Reviewed by Merry White (The author of the book entitled “Coffee Life in Japan”)
It’s no longer a surprise that Japan is a coffee-drinking country – a serious coffee-drinking country. When I wrote my own book on Japan’s coffee and its places, people asked, “but don’t they drink green tea?” And of course there’s green tea, but the quality of the coffee itself, the pleasure of the places where it is sipped and the skills and dedication of the makers of the perfectly brewed cup cannot be overstated.
This perfect small book on one of the very skilled makers should be in the hands of every coffee drinker – and indeed of every visitor to Japan’s coffee places as a guide to a deeper understanding of coffee, its sociality and a modest philosophic rendering of meaning in making and drinking. Above all, that cup of coffee is personal, an expression of Daibo’s “kodawari” dedication to the making and to the person who receives the brew.
When it first appeared, I purchased several to give to friends. Lyrical prose, a dedication to good writing equal to Daibo’s in making good coffee combine to make it a wonderful gift to friends and to yourself.
© Merry White, 2024
Merry White was born in Washington, D.C., and grew up in Chicago and Minnesota. She received her A.B., A.M., and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard University in Anthropology (East Asia), Comparative Literature (English, French, and Italian), and Sociology (Japan).
From 1980 to 1986, she was director of the Project on Human Potential at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, a multinational study of learning with case studies in Japan, India, the People's Republic of China, Egypt, West Africa, and Mexico.
During this time, she was also Director of International Education at the School of Education, and from 1976 to 1987, she was the administrator of the undergraduate East Asian Studies program at Harvard College. She began teaching at Boston University in 1987 and received tenure in 1989.
Her publications include: Coffee Life in Japan, (University of California Press, 2012; Sogensha, 2018/2023); Perfectly Japanese: Making Family in an Era of Upheaval (University of California Press, 2002); The Material Child: Coming of Age in Japan and America (Free Press, 1993; Dobunshoin, 1993; University of California Press, 1994); Comparing Cultures (with Sylvan Barnet, Bedford Books, 1995); The Japanese Educational Challenge, (Free Press, 1986, Princeton University Press 1992, and Shueisha, 1992); The Japanese Overseas, (Free Press, 1988); Human Conditions (with Robert LeVine, Routledge, 1987) and Challenging Tradition: Women in Japan, (Japan Society, 1992).
She is the author of two cookbooks, Cooking for Crowds (Basic Books, 1973) and Noodles Galore (Basic Books 1976) and has written numerous articles on food and culture.
