<div dir="ltr">Hello all, <div><br></div><div>I wrote a book review. I jotted down my thoughts about the recent slew of handbooks on Japanese cinema. I couldn't help thinking about my first encounter with Japanese cinema scholarship, so it begins...</div><div><br></div><div><div class="gmail-page" title="Page 1" style="color:rgb(0,0,0)"><div class="gmail-section"><div class="gmail-layoutArea"><div class="gmail-column"><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><span style="font-size:11pt;font-family:Granjon">Thirty-five years ago I was browsing through the stacks of a used bookstore in Boulder, Colorado, when I stumbled on a cache of Japanese cinema books. Having just discovered Mizoguchi and Kurosawa, I impulsively bought the lot. In an instant, I had acquired most of the English-language literature on this national cinema that had been published over various years, which now sit at the corner of a shelf in my office. </span><span style="font-family:Granjon;font-size:11pt">Today I am amazed by the fact that a slew of newly released Japanese cinema anthologies take up roughly the same amount of space....</span><span style="font-family:Granjon;font-size:11pt">That they all arrive more or less at once suggests they are symptomatic of an important moment—of an inflection point, a bottleneck, or even a crisis.</span><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space" style="font-family:Granjon;font-size:11pt"> </span></blockquote><p><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space" style="font-family:Granjon;font-size:11pt">If you want to read more, head to your library. If your library doesn't have FQ, drop me a line off stage and I'll help. </span></p><p><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space" style="font-family:Granjon;font-size:11pt">I must apologize to Daisuke, Julian and Nikki. I initially pitched a review that would include the Oxford handbook and the Routledge 4-volume set retrospective of the field. However, FQ wouldn't let me because they were "too old." I hope everyone reads them all. </span></p><p><font face="Granjon"><span style="font-size:14.666666984558105px">There are some 111 essays between all these new handbooks. It's rather astounding that there's basically no overlapping or redundancies. Japanese cinema presents that rich a topic, and you folks are just so impressive. </span></font></p><p><font face="Granjon"><span style="font-size:14.666666984558105px">Markus</span></font></p><p><font face="Granjon"><span style="font-size:14.666666984558105px">===================================</span></font></p></div></div></div></div></div><div><div class="gmail-product" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Montserrat,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div class="gmail-source" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-style:italic">The Japanese Cinema Book</span></div>, edited by<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="gmail-name gmail-string-name" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline">Hideaki Fujiki</span><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="gmail-name gmail-string-name" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline">Alastair Phillips</span></div><div class="gmail-product" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Montserrat,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div class="gmail-source" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-style:italic">Routledge Handbook of Japanese Cinema</span></div>, edited by<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="gmail-name gmail-string-name" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline">Joanne Bernardi</span><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>and<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="gmail-name gmail-string-name" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline">Shota T. Ogawa</span></div><div class="gmail-product" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Montserrat,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div class="gmail-source" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-style:italic">A Companion to Japanese Cinema</span></div>, edited by<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span class="gmail-name gmail-string-name" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline">David Desser</span></div><div class="gmail-wi-authors" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Montserrat,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div class="gmail-al-authors-list" style="margin:0.75rem 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:0.875rem;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:1.5"><div class="gmail-al-author-name" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;display:inline-block"><a class="gmail-linked-name gmail-js-linked-name gmail-stats-author-info-trigger" style="padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:0.875rem;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(195,84,24);word-break:normal;line-height:1.5;margin:0.75rem 0px">Markus Nornes</a></div></div></div><div class="gmail-widget-EditorInformation gmail-widget-instance-ArticleTopInfo_EditorInformation" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Montserrat,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"></div><div class="gmail-js-metadata-wrap gmail-metadata" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Montserrat,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div class="gmail-wi-footnotes" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:0.75rem;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:1.5"><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><div class="gmail-article-footnote" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><p style="margin:0px 0px 0.75rem;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:1.75">BOOK DATA Hideaki Fujiki and Alastair Phillips, eds.,<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-style:italic">The Japanese Cinema Book</span>. London: Bloomsbury/BFI, 2020. $121.50 cloth, $44.95 paper, $40.45 e-book. 624 pages.