Princess Masako

Princess Masako
Author: Ben Hills
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2006
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 9781585425686

A portrait of Princess Masako, the Harvard- and Oxford-educated woman who sacrificed her career as a diplomat to marry Crown Prince Naruhito, offers a look into the mysterious world of Japan's imperial family.

Princess Masako

Princess Masako
Author: Ben Hills
Publisher: Penguin
Total Pages: 348
Release: 2006-12-28
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1101216107

The tragic true story of Japan's Crown Princess-with a new afterword by the author. It's the fantasy of many young women: marry a handsome prince, move into a luxurious palace, and live happily ever after. But that's not how it turned out for Masako Owada. Ben Hills's fascinating portrait of Princess Masako and the Chrysanthemum Throne draws on research in Tokyo and rural Japan, at Oxford and Harvard, and from more than sixty interviews with Japanese, American, British, and Australian sources-many of whom have never spoken publicly before-shedding light on the royal family's darkest secrets, secrets that can never be openly discussed in Japan because of the reverence in which the emperor and his family are held. But most of all, this is a story about a love affair that went tragically wrong. The paperback edition will contain a new afterword by the author, discussing the impact this book had in Japan, where it was banned.

Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites

Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites
Author: Debbi Michiko Florence
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Total Pages: 21
Release: 2021-09-14
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0374390479

Louisiana Young Readers' Choice Award Nominee! Niki Nakayama: A Chef's Tale in 13 Bites is a picture book biography that tells the story of the powerhouse female Japanese-American chef and her rise to fame As a child and adult, Niki faced many naysayers in her pursuit of haute cuisine. Using the structure of a traditional kaiseki meal, the authors Debbi Michiko Florence and Jamie Michalak playfully detail Niki's hunger for success in thirteen "bites" — from wonton wrappers she used to make pizza as a kid to yuzu-tomatillo sauce in her own upscale Los Angeles Michelin-starred restaurant, n/naka. To anyone who tells her a woman can't be a master chef, Niki lets her food do the talking. And oh, does it talk. Niki was featured on the first season of Netflix's culinary documentary series Chef's Table. And Chrissy Teigen proclaimed that Niki's restaurant was one of her absolute favorites. She's currently a featured teacher on MasterClass. A smart, strong woman with starpower, Niki is only just getting started — like the young readers who will devour this book, featuring illustrations by Yuko Jones!

Beautiful as the Rainbow

Beautiful as the Rainbow
Author: Song Nai Rhee
Publisher: Inspiring Voices
Total Pages: 290
Release: 2013-09-13
Genre: History
ISBN: 1462407072

Reared in a palace and educated at Gakushuin, the elite Peers School, Princess Masako was elegant, refined, and proper in all things royal and Japanese. She was also stunningly beautiful. It was therefore only natural that she was being groomed to be betrothed to a princeno less than Crown Prince Hirohito, the future Emperor of Japan. The rulers of the newly emerging Empire of the Sun, however, decided to offer the beautiful princess as a sacrifice on the altar of Japans imperialism. She, they conspired, must marry Yi Eun, the crown prince of Koreas Joseon Kingdom, whose national independence they were strangulating with their conquest ambition. As Korea was forced to become a part of Japan, so was Masako forced to become a part of Korea in order to symbolize the union of the two nations in mortal conflict. Like a fish in a net or a bird in a snare, Princess Masako turned and twisted to live, to be free, and to be happy. Painfully aware that events in her life were beyond her control, however, she decided to accept her destiny. Even so, the imposed destiny would not control her, for she decided to become a heroine, not a victim of her misfortunes, driven by her passion for love, life, and happiness. Masakos story is about the human spirit empowering a victim of misfortunes and an unwanted destiny to become a hero, transforming adversity into patches of paradise as beautiful as the rainbow.

The Yamato Dynasty

The Yamato Dynasty
Author: Sterling Seagrave
Publisher: Crown
Total Pages: 418
Release: 2001-08-14
Genre: History
ISBN: 0767904974

In The Yamato Dynasty, Sterling Seagrave, who divulged the secrets of Mao Tse-tung and the ruthlessness of Chiang Kai-shek in the New York Times bestseller The Soong Dynasty, and his wife and longtime collaborator, Peggy, present the controversial, never-before-told history of the world’s longest-reigning dynasty–the Japanese imperial family–from its nineteenth-century origins through today. In the first collective biography of both the men and women of the Yamato Dynasty, the Seagraves take a controversial, comprehensive look at a family history that crosses two world wars, the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the American occupation of Japan, and Japan’s subsequent phoenix-like rise from the ashes of the Second World War. The Yamato Dynasty tells the story of the powerful men who have stood behind the screen–the shoguns and financiers controlling the throne from the shadows–taking readers behind the walls of privilege and tradition and revealing, in uncompromising detail, the true nature of a dynasty shrouded in myth and legend

Heroic with Grace

Heroic with Grace
Author: Chieko Irie Mulhern
Publisher: M.E. Sharpe
Total Pages: 352
Release: 1991-07
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 9780765632654

This book presents the lives and times of eight Japanese women who epitomize the tragedies and triumphs of eight characteristically female roles. In examining the lives of Empress Jingu (mythological), Jito Tenno Murasaki Shikibu, Tomoe Gozen (twelfth century), Hojo Masako, Hani Motoko, Takamine Hideko, and Ariyoshi Sawako, the contributors provide a mosaic of Japanese history and culture that encompasses issues of women's status in various stages of Japanese history, the social climate conducive to positive female roles, the concept of Japanes womanhood in relation to the male hero types of each age, and the popular need for strong female figures. It is the examination of the legends that have accured to the historical presence of these women that sets this book apart.

