Thousand Cranes

Author: Yasunari Kawabata
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307833666
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 160

Book Description
A luminous story of desire, regret, and the almost sensual nostalgia that binds the living to the dead—from the acclaimed Nobel Prize winner and author of Snow Country. "A stunning economy, delicacy of feeling, and a painter’s sensitivity to the visible world.” —The Atlantic While attending a traditional tea ceremony in the aftermath of his parents’ deaths, Kikuji encounters his father’s former mistress, Mrs. Ota. At first Kikuji is appalled by her indelicate nature, but it is not long before he succumbs to passion—a passion with tragic and unforeseen consequences, not just for the two lovers, but also for Mrs. Ota’s daughter, to whom Kikuji’s attachments soon extend. Death, jealousy, and attraction convene around the delicate art of the tea ceremony, where every gesture is imbued with profound meaning.

The Master of Go

Author: Yasunari Kawabata
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 030783364X
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 209

Book Description
From the Nobel Prize-winning author and acclaimed writer of Thousand Cranes comes the luminous chronicle of a match of the Japanese game Go played between a master and a younger, more modern challenger that serves as a suspenseful elegy for an entire society. Go is a game of strategy in which two players attempt to surround each other’s black or white stones. Simple in its fundamentals, infinitely complex in its execution, Go is an essential expression of the Japanese spirit. And in his fictional chronicle of a match played between a revered and heretofore invincible Master and a younger, more modern challenger, Yasunari Kawabata captured the moment in which the immutable traditions of imperial Japan met the onslaught of the twentieth century. The competition between the Master of Go and his opponent, Otaké, is waged over several months and layered in ceremony. But beneath the game’s decorum lie tensions that consume not only the players themselves but their families and retainers—tensions that turn this particular contest into a duel that can only end in death. Luminous in its detail, both suspenseful and serene, The Master of Go is written with the poetic economy and psychological acumen that brought Kawabata the Nobel Prize for Literature. Translated from the Japanese by Edward G. Seidensticker

Master and Fool

Author: J. V. Jones
Publisher: Aspect
ISBN: 0759521115
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 455

Book Description
The Known Lands are teetering on the brink of war. Desperate to avert worldwide catastrophe, Jack, the baker's boy, must learn to harness the full strength of his magic to face his ultimate destiny--a final confrontation with the murderously evil Kylock.

The Master and Margarita

Author: Mikhail Bulgakov
Publisher: Grove/Atlantic, Inc.
ISBN: 0802190510
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 306

Book Description
Satan comes to Soviet Moscow in this critically acclaimed translation of one of the most important and best-loved modern classics in world literature. The Master and Margarita has been captivating readers around the world ever since its first publication in 1967. Written during Stalin’s time in power but suppressed in the Soviet Union for decades, Bulgakov’s masterpiece is an ironic parable on power and its corruption, on good and evil, and on human frailty and the strength of love. In The Master and Margarita, the Devil himself pays a visit to Soviet Moscow. Accompanied by a retinue that includes the fast-talking, vodka-drinking, giant tomcat Behemoth, he sets about creating a whirlwind of chaos that soon involves the beautiful Margarita and her beloved, a distraught writer known only as the Master, and even Jesus Christ and Pontius Pilate. The Master and Margarita combines fable, fantasy, political satire, and slapstick comedy to create a wildly entertaining and unforgettable tale that is commonly considered the greatest novel to come out of the Soviet Union. It appears in this edition in a translation by Mirra Ginsburg that was judged “brilliant” by Publishers Weekly. Praise for The Master and Margarita “A wild surrealistic romp. . . . Brilliantly flamboyant and outrageous.” —Joyce Carol Oates, The Detroit News “Fine, funny, imaginative. . . . The Master and Margarita stands squarely in the great Gogolesque tradition of satiric narrative.” —Saul Maloff, Newsweek “A rich, funny, moving and bitter novel. . . . Vast and boisterous entertainment.” —The New York Times “The book is by turns hilarious, mysterious, contemplative and poignant. . . . A great work.” —Chicago Tribune “Funny, devilish, brilliant satire. . . . It’s literature of the highest order and . . . it will deliver a full measure of enjoyment and enlightenment.” —Publishers Weekly

Go

Author: Ch'i-hun Cho
Publisher: Kiseido Publishing Company
ISBN: 9784906574506
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 138

Book Description
Go is a strategy game played throughout eastern Asian for thousands of years. This introduction to the game presents rules, tactics, and strategies.

