Paris Syndrome or Syndrome de Paris is a temporary psychological condition suffered by some visitors to Paris. When great expectations meet the gritty reality of Paris life (e.g. dog poo) severe culture shock can set in.
Most victims are Japanese women their 30s, who after being fed a lifetime of highly romanticized images (Amelie, À bout de souffle, Love in the Afternoon – and other top films to see Paris on the silver screen) cannot not handle the gritty reality of Paris life. As Paris Syndrome affects about 12 Japanese tourists a year, the Japanese embassy has a 24-hour hotline in place and can offer help in case of hospitalization. Discovered by Professor Hiroaki Ota, a Japanese psychiatrist working in France, it is similar to Stendahl syndrome.
As the the BBC said in its discussion of Paris Syndrome, “[m]any of the visitors come with a deeply romantic vision of Paris [but the] reality can come as a shock. An encounter with a rude taxi driver, or a Parisian waiter who shouts at customers who cannot speak fluent French, might be laughed off by those from other Western cultures. But for the Japanese – used to a more polite and helpful society in which voices are rarely raised in anger – the experience of their dream city turning into a nightmare can simply be too much.”
If you’ve been to Nippon, the Japanese’s romantic vision of Paris will come as no surprise – Tokyo is awash with French brands and pâtisseries - you’ll even spot an Eiffel-inspired lattice tower on the skyline. Viz, my buddy Richard & I near the Tokyo Tower in 2007:
Can you say baby-faced? Anyway, I’m sure I will be in full control of my psyche and expectations when I land at Orly, Paris in just 26 days… but it’s best to be prepared!
“It’s very tricky to do any drawing of a tragedy,” said Christoph Niemann, who created “Dark Spring,” this week’s cover. When asked to come up with an image about the series of disasters that have hit Japan, he was hesitant. “A drawing often comes across as lighthearted, and there’s obviously nothing lighthearted about this thing.”
4 years ago (this week) I visited Tokyo and Kyoto. The cherry blossoms were just popping through, it was amazing. Whispery little snowflake-like petals got caught in your hair wherever you walked. They truly are an icon of Japan.
Comments on this New Yorker cover range the gamut from “totally disrespectful” to “powerful”. Personally, I like the subtlety, and find it an elegantly sombre take on a terrible situation. It’s a great piece of graphic design in a world where we can often be overwhelmed by photographs.
Sushi Cat is my new favourite game. Highly addictive, you must help Sushi Cat nom his way through mountains of sushi and gain in size. It’s super cute, and believe me when I say, wait till you don’t have any important work to finish – your productivity will be destroyed. Here’s a sneak peek of the game play…
Fat cats are happy cats… SUSHI FRENZY! Finished with Sushi cat? don’t dispair, there’s two other episodes in the series; Sushi Cat, The Honeymoon – a tropical treat, and Sushi Cat 2 – a mall adventure.
Of course, while these games are fun and friviolous, Japan is suffering a serious crisis the wake of the earthquake/tsunami. It’s a beautiful country filled with some of the most friendly, wonderful people I have ever met. Help your fellow humans out by donating to the Red Cross here if you haven’t already ♥
Ponyo loves Sasuke! And I love Ponyo. Once again too slow to catch it in the cinema, I finally was able to sit down and watch Hayao Miyazaki’s most recent film on DVD. It’s a treat – and my recommendation if you’re looking for something to watch this weekend. The basic plot is that Ponyo is a goldfish princess who wishes to become human after she falls in love. My very favourite part of the movie is when Ponyo licks the blood from Sasuke’s cut:
Fun fact – Ponyo’s name is an onomatopoeia, based on Miyazaki’s idea of what a “soft, squishy softness” sounds like when touched.
The title, One Room Mansion, is a Japanese term: ワンルームマンション. At 100sqf, often they don’t have bathrooms attached and residents have to visit a public bathhouse. One of my favourite books,Tokyo: A Certain Style, is a study of these tiny apartments.
With dozens and dozens of domiciles in the book, it is hard to describe them all. One of my favorites is the apartment of a music reviewer: CDs and vinyls are stacked floor to ceiling. There’s barely any room for the reviewer, though the two cats that share the apartment seem to find it manageable. Another remarkable spread is the house of a newly married young woman who loved cartoon characters so much that she works for a character goods company. Nearly everything in the house, including the husband’s lunch box, has some character on it. Huge Kerropi dolls share space with a veritable pack of Snoopys. A young interior designer had extra shelves put into her room so she could show off the covers of her manga volumes. A Shinjuku DJ, living with his Dutch girlfriend, uses his bathroom as a darkroom and spends weekends practicing on his windowsill turntable.
Accessories budget: Now this is where I am falling down! I have had to buy heaps of things because I ‘forgot’ or at some stage gave my old one away. Oh can opener, where did you go?
scorpio mug: 1.00
vanilla candle: 3.99
chopping board: 14.99
fan heater: 19.95
bath mat: 14.99
TOTAL: $54.92
REMAINING: $45.08
Still need to buy: that dang can opener, a coffee plunger, hooks to hang up my art collection. Boiling water in a pot is working out well so far. Meanwhile when it comes to the big stuff, I still want to buy: a manrobe or a clothes rack or perhaps even a ladder to hack up. I’ve been living out of my suitcase for 8+ weeks now. Hanging my dresses up seems like a distant novelty. Failing that? Nails + hangers on the wall…
“I once had a girl, or should I say, she once had me.”
