Japanese history is well known for celebrating homosexuality. Well, what we in the West call homosexuality. During the feudal era, homosexuality wasn’t an identity as it is today. The celebration of male love changed with many other aspects of their society during the Meiji Reformation. Like the protections single mothers and women enjoyed, homosexuality declined…
Category: Culture
Musings II: Magical Girls, or, Empowerment VS Sexism
Magical Girls puzzle me; they make me feel intrigued and desperate at the same time. That is not just because of my, admittedly, relatively limited experience with shōjo (‘[for] girls’) anime genres – until recently, I preferred adventure fantasy, which is sadly, but undoubtedly, shōnen (‘[for] boys’) material of the most popular order. No, Magical…
Midoricon 2015 (Meh-doricon?)
Midoricon 2015!!! Amazing isn’t it, just a few short years ago this small convention started at Salt Fork State Park in Cambridge, OH, made it to its fourth year overall, and enjoyed its second year at the beautiful Maumee Lodge in Oregon, OH. I would like to start this, by saying that I do love…
Gender Roles of Men in Japanese Society
Many trees have died to research the effects of Japan’s patriarchal society on women. I also did my part by killing digital trees. Surprisingly, not as much research has been done on men. Patriarchal societies may appear to be a man’s paradise, but these societies place a heavy burden on men, perhaps even heavier than…
Halloween, Japan Style
Up until 2000, Halloween was only something the Japanese heard about in English classes. That changed when Tokyo Disneyland started decorating for the holiday. The first event was held back in 1997, and it was a hit. Over time it became an annual autumn event. Universal Studios Japan joined the act in 2002 with “Hollywood…
Capsule Hotels
Space is precious and expensive in Japan’s dense cities. Enter the capsule hotel. These sleeping coffins maximize space. The idea came to Kurokaw Kisho back in the 1970s with a shipping container. Capsule hotels can stuff about 40 people into a single room. Each space tend to measure 2 meters long by 1 meter wide…