Below is the first chapter from my newest book Tamamo. If you like what you read, you can buy the ebook or paperback on Amazon. The story takes place in an alternative Heian period. Here’s the blurb: Tamamo grew up in the imperial court, where the space between words mattered more than the words themselves,…
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Of Boys and Men
I’ve often written about the struggles of men here on JP. Japan leads the United States and the West when it comes to social problems. This also applies to man’s issues to a good degree. Japanese men have a high rate of suicide and a high rate of men becoming hikikomori. Lately, the US has…
Understanding the Fairy Tale “The Lady Who Loved Insects”
The Lady Who Loved Insects is a charming short story set in the Heian period. The story follows a young noble woman who has intellectual interests, such as studying insects, in a society where women were supposed to be wives and sometimes poets. The Lady Who Loved Insects can be found in The Riverside Middle…
Geishas and the Floating World: Inside Tokyo’s Yoshiwara Pleasure District
Geishas and the Floating World by Stephen and Ethel Longstreet examines the history and development of Tokyo’s red-light district of Yoshiwara. The name of the book misleads a little. Most of the book focuses upon the prostitutes that worked Yoshiwara. The authors note that geisha weren’t sex workers, but geisha did blur the line as…
No More Wars: the Edo Period’s Final Rebellions
After Japan was unified under Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and finished with Tokugawa Ieyasu, the Tokugawa government declared there would be no more wars. The final war is a two-part rebellion of Christian samurai, farmers, and other impoverished people. The second part of the rebellion remains the best remembered because of how it ended in…
Examining Animation: Marin’s Embarrassment
During one scene in My Dress-up Darling, Marin stands in a bikini while Wakana takes her measurements so he can make her cosplay outfits. At one point, Marin’s self-control breaks down and her embarrassment bursts forth. Let’s look at this little scene’s animation. I will be working with an animated gif that I’ve exploded into…