Unrivaled in their creativity and the sheer number of choices, the clubs featured in this book offer their clientele every fantasy imaginable. Subway groping, visits to the nurse's office, and comic book character encounters are just the beginning of the immense list of possibilities that are played out in colorful playrooms for adults where no detail is overlooked. Sinclair's photographs capture it all, while an introduction by sociologist James Farrer provides a brief history of commercial sex in Japan and places the images in the context of contemporary Japanese culture.

    From cute handwriting came manga, Hello Kitty, and Harajuku, and the kawaii aesthetic now affects every aspect of Japanese life. As colorful as its subject matter, this book contains numerous interviews with illustrators, artists, fashion designers, and scholars. It traces the roots of the movement from sociological and anthropological perspectives and looks at kawaii's darker side as it morphs into gothic and gloomy iterations. Best of all, it includes hundreds of colorful photographs that capture kawaii's ubiquity: on the streets and inside homes, on lunchboxes and airplanes, in haute couture and street fashion, in cafes, museums, and hotels.

    By 1905 they had disappeared from the country. In this spirited and absorbing narrative, Brett Walker takes a deep look at the scientific, cultural, and environmental dimensions of wolf extinction in Japan and tracks changing attitudes toward nature through Japan's long history.Grain farmers once worshiped wolves at shrines and left food offerings near their dens, beseeching the elusive canine to protect their crops from the sharp hooves and voracious appetites of wild boars and deer. Talismans and charms adorned with images of wolves protected against fire, disease, and other calamities and brought fertility to agrarian communities and to couples hoping to have children. The Ainu people believed that they were born from the union of a wolflike creature and a goddess.In the eighteenth century, wolves were seen as rabid man-killers in many parts of Japan. Highly ritualized wolf hunts were instigated to cleanse the landscape of what many considered as demons. By the nineteenth century, however, the destruction of wolves had become decidedly unceremonious, as seen on the island of Hokkaido. Through poisoning, hired hunters, and a bounty system, one of the archipelago's largest carnivores was systematically erased.The story of wolf extinction exposes the underside of Japan's modernization. Certain wolf scientists still camp out in Japan to listen for any trace of the elusive canines. The quiet they experience reminds us of the profound silence that awaits all humanity when, as the Japanese priest Kenko taught almost seven centuries ago, we "look on fellow sentient creatures without feeling compassion."

    Snow Mountain is a nuanced love story involving a discouraged urbanite (Shimamura) and a rural geisha (Komako). Shimamura is tired of the bustling city. He takes the train through the snow to the mountains of the west coast of Japan, to meet with a geisha he believes he loves. Beautiful and innocent, Komako is tightly bound by the rules of a rural geisha, and lives a life of servitude and seclusion that is alien to Shimamura, and their love offers no freedom to either of them. Thousand Cranes is another love story. This melancholy tale uses the classical tea ceremony as a background for the story of a young man's relationships to two women, his father's former mistress and her daughter.

    Featuring striking graphics and extracts from a wide range of manga, the book covers such themes as the specific attributes of manga in contrast to American and European comics; the life and career of Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy and originator of story manga; boys' comics from the 1960s to the present; the genres and genders of girls' and women's comics; the darker, more realistic themes of gekiga -- violent samurai, disturbing horror and apocalyptic science fiction; issues of censorship and protest; and manga's role as a major Japanese export and global influence.

    Laced with a bracing dash on 1990s feminism, Marian Fowler paints an intimate portrait of five individualistic women who defied convention, and provides a sparkling and richly detailed view of the extraordinary excesses of the Gilded Age.

    He not only helped give new vitality and direction to the old conventions of court poetry, but created works that, because of their depth of feeling, continue to attract readers to the present day.

    What was once considered a niche medium was becoming more accepted. Today, anime fans are all over the world, and its cultural impact has never been more apparent.Anime Impact: The Movies and Shows that Changed the World of Japanese Animation examines the essential works that have inspired the biggest names in Hollywood. This anthology includes reviews and reactions from some of the biggest names in film, literature and YouTube today.

    Ninety years from now, a satellite detects a nearby black hole scientists dub Kali for the Hindu goddess of destruction. Humanity embarks on a generations-long project to tap the energy of the black hole, and found colonies on planets across the solar system. Earth and Mars and the moons Europa (Jupiter) and Titan (Uranus) develop radically different societies, with only Kali, that swirling vortex of destruction and creation, and the hated but crucial Artificial Accretion Disk Development association (AADD) in common.

