Iwa ni Hana

1) In the spirit of trying something new in the new decade, I have decided to also blog in Japanese. The address is here.

There are many motives behind this. One of them is that I think it makes more sense to talk in Japanese about books (such as most novels of Kyōgoku Natsuhiko) which will probably never be translated into English. Another is that I recently came across some very impressive blogs in the Japanese blogosphere of people writing kanshi [漢詩], or poetry in the classical Chinese style. That reminds me of all the poetry I write in the classical Heian style which I hide in the drawer. I should try to post them from time to time.

When I was at university (that was a university somewhere in North America, by the way), the way they taught Japanese in the upper years was very old-fashioned. There was no “practical” course like Business Japanese whatsoever. The upper years were spent mostly in learning classical Japanese and – only marginally and as if in a fit of afterthought – modern Japanese literature. That… was the beginning of the slippery slope for me. (I hear that they changed the curriculum right after I graduated though.)

Give me time, and soon I will be blogging in Russian and Korean too (which I am learning just to survive at work).

2) One thing that disappointed me recently was that Nokemono to Hanayome was completely sold out on the first day. I could not get a copy even though I had placed an order. For all the talk of how the manga industry is going down the toilet, it has been years since I last heard of a manga being sold out on the first day.

That, ladies and gentlemen, is the magic of Ikuhara “Utena” Kunihiko.

Ikuni has also written about this news on his blog. Let us hope that they will reprint it soon.

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Cover image of Vol.1 of "Nokemono to Hanayome"

I was in luck today. I managed to pick up the current issue of KERA, which is running a special on the manga Nokemono to Hanayome [ノケモノと花嫁]. I have been making noise about it on this blog because the story is written by Ikuhara “Utena” Kunihiko [幾原邦彦] and illustrated by Nakamura Asumiko [中村明日美子]. True to Ikuhara-sensei’s style, the story seems allegorical and endlessly intriguing. Below is my rough translation of the plot summary published on KERA:

Sera Hitsuji and Hagumaduka Itaru are a pair of eloping lovers. They are running away from the police and a group called “Moeru Kirin,” which is formed by children with the aim of rebelling against adults. They stop at a church they happen to pass by, and try to have a wedding there. In the church, there is a priest with bizarre tastes, and two young girls called Maronie and Miyutan who are in middle of their confession. The priest makes Hitsuji and Itaru unconscious out of his own bizarre tastes, and Inumori Eiji and Sera Shougo come to the church with a special order from “Moeru Kirin” to “ensure the safety of Hitsuji and Itaru.” Hitsuji (who has run away from the priest) tries to return to Itaru, but is taken away by Shougo. Itaru escapes with the help of Maronie and Miyutan. However, the kidnapped Hitsuji is confused in her memory, seems to take on another personality altogether, and has forgotten about Itaru. Meanwhile, Itaru has recovered from his wounds with the help of Maronie and Miyutan and tries to help Hitsuji to escape. At that time, back at “Moeru Kirin” Tonakai rebels against Togawa Gin (who tries to wield absolute power), and helps Itaru to search for Hitsuji. While the four of them are searching for Hitsuji, they hear Hitsuji’s cry from an abandoned factory. Hitsuji remembers Itaru again when she sees him. When Itaru tries to help Hitsuji to escape, Eiji beheads Itaru. Just when everyone gets confused, Gin says meaningfully that “he is not dead for sure.” In the midst of confusion, Shougo tries to escape with Hitsuji and is attacked. He vanishes into thin air from the scene just like Itaru before him. Maronie etc are caught by “Moeru Kirin,” and are sentenced to be burned to death by Gin.

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Tankouban release of Nokemono to Hanayome [ノケモノと花嫁]

Illustration of "Nokemono to Hanayome"

To those of you who wonder what ever happened to Ikuhara “Utena” Kunihiko [幾原邦彦], I gathered from his blog that a tankouban of his manga collaboration with Nakamura Asumiko [中村明日美子] is to be released in December. This manga is serialized so far on a fashion magazine called KERA. I will be sure to place an order and write more on this when the time comes.

Ikuhara-sensei’s blog entry with a photo of this announcement can be found at: http://www2.jrt.co.jp/cgi-bin3/ikuniweb/tomozo.cgi?no=504

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