Gather In The Land Of The Kami: A Journey Into The Hearts Of Japan Translated By Michael Hoffman Issued As Copy

stories, or essays, or perhaps poems in disguise, collected here are somewhat whimsical, They emerged from simple questions: What is Zen Who was Confucius What was it like to be a kid in Japan,years ago, or, orHow did death come to seem, as it did for many centuries, so much more important to the Japanese than life It is the author's proud boast that, though the questions are treated in some depth, not a single definitive answer emerges.
Michael Hoffman's new book, In the Land of the Kami: A Journey into the Hearts of Japan, is a fascinating and wellwritten collection of mainly essays.
Hoffman has lived in Japan sinceand all but three of these stories appeared in the Sunday Time Out section of The Japan Times.


First, to translate the title, My dictionary defines "kami" 神 as "a god, a goddess a deity, a divinity, a divine being, " And of course it may be plural, so in Japan we're in the land of the gods,

As Hoffman says in his Author's Note, the topics are somewhat whimsical, They came not from what he knew about the country and the culture but what he didn't know and wanted to understand, What is Zen Who was Confucius How did death come to seem, as it did for many centuries, as much more important to the Japanese than life What was Japan's Jazz Age

Hoffman admits up front that he is no scholar, and he relies on literary translators and scholars for his sources.
This means, of course, that a reader who wants to know more about a topic can hunt up Hoffman's citations for a deeper and fuller discussion.
Because he is writing for a nonspecialist audience that lives, I assume, mainly in Japan, what the nineteen nonfiction stories may lack in scholarly depth they more than make up for in accessibility and charm.
He includes a brief play and a fable, neither of which I found as engaging as the essays,

As an example of the kinds of provocative questions he attempts to answer, consider this: "Do the Oriental hermitsagepoets of old, lonely and rootless, innocent and childish, wise with a wisdom they themselves call foolish, neither listening to reason nor, with any consistency, speaking, have anything to say to us of the wired world" He thinks they do and suggests why.


The pages are studded with interesting insights sharply expressed: "In place of the JudeoChristian notionviolated often enough but never lost from sightthat life is a gift, the Japanese have another notion, no less deeply embedded: that of impermanence.
Flowers fade, cherry blossoms fall, . . Blossoms are not beautiful in spite of their transience, They are beautiful because they are transient, "

Another example: "Empty space is an acquired taste, Americans aren't bred on it, and some, probably most, see nothing in it, One, writing in an expatriate Yokohama newspaper in, observed, 'The Japanese are a happy race, and being content with little, are unlikely to achieve much.
'" In the Land of the Kami has interesting things to say about Japan and Japanese culture and history, i. e. , "Shinto defies a direct approach, It is easier to say what it is not than what it is, easier to say what it lacks than what it has, "

A large literature of books by Westerners explaining Japan and the Japanese exists, Many of these are written by people who neither speak the language nor lived in the country for a couple years, Hoffman, through long residence and extensive reading, brings a depth and nuance to his essays that those books do not have, This is for anyone who would like to know more about Japan, The author is a westerner who lived in Japan since, so he has the western perspective of a mysterious culture so alien to the west.


Homosexuality, childhood, women, Confucius, love, eros, religion, life, death, . . dealt with in essay tidbits, Very easy reading, and informational, maybe enlightening, I always wanted to journey into the hearts of Japan, and this book is a good start, Michael Hoffman states in the beginning of his book the he found many of the stories in this collection previously printed in a bimonthly magazine.
Hoffman makes no claims that he is trying to be a literary or any other type of authority on Japan and its people, Hoffman was more interested in answering personal questions related to Confucius, what exactly is Zen and other ideas attributed to Japan,
His collections give insight into the long and fascinating existence of Japan and its relationship with China as well as the United States and other countries.
This collection teaches the reader about what life was like for children in Japan, as well as the influence of other countries on Japanese culture.
There is even insight on life, love, and the role of women in Japanese society,
One of my favorite stories from the book was The Fish Tree, I found the story of a young boy who wanders away from home and his interactions with a lonely old man fascinating, I was both amused by the story and I was touched by the old mans ultimate treatment of the boy,
Truth be told the majority of this book was entertaining, enlightening, and simply fascinating, Anyone looking for a unique insight into Japanese people and culture should give this book a read,
Good look at some little known aspects of Japanese culture, a work in progressI was born and grew up, I drifted to Japan. I took root. Why here and not somewhere else Happenstance, Do I write only about Japan No, Mostly Yes. Why Its the air I breathe, Im often asked if I like Japan, Answer: I like the house I live in, and the house I live in is

in Japan, Books aside but are books ever really aside never I write mostly for the Japan Times, where I have two Sunday columns going:Big in Japan, on current issuesThe Living Past tales and essays on Japanese history.
a work in progressI was born and grew up, I drifted to Japan. I took root. Why here and not somewhere else Happenstance, Do I write only about Japan No, Mostly Yes. Why It's the air I breathe, I'm often asked if I like Japan, Answer: I like the house I live in, and the house I live in is in Japan, Books aside but are books ever really "aside" never I write mostly for the Japan Times, where I have two Sunday columns going:Big in Japan, on current issuesThe Living Past tales and essays on Japanese history.
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