very detailed. Most of the terminology will be new to those unfamiliar with sake, the author takes the time to explain them in detail. There is the history, the people and some of the ritual of sake as well.

With each of the sake detailed, the author provides tasting notes and information about other sakes from the same brewer.

As a side note of the detail of the book, one of my Japanese friend's found her favourite sake in the book. I went to my local bottle shop with the book, pointed to the picture of the label and found we found it, leading to a night of entertaining drinking.

A must-buy for any sake enthusiast.......2000-10-27

Ah, sake. This rice wine has been around for thousands of years, and is part of many traditions in Japan. As Japanese food styles have become popular across the globe, so has this fine drink, which can be served both warm and cold. To learn more about the history of sake, and to learn how to choose a good brand, this book is invaluable.

To start with, The Sake Handbook goes over each step involved in making sake. Reading through the intricate processes involved helps you understand why there are so many varieties of sake, and why each one has a different flavor. One key step, for example, is the polishing step. The inner part of the rice generally is of higher quality than the outer portion, so the more 'extra' that is polished away, the finer the sake.

Next, Gauntner goes over the various types of sake, and how each is unique. Some of these terms are:

* Junmai-shu is pure rice sake. Only rice, water, and the koji mold are used to produce this top level sake. It ends up tasting heavier and fuller than other types of sake. It uses less than 70% polished rice - this means they have `ground away' the other 30% of impurities.

* Honjozo-shu has a small amount of distilled ethyl alcohol added during the final stages. They then add water later so the alcohol content stays the same. This sake is lighter and dryer than other types. It can be served warm.

* Ginjo-shu uses 60% polished rice. It is also fermented for longer periods of time, giving a complex and delicate flavor.

* Daiginjo-shu is just like Ginjo-shu, but polished to 50% of the original size. It takes even longer to brew and complete. Futsuu-shu - any sake which does not fall into one of the above four categories.

Gauntner describes how sake is tasted, and how an individual can learn to distinguish between various sakes, and figure out the 'type' best suited for his or her palate. To help with this, the entire second half of the book is dedicated to a brand-by-brand evaluation of the best sakes on the market. This is invaluable! No matter if you're in Tokyo or Chicago, you can bring this book in with you to a store or restaurant and compare with ease the various sakes available.

There even is a section towards the back listing the best sake restaurants in Japan. If you're going on a trip to Japan, bring this book along, and know what to order and any special rules about each location.

Best guide on sake' for the drinker.......1999-08-09

Having lived in Japan for 7 years and spent many a Saturday night at local pubs, John's book is the best guide you will find bar none on how to find, decide and thoroughly enjoy Japanese sake'.

What you need to know about sake is in this book........1999-05-25

John really knows his stuff. I live in Tokyo and I run a Liquor shop here. I have studied for years about sake and I go once a year to make sake at a friends family brewery. I got so much insight and new information from John's wonderful book that I only wish he'd written it five years ago! If you already have several books on sake, this is a must to add to your collection, if this is the first book on sake that your going to buy, consider your self lucky that such an informitive and well written book is around to buy. Thanks to John Gauntner for sharing this informaion with all of us.

Japanese Art Signatures: A Handbook and Practical Guide

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Japanese Art Signatures: A Handbook and Practical Guide
James Self
Manufacturer: Floating World Editions
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

General | Reference | Arts & Photography | Subjects | Books

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ASIN: 1891640097

Book Description

The most comprehensive, authoritative, and easy-to-use tool for reading Japanese art signatures is again available, in a limited-edition reprint. Designed for both layman and scholar, its simplified approach allows users to find and identify over 11,000 names of Japanese artists and craftspeople, from all periods and in all media. Includes a sections on reading dates, a list of 300 modified and debased characters, and an index of provinces and place names, plus reproductions of date and censor seals on woodblock prints, publishers' trademarks and seals, and actors' and Genji mon. Indispensable for the scholar or collector of Japanese art.

Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook

Average customer rating:

The most entertaining book about the subject (that isn't in Japanese)
Hilarious, yet informative.
Highly recommended !
Fun, but for kids
Fun, informative book

Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook
Izumi Evers , and Patrick Macias
Manufacturer: Chronicle Books
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 0811856909

Book Description

Japanese schoolgirl fashions and subcultures have sprung up, burned out, mutated, and evolved into a pop culture phenomenon gone global from Gwen Stefani's "Harajuku Girls" to Gothic Lolita-fueled manga and the deadly schoolgirl in Kill Bill, it's no wonder that international fashion designers look to the streets of Tokyo for fresh inspiration. This playful and thoroughly researched handbook examines the key styles and subcultures past and present: sailor-suited gangsters, Pippi Longstockings risen from the dead, girls in blackface, teens sporting giant hamster costumes, and more. Each fashion profile is packed with photos and illustrations, history, ideal boyfriends, and must-have items. Also included are a gatefold evolutionary fashion chart, resources, and makeup tips. At last, an in-depth guide to what the girls are wearing and why on earth they're wearing it.

