When Dutch writer Hans Brinckmann arrived in Japan in 1950, he found the interactive social hubbub of Japan starkly different from the ¡°Dutch awkwardness, gloomy winters, solid brick houses with closed doors and war-hardened people protecting their own interests¡± of his own country. His memoir ¡°The Call of Japan: A Continuing Story ¡ª 1950 to the Present Day,¡± which is an expanded reissue of his 2005 title, ¡°The Magatama Doodle,¡± recounts his personal experiences living here, first as a banker and later as a writer of poems, novels, essays and short stories.

The memoir covers the years of 1950 to 1974 and 2003 to the present, providing valuable insight into the country¡¯s economic, political and cultural shifts during those periods.

The Call of Japan, by Hans Brinckmann320 pagesRENAISSANCE BOOKS