Japanese News and Culture Blog Roundup: 12/03/09-12/09/09

Japan Probe

12/06/09: Update: American teens arrested
As mentioned in this post, Japanese police were seeking the arrest of four American teenagers for the attempted murder of a young Japanese woman in what appears to be a stupid prank gone horribly wrong. All of the teens are the children of US military stationed in Japan. Though the military at first refused to cooperate with the Japanese authorities, they have now handed the suspects over. Expect to see more updates as they come in, especially since this was a big domestic story that hit the main page of CNN.com and other news outlets.

12/03/09: Christmas illuminations at Tobu World Square
A post featuring some detailed videos about Tobu World Square and their annual lighting of 42 UNESCO World Heritage Sights painstakingly created in 1:25 miniature (complete with 140,000 mini hand-painted people!). New York landmarks featured include the Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and the World Trade Center towers, which were preserved after the 2001 attacks as a symbol of peace.

Drawn!

12/08/09: The TV Show
A clever Japanese music video animated by Sugimoto Kousuke and set to the music of Takayuki Manabe. Colorful, stylish, and great fun to watch!

Pink Tentacle

12/09/09: Video: Marine creature robots by kyg-lab
A self-taught robot maker, who is also a marine scientist, has hand-crafted some pretty amazing aquatic robots. Made from recycled items, the robots are remarkably detailed and operate with eerily life-like motion. Pictured here is his 5-foot, 105-pound “masterpiece”: a coelacanth robot. Pretty amazing if you watch the videos in the link!

Tokyo Times

12/09/09: Abandoned volcano museum #2: Colour
More Japanese haikyo (abandoned buildings), this time at Mt. Asama on the border of Gunma and Nagano prefectures in Honshu. The volcano is still active, but the museum has sadly been abandoned since 1993. I think the author puts it best: “The highlights of haikyo/urban exploration seem to vary depending on the person, meaning that for some it’s purely for the pleasure of exploration and the buildings themselves, whereas others are far more interested in the detritus and the details left behind. And for me at least, it’s definitely the latter that is key — little pieces of information that give hints about the lives of the people who once worked, or better still lived, there. Items that offer the briefest snippet of the past — a moment captured in time almost.”

F*cked Gaijin

12/08/09: Mother of Manga
A post about an article in the LA Times about the origins of manga and anime in kamishibai, and kind of “street theater using painted illustrations” popular in Japan in the 1930s. An interesting read for fans of Japanese comics and animation!

12/07/09: Evangelion Material Used In JLPT Level One
What the…? Really? The most recent administration of the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) Level 1 apparently featured a listening question straight from the Evangelion anime. Helpful if you’ve seen the show, of course, but baffling if you haven’t! Reportedly, quite a few test takers couldn’t hold in their giggles. Level 1 is the highest of the 4 levels of the JLPT, and is obviously pretty tricky.

Japanese News and Culture Blog Roundup: 10/22/09-10/28/09

An Englishman in Osaka

Kurama Fire Festival 10/24/09: Kurama in flames
Coverage of the Kurama Fire Festival (Kurama no hi matsuri – 鞍馬の火祭り) which was held on 10/22. People with huge lit torches parade through the streets on the way to the Yuki-jinja Shrine. More pictures and information can be found here.

GaijinSmash.net

10/28/09: Cultural differences, again
Humorous article on the differences between how celebrity gossip is covered/prosecuted in Japan and in the US. Answers the all-important question: “What’s wrong with being naked?” (quite a lot, apparently). Written by a former JET teacher who is now married and living in Japan.

Japan Probe

Japanese Mascots 10/25/09: Japanese mascots hold summit in Hikone
Many towns and cities in Japan have their own mascots used to promote tourism. What do you think New York’s mascot would be? I can think of a few unsettling examples, but a big apple would probably be the most kid-friendly.

Japanese Pod 101

Soba Package 10/26/09: Learn Japanese Kanji – Everyday Kanji (Food Packaging)
Another very useful post from Japanese Pod 101. Venture into Japanese grocery stores without fear!

Néojaponisme

Japan Peace Sign 10/26/09: Contributing factors to the popularity of the “Peace” sign in Japanese photography
This is something I’ve often wondered myself. The best explanation I got while in Japan was, “It’s just something you do in pictures.” This post gives some much more detailed theories as to the origins of the practice.

Pink Tentacle

stereoview_19 10/28/09: Animated stereoviews of old Japan
Really cool colorized 3-D images from Meiji-era Japan. The animation makes me a little dizzy, though…

10/26/09: ‘Tele Scouter’ retinal-display translation glasses
The concept is awesome: glasses that display translations for foreign languages as you hear them (via a built-in microphone). However the reality is not quite up to par since machine translation technology is simply not advanced enough. However the glasses, which are set to go on the market in 2010, could still be used in other situations to display text for workers.

Japanese News and Culture Blog Roundup: 10/15/09-10/21/09

Tokyo Times

takurazuka 10/21/09: Takarazuka in Tokyo
The Takarazuka Revue is an all-female musical theater group in Japan that puts on popular adaptations of shows like Guys and Dolls and The Sound of Music. It has appeared in the press again lately since the current first lady of Japan, Miyuku Hatoyama, was once a performing member in the 1960s. I personally heard about it lately since my host mom in Japan saw a performance last week. All male roles are also played by females, often done up like David Bowie-esque makeup. Pictured here is one of their “Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney” shows. Yes, Phoenix Wright has come to stage! My host mom said the show she saw was extremely over-the-top, but still fun. For more information on this group, check out this link.

Pink Tentacle

saya_in_takashimaya 10/21/09: Video: Sick robot exhibits symptoms of H1N1
A robot that shows symptoms of H1N1 was recently displayed at an expo in Tokyo as a training aid for emergency workers. Without treatment, the patient will eventually “die” and stop breathing. Also featured this week was a female humanoid robot named Saya who worked reception at a Takashimaya department store in Tokyo. Pictures of her are slightly creepy (uncanny valley, anyone?), though she was apparently a hit with shoppers and tourists. At least her appearance isn’t as upsetting as this little guy from two years ago. CB2 will haunt my dreams forever, though all these advances in robotics are still certainly impressive!

Japan Probe

antler_ceremony_nara 10/16/09: Nara’s deer lose their antlers
I guess I should have realized this earlier, but it was still a little shocking to think of the famous deer of Nara having their antlers sawed off on a yearly basis. However, the deer have no feeling in their antlers by the time of the ceremony, and they are usually naturally shed each year after mating season anyway. The 300-year-old ceremony is performed for the safety of both the deer and the tourists who flock to Nara to feed them “shika sembei” biscuits.