Donald Richie

Donald Richie is an American-born author who has written many books about Japanese culture and cinema. Born in 1924, Richie first visited Japan in 1947 with the American occupational force, and quickly became fascinated with what he saw, and particularly with Japanese cinema. He decided to stay on and has now been in Japan for well over 60 years. Recently a friend and I were invited to play at a book launch party being held for Donald's newest book Botandoro, and hence were lucky enough to experience Donald reading some of his work, as well as view an experimental film that he had directed in the early 60's. The book is "a Miscellany" of previously published and unpublished work from 1941 through 2005. He was truly a man of elegance and inspiration and I will definitely make a point of seeking out some more of his work..