Iwanami Shoten releases Japanese translation of Prof. John Nathan’s memoir “Living Carelessly in Tokyo and Elsewhere”

On November 22, 2017, Iwanami Shoten (岩波書店) published 日本放浪記 (Nippon hoorooki), the Japanese translation of John Nathan’s 2008 memoir, Living Carelessly in Tokyo and Elsewhere.

From best-selling novelist Mizumura Minae’s  comment on the cover of the Japanese edition:

“This is a tale of one man’s ambition, his disappointments, and his loves, and is at the same time an invaluable chronicle of Japan’s postwar literary community. Unflaggingly fascinating!”

Praise from American critics:

“In narrating the events of his life, in its ups, downs and (predominantly) swerves, Nathan brings a talent for characterization, a splendid ability in scene setting, and an acute power of dramatizing incidents…His portrait of his stormy relationships with strong personalities, such as Mishima, Shintaro Katsu, and Sony chairman Norio Ohga are pointed and insightful, often yielding memorable moments…an enthralling read.”(Evergreen Review, 2008)

“Nathan is a practiced storyteller. “Living Carelessly” is an engaging chronicle of his passionate lifelong involvement with Japan.  It offers a vivid picture  of Japanese culture from someone who infiltrated it intimately…”Living Carelessly” is also a candid confessional portrait of a man so driven to prove his artistic talents (to himself and to others) that his achievements in several realms fail to satisfy him. Yet as this memoir makes clear, his achievements, while falling short of his dreams–whose don’t?–add up to more than he thinks.”  (Los Angeles Times Book Review, March 30, 2008).