Tales of Old Japanese

Tales of old japanese is a collection of five short stories of the older generation living in contemporary japan. the author spent over 25 years living in the country, working as a writer and journalist. some of his impressions of japan and of the people who live there have been recorded in: keiko's house an old house, its history, and the history of those who have lived there in the past.haircuts when 92-year-old mr kato changes his barber, his life takes on a surprising new meaning.click one photograph every day. the memories of twenty years, all neatly arranged in albums. mrs terada's camera sees everything.mrs sakamoto's grouse when mrs sakamoto sees a new brand of whisky on the shelves of her local neighbourhood shop, the result is unexpected.the old house two boys play in the garden of a deserted house once owned by a notorious miser; which turns out not to be deserted after all. review "this little gem of a book was written by an expatriate brit who has resided in japan for several years, and whose love for that nation's culture, traditions, and people shines through in five short stories about japanese senior citizens. ashton's writing is spare and concise, analogous in style to japanese calligraphy, haiku poetry, or ikebana -and it is precisely this elegant simplicity which gives his work such profound emotional power and quiet beauty."this is a delightful and gentle collection of short stories based on the author's long residence in japan and his personal knowledge of the ageing society there. as is well known, japan is at the forefront of the societies confronting this problem, and we don't often get such well-written insights into how that feels and impacts on daily life. these tales are told with humour and sympathy, and may help to open a few eyes as to what living in japan is really like for and among the silver generation."i was pleased to find that the stories are refreshingly free of clichés. there are no stories of seniors confused by grandchildren with their smartphones, video games and teenage slang. also, there are no stories of "international marriages", with stereotyped japanese old codgers rolling out the old fears of inter-cultural misunderstandings and getting flustered by "foreigners" using chopsticks i am so tired of that kind of writing. instead what we do have are characters that come across as real people, portrayed in a wistful and dryly humorous way, in a style that reminded this reviewer of 'norwegian wood'-era murakami."