The Real Princess Diaries

The Real Princess Diaries
Author: Grace Norwich
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Total Pages: 100
Release: 2015-08-25
Genre: Juvenile Nonfiction
ISBN: 0545860377

This inside look at real-life princesses will explore the true and often inspiring stories behind happily ever after. A deep dive into the royal world of a princess! Featuring princesses from around the world and all of time. The Real Princess Diaries explores everything it means to be royal. Each spread includes portraits of the princesses, in-depth bios, crowning achievements, and family trees. Learn which princesses have official royal duties, and which ones simply reign. Plus bonus sidebars about ladies in waiting, the crowned jewels, royal outfits, and princes, this will be the definitive royal guide. Full-color photos, with a modern layout make this a must read for princess fans everywhere.

Fashion, Women and Power

Fashion, Women and Power
Author: Denise N. Rall
Publisher: Intellect Books
Total Pages: 228
Release: 2021-12-10
Genre: Political Science
ISBN: 1789384621

This book addresses the relationships between fashion, women and power. One of the constants within the book is to question the enduring relationship between women and dress and how these inform and articulate the ways in which women remain represented as either suitable or not for public office and their behaviour is informed through dress when they are in power. The book critiques the interplays between politics, power, class, race and expectation in relation to the everyday practice of getting dress and the more performative and symbolic function of dress as embodiment. As never before, women are in positions of political power, and find themselves facing the maelstroms of mass media regarding their fashion, their deportment, and their right to govern. The contributors offer a wide set of perspectives on women and their roles, and their fashions when taking up powerful positions in Australia, New Zealand, United Kingdom and the United States. From the United Kingdom, the historical issues surrounding the movement towards ‘rational dress’ for women seeking their rights to vote and exercise are interrogated. The volume also explores viewpoints from East Asia, such as the constricting role for ‘common’ women upon entering the Imperial family in Japan. From the United States come the troublesome media stories engulfing two significant American Democratic First Ladies, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Michelle Obama. From New Zealand, the media reports on Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern upon her motherhood while serving in the office and on her clothing during the 2019 Christchurch massacre comprise a much-needed contribution to the literature on women, politics and dress. Further, the role of dress in politics broadly as a form of resistance, will be examined in Australia from recent skirmishes over ‘appropriate dress’ with ex-prime minister Julia Gillard and other Australian female politicians. The role of women and what their fashion selections mean continues via considerable debate during worldwide events. Finally, the theme of resistance and social media continues with an examination of protest dressing in the recent street battles in Hong Kong to how young Asian women have been influenced by the social media campaigns to encourage wearing the veil in Indonesia, to Asian women negotiating femininity in political dress. Primary readership will be among researchers, scholars, educators and students in the fields of fashion, dress studies, women and gender studies and media and history. It will be of particular value as at graduate level and as a supplementary resource. There may be some general appeal to those with an interest in the women or cultures at the centre of the discussions.

Beautiful as the Rainbow

Beautiful as the Rainbow
Author: Song Nai Rhee
Publisher: Inspiring Voices
Total Pages: 293
Release: 2013-09
Genre: Biography & Autobiography
ISBN: 1462407064

Reared in a palace and educated at Gakushuin, the elite Peers School, Princess Masako was elegant, refined, and proper in all things royal and Japanese. She was also stunningly beautiful. It was therefore only natural that she was being groomed to be betrothed to a prince-no less than Crown Prince Hirohito, the future Emperor of Japan. The rulers of the newly emerging Empire of the Sun, however, decided to offer the beautiful princess as a sacrifice on the altar of Japan's imperialism. She, they conspired, must marry Yi Eun, the crown prince of Korea's Joseon Kingdom, whose national independence they were strangulating with their conquest ambition. As Korea was forced to become a part of Japan, so was Masako forced to become a part of Korea in order to symbolize the union of the two nations in mortal conflict. Like a fish in a net or a bird in a snare, Princess Masako turned and twisted to live, to be free, and to be happy. Painfully aware that events in her life were beyond her control, however, she decided to accept her destiny. Even so, the imposed destiny would not control her, for she decided to become a heroine, not a victim of her misfortunes, driven by her passion for love, life, and happiness. Masako's story is about the human spirit empowering a victim of misfortunes and an unwanted destiny to become a hero, transforming adversity into patches of paradise as beautiful as the rainbow.