TRAVEL
A Fool’s Journey: Walking Japan’s Inland Route in Search of a Notion
Walking Japan's ancient inland route in search of a vague romantic notion, the author encounters a string of idiosyncratic characters. Recording their stories, the author braids a travelogue deftly interwoven with his own experiences since he first set foot in Japan some thirty years ago. At times hilarious, at times serious, at times moving, A Fool’s Journey is an exploration of one of Japan’s most scenic routes and its fascinating past.
A Fool’s Return: Walking Japan’s Coastal Route in Search of Beauty
Walking Japan's coastal route in search of beauty, William de Lange encounters a string of local characters. Recording their stories, he braids a travelogue deftly interwoven with his own experiences since he first set foot in Japan some thirty years ago. A sequel to A Fool's Journey, A Fool's Return is an exploration of one of Japan's perhaps less scenic but certainly most historic routes. Above all, it is a gaijin 's exploration of his relationship with a country that continues to defy definition.
MONOGRAPHS
Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Arms
Drawing on a large number of neglected original sources, A Life in Arms reveals how events deeply buried in Musashi's past set him on the hard path to prove himself a "swordsman without equal" — a path that began with the brutal slaying of Arima Kihei, led to the fall of the illustrious Yoshioka clan, and culminated in his dramatic encounter with Sasaki Kojirō on Ganryū island.
Victory Through Endurance: The History of the Yagyū Clan
This is the true story of the eventful history of the famous Yagyū clan, whose resilience in the face of irresistible forces enabled them to outweather the raging storms of fortune and remain standing, alive and well, their spirit intact. In doing so, they gave birth to an art of fencing that has survived for more than a half a millennium: the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.
Drawing on a large number of neglected original sources, A Life in Arms reveals how events deeply buried in Musashi's past set him on the hard path to prove himself a "swordsman without equal" — a path that began with the brutal slaying of Arima Kihei, led to the fall of the illustrious Yoshioka clan, and culminated in his dramatic encounter with Sasaki Kojirō on Ganryū island.
ILLUSTRATED
Samurai Battles: The Long Road to Unification
Samurai Battles is an epic account of a dramatic period in Japanese history—a period in which the whole country was consumed by the fire of civil strife that raged hardest on the field of battle. Quoting directly and at length from a wide range of contemporary sources, De Lange paints events and figures like no other, ‘so richly rendered,’ according to one critic, ‘that you’d swear he was present at the time, taking notes.’
Miyamoto Musashi: A Life in Arms
Drawing on a large number of neglected original sources, A Life in Arms reveals how events deeply buried in Musashi’s past set him on the hard path to prove himself a "swordsman without equal" — a path that began with the brutal slaying of Arima Kihei, led to the fall of the illustrious Yoshioka clan, and culminated in his dramatic encounter with Sasaki Kojirō on Ganryū island.
The Illustrated History of the Yagyū Clan
This is the true story of the eventful history of the famous Yagyū clan, whose resilience in the face of irresistible forces enabled them to outweather the raging storms of fortune and remain standing, alive and well, their spirit intact. In doing so, they gave birth to an art of fencing that has survived for more than a half a millennium: the Yagyū Shinkage-ryū.
Famous Samurai: The Two Courts Period
True stories of the two greatest sword heroes of the Two Courts Period (1333–92). This period was a turning point in Japan's medieval era, a time when an unbridgeable rift appeared in the fragile fabric of Japanese feudal society. On each side stood a separate imperial court, each with its own army and its own agenda.
Famous Samurai: The Warring States Period
True stories of the two greatest sword heroes of the Waring States Period (1469–1573). This was the most destructive period in Japan’s history. It was a time when thousands of warriors either perished or persevered on the strength of their martial skills.
Famous Samurai: The Period of Unification
True stories of the two greatest sword heroes of the Period of Unification (1573–1615). After more than two centuries of civil strife Japan finally found its way back to peace and order under three successive rulers: Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and Tokugawa Ieyasu.
HISTORY
Pars Japonica: The First Dutch Expedition to Reach Japan
This is the harrowing account of a voyage beset with treachery, betrayal, mutiny, and mayhem, but one that finally reached Japan the under command of William Adams, the real-life hero of James Clavell’s best-selling novel Shogun, and changed the course of history.
The Namamugi Incident: The Murder that Sparked a War
This is the harrowing account of a voyage beset with treachery, betrayal, mutiny, and mayhem, but one that finally reached Japan the under command of William Adams, the real-life hero of James Clavell’s best-selling novel Shogun, and changed the course of history.
Iaidō: The History, Teachings, and Practice of Japanese Swordsmanship
This book explains the techniques of the Edo period’s most prominent school and gives the reader a fascinating insight in the history and martial ethics that underpin the modern day practice of Japanese fencing, an art known to the Japanese as Iaidō.
A History of Japanese Journalism: Press Clubs, the Last Obstacle to a Mature Press
This study represents the first full history in the English language of Japanese journalism, from the 'pre-press' period of the seventeenth century, on to the Treaty Port years of the late nineteenth century, the pre-war militarist period, and finally the post-war 'liberation' of the press and the controversial role its press clubs came to play.
TRANSLATIONS
The Real Musashi: The Bushūdenraiki
This earliest and most reliable record of the life and exploits of Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584–1645) — his troubled relations with his father, his first battle experience during Japan's period of unification, the sad death of his illegitimate child, and of course his legendary duel on Ganryū island.
Toyoda Masanaga's informative record completed in 1755 of the later life and exploits of Japan's greatest swordsman, Miyamoto Musashi (c. 1584–1645), —his adoption of Iori, his return to Kyushu in 1634, and the gestation of his great work on the philosophy and art of Japanese swordsmanship, the Book of Five Rings.
The real Musashi: A Miscellany
A collection of hitherto neglected sources including the Tomari jinja munefuda, the Kaijō monogatari, the Numata kaki, the Yoshioka-den, the Watanabe kōan taikiwa, the Honchō bugei shoden, the Korō usawa, the Kōkō zatsuroku, the Harima kagami, the Seiryūwa, the Gekken sōdan, the Tōsakushi, and the Mimasa ryakushi.
ARTS
An Encyclopedia of Japanese Castles
This is the first work to explore in full scope the history, art, and craft of the Japanese scroll. From its ancient Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese origins, its long Japanese history, through its formats, materials, and usage, down to the fascinating wet-and-dry process by which it is still made—a tradition that has remained virtually unchanged for more than a thousand years.
Japanese Scrolls: Their History, Art & Craft
This is the first work to explore in full scope the history, art, and craft of the Japanese scroll. From its ancient Indian, Tibetan, and Chinese origins, its long Japanese history, through its formats, materials, and usage, down to the fascinating wet-and-dry process by which it is still made—a tradition that has remained virtually unchanged for more than a thousand years.
LANGUAGE
This dictionary presents more than 10000 idiomatic phrases under 1000 main entries, including several thousands of idioms never presented and explained in English before. Multiple sample sentences are given for each entry, and furigana helps students to pronounce correctly and to use the expressions immediately.
This is the first comprehensive dictionary of Japanese onomatopoeia. Multiple English sample sentences highlight every meaning and nuance of expressions used by Japanese speakers of all walks of life.
A Dictionary of Japanese Proverbs
Companion volume to the author’s comprehensive Dictionary of Japanese Idioms, providing English equivalents or translations of over 1000 Japanese proverbs, with extensive cross-referencing leading to related expressions.