Actually I have the Japan edition with an ISBN that doesn't work and I want the cover art so...

Anyway, I ♥ this book. Have from the first time I read it and have a copy at home but jumped on this when I saw it on a sayonara sale list as I had been on the quest for the 'perfect' book for a project I had in mind.


From Tuttle:
Sure to delight aficionados of true crime, history buffs, and Japan watchers, Strange But True Stories From Japan is a collection of bizarre and fascinating true tales from Japan. From the infamous story of the woman who strangled and then emasculated her lover (the basis for the cult classic film In the Realm of the Senses) to the Messiah-like leader of an Edo-period Christian uprising in Kyushu, to the seven most dramatic examples of ritual dismebowelment, Strange But True Stories From Japan is sure to startle even the most jaded old Japan hand.

OK, so when I knew I was leaving Australia, I wanted to do something as a thank you to all those BCers I met and those I got to know on BCAUS but I was broke and doing something wasn't an option so it had to wait.

Was then thinking I'd send a RABCK to one person in each state/territory on the mainland to represent BCers I'd met there but then realised I don't have seven good books that I've gotten since getting to Australia and mailing seven books would be way too costly. So then I was thinking one RABCK but I didn't want to do that, it seemed a shame to only have it go to one person since I wanted to thank everyone so this new idea was born.

It's not a ray since there's no timeline ie you must read it in three weeks and no set order of participants but it's also not a RABCK since I'm telling the recipient from the getgo that they can't keep it, and RABCKs are meant to be no-strings-attached so the ABC TY or Act of BookCrossing Thank You was born.

Basically, my way to say a big THANK YOU to all the Australian BCers who made me feel so welcome during my eleven months there. So if you're in Australia and would like to read this book at some point, PM me or leave a comment in the forum post

Not being able to post books is not an issue as this can be passed around at meet-ups, etc and there is no set time. I just want to give this book, one of my favourites about Japan, a chance to see Australia. If the book has any exciting adventures while visiting you, please share pics or whatever. Just want this to be fun.

ABC TY Participants:

Cackleberry
AmberC
Hunnyb
Azurepurplecat
Aussie-rose
Leeny37
bookfairy65
-Bodhi-
Felicia-Fairy
Gabbysmum
kangu

theadi
luckydipper
bargainqueen
.
.
.
Back to SA at some point to do the meet-up rounds, per aussie-rose's request.

star1978 (moved to end 13 April 2006 because we couldn't reach)

Did manage to do a full re-read before sending this on its journey and I think I liked it even more. My favourite chapters are the ones on Tokyo Rose and Engrish, due to the historical nature of both. He also managed to discuss Engrish or 'fractured English' in a way that does not look down on the Japanese and their attempts because lord knows we're all shocking when we attempt Japanese.

Jack Seward's been here longer than any other gaijin except for possibly Alex Kerr, and I really wonder how he does it. I give him kudos. And the kitten in Tokyo, that's just meep!

RELEASE NOTES:

Sorta kinda not really bookring thing ;)

*Flap Flap Flap* as it heads south over the Pacific Ocean. Let's just hope we don't hear *splash* if it falls in.

On its way to the Berry in warm sunny Brisbane with some other goodies from "Japan Land". Sent via 'small packet/airmail' so I really have no idea how long this will take to get there. A week? Maybe two?

Happy travels little book friend of mine, you'll enjoy Australia as much as I did!

Would you believe 5 days? Arrived at Sherwood Brisbane Queensland Australia 13 December 2005. Thank you so much "Travellin' Cari"...

Paperback. 240 pages. Published 2004. Illustrations. Extensive Notes and References.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Apart from the fascinating stories I found the writer's word usage very interesting. The book reads (to me) as a fair translation, as if the author (Jack Seward) was thinking in Japanese yet writing in English... I will be interested to know the other reader's/journaller's take on this...

The photograph shows one of the 26 likely candidates for the appellation "Tokyo Rose". That name was never ever used by the announcers themselves! (This particular story is extraordinary...)

Thank you so much Cari; I would never have read this book without you having started this new style RABCK that ain't a RABCK, nor a Ring, nor a Ray... it is off to amberc by post next Tuesday, being as how Monday is a Public Holiday for New Year's Day...

Edit to add the following newspaper story...

Wednesday September 27, 2006
The Guardian

Iva Toguri D'Aquino, the American woman popularly known as "Tokyo Rose", who was convicted and later cleared of making propaganda radio broadcasts for the Japanese during the second world war, has died, her family said today. She was 90.
Although several US citizens were suspected of aiding the Japanese war effort by appearing in broadcasts intended to demoralize US troops, only D'Aquino was convicted in what became one of the most controversial treason cases in US legal history.

