Lost Japan: Last Glimpse of Beautiful Japan (英語) ペーパーバック – 2015/10/13

I was hooked by "Lost Japan" immediately and could not put it down until I finished the last page. This book should be required reading for anyone who's lived in Japan, anyone who's interested in Japan, or even anyone who thinks all there is to Japan is samurai and geisha (or alternatively, anime and Pokemon). Lost Japan is very reminiscent of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki's "In Praise of Shadows": they are both works lamenting a disappearing Japan, and both are told in a series of seemingly unrelated essays and anecdotes. Unfortunately, as several reviewers have mentioned already, sometimes Kerr goes to the point that his stories are so self-focused that they detract from the big picture. The entire chapter on literati, for example, did not add much to the story for me at least. However, overall Kerr's style is a success.
What impressed me the most with this book is how well Kerr was able to avoid falling into the easy traps of Japan Bashing or Japan Worship. It is obvious that he loves Japan, but at the same time his vision is clear enough so that he can view Japan objectively and speak hard truths. Most likely, any reader of this book who has been to Japan for any period of time found themselves nodding along to many parts of this book that were both critical of and in praise of modern Japan. Kerr says so many things that seem so obvious, and yet they feel so novel because the Japanese themselves have not publicly admitted that there are serious, fundamental problems in contemporary society. The sad thing is that it has been about a decade since Kerr's essays were published in Japan and it is questionable whether Japan has made any real progress in that time. To that end, I look forward to reading Dogs and Demons to see how Kerr's thoughts have changed in the interim after writing Lost Japan.
I did not agree with everything Kerr had to say, but I found his arguments and ideas stimulating and fresh. I hope Japan pulls itself out of its cultural and economic recession soon, but as Kerr hints at, a mere decade is no cause for panic in a country where events are measured in centuries and millennia. Japan has suffered worse destruction in its past; here's hoping that the difficulties of the past decade will be made worth it with the rebirth of a new Japan that is able to combine features of its past with the realities of the present.

I have mixed feelings about this book. There is a central thesis to the book - that Japan's culture is "lost," and worth saving. However, the episodic nature of the book, and the fact that his most impassioned writing comes at the beginning, distracts from the thesis. Instead, the book comes off as an extended one-way conversation with the author, which I must admit wasn't entirely a good thing. While he's obviously intelligent and sensitive, and intimately involved with what he writes about, I found myself a little turned off by the constant name-dropping, claims that anybody mentioned anywhere in the book is a genius, and the tangential anecdotes and facts which seemed entirely self-serving. At one point, he mentions being accepted into an Oxford school society so elite that undergraduates haven't been allowed in for two hundred years. Impressive, but it doesn't have anything to do with the book, and comes off as posturing.
Having been born in Honolulu, with similar problems such as ugly, sprawling hotel districts and a kidnapped culture, I'm extremely sympathetic to Alex Kerr's anger at the uglification and cultural deadening of Japan. However, his attitude towards modern Japan is one of instant revulsion. The revulsion lends the book a bitter-old-man sentimentality, that everything has gotten worse. That's not a minor gripe - the author has made it his goal, both in this book and in personal life, to prove that the traditional ways of Japan should be more a part of modern Japanese life. Waxing on about Japan's traditional arts, while unilaterally rejecting modern Japan, just furthers the book's counter-thesis: that the modern and traditional aren't compatible.
Perhaps I'm being too negative, and for those interested in the current state of the traditional in Japan, Alex Kerr knows the subject well. Regardless, I found myself disheartened that the book has such a strong thesis, has such an intelligent and undeniably knowledgable author, makes so many good points, but still ends up being an extended bitter rant.

Having just returned from a 2 year job assignment in Japan, I can say that I saw many of the things the writer wrote about regarding its current culture. I wish I could have read this book before I left for Japan because it would have been helpful in my interactions with my co-workers and bosses in the work place. We fell in love with Japan, I hope Japan “finds” itself before it is too late.

For those who love Japan and are intrigued by Japanese culture. It was fantastic book for me after my trip to Japan.

Most of the reviews of this book either support or criticize Kerr's point of view regarding the topics he covers. It seems to me Kerr does an admirable job of conveying what are obviously his own experiences living for a very long time in Japan. It seems neither reactionary, elitist, nor condemning. As a writer, I loved the book for its writing.

Kerr has a talent for phrasing, metaphor, and humor that makes the reading a delightful breeze. Clearly his Japanese publisher felt it was a subject that would appeal to Nihonjin. I have recommended it to a couple of Japanese friends myself.

Even if you're not especially interested in Japanese culture, many of the essays in this little book are great fun to read.