Lauren Scharf talks about Japan's minka, kominka and akiya houses in Japan.

MinkaCon 2025, is an event to be held from Nov. 7-9, in Shinshiro, Aichi Prefecture. The two-and-a-half-day event features discussions, presentations, workshops and a writers panel for those interested in life in the Japanese countryside and preserving traditional Japanese houses. There will be a bevy of authors present, many of whom we've featured in previous episodes of the Books on Asia podcast: Azby Brown, author of Just Enough (Ep 26); photographer and writer Everett Kennedy Brown; Alex Kerr (Lost Japan, Finding the Heart Sutra) (Ep 8) who will be beamed in via pre-recorded message; Iain Maloney author of The Only Gaijin in the Village (Ep 24); and David Joiner, author of The Heron Catchers and Kanazawa (Ep. 19).

Lauren's recommended books on Japan's countryside:

Inaka: Portraits of Life in Rural Japan (various authors)

The Only Gaijin in the Village, by Iain Maloney

The Widow, The Priest and The Octopus Hunter, by Amy Chavez

Just Enough by Azby Brown

Lost Japan by Alex Kerr

Hokkaido Highway Blues, by Will Ferguson

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Asia Bookroom exhibits their most precious items at rare and antiquarian book fairs in Melbourne, Sydney, and Hong Kong. Look for them at the Sydney Rare Book Fair from Oct. 23-25.

In this podcast we discuss some of the items on offer at the Sydney Rare Book Fair:

The Disputed Islands Controversial Japanese Map by Hayashi Shihei from around 1790. This is a manuscript copy (written by hand), and includes the Takeshima/Dokdo islands indicating they belong to Korea.

A silk sample book from the 1950s

A Japanese policeman's notebook from shortly after Japan took over Taiwan. It details experiences with indigenous people of Taiwan.

Materials from Communist China

Books:

The Tokyo Higher Normal School: Life of the Japanese Women of Today (from 1937)

Samurai Tales: Manuscript Writing's on Revenge Killings and Loyalty

Books mentioned in the podcast:

The Shortest History of Japan, by Lesley Downer, China Running Dog by Mark Kitto, Samurai and Silk, by Haru Matsukata Reischauer.

Books recommended by Sally Burdon:

Myself a Mandarin by Austin Coates, about Hong Kong,

Country Driving by Peter Hestings

Ghosts of the Tsunami by Richard Lloyd Parry

You can visit Asia Bookroom online at https://www.asiabookroom.com/

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Adelstein introduces the people behind Mt. Gox, one of the world's largest Bitcoin exchanges, based in Tokyo and run by Frenchman Mark Karpeles. As a reporter for The Daily Beast, Japan-based Adelstein starts researching Mt. Gox, to figure out how it got hacked, and how it collapsed i 2014 with over 650,000 Bitcoins gone missing. He covers the laws, customs and quirks of Japan's hostage-justice system and how the entire investigation into Karpeles and Mt. Gox played out. And yes, it includes cats!

The Devil Takes Bitcoin: Cryptocurrency Crimes and the Japanese Connection will be published by Scribe, Oct. 14, 2025.

Jake is an book junkie who reads across a variety of genres. He is currently reading:

1. The Mysterious Mr. Nakamoto by Benjamin Wallace about the founder of Bitcoin.
2. The Sweet Spot by Paul Bloom
3. 大阪府警暴力団担当刑事
4. Yellow Face by R.F. Kuang

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

In this episode we cover traditional Japanese gardens and how ancient gardens were related to nature, geomancy, literature and Japanese concepts of wabi-sabi, yugen, and mono no aware. but how garden design shifted from symbolism and representation to a more naturalistic style as seen in Murin-an, a garden in kyoto. Essays on garden design include entries by Ogawa Jihei (1860-1933), Kengo Kuma, Mira Locher, Japanese monk & garden designer Masuno Shunmyo, and garden historian, critic, and author Tim Richardson.

Some of the gardens discussed are: Kagawa Prefectural Office in Takamatsu city, Kengo Kuma and Nezu Museum, Osaka Station Roof Garden, Hyakudanen on Awajishima Island in Hyogo (designed by Tadao Ando), the Carbon Fibre Garden in Tokyo, and the pop-art garden at Teshima Yokoo House.

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Books discussed include:

Korean Wilds and Villages (1938) by Swedish zoologist Sten Bergman

The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why it Matters, by BR Meyers

Absurdistan, by (2006) by Gary Shteyngart

Cat's Cradle, by Kurt Vonnegut

The Cuttlefish (2005) by Chris Tharp

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Amy Chavez and Hector Garcia discuss his recently released book, The Spirit of Shinto, and how Shinto’s worldview permeates pop culture—anime, manga, films—where good and evil often blur, echoing the idea that kegare (dirt, corruption) must be cleansed rather than destroyed. Unlike Western religions where God is above, Shinto gods exist among people, as seen in Makoto Shinkai’s films or games like Ghost in the Shell and Nintendo’s video games. Hector, a Tokyoite himself, urges people to seek the Shinto "awe" in their daily lives since Shinto should not be explained but lived. At the very end of the episode, Garcia talks about his just-released novel Eternity in Kyoto a techno thriller with a love story that employs the Shinto concept of crossing through a gate and entering a parallel world.

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

Amy Chavez opens the show by asking Friedman to give a tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away on July 25, 2025. Friedman then turns to the reason for writing his book, co-authored by music journalist John Weiderhorn. Friedman talks about the co-writing process and describes it as “putting his musical abilities into words.” His latest solo release, Drama, he calls his best and most romantic work to date — a largely orchestral album that stretches beyond his usual style.

Beyond music, Friedman reflects on being a “foreign talento” on Japanese TV, participating in variety shows, commercials, and thoughts on the Japanese entertainment industry. He reveals his inner growth writing the anime theme song Kirei na Senritsu (Beautiful Melody) for Kotoko.

Friedman also shares his favorite Japanese book, Ai no Eigyō Hōshin (The Principles of Love Management) by Japanese producer Tsunku, advising young Japanese men on how to cultivate confidence. His favorite J-Pop songs are AKB48’s “Heavy Rotation” which he recalls performing with them at the Budokan. He praises Kahala Tomomi’s “I’m Proud” as an example of the Japanese concept of heta-uma which he explains at length in the podcast discussion. He points to Ikimono Gakari as another recommendation for those interested in learning more about J-Pop.

For the full Show Notes with hyperlinks to Friedman's songs and a book review of his memoir Dreaming Japanese, visit the Books on Asia website at www.booksonasia.net

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.

A few of Takemori's favorite books on Japan are:

1. Hitomachi, a photo book by Araki Noboyoshi
2. Walking The Kiso Road by William Scott Wilson (See our podcast episode with the author)
3. The Catalpa Bow by Carmen Blacker

Takemori's upcoming translations are Grave of the Fireflies by Akiyuki Nosaka (Penguin Modern Classics, Sept. 2025), Hollow Inside by Asako Otani (2026) and Family of the Wasteland by Atsushi Sato (May 2027).

Read a book review of Mornings Without Mii (previous title Mornings With My Cat Mii) on the BOA website.

Subscribe to the Books on Asia podcast.

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press.

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

The Books on Asia website posts book reviews, podcast episodes and episode Show Notes. Subscribe to the BOA podcast from your favorite podcast service. Subscribe to the Books on Asia newsletter to receive news of the latest new book releases, reviews and podcast episodes.