Job Discussion Forums

[gwynnie86]

Hey!
I feel that the forum is swamped with people asking the same questions about employment at the moment. When I scroll around I find a lot of negative comments. Sometimes it's easy to forget why we came here in the first place, or to forget the passion we once had for Japan.

So... I'd like to ask people what books, films or perhaps websites about - or set in - Japan that they would recommend?

I've just read Hokkaido Highway Blues, the (true) story of an English teacher who hitch-hiked from south to north Japan following the sakura trail. It's pretty funny and insightful, with a lot of moments that most of us can probably relate to. As for fiction set in Japan, Memoirs of a Geisha springs to mind, as well as the film Lost in Translation...

What would other people suggest?

[seklarwia]

I watched Babel for the first time. It was on TV last month. My Japanese isn't great but I still enjoyed it. Only the parts about the deaf high school student and her father are set in Japan, and you never find out what was in the note she wrote to the detective, but it's still a good watch.

I also recently watched a strange movie with Brad Pitt who plays a French(?) merchant that travels to a remote village in Japan to buy silk worms and falls in love with the leader's concubine despite having a loving wife back home. I can't remember it's name, but I watched the whole thing despite it not being the kind of movie I would normally watch. Perhaps someone can help me out on the name.

And for some good ol' Japanophile goodness with lots of killing/dying, there is always The Last Samurai.

[CarolinaBen]

Enter The Void

[Denizen]

There are some terrific classic and animation movies based on Japan that are must see to get a flavor of its history, philosophy and uniqueness. The animation works by Hayao Miyazaki that provide wonderful escapes into pure imagination are a must, particularly Princess Mononoke, Kiki's Delivery Service, Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro and Nausicaa. These are available both dubbed in English or subtitled. The classics will show you where the mind of the Japanese stems from...Seven Samurai (which eventually bore the American Magnificent Seven), Ugetsu, Rashomon, Ran, Twilight Samurai, and Tampopo all are great, and are available subtitled in English.

You might also want to drop down to a bookstore or library and leaf through the large format book, "A Day in the Life of Japan', with beautiful photography that traps the essence of Japan through the observant eyes of several photographers.

Good luck!

Dennis

[Rakuten]

Anything by Haruki Murakami. His books are fantastic, and he is not only my favourite Japanese authors- but one of my favourite authors of all time. If you're just starting out reading him, The Wind Up Bird Chronicle(ねじまき鳥クロニクル), Kafka on the Shore (海辺のカフカ) or Norwegian Wood (ノルウェイの森) might be good places to start.

All his books are set in Japan in various locations, with a very interesting look at the modern Japanese psyche and tons of philosophical insight and implications. The guy is a great writer, so I highly recommend him.

Another author that got me interested in Japan/Japanese culture was Yukio Mishima. His novels and political/life scandals were very interesting to me- and he provides another very interesting and insightful take on the Japanese psyche/mentality. I suggest Spring Snow (春の雪), The Sound of Waves (潮騷) or The Sailor who Fell from Grace from the Sea (午後の曳航) to start.

If you liked "Memoirs of a Geisha"- I would recommend a much better book "Geisha, a Life" by Mineko Iwasaki. It's an actual memoir/account of a very famous geisha and is far more interesting and real-to-life than its fictional counterpart.

I really like Edogawa Rampo's books and short stories- he is a very interesting and famous icon of Japan. If you are just getting into him, I would recommend his detective stories over his エログロ- but both are good imo.

As far as film goes- I don't particularly like anime, but I love all Hayao Miyazaki's films, and anything by Osamu Tezuka or Leiji Mastsumoto. If you've never seen a Miyazaki film- hurry up and watch one! They are absolutely amazing, both animation and cinematography-wise, in addition to being strongly philosophical, introspective and having an amazing ability to evoke strong 懐かしい or so feelings in the viewer. Any of his films are great, but some of my favourite are: Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind (風の谷のナウシカ), Laputa- Castle in the Sky (天空の城ラピュタ), My Neighbor Totoro (となりのトトロ), Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫), Spirited Away (千と千尋の神隠し), Whispers of the Heart (耳をすませば) etc...