Haruki Murakami’s Norwegian Wood is finally going to grace cinema screens world wide. The Norwegian Wood film (IMDB) is directed by Anh Hung Tran, stars Babel’s Rinko Kiuchi as Naoko and Ken’ichi Matsuyama as Wanatabe. Can’t lie, nor breathe, I am super excited for this. Murakami is my favourite author (yes, ever), and NW one of my favourite books.
Short trailer huh? It’s such a tease but from such a tiny glimpse, and the film stills, I think justice will be done.
Alongside the eponymous Beatles song (a licensing coup!), the soundtrack will also feature original music written by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood based on a composition called “Dogwood” which he recently wrote for the BBC Concert Orchestra.
I think the use of the word SWOON is totally legitimate on this occasion.
It’s the tale of a pug, a kitten and the adventures they have. It starts on the farm… but Milo never listens to his mother. Here’s two of my favourite scenes:
Crab Attack
Otis Meets The Fox
Did you know that Milo and Otis is a Japanese made film and was released in English 4 years after the original release? Me neither! Did you know Dudley Moore was the vivacious and hilarious narrator? Not I!
While there has been some controversy over the use of animal actors in the movie, I still love this romp (and have done since I was 5). It’s a good film to watch from bed while hanging out in your pyjamas. Nostalgia rules.
Dinner with Murakami is a 2007 documentary directed by Yan Ting Yuen about the life and work of legendary Japanese author Haruki Murakami.
“Largely structured round Murakami’s enigmatic absence, the film dramatizes Murakami’s impact on his readers and takes the camera into the hinterland to determine what is “Murakamian” in the Japanese landscape. The resulting film has a beautiful sense of form and poetic structure.” [Indie Flick Pick]
In the film everybody from groupies who hang outside Murakami’s old jazz club to schoolchildren, share their piece on the publicity shy writer. Norwegian Wood has been likened to the Nippon equivalent of J.D. Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye; so it is unsurprising most Japanese people have a story to tell about their relationship with Murakami’s work.
Australian & New Zealand friends -Yen Magazine and their surfy mates at Rip Curl are running a fashion blogger competition. Dip your toes in the frothy sea of fashion power scribing.
This worked, I tried it! “Nearly-instant mood lifter: throw 5 cinnamon sticks & some orange peel in a pot. Add lots of water. Bring to a boil. Simmer. You’re welcome.” – Emma Alvarez Gibson.
The number one reason for our Wellington visit (I use the word ‘our’ but in reality I was gatecrashing my friends’ holiday) was to go see the Yayoi Kusama: Mirrored Years exhibition at the City Gallery.
To celebrate the exhibition, they kitted the entire gallery exterior out in polka dots!
Yayoi Kusama is an avant-garde Japanese sculptor, painter and novelist.; her work concerns many themes, but is usually expressed through the polka dot and infinity net motifs that are her trademarks. Kusama started painting dots at a young age, after suffering ‘hallucinations’.
In her twenties, Kusama moved to New York and nurtured her talents further, gaining recognition for her large scale works, working in the same sphere as Warhol and other notables. In 1973 she returned to Japan and produced several novels and anthologies while continuing to create art.
Today, Kusama’s trippy paintings, tentacle like sculptures, performance art and installations have attracted a cult following around the world, and she has found acclaim as one of the world’s most important living artists.
The Mirrored Years exhibition is on in Wellington till February 10, so if you’re anywhere in the region and you haven’t scoped it out yet, you simply must! It’s simply dotty, mind boggling and a lot of fun to be immersed in.
This past week I have been thinking about Japan A LOT. Tokyo, most of all… Here’s a ‘Destination Japan’ reading list I wrote for Mausumi (such a sweet, refreshing blog). It’s a few must-read books that involve Japan somehow. Sigh! Where do you dream of from your armchair?
In the film Tokyo Pop bleached haired goddess Carrie Hamilton plays Wendy, a rock singer from America. She moves to Tokyo on a whime and, as the stories always go, meets a boy. Hiro and Wendy form a band; finding stardom and love. It’s also story about American customs confronting the Tokyo lifestyle.
My friend Sarah reckons when Aggy Deyn was reinventing herself, she just trotted down to her local video store and rented a copy of Tokyo Pop. Other people reckon Sofia Coppola took a good hard look at the film too, before embarking on the Lost In Translation journey.
From what I’ve seen, I’d agree! Except.. I’m incredibly grumpy because unfortunately I haven’t managed to track down a copy yet, even on VHS. If you ever come across a copy (or if you’ve seen it), pipe up, let me know!
It looks amazing; a cheesey pop love story with candy coloured cinematography, set against a retro Tokyo backdrop. Here’s the trailer:
This made me smile! A collaborative video for Sour 日々の音色 (Hibi no neiro) or ‘Tone of Everyday’, connecting their fans through webcams. The song is nice too.
Hello! My name is Amber Parkin. I'm a New Zealander living in London. I'm a writer obsessed with fondue, chesterfield sofas, vintage dresses, foxes, and 35mm.
, is a study of these tiny apartments.
