Here are some last minute Christmas stocking filler suggestions for the Kyoto lovers in your life.
Zenbu Zen – Food writer and photographer Jane Lawson, escaped her overworked and stressed out life as a publisher and ran away to her dream city: Kyoto. Here she spent five months exploring Kyoto culture, particularly Kyoto food culture, and her book is a record of that exploration. Part memoir, part cookbook, part pictorial tribute to the city she loves, Jane Lawson’s Zenbu Zen is both beautiful to look at and an excellent primer for the study of Japanese cuisine.
The City That Silk Built: The Courier Collection – Fresh from the printers, Chris Mosdell’s latest book of poems replicates the ancient Heian era tradition of poems sent as messages and responses. Each pair of poems is accompanied by a map of the location in which it was composed and an illustration: sometimes a woodcut and sometimes a photo. It’s lovely book, steeped in history, literature and lore and makes for a unique guide to the mysterious side of Kyoto.
The Forest Within the Gate – The numinous photography of John Einarsen, the contemplative poems of Edith Shiffert, graceful calligraphy from Rona Conti and thought provoking essays from Marc Peter Keane, Diane Durston and Takeda Yoshifumi all come together in this glorious celebration of the Imperial City. Buy it direct from Kyoto Journal here: http://www.kyotojournal.org/backissues/kyoto-the-forest-within-the-gate/
Kyoto: An Urban History of Japan’s Premodern Capital by Matthew Stavros – A thorough and academic guide to eight centuries of Kyoto’s formation and urban development. Covering history, culture, art, architecture, religion, and urban planning this is a scholarly work and may be too weighty for the casual reader. Truly deep Kyoto lovers, however, should enjoy the challenge!
Japan’s World Heritage Sites – A wonderful and beautifully illustrated guidebook from our friend John Dougill. Kyoto has 17 World Heritage properties all listed here along with other locations throughout the Japanese archipelago. My own copy has become an indispensable aid when planning trips about these fair isles.
Deep Kyoto: Walks – What can I say? With such an illustrious collection of writers this book of meditative strolls throughout Kyoto is destined to be a classic. And did you know that you can gift an ebook? It saves on wrapping!
Take a look at the first three chapters here: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KFM2J0C
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