Netsuke Nation: Tales from Another Japan

by Jonathan Magonet

Before Manga captured the imagination of the world, Japanese artists sculpted a miniature society of human and not-quite human characters. These are 'netsuke' tiny figures, threaded by cords, which were used to hold in place the 'purse' that hung from a kimono. Carved from wood, ivory or bone, they formed an exotic society, reflecting the history, culture and fantasy life of Japan. Now, for the first time, their individual stories come to life, and the unfamiliar and often startling nature of their society. Meet Momo, the beautiful but conflicted geisha cat; discover the dreams of the mermaids who worship Esther Williams; witness the rise and fall of a ruthless politician who plays the 'alien' card; encounter the creatures of legend and the demons who star in horror movies; learn the peculiar practices and customs of netsuke sexuality; try to solve the mystery of why netsuke suddenly disappear; admire the heroic quest to create a national orchestra; enjoy the embarrassment of a martial arts struggle gone peculiarly awry; share the hopes of an autumn and spring love story; face the threat to netsuke society of the plastic invasion. This unique work of fiction will appeal to those interested in Japanese culture and whimsical stories. "Inspired by The Hare with Amber Eyes to collect netsuke, I found they offered a fascinating introduction to Japanese culture. On my daily walk to the university in Fukuoka where I was teaching, some character in my small netsuke collection, would suggest a story that fed into an emerging idea of Netsuke Nation, a mixture of imagination and the experience of Japanese life."

184 pages, Paperback

First published December 13, 2012

Reviews

[Beth (bibliobeth) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Netsuke, pronounced “nets’kay,” have become a bit of a cult phenomenon. They could be human, animal or mythical in appearance, and the author informs us that once we encounter them we will “at once become enchanted. Each chapter in this book is devoted to a certain netsuke character whilst the author explores their world and tells their stories. I found each section compelling in its own right, and some incredibly humourous but found others were only "okay" and didn't really grab my attention.

Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.wordpress.com

[GONZA · Rating 3 out of 5]

Strange little characters that come from the Japanese old culture are involved in an even more stranger story. If you love Japan this is the book for you, but it can be a little bit confusing.

Piccole creature che vengono dal folklore giapponese sono protagoniste di una storia parecchio strana. Per gli amanti del Giappone.

THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND TROUBADOUR PUBLISHING LTD FOR THE PREVIEW

[Tarynwanderer · Rating 3 out of 5]

[This review can also be found on Bookwanderer!]

Netsuke Nation: Tales from Another Japan, by Jonathan Magonet, is a short-story collection unlike anything you might have encountered before–unless you are familiar with netsuke, small and elaborate decorative carvings that are part of proper Japanese dress. Magonet, who has lived and taught in Japan, became enamored of netsuke and began to collect some of his own. Netsuke Nation is the result of his fascination with the carvings: partly short stories based around the imagined lives of individual figurines, and partly an ethnographic exploration of netsuke life, including politics, art, entertainment, and even sexual relationships.

As I read, I found myself wishing the Magonet had dropped the enthnography conceit entirely, and instead focused solely on the personal histories he had created surrounded his own personal netsuke. Those chapters, to me, felt the most in-depth, realistic, and creative. There are stories about a geisha cat, a pair of elderly sumo wrestlers, a fox priest, a professor, and more. They range from exploring themes of loneliness, relationships, and politics, with just a twist of magical realism, and are written with a certain detached wryness that I thought was appealing. Enough of the “other Japan” comes through in these stories, in bits and pieces that occur naturally as our characters navigate the world, as to make dedicated ethnography chapters seem flat and overly-expository. The geisha cat, for example, introduces the reader to the role of a geisha–to be a conversational, charming, objective of beauty–in addition to what her days and nights might look like, without necessarily going into a formal study of geisha culture. It probably also helps that I was the type of kid that totally believed her stuffed animals were alive, and had all sorts of fun adventures the moment my back was turned. It was very easy for me to fall under the spell of the netsuke characters!

The other thing is that I wanted to see more than just “another Japan.” Really, this could have been an ethnographic study of the Japanese; the fact that the netsuke were sculpted into the forms of cats and demons and shepherdesses didn’t factor into their society as much as one might think. Netsuke hold jobs and live in cities and towns; they are stereotypically a quiet and reserved people; they wear kimono and geta; they are considered cold and polite to outsiders; there is even a Netsuke Republic that is obviously China. This also highlights, for me, why the character-based chapters were the most effective. We can read nonfiction histories and ethnographies of Japan, but the character chapters of Netsuke Nation give us something unique: cultural studies by characters navigating that culture.

One of the more-successful integrations of netsuke culture with Japanese culture was that societal divisions are based upon the materials netsuke are made of. Bone netsuke were elite, whereas the newer materials (resins, plastics) made up the lowest caste. This was an imaginative way to combine status differences in Japanese society with the unique properties of the netsuke, and I wished that there had been more of this in the book, rather than relying so heavily on real Japanese culture. Magonet is obviously capable of this type of creative writing, and so I hope in the future he considers writing pure fiction!

One last concern was that the terms used for certain things made me wince, hard. For example, having the netsuke call horror films “holla” films, and Gene Kelly “Jinokerry” and flower power “fraupau.” First, it actually took me a long time to figure out what each of these terms was referring to. Secondly, and more importantly, this is racist. We are clearly supposed to identify netsuke society with Japanese society. For all intents and purposes, netsuke individuals are Japanese. This weird stereotype of Japanese people being incapable of pronouncing “r”–without challenging it, or calling it out–has absolutely no place in a book being published in 2013. Magonet obviously loves Japan, having lived and taught there, and so his usage of these terms struck me as very odd. Perhaps people of Japanese descent wouldn’t find it inappropriate, but I certainly did. And it’s too bad, because the imagined lives of netsuke lend themselves to some interesting and engaging stories.

Netsuke Nation will be released on April 1, 2013. I received a copy free for review from publisher Matador through Netgalley.

[Laura · Rating 2 out of 5]

The concept that this book is built on (stories based around the characters of carved netsuke) is an interesting one, but it only really pans out into a clever or engaging tale in a handful of the stories.

These strong pieces are carried by a smooth interweaving of a real netsuke's appearance (like the geisha with the head of a cat or the two wrestlers forever locked in a match) and a fabricated backstory that playfully ties in the nature of the carving.

The majority of the stories, however, seem to lose sight of this playful combination and instead come off as thinly veiled and somewhat crude commentary on post-war Japan. This is highlighted by the stories on Netsuke Nation bureaucracy as well as the tasteless injections of "Engrish", which aren't nearly as witty as the author thinks they are.

[Elsa · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any short story collection this had winners and losers, but ultimately, I was just not that interested.