Photographs are everywhere. Every cell phone has a camera stuffed into it. Selfies and photos in general are so ubiquitous that they often lack impact. Even the most stunning photos make us shrug and click on to the next website. But if we stop and consider photos, they are a marvel. Photography captures a moment…
Author: Chris Kincaid
Japanese Love for Vending Machines: A Brief History
You probably expect me to talk about Japan’s infamous panty vending machines. Alright, alright. I will, but there is more to the story. Did you know vending machines were once considered a threat to Japanese tradition? Do you know why Japan historically has the densest concentration of vending machines in the world? Beyond panties and…
Influenced By – I: Daoism and Onmyōdō
This was written by the guest writer, Jasmin Influenced by: Daoism and Onmyōdō With this post, I’d like to start a new series in which I want to consider the use of religious tropes and images in either well-known or current Anime. Since I am a self-confessed lover of monsters and magic, this first blog…
Oshibori: More than a Hand Towel
Japan has a long history of puppets. In the last 70 years, a new type of puppet has appeared, made from chopsticks and oshibori. Oshibori are damp hand towels given to guests at restaurants. The towels are used to clean hands and in Kitakyushu, entertain businessmen. Going out for drinks after work with colleagues is a part…
A Carp Teaches Perseverance to a Painter
Between the years 1750 and 1760 there lived in Kyoto a great painter named Okyo-Maruyama Okyo. His paintings were such as to fetch high prices even in those days. Okyo had not only many admirers in consequence, but had also many pupils who strove to copy his style; among them was one named Rosetsu, who…
The World’s First Novel: The Tale of Genji
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…