Japanese For All Occasions

At last. A book of useful Japanese, offering the language you need to handle a wide variety of situations. Through hundreds of example sentences and dialogues, you'll learn what to say and do when: Setting up a business appointment Opening a bank account Making a wedding speech Reserving a place to stay Renewing a visa and much more Included is an additional chapter on writing cards and letters, featuring examples of New Year cards, thank-you notes, and normal letters. No other book covers colloquial Japanese as thoroughly as Japanese for All Occasions. Whether you're a student, traveler, or businessperson, you'll find that this book offers any easy and enjoyable way to improve your Japanese.

In Japanese, register--the way you change your words depending on who you are speaking to--plays a key role. The rules of register in Japanese are far more complicated than they are in English, but until now there hasn’t been a book that lays it all out in an accessible format. Japanese for All Occasions is a much-needed introduction to this bewildering aspect of the language, aimed at intermediate students and above. Through 57 dialogues, veteran teacher Taeko Kamiya shows learners how the Japanese change their way of speaking according to the social setting or their relationship with the listener, with examples ranging from casual to superpolite. Chapters are organized by function ("Introducing People," "Identifying Things," etc.) so that learners can absorb the most common sentence patterns used in daily life at the same time that they study casual, polite, and honorific styles. Each chapter presents three similar dialogues that show contrasting styles of speech. Detailed notes explain the grammar or usage at work in the dialogues, and quizzes at the end of each chapter allow learners to test their understanding. Best of all, the book comes with a free CD containing all the dialogues, narrated by professional Japanese actors.

Japanese food is renowned for its elegant presentation. One of the key presentational elements are mukimono - the decorative garnish and carving - that add the final flourish to a dish. This book introduces 60 edible garnishes and food carvings for home, party, or professional use for all occasions, from simple meals to banquets. This title presents the high art of edible garnishes for the home kitchen that will change the way you look at food and work in your kitchen. Japanese food is renowned for its elegant presentation. One of the key presentational elements are mukimono -

"Japanese Sentence Patterns for Effective Communication presents 142 essential sentence Patterns for everyday conversation - all that is needed to get by in most uncomplicated social situations. These patterns represent the basic building blocks of sophisticated speech, and are mastered by all intermediate students. Each is given first in the form of a full-length English sentence, so that one can quickly understand its meaning and intent, then is followed by a Japanese translation, a short, precise explanation, several example sentences, and a practice section that allows one to test one's comprehension. By familiarizing oneself with these patterns and practicing them out loud, and inventing new sentences with them, one will quickly gain the skills necessary to effectively communicate one's thoughts in Japanese." "With page after page of sentence-pattern practice and straightforward explanations of grammar, this book is ideal for ambitious beginning-level students who wish to up their oral proficiency quickly. But it will also usefully serve intermediate and advanced students in need of solid review material, or anyone with an interest in the workings of the Japanese language."--BOOK JACKET.

Traditional Japanese design imbues objects with a sense of history and artistry that easily reaches across cultural boundaries. In Things Japanese: Everyday Objects of Extraordinary Beauty and Significance, author Nicholas Bornoff and photographer Michael Freeman examine over 60 traditional objects that are uniquely Japanese, deftly illustrating their beauty and significance. Beautifully crafted samurai swords Elegant wooden tansu chests Elaborate tea ceremony implements Exquisitely carved netsuke toggles Fabulous silk-and-gold embroidered kimonos Each item is described in loving detail alongside lovely full-color photographs that highlight the great artistry and craftsmanship in everyday items used by real people in traditional Japan. Things Japanese is the perfect book for Japanese antique collectors or anyone interested in Japanese art and the culture and history of Japan.

New York Times Bestseller: A “virtually faultless” account of the last weeks of WWII in the Pacific from both Japanese and American perspectives (The New York Times Book Review). By midsummer 1945, Japan had long since lost the war in the Pacific. The people were not told the truth, and neither was the emperor. Japanese generals, admirals, and statesmen knew, but only a handful of leaders were willing to accept defeat. Most were bent on fighting the Allies until the last Japanese soldier died and the last city burned to the ground. Exhaustively researched and vividly told, The Fall of Japan masterfully chronicles the dramatic events that brought an end to the Pacific War and forced a once-mighty military nation to surrender unconditionally. From the ferocious fighting on Okinawa to the all-but-impossible mission to drop the 2nd atom bomb, and from Franklin D. Roosevelt’s White House to the Tokyo bunker where tearful Japanese leaders first told the emperor the truth, William Craig captures the pivotal events of the war with spellbinding authority. The Fall of Japan brings to life both celebrated and lesser-known historical figures, including Admiral Takijiro Onishi, the brash commander who drew up the Yamamoto plan for the attack on Pearl Harbor and inspired the death cult of kamikaze pilots., This astonishing account ranks alongside Cornelius Ryan’s The Longest Day and John Toland’s The Rising Sun as a masterpiece of World War II history.

The latest edition of this popular Japanese course for beginners has been completely rewritten to make learning the language easier and more enjoyable than ever before.