12/19/2008

Of course in Japanese-English, “Oily Boy” is not greaser or kinky sex act but a compliment; and, a “mook” is not a asshole adolescent but a magazine-book. Read more…

Fashion Guidance for Aging Japanese Lads
Slick Magazine Entices Young-at-Heart ‘Elder Boys’ to Trade a Little Cash for a Lot of Cool
December 17, 2008 – The Washington Post– …OilyBoy a slick new magazine designed to excite consumption among “elder boys.”
Weathered, wrinkled and bald though they may be, the aging Japanese lads who read OilyBoy are still out on the town, drinking. Or up in the mountains, backpacking. Or down at the beach, surfing….

Now for the rest-of-the-story…
The Washington Post article goes on to explain about the reason for the weirdly, unattractive name of the magazine OilyBoy was, “the nickname of the late Jiro Shirasu, once the coolest guy in Japan.” Old OilyBoy was a real player—six foot tall, wealth, and supremely self confident, he spoke with at Cambridge University accent and bombed around Tokyo in the the city’s only Porsche and Bentley. He used English and slick style to help negotiate the terms of the U.S. occupation. Basically, “OilyBoy” Shirasu translations shaped the new Japanese constitution after WWII.

He was also known as dandy hence the reason for naming the style bible cum magazine-book, “OilyBoy.” Even in his 80s he still considered himself a player as described by Japan’s premiere fashion designer, Issey Miyake in his 2006 Kyoto Prize Commemorative Lecture…(PDF)
… “Jiro Shirasu, who has recently received a great deal of media coverage. He was a very good friend of mine [Issey Miyake] and often dropped into my office to see me. However, I imagine what he really wanted was not to see me, but to invite this lady on the right out to dinner.”

We will be hearing a lot more about OilyBoy since the Japanese public broadcaster, NHK, will be playing a period drama based on the life of Jiro Shirasu that will be broadcast starting Saturday, January 17, 2009 for three weeks, 9:00 to 10:29.