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Thermae Romae
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Kenneth M. Lin
May 8, 2013, 1:49:20 AM5/8/13
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http://www.amazon.com/Thermae-Romae-Vol-Mari-Yamazaki/dp/0316229199
Just to be clear, in ancient Rome, Thermae was a facility for bathing.
Is anyone reading this manga? American might not relate well to the story
but I had a lot of laughs. An ancient Roman architect, Lucius, keeps
time-travel to modern Japan whenever he falls into a body of water. Despite
the obvious language barrier, he comes back with interesting insights and
ideas about designing bath houses.
The author is currently living in Chicago, where her (much younger) husband
works but she spent more than a decade in Europe so she has some good
insights.
Americans aren't known for long baths so I don't know how well this
translates but the author use bathing to connect Japan and ancient Roman
cultures and found many common grounds.
Lucius keeps referring to Japanese people as "flat-faced" and yet his
adventure in Japan is quite humorous. The story usually takes place while
he's contemplating a project. Then he falls into the water and wakes up
someone in Japan. He then goes back to Rome the same way.
Just to be clear, in ancient Rome, Thermae was a facility for bathing.
Is anyone reading this manga? American might not relate well to the story
but I had a lot of laughs. An ancient Roman architect, Lucius, keeps
time-travel to modern Japan whenever he falls into a body of water. Despite
the obvious language barrier, he comes back with interesting insights and
ideas about designing bath houses.
The author is currently living in Chicago, where her (much younger) husband
works but she spent more than a decade in Europe so she has some good
insights.
Americans aren't known for long baths so I don't know how well this
translates but the author use bathing to connect Japan and ancient Roman
cultures and found many common grounds.
Lucius keeps referring to Japanese people as "flat-faced" and yet his
adventure in Japan is quite humorous. The story usually takes place while
he's contemplating a project. Then he falls into the water and wakes up
someone in Japan. He then goes back to Rome the same way.
Bobbie Sellers
May 8, 2013, 2:57:13 AM5/8/13
to
On 05/07/2013 10:49 PM, Kenneth M. Lin wrote:
> http://www.amazon.com/Thermae-Romae-Vol-Mari-Yamazaki/dp/0316229199
>
> Just to be clear, in ancient Rome, Thermae was a facility for bathing.
>
> Is anyone reading this manga? American might not relate well to the
> story but I had a lot of laughs. An ancient Roman architect, Lucius,
> keeps time-travel to modern Japan whenever he falls into a body of
> water. Despite the obvious language barrier, he comes back with
> interesting insights and ideas about designing bath houses.
>
> The author is currently living in Chicago, where her (much younger)
> husband works but she spent more than a decade in Europe so she has some
> good insights.
>
> Americans aren't known for long baths so I don't know how well this
> translates but the author use bathing to connect Japan and ancient Roman
> cultures and found many common grounds.
We connect to Roman culture with our bizarre cult of gluttony.
> http://www.amazon.com/Thermae-Romae-Vol-Mari-Yamazaki/dp/0316229199
>
> Just to be clear, in ancient Rome, Thermae was a facility for bathing.
>
> Is anyone reading this manga? American might not relate well to the
> story but I had a lot of laughs. An ancient Roman architect, Lucius,
> keeps time-travel to modern Japan whenever he falls into a body of
> water. Despite the obvious language barrier, he comes back with
> interesting insights and ideas about designing bath houses.
>
> The author is currently living in Chicago, where her (much younger)
> husband works but she spent more than a decade in Europe so she has some
> good insights.
>
> Americans aren't known for long baths so I don't know how well this
> translates but the author use bathing to connect Japan and ancient Roman
> cultures and found many common grounds.
>
> Lucius keeps referring to Japanese people as "flat-faced" and yet his
> adventure in Japan is quite humorous. The story usually takes place
> while he's contemplating a project. Then he falls into the water and
> wakes up someone in Japan. He then goes back to Rome the same way.
