lifelong regret, never met Kafū, even though there were opportunities to be introduced. In Low City, High City: Tokyo from Edo to the Earthquake (1983) and Tokyo Rising: The City Since the Great Earthquake (1990), Seidensticker's two-volume history of Tokyo, he weaves a tale of cultural history of how the city was impacted by the advent of Westernization, and how it responded to the twin disasters of the 20th Century—the Great Kanto earthquake of 1923 and the massive destruction incurred in World War II due to Allied bombing raids. He published his autobiographical observations in Tokyo Central: A Memoir in 2001. A biography and bibliography are included in a commemorative work created by those whose lives he affected, New Leaves: Studies and Translations of Japanese Literature in Honor of Edward Seidensticker (1993). After retirement, he divided his time between Honolulu and Tokyo. He described the latter as "the world's most consistently interesting city". Honors Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon, Third Class, 1975 Kikuchi Kan Prize, 1977 Japan Foundation Award, 1984 Selected works Author Japan (New York: Time, Inc., 1961) Kafu the Scribbler: The Life and Writings of Nagai Kafu, 1879–1959 (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1965) Genji Days Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1977). This Country, Japan (Tokyo: Kodansha International, 1979). Low City, High City: Tokyo from Edo to the Earthquake: How the Shogun's Ancient Capital Became a Great Modern City, 1867–1923 New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1983). Tokyo Rising: The City Since the Great Earthquake (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990). Very Few People Come This Way: Lyrical Episodes from the Year of the Rabbit (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1996). Tokyo Central: A Memoir (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2002. The Snake That Bowed (Berkeley: Printed Matter Press, 2006). Translator Tanizaki, Jun'ichirō. Some Prefer Nettles (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1955). Kawabata, Yasunari. Snow Country (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1956). Tanizaki, Jun'ichirō. The Makioka Sisters (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957). Kawabata, Yasunari. Thousand Cranes (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1958). The Mother of Michitsuna. The Gossamer Years: The Diary of a Noblewoman of Heian Japan (Tokyo and Rutland, Vermont: Charles E. Tuttle Publishing, 1964). Nagai, Kafu. "A Strange Tale from East of the River" (plus nine other works) in Kafu the Scribbler: The Life and Writings of Nagai Kafu, 1879–1959 (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1965). Kawabata, Yasunari. House of the Sleeping Beauties