Spirited Away: Change for Good

One of my favorite movies of all time is "Spirited Away." It also happens to be my favorite Studio Ghibli film, well ahead of Howl's Moving Castle and My Neighbor Totoro (my 2nd and 3rd, respectively). I even wrote an essay on it for a Japanese class one semester and was convinced after watching it for the 50th time that there was some meaning to the food presented. This article from The Artifice reminded me of an essay I read to write my own essay. In this essay, Susan Napier states that the film is a reaction to globalization and its perceived threat to sustaining Japan's unique culture and national identity. And the imagery does show this. In the first few minutes, there are the cars, the roads, and the houses, all neat and modern. But the fictional world seems to be reminiscent of Japan from at least two hundred years ago, if not longer.

Peacemaker Kurogane and a Caricature of Ryoma Sakamoto

I have great interest in the ways that Japan depicts its history in modern media. While there are certainly mediums that strive for more historical accuracy, popular mediums like manga, anime and video games often take newer and more imaginative routes that give their audiences new ways to look at the past.

One example of an extravagant reimagining of historical figures can be found in the 1999 manga Peacemaker Kurogane by Nanae Chrono, which was later adapted into a 24 episode anime series in 2003. It follows the tale of two brothers who join the Shinsengumi during the Bakumatsu era, and features many historical figures who were involved in those turbulent years. The one I would like to highlight today is Ryoma Sakamoto.

Photograph of Ryoma Sakamoto

A History of Odd Games

Japanese video games are renown for their creativity as well as their incredible design teams. This achievement is one that is not a recent development. The Japanese video game culture has years of experience, both positive and...simply weird. This "Oddness" in some Japanese video games, in recent years, has become much more sanitized. However, in the earlier years, some pretty crazy games were made.

Learning Japanese Through Manga

Comic books are fun. Fun things are usually frowned upon in schools, especially public ones. But why does this have to be the case? 

It doesn’t.

Muko-nage

I had some trouble figuring out what to write first, but I found this very interesting article on the Mainichi website. According to Mainichi, there is an annual festival in Niigata where bridegrooms are thrown off a five meter slope into the snow at the Matsunoyama Onsen resort. These men were newly married, and the purpose of this festival is to receive the "wild blessing of locals." If one wants to get thrown, you actually have to apply.