Japan’s novelist Natsume Soseki remains relevant for us today. Soseki grew up during the upheaval after the fall of the Shogun and the rise of the Meiji period. He numbered among the first Japanese to live in a Westernized Japan. His experiences of modernization mirror what we experience today with our own transition into attentionization,…
Category: Culture
Anime and Manga’s Buff Men and Male Body Image
Much has been said about the impact of commercial images of women with rare or impossible body shapes. Despite all the analysis, little has been done to change this problem. Frankly, it’s because dissatisfied people consume more. If you like who you are, you don’t buy as much makeup, diet plans, gadgets, gizmos, cars, and…
Reveling in the Ridiculous: Anime is Tame
Despite how odd anime and manga appears, with their fan service and visual language and odd stories, they’re tame compared to Japan’s literature. I spend a fair bit of time beating up on fan-service, but fan-service doesn’t compare to shunga and the woodblock print books from the Edo period. Manga has roots in ukiyo-e, or…
Income Inequality Lessons from the Edo Period
Income inequality has been a world-wide concern in recent years. But it isn’t anything new. Unequal distribution of wealth has appeared across history, and we can look toward these periods for lessons. For example, the Italian Renaissance was funded by what we would today call the 1%. Families like the Medici lavished their wealth on…
My Sumo Foray — A Sport I Can Actually Enjoy Watching
I’m not one for sports. American football puts me to sleep. Football–soccer–does the same. I’ve never really found a sport I could get into. Too many commercial breaks. Too many rules. I’m a bit soured to sports because of the focus my hometown placed on basketball and American football. The arts were always cut before…
Understanding Japanese Talismans, Amulets, and Good-luck Charms
Talismans, amulets, and good-luck charms appear throughout anime. Japan isn’t unique for having these–every culture has their own version–but Japanese charms have become a bit more international with their appearance in manga and anime. Some work similar to the American lucky-rabbit’s foot. Others are rather different. Talismans and other charms overlap with toys in Japanese…