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8 September 2013 1 Comment

Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices

Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best PracticesEditor: Melinda Beasi
Publisher: Dark Horse
ISBN: 9781616552787
Released: December 2013

The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund (CBLDF) is an organization based in the United States devoted to the protection of the freedoms to read, create, and provide access to comics. Manga: Introduction, Challenges, and Best Practices is a part of its education initiative funded by the Gaiman Foundation and was published by Dark Horse in 2013. Manga was edited by Melinda Beasi and includes contributions from Katherine Dacey, Shaenon Garrity, Sean Gaffney, Ed Chavez, Erica Friedman, and Robin Brenner. It’s an excellent lineup of manga critics, scholars, and those who have worked in the manga industry in both Japan and North America. Being familiar with their work, in addition to being a card-carrying member of the CBLDF, I was very excited when I learned about the upcoming release of Manga. And because I also happen to be a librarian, I was able to snag an early copy of the guide.

Manga consists of nine chapters and a list of recommended resources. The first chapter, “What Is Manga?” provides a brief history of manga both in Japan and in the West, distinguishes manga from comparable comics traditions such as manhua, manhwa, OEL manga and other manga-influenced comics, and provides suggested resources for further reading. The following chapters survey the four major demographics of manga—shōnen, shōjo, seinen, and josei—as well as two additional categories—yuri and boys’ love. These chapters cover history, commonly found genres, special issues, and (except for the chapter devoted to yuri) notable artists. Another chapter, “Untranslated and Fan Translated,” addresses dōjinshi and scanlations. The final and longest chapter, “Challenges,” focuses on the collection and defense of manga by libraries and summarizes a few major North American court cases dealing with manga.

As is always the danger when writing about popular culture, some of the information in Manga—specifically some of the references to what has or hasn’t been licensed in English—is already out of date. That doesn’t make Manga any less valuable as a resource, though. It is, however, something to keep in mind while reading the guide. Manga is a fantastic introduction to and overview of manga and manga history, especially as it applies to the North American market. The book seems to be particularly geared towards libraries and schools which may be developing or maintaining a manga collection, but Manga should also be interesting and useful to already established fans of manga as a whole as well to as people who are unfamiliar with the form but who would like to learn more about it. Manga packs a lot of information into a slim volume but remains very accessible throughout.

The only thing missing that may have made Manga even more useful for the uninitiated would be a glossary of terms. More information about the contributors themselves would have also been beneficial. I knew who they were but someone less familiar with the subject area wouldn’t necessarily recognize them. Overall, Manga is short and to the point and is an excellent resource. The guide eases readers into the subject and avoids overwhelming them with too much information. There were a couple of generalizations that gave me pause and may have been overly broad, but Manga is meant as an introduction and so shouldn’t (and doesn’t) get bogged down in technicalities and exceptions. Manga is consistently accurate and informative for the audience it’s intended. The book may not be incredibly in-depth, but it is a great place to start learning about manga, its history, and its challenges. Manga is very easy to recommend not only to library professionals, but to general manga enthusiasts as well.

Disclosure: Experiments in Manga is a member blog of Manga Bookshelf; many of those who worked on Manga are also associated with Manga Bookshelf.

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24 July 2013 Leave a Comment

Jazz Journeys to Japan: The Heart Within

Author: William Minor
Publisher: University of Michigan Press
ISBN: 9780472113453
Released: January 2004

Jazz Journeys to Japan: The Heart Within, written by William Minor and published by the University of Michigan Press in 2004 as part of its Jazz Perspectives series, is one of the very few major works in English that focuses on jazz in Japan. Although there are many articles and dissertations that address the subject, the only other book that I know of that is specifically devoted to Japanese jazz is E. Taylor Atkins’ Blue Nippon: Authenticating Jazz in Japan. Because jazz is such a popular genre of music in Japan I’m a little surprised that more hasn’t been written about it. I myself have a background in music and an interest in jazz. Considering that I also have an interest in Japan, it was only a matter of time before I would seek out material combining the two. I’ve had Jazz Journeys to Japan sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now; the release of the jazz-inundated anime series Kids on the Slope provided the final push I needed to get around to reading it.

