Japanese Jive is a collection of photos of Japanese products, with bits of information and silly, occasionally sneering, commentary. Most of the products in Japanese Jive have English-language names, but the words are used in such mysterious combinations that their meaning is obliterated (much like the English found written across Japanese T-shirts). What do you suppose food products such as "Fish Ham" and "Black Black" really are?
Some of the products, however, reveal interesting sides of Japanese culture. For instance, many Japanese believe your blood type determines your personality; appropriately, in Japan you can get a condom that matches your blood type (sometimes it's best not to ask why...). You can also purchase "Nippless," a kind of tape that hides those pesky protruding nipples. "Eye Talk" is perhaps the most disturbing product mentioned; it's an eyelid glue to give Japanese eyes a rounder, more Western look.
Japanese Jive is not only interesting as a glimpse of a foreign consumer culture rife with English influence, it's a reminder that merely knowing the words of another language is a far cry from really understanding it.
Japanese Jive, by Caroline McKeldin, US$9.95. Weatherhill Inc.: (800) 437 7840, +1 (203) 459 5086.
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