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Search - List of Books by Alex Kerr

Alex Kerr (born 1952) is an American writer and Japanologist.

Originally from the Bethesda area in unincorporated Montgomery County, Maryland, his father, a naval officer, was posted in Yokohama from 1964 to 1966. Kerr moved to Japan in 1977 and lived in Kameoka, near Kyoto, since then. Kerr maintained additional homes in Bangkok, Thailand and the Iya Valley of Shikoku.

An expert on Japanese culture and art, Kerr studied Japanese Studies at Yale University and Chinese Studies at Oxford University as a Rhodes scholar. Through his experiences in Japan, as related in his books, he has also become an avid art collector, and patron of Japan's traditional theatre and other arts. A good friend of the famous kabuki actor Band? Tamasabur? V, Kerr was introduced to kabuki from a perspective, and with a depth, which few foreigners have. He frequently writes and lectures in Japanese, and is associated with the Oomoto Foundation, a Shint? organisation devoted to the practice and teaching of traditional Japanese arts.

He is perhaps most well known for his book Lost Japan (1994), which describes what he saw as the sorry modern state of the country in which he has spent more than 35 years of his life. Lost Japan was actually originally written and published in Japanese, as Utsukushiki Nihon no Zanz? (????????, "Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan"). He was the first foreigner to be awarded the Shincho Gakugei Literature Prize for the best work of non-fiction published in Japan; he won it in 1994 for this work.

His most recent work is Dogs and Demons (2002), which addresses much of the same issues of degradation and loss of native culture in the wake of modernization and Westernization.

In the early 1970s, Kerr purchased a decomposing, abandoned, two-hundred-year-old Japanese house in the Iya Valley, a remote mountainous area of Tokushima prefecture on the island of Shikoku. He has since restored the house to a livable state, including rethatching the kayabuki roof. The house was given the name Chiiori, or "House of the Flute". The restoration of Chiiori began a project by Kerr and others to preserve Japan's vanishing arts, culture and traditional lifestyle, a project which unfortunately produced few if any tangible results . Recognizing this, in 2007, Alex decided to become more personally involved in Iya. He expanded and reorganized the board of directors of the project, and closed the house for a few months for renovations. It reopened in Nov 2007, this time with fresh energy and focus on bringing into reality the original dreams of the project.

Kerr currently has several residences. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand for half of the year, and Kyoto, Japan for the other half, visiting and staying at Chiiori as well.

English-language Works   more

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "Alex Kerr", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
Total Books: 23
Another Kyoto
2018 - Another Kyoto (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780141988337
ISBN-10: 0141988339
Genre: Travel
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Living in Japan
2018 - Living in Japan (Hardcover)Hardcover
ISBN-13: 9783836566315
ISBN-10: 3836566311
Genre: Arts & Photography
  ?

No One Listened Two children A horrific act of violence No one to trust except each other
Lost Japan Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan
2016 - Lost Japan Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780141979748
ISBN-10: 0141979747
Genres: History, Reference, Travel
  ?

Bangkok Found Reflections on the City
2010 - Bangkok Found Reflections on the City (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9789749863923
ISBN-10: 9749863925
Genres: Arts & Photography, History, Reference
  ?

No One Listened Two Children Caught in a Tragedy with No One Else to Trust Except for Each Other
Dogs and Demons
2002 - Dogs and Demons (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780141010007
ISBN-10: 0141010002
Genres: Business & Money, History, Nonfiction
  • Currently 3/5 Stars.
 1

Dogs and Demons Tales from the Dark Side of Modern Japan
2002 - Dogs and Demons Tales From the Dark Side of Modern Japan (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780809039432
ISBN-10: 0809039435
Genres: Business & Money, History, Nonfiction
  • Currently 3.9/5 Stars.
 4

Dogs and Demons  Tales form the Dark Side of Modern Japan
2001 - Dogs and Demons Tales Form the Dark Side of Modern Japan (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780809095216
ISBN-10: 0809095211
Genres: Business & Money, History, Nonfiction, Law, Engineering & Transportation
  • Currently 4.5/5 Stars.
 1

Lost Japan
1996 - Lost Japan (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780864423702
ISBN-10: 0864423705
Genres: History, Travel
  • Currently 3.7/5 Stars.
 6

Dogs and demons The fall of modern Japan
Dogs and Demons the Fall of Modern Japan (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780713996395
ISBN-10: 0713996390
  ?

Australia's North West
Australia's North West (Hardcover)Paperback
ISBN-13: 9780855641122
ISBN-10: 0855641126
Genres: Business & Money, History
  ?

Indian Ocean Region Resources and Development
Indian Ocean Region Resources and Development (Hardcover)
ISBN-13: 9780855641863
ISBN-10: 085564186X
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Regional Income Estimation in Indonesia Historical Development [Reprints of publications by members - Centre for Asian Studies of the University of Western Autralia ; no. 13] (Other)
Immortal images The jade collection of Margaret and Trammell Crow
A Brief Guide for the High School Moviemaker
A Brief Guide for the High School Moviemaker (Paperback)
ISBN-13: 9780975307601
ISBN-10: 0975307606
Genre: Humor & Entertainment
  ?

Utsukushiki Nihon No Zanzo
Utsukushiki Nihon No Zanzo (Other)
ISBN-13: 9784022642400
ISBN-10: 4022642408
  ?