This book is about various famous Japanese people. Simplifying things somewhat, Shotoku was responsible for Buddhism's influence in Japan; Murasaki and Sei were two female writers; Yoritomo and Yoshitsune were brothers wanting control of Japan; Nichiren was a man who started his own form of Buddhism; Sen no Rikyu was the famous man of the tea ceremony; Okuni was the founder of kabuki; Mitsui Shuho, responsible for the first department store in Japan; Basho, the traveling poet; Hokusai, an artist; Saigo Takemori, the “last” of the samurai; Hani Motoko, who was Japan's first female reporter; and Akio Morita, one of the co-founders of Sony corporation.
The book goes into the history of each person, and it's all very, very interesting. All of the people chosen for the portraits are extremely interesting and would have been fascinating people to meet (although I, personally, don't think Nichiren comes across as all that nice of a person.)
Main Index
Japan main page
Japanese-American Internment Camps index page
Japan and World War II index page
