The Maids

The Maids
Author: Jun'ichirō Tanizaki
Publisher:
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2017
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780811224925

A major discovery: Tanizaki's wonderful final novel--now in English

Moe USA

Moe USA
Author: Atsuhisa Okura
Publisher: Moe USA
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008-06
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 9784921205201

American cosplay fans Patty and Ruby move to Tokyo in search of custom costumes and realize they need to get part-time jobs to pay for them, so they begin working at a maid cafe where they struggle at satisfying their boss and customers--until they find magical uniforms.

Making of a Japanese Print

Making of a Japanese Print
Author:
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 15
Release: 2012-08-28
Genre: Art
ISBN: 1462904041

This unique Japanese art book shows step-by-step how a Japanese woodblock prints are produced in layers. Woodblock printing is at the same time a very simple and a very complicated art. It is simple by modern standards because no machinery, not even a press, is used. The finished print in this book and the pages which so graphically present its development in color are produced by photo-offset from original woodblocks.

Diary of a Tokyo Teen

Diary of a Tokyo Teen
Author: Christine Mari Inzer
Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
Total Pages: 161
Release: 2016-09-06
Genre: Young Adult Nonfiction
ISBN: 146291876X

A book for comic lovers and Japanophiles of all ages, Diary of a Tokyo Teen presents a unique look at modern-day Japan through a young woman's eyes. Born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and an American father in 1997, Christine Mari Inzer spent her early years in Japan and relocated to the United States in 2003. The summer before she turned sixteen, she returned to Tokyo, making a solo journey to get reacquainted with her birthplace. Through illustrations, photos, and musings, Inzer documented her journey. In Diary of a Tokyo Teen, Inzer explores the cutting-edge fashions of Tokyo's trendy Harajuku district, eats the best sushi of her life at the renowned Tsukiji fish market, and hunts down geisha in the ancient city of Kyoto. As she shares the trials and pleasures of travel from one end of a trip to the other, Inzer introduces the host of interesting characters she meets and offers a unique--and often hilarious--look at a fascinating country and an engaging tale of one girl rediscovering her roots. **Listed as a 2016 Great Graphic Novel for Teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association**

Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan

Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan
Author: Patrick W. Galbraith
Publisher: Duke University Press
Total Pages: 249
Release: 2019-12-06
Genre: Comics & Graphic Novels
ISBN: 147800701X

From computer games to figurines and maid cafes, men called “otaku” develop intense fan relationships with “cute girl” characters from manga, anime, and related media and material in contemporary Japan. While much of the Japanese public considers the forms of character love associated with “otaku” to be weird and perverse, the Japanese government has endeavored to incorporate “otaku” culture into its branding of “Cool Japan.” In Otaku and the Struggle for Imagination in Japan, Patrick W. Galbraith explores the conflicting meanings of “otaku” culture and its significance to Japanese popular culture, masculinity, and the nation. Tracing the history of “otaku” and “cute girl” characters from their origins in the 1970s to his recent fieldwork in Akihabara, Tokyo (“the Holy Land of Otaku”), Galbraith contends that the discourse surrounding “otaku” reveals tensions around contested notions of gender, sexuality, and ways of imagining the nation that extend far beyond Japan. At the same time, in their relationships with characters and one another, “otaku” are imagining and creating alternative social worlds.

Victory Over Japan

Victory Over Japan
Author: Ellen Gilchrist
Publisher: Diversion Books
Total Pages: 224
Release: 2014-01-17
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 1940941148

Originally published in 1984, this collection of 14 short stories set in Arkansas and Mississippi went on to win that year’s National Book Award for fiction, confirming Ellen Gilchrist’s place as one of the preeminent literary talents of her generation. Victory Over Japan takes us into the lives of an unforgettable group of Southern women — beautiful, complicated, enchanting, and sometimes dangerous — in and out of bars, marriages, divorces, lovers' arms, and even earthquakes, in an attempt to find happiness, or at least some satisfaction. Throughout these stories, one hears echoes of Flannery O'Connor and Eudora Welty, but Ms. Gilchrist has her own unique literary voice, and it is outrageously funny, moving, tragic, and always appealing. PRAISE: “To say that Ellen Gilchrist can write is to say that Placido Domingo can sing. All you need to do is listen.” —Jonathan Yardley, The Washington Post “She is what they call a natural, writing with passion, authority and a noticeable lack of the self-consciousness that weighs down much of contemporary fiction.” —San Francisco Examiner-Chronicle “Ellen Gilchrist’s achievement is to create lives which refuse to be bound on the page by words and sentences . . . the writing is full of understanding that doesn’t advertise itself as perception or insight.” —London Daily Telegraph

Maid Machinegun

Maid Machinegun
Author: Ariya (Novelist)
Publisher: Del Rey
Total Pages: 0
Release: 2008
Genre: Fiction
ISBN: 9780345502537

Aaliyah's novel takes an intimate and humorous look at the world of Japanese manga and anime fandom--in the form of the fictional diary of an 18-year-old girl.

Maid

Maid
Author: Ryo Kamiya
Publisher: Createspace Independent Pub
Total Pages: 222
Release: 2014
Genre: Games & Activities
ISBN: 9781495254888

Maid: The Role-Playing Game is a comedic take on a uniquely Japanese cultural icon: The fetishized modern maid. Injecting the concept of Maid with 50ccs of anime and comedy, the players take on the roles of maids, serving the master (played by the GM). Sheets are left unfolded and mantelpieces undusted when giant robots crash through the mansion, ninjas attack and kidnap the young master, and a demonic pit to Hell opens up in the pantry... and all before teatime! Play in the modern comedy setting, or mix it up with 9 additional settings including Victorian era, old Edo period, fantasy and post-apocalypse; and 6 genres including romance, horror, and action. Due to the rules system and random events that form the backbone of the Maid RPG, the game practically runs itself: Go from opening the book to playing a game with friends within just minutes! Three game styles in one: The traditional scenario-type; the random event-driven type; and the "favor race," a race to the master's heart! Make characters and start playing the game within minutes of opening the book. Everything about the game gears it for Fast Play, Now. Optional character types including player-character masters and butlers, and optional rules for seduction and romantic tragedy. 11 complete adventure scenarios. 3 complete "replays," actual play scenarios in screenplay format. Great for learning the feel of the game. The first ever Japanese tabletop role-playing game to be released in English! ...which, when you think about it, totally makes sense in a weird sort of way. Hundreds of optional items, costumes, genre and setting events, all presented in a way to easily bring them into the game! Combines the original Japanese core book and two supplements into one huge, complete edition of the game in English. A $75 value!