Is there nothing interesting in contemporary Japanese arts/literature?
My song is much too sad to be told / But practically everything leaves me totally cold / I get no kick from jidai-geki/ Mere NHK doesn't thrill me at all / Some get a kick from Oricon charts / I'm sure that if / I heard even one clip / That would bore me terrifically too / I get no kick in a train / Nishimura Kyotaro's mysteries all have the same refrain / They're my idea of nothing to do / So tell me why should it be true / That I get a kick out of _______?
(with apologies to Cole Porter)
Well, here's the rub: I'm fluent in Japanese, but I find that I have almost no occasion to use it for pleasure reading/movies/magazines/audio/etc. I'm unenthused by contemporary Japanese arts and letters, and I'd like Mefites to weigh in with suggestions, because I am plumb out of ideas. There seems to be virtually nothing. I know, I know, there is a ton of stuff going on in pop culture, but to my eye, this is all flash-in-the-pan, genre stuff, and vacuous.
On the other hand, I could go backwards and read classics, and watch early- to mid-20th century movies, but I am holding out a glimmer of hope that there is quality literature, movies, magazines, and radio being produced today.
Literature: Almost all "classic" 20th century Japanese novelists are dead. I don't see that anything has made a splash in recent years. (Decades?) Sure, Murakami Haruki has been a huge cultural export. I've enjoyed his early essays. But is there anything else going on? It seems like genre fiction/historical novels/romance and the like make up a huge bulk of books on the stands, more so than in the West (this may be a result of the smaller initial pool of new books?).
The pseudo-scholarly 新書 churned out by 岩波、講談社、新潮社、PHP新書 etc. are too often forgettable. These seem to prey on ideas in the popular subconscious, with topics like "Why children aren't performing well in schools," "Why Japan is headed for collapse," "The Japanese character," "A leading doctor's tips on how to prevent senility," and so on... I'm sure there is a need for someone somewhere to use these things, but they are presented under the trappings of historical/scholarly inquiry, which is rarely the case, and this is disappointing as hell.
Japanese magazines are well-produced in their ability to jam data and content into a consolidated space, and they are well-researched, be they about fashion or homemaking. But, I can't think of a single one that is seriously devoted to literature, scholarly topics, international affairs, etc. ユリイカ does come to mind, and I remember enjoying it. But where are the analogues to the NY/London Review of Books, this sort of thing?
Essay, however, is one thing that Japanese does extremely well, and I have only positive thoughts about the essay work I've read, most of it with a comical bent. (糸井重里, 東海林さだお, 寺山修司)
As for comics, I'm not really interested. I read the Asahi Shinbun from time to time, but I've no strong interest in following local Japanese politics, so I'm not sure that a newspaper is the place to get my printed matter fix.
Movies: Again, there is plenty in terms of the classics, but modern Japanese film is almost entirely special-effects, horror movies, and technical expertise with a pop sensibility. Have there been some significantly good underground movies that have passed under my radar? I feel that I can say with certainty that this area is slim in terms of cultural exports.
Radio: NHK and talk DJs. Certainly to hope for something as robust as US/Canadian public radio is a bit much, but what's going on here?
I won't touch on music and visual art. As you can see, I'm interested in things that'll be an outlet for reading printed Japanese or listening to it spoken, because I feel like I'm really squandering my talents here, for want of something scintillating.
As an afterthought, I'd be interested to know about any interesting sites/blogs with essays and journalism. The Japanese web seems to be stuck in the 1980s, with BBS culture flourishing and information overload on every site. I don't think I have the emotional fortitude to read 2chan regularly, either. (But it has been good for a chuckle in the past)
So, with all of those caveats, my ears are open to your suggestions. Basically, I want things that are international in scope, cosmopolitan, somewhat scholarly, and with an emphasis on books/magazines/journals/printed matter.
Oh, and P.D.: despite my disparaging of pop, I'd be interested in hearing about some magazines or such that cover contemporary/popular culture from an omnivorous standpoint - like Brutus, which tends to have something for everyone.
Thanks for reading! If you need more specifics about my interests I can provide.
posted by softsantear to society & culture (13 comments total)
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Unfortunately, I think Japanese film is in a period of lassitude due to the continuing economic conditions. At least, I can't think of any "great" Japanese films from the last ten years or so, nor does a cursory glance around the Internet find anything promising. This is unfortunate, because Japanese film in the period from about 1940 through 1980 was excellent.
posted by sonic meat machine at 3:40 PM on November 9, 2008