Kansai cool : a journey into the cultural heartland of Japan by Whelan, Christal, author instant download

Kansai cool : a journey into the cultural heartland of Japan by Whelan, Christal, author instant download

1 online resource (259 pages) :, In Kansai Cool, anthropologist, writer and filmmaker Christal Whelan offers deep insights into the clash of old and new, traditional and modern that plays out on a daily basis in Japan's ancient heartland. The western region of Japan is known as Kansai-centering around the ancient capitals of Kyoto and Nara, and the sprawling, modern port cities of Osaka and Kobe. Kansai is Japan's \"\"second region\"\" after Tokyo-and is at once home to Japan's most traditional cultural centers and its most modern culture. From the ancient beliefs of Kyoto to the conte, \"Endlessly engaging and supremely readable.\"--Cover, Print version record, Cover; Dedication; Copyright; Contents; Acknowledgements; Introduction: West of the Toll Gate; PART I: NATURE; Chapter 1 Gratitude: A Japanese Lesson; Chapter 2 The Ways of Water: Kyoto's Water Culture; Chapter 3 The Spirit of Bamboo; Chapter 4 Listening to Incense; Chapter 5 Mother of Pearls: Lake Biwa; PART II: INDUSTRY; Chapter 6 The Obi of Kyoto: Tied to Tradition, Future Bound; Chapter 7 Pedaling Through Time: When The Bicycle Reached Japan; Chapter 8 Dolls: Surrogates, Scapegoats, and Trusted Companions; Chapter 9 Our Avatars, Ourselves: Robotic Innovation in Japan, PART III: A SENSE OF PLACEChapter 10 The Still Point: Authenticity Within an Evolving Cuisine; Chapter 11 Traveling The Coffee Road: Café Culture from Kaffa to Kyoto; Chapter 12 Traces of China in Japan .; Chapter 13 Geography as Destiny: Crafting Island in Japan; PART IV: THE ARTS; Chapter 14 Butoh: Theater of the Soul; Chapter 15 Arms of Peace: Japan's Newest Martial Art Goes to Rome; Chapter 16 Escape to Reality: The Mikkyo of Issey Miyake's Fashion; Chapter 17 The Painting on the Walls: Hideki Kimura's Mural Art; PART V: YOUTH CULTURE, Chapter 18 A Dream of One's Own: Lolita in Rococo, JapanChapter 19 Manga Sanctuaries; Chapter 20 The Many Dimensions of Anime; Chapter 21 Cosplay: Try On Your Alternate Self; PART VI: RELIGION; Chapter…