Edward C. Price won Honorable Mention during our Japanese Fairy Tale Contest. Once upon many years ago, in the far islands of Japan, a princess was born. Daughter of a brute but very wealthy man, she lived a noble life of seclusion. The princess was raised for the next fourteen years within the best possible…
Tag: japanese culture
Paris Syndrome
You step off the plane in the fabled City of Light. Paris. What do you do first? Find a cab? Book a hotel room? Jump in and visit the Louvre? If you are Japanese, your first visit may just well be the hospital. Between 12 and 20 Japanese tourists each year are overwhelmed by Paris…
Challenges of the Japanese Single Mother
50% of one-parent Japanese families live below the poverty line (Ichino, 2014). Japanese single mothers are one of those topics people do not talk about. Japanese society has a long history of divorce, but during the Meiji Restoration, divorce became a problem for women. The combination of strong family values and tax policies that support…
Mighty Atom and Tezuka’s Production System
Any series that looks at the most influential anime must talk about Osamu Tezuka’s Mighty Atom (Tetsuwan Atomu) or Astro Boy as we in the West know it. Astro Boy laid the groundwork for anime and manga storytelling, production, and all other aspects of the medium. While it was not the first Japanese animation, Tetsuwan…
What are Maid Cafes?
“Gokitaku hajimete desu ka?” She wears white stockings and lace, a fantasy in the flesh. You nod and say something vaguely affirmative. The server bows. Her petticoat and frilly pinafore are immaculate. You see just a hint of her garter. The other servers stop what they are doing and bow toward you. “Okaerinasai-mase goshujin-sama!” You…
Urashima Taro, the Fisher Lad
Long, long ago in the province of Tango there lived on the shore of Japan in the little fishing village of Mizu-no-ye a young fisherman named Urashima Taro. His father had been a fisherman before him, and his skill had more than doubly descended to his son, for Urashima was the most skillful fisher in…