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Michael Thuresson

Tokyo-Based Author

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New edition of The Salaryman

“Thoroughly entertaining…Astute”

– The Japan Times

Want to know more about Japanese culture? Fan of fish-out-of-water stories? You’re going to love this uproarious romp as author Michael Thuresson reveals his stumbles and bumbles as he navigates his way through Tokyo’s corporate “salaryman” culture.

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THE SALARYMAN SERIES

THE SALARYMAN (book edition)

Second edition available soon in paperback and eBook formats.

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English
Manga

THE SALARYMAN (manga edition)

Short eBook comic based on the book.

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日本の漫画

アメリカン サラリーマン (漫画) 

本に基づく短い電子ブック漫画エピソード。

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BOOK REVIEWS

“Thoroughly entertaining…astute…A true insider’s look at corporate Japan.”
The Japan Times
“Fun, digestible and relatable”
Tokyo Weekender
“Excellent portrayal of just how shocking culture shock can be”
Rochelle Kopp, Author of more than 30 Japan books
“Made me laugh out loud…exposing the underside of Japanese business”
Japan Intercultural Consulting
“An excellent read”
Japan Insider
“Introduces the average salaryman life in a comic, interesting and entertaining way”
Books on Asia
“Exhilarating, funny, yet very insightful take on Japan”
Sumie Kawakami, Author of Goodbye Madame Butterfly

COMING SOON! An American salaryman’s senryu poetry book

Salarymanhood

Senryu are a type of traditional Japanese poem, similar to haiku with their three-line/17-syllable structure except they focus on human foibles rather than on nature. Salarymanhood distills the world depicted in Michael Thuresson’s book, The Salaryman, into 50 manga-illustrated, original senryu. Each poem is in both English and Japanese, and shows real-life Japan situations such as:

How a nosy Japanese neighbor guesses that Michael is unemployed by a change in the beer cans he puts in the recycling bin

The way a certain type of Japanese summer businesswear causes unruly reactions from a certain part of the male anatomy

A surprising discovery during a stay at a cheap business hotel that was converted from a love hotel

Illustrated by manga artist Kazuhiro Yoshida and translated by the Japanese comedian Meshida, this poetry book is a must-have for anyone looking to laugh and learn about life in Japan.

 

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Meet Michael Thuresson

Author of books, manga and more

Michael Thuresson is based in Tokyo and hails from Chicago. He was a journalist in Los Angeles before he moved to Japan and became a Tokyo white-collar warrior in 2008. His first book, The Salaryman, was the result of that experience.

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