Ranked #1 in the World
Amazing Japan!
Monday, December 6th, 2010
Japan is known worldwide for its economic prowess and such iconic symbols as geisha, karaoke, manga, Mt. Fuji, ninja, feudal-age samurai warriors and huge sumo wrestlers. What is not so well-known are its amazing historical artifacts [shrines; temples; castles; the world's largest and oldest wooden buildings; arts and crafts, hundreds of annual festivals that go back nearly two thousand years]; the incredible scenic beauty of its mountains, gorges, rivers, one of the longest and most gorgeous coastlines in the world; and a combined modern and traditional lifestyle that is so fascinating and seductive that exposure to it for just a few days is a mind-altering experience. The author identifies and describes a choice selection of things that make Japan one of the world’s most unusual, most intriguing, and most enjoyable travel destinations…things that explain why so many foreigners take up permanent residence there once they have experienced life in this amazing country.
Title: Amazing Japan!: Why Japan is One of the World’s Most Intriguing Countries!
Author: Boyé Layfayette De Mente ‘53, is the author of more than 100 books and has been involved with Japan, China, Korea and Mexico since the late 1940s as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency, student, journalist, editor and author working out of Tokyo, Seoul, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. He is a graduate of Jochi University in Tokyo, and Thunderbird School of Global Management, in Glendale, Arizona.
Price: $12.95
ISBN: 978-0914778295
Publisher: Phoenix Books / Publishers (November 16, 2009)
Description: Paperback, 148pages
Information: www.amazon.com
The most famous combat strategist in Japanese history was Musashi Miyamoto, a warrior who lived from 1584 to 1645. Miyamoto fought his first duel to the death when he was 13, killing a veteran warrior more than twice his age. By the time he was 29 he had killed more than 60 other warriors in duels and was a legend in his own time. Shortly before his death, Musashi recorded his philosophy, strategies and tactics in a short treatise entitled Go Rin Sho—The Book of Five Rings. An esoteric read for anyone not versed in Japanese culture and language, Go Rin Sho has now been distilled to present the fundamentals of Miyamoto’s tactics and explain them in the modern context of business, politics and war. Samurai Strategies is the result. Compiled by renowned Japanologist Boye Lafayette De Mente, it is more precise and practical as a handbook for winning than The Art of War by China’s most famous military strategist, Sun Tzu. This hardcover edition features a new introduction by the author and additional commentary in each chapter by well-known Japanese author and samurai expert Michihiro Matsumoto.
Sex and the Japanese provides a broad look at the changing concepts of sexuality in Japanese culture. From the days of concubines and geishas to the present, sex and sexuality in Japan have been more openly discussed and available than in the West-due for the most part to Shinto, the native religion of Japan that recognizes, celebrates and respects the sensual side of life.
Elements of Japanese Design introduces 80 key concepts in Japanese design in a readable and accessible short-entry format. Including a brief explanation and examples of every aspect of Japanese design—from Wah (Harmony) to Kaizen (Continuous Improvement), from Mushin (the Empty Mind) to Mujo (Incompleteness).
The growing globalization of world business, culture and communication — and Japan’s increasingly important role as a leader in that world — makes understanding Japanese culture critical for business people, diplomats, students, educators and anyone else with an interest in Japan.
Japan has achieved a number of triumphs due to the cultural traits inherited from their samurai ancestors. Examples include the country’s transformation from a warrior-dominated agrarian society to a modern industrial nation, and its rebound from the destruction of World War II to its status as the second largest economy in the world. Japanologist Boyé Lafayette De Mente identifies the character traits in the samurai code of ethics that made these incredible transformations possible. He explains how these traits can be applied by anyone to enhance their own personal skills and performance, making 
Speak Japanese Today is designed for anyone who comes into contact with Japanese and wants to communicate with them in their own language. It includes basic greetings, farewells, telling time, everyday expressions about the weather, giving directions, telling distances, counting, money, telephoning and much more. Speak Japanese Today is unique in that it also provides vocabulary and sentences for airline pilots, stewardesses, Immigration officials, Customs officials, hotel staff, restaurant staff, bartenders, shop clerks, taxi drivers, tour guides, doctors, people hosting Japanese students, and more. With a little practice, a person can communicate as many as 500 key concepts using only a 100-word vocabulary. Speak Japanese Today contains more than 700 key words — which is close to the total number of words most people use in their own language in the course of a day. All of the words and expressions in the book are given in Romanized Japanese along with an easy-to-master pronunciation phonetic system that uses standard English. Just pronounce the phonetics as if they were English, and the sounds come out “in Japanese!”
Literally, the form and order of doing things in Japan, kata “is the cultural conditioning that causes the Japanese to think and react in the way they do. The secret to understanding Japanese business, culture, and society is explained by this cultural framework upon which Japanese behavior and etiquette is built. Veteran Japanologist Boye Lafayette De Mente explains the concept of kata and offers the reader insight to the art of bowing, the importance of apology, the origin of the Japanese obsession for quality, and other key cultural ideas which, when mastered, unlock the mystery of Japanese professional and social interaction. The book contains more than 70 brief essays that detail the origin, nature, use, and influence of kata. Whether you are interested in a deeper understanding of Japanese culture or looking for a way to develop business strategy, Kata is an invaluable resource.”
Japan is the shopping capital of the world—unequalled in the number, variety and convenience of its shops, malls and street arcades!
Dining in Japan is both an art and an adventure—an experience that is made memorable by the variety of unique dishes, their gourmet quality and the style in which they are served. The Dining Guide to Japan introduces novices to the appropriate etiquette for different restaurants, along with what to expect and how to order. This handy guide will soon have visitors developing a taste for such things as miso soup, nori, ramen, soba, sukiyaki, udon, unagi, yaki-tori…and yes, even fugu, the deadly globefis