Anyone who has visited Tokyo’s Akihabara district in the past decade will have run into countless images of cartoonish girls: in posters, in figurines and in the form of real women dressed up as French maids. The Moe Manifesto, by Patrick W. Galbraith.Tuttle Publishing, Nonfiction. The cute cartoon girls, or ...
Some truths only a poet can utter. “Oh, God! / Give me talent / For insult and profanation / To ...
Many writers have tried in vain to emulate the cool tech-lingo-driven prose of author William Gibson’s early cyberpunk fiction, and ...
Qiu Miaojin tells us that her novel features “a plot that has long since disappeared.” That these reflections on narrative are part of “Last Words,” the novel they serve to elucidate, and that they are apt, places Qiu’s novel squarely at the avant-garde end ...
The word “umami” is, in many ways, literally a mouthful. First coined in 1909 by Japanese chemist Kikunae Ikeda, the term translates roughly as “deliciousness.” With its satisfying, round consonants and open vowel sounds, the word approaches onomatopoeia — a phonetic approximation of the ...
Yasunari Kawabata’s novella “House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories” is one of his finest works. It is primarily concerned with the connections between the youth and old age, sex, death, life and memory. House of the Sleeping Beauties and Other Stories, Yasunari ...
“Japanese Schoolgirl Confidential” was first published in 2010, offering readers a rare insight into a growing global fascination with the image of the Japanese schoolgirl. This revised edition features eight new sections that focus on developments on the subject, including an analysis of the ...
When I was a kid, vampires were blood-sucking monsters in stories of terror and fright, but nowadays they’re all romantic Romeos whose interest is not so much in blood as in the lovelorn heart that pumps it. Black Rose Alice vol. 1, by Setona ...
The memoir of Catherine Fisher's horrific "triple rape" and her tireless 12-year crusade for justice must be supported.
You might be surprised to hear that the latest Tom Cruise science-fiction epic, “Edge of Tomorrow,” which hit theaters here recently, has a Japanese pedigree. It is based on the short novel “All You Need is Kill” by award-winning author Hiroshi Sakurazaka. First published ...
“Kuhaku & Other Accounts From Japan” was one of the first books released by Chin Music Press, an independent publisher that has produced some of the best collections of contemporary literature from Japan over the past decade or so. Kuhaku & Other Accounts From ...
To tie in with the release of the film “Edge of Tomorrow,” Haikasoru has published a graphic novel based on Hiroshi Sakurazaka’s “All You Need is Kill,” from which the film was adapted. Not to be confused with the manga version of the same ...
Riding the circular Yamanote Line on a Sunday in Tokyo, it is easy to daydream. Those who have found themselves at times wondering what the city might have been like in the past are likely to enjoy the aptly named “Lust, Commerce, and Corruption: ...
It is noticeable that the tales in “Rashomon and Seventeen Other Stories” by Ryunosuke Akutagawa change in tone and style alongside the mental state and interests of the writer. Akutagawa’s most famed early works (including the titular story) are intricately woven setups for moral ...
This book is not just for sake lovers; it’s a must read for anyone interested in Japanese culture. Exploring sake from a variety of perspectives in short but informative essays, John Gauntner here distills his 25 years of knowledge and experience living and working ...