Jazz is believed to have been introduced to Japan as early as 1921. It’s general appeal increased until World War II when the music was banned in 1943 due to its association with Western culture. Interest in jazz saw a resurgence during the American occupation following the war. Since then, jazz has continued to be an influential genre in Japan. Jazz Journeys to Japan is the result of six years worth of research and writing. During that period, Minor traveled to Japan multiple times seeking out, interviewing, and listening to Japanese jazz musicians, their fans, and others involved in the music industry. Minor, a veteran jazz writer and journalist, wanted not only to discover but to experience just what it was that made Japan’s jazz and jazz culture unique. While in Japan he attended festivals, clubs, studios, and concerts. Minor made a point to find Japanese-influenced and inspired artists outside of Japan as well.

Jazz Journeys to Japan is a mix of travel memoir, interviews, history, and music criticism. The individual chapters, some of which were previously published before being collected in the book, are short and easily digestible. Typically a chapter focuses on specific musicians, topics, or themes and doesn’t rely too much on what has come before or after it. This makes Jazz Journeys to Japan fairly easy to pick up and put back down as time or interest permits. Minor does assume that the reader has at least some passing familiarity with jazz music and prominent jazz musicians—Jazz Journeys to Japan makes frequent references to songs and artists without going into much detail about jazz standards or more well-known performers of the genre. There are a lot of names and titles to keep track of while reading Jazz Journeys to Japan.

Sadly, my overall enjoyment of Jazz Journeys to Japan was hindered by Minor’s writing style which I personally found to be grating; he had a particularly annoying habit of unnecessarily inserting Japanese words and phrases into the text. I also found that I was much less interested in Minor’s travelogue and personal experiences than I was in the history of jazz in Japan and the musicians themselves. The best parts of Jazz Journeys to Japan were those that focused on the music and the artists, allowing them to have their own say. It was also fascinating to read about how Japanese aesthetics in traditional art, poetry, and music have influenced Japanese jazz culture. Also extremely valuable was Minor’s inclusion of a select discography. There are many musicians in Jazz Journeys to Japan whose music I will be happily seeking out.

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31 May 2013 Leave a Comment

Yokohama Yankee: My Family’s Five Generations as Outsiders in Japan

Author: Leslie Helm
Publisher: Chin Music Press
ISBN: 9780984457663
Released: March 2013

When Yokohama Yankee: My Family’s Five Generations as Outsiders in Japan by Leslie Helm was released in 2013 by Chin Music Press, it immediately caught my attention. I tend to keep my eye on Chin Music Press—the books it publishes are always interesting in addition to being beautifully designed. Yokohama Yankee is no exception. I was delighted when Chin Music Press offered me a copy of Yokohama Yankee for review. Helm was born and raised in Yokohama, Japan and served as foreign correspondent for Business Week and The Los Angeles Times in Tokyo for eight years. Currently, Helm is the executive editor of Seattle Business. Although he holds masters degrees in both journalism and Asian studies and has a background in political science, giving Helm significant expertise from which to draw, Yokohama Yankee is a much more personal work exploring his family’s history in Japan and his and his wife’s adoption of two Japanese children.

Coming from a multicultural family of German, American, and Japanese ancestry, Leslie Helm’s personal relationship with Japan is a complicated one. When he and his wife Marie decided to adopt Japanese children, Helm decided to reconnect with his family’s Japanese roots. The Helms’ connection to Japan began in 1869 when Helm’s great-grandfather Julius Helm, a German immigrant, arrived in Yokohama by way of America. After pursuing a number of different enterprises, including assisting in the modernization and training of Wakayama’s military, Julius would marry a Japanese woman and found a shipping company, establishing the Helms as a prominent merchant family in Yokohama. From there, Helm traces his family’s relationship with Japan through the decades, interspersing his own personal experiences with the country among the historical discoveries that he makes. Despite the close ties that he and his family held with Yokohama and Japan, they were generally considered foreigners.

