Pink Samurai: Love, Marriage and Sex in Contemporary Japan
This graphic treatment of the evolution of the mizu shobai-- that much talked-about world of sexual freedom that exists in Japan--follows the "foreigner investigates" style of writing. Giving less space to love and marriage than to sex in its many guises, Bornoff seeks to guide the reader from a series of tatemae (if it looks good it is good) vignettes to the honne (real) sexual soul of the Japanese people. Although most of the modern references to the goings-on in Tokyo and elsewhere ring true, the inclusion of an analytical summary after 470+ pages of description seems like an afterthought and leaves one wondering if the writer was more interested in titillating storytelling than in highlighting the maturity of the Japanese. The book redeems itself somewhat in pointing out truly destructive trends that show the currents of change in Japanese popular culture. For comprehensive collections. Photos not seen.- Mike Heines, USAF Rome Lab., N.Y.Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.