"Yoshimasa may have been the worst shogun ever to rule Japan. He was a failure as a soldier, incompetent at dealing with state business, and dominated by his wife. But his influence on the cultural life of Japan was unparalleled. According to Donald Keene, Yoshimasa was the only shogun to leave a lasting heritage for the entire Japanese people." "Today Yoshimasa is remembered primarily as the builder of the Temple of the Silver Pavilion and as the...

Translated selections from literary writings of the last 80 years reflects strongly the social, political and cultural Japanese background.

Presents classic Chinese tales of love and morality, marriage and justice, and the strange and supernatural.

Mizoguchi, an acolyte at a Buddhist temple in Kyoto who also suffers from a childhood stutter, struggles to overcome his obsession with the beauty of the Golden Temple.