Oishinbo: The Joy of Rice

Title: Oishinbo a la carte: The Joy of Rice
Author: Tetsu Kariya
Artist: Akira Hanasaki

This is volume 6 in the Oishinbo series, it seems readable in any order and each appear to have a real recipe from the book IN the book so that you can try your hand at making the cuisine illustrated therein. (The one featured here is Scallop Rice. I don't eat seafood or anything from the water and thus it is lost on me.)

This book once again makes a very good point of bringing the environmental cause to center stage, making people look at cause and effect; showing them aspects about their food that they may never have thought of before. The last volume I read Vegetables, didn't teach me much that I didn't already know of the cooking and the culture. This one however taught me a little bit about rice. Including but not limited to: How brown rice can be nutritionally detrimental due to pesticide residue, how healthy deciduous forests can make oysters taste better, how different areas of Asia eat rice at the table, and what a "matsutake of the sea" was. 

Very informative while keeping with the basic storyline.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Oishinbo-Carte-Vol-Joy-Rice/dp/142152144X

ISBN: 978-1-4215-2144-2

Gold pollen and other stories

Title: Gold pollen and other stories

Author: Seiichi Hayashi

Gold pollen and other stories has some interesting visuals. The tale of Gold pollen itself has a Goddess who takes form as a giant skeleton which is based on the Gashadokuro of Japanese lore. Others are just as striking due to the two tone printing process.

The stories themselves I find lackluster and I am a firm believer that the story/words within the visuals should be able to tell you almost everything you need to know. You should not require an essay to explain what just happened in the story (unless its a cultural thing. Which these are not.)

This book is split into two parts, the manga (majority) which is read in the traditional right to left, and at the other side the essays explaining the manga which are read traditional american... left to right. There is no boundary in the middle telling that this switch over has occurred and the way I figured it out was the formatting and the roman numerals that began to descend as I tried to read the (at the time) nonsense. The *back* of the book has the page that explains which format should be read how. I think this would make more sense in the center of the book betwixt. Forming the boundary between.

While a few of the images in the Gold pollen story were inspirational to look upon (as I love yokai, the things that go bump in Japan's night...) This book overall did nothing for me, and I can barely tell you what the stories were about at all.

It is chock full of symbolism that is not clear for those who have not studied Japanese culture, and to people who have not, i'm sure it comes off as READING an Andy Warhol painting. 

The essays held therein are ESSENTIAL for those people, and are what I found more interesting than the actual manga.

Seiichi Hayashi is a well known artist from the 60s and 70s in Japan. His work is the Japanese portion of "pop art"

I do not think I will be reading any more of his comics, but I may look at them for visuals in the future.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Seiichi-Hayashi-Pollen-Other-Stories/dp/1939799074

ISBN: 978-1-939799-07-4

A Thread of Silk

TODAY IS MY BIRTHDAY!!!!!
YAYYYYYYYY. I am turning 27 officially, and we are practically snowed in. My guy is coming over today and we will be making pizza and my friends and I will be dressed up. We meant to go out dancing in portland tonight but our car will not make it on the roads, so instead, we are staying in.



This is a short story in a compilation by Eugie Foster called "Returning my sister's face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice".

Title: A Thread of Silk
Book: Returning my Sister's Face, and other far eastern tales of whimsy and malice
Author Eugie Foster

As I am stating on each of these, this is a review for one of the short stories in this anthology and thus the image will be the same for each of these. This is not a repeat.

This is a Japanese tale that weaves together the present and past; and is one of the longer stories in the book. A woman seeks revenge in the Heian Era (my favorite era of Japan) against a man of her family who has attempted to slay her brother and has destroyed her lands in the process. She admonishes the God of War to help her in her conquest, and he gives her a sideways gift for not asking the right questions. She also attracts a Goddess who is much more dangerous and whom gives her a gift that is also a downright curse.

I must say. The main male antagonist in this is the most goth japanese character i've come across ever. Tall dark and handsome, swathed in dark colors, emotional. Elegant, poetic, chivalrous. It is hard not to like him. 

Very soon you come to see the workings of the Goddess and why indeed hers was not a blessing.

Find it here: https://www.amazon.com/Returning-My-Sisters-Face-Eastern/dp/1607620111

ISBN: 1-60762-011-1