In these marvelous, original and exasperating reflections, the great French semiotician comments of the signs and meaning of things Japanese. With chapters on chopsticks, pachinko, packages, bowing, food and other Japanese cultural artifacts. Donald Richie includes Empire of Signs in a short list of best books on Japan. Barthes, who visited Japan in the 1960s, uses his experiences and concrete observations as a point of departure.  (JPN163, $14.00)