</p></div></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><div class="gmail-article-footnote" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><p style="margin:0px 0px 0.75rem;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:1.75">Joanne Bernardi and Shota T. Ogawa, eds.,<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-style:italic">Routledge Handbook of Japanese Cinema</span>. New York: Routledge, 2020. $250 cloth. 382 pages.</p></div></div><div style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><div class="gmail-article-footnote" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline"><p style="margin:0px 0px 0.75rem;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:1.75">David Desser, ed.,<span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-style:italic">A Companion to Japanese Cinema</span>. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley Blackwell, 2022. $185 cloth. 736 pages.</p></div></div></div></div><div class="gmail-pub-history-wrap gmail-clearfix" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:12px;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(80,80,80);font-family:Montserrat,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif"><div class="gmail-pub-history-row gmail-clearfix" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:flex"><div class="gmail-ww-citation-primary" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:0.75rem;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:1.5"><span style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;font-style:italic">Film Quarterly</span><span class="gmail-Apple-converted-space"> </span>(2022) 75 (3): 89–92.</div></div><div class="gmail-pub-history-row gmail-citation-wrap-row gmail-clearfix" style="margin:0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;display:flex"><div class="gmail-ww-citation-wrap-doi" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:0.75rem;vertical-align:baseline;line-height:1.5"><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><a href="https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2022.75.3.89" target="_blank" style="margin:0px;padding:0px;border:0px;font-size:inherit;vertical-align:baseline;color:rgb(195,84,24);text-decoration:none;word-break:normal">https://doi.org/10.1525/fq.2022.75.3.89</a></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div><div class="gmail-citation-doi" style="margin:0px 0.25rem 0px 0px;padding:0px;border:0px;vertical-align:baseline;float:left"><br></div></div></div></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><br></span></div><div dir="ltr"><span style="color:rgb(136,136,136)">--- </span></div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="font-size:small"><font face="courier new, monospace" color="#274e13"><b><img src="https://docs.google.com/uc?export=download&id=1YYQZdrswh1HD_xCKXSzMs3lLalKxLVgs&revid=0By9QGX7UmiKRSEdLZ0xoVDNEM2xLclB3R0pDbk93ek8yeEtVPQ" width="55" height="96"><br></b></font></div><div style="font-size:small"><font face="courier new, monospace" color="#274e13"><b>Markus Nornes</b></font></div><div style="font-size:small"><span style="font-family:"courier new",monospace"><font color="#38761d"><b>Professor of Asian Cinema</b></font></span></div><div style="font-size:small"><b style="color:rgb(56,118,29);font-family:"courier new",monospace">Interim Chair, Dept. of Asian Languages and Culture</b><span style="font-family:"courier new",monospace"><font color="#38761d"><b><br></b></font></span></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><font size="1" color="#38761d"><font face="courier new, monospace">Department of Film, Television and Media</font><span style="font-family:"courier new",monospace">, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, Penny Stamps </span><span style="font-family:"courier new",monospace">School of Art & Design</span></font></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"> </blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="margin:0 0 0 40px;border:none;padding:0px"><blockquote style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left-width:1px;border-left-style:solid;border-left-color:rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex"><font face="arial, sans-serif" size="1"><b><u><span style="background-color:rgb(182,215,168)">Homepage: <a href="http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nornes/" target="_blank"><font color="#ffffff">http://www-personal.umich.edu/~nornes/</font></a></span><font color="#6aa84f"><br></font></u></b></font><font face="courier new, monospace" size="1" color="#93c47d"><b>Department of Film, Television and Media<br></b></font><font face="courier new, monospace" size="1" color="#93c47d"><b>6348 North Quad<br></b></font><font face="courier new, monospace" size="1" color="#93c47d"><b>105 S. State Street<br></b></font><font face="courier new, monospace" size="1" color="#93c47d"><b>Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1285</b></font></blockquote></blockquote><div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div style="color:rgb(136,136,136)"><br></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div>