Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on June 2010
Visitors to the Yurindo bookstore in Akihabara’s Yodobashi Camera this month have been confronted by a bizarre sight: an old Imperial flag looming over a display of tomes with titles like 1,000 Record Jackets of Musicians with Crime Records and Elevest: Japan’s first guide to elevators. These are just a few of the selections in “Cool Ja-pon,” a fair that rounds up “100 Japanese books with global appeal.” It’s the work of Yoshiro Hamazaki, an editor at offbeat publishing house Shakai Hyoron Sha, whose cardboard cut-out oversees the proceedings. Here’s what he had to say about it all…
What were you trying to achieve with “Cool Ja-pon”?
I wanted visitors to enjoy Japanese books—rather than books about Japan written in other languages—that I thought deserve some global attention. Since focusing on otaku culture in Akiba would be too much of a cliché, I decided to focus on another subculture that is strong in Japan, but not very known overseas: obsessive collectors of niche topics and products. In Japan, “otaku” isn’t just about anime and manga: it refers to serious enthusiasts for anything who can’t get enough of what they like.
Are all of the titles published by Shakai Hyoron Sha?
No, 20 books are from Shakai Hyoron Sha, but there are roughly 100 books from other publishers. One book that I want to recommend to foreigners is Treasured Collection of Beautiful Women in Bakumatsu, Meiji, Taisho: Rare photographs of Japanese women taken before 1925. The name says it all, but it has many photographs—not paintings—of Japanese women who were said to be beautiful back then. It’s very cheap and I think it will make a good gift.
Which of the books have been particularly popular so far?
The Complete Guide to Fake Toys has been selling very well. Visitors to the book fair may notice immediately, but some “real” knock-off toys are displayed next to the book, and it fits the sub-cultural climate of Akiba. As for the books from other publishers, I heard Otacool 2 and Guide for Anime and Manga Pilgrims are popular.
Which of your own books would you most like to see translated into English?
I would say Encyclopedia of Enclaves Around the World, which lists numerous geographical enclaves, and explains why they had to become that way. Did you know that one room in Claridge’s hotel in London was an official territory—technically an enclave—of Yugoslavia for just one day in 1945? The Yugoslavian constitution said the heir to the throne must be born on Yugoslav soil, but the queen of Yugoslavia was in exile at Claridge’s when she delivered her baby. Winston Churchill, who was trying to avoid letting Yugoslavia become a communist nation, ceded the room to Yugoslavia in favor of the king and queen. This is one peculiar example, but enclaves of the world have very interesting background stories. You can see the complexity of world history there.
Do you think “Cool Japan” is over?
To be honest, I don’t really like the term because I have only heard Japanese people using it. Imagine Koreans saying “Cool Korea” and Americans saying “Cool USA.” The US and Europe seem cool to me, but they don’t say “we’re cool.” If people outside Japan say “Cool Japan,” that’s fine, but when we say that, it just sounds like narcissistic nationalism. If Japan were obviously cool, we wouldn’t even need to say that, so I think what it was intended to mean never existed in the first place.
Cool Ja-pon runs until June 30 at Yurindo Yodobashi Akiba: 7F Yodobashi Camera, 1-1 Kanda-Hanaokacho, Chiyoda-ku. Tel: 03-5298-7474. Open daily 9:30am-10pm.
