{"product_id":"pure-invention-how-japans-pop-culture-conquered-the-world-9781984826695","title":"Pure Invention: How Japan's Pop Culture Conquered the World","description":"\u003cb\u003eThe untold story of how Japan became a cultural superpower through the fantastic inventions that captured--and transformed--the world's imagination.\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003e\"A masterful book driven by deep research, new insights, and powerful storytelling.\"--W. David Marx, author of \u003ci\u003eAmetora: How Japan Saved American Style\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe Walkman. Karaoke. Pikachu. Pac-Man. \u003ci\u003eAkira\u003c\/i\u003e. Emoji. We've all fallen in love with one or another of Japan's pop-culture creations, from the techy to the wild to the super-\u003ci\u003ekawaii\u003c\/i\u003e. But as Japanese media veteran Matt Alt proves in this brilliant investigation of Tokyo's pop-fantasy complex, we don't know the half of it. Japan's toys, gadgets, and imaginary worlds didn't merely entertain. They profoundly transformed the way we live. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e In the 1970s and '80s, Japan seemed to exist in some near future, gliding on the superior technology of Sony and Toyota while the West struggled to catch up. Then a catastrophic 1990 stock-market crash ushered in the \"lost decades\" of deep recession and social dysfunction. The end of the boom times should have plunged Japan into irrelevance, but that's precisely when its cultural clout soared--when, once again, Japan got to the future a little ahead of the rest of us. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Hello Kitty, the Nintendo Entertainment System, and multimedia empires like \u003ci\u003ePok mon\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eDragon Ball Z\u003c\/i\u003e were more than marketing hits. Artfully packaged, dangerously cute, and dizzyingly fun, these products made Japan the forge of the world's fantasies, and gave us new tools for coping with trying times. They also transformed us as we consumed them--connecting as well as isolating us in new ways, opening vistas of imagination and pathways to revolution. Through the stories of an indelible group of artists, geniuses, and oddballs, \u003ci\u003ePure Invention\u003c\/i\u003e reveals how Japanese ingenuity remade global culture and may have created modern life as we know it. It's Japan's world; we're just gaming, texting, singing, and dreaming in it.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Crown Publishing Group (NY)\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/23\/2020\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781984826695\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 368\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 1.40lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.40h x 6.40w x 1.20d","brand":"Matt Alt","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":38400770932917,"sku":"9781984826695","price":23.8,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0473\/0804\/6492\/products\/img_6aca19a6-dbd8-4ce1-ad60-24ee74812368.jpg?v=1612165942","url":"https:\/\/pastforward.org\/products\/pure-invention-how-japans-pop-culture-conquered-the-world-9781984826695","provider":"Past Forward","version":"1.0","type":"link"}