{"product_id":"try-saying-youre-alive-kazuki-tomokawa-in-his-own-words-paperback","title":"Try Saying You're Alive!: Kazuki Tomokawa in His Own Words - Paperback","description":"\u003cp\u003eby \u003cb\u003eKazuki Tomokawa\u003c\/b\u003e (Author), \u003cb\u003eDaniel Joseph\u003c\/b\u003e (Translator), \u003cb\u003eDamon Krukowski\u003c\/b\u003e (Introduction by)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA vivid account of life on the margins and Tokyo's 1970s underground culture from a Japanese folk legend\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTokyo in the 1970s was a magnet for young musicians, poets and painters. Among them was Kazuki Tomokawa, a prolific singer-songwriter from Japan's northern provinces, whose guttural vocals and incisive lyrics earned him the unofficial title of \"screaming philosopher.\"\u003cbr\u003eThe stories in this memoir--originally published in 2015 in Japan and now appearing as the first English translation of Tomokawa's writing--are told with a rambler's wit and wisdom, bringing together his memorable reflections on six decades of day labor, drinking, gambling, acting, singing and writing. Figures such as Kan Mikami, Nobuyoshi Araki and Shūji Terayama drift through this down-and-out vagabond's memoir, which observes the turbulence of postwar countercultures and the explosion of Tokyo's underground film and music scenes.\u003cbr\u003eAlso available from Blank Forms Editions are Kazuki Tomokawa's first three records: \u003ci\u003eFinally, His First Album\u003c\/i\u003e (1975), \u003ci\u003eStraight From the Throat\u003c\/i\u003e (1976) and \u003ci\u003eA String of Paper Cranes Clenched Between My Teeth\u003c\/i\u003e (1977).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eKazuki Tomokawa\u003c\/b\u003e (born 1950) is a prolific singer-songwriter from Hachiryū Village (now the town of Mitane) in the Akita Prefecture area of northern Japan. Since his debut in 1974, he has released more than 30 albums. He is additionally known as a poet, painter, \u003ci\u003ekeirin\u003c\/i\u003e enthusiast and inimitable drinker. The 2010 documentary about his life, \u003ci\u003eLa Faute des Fleurs\u003c\/i\u003e, won the Sound \u0026amp; Vision award at the Copenhagen International Documentary Film Festival, and that same year saw the Japanese release of the book \u003ci\u003eDreams Die Vigorously Day by Day\u003c\/i\u003e, a collection of his lyrics spanning 40 years. His most recent albums are \u003ci\u003eVengeance Bourbon\u003c\/i\u003e (2014) and \u003ci\u003eGleaming Crayon\u003c\/i\u003e (2016), both on the Modest Launch label.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDamon Krukowski\u003c\/b\u003e is a musician and writer based in Cambridge, MA. His most recent book is Ways of Hearing (MIT Press, 2019) and his latest album is Damon \u0026amp; Naomi's \u003ci\u003eA Sky Record\u003c\/i\u003e (202020, 2021).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eDaniel Joseph\u003c\/b\u003e is a translator, editor and musician. He holds a master's degree from Harvard University in medieval Japanese literature, and recently contributed translations to \u003ci\u003eTerminal Boredom\u003c\/i\u003e (Verso, 2021), a collection of stories by science fiction pioneer Izumi Suzuki.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eNumber of Pages:\u003c\/strong\u003e 256\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eDimensions:\u003c\/strong\u003e 0.6 x 7.8 x 5.5 IN\u003c\/div\u003e\u003cdiv\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003ePublication Date:\u003c\/strong\u003e February 08, 2022\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"Books by splitShops","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51767425433888,"sku":"9781953691033","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0974\/9764\/5344\/files\/31788b4ca0a1c23dde7ebf05a64a60c6.webp?v=1780310573","url":"https:\/\/ebocreations.com\/products\/try-saying-youre-alive-kazuki-tomokawa-in-his-own-words-paperback","provider":"The E-Book Oasis LLC","version":"1.0","type":"link"}