9 Fascinating Books on Japanese History & Culture

[@PrinceOfMatcha]

The Japanese- 2:22 Stranger in the Shogun's City- 3:50 Pure Invention- 5:50 Lost Japan- 8:41 Japan Story- 11:31 A Brief History of Japan- 13:15 The Bells of Old Tokyo- 15:15 A History of the Samurai- 16:44 Bending Adversity- 18:30 Oooh nooo, you mentioned more than 8! Love your channel, love your suggestions. I added time stamps to help, since I was trying to sift through the video to find one of your mentions.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Oh thanks for this! It's very appreciated! And I get to change the number in the title, yay :)

[@sylviakanel9766]

So helpful! Thanks!!!💜🙏💜

[@mariellaciniglio389]

I discovered your website last year after doing some research about Japanese literature. I'm so glad I did :) I didn't realise you had a KZbin channel too. My Japanese book collection has increased significantly thanks to your book reviews. I've become quite the Japanophile myself and hope to finally visit and move there some day. I hope you manage to get back there!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I'm so happy to hear our content has had such a big effect! Japanese literature is pretty impactful stuff :) I hope you get to visit Japan soon!

[@himanshibalotia8698]

As a Japanophile myself, I am really glad to find your channel. Really grateful for these recommendations I'm definitely reading all of them.

[@infimapm]

You express soooo well. Thank you so much. I’ve been looking for books about Japanese culture and you just give me what I exactly need.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thanks! And I'm glad I could be of service! You'll find even more on our website. I know that makes me sound like an advert lol but it's true. Happy reading!

[@sylviakanel9766]

Oh, my goodness! The section 5:50-8:41 on Pure Invention is astounding. Helped me feel not so silly about loving Hello Kitty! Many people out there would love to hear this. It is SO supportive of the experience of time and place you describe! You deserve a wider audience, Willow. I say this, understanding that you have a very successful channel on YT, not to mention your website, but those platforms are not enough to reach the numbers of people who will appreciate you and need to hear what you have to say about so many things, not just books!💜🌠💜

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Wow, this is all very kind of you to say, thank you! Luckily, the site does reach a much larger number of people than the channel does (around half a million people per month) but those numbers aren’t public like the channel’s are :)

[@sylviakanel9766]

Good to know!💜🤗💜

[@shinobi6587]

This was a great video. Thanks for the recommendations.

[@gingerjam095]

Great video! I'm going to Japan for the first time in about a month so I'm going to read a couple of your recs until I go! Thank you

[@RebeccaNorthcott]

I know I am super late to this video (I just found you). Hi!~ I love the passion and love you have for Japan. I have the same love for South Korea and have done since about 2010. It's so lovely to hear.

[@Marco19071994]

Great recommendations, bought a couple ones, added all of them on my wishlist for later :)

[@rubyjreads7503]

Awesome recommendations. I hope one day you will be able to go back and live in Japan.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thank you! Hopefully that time isn't too far off.

[@alyson9971]

So so interesting, thank you for sharing all these ressources ☺️

[@WillowTalksBooks]

You're welcome! I should do another updated video, actually...

[@balanfelicia4445]

just discovered your channel. Definitely subscribed

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thank you so much!

[@rolipoli7601]

I'm sorry "TWENTY IDIOT, LOOK AT THE COVER" killed me 😂

[@junkie-cooking]

You study very earnest! Japanese culture and history is deep. I cook Japanese breakfast and upload. Those are special good too. Japan is beautiful, please come again!

[@mohitjain4630]

Thank you so much, I loved these recommendations.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

You're welcome!

[@BookishHiker]

Thank you for the wonderful review. I will definitely read “Bending Adversity”! By the way, I agree with you about Mr. Kerr’s tone of voice 😂

[@21aniar]

Super excited to read some incites about Japanese...thank you so much😊

[@paull9115]

Fantastically interesting. Thanks for this. You are totally inspiring my reading. Paul

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Thanks, Paul! That means an awful lot.

