After some work, I’ve finished a much-needed layout change and tweaked a lot of background code. Hopefully, it will make JP load faster for mobile readers. Google recently started downranking websites that violate their CoreVitals framework. JP failed the framework test. The tweaks have JP around 90-95% compliant now, up from around 70%. It will…
Category: Culture
JAXA, The Japanese NASA
JAXA, or The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, formed in 2003 with the mergers of the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, the National Aerospace Laboratory, and the National Space Development Agency of Japan. The new agency began with the launch of several observational satellites and the ambitious Hayabusa mission. Hayabusa’s goal was to study Itokawa,…
Basho’s Travel Memoir, “The Narrow Road of the Interior”
Matsuo Basho is known for his haiku, poetry consisting of 17 syllables divided into lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables. However, he is also famous for his travel memoirs, especially The Narrow Road of the Interior. Basho (1644-1694) was the son of a minor samurai and studied poetry, Zen Buddhism, Chinese learning, history, and Japanese literature….
5 Books Lovers of Japan Need to Read
The following list of books are must reads for those who are interested in Japanese culture, anime, and manga. This list focuses on important events and sections of Japanese culture that anime doesn’t examine. Hidden Horrors: Japanese War Crimes in World War II by Yuki Tanaka Tanaka examines little-discussed crimes against humanity Japan did against…
Ancient Appreciation for Objects: A Lesson for Modern Life
Recently, I cleaned out my wardrobe. I pulled two large garbage bags of clothes to donate. I don’t need a month’s worth of clothes that I don’t wear. However, I felt a strange reluctance to donate them. I’m attached to some because they were gifts. While I sorted, some Japanese and Ainu folklore came…
Japanese Professional Wrestling: Strong Style
Strong Style is the most common type of professional wrestling. It came from a disagreement in approach between the wrestlers Antonio Inoki and Shohei Baba. Inoki founded New Japan Pro Wrestling, which focused on what came to be called Strong Style. Baba founded All Japan Pro Wrestling with its focus on what came to be…