Wabonga Press
  • WELCOME
  • OUR SERVICES
  • OUR PROJECTS
  • OUR CONTENT
  • CONTACT US

​The Bells of Old Tokyo

12/7/2019

 
Picture
Anna Sherman: Picador $32.90
 
IN THE heyday of Edo, in the millennium preceding the ancient Japanese metropolis’s rebirth as modern-day Tokyo, an isolated, self-reliant society without clocks required an inventive means by which to mark the passing of time. Across the city a network of beautifully crafted bells filled that role, rung by hand to chime the most significant hours of every day.
Now long-since retired, those bells have in some cases disappeared entirely and in others largely been forgotten.
On a personal mission to locate the remaining examples, expatriate writer Sherman negotiates the sidestreets and alleyways of Tokyo’s suburbs. Her wanderings deviate far beyond the standard tourist route, delving into both physical and cultural aspects of Japanese life to reveal a side of Tokyo few visitors have either the privilege or a reason to encounter.
Sherman’s travels lead to a tiny coffee house where beans are roasted to order and the beverage is served in bowls, to the site of a former prison and execution ground, to an avenue of euphemistically named ‘love hotels’ where virtually any fantasy can be explored, and to museums and archives carefully maintained by passionate private collectors. Her journey passes through shrines and temples, bars and parks.
It also crosses periods of history, examining the Japanese calendar, the animal zodiac and a succession of shogunates.
In a region subjected over centuries to earthquakes, tidal waves, fire-storms and floods, Tokyo has been all but obliterated repeatedly – perhaps never more so than during World War II, when entire neighbourhoods of timber houses were razed in infernos ignited by aerial bombing.
Somehow, miraculously, several of the original bronze artefacts have survived.
Alongside these bells, the individuals who care for them are revealed to be national treasures themselves – the keepers of a tradition predating the arrival in the 1600s of European missionaries with their ingenious mechanical timepieces.


Comments are closed.
    ' Books are treasure for the spirit and ​the soul. '​
    — VB 2020

    ​​

    Book reviews

    WABONGA Press produces an original book review every Friday. Books are chosen from among the latest English-language fiction and non-fiction releases in Australia and internationally.
    Each 300-word review is accompanied by a high-resolution cover image.
    All are available for licensing to print media in selected regions.​For less than the cost of one takeaway cup of coffee each week, a publication can make use of this service to access a new review every seven days, backed by a written guarantee that the same content will not be licensed for use by any direct competitor.
    Please contact Wabonga's publisher, Rosalea Ryan, to discuss how this service can be tailored to your newspaper or magazine.​

    Picture

    Categories

    All
    Adventure
    Africa
    Antarctica
    Arctic
    Asia
    Atlantic
    Australia
    Author – Australian
    Biography
    British Isles
    Caribbean
    Christmas
    Crime
    Easter
    Entertainment
    Europe
    Fiction
    Finance
    Food
    History
    Humour
    Journalism
    Maritime
    Middle East
    Nature
    New Year
    Non-fiction
    North America
    Pacific
    Pandemic
    Relationships
    Romance
    Scandinavia
    South America
    Sport
    Sub-continent
    Suspense
    Travel
    War

    Archive

    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015

Picture