Yokohama Yankee is an incredibly engaging, fascinating, and revealing family memoir. Helm ties his present to his past, uncovering connections he wasn’t previously aware of and confirming stories he had been told by other family members. The Helms’ history in Yokohama Yankee is closely intertwined with the history of Yokohama and Japan—its foreign community, its economic ups and downs, its natural disasters, its wars. All five generations of the Helm family faced varying degrees of discrimination due to their mixed heritage. In Japan they were seen as gaijin and outsiders; in the West they were seen as inferior because of their Asian blood. Deciding to adopt and raise Japanese children also presented its own set of problems and challenges. The culture, purpose, and reasons behind in adoption in Japan tend to be quite different than those in America.

While writing Yokohama Yankee, Helm conducted over one hundred interviews with friends, family members, Japanese scholars, and former employees of the Helm Brothers company. His research encompasses not only his family’s history, but also the historical background of Japan. In addition to being an engrossing read with a unique perspective of Japan, Yokohama Yankee is a beautifully presented book. Found in its pages are reproductions of hundreds of historic and family photographs, maps, postcards, stamps, and other ephemera. They were a lovely addition to the book. I enjoyed Yokohama Yankee a great deal. It’s a family history, but it’s also a history of a country—an insightful story of one multicultural family’s five generations and their relationship with Japan.

Thank you to Chin Music Press for providing a copy of Yokohama Yankee for review.

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10 May 2013 Leave a Comment

Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan, Volume 3

Editors: Motoyuki Shibata and Ted Goossen
Publisher: A Public Space
ISSN: 2159-7138
Released: March 2013

The English-language, international edition of the Japanese literary journal Monkey Business made its debut in 2011. Issued annually, the third volume was released in 2013. Having read and enjoyed the first two volumes, I was looking forward to reading the most recent issue. Motoyuki Shibata, the founder of the original Monkey Business, serves as the journal’s head editor along with Ted Goossen. In part, Monkey Business is intended to feature new and accomplished Japanese authors not well known outside of Japan. At the same time, it also includes innovative work from creators in other countries as well—in this particular issue the United States and Korea. The third volume of Monkey Business selects works from as early as 1924 while others are being published for the first time (in any language.) As usual, short stories, manga, poetry, essays, and excerpts from longer works can all be found within its pages.

Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan, Volume 3 includes twenty-one selections, one less than the previous volume, but the issue is slightly longer overall. Many of the creators have had their work published in the English-language edition of Monkey Business before, but nearly half are making their first appearance in the third volume. This includes works from two notable American novelists: two early stories from Paul Auster, “Invasions” and “The Hlumes,” and Richard Powers’ short story “Lodestar.” Poet Laureate Charles Simic contributes his poem “At the Vacancy Sign” to the volume. “Crow’s Eye View” is a collection of six unusual poems by Yi Sang, an important Korean writer. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa’s Korean-influenced short story “General Kim” is also included. Other authors making their Monkey Business debut include Gen’ichirō Takahashi  (“Dear Cindy”), Yuki Kurita (“Pako”), Taki Monma (“Splinters”), and Riichi Yokomitsu (“Time.”)

Accompanying Yokomitsu’s “Time,” and returning to Monkey Business, is Toh EnJoe with his essay “Time in ‘Time.'” Naoyuki Ii also provides an essay for this volume, “Living in Your Own Private Cubicle” which explores Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis and Herman Melville’s “Bartleby, the Scrivener” as company-man fiction. This essay pairs nicely with the Brother and Sister Nishioka’s manga adaptation of “The Metamorphosis.” These paired contributions are some of my favorite works in Monkey Business. Other favorites include Keita Jin’s short story “Exorcising Dreams” and Tomoka Shibasaki’s short essay “The Glasses Thief,” which open the volume. I am also rather fond of Barry Yourgrau’s short story “The Mask.” Actually, I find it difficult to name favorites since there are so many strong contributions in Monkey Business, Volume 3. Once again, Goossen and Shibata and everyone else working on Monkey Business have put together a terrific collection.

