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Showing posts from September, 2011

1Q84 by haruki murakami

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On Donald Richie's latest, "Viewed Sideways"

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Seen from afar: An outside view of the 'real' Japan Donald Richie has been writing on Japan for 60 years, but which Japan? @ CNNgo It’s almost impossible for the English-language reader with an abiding interest in Japan to avoid Donald Richie. You may find him in print through his copious newspaper columns and reviews, his several wide-ranging books on Japan, assaying subjects as seemingly disparate as film, gardens, Zen and the Inland Sea, or his forays into fiction. If you live or stay in Tokyo for a stretch, you may also find him in the flesh. Last time I checked, the 87-year-old Richie was still very much a man-about-town, appearing frequently to give readings and talks at foreigner-friendly venues in the heart of the city. Little wonder: Richie has been living in Tokyo since the late 1940s and writing about Japan for nearly as long. You’d be hard-pressed to find an expat writer in town with greater seniority. Fuzziness encroaching? But seniority ta

Monkey Business takes Canada! 9/9, 12, 13

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Please join us in Toronto : Japanese and Canadian Writers: The Canadian launch of Monkey Business: New Writing from Japan International Edition (English language) Friday, 9 September 2011   6:30 p.m. at The Japan Foundation, Toronto Two wide-ranging dialogues celebrating the launch of the English edition of the Japanese literary magazine,  Monkey Business International . Featured will be novelists  Hiromi Kawakami  and  Eric McCormack  and poets  Minoru Ozawa  and  Rob Winger . The event will be conducted in English and Japanese (with English Interpretation) Location: The Japan Foundation, Toronto Address: 131 Bloor Street West, 2nd floor of the Colonnade                 416.966.1600         Admission: Free RSVP:  www.jftor.org/whatson/rsvp.php  or (416) 966-1600 x103 Hiromi Kawakami Hiromi Kawakami has written nine novels and several short story collections. She won the prestigious Akutagawa Prize in 1996 for  Hebi wo Fumu  (Tread on a Snake); in 2000 she won the

Keith

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http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b0140jmj

anime boston

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From Asia to the world

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Writer Jenny Uechi on the growing global popularity of Asian Pop Culture (online @TheGeorgiaStraight ): Popular culture moves from east to west  Comments (2)    By  Jenny Uechi ,  September 1, 2011 Taiwanese actor Jay Chou is just one of the many East Asian stars making a big splash in the western world. Special coverage Telus TaiwanFest 2011 It isn’t mainstream yet, but East Asia seems to be slowly nipping at the heels of the U.S. as the world’s cultural epicentre. Signs of change are subtle, but everywhere: giant Korean Hangul letters in “Check It Out”, a Nicki Minaj music video (the rapper also occasionally calls herself “Harajuku Barbie” in reference to a Tokyo fashion district); Taiwanese singer  Jay Chou  starring opposite Seth Rogan in  The Green Hornet ; and Japanese pop star Gackt teaming up with Josh Hartnett in the Hollywood action movie  Bunraku , which will be released in Canadian theatres in September. A generation ago, East Asian consum

Japanamerica re-Kindled

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Japanamerica bumps #1 in the Animation category in Amazon's Kindle bookstore and # 16 in History & Criticism. Have no idea what that portends, if anything--but many thanks to Bryce Anderson for sending the alert and smart screen shots.