Sex and the Japanese: The Sensual Side of Japan by Boye Lafayette De Mente

This short book is a real eye opener. It could more properly be called a guide to having sex with Japanese women. It’s well written, insightful, and hard to put down before finishing. The first line of Chapter One reads “The Judeo-Christian concept of recreational sex as sinful and abhorrent in the eyes of an all-powerful god is, I believe, one of the biggest con-jobs every foisted on any group of mankind. The ulterior motive of the creators of this concept was, of course, political and social control (especially women), and had nothing whatsoever to do with morality or saving `immortal souls.’”
The author then goes on to provide the historical and religious reasons why Japan missed out on the guilt trip associated with any kind of sexual pleasure. He gives a brief account of Japanese history and relates it to present day Japan. He believes that some knowledge of Japanese is necessary for westerners to properly seduce, or be seduced by, modern Japanese woman who have absolutely no guilt feelings about sexual experimentation. The book’s introduction is a primer from pronouncing Japanese words, which are remarkably easy to pronounce. The language of love is a very important part of Japanese art and culture.
The last forty percent of the book is a dictionary of the Japanese Language of Love and sexual terms such as “Love Hotels” as well as how to pronounce the various terms. These words are as easy to pronounce as Spanish. Compared to the similar book “Making Out In Korean” by Peter Constantine and Gene Baik, it’s easy to pick up the necessary language skills to converse in Japanese. While Korean is a very tough language to pick up, Japanese is easy.
“Sex and the Japanese” is a fun read. I suspect that it may exaggerate just how anxious the average, very innocent looking and wily Japanese woman is interested in jumping into bed, it does explain why the Japanese have little of the sexual baggage of most cultures. Sex was a normal and desirable part of both Shintoism and Daoism and has greatly affected Modern Japanese culture as well. It’s nice how the author manages to briefly explain the historical roots of Modern Day Japan. I can hardly wait to read some of the author’s many other books. He has a remarkable ability to communicate.

“… reason why the comic-book characters were made to look so young is that Japanese men are fascinated by girls with baby faces who look and act infantile, …”

Off the Rails in Phnom Penh: Into the Dark Heart of Guns, Girls, and Ganja by Amit Gilboa

As a Thai raised in Bangkok and educated in NYC, I thought I had seen it all. But working in Phnom Penh threw even me for a loop. What’s great about Off the Rails is that it captures the anarchy that Phnom Penh is full of. And Gilboa captures the essence of the sexed out, drugged out foreigners that we see all the time in Thailand and who now have “discovered” Cambodia. Off the Rails doesn’t dwell on the mundane aspects of Phnom Penh, but goes straight to the heart of the story. I read the book in one sitting. It’s funny some of the “professional journalists” (who haven’t published any books on Cambodia) on this site complain about the writing. But the straightforward style works really well for this story. I suppose it wasn’t written like (yawn) the New York Times would have. But maybe that’s the whole point. I do wish that Gilboa could have included more about the Cambodians. Anyway, I hope he writes another book, but this one about the terrible things that go on in places like Thailand’s own Pattaya.

The thinnest girl alive: diary of a young dancer by Alissa Hall

This book dealt with a very serious subject matter in an enlightening way. The descriptions of dance were beautiful, and the diary-like narrative made the book extremely readable. However, PLEASE get an editor! There were so many punctuation errors (the author had no idea how to use a semi-colon), and there were WAY too many grammatical errors – the wrong “affect” was used over and over, the wrong “to,” etc.; it made it extremely hard for this English teacher to make it through the book!

Loose Girl: A Memoir of Promiscuity by Kerry Cohen

Loose Girl is a well focused look at one woman’s journey through insecurity, dysfunction and unhappiness. It reads a lot like many other ‘addiction’ books but since the ‘addiction’ it covers is sex, the highs and lows are a lot less extreme. Author Kerry Cohen does a good job of drawing the reader in and
creating a very vivid and engaging world. Her writing is clear, flowing and polished. I found myself zipping through the book fully engaged with Cohen’s journey. My biggest gripe is that the book has almost no third act. Cohen’s story has a very distinct beginning, middle, but a very soft end. I felt there was more book in Cohen and she stopped short of where the story could have taken her. The writer’s Bio indicates that Cohen is now married with children, but the book never really ventures into how her past has shaped her present or now how reflecting on all this has impacted her as she moves forward. Even with a less than full ending, I still did like Loose Girl, it’s well written, engaging and worth reading especially for fans of the genre.

Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno: Tokyo Teen Fashion Subculture Handbook by Izumi Evers, Patrick Macias, and Kazumi Nonaka

I lived in Japan for a long time, and while I got used to many strange things something that never ceased to turn my head was when a tribe of schoolgirls would come walking by dressed in bizarre outfits that looked more like Halloween costumes than actual clothing. I’ll never forget my first encounter with the kigurumin, groups of girls dressed in full-length pajamas of popular characters like Pikachu and Winnie the Pooh. The nice thing is these girls are always happy to pose for pictures with an astounded foreigner, and I took more than a few over the years.

“Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno” is a fashion-guide to some of the more outrageous outfits to come in and out of popularity over the years. I know from personal experience that these are all real styles, worn by guys and gals who put considerable time, energy and money into creating the perfect effect. As is true in most Japanese culture, it is all about fitting in with the group, and making sure that everyone is matching. They might like to stand out, but individualism is the last thing on anyone’s mind, with choreographed dance moves and coordinated colors declaring your membership in each tribe.

The book starts in the 1970′s, with the Sukeban fashion inspired by and inspiring the Pinky Violence genre. These tough and sexy girls were the devils of Japanese streets, managing to be both cute and dangerous at the same time. The trends continue with the Takenoko Zoku in the 80′s, the schoolgirl prostitutes known as Kogals, and the incredible Panda-women that haunted Shibuya, Tokyo and were known as Gonguro. All of these fashions were supported by the infamous Egg Magazine, which laid out the rules and costumes for each group.

After seeing these fashions live and in person, it was cool to get the run down on the styles and attitudes behind them, as well as the history and inspirations. “Japanese Schoolgirl Inferno” is more than just a photo book, and does a great job showing the culture necessary to spawn these complicated fashions. Of course, there are photos as well, as well as fantastic illustrations by Nonaka Kazumi that give greater details on the costumes, the type of guys favored by each tribe, and the era in which they were popular.