Gleams From Japan (Routledge Revivals)

First published in 1937, this collection presents a series of vignettes on Japanese life and thought, taken from 25 years of the author''s work for the Japanese tourist board between 1912 and 1937.

Dealing in subjects as diverse as wrestling, singing insects and Japanese humour, this reissue offers a fascinating insight into the life and culture of pre-World War Two Japan which is of great historical interest, not only to students of Asian studies but to all those interested in Japan, its people and its heritage.

First published in 1937 this is a collection of articles written by the author under the pseudonym ''Waseda Eisaku'' for the Japan Tourist Bureau''s magazine over twenty five years. Intended to satisfy the intellectual curiosity of cultivated tourists from abroad by giving the insider''s view of all things Japanese, it was published as a book just before the outbreak of World War II.

Writing in the first person, Katsumata becomes both guide and confidante, writing about his own travel experiences in Japan and about Japanese customs and practices that interest him, such as traditional incense ceremonies, or fishing with rod and creel. This personal approach results in an unusual selection of topics and itineraries including tray landscapes, old Japanese clocks, hot springs, Japanese humour, sumo wrestling, pines in Japanese scenery, the Japanese sun flag and Buddhist temple bells. The author not only describes, but draws the reader into his own experiences - his joy on buying an antiquarian book he cannot really afford, the monotony he feels when travelling too long through snowy landscapes, the delight he takes in telling you that the best bait for carp fishing is sweet potato. Katsumata''s unconventional choice of subjects and his informal and individualistic writing style make this a refreshingly different guide to Japan, and a valuable record of the period in which it was written.