Lucius would have been used to Roman noses and by Roman standards the
> Lucius keeps referring to Japanese people as "flat-faced" and yet his
> adventure in Japan is quite humorous. The story usually takes place
> while he's contemplating a project. Then he falls into the water and
> wakes up someone in Japan. He then goes back to Rome the same way.
people would seem to be deprived of nasal prominence.
bliss
Kenneth M. Lin
May 8, 2013, 11:05:25 PM5/8/13
to
"Bobbie Sellers" wrote in message news:kmcspo$g9e$1...@dont-email.me...
But it's funny considering that the author is Japanese.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermae_Romae
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mari_Yamazaki
http://yamazakimari.com/
Speaking of the author, Yamazaki Mari is quite a fascinating person. Her
mom let her travel to Europe at the age of fourteen all by herself. While
there she met an old artist from Italy and at the age of seventeen she went
back to Europe to study art and stayed there for eleven years with his help.
And somehow she began to draw manga when she went back to Japan using
materials from living abroad. She then ended up marrying the grandson of
the aforementioned old artist who is fourteen years younger than her few
years ago. She's currently living in Chicago due to her husband's work. Of
course, she's using Chicago as another source of materials.
http://www.amazon.co.jp/ヤマザキ-マリ/e/B003UWQLXA/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1
She's also doing an biography of Steve Jobs!
http://bookstore.yahoo.co.jp/スティーブ・ジョブズ-kodansha-kissmonthly001/shoshi-178436/;_ylt=A7dPJsgaEotRhS8BMQVowf17
Kenneth M. Lin
Aug 5, 2013, 2:59:44 PM8/5/13
to
I was at Kinokuniya on Sunday and they had Volume 1 and 2 of the hard-cover,
English version of Thermae Romae at around $34.00. The regular Japanese
paperback version was around eight dollars if you can read it.
English version of Thermae Romae at around $34.00. The regular Japanese
paperback version was around eight dollars if you can read it.
Bobbie Sellers
Aug 5, 2013, 4:51:03 PM8/5/13
to
1 & 2 into a single volume so it is still twice the price of the
untranslated manga.
bliss
Kenneth M. Lin
Aug 6, 2013, 11:28:56 AM8/6/13
to
"Bobbie Sellers" wrote in message news:ktp2rc$4jc$1...@dont-email.me...
Welcome to America. I used to laugh when Marvel Comics translated
Spider-Man manga and ends up charging several times as much because each
issue is only 32 pages and costs $3.50.
For example, Dark Horse publishes translated Berserk at $14.99 per volume.
In Japan each volume costs around 500 yen so if you add the almost 10% sales
tax, it costs three times as much to read the translated version.
Bobbie Sellers
Aug 6, 2013, 11:58:23 AM8/6/13
to
saves me lots of time as in translation I don't have to learn
the Japanese language. At 76 that saves me a lot of time. I do miss
not being able to buy the Japanese version at closer to a reasonable
price. But the prices of most of the US generated books and magazines
I would like to buy cost a ridiculous amount compared to the time I
got interested in them. When I was a kid comics books were a dime i.e.
10 cents. I could turn in soda pop bottles for the deposit and use the
2 cent deposit money to get comics. Have you checked the prices on US
comics lately. In part the change is due to the inflationary pressures
over 66 years but part of it is due to greed. When the ecologically
unsound practices of the paper production facilities were halted paper
became in shorter supply as the makers saw a chance for greater profits
by reducing production. This is little different from the low quotas
for medical students which produces fewer physicians to care for the
masses and raises the prices the doctors can charge for their services.
Other reasons for the higher prices is that everything the workers who
produced these translations and choose which books to translate have to
buy to live costs more here than overseas. So their wages have to be
higher.
Now if I was young I would learn Japanese and participate in the
fan translation and subtitling hobbies. I think the fan work is why the
Japanese manga are so popular and the real problem is for the fans to
raise their remuneration at their regular jobs high enough that the cost
of an anime or manga is reasonable. Otherwise you have to limit the
total number of series you follow in paper which I have done. In
addition to manga I read lots of Science Fiction and Fantasy in great
long books that are nearly too heavy for me to carry home or to hold up
to read.
Thanks for the conversation, Kenneth.
bliss
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