Japan is alive with much more than tradition. Cities reverberate with the whirl of crisscrossing trains, pulsating neon, and hurry-scurrying crowds. High-tech skyscrapers rise from the rice paddies. Rural festivals unleash a torrent of raw energy in an otherwise tranquil countryside. And ancient volcanoes-after snoozing for centuries-awaken with a thunderous roar to remind the islands' inhabitants of the mighty forces of nature. Beneath all the frenetic forward motion of present-day Japan lies a foundation built on over a millennium of recorded history and a vast legacy of artistic and cultural traditions. The Japanese often pause to reflect on their past-for there lies the key to their national identity, so often obscured in today's confusing web of satellites and semiconductors. The contemporary color schemes, time-honored traditions, and dynamic natural beauty of Japan come to life in this lavishly illustrated book.

Geisha and robots, Fuji and fine arts, shrines and skyscrapers-they're all here. An illuminating foreword by Mike Mansfield, former U.S. senator and ambassador to Japan, precedes a gallery of over 140 color photographs that highlight the nature, modern life, traditional arts, and contemporary culture of Japan. Accompanying the collage of photos are essays by author-poet Dorothy Britton, journalist Frederick Hiroshi Katayama, art historian Martha J. McClintock, and architect Azby Brown, who offer incisive perspectives on the country, its arts, and its people. Through word and picture, this one volume brings together the contrasting faces of Japan. From the legendary cherry blossoms of Yoshinoyama to the colorful kitsch of urban architecture, Japan: A Living Portrait captures the eclectic synthesis of things past, present, and future that makes this island nation so endlessly fascinating.