Books, etc. About Bubble-Era and Post-Bubble Japan?
Feb 19, 2015, 9:46 pm
#1
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Books, etc. About Bubble-Era and Post-Bubble Japan?
I'm working on a book set in Tokyo in the early 1990s. I lived there during that time but I was a teenager then and didn't fully understand everything that was going on. Nor, with a certain young lady on my mind, did I much care.
I'm especially interested in any books, articles, websites, etc. that describe daily life in the late 80s/early 90s, what Tokyo-area neighborhoods were like back then (I still go back often and it changes every time), how the financial system worked (or didn't), and what professional and recreational life was like for businessmen foreign and domestic in those days.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
I'm especially interested in any books, articles, websites, etc. that describe daily life in the late 80s/early 90s, what Tokyo-area neighborhoods were like back then (I still go back often and it changes every time), how the financial system worked (or didn't), and what professional and recreational life was like for businessmen foreign and domestic in those days.
Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.
Feb 19, 2015, 10:04 pm
#2
Join Date: Mar 2007
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There is a great comic book called "Japan Inc." that will definitely give you a visual feel for the salaryman life in the bubble era, as well as an understanding of the underlying economics.
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-...9_1_comic-book
The early 90s was, of course, when all of that was starting to unravel.
http://articles.latimes.com/1988-07-...9_1_comic-book
The early 90s was, of course, when all of that was starting to unravel.
Feb 19, 2015, 10:16 pm
#3
Join Date: Dec 2014
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I would recommend Speed Tribes by Karl Taro Greenfield.
Here's the wikipedia entry for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Tribes
Here's the wikipedia entry for it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Speed_Tribes
Feb 19, 2015, 10:41 pm
#4
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I always liked Dai-Tokyo Binbo Seikatsu Manuaru. Admittedly it looked at things from a completely opposite perspective.
Feb 20, 2015, 8:56 am
#5
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For good Bubble-era atmospheric reads, the "Max Danger" series by Robert Collins and "Bicycle Days" by John Burnham Schwartz are good ones.
Just thinking about that era makes me all 懐かしい...
Just thinking about that era makes me all 懐かしい...
Feb 20, 2015, 9:02 am
#6
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Also, although this doesn't go back far enough, here is a bit of the wayback machine frozen in aspic: http://renfield.net/tj/homepg.html#list
Feb 20, 2015, 9:02 pm
#7
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Thanks for all the suggestions. I remember Max Danger well, as well as Don Maloney's [I]Japan: It's Not All Raw Fish[I], which was a collection of amusing nonfiction essays by an American expat in the 1970s.
I've never heard of John Burnham Schwartz, though. I'll have to look him up. Ditto the other authors.
Keep 'em coming, please.^
I've never heard of John Burnham Schwartz, though. I'll have to look him up. Ditto the other authors.
Keep 'em coming, please.^
Feb 25, 2015, 3:45 am
#8
Join Date: Sep 2003
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Probably a bit more academic/dry than what you're looking for, but the Spike Japan blog goes into amazing detail in deconstructing various crazy bubble-era schemes, the deals and corruption behind them, and the detritus they've left behind. A few samples:
https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/spi...wer-of-bubble/
https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/201...rks-ye-mighty/
https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/spi...wer-of-bubble/
https://spikejapan.wordpress.com/201...rks-ye-mighty/
Feb 25, 2015, 10:39 am
#9
Join Date: Sep 2005
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Two come to mind- The Japan that can say No, by Shintaro Ishihara, and The Impoverished Spirit in Contemporary Japan by Asahi Shinbun columnist Honda Katsuichi. Two sides of the argument for Japan's future.
http://www.amazon.com/Impoverished-S...dp/0853458588/
http://www.amazon.com/Japan-That-Can...dp/0671758535/
http://www.amazon.com/Impoverished-S...dp/0853458588/
http://www.amazon.com/Japan-That-Can...dp/0671758535/
Jun 4, 2019, 9:03 pm
#11
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So I finally published my book. The FT TOS seem to prohibit me from sharing the link directly but a search on Amazon for author William Kaden (my pen name) should get you there.
That said, as a gesture of gratitude for the help I received, I'm happy to send a pdf gratis to anyone here who would like one. Just let me know.
That said, as a gesture of gratitude for the help I received, I'm happy to send a pdf gratis to anyone here who would like one. Just let me know.
Jun 5, 2019, 7:28 am
#12
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So I finally published my book. The FT TOS seem to prohibit me from sharing the link directly but a search on Amazon for author William Kaden (my pen name) should get you there.
That said, as a gesture of gratitude for the help I received, I'm happy to send a pdf gratis to anyone here who would like one. Just let me know.
That said, as a gesture of gratitude for the help I received, I'm happy to send a pdf gratis to anyone here who would like one. Just let me know.
Nothing like a thriller centred in the expat bubble of Tokyo !
Jun 5, 2019, 10:07 am
#13
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Jun 5, 2019, 12:56 pm
#14
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Congratulations! And already a 5 star review!
Somewhat related to the original request, I stumbled across a YouTube channel by a guy that took a bunch of videos in the early 90's (and still is today). Long before my time there but quite interesting to see how much things have changed.
https://www.youtube.com/user/lylehsaxon
Somewhat related to the original request, I stumbled across a YouTube channel by a guy that took a bunch of videos in the early 90's (and still is today). Long before my time there but quite interesting to see how much things have changed.
https://www.youtube.com/user/lylehsaxon
Jun 5, 2019, 2:16 pm
#15
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Congratulations! And already a 5 star review!
Somewhat related to the original request, I stumbled across a YouTube channel by a guy that took a bunch of videos in the early 90's (and still is today). Long before my time there but quite interesting to see how much things have changed.
https://www.youtube.com/user/lylehsaxon
Somewhat related to the original request, I stumbled across a YouTube channel by a guy that took a bunch of videos in the early 90's (and still is today). Long before my time there but quite interesting to see how much things have changed.
https://www.youtube.com/user/lylehsaxon
And yes, I was directly in touch with him a couple of years back while I was writing it. A fascinating reminder of Japan as it was then.