Long, long ago, when all the animals could talk, there lived in the province of Inaba in Japan, a little white hare. His home was on the island of Oki, and just across the sea was the mainland of Inaba. Now the hare wanted very much to cross over to Inaba. Day after day he…
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…
Sword Art Online II – Thoughts on Social Technology
Not since Ghost in the Shell has an anime series stirred my inner technologist. Sword Art Online plays with some of the same ideas as Ghost but in the opposite direction. Instead of only pulling people into the digital realm SAO plays with the idea of pulling the virtual world into ours. At first, I…
Another Revolution around the Sun
Our little blue rock has revolved around the sun successfully yet again. It’s been an eventful year for me personally and for JP. On a personal note, I managed to finish my first masters degree in Library and Information Science. Now I just need to find a professional level library job. JP has come a…
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…
Is Otaku Culture Sexist?
So is it? Is otaku culture sexist? Yes. Kinda. Depends. It’s a loaded question that depends on what aspects of otaku culture you are considering and how those aspects are being considered. But what exactly is otaku culture? What is sexism? Sketching a Definition of Otaku Culture Otaku culture is tough to pin down. Does…