Kansai Cool. Christal Whelan

      

      KANSAI

       COOL

      For my parents

      Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.

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      Copyright © 2014 by Christal Whelan

      All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher.

      Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data for this title is in progress

      ISBN: 978-1-4629-1412-8 (ebook)

      Exact or adapted versions of chapters 2-9 and 11-13 first appeared in The Daily Yomiuri column Kansai Culturescapes between January 2011 and April 2012.

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      Contents

	Acknowledgements
	Introduction: West of the Toll Gate
PART I:	NATURE
Chapter 1	Gratitude: A Japanese Lesson
Chapter 2	The Ways of Water: Kyoto’s Water Culture
Chapter 3	The Spirit of Bamboo
Chapter 4	Listening to Incense
Chapter 5	Mother of Pearls: Lake Biwa
PART II:	INDUSTRY
Chapter 6	The Obi of Kyoto: Tied to Tradition, Future Bound
Chapter 7	Pedaling Through Time: When The Bicycle Reached Japan
Chapter 8	Dolls: Surrogates, Scapegoats, and Trusted Companions
Chapter 9	Our Avatars, Ourselves: Robotic Innovation in Japan
PART III:	A SENSE OF PLACE
Chapter 10	The Still Point: Authenticity Within an Evolving Cuisine
Chapter 11	Traveling The Coffee Road: Café Culture from Kaffa to Kyoto
Chapter 12	Traces of China in Japan
Chapter 13	Geography as Destiny: Crafting Island in Japan
PART IV:	THE ARTS
Chapter 14	Butoh: Theater of the Soul
Chapter 15	Arms of Peace: Japan’s Newest Martial Art Goes to Rome
Chapter 16	Escape to Reality: The Mikkyo of Issey Miyake’s Fashion
Chapter 17	The Painting on the Walls: Hideki Kimura’s Mural Art
PART V:	YOUTH CULTURE
Chapter 18