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Alex Kerr (Japanologist)
Alex Kerr (born June 16, 1952) is an American writer and Japanologist. Biography Originally from the Bethesda area in Montgomery County, Maryland, Kerr's father, a naval officer, was posted in Yokohama from 1964 to 1966. Kerr returned to the states and studied Japanese Studies at Yale University. After studying Chinese Studies at the University of Oxford as a Rhodes Scholar, Kerr moved back to Japan full-time in 1977. He lived in Kameoka, near Kyoto, working with the Oomoto Foundation, a Shintō organisation devoted to the practise and teaching of traditional Japanese arts. An expert on Japanese culture and art, he frequently writes and lectures in Japanese. Through his experiences in Japan, as related in his books, he has become an avid art collector and patron of Japan's traditional theatre and other arts. He also worked in business, working for Trammell Crow in the 1980s. Kerr currently has several residences. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand for half of the year, and Kyoto ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Japanology
, sometimes known as Japanology in Europe, is a sub-field of area studies or East Asian studies involved in social sciences and humanities research on Japan. It incorporates fields such as the study of Japanese language, history, culture, literature, philosophy, art, music, cinema, and science. The historical roots of Western Japanese studies may be traced back to the Dutch traders based at Dejima, Nagasaki during the Edo period (1603–1867). The foundation of the Asiatic Society of Japan at Yokohama in 1872 by Western scholars such as Ernest Satow and Frederick Victor Dickins was an important event in the development of Japanese studies as an academic discipline. Japanese studies organizations and publications In the United States, the Society for Japanese Studies has published the ''Journal of Japanese Studies'' (JJS) since 1974. This is a biannual academic journal dealing with research on Japan in the United States. JJS is supported by grants from the Japan Foundation, Geo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thailand
Thailand, officially the Kingdom of Thailand and historically known as Siam (the official name until 1939), is a country in Southeast Asia on the Mainland Southeast Asia, Indochinese Peninsula. With a population of almost 66 million, it spans . Thailand Template:Borders of Thailand, is bordered to the northwest by Myanmar, to the northeast and east by Laos, to the southeast by Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the southwest by the Andaman Sea; it also shares maritime borders with Vietnam to the southeast and Indonesia and India to the southwest. Bangkok is the state capital and List of municipalities in Thailand#Largest cities by urban population, largest city. Tai peoples, Thai peoples migrated from southwestern China to mainland Southeast Asia from the 6th to 11th centuries. Greater India, Indianised kingdoms such as the Mon kingdoms, Mon, Khmer Empire, and Monarchies of Malaysia, Malay states ruled the region, competing with Thai states s ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Japanologists
American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, people who self-identify their ancestry as "American" ** American English, the set of varieties of the English language native to the United States ** Native Americans in the United States, indigenous peoples of the United States * American, something of, from, or related to the Americas, also known as "America" ** Indigenous peoples of the Americas * American (word), for analysis and history of the meanings in various contexts Organizations * American Airlines, U.S.-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas * American Athletic Conference, an American college athletic conference * American Recordings (record label), a record label that was previously known as Def American * American University, in Washington, D.C. Sports teams S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Living People
Purpose: Because living persons may suffer personal harm from inappropriate information, we should watch their articles carefully. By adding an article to this category, it marks them with a notice about sources whenever someone tries to edit them, to remind them of WP:BLP (biographies of living persons) policy that these articles must maintain a neutral point of view, maintain factual accuracy, and be properly sourced. Recent changes to these articles are listed on Special:RecentChangesLinked/Living people. Organization: This category should not be sub-categorized. Entries are generally sorted by family name In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give .... Maintenance: Individuals of advanced age (over 90), for whom there has been no new documentation in the last ten ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1952 Births
Events January–February * January 26 – Cairo Fire, Black Saturday in Kingdom of Egypt, Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the British Dominions: Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Union of South Africa, South Africa, Dominion of Pakistan, Pakistan and Dominion of Ceylon, Ceylon. The princess, who is on a visit to Kenya when she hears of the death of her father, King George VI, aged 56, takes the regnal name Elizabeth II. ** In the United States, a Artificial heart, mechanical heart is used for the first time in a human patient. *February 7 – New York City announces its first crosswalk devices to be installed. * February 14–February 25, 25 – The 1952 Winter Olympics, Winter Olympics are held in Oslo, Norway. * February 15 – The State Funeral of King Ge ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lost Japan
