Japanese Inn

This book is one of the best I've read on Japan. Statler has created a mix of fiction and non-fiction that creates a view of Japanese society through periods of turmoil and peace. Highly recommended reading.

During my years in the military, my last 26 months were spent in the Yokohama-Tokyo area on the Kanto Plain. A short distance from the Navy/U.S.M.C. military installation where I lived, lay the Tokaido Road. On this ancient main road, which ran from Kyoto to Edo (Tokyo), just a few miles southwest from our base was the 'Minaguchi-ya' of this book. We were only 20 minutes or so from Odawara, the medieval castle town at the base of Mount Fuji and the Hakone Mountains. Many of the wood cuts and pen and inks in this book came from this area, with Hiroshige and Basho, among others, spending much time there. This area too was one of the 53 government post stations or gates on the ancient Tokaido Road. Only a short distance from Mount Fuji is of course Shimizu Harbor, Miho, and Suruga Bay, all mentioned in the book. One of the Japanese college students working in our barracks lived on the Izu Peninsula. 'Takish' saw that I was reading JAPANESE INN and offered to bring me some material from his home area of which he was justifiably proud. One of the anomalies of that area is the black sand covering the beaches. The brochures and postcards he brought added even extra enjoyment to my reading of JAPANESE INN. Here I was a young man from Ohio serving in the military and all the places mentioned by Oliver Statler were relatively close to hand. As Mr. Statler continuously points out, much of Japan's earlier history happened in this area. It still remained a very revered area during my stay from October, 1962 through December, 1964. With Kamakura, between Yokohama and Odawara, once being an earlier capital of Japan. The area discussed in this book is not only historical but it is extremely picturesque, remaining a resort area of hotels, hot springs, and golf courses to this day. The festivals and Odawara castle continuously bring visitors from far and wide, making it a very active area for sightseeing. Anyone interested in Japan and her pre-modern era has a real treat awaiting should they decide to read JAPANESE INN. I've read the book about this historical inn several times since leaving Japan, and each time it transports me back to those happy years in that area where I once resided, so long ago. I was young and that area of Japan was one indescribably wonderful in which to growup. I spent much time in the area, even camping out overnight at Kojiri campground, in the Hakone Mountains. And at age 61 its affect remains with me to this very day. Yomu, Tanoshimu. Domo arigato gozaimasu. To read, to enjoy. Thank you very much! Semper Fi.

This book is a marvelous summary of Japan's history as seen through the creation and development of one of Japan's most famous inns. Everyone who was anyone stayed here or passed through the town. In addition, the owners of the inn are presented both as people and as representatives of their class. From Samurai to innkeeper the family's success and problems are summarized within each chapter. The chapters themselves each depict a particular pivotal period in Japan and how it affected the local community and the country. The author, himself, appears in several chapters as he relates how he discovered the inn and his interest in its history.

Truly a superb book! Anyone interested in Japanese culture and its development over the years, will be fascinated by this book. Well written, beautifully structured. A book to be read and reread and a treasured possetion.

Every serious reader has one or more copies of "the" book; that is, a book one picks up from time to time over many years and just reads for the pure love of the experience. Japanese Inn is such a book to me. I have four hardcover copies and will never give one of them away. Statler's story of Japanese history through the eyes of the Inn-keeper of the Minaguchi-ya completely takes ones mind and immagination on a wonderful journey to the 1500s and brings you into the 20th century. James Michener, in his wonderful autobiography, "The World Is My Home", stated that in Japanese Inn Oliver Statler both wrote a minor classic and did not need any help from him. Half right! He wrote a major classic to me.