Ming Tees - Asian Inspired Design

I loved the Dream of the Red Chamber, sort of a Chinese Romeo and Juliet, but much more. Believed to be the first Chinese novel, and possibly the world's first. I know i remember reading the Tale of Genji, i believe Japan's first novel, but it was a long time ago, and i don't remember much about it.

I'm not a big poetry reader, but for some reason I don't have much problem with Asian poetry. Here's a few anthologies of Chinese poetry to get you started.

I love haiku, most likely for the visual images evoked, and the brevity. Basho, Issa, and Buson are acknoledged masters, and here's a selection to get you started.

And a selection of both Chinese and Japanese Zen poetry, Ryokan and Ikkyu are the acknowledged masters here.

Short story collections for an intro to the 3 masters of modern Japanese literature.

The earliest of the big three. Tanizaki's themes revolve around a changing Japan from classical times to modern, and sexual obsession.

My personal favorite writer of the three, and the only Japanese writer until Kenzabuto Oe to win the Nobel. Kawabata was a painter, and his novels are spare, minimalist, image evoking, experimental for his day, and often don't seem to end up anywhere. These five are my favorites, (along with Palm of the Hand stories in the short story section), some of the later novels, like The Lake and The House of Sleeping Beauties got a little to weird for me.

These 4 bookstogather constitute the novel The Sea of Fertility, and together are Mishima's masterpiece, and my favorite book ever. Mishima is a master ironist, and these 4 books follow a lawyer, Honda, as he tracks what may or may not be the continued reincarnation of his boyhood best friend. Mishima was comitted to the decaying Samuri ideals, and comitted seppaku after he finished the final book.

Other novels by Mishima, laden with irony, hints of homosexuality, assorted perversions, and here and there an odd streak of sentimentality.

Ok, so this series was written by a Dutchman, Robert van Gulik. But it features and actual medieval Chinese character, Judge Dee, is set in ancient China, and is one of my favorite mystery series ever. Here are the first five of the series, and most likely you'll want to finish the others from there. A rare treat, enjoy!

5 influential Japanese photographers. I love, love Michiko Kon's work, i'm partial to the still life genre. She constructs the most amazing objects from food and other degradeable objects, and then photographs them. Hiro is a well known fashion photographer with a wonderful style. Also check out his Fighting Fish book if you can find it. Araki recently had a bif retrospective in London, he's best known for his images of women in extreme bondage. I suppose it's a commentary on Japanese society, or i should get huffy about it being degrading to women, but honestly, it just makes me laugh, it's so over the top. Sugimoto is pretty well known, especially for his black and white photos of the ocean meeting the sky, and of his portraits of the wax figures in the wax museum. I'm not terribly familiar with Mina Yanagi, but her work focuses on images of women and their roles in Japanese society.