Japan Station: Deep Dives into Japanese Culture, Language & Society

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're talking about manga and what it's like trying to break into the Japanese manga industry with manga creator Minami Sakai.

Originally from the U.S., Minami Sakai is a manga creator living in Tokyo. After studying abroad at Doshisha University in Kyoto and participating in the JET Program, Minami attended Tokyo Design Academy where she learned manga production techniques from professional manga artists (mangaka). Over the past several years, Minami has had numerous portfolio reviews with editors at major Japanese publishers like Kodansha and Shueisha, and in doing so she has managed to make significant progess on her way to making her professional debut as a manga artist in Japan. When not drawing manga, Minami currently enjoys playing mobile games like Idolish7 and A3. She currently works for a developer of games for mobile platforms doing translation and localization.

• The origins of the penname Minami Sakai
• The role Sailor Moon played in Minami's life
• Studying abroad at Doshisha University
• Learning Japanese
• The Kansai dialect
• The bursting of the "manga bubble" that led to the fall of Tokyopop
• The Rising Stars of Manga contest that was run by Tokyopop
• Minami's time participating in the JET Program
• How Minami got into a manga school in Japan
• How much it cost her to attend a manga school
• The kishōtenketsu story structure
• Portfolio review experiences at Japanese manga publishers
• Minami's love of mobile games like Idolish7 and A3
• And much more!

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we are talking about the Japanese Red Army (Nihon Sekigun, 日本赤軍), a Japanese militant communist group established in 1971 with the intent of overthrowing the Japanese government and taking down Japan's monarchy.

Dr. Patricia Steihoff is one of the world's leading experts on the topic of Japanese social movements. With a career spanning more than five decades, Dr. Steinhoff has researched a wide range of topics, including the Japanese justice system, Aum Shinrikyo, and the radical left groups that emerged out of the Japanese protest cycles of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Her work on the Japanese militant group known as the Japanese Red Army is particularly comprehensive and has been extremely important for shedding light on the topic. Dr. Steinhoff retired from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa in Honolulu at the end of the 2018-2019 school year.

• How Dr. Steinhoff became interested in researching the Japanese Red Army
• The phenomenon of tenkō (転向, literally, changing direction)
• The 1972 terrorist attach on Lod Airport in Israel
• What it was like going to Israel to interview Kozo Okamoto, the only Japanese Red Army member to survive the Lod Airport attack
• What exactly the Japanese Red Army was
• What led to the creation of the Japanese Red Army
• The role of Fusako Shigenobu
• Some of the guerrilla tactics the Japanese Red Army would use
• The 1970 plane hijacking that would result in the "Yodogo Exiles"
• The student protests that occurred in Japan during the 1960s and '70s and how authorities in Japan reacted to them
• What became of the Japanese Red Army
• The impact the Japanese Red Army had on Japan and its judicial system
• And much more!

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we take a look at the fascinating intersection between Japanese culture, society, and video games.

Dr. Rachael Hutchinson is an associate professor of Japanese Studies at the University of Delaware. She has taught classes on Japanese language, film, anime, manga, and video games. Dr. Hutchinson is the author of Japanese Culture Through Videogames. Published in 2019 by Routledge, Japanese Culture Through Videogames is a textbook that takes a comprehensive look at the many ways Japanese culture and history influence some of the most popular video games to ever come out of Japan. Some of the video games she takes a look at in the book include: the Street Fighter series, Soul Calibur, the Tekken series, the Metal Gear series, the Yakuza series, the Final Fantasy series, Okami, and more.

• Why Japanese fighting game arcade cabinets arrange players head-to-head instead of side-to-side like in the West
• Japanese fighting games
• The Street Fighter games
• The significance of character design
• The role of stereotypes in fighting games
• Nuclear disarmament in Metal Gear Solid 5
• Japanese RPGs
• The connection between the Boy Scouts and the archetypal shōnen character that is so common in anime, manga, and JRPGs
• Japanese views on brain death and genetic manipulation
• Korean representation in Japanese video games
• How fighting games have dealt with Korean characters
• How the Yakuza games treat Korean characters
• What Japanese video games have to teach us about Japan
• Whether you can complete The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild without killing anything or eating meat
• And much more!

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast I sit down for a chat with the award-winning creator of the Usagi Yojimbo comic book series, Stan Sakai.

Though born in Japan, Stan Sakai grew up in Honolulu, Hawaii, before moving to California to pursue a career in comics. Once in California Stan went on to work with some of the most legendary figures in the comics industry, including Stan Lee and Sergio Aragones. Stan is best known as the creator of the long-running comic book series, Usagi Yojimbo. The series, which dates back to 1984, has won Stan a long list of prestigious awards, including five Eisner Awards. The main character of Usagi Yojimbo, Miyamoto Usagi, has also appeared in numerous crossovers with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Usagi Yojimbo is currently be developed into an animated TV series.

