I think it’s safe to say we all know a little bit about ninjas. The mythology surrounding them in Japanese culture has grown so large as to eclipse the reality, something like the Wild West in the American imagination, except with a few added centuries for the stories to percolate & warp. Sugiura Shigeru’s Ninja Sarutobi Sasuke is a wild n’ wacky warping of a traditional Japanese hero — there is much prerequisite knowledge that comes to appreciating this odd little volume, printed by our friends over at New York Review Comics, but not to worry, the essay at the end of the book gives light to some of it.
Coming at it cold, certainly I could tell that I was in unsteady waters, y’all — the book twists & turns so much it almost wriggles right out of your hands like some kinda squirrelly varmint. Immediately apparent, however, is that our hero, Sarutobi Sasuke, is well-known & well-respected in Medieval Japan (& historically a real ninja!), & anytime he reveals his identity he draws gasps of awe. The art of the ninjas, in the realm of this book & the midcentury Japanese imagination, I reckon, is ‘ninjutsu’, a kind of wizardry of illusions, slight-of-hand, & trickery of perception that aspires to a kind of transcendent gross-out (characters are often running away yelling ‘Gross!’). The ability to turn into anything, conjure any landscape, & otherwise completely devastate the sensory capabilities of one’s opponent (&, in this case, of the reader) make for quite the harum-scarum narrative melee. Sprinkled into each absurd little tale are morals & lessons, usually surrounding themes of generosity & kindness toward one’s fellow man; sometimes the characters simply yell out, ‘Don’t do drugs, kids!’ — just a bit of poking fun at itself, one of the characteristic highlights of Ninja Sarutobi Sasuke.
A series of ridiculous adventures become an excuse for Sarutobi to show off his ‘ninjutsu’, & the author to display his goofy flights of fancy — the artwork could almost be cut out & framed in certain passages. Especially strange are when the famous ninja inserts Wild West scenes for no apparent reason besides his own entertainment — though, looking back at it, I wonder if the comparison I made above isn’t one of this aesthetic reasons for including these. With a certain bright-eyed elan, the book doubles down on the particularly kooky form of Japanese humor, where the unexpected becomes the basis of an overall silliness, rather than specific jokes with punchlines, something like a Japanese gameshow where the pivots & randomness are intended to tickle the viewer via their sheer oddness, their sheer randomness, & their overstimulating effect.
New York Review Comics specializes in this sort of thing, these foreign tales that shine a light on an obscure but rich piece of culture, in this case one that was criticized in Japan as ‘erotic grotesque nonsense,’ & ‘batakasai’ which translates as ‘butter-stinking,’ (we would say ‘cheesy’ or ‘corny’), which was a way of saying it was too garish, too American-ish like Superman or Disney. Historically, the samurai went from being warriors to traveling performers, learning performance magic, & slowly evolving, in time, into the superheroes of Japanese culture that we know today. I learned all this from the quick & illuminating essay by Ryan Holmberg in he back of the book. ‘Erotic’ & ‘grotesque’ seem to me to go a bit far, but ‘nonsense’ hits the nail on the head.
And for the Kids….
Who knew New York Review Books had a kids section? We do now! Let’s Go Swimming with Mr. Sillypants is a delightful little book where Mr. Sillypants almost lets his fear of trying something new — swimming — get the better of him, but through a dream sequence where he pictures it, he finds the first step is the power of positive thinking, & a general sense of curiosity. What would it like to be a fish? It’s worth considering. And how refreshing to see a book illustrated by hand, without the aid of digital software. How tiresome is the slick look of the digitally-produced works that are everywhere now. Give me the charming markers & watercolors of M.K. Brown any day!
—Cowboy Books
Images courtesy of New York Review Books.