Steven D. Carter is Yamato Ichihashi Chair in Japanese History and Civilization at Stanford University. His numerous books include Haiku Before Haiku: From the Renga Masters to Basho, Unforgotten Dreams: Poems by the Zen Monk Shotetsu, and Waiting for the Wind: Thirty-Six Poets of Japan's Late Medieval Age.
The focused ramble of the traditional Japanese essay format called zuihitsu (lit, following the brush ) is an uncommonly honest form of non-fiction that has appealed to writers of both genders, all ages, and every class in Japanese society. Highly personal, these essays contain dollops of philosophy, odd anecdotes, quiet reflection, and pronouncements on taste. In running alongside the main tracks of Japanese literature, this broad collection of zuihitsu brims with idiosyncratic interest. -- Liza Dalby, author of The Tale of Murasaki and East Wind Melts the Ice Savor a copy of The Columbia Anthology of Japanese Essays, and take a contemplative walk through the Japanese mind, full of poetic turns and pithy longings, ribald humor and lofty aspirations. -- Kris Kosaka The Japan Times 11/29/14