    Authors from Japan and around the world have contributed works of fiction set in or related to Japan. Young adult English-language readers will be able to connect with their Japanese counterparts through stories of contemporary Japanese teens, ninja and yokai teens, folklore teens, mixed-heritage teens, and non-Japanese teens who call Japan home. Tales of friendship, mystery, love, ghosts, magic, science fiction, and history will propel readers to Japan past and present and to Japanese universes abroad.Portions of the proceeds of Tomo will be donated to the Japanese non-profit, HOPE FOR TOMORROW, to support ongoing relief efforts for teens in Japan.Contents:Shocks and tremors: Lost by Andrew FukudaShuya's commute by Liza DalbyHalf life by Deni Y BéchardKazoku by Tak ToyoshimaAftershocks by Ann Tashi SlaterFriends and enemies: Bad day for baseball by Graham SalisburyHalf a heart by Mariko NagaiThe bridge to Lillooet by Trevor KewBlue shells by Naoko Awa, translated by Toshiya KameiBorne by the wind by Charles De WolfGhosts and spirits: The ghost who came to breakfast by Alan GratzHouse of trust by Sachiko Kashiwaba, translated by Avery Fischer UdagawaStaring at the Haiku by John Paul CattonKodama by Debbie Ridpath OhiWhere the silver droplets fall by transcribed and translated from Ainu into Japanese by Yukie Chiri, translated and illustrated by Deborah DavidsonPowers and feats: Yamada-san's toaster by Kelly LuceJet black and the ninja wind by Leza Lowitz and Shogo OketaniHachiro by Ryusuke Saito, translated by Sako IkegamiThe lost property office by Marji NapperAnton and Kiyoshime by Fumio Takano, translated by Hart LarrabeeTalents and curses: Love right on the yesterday by Wendy Nelson TokunagaThe dragon and the poet by Kenji Miyazawa, translated by Misa Dikengil LindbergJust wan-derful by Louise George KittakaIchinichi on the Yamanote by Claire DawnA song for Benzaiten by Catherine Rose torresInsiders and outsiders: Fleecy clouds by Arie Nashiya, translated by Juliet Winters CarpenterThe zodiac tree by Thersa MatsuuraOne by Sarah OgawaLove letter by Megumi Fujino, translated by Lynne E. RiggsSigns by Kaitlin StainbrookWings on the wind by Yuichi Kimura, translated by Alexander O. SmithFamilies and connections: The law of gravity by Yuko Katakawa, translated by Deborah IwabuchiThe mountain drum by Chloë DalbyPaper lanterns by Jennifer Fumiko CahillI hate Harajuku girls by Katrina Toshiko Grigg-SaitoPeace on earth by Suzanne Kamata

    Practitioners of the art, known as ninja, were masters of exotic weapons, martial skills, and techniques of stealth and concealment. Their ability to move swiftly and silently, and to strike at will with deadly force, made them seemingly invincible opponents, giving rise to stories of amazing exploits and supernatural powers.

    Kaneda, a respected community leader who is destroyed by the adopted land he loves. All are caught up in the cruel turmoil of World War II, when West Coast Japanese Americans are uprooted from their homes and imprisoned in desert detention camps. Although tragedy strikes each of them, the same strength that brought her to America enable Hana to survive.

    The author, editor, or translator of nearly three dozen books of criticism and works of literature, Keene now offers an enjoyable and beautifully written introduction to traditional Japanese culture for the general reader.The book acquaints the reader with Japanese aesthetics, poetry, fiction, and theater, and offers Keene's appreciations of these topics. Based on lectures given at the New York Public Library, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the University of California, Los Angeles, the essays -though written by a renowned scholar- presuppose no knowledge of Japanese culture. Keene's deep learning, in fact, enables him to construct an overview as delightful to read as it is informative.His insights often illuminate aspects of traditional Japanese culture that endure today. One of these is the appreciation of "perishability." this appreciation os seen in countless little bits of Japanese life: in temples made of wood instead of durable materials; in the preference for objects -such as pottery- that are worn, broken, or used rather than new; and in the national love of the delicate cherry blossom, which normally falls after a brief three days of flowering. Keene quotes the fourteenth-century Buddhist monk Kenko, who wrote that "the most precious thing about life is its uncertainty."Throughout the volume, Keene demonstrates that the rich artistic and social traditions of Japan can indeed be understood by readers from our culture. This book will enlighten anyone interested in Japanese literature and culture.

    The authors tend towards near-zero emotional chill, stunned urbanity and a shiny kind of violence.

    Masumi Hijiri is a 16-year-old girl about to enter her first ballet contest. The competition is fierce, and there's no telling whether she'll win, or how far her training can take her. After seeing her performance, the great director Sergeiev Alexej invites Masumi to join his company, and it is thus that she launches her career -- only to spend years dancing in the shadow of prima ballerina Kyogoku Sayoko. SWAN Vol. 1 begins the tale of Masumi's incredible journey through the great baller companies of Europe and America and through both triumph and despair as she struggles toward her goal of becoming the greatest dancer of her generation!