Reading Programs, Resources, and Communities: Japanese Pop Culture

"The untold story of how Japan became a cultural superpower through the fantastic inventions that captured-and transformed-the world's imagination. The Walkman. Karaoke. Pikachu. Pac-Man. Akira. Emoji. We've all fallen in love with one or another of Japan's pop-culture creations, from the techy to the wild to the super-kawaii. But as Japanese media veteran Matt Alt proves in this brilliant investigation of Tokyo's pop-fantasy complex, we don't know the half of it. Japan's toys, gadgets, and fantasy worlds didn't merely entertain. They profoundly transformed the way we live.
Hello Kitty, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and entertainment empires like Pokémon and Dragon Ball Z were more than marketing hits. Artfully packaged, dangerously cute, and dizzyingly fun, these products made Japan the forge of the world's fantasies, and gave us new tools for coping with trying times. They also transformed us as we consumed them-connecting as well as isolating us in new ways, opening vistas of imagination and pathways to revolution. Through the stories of an indelible group of artists, geniuses, and oddballs, Pure Invention reveals how Japanese ingenuity remade global culture and may have created modern life as we know it. It's Japan's world; we're just gaming, texting, singing, and dreaming in it"-- Provided by publisher.

Japanamerica is the first book that directly addresses the American experience with the Japanese pop culture craze--including anime from Hayao Miyazaki's epics to the burgeoning world of hentai, or violent pornographic anime to Haruki Murakami's fiction. Including interviews with the inventor of Pac-man and executives from TokyoPop, GDH, and other major Japanese and American production companies, this book highlights the shared conflicts both countries face as anime and manga become a global form of entertainment and change both the United States and Japan in the process.

These essays consider the Godzilla films and how they were shaped (by and in turn shaped) postwar Japanese culture, as well as the globalization of Japanese pop culture icons in the wake of the Godzilla phenomenon. They fall within a wide range of disciplines: film studies, anthropology, history, literature, theater, and cultural studies. Contributors include Susan Napier, Anne Allison, Christine Yano, and others.

Before her book can be published, promising young author Aki Fujino is found dead, and while some believe she commited suicide, others suspect her death may be related to her mysterious relationship with the author Mizorogi.

"A mysterious volume advertised in 1823 as Master Iitsu's Chicken-Rib Picture Book was likely meant to be a continuation of Hokusai's famous Manga series, but a published copy of it has never been found. This eclectic and engaging collection of drawings from the peerless Japanese art holdings at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, may well have been intended for that lost book. Reproduced in full for the first time as a stand-alone publication, this rare Hokusai sketchbook makes for delightful fare."--Provided by publisher.

From Osamu Tezuka, creator of Astro Boy, comes Metropolis, the legendary 1949 graphic novel that inspired the animated fame that floored audiences and critics alike. In a not-so-far-off future a beautiful, artifically created girl -- unaware of her non-human background -- searches for the non-existent parents she believes must exist, wandering alone in a world populated by humans and by the slave-driven robots who serve them. Tezuka's key theme of the nature of humanity in a technological society is framed in bold relief, as well as his wry allegorical observations of the Cold War that was escalating when he created Metropolis.

A brilliant scientist created Astro Boy to replace his deceased son, but with powers that go beyond our imagination, Astro Boy seeks justice for the oppressed and helpless, whether they are humans, aliens, or robots. With tales that appeal to both young and old readers, Astro Boy takes readers back to the classic era of comics and animation.

This book showcases a magnificent range of kimonos from the Khalili Collection, which comprises more than 200 garments and spans almost 300 years of Japanese textile artistry. The book surveys kimono of the imperial court, samurai aristocracy, and affluent merchant classes of the Edo period (1603-1868); the shifting styles and new color palette of Meiji period dress (1868-1912); and the bold and dazzling kimono of the Taisho (1912-26) and early Showa (1926-89) periods, when designers used innovative new techniques and fused traditional looks with inspiration from the modernist aesthetic then sweeping the world.--Publisher's description

The author discusses history and impact of the schoolgirl image on Japan's society and culture, and asks j-pop idols, along with other celebrities, film directors, historians, artists, and others to explain the trend, fashion choices, and its appeal.

The Image Factory is both an investigation into fads, fashions and style - such as US Army surplus uniforms, "pachinko", mutating hair colors - and an appreciation of their inherent meanings. The Japanese have seized upon fads and fashion as an arm of enterprise to a much greater extent than elsewhere in the world. Ephemerality has been put to work, the transient has become industrialized, and the results are highly conspicuous.

Through case studies of designers, artisans, and retailers, Jenny Hall provides a comprehensive picture of the reasons behind the production and consumption of these rejuvenated fashion goods. She argues that conceptualisations of Japanese tradition include innovation and change, which is vital to understanding how Japanese cultural heritage is both sustained and evolving.

Essential reading for students and scholars of fashion, anthropology, and Japanese studies, Jenny Hall's sensory ethnography is the first of its kind, describing the lived experiences of people in the Kyoto textiles industry, explaining the renewal of traditional techniques and styles, and placing them both within contexts such as transnational 'craftscapes' and fast or slow fashion systems.