Whether of high rank or low, whether old or young, people die. If enlightened they die; if unenlightened, they die. Indeed everyone must die….Although everyone knows that they will die, they think they themselves will die only after everyone else has died, and they don’t consider the fact the their death may come at any…
The Yamato Dynasty by Sterling and Peggy Seagrave
The Yamato Dynasty traces the Japanese imperial family from Emperor Meiji and the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate to Akihito. As you can imagine, most of the book centers on Emperor Hirohito. After all, he was Japan’s longest-serving emperor. To the authors’ credit, they spend a nice number of words on more obscure aspects of…
The World of the Shining Prince by Ivan Morris
In order to understand works like The Tale of Genji, you have to understand the historical context. Ivan Morris’s book The World of the Shining Prince sketches enough of this background for you to understand what Murasaki took for granted. Morris covers every aspect of Heian society from food and superstitions to the relationship practices…
The Maiden of the Screen, An Old Folktale That Parallels Modern Dating Culture
Lafcadio Hearn was an American journalist who, along with Basil Hall Chamberlain, collected and wrote down Japan’s folktales. While many Japanese, in the past, had also recorded various folktales, it wasn’t until Westerners took an interest in Japanese folklore the keepers of this cultural oral tradition began be given a long shift. Hearn and Chamberlain…
Redo of Healer: Edge and Reviled Revenge Revel
As I get older, I find myself growing sensitive to violence in stories. Saw never used to trouble me; it does now. Redo of Healer troubled me with its violence and sexual abuse. The version of the anime I watched was censored, but that censorship made the rape and violence even worse. Redo of Healer…
What Do Livestreamers, Politicians, and Waifus have in Common?
To answer the title’s question in two words: parasocial relationships. Okay, you can return to your regularly scheduled livestream! Parasocial relationships (PSR) are a common part of media consumption for many, so much that few of us stop and think about it. These types of relations extend to celebrities, politicians, livestreamers, and even fictional characters…