• Stan's parents and why he was born in Japan
• The difference between the manga industry in Japan and the American comic book industry
• His work on the graphic novel adaptation of the story fo the 47 ronin (published by Dark Horse comics)
• How Stan got into the comic book industry
• The time the late-Stan Lee surprised Stan by calling him on the phone
• Stan's relationship with Sergio Aragones
• Stan's interest in Japanese history and culture
• Stan's wife Julie Fujii Sakai
• The incredible cute-ness of Chibi Usagi
• Usagi Yojimbo being developed into an animated TV series by Gaumont
• Valuable advice for aspiring comic book creators
• And much more!

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On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're digging deep into the world of Japanese Buddhist statues and iconography.

Michael VanHartingsveldt is an expert on Buddhist art and iconography. In 2016, Michael obtained a Master's degree in East Asian Art Business through a joint program offered by the Sotheby's Institute of Art and Claremont Graduate University. He then went on to work as a Collections Management Technician at the Los Angeles Country Museum of Art (LACMA). At LACMA Michael worked in the East Asian Art Collection and handled everything from ukiyo-e woodblock prints to Buddhist statues. Michael has also curated art exhibits and given lectures at the Japan Foundation in Los Angeles. In the fall semester of 2019, Michael entered into a PhD program at the University of Kansas. There he will further his research on Japanese Buddhist art and statues.

In this episode we discuss:

• How backpacking around Japan led to an interest in the art and history of Buddhism (and Shinto) in Japan
• A few tipes for visiting Fushimi Inari Taisha (an important shrine in Kyoto dedicated to the fox god, Inari)
• Nara's famous Tōdai-ji temple
• Who the Niō (Two Benevolent Kings) at the entrance of Tōdai-ji are
• The hierarchy of celestial beings in Buddhism
• Who Fudō Myōō is
• What Shugendō is
• The statues of Zaō Gongen that are at Kinpusen-ji temple on Mt. Yoshino in Nara Prefecture
• Sanjūsangen-dō in Kyoto and its many statues
• The bodhisatva Kannon
• The origins of Amida Nyorai
• The origins of the Nami-kiri Fudō
• Who Takuma Kamine is
• And much more!

On this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're talking about the Japanese language and the very interesting linguistic phenomenon of "made in Japan English" (wasei eigo).

Anne Crescini is an Associate Professor at the University of Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture. She has conducted extensive research on the linguistic phenomenon of wasei eigo ("made in Japan English") and has even written a book on the subject called Petto Botoru wa Eigo Ja nai tte Shittō to!? (English: Did you know that "PET Bottle" is not an English word!?). Aside from teaching and her work on wasei eigo, Anne regularly appears on Japanese television, writes a column for a Fukuoka newspaper, and makes her own miso. Anne is also well-known for her mastery of the Hakata dialect.

In this episode we discuss:

• The various types of words that make up the Japanese language
• The various languages of origin of gairaigo (loanwords/foreign origin words in Japanese)
• What wasei eigo is
• Examples of wasei eigo
• What a "handle keeper" (handoru kīpā)
• What a "paper driver" is (pēpā)
• What "magic tape" (majikku tēpu) is
• What "skinship" is
• How the need for efficient communication shapes the words people use
• Possible reasons why wasei eigo came to be so prevalent
• How wasei eigo can be confusing for both English-speakers and Japanese-speakers
• Why Anne moved to Japan
• How Anne became interested in the Japanese language and researching it
• The changing nature of language
• Recent Japanese slang such as the use of wanchan and futsū ni (murai, oishii, etc)
• The use of re-tasu kotoba
• The use of ra-nuki kotoba
• The importance of knowing when you should speak formal Japanese versus casual Japanese
• Anne's interest in cooking Japanese food
• The potential probiotic benefits of making one's own miso
• And much more!

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For full show notes visit www.japanstationpodcast.com.

On this extra bonus episode of the Japan Station podcast, we explore the world of yōkai with author and Japan Station listener, Charles Kowalski.

Originally from the U.S. Charles Kowalski is a teacher and author living in Japan. His latest book--Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts--delves into the world of the Japanese supernatural creatures known as yōkai through the lens of a young 17th century English boy who gets stranded in Tokugawa-era Japan and has to rely on the yōkai in order get back home. Smon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts is the first book in what Charles is planning to be a trilogy. Charles is also the author of two full-length novels: Mind Virus and The Devil's Son.

In this episode we discuss:

• What a yōkai is
• The origin of Charles' interest in yōkai
• The plot of Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts
• The research process Charles underwent when working on Simon Grey and the March of a Hundred Ghosts
• The fascinating life of the English sailor-turned-samurai, William Adams (1564-1620)
• What the Hyakki Yagyō (English:"Night Parade of One Hundred Demons") is
• Teaching in Japan
• How the Japanese folktale Urashima Tarō does not follow conventional storytelling norms
• Charles' future plans for the Simon Grey series
• And much more!

