Magic of Japan

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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 wouldn’t 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 the most innovative Japanese items I have come across in various resources from seven of Japan's finest magicians. Among the 10 items I presented, “Lie Detector,” “Card Printing,” and “Tokyo Penetration” are ideal examples in which Japanese magician’s 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 Japanese’s, 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 Hsu (aka msc455magic)