The piece I struggle with the most is “Monkey Child—Human Child” by Masatsuga Ono. While I can appreciate it, personally I find the short story stylistically difficult to enjoy. But I did like all of the other pieces included in Monkey Business, Volume 3 from returning creators: Mina Ishikawa’s collection of tanka poems “Urashima,” “Neither Purity Nor Defilement Now” by Hideo Furukawa (who has had a short story in every issue of Monkey Business so far), Hiromi Kawakami’s “The Dragon Palace,” and Mieko Kawakami’s “Dreams of Love, Etc.” The volume closes with the third part of Sachiko Kishimoto’s “The Forbidden Diary,” which for me has always been one of the highlights of Monkey Business. Most of the works in Monkey Business, Volume 3 are not directly related although The Metamorphosis is a frequent touchstone and dreams and dreaming are recurring themes throughout the collection. I very much enjoyed this installment of Monkey Business and am already looking forward to the next year’s offerings.

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22 February 2013 Leave a Comment

Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima

Author: Naoki Inose and Hiroaki Sato
Translator: Hiroaki Sato
Publisher: Stone Bridge Press
ISBN: 9781611720082
Released: December 2012

My introduction to Japanese literature was through Yukio Mishima’s tetralogy The Sea of Fertility. Ever since, I have been fascinated by his life and works. It has been nearly forty years since a major biography on Mishima has been released in English. I was very excited when I learned that Stone Bridge Press would be releasing Persona: A Biography of Yukio Mishima by Naoki Inose and Hiroaki Sato at the end of 2012. The English-language edition is actually an updated and expanded version of Inose’s 1995 Japanese Mishima biography Persona: Mishima Yukio den. Sato was primarily responsible for the adaptation, expansion, and translation of the English-language edition of Persona. It is a mighty tome. With over 850 pages, Persona promised to be the most comprehensive and complete biography of Mishima available in English.

Yukio Mishima, the pen name of Kimitake Hiraoka was born on January 14, 1925 to Azusa and Shizue Hiraoka. His upbringing was a bit peculiar—his controlling grandmother snatching him away from his parents. As a child he often struggled with health issues, but exhibited an intellectual precociousness and a talent for writing at a young age. Mishima would eventually become one of the preeminent and most visible authors of his day. He was also an extremely prolific writer, responsible for creating thirty-four novels, more than one hundred seventy short stories, close to seventy plays, six hundred sixty poems, and numerous essays, articles, and other works. Many of Mishima’s writings have been translated, but only a fraction of his total output is available in English. He was also involved in the film industry, served as a subject and model for photographers, and was active in martial arts and bodybuilding. Later in life, becoming more politically active, he was a vocal supporter of the Tennō system in Japan. Mishima ended it all in a shocking act of ritual suicide on November 25, 1970.

Persona really is the most comprehensive single-volume work on Mishima currently available in English. However, in part due to its length, it is difficult to recommend the biography as a introductory resource. Before attempting to read Persona, it is useful to have a least some basic understanding of Mishima and Japanese history in general. Persona isn’t strictly just a biography of Mishima—it places him within a greater context of economic, bureaucratic, political, literary, and cultural Japanese history. While Mishima always remains an important touchstone, frequently Persona uses him a launching point to address other aspects of Japanese history as a whole. Occasionally the authors seem to wander off on tangents that aren’t directly related, but Mishima and his enormous personality are always there in the background even when they’re not at the forefront of the work.

Although Persona generally follows a chronological progression, beginning with Mishima’s family history and background and ending with his suicide and its aftermath, the biography is organized more by subject and theme. The authors do not limit themselves to adhering to a rigid timeline, which allows them to bring together related material more efficiently. In addition to the main text, Persona also includes notes, an extensive bibliography, and a thorough index. Though its length may be daunting and it’s not always a particularly easy read, Persona really is an incredibly complete Mishima biography. Addressing both Mishima’s public and private personas, it delves into areas of his personal life (including his sexuality) which I haven’t seen as thoroughly explored in English before. While not a biography for the casual reader, reading Persona is well worth the effort for someone with an established interest in Mishima and Japanese history.

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