News

[ad_1] Thanks to the anime Lycoris Recoil, an unusually beautiful Japanese flower is gaining media attention on either side of the Pacific: the higanbana[1]. But the love comes with a warning. It all started when a well-known animator for Lycoris Recoil[2], Ukiashi, posted a striking interstitial (or “eye-catch”) of two characters smoking higanbana on his Twitter account this past week. For context, …

Don’t Smoke This Flower, Warns Staff of Popular Anime Read More »

[ad_1] A Tokyo doctor was arrested under suspicion of administering false COVID-19 vaccines, forging vaccine paperwork, and defrauding the government for vaccine-related commission payments. He was taken into custody by the Second Investigative Unit of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police on September 12. His trial is currently unscheduled. Funaki Takenori, age 51, served as the director …

Tokyo Doctor Arrested for Dummy Vaccines, Forging Documents Read More »

[ad_1] Common perception of the Edo period of Japanese history focuses on the era’s strict feudal structure, portraying women as powerless and completely subservient to their husbands and fathers. However, this commonly accepted view may not be as true as initially thought, especially regarding the subject of divorce. While only men could legally initiate divorces, …

Was Divorce in Japan’s Edo Era Easy? Read More »

[ad_1] Now that Japan is opening up again (sort of), Tokyo’s museums are getting ready to welcome a new flood of eager tourists. While many set their sights on more art-based establishments like the Yayoi Kusama Museum or the Studio Ghibli Museum, those more interested in science and oddities may be inclined to visit somewhere …

Bill Gates and the Revival of the Meguro Parasitological Museum Read More »

[ad_1] Take a stroll through a Japanese city, and you’ll come face to face with any number of loan words from non-Japanese languages. Some you’ll experience visually, written out in the katakana phonetic characters often employed for foreign-originating words. カフェ (kafe, cafe), レストラン (resutoran, restaurant), and the hybrid パン屋 (pan-ya, bakery) stick out among many …

Mama, Papa: How the Japanese Words for Parents Lost Out to English Read More »

[ad_1] I’ll never forget watching coverage of a crazed driver plow into a crowd of anti-white supremacist protesters in Virginia[1]. I was in Japan, preparing to dance in an obon festival and staying with my 65-year-old senpai who’d turned the TV on after dinner (and interestingly, Japanese news often covers American current events). “We’re so …

Japanese Basketball Stars Speak Out on “Daily” Racism Read More »

[ad_1] For years, Japan has been in possession of what many regard as the first extant writing from the nation’s history. However, new work by a research team in the city of Nara sheds some major doubt on that claim. What was once thought to be “ancient writing,” they’ve concluded, seems like an all-too-modern phenomenon. …

Japan’s “Oldest Known Writing” is Just Permanent Marker: Experts Read More »

[ad_1] The journey toward equality for the LGBTQ+ community in Japan has been something of a ping-pong match over the past few years. The country has indeed taken steps toward inclusion and equal rights, such as the recent establishment of the partnership system of same-sex couples. But just when we think we’re beginning to see …

Tokyo Court Denies Transgender Parent Legal Rights To Own Child Read More »

[ad_1] Karōshi (過労死) is a Japanese term that has entered the English lexicon, meaning death from overwork. It conjures images of the archetypal salaryman, working long hours at his white-collar desk job. This white-collar, male image is of course not the entirety of karōshi. It ought to be questioned, both for us as individuals as …

Japanese Woman’s “Death by Housework” Goes Unacknowledged Read More »

[ad_1] Action maven David Leitch’s Bullet Train is the best Tarantino clone of 2004. Only problem is, the film released in 2022. I just returned from a late-night showing of the film, which recently opened here in Tokyo. As with most Hollywood offerings that happen to take place in Japan, local advertising has made much …

‘Bullet Train’ is Fantasyland-Japan Action Pulp Read More »