Here’s an obscure little ditty from a 1964 issue of Newsweek magazine — a mini-spotlight on Japan’s ninja boom as part of the international round-up section of the issue. Presented here in it’s entirety for your reading pleasure:
Note the text here is referring to You Only Live Twice the novel, not the film that would be a few years off still (read about both in depth here).
Brief as this piece is, the picture it paints is alluring indeed. Products for every age group, over 200 different books on shelves… man oh man what I wouldn’t do for one of those Corn Flakes boxes!
Here’s a closer look at those inset photos:
Sadly, there’s not much more…
Twenty years later, I’d be mirroring that juvenile delinquent’s “abnormal hobby” myself, sans the castle grounds of course. An absolutely amazing anecdote to finish this off.
I’ve been collecting these rare pre-80s English-language articles and features off and on for the past few years, and will be posting more in the future. Stay tuned…
KR — November 2024