In 1949, she became only the seventh US citizen to be convicted of treason by an American jury. At her trial, then the most expensive in US history, she was convicted on the single count that she "did speak into a microphone concerning the loss of ships" during wartime broadcasts out of Tokyo designed to weaken the resolve of US troops, according to the US National Archives.

D'Aquino, who died of natural causes in Chicago yesterday, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $10,000. A model prisoner, she was released three years early in 1956, and successfully fought US government attempts to deport her to Japan. In 1977, she was acquitted, post factum, by the then US president, Gerald Ford.

Ron Yates, a reporter on the "Chicago Tribune" who unearthed evidence that prosecutors had forced witnesses to lie about D'Aquino's role in the broadcasts, was instrumental in securing the pardon.

D'Aquino was born Ikuko Toguri in Los Angeles on July 4 1916 to Japanese immigrant parents. Fresh out of UCLA, she was visiting a sick aunt in Japan when the Pacific war broke out in December 1941.

Unable to find a way home, she started working for a Japanese propaganda show produced by Allied prisoners of war called "Zero Hour", performing comedy skits and newscasts under the name Orphan Ann.

She married Felipe Aquino, a Portuguese citizen of Portuguese-Japanese ancestry in April 1945. D'Aquino quickly became a target for American journalists who descended on Tokyo after the war. In an exclusive interview with two newspaper reporters, she made remarks that convinced US authorities that she had been the pro-Japanese propagandist known as "Tokyo Rose".

It later became clear, however, that no such woman existed and that the nickname had been invented by US troops to describe several women who made propaganda broadcasts under different aliases.

Shortly after the war, D'Aquino was released from custody when an investigation by the FBI and the US army's counterintelligence corps failed to produce enough evidence to charge her with aiding the enemy. But her release provoked a public outcry back in the US and led to a concerted campaign against her by the influential newspaper columnist Walter Winchell.

His pressure paid off, and in late 1945 D'Aquino was arrested in Yokohama and sent back to her homeland to face trial. She was convicted of treason four years later.

D'Aquino, who worked in her father's shop after serving her sentence, spent her remaining years living out of the spotlight in Chicago.

RELEASE NOTES:

Posted this book to amberc in the far, far away Northern Territory. Hope you enjoy it as much as I did Amber!

Mailed at the Post Office Sherwood Road Sherwood Brisbane Queensland Australia at 6pm (just made it!) Tuesday 03 January 2006.

arrived safely today.

i have already had a little dip into it and it looks fascinating......

being strong now and putting it on the shelf to wait its turn, i have a few bookrings before it.

Great title for this book, some of the tales definately come under the strange category.

my favourite chapters were fractured english...they had me laughing out loud. the one about food.....i'd love to visit japan but now i'm not so sure about eating there.

thankyou for sharing this Cari.

posting to hunnyb tomorrow (Monday) morning.

Received today - wasn't expecting this one yet so it was a special surprise :) Thanks!! Although I find the cover a bit spooky...!

Very quirky collection of tales providing interesting insights into a wonderful culture. I loved the engrish chapter and was also fascinated by the hara-kiri/ ritual suicide chapter. (sorry, I know I'm macarbe!!) And Japanese food, mmmm. Thanks for sharing this SKingList, I'll send this onto Azurepurplecat now.

Arrived yesterday - Thanks hunnyb. Perfect timing - just finished a book yesterday so all ready to start reading this one today!

A very interesting and informative read, especially given my Japanese background. Always good to learn about your heritage.

I was particularly interested in the Harakiri - didnt know about Kaishaku before. The Lady Gracia story was amazing, and the White Tiger Band - so heroic.
I also liked the Manga chapter and the explaination for it - the manga culture is very intriguing.
And the kitten - is it sad that I had tears in my eyes?

Hope I havent given too much away. I really enjoyed this collection of stories and learnt a lot - thank you SKingList.

Posting to Aussie-Rose today!

Arrived safely today! I'm so looking forward to reading this!

It will have to wait a while because I have another book on the go, so I'll get to it in a week or so hopefully! :-) I wasn't expecting it so soon actually! Congrats to all past 'custodians' for keeping this book moving!

What an interesting book! Some of the things it contained I had heard of before but it was still a fascinating 'snap shot' of some aspects of the Japanese culture.

