I have neglected my little space in the world. But I will write in more detail when I have a bit more time. Last month my brother and I got to spend two amazing weeks in Japan. Admittedly, it was the most memorable trip I have ever made; it was comparatively better than other overseas travels I have done thus far. We visited many places, namely Osaka, Kyoto, and Tokyo. We also made little side trips to Hakone, Fuji-san, and Kobe. There are so many things I wanted to do that we didn’t have time to go and do. Kyoto was so impressive with so many temples and shrines. I could not keep up with all the names of the ones we visited.
Archive for the 'Japan' Category
Being a member of the Japan-America Society has it perks because I got an e-mail about a rare opportunity to see Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII (十八代目中村勘三郎) and Heisei Nakamura-za at the Warner Theatre in DC on July 26. I was so excited about going as I have never seen live kabuki. I was hoping to see Renjishi too, but it wasn not in the program. We got to see Kanjinko (The Subsciption List) and a slightly modernized Migawari Zazen (The Substitute). The costumes were so beautiful, especially the color combination and coordination of kimono, hakama, and nagabakama (long trailing hakama) . What I thought was really interesting was actually seeing the actors walk around in nagabakama trousers. It was “practical” to wear if you wanted to keep warriors from trying to assassinate or kill high ranking people of the shogunate back then. But still, trying to turn around while wearing them looks like a big feat.
A few months ago, I went to Sushi Taro to order carryout on my way home. The restaurant was packed as usual (I had to wait 45 min for my food). They actually had Natto as an appetizer, so I ordered it along with some sushi.
I just finished watching an anime over the weekend called, Karin (かりん). It was really one of the most amusing animé stories I have seen so far. Most of the cast of characters are pretty quirky and crazy, in particular, Winner Sinclair, the exchange student-cum-vampire hunter. Karin is a high school student who also happens to be a vampire… Not your average blood-sucking one, but a blood producing vampire… As such, she needs to bite people to get rid of her excess blood.
I happened to be researching some Japanese reference (I can’t recall what it was exactly), which then led me to Jean Snow’s posting who mentioned a book based on a supposed true account that came from a posting on the Japanese popular bulletin called 2ちゃんねる (2 Channel). Along with the book, it was also made into a tv drama and a movie which made it a pretty popular talked about story in Japan.
Ghost in the Shell (1996) (Japanese title: Kôkaku kidôtai), based on Masamune Shirow’s manga, was beautifully executed and I watched it again this week in anticipation of watching Ghost in the Shell 2: Innocence (2004) (Japanese title: Inosensu: Kôkaku kidôtai). Almost ten years later, Mamoru Oshii still excutes an beautifully stunning anime, taking full advantage of the more recent advancements in CGI animation.
