On this episode of Japan Station, Lesley Chan Downer tells us about what it was like walking and hitchiking through the Tohoku area in the ’80s while recreating Matsuo Basho’s most famous journey.
👉Topics Discussed
- About moving to Japan in the 1980s
- About participating in the predecessor of the JET Program
- About On the Narrow Road to the Deep North
- Lesley’s interest in Japanese poetry
- Why Lesley decided to recreate Matsuo Basho’s 1689 journey to the north of Japan
- About hitchhiking in Japan
- Visiting Hiraizumi
- Exploring villages in the Tohoku area
- The three sacred mountains
- How to mummify yourself
- About building a relationship with a family from a village in the Tohoku area
- Working with NHK on films inspired by Lesley’s journey
- The reissue of One the Narrow Road to the Deep North
- That time someone tried to sell Lesley a house in a village in Tohoku
- About the Shogun Quartet of historical novels
- About The Shortest History of Japan
- And much more
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👉Links, Videos, Etc.
Here are links to Lesley Chan Downer:
- On the Narrow Road to the Deep North: Journey into a Lost Japan: https://www.amazon.com/Narrow-Road-Deep-North-Classics/dp/1780602308/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1
- The Shortest History of Japan: From Mythical Origins to Pop Culture Powerhouse―The Global Drama of an Ancient Island Nation: https://www.amazon.com/Shortest-History-Japan-Mythical-Powerhouse_The/dp/1891011669/ref=sr_1_1?sr=8-1
- The Shogun’s Queen: The Shogun Quartet, Book 1: https://www.amazon.com/Shoguns-Queen-Shogun-Quartet-Book/dp/055216349X/ref=sr_1_4?s=digital-text&sr=1-4-catcorr
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