Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
Ebook292 pages2 hours
Kansai Cool: A Journey into the Cultural Heartland of Japan
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
3/5
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About this ebook
In Kansai Cool anthropologist, writer and filmmaker Christal Whelan offers profound insights in the only collection of essays to focus on Kansai, Japan's ancient heartland.
Kansai--the region in Western Japan that boasts the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara, the bustling commercial city of Osaka and the cosmopolitan port city of Kobe--has a character all its own, right down to its dialect, mannerisms, and cuisine. It is home to some of Japan's oldest history and an area where the country's most time-honored arts and crafts still thrive. Worldly and otherworldly, spirited and spiritual, trendy and traditional, it's a place where past and future live side-by-side, sometimes at odds.
Part Japanese travel book, part cultural commentary, these 25 spirited essays and 32 pages of color photos paint a broad yet penetrating portrait of the unique Western Japan region, covering such diverse topics as:
Kansai--the region in Western Japan that boasts the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara, the bustling commercial city of Osaka and the cosmopolitan port city of Kobe--has a character all its own, right down to its dialect, mannerisms, and cuisine. It is home to some of Japan's oldest history and an area where the country's most time-honored arts and crafts still thrive. Worldly and otherworldly, spirited and spiritual, trendy and traditional, it's a place where past and future live side-by-side, sometimes at odds.
Part Japanese travel book, part cultural commentary, these 25 spirited essays and 32 pages of color photos paint a broad yet penetrating portrait of the unique Western Japan region, covering such diverse topics as:
- The needs of the spirit--shrines, temples and the call to pilgrimage
- The arts in Kansai--dance, painting, anime, and combat
- The relationship between hi-tech and old-tech
- Material culture--bikes, robots, and dolls
- The culture of fashion in Kansai--from kimonos and obis to modern fashion designers, and the Lolita complex
- The meaning of landscape-- human-made islands and the mystical power of water
- The hidden meaning of food--an anthropology of coffee and traditional cuisine
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Reviews for Kansai Cool
Rating: 3.1666666666666665 out of 5 stars
3/5
6 ratings1 review
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This is a collection of essays based on Japan and its culture written by an anthropologist who seems to have a deep understanding and love for Japan. The mixture is quite varied and will give snippets on things you would never expect.
Enjoyable.
3.5 stars.
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Kansai Cool - Christal Whelan
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