is a 1993 book written by American Japonologist Alex Kerr. Background The book deals with Kerr's life in Japan and on aspects of Japanese culture by which he was fascinated. The text is a collection of personal essays in which he suggests that the current popularity of ikebana, Kabuki, and other famous Japanese arts and crafts represents the final efflorescence of a moribund culture. He wrote it in Japanese, and it was translated into English with the help of Bodhi Fishman and published as ''Lost Japan'' in 1996. The original Japanese version was published by Shinchosha in 1993; a paperback version has been published since 2000 by The Asahi Shimbun Company. The English translation was first published by Lonely Planet in 1996; in 2015 the book was reissued by Penguin UK with a new preface written by Alex. Translations have also been published in Traditional and Simplified Chinese characters, Italian, Polish, Russian, and Spanish. Reception The book won the Shincho Gakugei lite ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Chiiori
is the name of an Edo period ''minka'' farmhouse in the Iya Valley, western Tokushima, Japan. Dating from around 1720, the house is believed to be the second oldest in Iya. (The oldest, nearby Kimura House, is designated an Important Cultural Property) Chiiori preserves its original structure, , and pine floors blackened by hundreds of years of smoke from the ''irori''. The house is unusual for farm houses in Japan because there are no ceilings (except over the small sleeping rooms). This was because for much of the Edo period, tobacco was a leading crop of Iya, and villagers used to hang the tobacco up in the rafters to smoke over the ''irori''. Due to the lack of ceilings, Chiiori has a dramatic wide-open interior. Purchased by Japanologist Alex Kerr in 1973, Chiiori features in Alex's book Lost Japan is a 1993 book written by American Japonologist Alex Kerr. Background The book deals with Kerr's life in Japan and on aspects of Japanese culture by which he was fascinated ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thatching
Thatching is the craft of building a roof with dry vegetation such as straw, water reed, sedge ('' Cladium mariscus''), rushes, heather, or palm branches, layering the vegetation so as to shed water away from the inner roof. Since the bulk of the vegetation stays dry and is densely packed—trapping air—thatching also functions as insulation. It is a very old roofing method and has been used in both tropical and temperate climates. Thatch is still employed by builders in developing countries, usually with low-cost local vegetation. By contrast, in some developed countries it is the choice of some affluent people who desire a rustic look for their home, would like a more ecologically friendly roof, or who have purchased an originally thatched abode. History Thatching methods have traditionally been passed down from generation to generation and numerous descriptions of the materials and methods used in Europe over the past three centuries survive in archives and early publi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shikoku
is the smallest of the List of islands of Japan#Main islands, four main islands of Japan. It is long and between at its widest. It has a population of 3.8 million, the least populated of Japan's four main islands. It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include , , and , and its current name refers to the four former provinces of Japan, provinces that make up the island: Awa Province (Tokushima), Awa, Tosa Province, Tosa, Sanuki Province, Sanuki, and Iyo Province, Iyo. Geography Shikoku Island, comprising Shikoku and its surrounding islands, covers about and consists of four Prefectures of Japan, prefectures: Ehime Prefecture, Ehime, Kagawa Prefecture, Kagawa, Kōchi Prefecture, Kōchi, and Tokushima Prefecture, Tokushima. Across the Seto Inland Sea lie Wakayama Prefecture, Wakayama, Osaka Prefecture, Osaka, Hyōgo Prefecture, Hyōgo, Okayama Prefecture, Okayama, Hiroshima Prefecture, Hiroshima, and Yamaguchi Prefectures on Honshu. To th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tokushima Prefecture
is a Prefectures of Japan, prefecture of Japan located on the island of Shikoku. Tokushima Prefecture has a population of 682,439 (1 February 2025) and has a geographic area of 4,146 Square kilometre, km2 (1,601 sq mi). Tokushima Prefecture borders Kagawa Prefecture to the north, Ehime Prefecture to the west, and Kōchi Prefecture to the southwest. Tokushima, Tokushima, Tokushima is the capital and largest city of Tokushima Prefecture, with other major cities including Anan, Tokushima, Anan, Naruto, Tokushima, Naruto, and Yoshinogawa, Tokushima, Yoshinogawa. Tokushima Prefecture is located on the Kii Channel, connecting the Pacific Ocean and Seto Inland Sea, across from Wakayama Prefecture on the Kii Peninsula of the island of Honshu. Tokushima Prefecture is connected to Awaji Island across the Naruto Strait by the Ōnaruto Bridge as part of the Kobe-Awaji-Naruto Expressway, connecting the prefecture to the city of Kobe and the San'yō Expressway on Honshu. History Until ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Iya Valley
The Iya Valley (祖谷 ''Iya'') region in Tokushima Prefecture, Japan is a scenic area known for its mountain valleys, thatched roof farmhouses and historic Vine Bridges. Although access has improved in recent years, the Iya Valley and the inner parts of Shikoku have historically been remote and difficult to enter. Members of the Taira clan (aka Heike clan) were said to have entered the area after losing the Genpei War to the Minamoto clan in the late 12th century. The Iya Valley has become an increasingly popular tourist destination for its natural environment and as one of the last few vestiges of old Japan. While the western part of the valley (Nishi-Iya) has good road access and tourist accommodations, the eastern part (Higashi-Iya (東祖谷) or Oku-Iya (奥祖谷)) has lesser access routes. Several Vine Bridges continue to span the valley and have become a tourist attraction. Etymology The origin of the name ''Iya'' is unclear. According to noted Japanese historical res ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
