Strange But True Stories from Japan edition by Jack Seward Literature Fiction eBooks
Download As PDF : Strange But True Stories from Japan edition by Jack Seward Literature Fiction eBooks 
Strange but True Stories from Japan is a fascinating collection of vignettes, ranging from historical to the personal.
Here you will be exposed to the goings-on of Americans serving time in Japanese prisons and the many who claimed the identity of Tokyo Rose. And learn about the bizarre habits of the eels that roam the Chikugo River.
In this eclectic and, well, strange, book you'll relive-from a distance-Kamakura's hara-kiri bloodshed and discover the surprising fate of the armless geisha, Tsuma-kichi. Seward also weaves touching memoir pieces between chapters that recount hilarious instances of fractured English and shocking-to-the-average-American Japanese cuisine. Written with an eye and ear for the theatrical and for the rhythm of Japanese life, this delightful but serious romp through modern Japan brings Seward's wide and varied cultural and military background to center stage.
Strange But True Stories from Japan edition by Jack Seward Literature Fiction eBooks
This thing reads fast. It would be a perfect accompaniment to a train or aeroplane journey. I came to it from an excellent book this same author wrote upon the subject of Japanese ritual suicide appropriately titled "Hara-kiri" which I recommend whole-heartedly.While this is eminently readable I guess that I take issue with a couple of things. One is that I feel quite certain that the author took a bit of literary liberty in order to make some of the stories more readable....actually, one of the most entertaining of them concerning the death of a certain Daimyo, but hey, one can hardly blame an author for making his material more entertaining.
The other is a certain familiar style he uses which a couple of times brought me a bit too close to the author for comfort.
Having said that this is, as I said, an eminently readable book and I am thankful to the author for exposing me to one Ranald McDonald, among others.
On a happy funny note, in his essay about translation 'malapropisms' the author unwittingly throws in a T-shirt advertising a product that every surfer will recognize: Mr Zog's Sex Wax. Ha, ha. I actually have a funny story about that from High School but...
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Strange But True Stories from Japan edition by Jack Seward Literature Fiction eBooks Reviews
I loved it, as I have all the previous Jack Seward books I've read. He talks of the real aspect of a Gaijin living in Japan. I've spent 21 of the last 34 years in Japan and can identify with the situations he's experienced. The above reviewer has obviously spent little if any time in this unique country. Sushi is one thing (believe it or not) some Japanese, my wife included, do not like. Foods such as basahasi (raw horse meat), and gyuusashi (raw beef) are also common in the izakayas among other items such as raw venison, how does the above reviewer feel about these. Nor I doubt, has she experienced driving down the road in the pouring rain with the driver in the car next to you yelling "punk" at you, only to find out you have a flat (punctured) tire. Also if she'd read some of Mr. Seward's other books, such as "Japanese in Action" she'd know he talks of the mistakes/mispronuciations Americans make in Japanese, such as koomon (anus) vice komon (advisor), joosei (situation) vice josei(female) and o-na (vegetable) vice onna (woman) and the embarassing situations mispronuciation can get you into. If you're an ex-pat living in Japan, or just curious, buy this book and others by this fine author.
Jack Seward, the author, lived in Japan for many years as an army officer and CIA agent after the occupation. He has written 44 books on Japan in both English and Japanese and now makes his home in Texas. This book is a compilation of an eclectic array of vignettes.
The title gives it away. "Strange But True" lives up to it's expectations. The point of view of all of these stories is targeted so that an American audience can click its lips in wonder at the weirdness of these people.
Many of the stories are retelling of historical battles, including the rite of hari kari. Other stories give unique glimpses of history, such as the story of the geisha who married into the J.P. Morgan family or the Russian duke who was wounded while visiting Japan. There's a long confusing story about the trial of Tokyo Rose who did radio broadcasts to American armed forces in the Pacific during W.W.II and a story about an American who became a Japanese citizen.
Another piece focuses on the odd way that Japanese is sometimes translated into English, making fun of some of their attempts. Of course he barely mentions how the Japanese might view some English-speaking people's attempts to speak Japanese
For someone who has lived for many years in Japan and written so extensively Mr. Seward doesn't like sushi and describes Japanese food in a way that makes it seem rather disgusting. It's a good thing I know better.
His tales all focus on their strangeness and even though a few of the historical details were interesting, Mr. Seward has a rather parochial and one-sided point of view of the Japanese. There's a sense of mockery and ethnocentrism throughout as he seems to raise an eyebrow over and over again at traditional Japanese ways.
What I, as a reader, find "strange but true" is the fact that Mr. Seward could have lived so many years in Japan, written so many books about the language and the culture, and stills sees the Japanese through a prism of cultural barriers and prejudice.
Definitely NOT RECOMMENDED.
This thing reads fast. It would be a perfect accompaniment to a train or aeroplane journey. I came to it from an excellent book this same author wrote upon the subject of Japanese ritual suicide appropriately titled "Hara-kiri" which I recommend whole-heartedly.
While this is eminently readable I guess that I take issue with a couple of things. One is that I feel quite certain that the author took a bit of literary liberty in order to make some of the stories more readable....actually, one of the most entertaining of them concerning the death of a certain Daimyo, but hey, one can hardly blame an author for making his material more entertaining.
The other is a certain familiar style he uses which a couple of times brought me a bit too close to the author for comfort.
Having said that this is, as I said, an eminently readable book and I am thankful to the author for exposing me to one Ranald McDonald, among others.
On a happy funny note, in his essay about translation 'malapropisms' the author unwittingly throws in a T-shirt advertising a product that every surfer will recognize Mr Zog's Sex Wax. Ha, ha. I actually have a funny story about that from High School but...
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