Go with the Flow

Author: Hunhyun Cho
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781719985840
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 220

Book Description
"This is an important addition to body of books in English about Go."_ Andrew Okun, President, American Go Association"Go with the Flow is a collection of anecdotes from the life of one of the game's great masters." _ Will Lockhart, Film Director, The Surrounding GameIt is often said that shifting perspectives makes all the difference, but it's easier said than done. How can we find a peace of mind even when we are cornered by imminent threats while time and plans are running out?Cho Hunhyun is one of the greatest Go masters in history, who has been held in respect in not only Korea but also Japan and China. Since he became a professional Go player at the age of nine, he has won 1,935 matches and taken various championship titles as many as 160 times over 56 years, achieving unprecedented record in the world Go history. Now, he gives what he has learned through his life, the essence of how to train our heart and mind. Go is a strategic board game for two players who take turns placing a white or black stone on the board in order to secure more territory than the opponent. No stone has a specific role to play nor has the board a defined path to follow. The number of cases in which a player can make by putting stones is deemed greater than the number of atoms in our universe, which means that the game requires a huge brainpower and strength to win while resisting tremendous psychological pressure. That's why Go is known as a game of genius and a Go master is respected as a master of life.This book tells us about his life-long training, which has contributed his amazing achievement in Go. What is his secret? "Victory comes to us when we contemplate with steadfast focus on the essence," the great Go master shows us the way to find inner peace.He has never stopped training his heart and mind to win games and his attitude toward life gives us an epiphany. Leading a satisfactory life comes down to becoming a true master of our own mind. Contending for victory in life is possible only when we gain control of our heart and become unmoved by anything. Becoming a bestseller in Japan and China as well as Korea right after publication, Go with the Flow: How the Great Master of Go Trained His Mind is now ready to meet more readers all over the world.

Beauty and Sadness

Author: Yasunari Kawabata
Publisher: Vintage
ISBN: 0307833631
Category : Fiction
Languages : en
Pages : 230

Book Description
The successful writer Oki has reached middle age and is filled with regrets. He returns to Kyoto to find Otoko, a young woman with whom he had a terrible affair many years before, and discovers that she is now a painter, living with a younger woman as her lover. Otoko has continued to love Oki and has never forgotten him, but his return unsettles not only her but also her young lover. This is a work of strange beauty, with a tender touch of nostalgia and a heartbreaking sensitivity to those things lost forever.

Opening Theory Made Easy

Author: Hideo Ōtake
Publisher:
ISBN: 9784906574360
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 170

Book Description
In this book, Otake presents 20 principles for opening play. You will find a discussion of the fundamentals of the opening and strategy. Almost a third of the book is devoted to the important topic of shape, a subject not well understood by most western go players. Otake explains sophisticated concepts in a simple and accessible way, making the book easy to digest regardless of your playing strength. By applying these principles when you make your strategic decisions, you will improve your game enormously. There are many things about the opening that are a bit difficult, but a little study of opening principles can pay big dividends in your win/loss record The book is divided into three parts: Chapter One: Fuseki Fundamentals Chapter Two: Shape Chapter Three: Strategy

Izu Dancer and Other Stories

Author: Yasunari Kawabata
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
ISBN: 1462902162
Category : Literary Collections
Languages : en
Pages : 148

Book Description
This Japanese literature collection contains four translated stories from two of Japan's most beloved and acclaimed fiction writers. The Izu Dancer, Yasunari Kawabata's first work to bring him recognition as a writer, is a novella about six Izu Peninsula travelers. As the six travelers journey together, intimacy develops and friendship overcomes class differences. Capturing the shy eroticism of adolescence, The Izu Dancer is a charming picture of the times. Yasushi Inoue's The Counterfeiter, although set in modern times, poses universal questions that transcend culture an era. Abasute and The Full Moon both explore themes of separation, loneliness, and isolation. Through the gloomy tales, Inoue's compassion shines, revealing yet another aspect of an author known for his vivid precision and economy of words. Inoue's stories are at least partially autobiographical, and Inoue's attitudes toward human destiny and fatalism are strongly influenced by his separation from his parents at an early age—yet all of his stories reveal his great compassion for his fellow human being.

The Tale of Genji

Author: Melissa McCormick
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 0691172684
Category : Art
Languages : en
Pages : 264

Book Description
Written in the eleventh century by the Japanese noblewoman Murasaki Shikibu, The Tale of Genji is a masterpiece of prose and poetry that is widely considered the world's first novel. Melissa McCormick provides a unique companion to Murasaki's tale that combines discussions of all fifty-four of its chapters with paintings and calligraphy from the Genji Album (1510) in the Harvard Art Museums, the oldest dated set of Genji illustrations known to exist. In this book, the album's colorful painting and calligraphy leaves are fully reproduced for the first time, followed by McCormick's insightful essays that analyze the Genji story and the album's unique combinations of word and image. This stunning compendium also includes English translations and Japanese transcriptions of the album's calligraphy, enabling a holistic experience of the work for readers today. In an introduction to the volume, McCormick tells the fascinating stories of the individuals who created the Genji Album in the sixteenth century, from the famous court painter who executed the paintings and the aristocrats who brushed the calligraphy to the work's warrior patrons and the poet-scholars who acted as their intermediaries. Beautifully illustrated, this book serves as an invaluable guide for readers interested in The Tale of Genji, Japanese literature, and the captivating visual world of Japan's most celebrated work of fiction.