Japan: An Autobiography I and II
$80
Across two companion volumes, Peter Shaw reflects on more than 25 years of travelling through Japan. What began as an almost reluctant first visit became a lifelong fascination with the country’s culture, art, architecture, food, religion and people.
Illustrated with the author’s own photographs, the books venture well beyond the tourist trail, exploring rural Japan, temples and shrines, regional cuisine and the enduring influence of the poet Bashō. Blending travel writing with cultural observation, they offer thoughtful insights, anecdotes and practical advice from a distinctly New Zealand perspective, making them rewarding companions for both first-time and returning visitors.
Peter Shaw’s 2024 prize winning Japan:
An Autobiography was described as
“paving the way for the future of travel writing books.”
About the Author
Peter Shaw has been at various times a teacher, journalist, music critic, radio broadcaster, art curator and writer. Born at Taumarunui, he later lived in Tauranga, Thames and Auckland where in 1981 he became METRO’s first Lively Arts writer. Peter taught design history at UNITEC, Auckland and then spent over twenty years as curator of the Fletcher Trust Art Collection.
His History of New Zealand Architecture was first published in 1991 and went into three editions. He has designed exhibitions and written many art and ceramics catalogues as well as books on Waitangi and the architecture of Napier and Hastings.
An accidental tourist to Japan in 1989, his curiosity about the country was awakened and in succeeding years he has made repeated visits, the result of which is this book. Peter Shaw now lives in Pirongia where he intermittently works on a memoir.