I was interested to learn more about the geisha girls, ritual suicide and 'Tokyo Rose". I was in stitches laughing at some of the 'fractured English'!! Some of the food descriptions were certainly utterly repulsive to this aussie girl!!! I don't think I'd survive for very long if I was served some of the foods described in this book!

I had to laugh at the utterly obvious 'understatement-of-the-book' where the Japanese Lord sat on his privy to do his 'business' and a dwarf, who was submerged in the 'you know what' in the tank below the loo, thrust a spear through the Lord's nether regions into his heart. "Jinnai thrust his spear with all his strength...which must have come as a surprise to Lord Kenshin Uesugi." Gee, no kidding!

The other interesting point this book brought out is that Japan was only 2-3 months behind America in their development and production of atom bombs! America has been criticised for dropping the 2 atom bombs on Hiroshima (on Aug 6th, 1945) and Nagasaki (on August 9th, 1945) yet Japanese scientists test fired their own version of an atomic bomb on August 11th on an island off Korea! Anticipating an American invasion they had plans to use their atomic bombs to destroy the American fleet. I know the dropping of the 2 atomic bombs by the Americans is a contentious point but it's interesting to get more facts about this situation and see that the Japanese themselves were developing an identical weapon.

Thanks again for the chance to read this book! It's been an interesting journey into Japanese culture!

I have tried to ascertain if other SA members would like to read this book before it moves along but I haven't had a response yet, so I will contact Leeny37 for their address. Maybe it can come back to SA to do the rounds of the "meet-up" regulars at some later stage? :-)

RELEASE NOTES:

Posting this off to Lenny37 today! :-)

Apologies for the late journal entry, I did receive this on Friday but kinda got caught up with the weekend activities so I didn't get a chance to journal this book till now. I am really looking forward to reading this; I have always been interested in Japanese culture and this book seems to be a fascinating read. Arigatou Cari-san, I will try to be as quick as possible and share my thoughts when I have finished reading it! (^_^)

I actually expected the tales to be a lot stranger, I didn't think they were that over the top! Still, it's a nice compilation about the oddities of Japanese culture and various interesting first-hand experiences. I enjoyed the chapter on phallic follies and the one about eels and hymens! Now that was bizarre. The story of the crushed kitten also particularly affected me, it will also be one that I won't forget. Thanks SKingList for the chance to read this book, I have PMed star1978 for a mailing address and will mail it out as soon as I heard back. Thanks again! :)

RELEASE NOTES:

Apologies for the delay, but this is now ready to head out to bookfairy65. I will be mailing this out via a prepaid Express Post satchel (tracking #: MV3018538), although I don't think it will actually get there till Wednesday!

I've been looking forward to this one, thanks to SKingList and all who have held this book before me for sending it on.

I have to say this book was a little different to what I expected...not sure what I really expected though (if that makes sense???).

I did enjoy the story about engrish and can't imagine how tickled I'd be to eat in a restaurant that served 'Beef Strong Nuff' and 'Rogue Fart Cheese' - how truly delightful!!

Like leeny37, I found the story about eels quite amusing, although have to admit to a bit of scepticism with regards to that eel - can't help feeling it may have been just a small part of a much larger animal (of the human type perhaps??).

Also enjoyed the chapter about the Japanese food...yum, sushi!

I will contact -Bodhi- for postal details and get this book moving on again ASAP.

Update: Posted May 1, 2005

I recieved this in the mail today tied up with a lovely gold ribbon and another RABCK from bookfairy65 :)

I cant wait to read this, it sounds just like my cup of sencha.

I thought I would include a picture because no one else has. I dont know if the book had any exciting adventures whilst with me as it spent most of its time in my lounge room. The highlight of its visit was probably being nearly sat on by my cat looking for a warm spot on the windowsill.

This book only served to increase my fascination with Japanese culture. I loved all of it and only wished there was more to read. I was very glad the author included references at the end of each chapter as I will be looking intently for quite a few of them.

My favourite chapter was on the food, I love Japanese food, though
I wouldnt go as far as putting myself in the getemono-gui category. I have always thought that it was best to not eat anything that I couldn't kill myself and it was with great pleasure that I discovered that this was a common belief in Japan.

I enjoyed the Phallic follies/Manga section but thought that the author could have greatly expanded upon the "strangeness" of Japanese attitudes to sexuality - perhaps more on manga, something on the infamous trains and objects found in vending machines would have been nice. I guess the topic could fill a book in itself.

The story of the kitten broke my heart and I too will never, ever forget it...

