Book rec for fellow Japanophiles
Mar. 26th, 2012 08:34 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
foxinthestarsSomething actually not about the computer! (It's currently in the shop and I'm hoping to get a call on it soon).
LJ-friends might have seen me mention this already on a writer's block, but right now I'm finishing up the book I was reading, "The Catalpa Bow" by Carmen Blacker, a study of Shamanistic practices in Japan written in the 1970s; for an academic book I found it quite readable. I was actually driven to it by Psychic Force (yes, I'm still out of my mind, enough to do actual research into what the deal is with the Japanese magic-user contingent), but I ended up finding it fascinating in a much broader way; every few pages I was running across something that made me go "Oh, now I understand that from [insert Japanese anime, manga, movie, etc] better!" --- everything from the seance at the beginning of "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster" to the general shortsightedness of asking if some aspect of Japanese religion is Shinto or Buddhist (my Christian upbringing got me too used to thinking of religions as strictly-walled enclosures, and in East Asia it Ain't Necessarily So; I knew this already, but now I know it better).
Highly recommended to fellow Japanophiles. A look at Amazon told me to expect textbook prices if you want to buy a copy, so check libraries first, but it's definitely worth a read.
PS: As I was writing this, I got a call from the computer repair place... "Bad caps on the motherboard; no idea how you got Linux working." I'm taking a little bit to think about it and consult, but new computer is looking likely.
LJ-friends might have seen me mention this already on a writer's block, but right now I'm finishing up the book I was reading, "The Catalpa Bow" by Carmen Blacker, a study of Shamanistic practices in Japan written in the 1970s; for an academic book I found it quite readable. I was actually driven to it by Psychic Force (yes, I'm still out of my mind, enough to do actual research into what the deal is with the Japanese magic-user contingent), but I ended up finding it fascinating in a much broader way; every few pages I was running across something that made me go "Oh, now I understand that from [insert Japanese anime, manga, movie, etc] better!" --- everything from the seance at the beginning of "Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster" to the general shortsightedness of asking if some aspect of Japanese religion is Shinto or Buddhist (my Christian upbringing got me too used to thinking of religions as strictly-walled enclosures, and in East Asia it Ain't Necessarily So; I knew this already, but now I know it better).
Highly recommended to fellow Japanophiles. A look at Amazon told me to expect textbook prices if you want to buy a copy, so check libraries first, but it's definitely worth a read.
PS: As I was writing this, I got a call from the computer repair place... "Bad caps on the motherboard; no idea how you got Linux working." I'm taking a little bit to think about it and consult, but new computer is looking likely.
