After being abandoned in the cold rain, tiny kitten Sabu should have been grateful to find a new home. But when he's rescued by Jin, whose every atom screams "yakuza," Sabu suspects he's out of the frying pan and into the fire! Yet Jin's scarred hands and face hide a sweet man beneath...a man who pampers kitties with bath and bottle-feedings!
The yakuza, Japan's traditional gangsters, are famous, especially outside Japan, where the country's criminal underworld ranks next to sushi or Godzilla when it comes to their respective fame and popularity. However, in popular media the images of the Japanese gangster vary, ranging from chivalrous Robin Hood-like characters, to violent mobsters without honor and dignity. The present volume addresses these differences, i.e. the way yakuza are presented in Japanese and Western popular media. Films and autobiographical novels, inspired by historical events or personal experiences, but also by existent and sometimes even expected stereotypes, therefore often already represent a specific image of the Japanese mafia that is more like an artificial construct than actual reality. The contributions in this book consequently intend to discuss the images of the Japanese yakuza in popular media to offer a first insight into a very important yet so far understudied topic related to the history of and existent narratives within Japan's popular culture.
A gunshot. A bloody note. And a relationship that might not survive… Now that the war with the Korean syndicate is behind him, all Nao Murata wants is a vacation and a chance to nurture his new relationship with Aki Hisona. They can punish those who abandoned the family later. After six weeks trapped in a hospital bed, a quiet vacation is the last thing Aki wants. Ready to prove himself to Nao and the rest of the family, Aki’s desperate for some action. And not just the yakuza kind… When Aki hears a gunshot, he knows the dust has far from settled. Nao says it can wait, but Aki’s unable to understand why they can’t tie up those loose ends. Between Aki’s constant pushing and Nao’s uncompromising focus on what he thinks is best for them both, are they too stubborn for their fragile relationship to last? Find out in The Yakuza Path: Wrapped in Screams, the sixth installment of The Yakuza Path thriller series. If you like gritty Japanese crime, complex characters, and a high dose of gay romance, then you’ll love Amy Tasukada’s latest novel. Buy Wrapped in Screams to get your taste of romantic revenge today!
After multiple girls win the first prize at a raffle in the shopping arcade, the Familia crew set off on a group trip to Miyakojima, along with the Chiyoda Diner girls. Hayato is all ready to enjoy this trip to the fullest, but the lovestruck girls are set on making their move!! During the trip, new feelings come to light…?! The scene is set for emotional turmoil on this southern island trip with 11 beautiful girls! Excitement! Tears! Laughs! Mystery! Confessions? Emotions abound in the Miyakojima Vacation Arc!!
Having been taken in by ex-yakuza member Jin, abandoned kitten Sabu finds himself put to work at his shady new owner's pet rescue cafe. But even as Sabu begins to settle in to this strange routine, Jin keeps giving him reasons to fear for his life!
This is the true story, as told to the doctor who looked after him just before he died, of the life of one of the last traditional yakuza in Japan. It wasn’t a "good" life, in either sense of the word, but it was an adventurous one; and the tale he has to tell presents an honest and oddly attractive picture of an insider in that separate, unofficial world. In his low, hoarse voice, he describes the random events that led the son of a prosperous country shopkeeper to become a member, and ultimately the leader, of a gang organizing illegal dice games in Tokyo's liveliest entertainment area. He talks about his first police raid, and the brutal interrogation and imprisonment that followed it. He remembers his first love affair, and the girl he ran away with, and the weeks they spent wandering about the countryside together. Briefly, and matter-of-factly, he describes how he cut off the little finger of his left hand as a ritual gesture of apology. He explains how the games were run and the profits spent; why the ties between members of "the brotherhood" were so important; and how he came to kill a man who worked for him. What emerges is a contradictory personality: tough but not unsentimental; stubborn yet willing to take life more or less as it comes; impulsive but careful to observe the rules of the business he had joined. And in the end, when his tale is finished, you feel you would probably have liked him if you'd met him in person. Fortunately, Dr. Saga's record of his long conversations with him provides a wonderful substitute for that meeting.
Best Places Portland is the smartest guide to one of the hottest cities in America. Whether it’s munching on crepes in Northwest Portland or an afternoon exploring the Garden of the Awakening Orchid, you’ll find the best the city has to offer. The Best Places series offers expert opinions, inside information, and honest advice—from the country’s most respected regional travel series. Includes information on walking tours, fine and performing arts, shopping, and nightlife, and contains reviews of new restaurants, hotels, and brewpubs and wine bars. This new edition includes: updated reviews of food and lodging, an expanded Shopping section, eight new sidebars, expanded coverage on the Oregon wine-growing region.
Kanji Café Book 1 covers the first 440 Japanese Kanji characters. With readings, JLPT Level, vocabulary, stroke order, radicals and excellent mnemonics for fast recognition. The work speaks for itself as memorizing kanji has never been this simple. Enjoy. Light Smit
A ghostly journey through Northern Japan in search of yokai monsters and the Otherworld, told equally in manga and prose by Julian Sedgwick and Chie Kutsuwada.
Following World War II, film noir became the dominant cinematic expression of Cold War angst, influencing new trends in European and Asian filmmaking. International Noir examines film noir's influence on the cinematic traditions of Britain, France, Scandinavia, Japan, Hong Kong, Korea, and India. This book suggests that the film noir style continues to appeal on such a global scale because no other cinematic form has merged style and genre to effect a vision of the disturbing consequences of modernity. International noir has, however, adapted and adopted noir themes and aesthetic elements so that national cinemas can boast an independent and indigenous expression of the genre. Ranging from Japanese silent films and women's films to French, Hong Kong, and Nordic New Waves, this book also calls into question critical assessments of noir in international cinemas. In short, it challenges prevailing film scholarship to renegotiate the concept of noir. Ending with an examination of Hollywood's neo-noir recontextualization of the genre, and post-noir's reinvigorating critique of this aesthetic, International Noir offers Film Studies scholars an in-depth commentary on this influential global cinematic art form, further offering extensive bibliography and filmographies for recommended reading and viewing.
