Japan Inc.

[PorkChopExpress86]

So I took a class on modern Japan a few years ago and one of our texts was Japan Inc., a manga about being a salaryman in the mid 1980s c. 1986 and translated into english in '88. It was fairly interesting but obviously very dated, they make a bunch of references to how rosy the economic outlook is for the 90s but it was printed in the standard american way of left to right. Here is part of the forward:

The preparation of Japan Inc. for English speaking readers raised several technical problems, because Japanese comics read from right to left, Western comics from left to right. One solution was to offer readers a brief encounter with Japanese culture by printing the book in its original order, with a warning that they should begin reading at what they would usually consider the end. This method seemed a little too complicated, however, to impose on a comic book. Another solution was simply to flip the pages and print them backwards, but this one failed to take into account the number of panels in which the artwork and writing--Japanese, English, or Arabic--were combined. If these pages were flipped, a mirror would have been needed to make them legible. In the end, we opted for selective flipping: panels were reversed if necessary to clarify the flow of the dialogue; otherwise, they were printed as they appear in the Japanese edition. As a result, some of the characters may suddenly appear to develop left-handed tendencies.

Doesn't selectively flipping panels seem a *little* more complicated? It didn't take very long for the entire US manga industry to go to the raw format. I understand that it might have been very strange for someone who had no exposure to manga or Japanese to pick up a right to left format book in the 1980s, but it certainly hasn't slowed the growth of fandom in the US 20 years later.

[shinigamiinochi]

I was thirteen when I read my first original print manga and all it took for me to be able to read it was common sense. I saw that the panels didn't make sense the way I would orginally read it and fixed my reading accordingly using my sense of logic. I didn't even have to read that back cover page showing you what to do. If that is too complicated for people, I think I just might lose whatever faith I had left for America.

[Shinju]

Haha. The 80s. That was back when people were stupid.

"Durrr, what, you mean I have to read the opposite direction???" *head explodes*

[cu-kid9]

Haha. The 80s. That was back when people were stupid.

Ha! Because they're sooo much more intelligent now

I would think that selectively flipping panels would not only be more complicated, but more expensive since it would probably take more time. Besides, don't a lot of people flip through magazines backwards anyway?

Personally, I think it could just be another way of the US not letting more cultural stuff in. It amazes me that so much of our culture goes out while very little of other's comes in.

[shinigamiinochi]

I read the novel 'Scar Tissue' in Japan (my cousin managed to get a translation for me) and when I returned to the states, I decided I wanted my own copy. Turns out it was banned and isn't sold in the U.S. I thought, well, it does deal with the issues of child rape, prostitution, war, racism, and homophobia. But, no, I discovered that it was banned because, and I quote, 'shows America in a bad light.' *blink* Apparently, whoever decides these things thought that the futuristic war discussed in the novel with citizens of the earth versus people that have decided to colonize in space was an analogy for World War II, specifically Japan versus America. Uh, no. Sorry folks, even if it WAS, in the end, Earth and colonies live in harmony with each other and the main couple, one of the them is from Earth and the other is from space, so I don't see how it could be bashing America. And the best part of all? The main character... is Irish American!! Yeah, we're gonna show the main character as a beaten down, but still very strong and dependant character who, for the most part, does what is right and helps out his friends and the one he loves though he knows he's gonna suffer for it, but just because he's an American living in Japan, obviously they must be bashing Americans in some way, now if only we can figure out how... *sigh* If anything the book is about how all societies and races can live together and be mutually beneficial with each other. The main couple is gay, biracial (the other one is Japanese-Russian), and hell, bi-world, yet through a war and social repression, their love survives!

I was reading a manga the other day and someone said 'you're reading that book the wrong way.' Usually when someone walks up to me while i'm reading and says something stupid like that, I ignore them. But no, I decided to take the high road and explain to this person that I was reading a japanese manga, to which they replied, 'so? it's still wrong.' 'no, it's how it was originally printed.' 'that's stupid.' and they walked away. So, no, people were not stupid in the 80s, they have always been stupid.

