Visitors from the West look with amazement at Japan's social structures and complex culture industry. The country nonetheless remains an inexhaustible source of inspiration for stories, reflections, and reportage. The subjects in this volume range from the veneration of the dead to the Tokyo music scene, from urban alienation to cinema, from sumo to machismo.
A new series from Europa Editions, The Passenger collects the best new writing, photography, art and reportage from around the world.
IN THIS VOLUME: Ghosts of the Tsumani by Richard Lloyd Parry· Living in Shimokitazawa by Yoshimoto Banana· Why Japan Is Populist-Free? by Ian Buruma· plus: a Shinto sect in the shadow of power, feeling debts by disappearing into thin air, the decline of sexual desire, the obsession with American blues, the strongest sumo wrestler of all time (who isn's Japanese), the revenge of the Ainu and much more. . .
Visitors from the West look with amazement, and sometimes concern, at Japan's social structures and unique, complex culture industry; the gigantic scale of its tech corporations and the resilience of its traditions; the extraordinary diversity of the subcultures that flourish in its "post-human" megacities. The country nonetheless remains an intricate and complicated jigsaw puzzle, an inexhaustible source of inspiration for stories, reflections, and reportage.
The subjects in this volume range from the Japanese veneration of the dead to the Tokyo music scene, from urban alienation to cinema, from sumo to toxic masculinity.
Caught between an ageing population and extreme post-modernity, Japan is an ideal observation point from which to understand our age and the one to come.
"Some Japanese stories end violently. Others never end at all, but only cut away, at the moment of extreme crisis, to a butterfly, or the wind, or the moon." Brian Phillips
Inhaltsverzeichnis
Contents
Japan in Numbers
The Mythbuster - Tania Palmieri
The Number - Matteo Battarra
Ghosts of the Tsunami - Richard Lloyd Parry
The devastating tsunami reinvigorated the ancestor cult, Japan's true religion. Survivors still report mysterious apparitions and disturbing cases of possession. We meet Reverend Kaneta, who offers spiritual help both to the possessed and the suffering souls taking possession of them.
The 'Do-it-Yourself' Women - Sekiguchi Ryoko
Having liberated themselves from the role of housewife and entering the world of work, many women are now dreaming of a return to the tranquil profession of 'domestic designer'.
The (No Longer So) Secret Cult that Governs Japan - Jake Adelstein
A Shinto sect with a monarchic, patriotic and revisionist programme operates in the shadow of political power. Prime Minister Abe Shinzo and other prominent politicians are among its members.
Why Japan Is Populist-Free - Ian Buruma
Ian Buruma's optimistic analysis of Japan suggests that, despite Prime Minister Abe Shinzo's nationalism, it remains a country rooted in the middle class in which a kind of social harmony still prevails.
A Simple Thank You - Yoshimoto Banana
Yoshimoto Banana's love letter to Shimokitazawa, the area of Tokyo where she has lived for many years, provides her with the opportunity to reflect on her memories and changes in contemporary Japan.
The Withering of Desire - Murakami Ryu
The inability to be moved, the decline in desire and the growth in cases of depression are examined by one of Japan's major writers, who wonders if it is all caused by socio-economic instability.
Of Bears and Men - Cesare Alemanni
For centuries the Ainu, an ancient people from the island of Hokkaido, have been labelled as a 'prehistoric aberration' and been victims of oppression. Having successfully resisted assimilation thanks to the strength of their traditions, they are now being rediscovered.
Sea of Crises - Brian Phillips
A writer's journey to follow the most important tournament in the sumo calendar becomes a voyage into the past as he follows the trail of a forgotten man and a sensational case of seppuku in .
Sweet Bitter Blues - Amanda Petrusich
Why are the Japanese so crazy about the blues? The answer seems to have more to do with the nature of Japanese culture than the exoticism of a distinctly African-American musical genre.
Family Album - Giorgio Amitrano
A cinematic journey into how families are portrayed in Japanese cinema. From young people struggling to break free of their parents in Ozu Yasujiro's post-war masterpieces through to the indifference of contemporary society and alternative families, we go on a journey that deconstructs the myth of the 'typical' Japanese family.
The Evaporated - Lé na Mauger After abruptly disappearing to make a new life elsewhere, tens of thousands of Japanese are living in the shadows to escape debt, an astonishing phenomenon that goes way back to Japan's feudal past.
The Iconic Object - Giacomo Donati
The National Obsession - Matteo Battarra
The Phenomenon - Cesare Alemanni
An Author Recommends - Furukawa Hideo
The Playlist - Furukawa Hideo
Further Reading
