japanamerica

...courtesy of Takeda Random House , formerly Random House Kodansha:

My interview with Haruki Murakami on America, American literature, and American readers has just been released here in Japan in "Monkey Business." The interview was translated by Motoyuki Shibata, and I am honored. Online info HERE . Amazon purchase HERE . 7月20日発売 定価：1,575円（本体価格 1,500円＋税） ISBN：978-4-86332-264-6 Dialogue 内田 樹×柴田元幸 辺境から生まれるもの――内田樹・柴田元幸《アメリカ》対談 Essay リン・ディン　 休み時間をカジノで　訳―平塚隼介 短歌 穂村 弘 　行ってみたいな僕の国 Reflection レベッカ・ブラウン 　ホーソーン　訳―柴田元幸 Interview 村上春樹 　 サリンジャー、『グレート・ギャツビー』、なぜアメリカの読者は時として ポイントを見逃すか――村上春樹インタビュー 聞き手―ローランド・ケルツ　訳―柴田元幸

Oops. I also play the drums: ESCAPE the HEAT -- Come See ALi-MO and be Coool! Date: July 24, Saturday Venue: What The Dickens! (EBISU) http://www.towncryer.jp/WTD.html 4th Floor, Loop6 Bldg 1-13-3 Ebisu-Nishi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Tel: 03-5545-4242 Time: 9:00-ish p.m. till midnight Price: FREE!!

by Danielle Demetriou for Telegraph.co.uk. Say the word “geisha” and images of beautiful kimono-clad women serving green tea, reciting poetry and playing classical instruments may spring to mind. In Japan, outsiders typically pay hundreds of pounds in order to spend several hours with geisha in teahouses, with activities including artful conversation, and dancing. But the lull in the global economy appears to be forcing the world of geisha to seek more enterprising — and cheaper - ways of earning a living by setting up geisha beer gardens. At the traditional inn Gion Shinmonso, in the ancient capital of Japan, for the £4 (530 yen) cost of a draft beer, visitors can raise toasts and make conversation with trainee geisha, called maiko, before they perform nightly traditional Kyotan dances known as “kyomai” on a special beer garden stage. Meanwhile, the beer garden at Kamischichiken enables visitors to buy a “geisha starter pack” for £13, including a mug of beer, two snacks and company of

SOFT POWER - HARD TRUTHS / Know thy audience Roland Kelts / Special to The Daily Yomiuri A few months ago in New York, I got wind of an enterprising new virtual reality game called TinierMe . The principal developer, the Japanese gaming company GCrest, a division of CyberAgent Inc., opened an office in San Francisco earlier this year for the U.S. launch of its virtual reality portal featuring anime -style visuals. Imagine Second Life with avatars that look like anime characters, giving American and other English-speaking fans a chance to cosplay, to create their own anime-inspired avatars anytime they want, rather than waiting for the next area anime convention. Amid the dissonance of declining anime DVD and manga book sales abroad and at home and the escalating numbers of overseas fans attending conventions and expos, entrepreneurs are beginning to see an opportunity: Reach the fans via new networks of accessibility, and you just might survive. "We see tremendous opportunity for