After eight years working in Japan, immersing herself in its language and literature, Lesley Chan Downer set off in the footsteps of Matsuo Basho, Japan’s most cherished poet, to explore the country’s remote northern provinces. Basho’s pilgrimage to find the landscapes that had inspired the great medieval poets gave birth to Japan’s most famous travel book, rich in strange imagery and sometimes comic encounters along the road.
In this intriguing cross-threading of journeys, perceptions and exquisite haiku, Lesley creates her own funny, loving and honest portrayal of contemporary Japan. As she walks, she finds at one and the same time a drab post-industrial landscape of concrete and cable, but also a land still full of the old enchantments. Nights in thatched highland villages and sake-drenched poetry sessions encourage her to see for herself if any of the legendary hermit-priests still survive in the sacred mountains of the north.
‘Downer has an instinctive insight into the way the Japanese think – a rare commodity which she uses with a marvellous delicacy of touch.’ Katie Hickman, The Literary Review
After eight years working in Japan, immersing herself in its language and literature, Lesley Chan Downer set off in the footsteps of Matsuo Basho, Japan’s most cherished poet, to explore the country’s remote northern provinces. Basho’s pilgrimage to find the landscapes that had inspired the great medieval poets gave birth to Japan’s most famous travel book, rich in strange imagery and sometimes comic encounters along the road.
In this intriguing cross-threading of journeys, perceptions and exquisite haiku, Lesley creates her own funny, loving and honest portrayal of contemporary Japan. As she walks, she finds at one and the same time a drab post-industrial landscape of concrete and cable, but also a land still full of the old enchantments. Nights in thatched highland villages and sake-drenched poetry sessions encourage her to see for herself if any of the legendary hermit-priests still survive in the sacred mountains of the north.
‘Downer has an instinctive insight into the way the Japanese think – a rare commodity which she uses with a marvellous delicacy of touch.’ Katie Hickman, The Literary Review
On the Narrow Road to the Deep North: Journey into a Lost Japan
ISBN: 978-1-78060-230-1
Format: 304pp demi pb
Place: Japan
Author Biography
Lesley Chan Downer is an author, journalist and historian whose passion is Japan.She lived there for more than 15 years, speaks Japanese, and has written some 14 books on the country. She is also a Geisha expert. For more on Lesley go to www.lesleydowner.com
