PINK SAMURAI: LOVE, MARRIAGE AND SEX IN CONTEMPORARY JAPAN

Rating:
Summary: schlock scholarship
Review: Mr Bornoff has apparently done a lot of research for this book, although no bibliography is given to take the interested user to a level beyond his colloquial interviews. To be honest, there were several places where a lack of more scholarship was not only disappointing but misleading. In several instances the etymology of Japanese words was mistaken (although the author used the same answers you might get from an average Japanese). Typograhical errors also abound, making it a distracting read. The book is also insulting in that the author's opinion's on several subjects, from prostitution to homosexuality, form a thick veil which prevents him from presenting more objective data. Also, to devote a scant few pages to the topic of homosexuality (while peppering those pages with his own revulsed bias) was a major disservice. Nearly anyone writing in 1988 could have found much more on the subject. As others have noted, the book is dated. Japan has changed greatly in the intervening years, and the book is best viewed as a snaphot of attitudes (barely facts) of 1988. On the positive note, the author does go into greater detail on historical content than similar books to date. A bibliography, again, would have enhanced this material greatly.

Rating:
Summary: A fascinating view of society & women in Japanese history
Review: readable trip to different areas of Japanese history and society.Examines impact of social upheavals on the status of women. Considers contemporary and historical issues (geisha to "compensated dating")

Julie Phelps