Introducing Kyoto (Origami Classroom) | 
 enlarge | Author: Herbert Plutschow
Publisher: Kodansha International
Category: Book
List Price: $18.00
Buy New: $11.59
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Avg. Customer Rating:  1 reviews
Sales Rank: 1111708
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 72
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 11.7 x 8.8 x 0.3
ISBN: 0870119044
Dewey Decimal Number: 952.1864048
EAN: 9780870119040
ASIN: 0870119044
Publication Date: April 15, 1989
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: BRAND NEW
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
Over a thousand years of history have shaped Kyoto, Japan's ancient capital. It was in A.D. 794 that Emperor Kammu visited the site, perceived that ''the mountains and rivers make it a natural fortress," and pronounced it his capital. From these beginnings as the seat of imperial power, Kyoto developed into an important center of culture and religion, thereby giving rise to one of the most refined civilizations the world has seen.
As a consequence, walking the streets of Kyoto today is like a stroll through the pages of history. The numerous shrines and temples, permeated with the past, testify eloquently to the cultural heights the city has attained. However, the people of Kyoto, while being no less modern or prosperous than their counterparts in other Japanese cities, are strongly determined to preserve tradition in their daily life and customs: the festivals that enliven each season have been held annually for centuries; the traditional crafts that have made Kyoto famous abroad-weaving and dyeing, lacquerware, bamboo crafts, and ceramics-are still pursued today by artisans as skilled and meticulous as their forebears.
Thus the city of Kyoto is an embodiment of traditional Japan, and a discussion of it involves every aspect of Japanese culture, from the tea ceremony to temple architecture, from festivals to Zen gardens. In this book, the 87 superb color plates have been specially selected so that each period of Kyoto's vivid history is represented in chronological order by its outstanding buildings and works of art. With maps and a useful chronology, this absorbing introduction to an enchanting city is something no visitor should be without.
Jacket, front: Kinkaku-ji (the Golden Pavilion), built in 1397 by Shogun Ashikaga no Yoshimitsu.
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| Customer Reviews:
The essence of Kyoto March 29, 2000
17 out of 18 found this review helpful
The clearest expression of the Japanese genius is always found in the small...the simple expression of an essential character and insight. In that sense, this book itself exemplifies its subject; the city of Kyoto, Japan's cultural heart. A map on the inside cover with locations of treasured sites begins our orientation. A foreward by Donald Keene evokes his experience of the grace and pleasures of Kyoto and locates us in the poetic character of the city. The visual and tangible is the key to any understanding of Japan and for most of us it is the only route around the barrier of language. It is surprising, but perfectly appropriate, to find our next stage is not text but a series of photographs that rank among the best this writer has seen on the subject (if only as a collection of superb photographs this book would be a bargain). These photographs lead to text that gives us, clearly and succinctly, a brief history of the city.which, in turn, is followed by another series of photographs with examples of daily life and craft continuing the past into the present. A list of principal festivals, line drawings of selected costumes and artifacts, a chronology of Japanese history(on the inside back cover) interspersed through the book all follow the principle of focusing on the essential.. As an introduction to Kyoto this little book is exemplary; as a capsuled insight into Japanese culture it is indispensible.
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