In Lovesick Japan, Mark D. West explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence—2,700 court opinions—describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and emotional intimacy, affection, and personal connections. In compelling, poignant, and sometimes horrifying court cases, West finds that Japanese judges frequently opine on whether a person is in love, what other emotions a person is feeling, and whether those emotions are appropriate for the situation. Sometimes judges’ views about love, sex, and marriage emerge from their presentation of the facts of cases. Among the recurring elements are abortions forced by men, compensated dating, late-life divorces, termination fees to end affairs, sexless couples, Valentine’s Day heartbreak, "soapland" bath-brothels, and home-wrecking hostesses. Sometimes the judges’ analysis, decisions, and commentary are as revealing as the facts. Sex in the cases is a choice among private "normal" sex, which is male-dominated, conservative, dispassionate, or nonexistent; commercial sex, which caters to every fetish but is said to lead to rape, murder, and general social depravity; and a hybrid of the two, which commodifies private sexual relationships. Marriage is contractual; judges express the ideal of love in marriage and proclaim its importance, but virtually no one in the court cases achieves it. Love usually appears as a tragic, overwhelming emotion associated with jealousy, suffering, heartache, and death.

In Lovesick Japan, Mark D. West explores an official vision of love, sex, and marriage in contemporary Japan. A comprehensive body of evidence—2,700 court opinions—describes a society characterized by a presupposed absence of physical and emotional intimacy, affection, and personal connections. In compelling, poignant, and sometimes horrifying court cases, West finds that Japanese judges frequently opine on whether a person is in love, what other emotions a person is feeling, and whether those emotions are appropriate for the situation. Sometimes judges’ views about love, sex, and marriage emerge from their presentation of the facts of cases. Among the recurring elements are abortions forced by men, compensated dating, late-life divorces, termination fees to end affairs, sexless couples, Valentine’s Day heartbreak, "soapland" bath-brothels, and home-wrecking hostesses. Sometimes the judges’ analysis, decisions, and commentary are as revealing as the facts. Sex in the cases is a choice among private "normal" sex, which is male-dominated, conservative, dispassionate, or nonexistent; commercial sex, which caters to every fetish but is said to lead to rape, murder, and general social depravity; and a hybrid of the two, which commodifies private sexual relationships. Marriage is contractual; judges express the ideal of love in marriage and proclaim its importance, but virtually no one in the court cases achieves it. Love usually appears as a tragic, overwhelming emotion associated with jealousy, suffering, heartache, and death.

Seen through the lens of Buddhist wisdom, Lovesic in Kyoto is a journey through spirit, language, musicianship, and the beauty and contradictions of modern-day Japan. From racing through New York City subways to riding his bicycle past white-faced, kimono-clad maiko in Kyoto, author/expatriate Jay Crystall shares the colorful, twisting life path that led him to Japan. Told with wit and candor and backlit by myriad lessons, hilarious faux pas, and the slippery slope of self-discovery, he begins to unfold a lifelong dream of impacting culture. "Lovesic in Kyoto is an adventure. A finding of reason. It is just great! " - Joanie Jamieson, writer/actress "I love Jay's use of local color and detail. I feel I've met these people." - Wendy Gittleson - writer, The Word Strategist "Jay's music is immediately "smack in your face cool," solidly rooted in Kyoto and psychedelic rock. I'm happy he is sharing his observations in this book. He hasn't been in Japan that long, so he sees and tells about it with fresh eyes." - Robert Yellin, Japanese ceramic journalist/author "Living and traveling in other countries has enriched my life in ways I could not have possibly imagined. In Lovesic in Kyoto, author Jay Crystall and co-author Catherine Lenox give the reader a personalized look inside modern-day Kyoto. It's an honest, often hilarious, sometimes poignant recounting of Crystall's struggle to live as an expatriate in Japan. Throughout his story, Jay shares the many reasons he has chosen to make it his permanent home. Travelers, expatriates, and anyone interested in learning more about today's Kyoto will enjoy reading this book."- Larry J Snyder, Author Ten Years in Tuscany "Co-authoring Lovesic in Kyoto over two different time zones and nearly 5,000 miles has been challenging but also rewarding. Jay's story is compelling. We're thrilled to share it with readers." - Catherine Lenox, Write Contact, co-author Lovesic in Kyoto

Boys Love Manga and Beyond looks at a range of literary, artistic and other cultural products that celebrate the beauty of adolescent boys and young men. In Japan, depiction of the “beautiful boy” has long been a romantic and sexualized trope for both sexes and commands a high degree of cultural visibility today across a range of genres from pop music to animation. In recent decades, “Boys Love” (or simply BL) has emerged as a mainstream genre in manga, anime, and games for girls and young women. This genre was first developed in Japan in the early 1970s by a group of female artists who went on to establish themselves as major figures in Japan's manga industry. By the late 1970s many amateur women fans were getting involved in the BL phenomenon by creating and self-publishing homoerotic parodies of established male manga characters and popular media figures. The popularity of these fan-made products, sold and circulated at huge conventions, has led to an increase in the number of commercial titles available. Today, a wide range of products produced both by professionals and amateurs are brought together under the general rubric of “boys love,” and are rapidly gaining an audience throughout Asia and globally. This collection provides the first comprehensive overview in English of the BL phenomenon in Japan, its history and various subgenres and introduces translations of some key Japanese scholarship not otherwise available. Some chapters detail the historical and cultural contexts that helped BL emerge as a significant part of girls' culture in Japan. Others offer important case studies of BL production, consumption, and circulation and explain why BL has become a controversial topic in contemporary Japan.

Most of the papers in this volume are from a conference held in May 2006 at the University of Chicago.