Tokyo (Donald Richie)

Tokyo
Richie, Donald; Reaktion Books, London, 1999.
ISBN 1 86189 034 6

Donald Richie is an American-born author who has lived in Tokyo almost continuously since 1947, making him well-placed to write this essayistic overview of Tokyo, part of a larger series on various world cities.

The book takes a narrative form, moving out from the city's core - the Imperial Palace - into the outer neighbourhoods, giving an insight into their past and present and to the people living there. It also contains excerpts from the author's diaries as well as 30 black-and-white photographs by photographer Joel Sackett.

Although quite short, Tokyo is utterly enjoyable and conveys Richie's experience of a Tokyo whose past has partially vanished, providing a vital context for a city which sometimes exists all too much in the present or even the future.