Contemporary Japanese Culture Or the things that make me tick in Japan

Literature
I read. A bunch. You should, too. It�fll make ya smart.

1. Murakami, Haruki: Possibly my favourite Japanese author. Feels like you�fre reading dreams half the time. Think Japanese Douglas Copeland. Dance Dance Dance; The Wind-up Bird Chronicle; A Wild Sheep Chase; Norwegian Wood; South of the Border, West of the Sun, Hard-boiled Wonderland.
2. Mishima, Yukio: Perpetually competing for the �efavourite author�f position. Can be very intense reading at times. The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea; The Sound of Waves, Sun and Steel, The Temple of the Golden Pavilion, The Sea of Fertility (a tetrology).
3. Kawabata, Yasunari: Some folks find him a little slow, but I kind of dig that. He won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1968, if you care about that sort of thing. Snow Country; The Sound of the Mountain; The Master of Go.
4. Murakami, Ryu: No relation to Haruki. Gritty, tough tales full of drugs and disco. Coin-locker Babies, Almost Transparent Blue, 69.
5. Yoshimoto, Banana: Heard good things, haven�ft laid my hands on any books yet, though.
6. Edogawa, Ranpo: Imagine a non-English speaking Nihonjin saying �eEdgar Allen Poe�f. Need I say more?
7. Miyazawa, Kenji: Fantastic storyteller. Some of his stories have been made into anime.
8. Oe, Kenzoburo: Um�c I dunno. He�fs famous.
9. Osamu Dazai: Four suicide attempts.�@Three of them intended to be double suicides. Be sure you want to read this.
10. Monkey Brain Sushi: An anthology of modern Japanese authors. Covers everything from WWII to S&M. Basically a great introduction to Japanese literature. Authors include Kobayashi Kyoji, Amy Yamada, Hashimoto Osamu, Masato Takeno and more.
11. Doi, Takeo: Ain�ft fiction, but interestin�f nevertheless. In-depth studies and analyses of the Japanese mind. Can get quite convoluted from time to time. The Anatomy of Dependence.
12. Akira: Ain�ft literature, but decidedly fiction. One of the most famous manga/anime ever to come out of Japan. So famous, in fact, that junior high and high school kids will have no idea what you're talking about, should you mention it to them.

Music
Listening to music won�ft make you smart, but it�fll make you cool. Maybe.

1. Ska: Ska is ska. Doesn�ft really change from band to band, if you ask me. These are some of the kids I dig: Kemuri, Snail Ramp, Tokyo Ska Paradise Orchestra, Nicotine, Rude Bones.
2. Rock/Punk: Is it J-Pop? Not even close.
   • Shonen Knife: Bubblegum punk from Osaka. Met 'em. Any band in which the guitarist is the same size as her guitar gets 5 stars in my book.
   • Guitar Wolf: Does the best cover of �eSatisfaction�f I�fve ever heard. Uses guitar picks as shuriken in concert. �eNuff said.
   • Hotei Tomoyasu: Japanese rockabilly. Damn.
   • Melt Banana: Tokyo punk with percussive vocals. You have to hear them to know what I mean.
   • Blankey Jet City, The Hi-Lows, The 5.6.7.8s, The Michelle Gun Elephant, SADS.
3. Uhh�c: Yeah. Bands that play music. Sometimes.
   • Shina Ringo: Ok. So you could consider her to be kind of J-Pop-esque. Kind of.
   • Cibo Matto: Well, they live in New York. But they�fre still Japanese, goddamnit. They sing about food a lot.
   • Shang Shang Typhoon: A group from Okinawa. Traditional folk music meets synthesizer. I�fm not kidding.
   • The Yellow Magic Orchestra: Old-school techno. I heard they�fre now used as the music for pachinko machines.
   • Pizzicato Five: Er... I don�ft know where to begin. They do a great cover of �eThe Girl From Ipanema�f, though.
   • The Yoshida Brothers: Good ol�f fashioned rock and roll... played on shamisen.
   • Yuji Ohno: Jazz. Has 2 great CDs based on the Lupin III theme.

Film
Watching movies guarantees neither intelligence nor coolness. But it�fs worth a try.

1. Akira Kurosawa: Like you don�ft know who he is. Cool enough to have been ripped off several times. The Seven Samurai, Rashomon, Yojimbo, Ran, Kagemusha, Dreams.
2. Godzilla: The big rubbery one, not the CG one. They�fre still making new movies with the same crap special effects. You can�ft come to this country and not see at least one.
3. Battle Royale: You�fve probably heard about this one. JHS students killing each other.
4. Gojoe: You might have heard about this one. Samurai killing each other.
5. Samurai Fiction: Just cool. Watch it.
6. Other flicks: The Mystery of Ranpo, Hanabi, Shall We Dance?, Ring.
7. Anime: Most folks either love �eem or hate �eem.
   • Hayao Miyazaki: Possibly the biggest/best/baddest producer of anime ever. Nausicaa the Valley of the Wind, Laputa, My Neighbour Totoro, Grave of the Fireflies, Princess Mononoke.
   • Akira: Yeah, the same one I mentioned earlier. Entirely different from the manga, but still good.
   • Ghost in the Shell: Mamoru Oshii and Masamune Shiro get together with James Cameron on this one. You know, the guy who directed Terminator 2?
   • Lupin III: The Wolf has achieved cult-like status - not only in Japan, but world-wide. Kind of a goofy, extra-horny James Bond.

Stuff
Alright. So these pretty much have nothing to do with Japan. Sue me.

The Spark - Electric Sheep - Amish Rake Fight - Something Awful - My Boot - Links.net - Laughing Squid - Nosepilot - Praystation - Mullets Galore - Once Upon A Forest - Carpool - Kingdom of Talossa - Soulbath