Pikatto

I’d been reading excellent reviews of Chin Music Press’s Kuhaku since it was published a year or so ago, but just couldn’t be bothered to buy and read another book on Japan, after having been disappointed so many times in the past. But then my sister gave me an Amazon gift certificate and I decided to quench my curiosity by giving it a look.

Kuhaku is hard to describe for many reasons. It is an anthology of nonfiction and fiction—I hope!, short stories, poetry, and essays. The one thing that can definitely be said is that it is about Japan. Maybe, probably even, not the Japan you are thinking of, nor the Japan I was thinking of either. The essays are written by a nice cross selection of Japanese and foreign writers. Between the covers you’ll find something for everyone. The serious, the mundane, the titillating, the bizarre, the amusing, and the horrific are all to be found. It is an absolutely lovely, well designed book, from the beautiful silkscreened cover, to the clean typefaces and rich illustrations inside. This book truly is a work of art. From the moment I picked it up and felt the rich texture of the book’s cover I was hooked. The essays and stories seem targeted more toward those who actually live, or have lived in Japan. If you know nothing about Japan pick it up anyways. You’ll get a nice cross section of knowledge about this paradoxical country, and who knows you might even find yourself visiting one day to answer the important questions raised by this small anthology. Are there really hotels for dogs? Do real journalists get paid to visit the red light districts? Japanese people are polite, aren’t they? And many, many more.

Some of the essays,however, were only mediocre, as usually happens with anthologies, but others had me variously, laughing out loud or shaking my head in agreement and disgust. Overall the mediocre pieces blend well with the rest, and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

On the negative side, the copy I received from Amazon was slightly damaged on the inside corner of the top back cover. Normally, I wouldn’t even mention it, but this is a beautiful book that I look forward to owning and enjoying for a long time. The last gripe I have is with the paper wrap—the white portion in the photo— with the subtitle, ISBN number, and other related information on it. These things are common in Japan. If you’ve ever bought a CD,DVD, or manga in Japan you know what I’m talking about. I absolutely hate these things. It’s impossible to keep them on the book while you are reading it, and if you take it off it will most likely be lost. I would have much preferred that the book either had a standard dust jacket or nothing at all.

All in all I can’t recommend this book enough! I am hoping to see more like it from Chin Music Press in the future.

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