Customer Reviews:

The most entertaining book about the subject (that isn't in Japanese) .......2007-09-03

Although I'm not an English native speaker (I speak Spanish), I could understand almost everything, and since it has many pictures and drawings, it's very amusing to read. I'm very into japanese fashion now and this book helped me know more about it, it's very informative (I didn't know anything about Takenokozoku, Sukeban nor Nagomu gals...I barely knew about Lolita and Manba, which I used to mix up with Gonguro.)
I just wish this book contained more information about lolita fashion in general, not only gothic lolita. Anyway, I really recommend this book, five stars!

Hilarious, yet informative........2007-09-02

Filled with photos, interviews, etc. It's very informative and gives you the facts, but also adds some humor to it.

Highly recommended ! .......2007-08-25

This was such a fun read, I couldn't put it down.

Anybody who has any interest in Japanese subcultures would be doing themselves a major disservice in not owning this book. ^_^

Fun, but for kids.......2007-08-12

I really enjoyed flipping through this and it would make a great gift, but keep in mind it really reads like a teen a vogue and is really intended for ages 12-17.

Fun, informative book.......2007-08-12

Japan is home to anime, sushi, samurai, and girls wearing giant hamster suits? Yes, it's bizarre, but true. Kigurumin (girls who wear cheap cloth costumes of characters like Hamtaro, Pikachu, and Winnie the Pooh) are only one of a dozen fashion subcultures that Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno features. From ogals, who rarely bathe, to gothlolis, who manage to be both cute and creepy at the same time, to lady's, who were the "biker chicks" of Japan, Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno covers them all.

The book is broken into sections, each covering a specific fashion or subculture. Each section contains a history of the fashion, fashion profiles, must-have items, and ideal boyfriends. The book also contains make-up tips, interviews, a look at the evolution of the Japanese school uniforms, and a fun little test where you are sorted into a fashion subculture.

As some of the other reviewers have said, the binding is not the best. The book is only available in paperback, unfortunately. I would recommend handling the book with caution, and not leaving it face down on any tables (that's a surefire way to destroy paperback books).

Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno is a must-have for anyone interested in fashion or Japanese culture, especially fans of manga and anime. Of course, the handbook can also be enjoyed by people who know nothing about either fashion or Japanese culture; after all, who can keep a straight face while reading about "fashionable" girls wearing giant hamster costumes?

The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku

Average customer rating:

the perfect book on haiku
Great Writing
This One's A Must Have
How Haiku SHOULD have been taught in school...
Haiku Handbook

The Haiku Handbook: How to Write, Share, and Teach Haiku
William J. Higginson
Manufacturer: Kodansha International
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

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ASIN: 4770014309

Book Description

The Haiku Handbook is the first book to give the reader everything needed to begin writing or teaching haiku. It presents haiku poets writing in English, Spanish, French, German, and five other languages on an equal footing with Japanese poets. Not only are the four great Japanese masters of
the haiku represented (Basho, Buson, Issa, and Shiki) but also several major Western authors not commonly known to have written haiku.

The book presents a concise history of the Japanese haiku, including the dynamic changes throughout the twentieth century as the haiku has been adapted to suburban and industrial settings. Full chapters are offered on form, the seasons in haiku, and haiku craft, plus background on the Japanese
poetic tradition, and the effect of translation on our understanding of haiku.

Other unique features are the lesson plans for both elementary and secondary school use; and lists of haiku publishers and magazines (in several languages). The Handbook concludes with a full reference section of haiku-related terms, bibliography, and a comprehensive season-word list to aid in
understanding and appreciating Japanese haiku.

Customer Reviews:

the perfect book on haiku.......2006-05-21

The perfect volume for fans and writers of haiku. Indispensable.

Great Writing.......2006-05-12

There are very few books on how to write in any idiom. This book explains the hows and whys of haiku. What it takes to get started and to continue to write. I have found this useful in my writing that is not associated with haiku or poetry. This book is a lot of fun to read, and is not stuffy and boring as text books are. It will serve all writers well.

