Jirō Taniguchi Books

"'Because it's there.' George Herbert Leigh Mallory is said to have given this in reply to the question 'Why do you want to climb Mt. Everest?' On his third expedition in June 1924, Mallory and his climbing partner, Andrew Irvine, disappeared on the North-East ridge during their ascent, having been sighted only a few hundred metres from the summit. In 1993, in a small Nepalese store, Makoto Fukamachi, photographer for a Japanese expedition to conquer Mt Everest, stumbles across an old camera -- a Vest Pocket Autographic Kodak Special. Could it be Mallory's camera? Did it hold the secret of whether Mallory and Irvine made it to the summit?"--Publisher's web site.

Climbing is all I have, I climb.' Photographer Fukamachi is visiting Habu's home when the felon Mohan turns up demanding the missing Kodak but is foiled when his earlier captor shoots and wounds him. Habu admits that he took the camera from Mallory's body but that there was no film found. He releases the camera to Fukamachi's charge on the understanding that he can only use it after Habu completes his solo climb of Everest's South West face. But Fukamachi is going with him!'

With what may be Mallory's camera found and lost, photographer Fukamachi delves deeper into the life of the mysterious character Bikha Sanp - the "Venomous Snake" - convinced that he is, in reality, the legendary mountaineer ouji Habu. the more he digs the more he reveals of the lives of both Habu and his constant nemesis Tsuneo Hase as they each struggle against their own limitations and the perceived achievements of hte other. It is a tale of obession to succeed, to be the first - always. But as he penetrates the darkness of these men's psyches he finds himself being laid bare and bound to the mountain in this raw human drama.

KNOW THY FATHER The book opens with some childhood thoughts of Yoichi Yamashita spurred by a phone call at work informing him of his father's death. So, he journeys back to his hometown after an absence of well over a decade during which time he has not seen his father. But as the relatives gather for the funeral and the stories start to flow, Yoichi's childhood starts to resurface. The Spring afternoons playing on the floor of his father's barber shop, the fire that ravaged the city and his family home, his parents' divorce and a new 'mother'. Through confidences and memories shared with those who knew him best, Yoichi rediscovers the man he had long considered an absent and rather cold father.

With what may be Mallory's camera found and lost, photographer Fukamachi delves deeper into the life of the mysterious character Bikha Sanp - the "Venomous Snake" - convinced that he is, in reality, the legendary mountaineer ouji Habu. the more he digs the more he reveals of the lives of both Habu and his constant nemesis Tsuneo Hase as they each struggle against their own limitations and the perceived achievements of hte other. It is a tale of obession to succeed, to be the first - always. But as he penetrates the darkness of these men's psyches he finds himself being laid bare and bound to the mountain in this raw human drama.

After his mother dies aged 78, the author discovers a beautifully lacquered box which contains what appear to be old hand-drawn postcards and photos of Venice. One photo of Piazza San Marco particularly catches his eye. It is of a Japanese couple feeding a multitude of pigeons in the square dressed in what looked like 1930's style. Who were they? What relevance did they have for his mother? Armed with the contents of the lacquered box he travels to Venice to track down the places and events in the images and to discover the identity of the young couple in the old photograph.

Hiroshi Nakahara is a forty-something salary man returning to Tokyo from an intense business trip when he is catapulted back into his fourteen year-old life and body whilst retaining all the character and experience of the adult. Will he change his past or be forever condemned to relive each painful moment? That fateful day his father disappeared without explanation, the death of his mother ... would he marry his childhood sweetheart and never see his wife and daughters again? Master manga-ka Taniguchi at his most powerful.

This is the fictionalized version of the life and times of Japanese author [b]Natsume Soseki[/b] during an era of great change in Japan from the traditional Edo period into the modern Meiji period (1867 - 1912). [b]Soseki[/b] is considered the Charles Dickens or Mark Twain of Japan. His image even appeared on the 1000 yen note for two decades. He is best known for his novel [i]Botchan[/i], on whose times this book is based, and the short [i]I Am A Cat[/i] which is integrated into these pages. In this [b]third volume[/b] we learn of the love between Army Medical Officer and poet [b]?gai Mori[/b] and the German dancer [b]Elise Weigert[/b] aka Autumn's Ballerina[b]Taniguchi[/b] marries talent to a solid script by [b]Sekikawa[/b] to create a fresco of Japanese society towards the end of the Meiji period as Japan was beginning to open up to the West. What could have been simply an illustrated textbook becomes, in these capable hands, a narrative for adults of great artistic and historical significance.

[b]A CHANGING NATION[/b]The Meiji period (1867 - 1912) saw the important formative years of modern Japan unfold. Contemporary author, Soseki Natsume, wrote a book entitled [i]Botchan[/i] based on his experiences in this fast-changing world. [i]The times of Botchan[/i] is a fictionalized account of Natsume and his circle of poets and writers, peppered with events and famous characters of the time. This, the fourth of ten volumes, focuses on the relationship between Army Medical Officer and poet, ?gai Mori and the German dancer Elise Weigert - Autumn's Ballerina - and the strains placed on it by Japanese society.Other titles in the series: [i]The Times of Botchan[/i]: 1:978-84-96427-01-3 2:978-84-96427-09-9 3:978-84-96427-12-

We are delighted to be able to relaunch and enlarge Taniguchi's most cherished title. A book in which nothing happens but everything occurs. The Walking Man follows a modern day Japanese business man as he strolls at random through urban Japan often silent, usually alone with his vivid dreams that let time stand still. Join him as he climbs a tree in bare feet, takes time out to observe the birds, plays in the puddles after the rain and returns a shell to the sea. Contains 4 extra stories and 28 pages in colour. Original sense of reading.