Stone Bridge Press publisher talks with author and reviewer Stephen Mansfield about his work and the current state of writing about Japan for an international audience. Topics covered include:

• Stephen's early work in street photography, war journalism, and travel (beginning in Southeast Asia)
• Trends in writings from and about Japan
• Early works in translation, foreign writers writing on Japan, popular nonfiction categories (books explaining Japan,  memoirs, lifestyle and self-help books), and books that have been adapted to television and film
• How superficial views of Japan are balanced by select writers who are informed and knowledgeable about culture and language
• Stephen's new book on modern Japanese gardens featuring his text and photographs

Stephen Mansfield is a British writer and photojournalist whose work has appeared in over 70 magazines, newspapers and journals worldwide. He is the author of several books, including Japan: Islands of the Floating World, Japan's Master Gardens and Tokyo: A Biography. His latest book, coming out in fall 2025, is The Modern Japanese Garden, with a Foreword by Pico Iyer. (US: Timber Press; UK: Thames and Hudson). He currently resides in Japan

Many books and authors are mentioned in the podcast. These include the following:

• Laos: A Portrait by Stephen Mansfield
• Lao Hill Tribes: Traditions and Patterns of Existence by Stephen Mansfield
• Bradt Guide to the Philippines by Stephen Mansfield
• China: Yunan Province by Stephen Mansfield 
• Japanese Stone Gardens: Origins, Meaning & Form by Stephen Mansfield
• Japan's Master Gardens: Lessons in Space and Environment by Stephen Mansfield
   
• Unbeaten Tracks in Japan: An Account of Travels in the Interior Including Visits to the Aborigines of Yezo and the Shrine of Nikko by Isabella Bird
• A Superficial Journey through Tokyo and Peking by Peter Quennell 
• The Flowery Sword by Ethel Mannin
• Sado: Japan's Island in Exile by Angus Waycott
• Walking the Kiso Road: A Modern-Day Exploration of Old Japan by William Scott Wilson
• Off the Beaten Tracks in Japan: A Journey by Train from Hokkaido to Kyushu by John Dougill 
   
• Jiro Osaragi
• Kobo Abe
• Junichiro Tanizaki
• Shusaku Endo
• Sawako Ariyoshi
• Fumiko Enchi
• Yoko Ogawa
• Yoko Tawada
• Haruki Murakami
• Mieko Kawakami
   
• Donald Richie
• Edward Seidensticker
• Donald Keene
• Suzanne Kamata
• Leza Lowitz
• Lafcadio Hearn
• John Nathan
   
• The Pine Islands by Marion Poschmann, translated by Jen Calleja
• Fracture: A Novel by Andrés Neuman, translated by Lorenza Garcia
   
• The Enigma of Japanese Power: People and Politics in a Stateless Nation by Karel Van Wolferen
• Bending Adversity: Japan and the Art of Survival by David Pilling 
• Tokyo Junkie: 60 Years of Bright Lights and Back Alleys . . . and Baseball by Robert Whiting 
• The Call of Japan: A Continuing Story-1950 to the Present Day by Hans Brinckmann 
• At Home in Japan: A Foreign Woman's Journey of Discovery by Rebecca Otowa 
• Water, Wood, and Wild Things: Learning Craft and Cultivation in a Japanese Mountain Town by
• Hannah Kirshner 
• Illusory Dwellings: Aesthetic Meditations in Kyoto by Allen S. Weiss
• The Garden Against Time: In Search of a Common Paradise by Olivia Laing
• Green Tea Living: A Japan-Inspired Guide to Eco-Friendly Habits, Health, and Happiness by Toshimi A. Kayaki
   
• The Guest Cat by Takashi Hiraide, translated by Eric Selland 
• The Travelling Cat Chronicles by Hiro Arikawa, translated by Philip Gabriel 
• The Cat and The City by Nick Bradley
• The Cat with Three Passports by Cj Fentiman 
• Oh, Tama! by Mieko Kanai, translated by Tomoko Aoyama and Paul McCarthy
• A Cat, a Man, and Two Women by Junichiro Tanizaki, translated by Paul McCarthy 
• I Am a Cat by Soseki Natsume, translated by Aiko Ito
• Shogun by James Clavell
• The Earthquake Bird: A Novel by Susanna Jones
• Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan by Jake Adelstein
• Mirei Shigemori: Modernizing the Japanese Garden by Christian Tschumi

For a complete list of Stone Bridge Press books, visit www.stonebridge.com.