It afflicts women in their 50s and 60s. It moves into their homes and makes demands on time, autonomy, and every aspect of daily life. The retired husband. Japanese women of the baby boomer generation struggle with Retired Husband Syndrome (shujin zaitaku sutoresu skokogun). This syndrome is characterized by common symptoms caused by the added…
Category: Culture
Samurai Baseball: A Look at the History of Japanese Baseball
“…there will never be a war with Japan.” –Connie Mack “…hope every Jap that mentions my name gets shot – and to hell with all Japs anyway.” — Babe Ruth In 1853, Admiral Commodore Matthew Perry forced Japan to open to the United States. Just 20 years later, baseball crossed the Pacific. Japan has not…
Life Lessons from the Captain: White Day
White Day, or Opposite Day, is a holiday started by bakeries in Japan to stimulate business. It is held on March 14th. Where the ladies give giri (polite, obligation) and honmei (what we would consider true valentines) chocolates on Valentine’s Day, White Day sees the guys return the gesture. Guys are expected to give gifts…
Shigeru Miyamoto: A Sketch
Most Americans don’t consider Mario to be Japanese. His plumber’s (construction worker) overalls look all American. Yet, behind the famous mustache is a Japanese man. Shigeru Miyamoto created three of the most well known video game franchises: Super Mario Bros, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid. You’d think he would be a video game player,…
Japanese Cults–Koji Takahashi and the Life Space Movement
Japan, like any other country, has its share of odd religious movements. Better known as cults, these groups live on the fringes of society, preying on people who find themselves in a vulnerable position in life. In the last twenty or thirty years, Japan has become a fertile breeding ground for cults and fringe religions…
Worked to Death–Karoshi and Japan’s Deadly Work Culture
The Japanese are infamous for their ability to take things to bizarre extremes. From festivals that look more like riots to pimped out long haul semi-trucks, their capacity for strangeness seems to know no bounds. Reasons for this are hard to pin down, but they might in part be attributed to another well worn stereotype–that…