japanamerica

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...

I just wrote my last 2021 "Letter from Tokyo" for The Japan Society of Boston about the differences between Japan's Bonenkai "forget-the-year" year-end parties and Christmas parties in Western countries, and the placid Japanese New Year's week (Oshogatsu) versus the Western NYE one-night blowout. Openly cribbed Joan Didion, with respect, and not a little reverence.  LETTER FROM TOKYO, DECEMBER 2021: BONENKAI BLUES “It is easier to see the beginnings of things, and harder to see the ends.” That’s the first line of “Goodbye to All That,” one of the most widely read personal essays by American author Joan Didion, who died this month, two days before Christmas. The sentence is deceptively simple and seductive, like a Zen koan, but it takes on added weight when you actually come to the ends of things—like another year. In Tokyo, the year usually starts ending in November, with elaborate light displays cropping up in the city’s shopping and strolling centers, pre-...