Japanese Women

Chris Harding's enormously enjoyable new book distils Japan's long, complex and fascinating history into the stories of 20 remarkable individuals. These vivid and entertaining portraits take the listener from the earliest written accounts of Japan right through to the life of the current empress, Masako. We encounter shamans and warlords, poets and revolutionaries, scientists, artists and adventurers - each offering insights of their own into this extraordinary place.

Recién reincorporada a la Brigada tras la cirugía de reasignación de sexo, Sofía Luna se ve obligada a investigar un misterioso caso. ¿Quién es este asesino que escoge a sus víctimas, todas japonesas, en el centro turístico de Madrid? Todo parece apuntar hacia el peculiar mundo de los viajes turísticos organizados y el más peculiar aún de personas asexuales, un grupo que rechaza la hipersexualidad de la vida moderna y tiene como animal favorito la estrella de mar.

The house was built when I was nine years old at the place where our old house was torn down, because it was too old to live in. That old house was built about 100 years ago. My ancestors lived at exactly the same spot generation after generation for over 1000 years since my family used to be a landlord of the area. We are here for around 63 generations.

A long time ago, when Japan had the feudal system, my family was a landlord of the area. It has come to a complete downfall over the years, but my family still clings to its past glory. For them, to succeed the family is critical. I’m firstborn and have no brother which meant that I was a successor and destined to spend the whole life in my hometown. But, music changed everything. To pursue a career in music, my hometown was too rural, and I had to move out. Back then, I was a college student, and moving to a city meant dropping out of school.