If you’ve watched enough anime (or pretty much any historical anime), you’ve most likely encountered the name Shinsengumi. They were a pivotal group in Japanese history and as such remain a popular subject of fiction and cultural fascination. But do you actually know who the Shinsengumi were?
It’s what it says on the can folks.. It’s been a while since I took the time to write about Yokai and I just got a hankering for it all the sudden. I ould use this topic as an exploration of the traditions and cultures of a specific group and community within pop cultural texts…
I like to think of myself as not entirely uncultured but there is always going to be a bit of a culture clash when I watch anime. I think that’s true for a lot of western viewers. The social reality we live in as well as the history, traditions and beliefs we grew up with…
A little while ago I read an article that said that China was trying to ban all Japanese animation. This proved unpopular and not particularly sustainable. Of course, young Chinese kids watch anime legally or not, online, and the effort to police that is substantial. However, the initiative still does exist and to some degree…
Awww yeah! It’s that time of year again. The time when I post another silly “scarier in Japan” post! I actually really enjoy writing these. It’s tricky coming up with new ones by now but I think I hit the jackpot with superstitions. Japan has some really fun ones! If you are curious about the…
Today, let’s talk a bit about haunted houses in Japan. There are two types of haunted houses in Japan. The historical types where supposed murders or tragedies happened, and rumours spread. There are a lot of those in the US as well. Not that many in my neck of the woods. I think it’s because…
This is kind of a silly title, I know. I couldn’t come up with anything good that explained this post. See, I know that Halloween is a fairly recent occurrence in Japan and they don’t have many traditions around it, so I wondered if there was anything typically Japanese that was similar to North American…
This is the second blogmas I’m spending with you all. The second time we get to sit down together and just chat over the holidays about nothing and everything. I really appreciate it. It makes the snowy season just a tad bit warmer. It really is a comforting exercise for me to just sit down…
I’m taking a little Christmas vacation so I’m using the opportunity to repost some of my older Christmas posts. I hope you still enjoy them. This said, who doesn’t love cake? Aaaahhh Christmas cake. For most of us in the Western world, this means the dense, molasses filled, door stomp like substance also known as…
Choosing the perfect Halloween costume is one of the most important decisions you are going to make. So in order to help you all out just a little, I have decided to republish this very serious and important post! I hope it will make your decision just a little easier at least! What I am…
According to Google, all the ladies in that header gif are in fact anime tomboys! You guys know what a tomboy is, right? I feel like it’s a character archetype that’s lost a ton of popularity in the past few years but when I was younger it was super common in American and European media….
I really like this post so I decided to report it this year. Next year I’ll update my shrine list! So a couple of days ago I did a post on Japanese Christmas tradition as a thinly veiled excuse to eat nothing but cake for a couple of days. That was a good decision. My…
Many years ago, I taught you all how to bring a little Japanese touch to your Christmas celebration by baking your very own traditional Japanese Christmas Cake. This year, I figure it’s finally time to cover the rest of the meal. You can’t just eat cake, even if it is Christmas. Your tummy is gonna…
think the first question any normal person asks themselves when faced with the prospect of travelling to a marvellous place they have always wanted to visit is: What yummy food can I expect to ingest??? So naturally, if you are ever going to spend Halloween in Japan, you should really know about the candy!
Every year I do an Even X is Scarier in Japan post during October: Even Urban Legends are Scarier in Japan Even Creepypastas Are Scarier in Japan Even Monsters are Scarier in Japan These are fun little posts in which I explore creepy Japanese fiction in all forms and share it with you. Because it’s…