japanamerica

[I broke my shoulder a couple of months ago and that slowed output considerably. Am on the mend now.] Japan once led global tech innovation. How did it fall so behind? When I first moved to Japan in the late 1990s, Japan’s technological achievements were envied. In 2001, at a book launch in New York, I recorded a video of fellow revelers on my Japanese cell phone. The model had just been released: a squared-off clamshell of sparkly maroon plastic, with an impressive color screen and emoji-like graphics. I emailed the video instantly to publishing friends in Tokyo, which was then home to the world’s second-fastest internet speeds. They responded just a few minutes later, flashing victory signs. My friends in New York cooed as if we’d just watched a new moon landing. But almost exactly twenty years later, vast regions of Japan’s digital universe are stuck in the early aughts. Online banking, airline booking, major newspapers, you name it: Services that have been streamlined by the digita...

Letters from Tokyo, February 2022: Throw Those Beans! T.S. Eliot famously called April the cruelest month, but for me and many I know, the cruelest month is the shortest, February, especially if you live in chillier parts of the northern hemisphere. In Tokyo, New Year’s greetings and shinnenkai drinking parties start to go stale while the dark, cold, snow-dusty winter keeps hanging around like a guest who won't leave. Fortunately, February in Tokyo has some strategically placed distractions to help us forget that it’s February. On the third, we had our Setsubun rituals, heralding the arrival of spring and giving winter the memo to move on. We tossed roasted soybeans out our front door to cast away demons and welcome good fortune, shouting Oni wa soto ! and Fuku wa uchi ! Then we tossed some beans around the house, where they crackled softly underfoot until they were vacuumed.  You're supposed to eat one soybean for each year of your life, but that's become several beans to...

I'm thrilled to announce the imminent launch of "MONKEY: New Writing from Japan Vol. 2: TRAVEL" on Friday, March 4th, 7-8:30pm EST. The latest issue of the world's only annual English-language Japanese literary magazine features new writing by Mieko Kawakami, Haruki Murakami, Aoko Matsuda, Hiromi Ito, Kyohei Sakaguchi, Hiromi Kawakami, a new translation of Yasunari Kawabata, a Noh play, manga by Satoshi Kitamura and a delectable selection of poetry and short essays by Japan's top artists and writers. Award-winning author Aoko Matsuda, translator/author Polly Barton, author Adam Ehrlich Sachs, MONKEY co-founder Motoyuki Shibata and managing editor Meg Taylor will present new work from the magazine and discuss the art of translation. Please join us by registering for free HERE !  *Graciously hosted by Pittsburgh's White Whale Bookstore, where you can purchase your copy of MONKEY Volumes 1 & 2 and works by the participating authors with one click .

Here's the video of our live streamed event for Japan Society New York. My thanks to fellow panelist Julia Mechler and moderator Bill Tsutsui, and to sponsors the Government of Japan, Portland Japanese Garden, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Orix Corporation USA. And big thanks to the great and vivacious audience who tuned in live and chatted up a storm of insights and questions.

View this email in your browser LIVING TRADITIONS  WEBINAR SERIES Japanese Pop Culture: Connecting the World through Manga and Anime Tuesday, February 15, 7-8 pm ET (4-5 pm PT) Japanese pop culture, symbolized by manga and anime, has become an increasingly significant part of the cultural conversation across the globe.  The fifth and final event in our  Living Traditions  webinar series   invites you on a journey into the sprawling Japanese pop culture scene , from the history of manga and anime to recent trends and the global influence of  otaku  culture today.  This is a free event, with advance registration required.    Register Today Meet the Speakers: Speakers Julia Mechler , manga creator and Content Production Group Manager at mixi, inc. Roland Kelts , author of  Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S. Moderator Bill Tsutsui , President and CEO of Ottawa University; author of  Japanese Popular Culture...

My first "Letter from Tokyo" of 2022 is an ode to osechi ryori, the traditional Japanese New Year's foods that I love and long for every January. Last spring, I was commissioned by The Japan Society of Boston to write a series of short monthly musings called "Letters from Tokyo." These have enabled me to dip briefly into impressions and memories of my life in Japan without belaboring them or boring the daylights out of anyone who might bother reading about them. Wishing you a Happy Lunar New Year and a Healthy Year of the Tiger! Letters from Tokyo, January 2022: The Colors of Osechi Earlier this month it snowed in Tokyo the way it does in Tokyo—just enough to cover trees and buildings with a white fringe and make the sidewalks slippery and the parks sparkle in the sun. Because it will melt away in a day or so, snow in Tokyo is an event, spawning a million pictures and videos on social media. It’s like a mini-sakura/cherry blossom season in the middle of winter, ...

JAPANESE POP CULTURE IN 2022 February 15, 2022 7:00 pm Live Webinar: Free Registration HERE Part of the "Living Traditions" series Tuesday, February 15, 2022 at 7-8 pm EST (4-5 pm PST)   Japanese pop culture, symbolized by manga and anime, has become an increasingly significant part of the cultural conversation across the globe. Julia Mechler , manga creator and Content Production Group Manager at mixi, inc., and Roland Kelts , author of Japanamerica: How Japanese Pop Culture Has Invaded the U.S ., provide their insights into the current state of the industry, from pen to paper to screen, unpacking some of the latest trends and emerging technologies in Japanese pop culture. This webinar covers the historical development of manga and anime, the global influence of otaku culture, and what the future may bring inside and outside of Japan. Moderated by Bill Tsutsui , author of Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization , the fifth and final event in our five-part "Living Tr...