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Audrey Pellerin

01/17/00

Mr.Gardner

Japanese Visual Culture

Pictorial Encyclopedia of Japanese Culture. Tokyo: Gakken, 1987.

The Pictorial Encyclopedia purpose to allow those who have an interest in Japan to better understand Japan's society, culture, customs and history. Even though Japan has been Westernized and Americanized it is still a unique country, which the book reveals through its numerous pages of photographs.

The authors of the encyclopedia did a great job in the designing each page. The vivid colors and numerous pictures attract the reader's attention. The pictures are not those of painting and sketches, but also of war instruments and of such architectural forms as the Buddhist temples. On each page there are at most three paragraphs explaining the general history of the pictures on that page. The explanation does not use large words which simplifies the reading material. Under each picture on the page there is a little description of the history of that particular painting. This option is great because it gives the reader the option of reading. At the end of the encyclopedia there is Glossary of Culture and History. In the glossary there are alphabetized common words used to describe Japan. This addition of the glossary is brilliant because the reader does not have to search in the dictionary for unknown Japanese descriptive words. All they have to do is flip the pages to the back of the book.