Back in the 11th century, a Japanese woman wrote the world’s first modern novel. The novel remained unknown in the West until after the Meiji Restoration and the rise of modernism in literature. In 1925, Arthur Waley’s translation of the work released, shocking novelists of the time (Phillips, 2010). The Tale of Genji stands as…
Year: 2016
US Clown Scare, Ghost in the Shell’s Laughing Man Incident?
You may have heard on the news (do people still watch the news?) about murderous clowns rampaging across the US. Okay, not really rampaging, but people are genuinely scared. These clowns are reportedly terrorizing and assaulting people. Actually, there’ve been few assaults, but fear beats reason most of the time. In any case, this clown…
The History of Cosplay
Cosplay sits as the best-known expressions of anime and manga fandom. Each year, fans spend countless hours designing and sewing their costumes and perfecting their impersonations. Many view cosplay, a contraction of costume play, as a Japanese import. However, like anime, cosplay comes from the interplay of American and Japanese culture. What Exactly is Cosplay?…
Top 4 Strangest Things about Japanese Culture
Okay, the title of this post is click bait, but from a Western perspective, Japan is strange. Most lists focus on the rare oddities of Japanese culture like panty fetishes, vending machines, and game shows. Let’s approach the topic from a different angle. There are some strange aspects of Japanese culture that go beyond the…
Musings VII: On Monkeys in Japanese Culture.
Story: Three in the Morning, Four in the Evening. In the times of the Song Dynasty[i] in China lived a man they called Sokō, which means monkey trainer. He loved monkeys and reared a whole horde of them at his house. Sokō understood the monkey’s minds quite well, and likewise the monkeys understood their master….
One Punch Man Impressions
Who knew boredom and apathy could be so entertaining? One Punch Man, so far, has plenty of all three. Saitama approaches superheroing as a hobby. What’s his main problem as a part-time superhero? Outside of supervillains attacking during grocery store sales, Saitama struggles with being too powerful. One Punch Man explores what happens when a…