Book Review: The Japan Journals

I just got done reading the book I picked up during my recent trip to Japan. The book titled, The Japan Journals is written by Donald Richie who first entered Japan during the post-World War II period starting in 1947. His life remained intertwined with Japan for over the next 55 years as a journalist and writer.

The book features many interesting moments when the writer met numerous famous Japanese people such as Akira Kurosawa due to his job reporting for the Stars and Stripes newspaper. However, the stories I liked the best from the book were his numerous trips into the Japanese country side where he provides interesting accounts of life for the average Japanese person after the war. Comparing these accounts with life today in Japan is really enlightening to see how far the country has come.

Overall, the book is good reading for those with a deep interest about the people of Japan and it’s post-World War II history. I recommend the book for all those familiar with life in Japan from an ex-pat’s perspective. There are a number of stories in the book I could relate to today that even happened to him 50 years ago.