Wrong About Japan

First, Kenji told us, this dusty slightly run down house belonged to a rich family. "Who else could afford such luxury? Also," he said, "it is a kind of ghost house."
"What makes it a ghost house?"
"Well, as you will see in a moment, there is a well."
"So?"
"The well is a very animistic thing. It is a hole to another world, to ghosts and spirits. A Japanese viewer sees that well and immediately understands that this will be a story about spirits."

When Peter Carey's 12-year-old son became interested in anime and manga, his father took him on a trip to Japan, with the promise that they wouldn't be wasting their time on the 'real Japan' of old temples and boring museums. It could have been quite an interesting book, but I wasn't really enamoured of it, mainly because Peter Carey comes across as a bit of a git.

But at least I now know the significance of the well in "The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle". I just hope I still remember when I get round to re-reading it! ( )

I love this book. Interestingly this book is very similar to 30 Days in Sydney, but it works for me, and the other doesn't, not quite. Perhaps I am more fascinated by Japanese culture than Australian culture than I realize, or perhaps because Carey knows too much about Australia so he hasn't done it justice because he assumes the rest of us are interested in his country the same way he is, and on the other hand his ignorance about Japan is more aligned with everyone else's that in turn Wrong about Japan is easier to grasp - I don't know - but I like one more than the other.

This book is funny, and very quick to read. I particularly love the part about My Neighbour Totoro. It tells me more about it that merely watching it doesn't tell me.

Excerpts:

"Kakuki," I said, "is like the manga of its time."
"No it isn't."
"Then go to sleep." (66)

"You will never meet Mr. Miyazaki," Takashi said sternly. "...Mr. Miyazaki is more difficult to meet than Walt Disney."
"Takashi," I said, "Walt Disney is dead."
"His point," said Charley.

This book makes me laugh. ( )

Some really great touches in what is almost a travelogue of Japanese comic shops. Certainly, he was less awed by his father the famous author. Descriptions of Japan and customs were fascinating. ( )

I have to say that the more I read, the less I liked Peter Carey. He is clearly not much of a people person—his interactions with others are uniformly awkward and I was rather appalled by the way he treated his son’s friend, Takashi. He seemed more intent on rushing around, trying to achieve some purpose that wasn’t even clear to himself. He came across as being distinctly snobbish.

The book reminded me a bit of Zen in the Art of Archery by Eugen Herrigel. That too is about a foreigner in Japan struggling to come to terms with the culture through some particular aspect. I felt that Herrigel did it with far more grace, though to be fair Herrigel was actually living in Japan at the time rather than just there for a quick visit. Herrigal didn’t demand answers in the way that Carey did or seek to extract the essence of a culture by interrogating its forms.

The non-answer to Carey’s interview questions by those in the anime and manga industry reminded me a lot of Zen and Buddhism—the teacher isn’t there to give you the answers, you must arrive at your own.

Despite my dislike of Carey, it was quite a fascinating book. I loved that he highlighted the generational gap in Japan as well as between himself and his son. That in turn resonated with the culture gap.

Hearing about the bombing of Japan was quite eye-opening and made me realise that there is indeed a focus on Nagasaki and Hiroshima, when the devestation was really more widespread. There were other facts scattered throughout that made me stop and think as well (13 year-old samurai being one). Miyazaki came across to me as being as much a breath of fresh air as I’m sure he did to Carey. And being quite an anime fan, I appreciated the references.

All in all, an interesting book, but not one I particularly enjoyed. ( )

Journal entry 1 by SKingList from New York, New York USA on Friday, November 25, 2005

Not as much of an anime/manga fan as some visitors to Japan are, but I was given this book and I'm quite enjoying it. Will probably pass it on to Nicole when I am done for her to read and share if she wishes and/or hasn't read it yet.

Journal entry 2 by SKingList from New York, New York USA on Saturday, December 03, 2005

Found this to be an interesting and readable book, not too much OD on the manga/anime for those of us who aren't die hard fans, but enough to pique the interest. Kind of makes me want to read some manga, but we'll see. ( )