japanamerica

http://monkeybusinessmag.tumblr.com/post/21717850203/monkey-2-springs-forth-in-tokyo-nyc

Visit the new website & blog here . Facebook page is here . Digital editions forthcoming. Events MAY 6  JAPAN/AMERICA: WRITERS' DIALOGUE Asia Society will once again join with  Monkey Business  to present an American-Japanese literary dialogue in conjunction with the PEN World Voices International Festival. Writers Masatsugu Ono and Tomoka Shibasaki—both featured in  MBI 2 —will be joined by Stuart Dybek and Kelly Link for an intriguing and original cross-cultural encounter facilitated by the eminent translators and co-editors of MBI, Ted Goossen and Motoyuki Shibata. Followed by a book sale and signing. More information  here . Posted on March 1, 2012 |  Comment  |  Permalink Events MAY 6  JAPAN NIGHT AT JOE'S PUB Live from Tokyo, it's "Japan Night @ Joe's Pub," a unique and very special transcultural evening of readings, music, and live performances in the heart of downtown Manhattan. Revered Japanese ...

This week's shoot for the BBC with Stacey Dooley, font of charm: [photos by Lisa Kato]

My comments to author and critic Charles Solomon on Pokemon 's 15th birthday and the series' critical role in the spread of anime and Japanese pop culture in the West--in the Los Angeles Times : ‘Pokémon’ at 15: Success is still in the cards, films and TV shows After 15 years, 700 TV episodes and 14 feature films, Ash Ketchum and millions of kids are still trying to catch ‘em all. In April 1997, the animated version of “Pokémon” premiered on Japanese television. Based on the hit Nintendo Game Boy title introduced two years earlier, the series follows the travels and travails of Ketchum (Satoshi in the original) as he tries to become a Pokémon Master by building a team that can beat other trainers in stylized battles. Traveling with Ash are perennially love-sick Brock, feisty Misty and Pikachu, the “electric mouse” Pokémon. The series scored a huge hit in Japan, and by 1999 the game and show had conquered America. Pokémon paraphernalia were everywhere. The original ...

[courtesy Yuko Matsukawa]

Video interview with Keith Kawamura for Crunchyroll's "The Live Show."  We discussed Japan post-3/11, my recent trip to Ishinomaki, one of the hardest hit municipalities in Tohoku, northern Japan, the virtues of living in Japan, and, of course, Japanamerica .  Keith was in a studio in San Francisco; I was in Tokyo. And we were live at the time.  My segment starts @ around 26:00. Video link is here .