A Lateral View: Essays on Culture and Style in Contemporary Japan was written by Donald Richie.

This masterfully written collection of short essays by the acknowledged Western expert on Japanese culture and film spans thirty years and ranges broadly over subjects as diverse as the Noh theater, fashion, television, Tokyo Disneyland, language, the kiss, and, of course, film.

Donald Richie's twenty-eight essays present cross-sections of Japan's enormous creative accomplishments during the nation's rise to economic and cultural power.