Collection
Publication
Berkeley, Calif. : Stone Bridge Press, c2004.
Description
Who needs to speak Japanese? There's a lot you can say with traditional hand gestures and body motions that are universal as well as uniquely Japanese. This whimsical look at "the language of no language" will teach you to hurl insults, flirt, agree, excuse yourself, cross the street, and even make promises--wordlessly! (And who is that stoic guy wearing a suit in all the photos?) Finally, a way to tell someone at a loud party, "Your underwear is showing," in four easy hand motions. This is a book for the serious student, the class clown, and the crazy guy at Akihabara Station hoping to communicate with Godzilla. Hamiru-aqui is a Japanese artist based in Tokyo.
Language
User reviews
LibraryThing member cedyr
Serious and funny. Every gestures are explained with photograph(s). I don't know if these photos are easy enough for non-Japanese to understand how to do it, but overall, this book is pretty good.
LibraryThing member zeborah
I love the idea of this book but ultimately I think the very topic doesn't suit my learning style. I learn best when there's an overarching system I can arrange new facts into - but gestural communication, when not codified into a sign language, is an inherently piecemeal thing. So I mostly enjoyed
Generally I found the explanations really useful and interesting. Just occasionally they were a bit too jokey-jokey, and a few times I'd have liked a little more: for example when he explained what a gesture means, but I didn't feel I had a good grasp of what context it'd actually be used in; or when he mentioned that women should avoid using a pair of gestures, but not why (would people think we're gay? sluts? foreign weirdos? incredibly rude?)
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reading it but ten minutes later couldn't remember a thing.Generally I found the explanations really useful and interesting. Just occasionally they were a bit too jokey-jokey, and a few times I'd have liked a little more: for example when he explained what a gesture means, but I didn't feel I had a good grasp of what context it'd actually be used in; or when he mentioned that women should avoid using a pair of gestures, but not why (would people think we're gay? sluts? foreign weirdos? incredibly rude?)
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