[@DeltaBoi707]

I’ve never knew that other people like to research about Japan to

[@chris_and_music]

Thumbs up for that tricot mention!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Haha thanks, big fan!

[@Sean-me4fv]

I collect books about Japan. Every time a book is released, I get it.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Okay

[@raffaelae1020]

Planning to get The Japanese by Harding. Sounds super interesting

[@ghonda2865]

I'm a japanese descendant and really appreciate japanese and samurai history

[@a_bookish_gemini]

I found this super interesting even though I don’t consider myself a Japanophile. One question tho; how come none of the books in your recommendations are by Japanese authors? Are you not worried about, I don’t know, authenticity when it comes to the information when you’re limiting your sources like that? I’m genuinely curious. • Oh and apologies for digging up “old” content - I’m slowly working my way through your back catalog of videos..

[@WillowTalksBooks]

It's a legitimately good and valid question and, while most of the fiction I read is by native authors in translation, most of the non-fiction happens to be by Western experts in Japanese history/culture. There are a few by Japanese authors that are worth checking out. Two that spring to mind are In Praise of Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki and The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo (though fun fact, he actually wrote that in English). The simple truth is that these are the books we have. Japanese books on Japanese history don't get translated as much, I guess.

[@a_bookish_gemini]

@@WillowTalksBooks that makes sense and is tragic, really. Thanks for the additional titles!

[@aadarshpant992]

"I want to learn about Japanese culture, please suggest me a best book."

[@sushishogun2486]

Shogun the life of Tokugawa Ieyasu by Stephen Turnbull it really good book even though it was released in 2009 I highly recommended it.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Great, thanks for the recommendation!

[@sushishogun2486]

@@WillowTalksBooks your welcome

[@alimontes9321]

Thank You so much! Big Hug from the mexico/us border of Cd.Juarez/El Paso...You inspire me to pursue my Japanophile dreams even though I am 59!... God Bless!

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Aw than you so much! Big hugs right back!

[@archishshinde3582]

Which book should I start with as a beginner?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I forget which books are on this list now but A Brief History of Japan and Pure Invention are both riveting. Get the first if you want long history and the second if you want modern history.

[@archishshinde3582]

Thanks

[@sinanoezdemir6880]

Thanks for this cool video. The titles of the books in the description would be helpful.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Good shout! I've added a link to the original article. There are actually even more books in there than I mention in the video.

[@NadaOQ96]

Digimon Adventure! ❤️️😭😭

[@juliejones58]

'The Japanese' by Christopher Harding is a must for me, it will look great on my coffee table too😉 I couldn't make up my mind between that and 'A brief history of Japan' by Jonathan Clements at first, but what the heck, I'm getting both. We're in a pandemic! Thanks for this video, very interesting.

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Excellent attitude and great choices!

[@ameliareads589]

Hi Will, I'm sure you have never heard about The Dead by Christian Kracht (it's a novel). The author is German. If you ever come across it and read it, I would be so interested in your opinion. If you read the blurb, you know why. 😉 And I was wondering if there are no history or culture books about Japan written by Japanese authors?

[@WillowTalksBooks]

Oh yay I desperately need to read more German lit so thank you! And yes, there are a few that I know of, but they're not general history books. One is In Praise or Shadows by Junichiro Tanizaki (author of The Makioka Sisters). I have it but haven't read it yet. Another is The Book of Tea by Okakura Kakuzo, a book about the aesthetics and traditions of tea in Japan. Fun fact: he actually wrote the book in English.

[@IramZakir]

None of these books are by Japanese authors? Any japenese author on the history Japan recommendation

[@WillowTalksBooks]

I’m actually very aware of that? Typically, the Japanese books we get in English translation are fiction, and the history books we have in English are by Western writers. It’s annoying, and I’d love to read some history books translated from Japanese authors, but I don’t know any? 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@knath5095]

I grew up with nhk world

[@WillowTalksBooks]

That's good :)

[@andrewmelean8259]

cool

[@TrazimCuru-]

FEAR. FEAR. FEAR!! I have wasted most of my life in fear. Now I invest in myself, body, mind and soul.