[Shinju]

I read the novel 'Scar Tissue' in Japan (my cousin managed to get a translation for me) and when I returned to the states, I decided I wanted my own copy. Turns out it was banned and isn't sold in the U.S. I thought, well, it does deal with the issues of child rape, prostitution, war, racism, and homophobia. But, no, I discovered that it was banned because, and I quote, 'shows America in a bad light.' *blink*

Just out of curiosity, who gets to "ban" these things anyway?

[foeofthelance]

Just out of curiosity, who gets to "ban" these things anyway?

They don't, at least not officially. The worst that happens is that either a community decides it doesn't like something, and tries to have it removed from libraries etc. (which is fair, sort of, as that's also the basis for obscenity definitions) Those normally fall through at the first complaint, or break down over time. Or, more like in the case of this, publishing companies just don't pursue the rights to be able to distribute it here in the United States. It isn't really banned, everyone just considers it to be too controversial to be worth the headaches. And again, these things tend to break down over time, and eventually someone picks it up. But if you ordered a copy from the Japanese publisher and had it shipped via the U.S. Postal service it would be delivered.

Compare to this to a place such as China, which actively does ban things, to the point that certain books cannot be sold in stores, certain websites can't be accessed, and certain shows can't be watched. In that case, the source of the bans is the group in power, which fears free information flow would put their power at risk. Which, if half the ancedotes I've heard are true, it probably would be...

[Shinju]

Compare to this to a place such as China, which actively does ban things, to the point that certain books cannot be sold in stores, certain websites can't be accessed, and certain shows can't be watched. In that case, the source of the bans is the group in power, which fears free information flow would put their power at risk. Which, if half the ancedotes I've heard are true, it probably would be...

Website bans would suck. That would mean I'd have to go to a shop to get all my p0rn.

[shinigamiinochi]

So sayeth Momochi Reiko, author of Scar Tissue: "I am amazed that my manga has made it to America where my novels have not. The preconcevieved notion that my literary works portray Americans as cruel or lazy is incorrect. Rather, I have poked fun at my own country and have discussed things that had been going on in Japan at the time. For example, bullying, prostitution, and corpral punishment. Yet, these books were not distributed in America simply on the bias that I am Japanese and writing novels that are explicit and have American characters. The only work that shows Americans in a bad light has an American man soliciting a teenage girl and this manga can be found on many book shelves in America. It is perplexing to me."

Amen, sister. One day I shall buy a bookstore and her novels WILL be there, goddamn it! BTW, her manga rocks. Kinda dark, though, but she wouldn't be Momochi if it was vanilla and had fluffy bunnies.

[foeofthelance]

So sayeth Momochi Reiko, author of Scar Tissue: "I am amazed that my manga has made it to America where my novels have not. The preconcevieved notion that my literary works portray Americans as cruel or lazy is incorrect. Rather, I have poked fun at my own country and have discussed things that had been going on in Japan at the time. For example, bullying, prostitution, and corpral punishment. Yet, these books were not distributed in America simply on the bias that I am Japanese and writing novels that are explicit and have American characters. The only work that shows Americans in a bad light has an American man soliciting a teenage girl and this manga can be found on many book shelves in America. It is perplexing to me."

You know, I sincerely doubt it's because of the way Americans are portrayed in her books, especially if her manga is being sold over here. I think it is far more likely that as a Japanese author her books aren't being brought over because, let's face it, she's Japanese. Who writes extremely graphic novels. Which makes her stand out...how? How many other Japanese authors are having their novels imported? Or French authors? German ones? An author really needs to stand out if they are going to break into a foreign market; she just hasn't made herself stand out.

"But the manga!" Well, that's different becase it is manga. There really isn't an American form of entertainment to compare to it. Admittedly, there is a slight crossover with the recent increase in trade paperbacks from comicbook companies, but the idea of a purely image based novel is still inherently Japanese in execution. The only real source of manga is Japan, and so we import titles written by Japanese authors, such as Reiko. So where as her books don't stand out well enough to compete with American authors, her mangas can fill a vacuum. That's just how the market works.