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're going deep into the world of J-pop with Dr. Capital.

Dr. Jonathan Patterson is an Assistant Professor of Popular Music in the Division of Jazz Studies of the University of North Texas College of Music. Also known by the stage name Dr. Capital, he is a composer, singer, guitarist, and an all-around expert on Japanese popular music who has been performing music in Japan for around two decades. Over the course of his career he has worked with a long list of prominent figures in Japan's music industry, including Shing02, Ayaka, Miho Nakayama, Angela Aki, and many more. Dr. Capital also runs a popular YouTube channel. In his videos Dr. Capital performs acoustic guitar covers of well-known J-pop songs, as well as explains the many musical concepts within them--and he does this completely in Japanese.

In this episode we discuss:

• What inspired Dr. Capital to start playing the guitar
• Dr. Capital's first guitar
• How Dr. Capital became interested in Japan
• How Dr. Capital became interested in J-pop
• How Dr. Capital first got to Japan
• How Dr. Capital met the rapper Shing02
• What it was like working with Shing02
• The power of music
• Dr. Capitals passion for teaching people about music
• What makes Japanese pop music different from American pop music
• The overabundance of the 1-5-6-4 chord progression in Western pop music
• The music of Yasutaka Nakata
• How Dr. Capital came to learn the Osaka dialect (Osaka-ben)
• And much more!

Note: In the intro of this episode it is incorrectly stated that Dr. Jonathan Patterson is an associate professor at the University of North Texas. As of the time of the release of this episode (08/01/19) Dr. Patterson is listed as an Assistant Professor and not Associate Professor.

For more extensive show notes, including videos and links the things mentioned in this episode visit http://www.japankyo.com/2019/08/japan-station-podcast-jpop-dr-jonathan-patterson-dr-capital-interview/

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast I sit down for a thrilling chat with author Barry Lancet.

Barry Lancet is the award-winning author of the Jim Brodie series of books. After a long career as an editor at the international arm of one of Japan's most prestigious publishers—Kodansha—Lancet made his debut as an author in 2013 with Japantown. Lancet's ability to seamlessly weave Japanese culture and history into his exciting, suspense-filled plots quickly caught the attention of many and won him numerous Best First Novel awards. Since Japantown Lancet has published three more books in the Jim Brodie series: Tokyo Kill, Pacific Burn, and The Spy Across the Table. Aside from working on the next Jim Brodie book, Lancet is currently working on an unrelated thriller set in Hawaii. Japantown has been optioned to be developed into a pilot for a possible show.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Barry Lancet ended up going to Japan for the first time
• How getting interrogated by Japanese police eventually served as inspiration for the Jim Brodie books
• How Japantown evolved from a noir book to a mystery-thriller
• The writing and research process that goes into writing a Jim Brodie book
• Barry's inability to scale down his stories
• Restaurants in Tokyo
• How the Jim Brodie books have been received
• The time Barry ended up drinking with a Soviet spy at a Japanese wedding party
• Visiting the Demilitarized zone on the border of North and South Korea The 2011 Tohoku earthquake and the subsequent meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant
• Barry's work on a new book set in Hawaii
• And much more!

NOTE: After the outro music there is a bonus segment in which Barry talks about the last third of his fourth book, The Spy Across the Table. This part contains major spoilers for The Spy Across the Table so if you have not read it yet, it would be best not to listen to it.

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast Tony has a fun chat with comedian Ollie Horn.

Ollie Horn is a stand-up comedian from the United Kingdom who lived many years in Fukuoka, Japan. While there he attended graduate school and worked in the Japanese entertainment industry. In 2014 Ollie Horn came up with the idea that would evolve into Comedy Fukuoka, a group dedicated to performing English-language stand-up comedy in Fukuoka. Horn is also the host of the podcast My Signature Dish and will soon be releasing his first comedy special--called Pig in Japan--which focuses on many of his experiences living and working in Japan.

In this episode we discuss:

• Ollie's podcast My Signature Dish
• How living in Japan led to Ollie discovering the joy of cooking
• Danny Piello's amazing chicken sandwich
• Japanese food
• A great chicken nanban restaurant in Fukuoka
• How Ollie ended up living in Fukuoka
• Ollie's time in graduate school in Fukuoka
• What it was like writing a thesis in Japanese
• Ollie's time in the Japanese entertainment industry
• Japanese copyright law
• The importance of knowing when to say yes and when to say no
• What keeps Ollie motivated
• Ollie's comedy special, Pig in Japan
• Ollie's tips for learning a language
• And much more!