Volume 50, Number 8 · May 15, 2003
Pioneer
By Ian Buruma
The Donald Richie Reader: 50 Years of Writing on Japan
edited and with an introduction by Arturo Silva
Stone Bridge Press, 238 pp., $19.95 (paper)
The Inland Sea
by Donald Richie, with an introduction by Pico Iyer
Stone Bridge Press, 255 pp., $16.95 (paper)
The Great Wave: Gilded Age Misfits, Japanese Eccentrics, and the Opening of Old Japan
by Christopher Benfey
Random House, 336 pp., $25.95
When Donald Richie first landed on Japanese soil on New Year's Eve, 1946, he felt his 'testicles descend to the earth.' Aside from a few years in New York, he never lived anywhere else again, and became a famous author of books on Japanese cinema, as well as other subjects, including the street life of Tokyo, the American occupation, and the art of Japanese tattoos. He has also written several novels set in Japan. Other Americans dedicated their lives to Japan before him and some knew a great deal, but few matched Richie's intimacy with Japanese society. We have been friends for almost thirty years. His writing on Japanese films was one of the things that inspired my own interest in that country. Like others, I have benefited from his wisdom, by no means confined to the movies, ever since.
Review, 3782 words
To read the full text of this piece, please choose one of the following options:
|
If you are already a subscriber to the Review's electronic edition, please sign in: |
To subscribe to the electronic edition, please press the button below. |
To purchase access to this article for $3, please press the button below. |