 What does Tokyo mean to you? Businessmen in gray suits? Teenagers in wacky street-fashion? Schoolgirls in sailor costumes? Or could life in this city of 35 million souls have a little more variety and depth that the stereotypes would have us believe?
Find the answers here in Tokyo Fragments, where five of Japan's most popular contemporary writers of fiction present their vision of life in different quarters of Japan's capital.
Spend a day with Ryota and Hiroshi on the mean streets of Shinjuku, spying on visitors to the local love hotel and sniffing glue in station toilets. Eavesdrop on the regulars at a bar in the old town as they fantasize about fellow-customer who claims to work in the insurance business - but may be more experienced at taking life than insuring it. Join Eriko as she hunts for Mr. Right in the trendy western Tokyo. Can you judge men by the same standards you apply to consumer goods? Maybe you can... but you'd better watch out for counterfeits!
Experience Tokyo as you never have before: from the inside. These five stories break down the world's biggest city into fragments of experience anyone can relate to and enjoy.
Ryuji Morita specializes in the dislocated and precarious lives of Tokyo outcasts. Tomomi Muramatsu is famous for his empathetic portrayal of old-fashioned Tokyo characters. Mariko Hayashi doubles up as a lifestyle guru and magazine columnist. Makoto Shiina has written science fiction novels and scripted and directed feature films. Chiya Fujino is noted for her ability to turn the mundane into the extraordinary.
Written by Ryuji Morita, Tomomi Muramatsu, Mariko Hayashi, Makoto Shiina, and Chiya Fujino. |
