Accept first off if you buy this book, there are very few pretty pictures. This is not a coffee table book. There are however many detailed diagrams and tons of information that any serious bonsai artist should have. Naka de-mystifies the art of bonsai and gives clear cut diagrams that are easy to understand and (even more important) easy to apply to your own trees.

If you want a picture book of bonsai this is not for you, if you grow bonsai you should buy this book. In fact if you only buy one book on bonsai, buy this one.

One of the two best books on bonsai that I have ever owned. No bonsai artist should be without it. Mr. Naka does a great job of explaining the different basic techques that can be used in creating great bonsai. A job well done.

Bonsai, the art of dwarfing trees, was at one time a specialized hobby for only a few. In recent years it has become popular and you can find these miniature trees in florist shops as well as in Home Depot. Regretably, these small trees have a short lifespan when taken home by the owner. In most cases, the owner hasn't a clue as how to take care of the tree for a lifetime enjoyment.

Ignorance is not bliss for bonsai. John Yoshio Naka removes all ignorance by providing the first time bonsai owner with a one step guide on techniques of caring, shaping, dwarfing and feeding these trees. Using pictures and simple diagrams you are shown the step by step techniques on how to dwarf a tree. Notes are also provided on the monthly care of the tree. Advice is also given to make adjustments in the care of your bonsai depending on your geographical region. This text is perfect for amateurs and those who are thinking abouting starting a bonsai collection. Its simplicity is highly user friendly. If you follow the instructions as given, you will achieve a lifetime enjoyment of bonsai.

An Informative and visually stunning text. This is not just a pretty book. Much can be learned from the subtitles for the bonsai enthusiast and casual browser alike.

Incredible masterpieces of Bonsai, most many hundreds of years old, are displayed in exquisite high-resolution photographs. This book is well worth the money for those seeking to study the world's finest examples of this living art form. An well-written and insightful historical survey is included.

For all bonsai lovers, this book is a must-have! The pictures are the most beautiful you'll ever see, with amazing and rare specimens.

Buyer beware. I would just like to point out that the prices are way out of the ball park. I purchased the same book for half price from an online bonsai store.....

I've seen on here that that promote the book as collectable because he signed the book. He signed every book. Don't fall for it.

This is the second of two great books by John Y. Naka. This book breaks the tree down, and goes into greater detail about each section of the tree. Then it gets into pots and how to display your bonsai. Both these books are worth the price, and if your into bonsai you need both his book.

A must have. This book along with Bonsai techniques I by John Yoshio Naka is one that will always be reference by the beginner or advance Bonsai enthusiast

Using ideas from chaos, quantum, systems, and information theory (and many more), this book is a truly fresh and much needed perspective on TCM. The X Signal System abandons the causal theory of western biological sciences to answer the questions of TCM and effective treatment, and draws explanations and theories of energy, information exchange, and life from modern physics.

I am a student of Traditional Chinese Medicine, and am young in the arts, but it is clear that the foundation laid in this book will be used as a framework for western science to gain a new appreciation for Acupuncture.

We have learned much since the Huang Di and his ministers, and now with the help of Manaka, we can focus on effective treatment in modern times, as well as the classics.

- Thomas

As an entry into the possibilities of acupuncture, within and beyond "TCM", this is a great book.

As an entry to understanding a methodical practice of Japanese acupuncture, - a must have.

As a reference for an experienced acupunctutist who is interested in further studies on treatment options, again a must have.

Simply (and not so simply) Brilliant and Exciting!

Covers the entire spectrum of Acupuncture with emphasis on the latest discoveries in Advanced Japanese Acupuncture. Excellent introduction on a vast number of treatment modalities. Teaches a workable method of Abdominal Palpitation for Channel Disturbance. Gives wonderful new scientific research on the possible workings of Acupuncture. Provides the non-needle practitioner with a workable and very powerful system which includes the use of Open Points. Dr. C Ledwell OM

In a world of Inside/Outside, it is refreshing to get a view form the inside. YOSHIO SUGIMOTO'S "An introduction to Japanese society" is probably the most functional addition to the limited number of books which give a wide-ranging coverage of Japanese society fit for an preliminary Japanese society course, and more sophisticated students will find much in it as well. As a counterpoint to myriad of books and thesis, which show Japan as culturally homogenous, and predominantly white collar, Sugimoto zeroes-in on Japan's multiculturalism and class distinctions which he posits are more akin to other highly industrialized societies. The Japanese "everyman" (term mine) he posits from the get-go is not a highly educated "salaryman" working for a large company, but rather older woman with less education maybe working for a smaller company or family firm. What is important to note is that Japan, with a dropping birth rate, aging population and more emphasis on individualism in education and work, Japan might be even more like other countries.

Sugimoto manages to cover a large selection of the essential issues that affect Japanese society at present time and its historical development. Furthermore, Sugimoto presents a balanced perspective of the weaknesses and strengths of the Japanese system. In Chapter 2, dealing with the issue of "stratification", Sugimoto explains that while class distinctions have become less apparent in the post-war period, inequality is actually on the rise. Chapter 3, Sugimoto discusses regional disparities, the positions of minorities, regional variations, and the influence of Tokyo on the more peripheral regions of the country. This section is insightful as it is pedagogical - Sugimoto's treatment of ethnic diversity is clear, concise and balanced.

