Kakuzō Okakura(February 14, 1862 – September 2, 1913) was a Japanese-born art historian and critic, most widely known for his great contributions in solidifying Japanese art and history in the Western society. In his long essay “The Book of Tea” he writes about the ritual of drinking tea as well as the Japanese tea ceremony, its’ history, development and influence in both Western and Eastern worlds. In the book he also coins the term “Teaism”- a sort of philosophy of tea, which is … (more…)

“Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind” is a book in which Zen teacher Shunryu Suzuki reveals Zen simply and shows that it’s enough to have the mindset of a beginner to get to know Zen. In this book written informal teacher’s conversations with students will help to better understand true Zen life as well as encourage reader himself try to achieve his Zen mind.

Shunryu Suzuki (1905-1971) is a tradition successor of famous XIII century Zen Teacher Dogen. (more…)

Takuan Soho – a man who heavily influenced the unification of Zen Buddhism with the martial arts. He was a Zen Buddhist monk which in the XVI century wrote letters to a great swordsman of the time Yagyu Muennori. The sword, spiritual exercises and an unfettered mind – that‘s what this book is all about. All these different assets should be combined into one undivided whole through training of the mind, that is what Takuan believes. The book is divided intro three parts, all of them are … (more…)

“Oriental way to recovery” – is a book, the title of which we can understand that there will be talking about the Eastern way of life. But the Journal mostly highlights medicine – the use of drugs, diet, various exercises, even the oriental philosophy. All of this author defines as “a way to live.” The question remains: „why is it oriental?“. Ishihara Yumi’s book attempts to reveal the differences between oriental medicine from the West, what people can change in order to achieve such (more…)

Yutaka Yokota (born in 1926) – is someone who survived incredible Japanese imperial navy experiment which is turning people into live torpedoes. ,,Kamikaze submarine” is about a historical witness Yutaka Yokota who became a Kaiten pilot. Kaiten is a torpedo, which is piloted by a live person so every kaiten pilot came in peace with the idea of dying. This book is about kaiten pilots everyday life, their preparations  and wish to give up their lives for Japan.

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“The monster in the dark – a very strong emotion gives Ranpo Edogawa’s work, which appeared in 1928. The novel is narrated in the first person, so it is easy to empathize with the main character\’s coat and imagine all the emotions in a much more realistic.

The novel tells the story of two writers of crime novels. The main character, is a lyrical self. As narrated in the first piece of a personal, he is a writer who loves to create simple, traditionally detective novels, and other Oe Siundey you as the author believes to be attributed to the type of criminals, because that his work is based on the offender inhuman logic. (more…)

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The beginning of 20th century in China, civil war and the rise of communism.  In the heat of these events the image of young student girl arises.

The story is full of tension, hiding, torturing, love, every-day life and fight for a better tomorrow and a young girl that joined the fight. The book will not only show the reader the horror of civil war, the beauty of love born in heated situations, but also will teach some great history lessons and the love for your country. (more…)

Novel “Nami-ko” by Kenjiro Tokutomi is a love story about Nami-ko Kataoka and Takeo Kawashima. The book starts with a scene, where a young wife is waiting for her husband coming back from work. While telling about the life of this young family, the writer mentions Nami-ko’s family as well: her father, the general of samurai, her mother who is unfortunately dead, her step mother, who was able to study in London, also her brothers and sisters. Later on, the author writes about Takeo … (more…)

“Peace is every step” is a book about human’s life and individual improvement, following the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh’s philosophy. Components of the book are quite similar to the reader’s life – it is filled with ups, downs and musings, while every chapter’s title touches yet another part of human’s daily routine. In his book Thich Nhat Hanh teaches how to slow down, relax and just breathe in our society, which is filled with stress, quick lifestyle and chaos. (more…)