In 2021 John Rucynski--who has been living in Japan on and off since 1994--self-published A Passion for Japan through Blue Sky Publishing. In this anthology, which includes 31 writers, he asks not why the writers came to Japan but why they stayed. Here is a list of the essays and writers included, from the Table of Contents

1. Shodō: Finding My Way in The Way of Writing
   Karen Hill Anton
2. One Year with the Guardians of the Phoenix
   Carmen Săpunaru Tămaș
3. Matsuri Madness
   David M. Weber
4. Wadaiko: Drumming to Our Own Beat
   Daniel Lilley
5. Follow the Sound of the Drums: My Passion for Eisa
   Judy Kambara
6. A Love of Indie Music and a Seat behind the Goal
   Adrianne Verla Uchida
7. Sumo and Me
   Tim Craig
8. A Pushover for Sumo
   Katrina Watts
9. Baseball, Blogging, and Belonging
   Trevor Raichura
10. Coming Home: The Search for Belonging in Rural Japan
    Victoria Yoshimura
11. Looking for the Good Life: Living as a Local In a Zero Waste Village
    Linda Mengxi Ding
12. Gaijin in the Garden: Where Ganbaru is Golden
    Robert McLaughlin
13. From Bruce Lee to The Way of Tea
    Randy Channell Soei
14. From the Land of the Indomitable Lions to the Land of the Blue Samurai: A Personal Story
    Samuel Nfor
15. The Long Road from Clay to Pot, and What I Learned along the Way
    Irina Holca
16. The Man Who Stepped into Yesterday
    Edward J. Taylor
17. Kumano Leap – Local Heritage Adopts a Wandering Soul: Q & A with Mike Rhodes
    Mike Rhodes
18. Life Lessons Learned in Japan’s Mountains
    Wes Lang
19. “Banzai!” on a Spanish Island: Playing Chess in Japan’s Colors
    Simon Bibby
20. Who, Me?! Volleyball Refereeing in Japan
    Greg Rouault
21. Passion in a Community: Finding My Japan through JALT
    Wayne Malcolm
22. Come Sail Away: Finding My Passion on the Ship for World Youth
    John Rucynski
23. The Inner Game of the Japanese: Going Back Home with Tennis
    Haru Yamada
24. Who Am I? In Search of My Identity
    Margaret C. Kim
25. My Love for Traditional Rituals and Customs of Japan
    Hiya Mukherjee
26. Discovering Japanese Fusion of Religions on the Pilgrimage Island of Shikoku
    Steve McCarty
27. Feeling at Home with the Great Literary Masters
    Vicky Ann Richings
28. Too Many Novels I Want to Translate: Q & A With Emily Balistrieri
    Emily Balistrieri
29. Literature and Legacy: Stories of Hansen’s Disease in Japan
    Kathryn M. Tanaka
30. Roof Spotting in Japan
    Wendy Bigler
31. A Passion for the Place: Swept Off My Feet by a Japanese Farmhouse
    Rebecca Otowa

The book is available exclusively on
Amazon USA / Amazon Japan

Follow the book on Instagram, Facebook, and Goodreads.

At the end of the podcast, Amy asks John what his top 3 books on Japan are and why. He gives 4:

• You Gotta Have Wa, by Robert Whiting
• The Roads to Sata, by Alan Booth
• Cool Japan, by Tim Craig
• Pure Invention, by Matt Alt

John Rucynski, editor of A Passion for Japan: A Collection of Personal Narratives, is originally from upstate New York and has been living in Japan on and off since 1994. He is currently associate professor in the Center for Language Education at Okayama University. His main research interest is the role of humor in language acquisition and intercultural communicative competence, and he has edited two volumes on this topic.

The Books on Asia Podcast is sponsored by Stone Bridge Press, publisher of quality books on Japan and Asia for over 30 years. Go to their website at https://www.stonebridge.com/

The Books on Asia Podcast is co-produced with Plum Rain Press. 

Podcast host Amy Chavez is author of The Widow, the Priest, and the Octopus Hunter: Discovering a Lost Way of Life on a Secluded Japanese Island. and Amy's Guide to Best Behavior in Japan.

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