Chapter 4 deals mainly with the economy. Sugimoto examines the rupture between those permanently employed in the large corporations, and those with less secure jobs in small enterprises. Chapter 6, focuses on women's exclusion from the permanent employment sector of the job market (either by exclusion through education or other means), despite what might seem like equal opportunities legislation. Chapter 7 engages in the discourse of discrimination, namely that against Koreans. Burakumin, the Ainu in Hokkaido, and Japan's now substantial number of foreign immigrant workers. Perhaps the most important chapter in dispelling the homogeneity myth, this chapter explores what is apparently a long and complex discourse of race and race relations in Japan.

Most interesting to Sociologists and Japanese Studies majors is Chapter 8 on the Japanese establishment, and the close and often dubious 3 way links between bureaucrats, politicians and business leaders. For a more detailed but less compelling dissertation of this issue, you can also examine MIKISO HANE'S EASTERN PHOENIX - JAPAN SINCE 1945. Chapter 9 leads in with "Internationalization" and is clearly related to the discussion of popular culture, which includes karaoke, pachinko, the sex industry as well as new religions. For those looking for a Japan textbook, this is looks to be the definitive account of a sociological experiment with it's primary focus in stratification. It does cover a lot and from my discussion above, looks to be a long book. It is not. Much like MIKISO HANE'S book it is well worth the read.

Miguel Llora

An Introduction to Japanese Society is a book no serious student of Japan (or East Asia generally) can afford to pass up. It affords an unflinching and incisive look at the nature of Japanese democracy by a Japanese scholar who pulls no punches. While quite a few Western scholars have characterized the Japanese elementary school classroom, for example, as less authoritarian than its American counterpart, Sugimoto contends that authoritarianism is pronounced but subtly pervasive throughout Japanese society. Instead of accentuating top-down coercion by authorities, as Korean and Chinese societies do, Japanese authoritarianism is more subtle, relying heavily on indirect controls such as small group pressures, extensive surveillance, moralistic ideologies, positive reinforcements, mythologies of benevolent leadership, and pleasant rituals to mask underlying and potentially coercive power. As Sugimoto persuasively demonstrates, "Japanese friendly authoritarianism does not normally exhibit its coercive face." But when all else fails, it can and does exercise the full measure of its power. Sugimoto's book should inspire more Western scholars to take a closer look at the informal mechanisms of control in Japanese society. If Sugimoto is right, Japan has far to go before it becomes a full-fledged democracy.

When one thinks of the buyer of a book on "trick-plays", one conjures up the image of a player willing to use any devious means they can find to eke out an undeserved win. This is not the target audience of this book, nor is this, for the most part, the kind of instruction it seeks to provide. The majority of this book is an in-depth examination of almost-joseki; "these first moves are a common sequence, but then white plays X; how should black respond?" is the question repeated throughout the book. Since a thorough understanding of joseki includes knowing why not to deviate from it, and what to do when your opponent does, this book is as much a guide to understanding joseki than anything else.

Though amazon lists the book as having been written by Ishida Yoshio, the book is in fact comprised of four chapters written by four different authors. Fittingly, much of the book has an impish air to it; one can almost feel the smirk of one of the authors as he describes the imaginary dialogue between Dogaku Sensei ("Honinbo of the Alleyways") and Joe Patzer, a parody of just the kind of player one imagines would buy a book about trick plays. The book even includes a comical eight page cartoon, translated into English. Beneath it all, however, this is fundamentally a work book with the same reward as the rest: "if the reader masters the subject matter of this book, an incremental increase in strength can be expected" (Preface).

Wonderful book. As a potter and a cook, I find so much to look at and think about.Some color, a number of b & W pics of great Japanese pottery and food service items. Thoughtful ideas about how to present food in an artful way considering season, beauty. Great if you can find it.

We bought this fabulous volume in hard cover in Osaka in 1986. At a much higher price. Not only are the food arrangements gorgeous but the utensils are major museum pieces. The best of Japanese ceramics, lacquer, bamboo, beautifully photographed.

(We are neither Japanese nor potters--just people who find beauty an important renewal in our troublesome.)

A thorough work on two fascinating snakes that have become a nuisance to people and animals, and the collaborate efforts taken to control them. It explains why these snakes became a problem and why they need to be managed now. It contains creative and thoughtful research on the capture (and escape), behavior and biology of these snakes. From a scientific perspective, it looks at why some techniques don't work, which are working, and areas of present and future control methods including the pros and cons of each.

Nice book that keep's kid's attention. Most stories are two to three pages, there is usually only one illustration per story. Illustrations are not great, but nice. This is better for kids that are age 4+ who don't need just pictures.

This book is a nice collection, beautifully illustrated, of the most famous Japanese children's stories. You will find all of the most well-loved Japanese fairy tales here, well translated and easy to explain to non-Asian children.

First printed the early 1950's, this is the 51st printing of the book. It contains ten classics from the first printing 50 years ago, and ten newer stories. Stories include (1) Momotaro the Peach Boy, a boy who is found in a peach by a childless couple, who goes off to fight ogres with his animal friends when he reaches his teens; (2) The Magic Tea Kettle about the badger who is mistaken for a kettle; and (3) Silly Saburo, the hilarious and entertaining story about a boy and his misadventures, all becuase he does exactly what he is told. Also among the twenty are (4) The Crab and the Monkey, about a plotting monket and his hapless friend, a crab, and a riceball and persimmon seed; and (5) Why The Jellyfish Has No Bones, about a jellyfish and an evil octopus.