Sakura Quest (サクラクエスト) is an original contemporary anime series that is also referred to as a “working series,” which tells narratives about Japanese people and the work that they do. It was produced by P.A. Works, who has been specialising in this line of serials as a way to raise more awareness about the cultural…
Oishinbo, A La Carte is a seinen, comedy manga series, written by Tetsu Kariya and illustrated by Akira Hanasaki, that revolves around food culture in Japan, and specifically how some of the dishes came be a marker of Japanese identity through time. There are seven English volumes in the series collectively, and in Japan there…
The History of Nations: Japan is a non-fiction collection of academic essays outlining various events and eras throughout Japanese history. Each essay was written by a different scholar and the collection itself was edited by Clay Farris Naff. It begins with the Ancient era and works its way towards the modern era (c. 2003). One…
Happy Friday, bibliophiles, and otaku dragons! Today I am going to be announcing my unofficial participation in the Bout of Books 22 readathon and sharing the stack of books I plan on reading during the event! The reason that I say my partaking is unofficial is that I am not going to be signing up…
This past Sunday after attending my regular Dharma service at my local Buddhist temple, I decided to go to a used bookstore. It was a beautiful Spring day, I was properly medicated to fight off the histamine twirling in the air, and, most importantly, my anxiety was very calm and almost non-existent. As someone who…
The Old Capital written by Yasunari Kawabata is an #OwnVoices Japanese fiction novel about the modernisation practices that began to spread across Japan post-WWII, and the struggle that the older generation Japanese society had with compromising their traditions and customs for the sake of a new era. It’s told through the eyes of a young…
“Stories of miracles, visions of hell, jokes, fables, and legends—these tales reflect the Japanese worldview during a classic period in Japanese civilization.” Japanese Tales is a marvellous compilation of mythology, folklore, and fables depicting the early cultural, political, and social norms for Japan during the 12th through 14th centuries. I read this alongside a history…
