2002年08月30日 金曜日
"God Hates Japan"
by Jane Pinckard
Books
Douglas Coupland, the Canadian author and visual artist most famous for coining the term "Generation X", published a richly illustrated book last December in Japanese, available only in Japan.
It might seem odd until you skim the details of his life and find that he studied at the Hokkaido College of Art and Design where he also completed a two-year degree in business science.
The book was published by Kadokawa Shoten, and illustrated by Michael Howatson.
Posted by Jane Pinckard at 2002年08月30日 05:58
Comments
Interesting. It has been quite common for Japanese authors to publish in the US in English, but I haven't heard of the reverse happening. Perhaps this is testament to the growing strength of Japanese youth culture in the international arena. As I drive around LA, I am struck by the number of animaniac type stores in this town.
Well if you judge by the number of animation clubs on college campuses, and <a href="http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=anime&btnG=Google+Search">anime fan sites in English</a>, then Japanese animaniacs would appear to be legion, worldwide. If you count fans of Pokemon as participants in Japanese youth culture, then Japanese youth culture is certifiably a widespread phenomenon. As for authors, foreigners learning Japanese and writing with it happens much less frequently than the other way around, as you said Mimi. Douglas Copeland's book seems to be image heavy (he learned the visual language rather than the written?) - that's youth culture oriented I guess.
A lot of the hipster-type folks I talk to in the Bay Area see Japan as some kind of quirky culture pilgrimmage. During a talk at the Foreign Correspondents' Club in June, <a href="http://www.links.net/vita/trip/japan/media/bukz/donaldrichie/">Donald Richie</a> said "Japan has become the world's favourite place to get trivia cheap." He was lamenting the decline of humanist cinema in Japan. <a href="http://www.links.net/vita/trip/japan/gaijin/fccj/020403-seidensticker.html">Seidensticker</a> too, he lamented the fact that modern Japanese culture is plastic and artificial. But woodblock prints were in large part a cheap somewhat mass-produced popular culture that is now revered. Might we say the same thing about Pokemon cards and Appleseed manga in 120 years?
where did you get your copy of god hates japan, I have been looking long and hard for it and would appreciate some help finding it thanks.
Hello. I'm from England and cannot find God Hates Japan anywhere over here. Can anyone tell me where I can get hold of it online? Cheers. Sadie.
The weird thing is that they don’t even sell it in Vancouver.
I am also looking to find a copy, and if anybody could locate one I would be forever grateful.
dc can speak japanese, is it possible he wrote it in japanese?
I got it here in Japan; and you really only can get it in japanese. So I can't read it; at the moment it's just like a collectors pice for me - some nice illustrations and kind of found material in there. Maybe one day a big fan will translate it back into english? I hope so.
(You can get it at amazon.japan).
dc can speak english, is it possible he wrote it in english?