Akira Kurosawa film are of course, a Japanese classic- my personal favourite being Yojimbo (用心棒), Rashomon (羅生門), Ran (乱) and of course, Seven Samurai (七人の侍). Akira Kurosawa's final work-"Dreams" (夢) is another really interesting and very Japanese film- so it's a good look at traditional Japanese culture and folklore. It's very different from his other films, but it's one of my favourites in its subtly and strongly Japanese nuances.

In addition, Zatoichi (座頭市) ((my favourite is the Beat Takeshi one)) and Battle Royale are some other favourite Japanese film classics, but in general, I don't love most Japanese cinematography.

Japanese television drama, while being nowhere as good as Korean Dramas, does have a few gems. I really liked Hana Yori Dango (花より男子), Rondo (輪舞曲), Hana Kimi (花ざかりの君たちへ) and Gokusen (ごくせん), to name a few.

As far as websites go- 2ch and Mixi are my favs. Both will give you plenty of insight into Japanese culture if you have the time/patience for them.

Japanese media- while not always my favourite, does have some good stuff in there. I really love Japanese fiction and literature, personally and if you're looking for more suggestions on good reads or great Japanese authors- just let me know!

[Tuan]

I've just recently stumbled upon this forum myself so I'm just trying to read as much as I can.

For movies, I love anything that was made by Makoto Shinkai (The Place Promised in Our Early Days and 5cm per Second)

For websites, I usually visit Danny Choo's or in particular his 'Places to visit in Japan' category.
http://www.dannychoo.com/page/en/post/all/visit/all/all/all/published/1.html

[Apsara]

I like Alan Booth's books, Looking for the Lost and The Roads to Sata- in the second one he walked from the top of Hokkaido to the bottom of Kyushu and in Looking for the Lost he retraced walks/marches done by famous Japanese people like Saigo Takamori and Dazai Osamu. Interesting accounts of what it was like to be a foreigner in Japan back in the 70s and early 80s as well as good travelogues.

I saw the Oscar-winning movie Departures (Okuribito in Japanese) last year and really liked it- even if you understand Japanese well it's worth trying to find a subtitled version though because a lot of it is in a Yamagata dialect which can be a bit hard to understand if you're not used to it.

I also thought Swing Girls was quite entertaining- it basically has the same plotline as a lot of other Japanese movies like Water Boys for example, but is probably one of the better ones of that genre.

[OneJoelFifty]

Anything written by Banana Yoshimoto is really good. Sensitive stories full of longing. David Mitchell is a fantastic writer and a couple of his books involve Japan. I think he may have written while he was teaching over here. Check out Ghostwritten and Number 9 Dream.

Films...Tampopo! For sure. A celebration of Japanese food. I recently watched a bunch that were all entertaining in their own way; Survive Style 5+, Tenten - Adrift in Tokyo, How to Date an Otaku Girl, Crows Zero I & 2 (high school kids fighting, not for everyone I admit)...I forget the rest. Outrage, that was fairly good.

Actually, the most interesting thing I've watched about Japan since being here is a documentary called The Great Happiness Space. It's about a group of hosts at a popular host bar in Osaka, and I found it fascinating. I'd always wondered at how the whole thing worked, and the way the documentary slowly reveals new layers of detail about the people being profiled is very well done.

[the4th2001]

水嶋ヒロ(MIZUSHIMA Hiro)'s book KAGEROU is a good read. Although some people may scoff at it, the book won Popura-sha's Novel Grand Prize and is expected to be turned into a movie sometime in the future.

It's about a suicidal man and donating organs.

*** Being negative, pessimistic, realistic . . . call it what you will, but the things that most people post here are what you should expect to encounter. Life sucks sometimes? I don't know. It is what it is.

[CarolinaBen]

I would also recommend "The Stratosphere Girl". An indie film from the Netherlands about a girl who leaves Europe to take a job in a hostess club, and becomes fascinated by Japanese culture. The first half of the movie is great, then a hostess vanishes and she plays detective. It is worth watching.

[CarolinaBen]

I also enjoyed "The Ramen Girl".

[YujiKaido]

Shogun was one of the first movies I saw about Japan and is still one of my favorites.

[rxk22]

[Cool Teacher]

[Cool Teacher]