This One's A Must Have.......2005-02-10

Blyth's Haiku Seasons books and Higginson's guide to reading and writing "haiku" in English are two of the necessary books to begin to understand what haiku is all about. I have a difficult time with the idea that a tiny poem written in any of the Romance languages--esp. English-- could be called a "haiku," even though the author might include season words and even the 5/7/5 syllable count. I would much rather call them epigrams, because they simply cannot give you the effect of a Japanese haiku. Anyone who argues otherwise is simply fooling themselves, and you. Given all of that, however, Blyth and Higginson are good books to have on the shelf. Blyth, I believe, is the better writer/translator and his sense of chronology and history is stronger. In addition he gives hundreds of translated gems to admire from Basho, Issa, Buson, and others. He also doesn't try to convince you that haiku can be written in English. Higginson is the warmer writer and his generosity to the reader is apparent from the beginning, so practioners will find him perhaps more useful than Blyth in a practical sense. I disagree with Higginson's history of English language "haiku"--there are some important people he simply leaves out, but he more than makes up for the omissions in other chapters. Both writers impart an enthusiasm for the subject to their readers. If you're building a haiku library and would like a great start, Blyth's four volume set and Higginson's Haiku Handbook are the way to go.

How Haiku SHOULD have been taught in school..........2004-09-11

This book really helped me as both a reader and writer of poetry. Through the author I was able to understand the real essence of Haiku; something that I seemed to have missed when I studied it in grade-school! This book not only shows where the form came from, but how it has evolved over time and through different cultures. For anyone who wants to understand the form for themselves, either to use it, teach it or just appreciate it, I highly recommend the book. (the sections on lesson planning are both interesting and helpful, whether or not you want to teach a class!)

Haiku Handbook.......2003-04-07

This is not for the passive haiku reader. It provides an in-depth history of haiku, samples of old masters and new. It teaches how to read, write, and teach... just like the cover says.

I'd always wondered why my haiku seemed so long and filled with so much extra words even though I followed the 5-7-5 and 5-7-5-7-7 syllable format. This wonderful guide covers this and many other assumptions that we English-speaking haiku enthusiasts have about traditional haiku.

My haiku has improved by writing in 3-6-3 syllables. (This book does not recommend 3-6-3, but it works for me based on the context of info provided) Anyone shocked at something other than 5-7-5 should not read this. If you enjoy reading and writing haiku and you learn what this book teaches, you will feel like a haiku master.

Customer Reviews:

Indispensable New Modern Japanese History Handbook.......2007-05-09

"More than twenty years of reading the literature on Japanese nationalism have left me with a strong sense that what is said in English and what is said in Japanese about the subject are often worlds apart." - This statement by the author at the opening of the first chapter points out one of the great merits of this book. It is almost entirely based on original sources in Japanese.

Japanese is a very challenging language for non-Japanese to learn well. The ability to do research based on documentation in Japanese requires a special aptitude for the language, plus many years of hard work. Doak is one of a very small number of American scholars who can do their own direct original research in Japanese, without the need to rely on sources in translation, or depend on third-party Japanese research assistance.

This ability to conduct original research using original Japanese sources is fully reflected in the book's more than 500 informative footnotes, citing a virtual library of more than 130 source books and articles in Japanese. These are the key items in a larger extensive bibliography, which reflects in-depth research using French sources as well as English ones.

"A History of Nationalism in Modern Japan: Placing the People" is a must-have reference for any student or scholar, doing research at any level, on modern Japanese history. It is definitely the most comprehensive and authoritative source-book on Japanese nationalism in English, since Ivan Morris's classic "Nationalism and the Right Wing in Japan," which was published back in 1960, and is now out of print.

This new book by Doak, reflecting twenty years of research, based on almost a half-century of additional source material in Japanese beyond what Morris covered, now takes first place in its field. Like Morris's 1960 work, this landmark 2007 book by Doak is not only an authoritative reference, but makes for some very interesting and enjoyable reading as well.

Some historical figures play recurring, and sometimes unexpected roles. The stereotypical "modernizer" Fukuzawa Yukichi, known today mainly as the founder of Keio University in Tokyo, is a good example. Doak reveals tellingly that in some ways, in fact, Fukuzawa was not actually as progressive as believed.

"Advocates of 'protecting the constitution' found a surprising opponent in the ghost of Fukuzawa Yukichi....Fukuzawa's independent spirit has appealed greatly to journalists, intellectuals, and others critical of the state. But in fact, he shared much with Inoue Tetsujiro, including his hatred of Christianity and his support for the government, especially after 1881." (p. 105)

The book ends with a forward-looking discussion of the current (2007) Prime Minister, Abe Shinzo, both his career background and his acts as government leader, and an analysis of Abe's version of nationalism, as expressed in a book which the new Japanese Prime Minister published just last year.

As was the case with books by Ivan Morris before him, Doak's work is also read in Japan. A Japanese translation of Doak's 1994 book "Dreams of Difference: The Japan Romantic School and the Crisis of Modernity," along with the original English version, and "A History of Nationalism in Modern Japan" itself, are all available at Amazon Japan.

This is an indispensable reference for anyone seriously interested in modern Japanese history and the true meaning of Japanese nationalism.

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Netsuke Handbook of Ueda Reikichi
Raymond Bushell
Manufacturer: Tuttle Publishing
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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Netsuke: Japanese Life and Legend in Miniature

ASIN: 0804804249

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