Magic of Japan

[Guest]

To this day, Japanese magic never ceases to fascinate me. Their magic is so unique and different that if they were to be classified as a genre in magic, along with stage magic, parlor magic, or close up magic, I wouldnt be at all surprised. What makes their magic so unique, in my opinion, is their ability to take common props such as cards or coins and take them to an entirely different level than what most of us would expect. And it is for this very reason that separates their magic from the West. Another strong factor for the success of Japanese magic is that their magic is short, to the point, easy to follow, and packs a huge punch at the end. In my definition, this is exactly how magic is ought to be.

This video contains 10 of some of the most innovative Japanese items I have come across in various resources from seven of Japans finest magicians. Among the 10 items I presented, Lie Detector, Card Printing, and Tokyo Penetration are ideal examples in which Japanese magicians brand of thinking and construction are fully achieved.

As Max Maven said in the July 1994 issue of Genii, The technical quality of Japanese magic was always very high; far above that of the west, as the Japanese are more diligent when it comes to investing effort in practice and rehearsal. Although I do not guarantee that my technical quality is as high as the Japaneses, I do hope that you will be able to capture the essence of Japanese magic that I am trying to send across in my video.

Best,
Charles
(About the video: The scene near the end of the video is a footage I captured during my visit to Kobe, Japan (Rokko Island) in 2006. The reason I included it in the video is because it has relevance to Japan and it provides a good ending.)

PS: Items from Genii
- Torn and Restored 2000 (May 2000)
- Tokyo Penetration (December 1987)
- Pack-In-The-Box (February 1989)

[Ian Kendall]

Here's the missing link...

http://www.veoh.com/videos/v360760ZmbGsfmX

Take care, Ian

[Guest]

My Bad!!! I posted very late last night and I forgot the link!!! (Somehow it got lost while I copied and pasted it from the cafe!)

Thanks Ian,

Enjoy!

[MitchSchneiter]

Charles - Very nice. There are certainly some interesting effects by Japanese magicians. It would be nice to see more printed in English.
By the way, I notice you are posting from Taiwan. I graduated from TAS (quite a while ago). My sister and her family still live there.

[Guest]

Wow! I am currently a junior in TAS. Nice to hear that you once studied in TAS too! :D

Best,
Charles

[Guest]

Wow! Watching this is like being a kid again. I'm grining from ear to ear... thanks for sharing this extraordinary video! :)

[MitchSchneiter]

Charles - I graduated from the old TAS campus. My sister's kids are all attending TAS now. I'll have to return to Taiwan again sometime, it's been too long.

[Guest]

I just attempted to watch your video, and it stopped at 13 seconds. The Ton Onasaka quote was on the screen but the counter jumped back to 0:00. Anyone else having problems viewing?