Before I completely forget the contents of this book, I figured I better write a little something about I Am A Cat by Soseki Natsume. (Soseki Natsume was born just a few minutes to the east of where we currently live in Nishi-Waseda and his grave is just a few minutes to the north.) This was the last book I’m planning on reading in English while in Japan. I finished it more than a month ago so the details are a bit foggy at this point.

This is one of those books that you constantly hear about and see referenced in other works so you feel a little behind the times not having read it. Now I’ll at least know what people are talking about. The version I read was only the first of three volumes. The setting is the Japan of a little more than a hundred years ago (as that is when it was written). The author takes the role of a cat, sort of a “fly on the wall” who no one is afraid to talk in front of and who can creep into any conversation without being detected.

The book is occasionally hilarious, frequently witty, always observant of Japan then (and now as things don’t seem to have changed much), but sometimes dull. Even though I laughed out loud at times, I was bored at others and did not feel as inspired by the end to want to read the next two volumes.

The introduction by the translators was too long and overdone if I remember correctly. I’ll leave you with one of my favorite passages. Maybe I only find it funny because I know so many teachers.

“My master seldom comes face to face with me. I hear he is a schoolteacher. As soon as he comes home from school, he shuts himself up in the study for the rest of the day; and he seldom emerges. The others in the house think that he is terribly hard-working. He himself pretends to be hard-working. But actually he works less hard than any of them think. Sometimes I tiptoe to his study for a peep and find him taking a snooze. Occasionally his mouth is drooling onto some book he has begun to read…

There are times when even I, I a mere cat, can put two thoughts together. ‘Teachers have it easy. If you were born a human, it’s best to become a teacher. For if it’s possible to sleep this much and still to be a teacher, why, even a cat could teach.’ However, according to the master, there’s nothing harder than a teacher’s life and every time his friends come round to see him, he grumbles on and on.”

Posted on October 11th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: book review, books, nishi-waseda. Comments: 1

Tokyo Observer by Leighton Willgerodt is a 20-year old book with timeless information about Japan. The writing style is very conversational and you may end up reading the whole thing in one sitting. The “chapters” are reprints from newspaper articles Willgerodt wrote in the late 1980s about Japanese culture, customs, and language. He had lived in Japan for more than a decade at the time.

The last third or fourth of the book is about other parts of Asia. I didn’t find it as interesting, probably because I haven’t lived in those areas. The first hundred pages or so are fantastic though. I highly recommend this to someone going to spend an extended period of time in Japan. Tokyo Observer is a fun, quick read that will keep you entertained as it prevents you from making some common gaijin mistakes. You’ll pick up more than a few Japanese words along the way too.

If your library doesn’t have it you can pick it up through the above link for about a dollar.

Posted on August 2nd, 2009 under Japan. Tags: book review, books. Comments: 1

Powell’s Books in Portland is the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. With almost a couple of acres of floorspace piled high with not only new, but used and rare titles too, the selection of over 4 million books is amazing.

My son, pictured above, was in heaven seeing the heaps of Naruto (in English) and other manga so nicely arranged. I picked up some used copies of kochi kame (in Japanese) for only $2.50 each. Once I finish them they can be yours.

If you visit Powell’s be sure to check out the rare book collection on the top floor. There are some amazing titles. Many of the books go for well over $1,000.

Posted on March 27th, 2009 under Japan, Oregon. Tags: books, Japanese Manga, portland. Comments: None

In an issue of Mangajin there was an interview with Wayne P. Lammers who translated this book. Wayne was one of the main translators for Mangajin. Anyway the interview was very good, and what he said about this book was intriguing enough for me to go out and get a copy. I was not disappointed.

The stories are ordinary enough, without any major action or typical plot line to speak of. However, there is an underlying tension to many of them that will keep many a reader on their toes. These creepy shadows under the surface reminded me a bit of Audition. I’m certainly not saying that if you enjoy this book you will like Audition (or vice versa). There is merely something similar between the two that I can’t quite put my finger on.

The ordinariness of it all (especially after the first couple stories–A Dance and Evenings at the Pool) may bore some readers. If so, I think those readers are missing the brilliance of Shono’s attention to detail, some of the underlying symbolism, and the Japanese mind. I suppose it probably helps, in appreciating this work, to have lived with the Japanese for an extended period of time.

The stories sound autobiographical. Given their content, I would guess that it would be rather awkward to have such stories published while you are still alive, especially in a country like Japan. Your neighbors could just read your books to find out intimate details of your life and marriage. It’s sort of like having your personal, unedited journals, that you wouldn’t even show a spouse (perhaps especially wouldn’t show a spouse), published for the general public’s eyes to see. 

Shono seems like he has many regrets or things he feels guilty about. He doesn’t usually say this, but they come through in the writing, especially the symbolic aspects. At the same time, he seems to do the things he implies he doesn’t do enough (spend time with his kids, pay attention to his wife, think about why he does things rather than just go along with the crowd with a salaryman mindset) much more than the average Japanese male.

We all can learn a lot from Junzo Shono. He teaches us about life, about examining life and what is really important, in a way that is completely non-preachy. His method is subtle, but the messages are clear. Thanks be to Wayne Lammers for bringing Shono’s writings to the English speaking world.

Posted on February 6th, 2009 under Japan. Tags: book review, books. Comments: None