I too found the authors word use interesting. I liked his mostly personal, casual style but found it strange when all of a sudden he would throw an obscure word into the mix - I actually had to look two up in the dictionary (not that I am a word snob or anything :p). Perhaps he was thinking in Japanese and writing in English or maybe the longer you are living in a country not of your birth and being actively bi-lingual the more the languages get mushed up in your head until you think/speak in half and half all the time - thus making it harder to limit yourself to the one, such as is needed when writing a book in the one language.

Thank you Cari for the opportunity to read this little gem. I have messaged the next Fairy in line and will post off ASAP.

Another bookring - good lord!
I promise to put it in my handbag - looks like a good stolen moments book! :)

Thanks for sharing!

It was a good stolen moments book!
I didn't get to it all but I'm very swamped with books at the moment so I am moving it on.

Thanks for sharing all!

Oh dear another book I forgot to journal when I received it Iam so sorry.

I enjoyed the book alot,laughed myself silly when reading the Japlish chapter,stunned by the retreaded hymans but I cried when I read about the kitten,so sad.I liked the way Jack Seward explained the different customs of the Japanese,he does it with respect.I read with awe about the warriors and their commitment willing to give their lives to their lords,I dont know how they had the strength to do it.

caught just in time! just finished my last book and weathers perfect to curl up on sofa and read!!!
;-) kangu

I have completed this book.. found it quite interesting.. quite funny in bits..
Ive pmd the next person on the list so it can resume its travels

Thanks kangu and SKingList!
This one looks really interesting but I'll finish the book I'm currently reading before I start this one (if I can resist!).

"...must have come as a surprise to Lord Kenshin Uesugi."
I'll say!
What a fascinating collection of tales. I particularly liked the chapters on Engrish, Manga, "Phallic follies", food, eels and hara-kiri.
I will never forget the story of that unfortunate kitten. It's not uncommon for me to get a little weepy over a book, but rare for me to actually cry. Later I felt guilty for getting so upset about one cat when the chapter "Children at War" had only shocked me.
A great look into the culture and history of Japan - I think I'll have to keep an eye out for more books on this part of the world. Thanks for sharing SKingList!
I will PM luckydipper and get this book moving again once I have an address.

This book is now on its way to luckydipper.

Thanks SkingList & theadi for this book, I have been looking forward to reading it.
Looks very interesting!

A very bizarre book! Thank you theadi it arrived just in time, I have spent the last few days recuperating after minor surgery and it was a welcome diversion.

It was an enjoyable book, well worth the read, it opens your eyes and mind to life that little bit more.

Will be posting off to bargainqueen first thing Monday morning, hope you enjoy it.

Received safely today, with your very generous RABCK and necklace. Thanks lucky! I have a couple before this one but will get onto it asap. Now, I wonder who the next person is then? Is this one due for Aussie-Rose? Then I can hand it over at the convention!?

Right, finally managed to complete this one - in the evening of the adelaide convention no less, but not in time to move it on there. Some of the stories had me tearing my hair out because the writing style frustrated me and if the topic wasn't particulalrly interesting, I'd have to really push myself to keep reading. However, some parts were absolutely amazing and I am astounded how little I know about Japan seeing that I grew up with close contact to my mum's japanese best friend! I loved the night crawling topic (especially getting to wear a towel over your face to "save face"), the kitten story (so sad) and the hara-kiri stories. Thank you for sharing SKinglist and for sending luckydipper. Now seeing that AUssie-Rose is back in Keith, do you want me to pm star1978 to see if it should go there next?

Picked up at an Adelaide Bookcrossing meetup. It's going on my TBR pile and then it'll be given to another bookcrosser.

Not quite what I expected but gave me an interesting perspective on Japan.

At some point I'd love to go there, and this book has only re-enforced that.

There were a nice variety of stories in here, I liked the fractured English and food chapters, but I must admit my favourite part was "...must have come as a surprise to Lord Kenshin Uesugi." I bet it was!

Very interesting vignettes of Japanese society and history. It's a culture that I'm fascinated by and definitely hope to visit some day. The author sounds a really interesting person to talk to: it's good that he interprets things like the warrior's code with respect, yet also to enable Western readers to understand why people behaved as they did. It just made me want to ask more questions: for example with the geisha who married into the American millionaire's family, how did she find this transition? Obviously she loved her new husband, but did she keep a diary recording her experiences and impressions? Admired the ingenious Japanese gun makers ... and yes, I was also upset by the kitten - cat owners may want to avoid that chapter! And Sada the woman who cut off her lover's penis - how could the public reaction be amusement? A good read to dip into that definitely piqued my interest. If anyone would like to read it, let me know, otherwise I'll bring it back to the next meet-up.