The Best Guidebooks Are:

Culture and Society:

Introductions to Japan can be found in †Culture Shock! Japan and †Japanese Culture, both of which provide good explanations of otherwise mystifying Japanese customs.

*The Chrysanthemum and the Sword is an intelligent and eye-opening anthropoligical study of the society of post-war Japan.

Lost Japan is a look at modern Japan by the rather brilliant Alex Kerr.

*Suye Mura a Japanese Village should not be missed by sociology buffs. This is an unique study of a pre-war Japanese village untouched by western influence. Kids from Kumamoto-ken will recognize this as the one and only Sue Mura in isolated Kuma-gun.

Lafcadio Hearn contributed his views of Japan in more than a few publications. Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things enjoys considerable popularity. I also enjoyed †Kokoro: Hints and Echoes of Japanese Inner Life.

If you haven't read anything by Reischauer yet, it's time you start.The Japanese Today: Change and Continuity is almost mandatory.

I haven't yet had the chance to read Hirohito and the Making of Modern Japan, but I've heard such excellent things that I can't resist putting it on the list. I'm going to pick up a copy as soon as possible, and you might want to consider doing so as well. The mystery behind the emperor who led Japan into war.

Language Study

James Heisig has provided a ground-breaking approach to learning the Kanji characters with *Remembering the Kanji I and*II.

Kanji flashcards can be useful study aids

Many people have found †Japanese for Busy People to be a good introduction to the language if you're in a hurry to pick up some basic Japanese.

 

Fiction written by non-Japanese authors

I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't love the novel Memoirs of a Geisha.

 

Works Translated from Japanese

The Tale of Genji is an extremely important work of fiction for many reasons, not least of which being that it is the oldest known novel.

Anyone who is featured on a Japanese bill (Natsume Soseki-1000yen note) qualifies as recommended reading. I am a Cat is the most famous of his works. Personally, I found Botchan more accessible.

The Pillow Book will probably live up to whatever image you associate with the title.

If you're struggling with the traditional Japanese writing style, you should will enjoy the readability of Musashi . Sword fights, love affairs and all things exciting. Thanks Glenn!

The Temple of the Golden Pavillion is a fiction based on the destruction of said pavillion. I am currently reading the French translation, so I can't honestly attest to the quality of the English version.