Category Archives: culture

Fun Link Friday: Pop-up Kirigami

Posted on July 14, 2017 by Paula

Though I don’t speak French, I couldn’t resist posting this as a fun link when I came across the video online at golem 13: Nakamura Haruki, an expert in kirigami (paper cutting), has come up with incredibly adorable animal creations that literally … Continue reading →

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Book Announcement: Individuality in Early Modern Japan: Thinking for Oneself

Posted on July 9, 2017 by Paula

Individuality in Early Modern Japan: Thinking for Oneself By Peter Nosco Two of the most commonly alleged features of Japanese society are its homogeneity and its encouragement of conformity, as represented by the saying that the nail that sticks up … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: The Most Loyal Cat in Japan

Posted on July 7, 2017 by Travis

Unrelated cat photo taken by Travis at Yanaka Cemetery in Tokyo, June 2013. Louise Hung is an American writer currently living in Japan. Her latest post on The Order of the Good Death, entitled “Paying my respects to the most … Continue reading →

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Book Announcement: Cold War Encounters in US-Occupied Okinawa: Women, Militarized Domesticity, and Transnationalism in East Asia

Posted on July 2, 2017 by Paula

Cold War Encounters in US-Occupied Okinawa: Women, Militarized Domesticity, and Transnationalism in East Asia Mire Koikari Cambridge University Press. 235 Pages. Paperback Publication Date: June 1, 2017. ISBN-13: 978-1107438811. Cold War Encounters recasts the US occupation of Okinawa as a … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Samurai Tradition in Modern Photography

Posted on June 30, 2017 by Paula

All over Japan, cities, towns, and villages seek to capture their traditions in a variety of ways. Whether it is promoting the local food, celebrating a local festival, or just remembering the deep traditions and past that are a part … Continue reading →

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Book Announcement: Zen and Material Culture

Posted on June 25, 2017 by Paula

Zen and Material Culture Edited by Pamela D. Winfield and Steven Heine Oxford University Press, 2017 https://global.oup.com/academic/product/zen-and-material-culture-9780190469306?lang=en&cc=us The stereotype of Zen Buddhism as a minimalistic or even immaterial meditative tradition persists in the Euro-American cultural imagination. This volume calls attention … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: From Mud to Kimono

Posted on June 23, 2017 by Paula

How do some of the most beautiful and valuable kimono get made? The BBC Arts series Handmade in Japan recently traced this process from start to finish at the island of Amami Oshima, which is famous for producing a specific and … Continue reading →

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Book Announcement: Life course, Happiness and Well-being in Japan

Posted on June 18, 2017 by Paula

Holthus, B. and Manzenreiter, W. eds. 2017. Life course, Happiness and Well-being in Japan London/New York. Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/Life-Course-Happiness-and-Well-being-in-Japan/Holthus-Manzenreiter/p/book/9781138290594 https://www.amazon.com/Happiness-Well-being-Institute-Routledge-Japanese/dp/1138290599. This book investigates the connections between sociostructural aspects, individual agency and happiness in contemporary Japan from a life course perspective. For the … Continue reading →

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Book Announcement: The History Problem: The Politics of War Commemoration in East Asia

Posted on June 11, 2017 by Paula

The History Problem: The Politics of War Commemoration in East Asia Saito, Hiro University of Hawaii Press, December 2016, 264pp. For more information, please visit http://www.uhpress.hawaii.edu/p-9697-9780824856748.aspx. Seventy years have passed since the end of the Asia-Pacific War, yet Japan remains … Continue reading →

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Fun Link Friday: Pigeon Heels

Posted on June 9, 2017 by LM

If you haven’t seen the Pigeon Heels posts going around in English-language media semi-uncredited, you’re in for a treat. Here are the original Japanese posts by Keiko Otsuhata (as known as Keiko Ohata), who created a pair of shoes that looked like … Continue reading →

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