In this episode, we speak with Stefhen Bryan, author of Black Passenger Yellow Cabs: Of Exile and Excess in Japan

Want to learn more about Stefhen, check out the following:

• Dooduboy
• Stefhen on Facebook
• Stefhen appearing on the YouToobz
• Another appearance on the Toobz

Got something to say? You can reach me at the following:

• www.facebook.com/groups/deepinjapan/ 
• [email protected]

And don't forget to give some love to Awich, the female Japanese rapper who produced the outro, Queendom. 

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we once again sit down with Iain Maloney, author of the critically acclaimed memoir, The Only Gaijin in the Village, to talk about his new book, The Japan Lights.

In 2017, holed up in a hotel room, feverish, despondent, and aimless, Iain Maloney chances upon an article about Richard Henry Brunton, a Victorian civil engineer unknown in his Scottish homeland but considered ‘The Father of Japanese Lighthouses’ in Japan. With more than twenty of his lighthouses still in use today, Maloney sets out with a newfound purpose to visit them all.

Part travel memoir, part history, The Japan Lights visits isolated regions of rural Japan, discovering compelling stories from its past. Maloney witnesses the lingering trauma of the 2011 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, and comes to a new understanding of the precariousness of life on a planet that is 71 percent water. Along the way, he explores the paradox of Brunton, a flawed human being whose work saved hundreds of thousands of lives and made the seas around Japan safer for all.

LINKS!

• The Japan Lights
• The Only Gaijin in the Village
• In Search of Piper Alpha  
• Red Flag Waltz (Iain's band)
• No Sympthy (outro) 
• 喜びも悲しみも幾歳月 若山彰さん (outro)
• But We're Speaking Japanese (YouTube clip) 
• Do you speak English? (Big Train, BBC) 

Got something to say? You can reach me at the following: [email protected]

And don't forget to give some love to Awich, the female Japanese rapper who produced the outro, Queendom. 

Thanks for listening!

This is the second and final installment of a two-part interview with videographer Martin from Martin Show Japan. If you haven't listened to Part 1 yet, start here.

Anyone wanting to learn more about Martin can follow him on Twitter where he posts as Gaijin Otousan.

LINKS:

• Martin Show: Japan Gets Racist (used in the outro) 
• Outro 70s Jazz was taken from here (highly recommended) 
• Echo in the Valley Trailer (Netflix) 
• Pink Floyd - Another Brick in the Wall (intro) 

Got something to say? You can reach me at the following: [email protected]

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we speak with videographer Martin from Martin Show Japan about his life in Japan. You can learn more about him on Twitter where he posts as Gaijin Otousan. This is part 1 of a 2-part interview.

LINKS:

• Introducing the Mentally Retarded (Educational Film 1964)
• Word Association (SNL Season 1, 1975) 
• Office Space - In the Car Rapping (1999) 
• The Jerk - Born a Poor Black Child (1979)
• Chaos in Washington (BCC Jan 27, 2021) 
• Why Americans Have So Much Debt (CNBC Jan 9, 2023) 
• Comfortably Numb Japanese Cover (Pink Floyd/ph4320)

Got something to say? You can reach me at the following: [email protected]

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we welcome back Professor Steve McCarty to discuss the book KUKAI THE UNIVERSAL by Ryotaro Shiba, translated by Akiko Takemoto.

Steve McCarty was born in Boston and specialized in Japan at the University of Hawaii for an MA degree in Asian religions. He has been a full Professor for 22 years of his 40 years in Japan. He currently lectures for Osaka Jogakuin University and the government foreign aid agency JICA, briefing officials from around the world on Japanese People and society. He publishes on Japan, Asian studies, Buddhist syncretism, Japanese-English bilingualism, language teaching, and online education. See links to publications on Japan and to previous Deep in Japan podcasts at his website: Japanned.

The outro was "Over the Mountain" by former podcast guest, ordained monk, and Buddhist hip-hop artist, Gomyo Kevin Seperic. If you would like to support Gomyo and his work, you can purchase his album or contribute to his wife's GoFundMe page. 

Got something to say? You can reach me at the following:

• www.facebook.com/groups/deepinjapan/ 
• [email protected]

And as always, thanks for listening!

In this episode, we welcome Karen Hill Anton back to discuss her wonderful new novel, A Thousand Graces. As you might recall, Karen was a guest on the podcast in June of 2021 to discuss her critically acclaimed memoir, The View From Breast Pocket Mountain. And now, with this new publication, Karen has broken into the world of literature, with a lovely tale about a young, Japanese female student who doesn’t quite fit into the mold of her surroundings. It’s a thoroughly engrossing, exquisitely crafted tale, that also serves as a window into the stodgy, patriarchal countryside mindset of Japan in the 60s and 70s. A must-read for anyone interested in contemporary Japanese fiction.

Got something to say? You can reach me at the following: [email protected]

And don't forget to add Mieko Hirota to your playlist! 

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we once again sit down with Iain Maloney, author of the critically acclaimed memoir, The Only Gaijin in the Village, to talk about his “Compelling, tense, gorgeously-drawn and perfectly-paced” (Kirstin Innes) new book, Life is Elsewhere/Burn Your Flags." To purchase his books, visit www.liminalink.com. To learn more about Iain, head over to his website or follow him on X (formerly Twitter) @iainmaloney

SUPPORT THE SHOW! Deep in Japan is completely independent and crowd-funded. If you like what you hear, please consider supporting us on Patreon.

MUSIC: The outro was “Time Flies” by Mothercoat. The intro was my original mashup of Hokuto no Ken (Fist of the North Star) anime sound bites with “Dubstep" from BenSound.

Got something to say? You can reach me at [email protected]

Thanks for listening! 

Hikosaemon is described as a bilingual Kiwi video blogger based out of Tokyo for nearly twenty years. He publishes regularly about life in Japan at TOKYO TONIGHT. You can learn more about him and stay up with the latest at Hikosaemon (@hikosaemon) on Twitter/X.

Got something to say? You can reach me at the following: [email protected]

And don't forget to give some love to the Blue Hearts, whose Train-Train was the outro for this episode.

Thanks for listening!

What an interview. Such a fun, down-to-earth, amazing person. See, folks, this is why I spiritually identify as Canadian-Japanese. Want to learn more about Jon? Check out the following links:

• JonHeese.com
• Foreign-born assemblymen try to make a difference
• Life Lessons from a Naturalized Japanese Politician
• Interview with Jon Heese: Life Lessons from a Naturalized ...
• New CCCJ Members Summer 2021 - The Canadian
• Foreign-born politicians put new face on Japanese ...

Got something to say? You can reach me at Deep in Japan Podcast (@DeepinJapanPod) · Twitter/X

Thanks for listening!

In this episode, we speak with Steve Kemme, president of the Lafcadio Hearn Society/USA and a former reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer, about his wonderful new biography of Lafcadio Hearn/Koizumi Yakumo: The Outsider: The Life and Work of Lafcadio Hearn: The Man Who Introduced Voodoo, Creole Cooking, and Japanese Ghosts to the World.

Musical Outro Links:

• Kwaidon - JazzyCal
• 門付唄 かわいがらんせ / 杉本キクイ 他

Got something to say? You can reach me at