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

In this episode of the Japan Station podcast we're learning about the amazing story of the first group of Japanese girls to study in the U.S.

Janice P. Nimura is the award-winning writer of the book Daughters of the Samurai: A Journey from East to West and Back. In Daughters of the Samurai, Nimura recounts the epic real-life story of a group of Japanese girls who in 1871 were sent to be educated in the U.S. in hopes that this would eventually help Japan in its relentless push to become more like the Western powers of the time. The book specifically focuses on the transnational journey of three girls: Shige Nagai (later Baroness Shigeko Uryū), Sutematsu Yamakawa (later Pricess Sutematsu Oyama), and Ume Tsuda (later Umeko Tsuda). Although of these three it is Umeko Tsuda who is best remembered today as a pioneer of women's education in Japan, all three women did important and inspiring work after their return to Japan despite the many cultural and societal hurdles they had to overcome.

In this episode we discuss:

• What the Iwakura Mission is
• The factors that led Japanese officials to decide to send young girls to the U.S. to be educated
• The incredible life of Sutematsu Yamakawa
• The complicated figure that is Umeko Tsuda
• The difficulties Shige Nagai, Sutematsu Yamakawa, and Ume Tsuda faced after returning to Japan
• The importance of portraying historical figures "warts and all"
• Janice P. Nimura's upcoming book, Sister Doctors, which is about pioneering 19th-century doctors Elizabeth and Emily Blackwell
• And much more!

Gaijin Goombah is the guest today on this episode of the Japan Station podcast.

Gaijin Goombah is a YouTuber who has made a successful career out of teaching people about the real world culture and history that is present in many of today's most popular video games and anime. Gaijin Goombah's interest in Japan is one that goes quite far back and led him to both study abroad and work in Japan. Aside from running his own very popular YouTube channel he also streams on Twitch.

In this episode we discuss:

• How Gaijin Goombah became interested in Japan
• The interesting role the film Kill Bill played in Gaijin Goombah's life
• How Gaijin Goombah went from wanting to be an actor to working with Matthew Patrick (MatPat) of The Game Theorists YouTube channel
• Gaijin Goombah's time living in Japan
• Gaijin Goombah's experience teaching English as part of the JET Program
• The stresses of being a YouTuber
• How monetization works on YouTube vs. streaming and which is more profitable
• What Gaijin Goombah finds rewarding about his creating videos
• The research process Gaijin Goombah undertakes when creating a video
• Popular misconceptions surrounding ninja
• Why the recent reboot of GeGeGe no Kitaro is a must-watch anime
• Gaijin Goombah's views on moe
• Why anime is an amazing medium
• And much more!

Episode 14 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're learning about Brazilians in Japan.

Released in 2017, One Day We Arrived in Japan is a gripping documentary that follows the lives of three Brazilian families who move to Japan in search of a better future. Ten years in the making, One Day We Arrived in Japan is a truly unique documentary that sheds light on the often overlooked and misunderstood community of Brazilians that call Japan home.

This episode of Japan Station features the three core members of the team that made One Day We Arrived in Japan. These include: Aaron Litvin (director, producer, cinematographer), Ana Paula Kojima Hirano (director, cinematographer, editor), and Marlom Meirelles (producer, creative consultant, editor).

In this episode we discuss:

• What led to the creation of One Day We Arrived in Japan
• The history of Brazilian immigration to Japan and its status today
• Ana Paula's experiences in both Japan and Brazil as a Brazilian of Japanese descent
• How Aaron and Ana Paula found families willing to be filmed
• The difficult editing process that Marlom went through
• Why it is so difficult for Brazilians to adjust to life in Japan
• And more.

The one and only Crystal Kay is the guest today in this very special episode of the Japan Station podcast.

A singer, songwriter, and actress, Crystal Kay has been singing for just about as long as she's been able to speak. In fact, her first credit is at the age of four when she used her vocal talents in a song for a commercial promoting the PC Engine Duo game console (known as the TurboDuo in the U.S.). Crystal released her debut single in 1999 at the age of 13 and in the two decades since then she's sold millions of albums and produced numerous chart-topping singles. Her positive attitude, incredible talent, and status as one of the earliest artists of mixed race to rise to mainstream fame in Japan have earned Crystal many fans around the world and turned her into a role model for many.

In this episode we discuss:

• When it was that Crystal realized she was a source of inspiration for other mixed race individuals in Japan
• How Crystal deals with negativity
• Crystal's relationship with her mother
• Crystal's thoughts on the 20th anniversary of her major debut as a singer
• Crystal's connection to the legendary Japanese singer Misora HIbari
• Crystal's daily routine
• And more!

You won't be able to help feel positive after listening to this episode.

Episode 12 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're stomping our way into the world of kaiju.

Kevin Derendorf is an expert on the world of giant monster movies and the author of the recently published book Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 "Alternative" Giant Monster Movies. In this episode we discuss:

• What the word kaiju means
• The origins of the word kaiju
• The difference between the more commonly used 怪獣 (kaiju) and its homophone 海獣
• What qualifies as a kaiju movie to Kevin
• The difficulties of finding obscure kaiju movies
• Director Nobuhiko Obayashi and his many interesting connections to kaiju movies
• Nobuhiko Obayashi's unmade and totally bizarre Godzilla movie, A Space Godzilla
• Hideaki Anno and his intense love of Ultraman
• Sion Sono's 2015 film Love & Peace
• And much more!

It's non-stop kaiju on this episode of Japan Station!

Episode 11 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're exploring the city of Tokyo.

Dr. Steven Heine is the director of the Asian Studies Program at Florida International University and author of the book Sacred High City, Sacred Low City: A Tale of Religious Sites in Two Tokyo Neighborhoods. In this episode we talk about:

• The history of Tokyo
• Why Tokyo is laid out the way it is
• The differences and similarities between the Shitamachi and Yamanote areas of Tokyo
• The differences and similarities between the Inarichō and Akasaka neighborhoods of Tokyo
• Why Inarichō is the "Akihabara of butsuden" (Buddhist altars)
• What a gendai (contemporary) butsudan is
• The relationship between the fox god Inari, the legendary creature tengu, and the Sōtō sect of Zen Buddhism
• Whether Japanese people are religious
• The 1984 Juzo Itami film Osōshiki (The Funeral)
• Some not so well-known sites to check out during your next visit to Tokyo
• And much more!

By the end of this episode you'll have a newfound appreciation for the city of Tokyo.

Episode ten of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're taking a dive into the world of photography.

Andrew Faulk is an award-winning Tokyo-based photographer originally from the U.S. who has done work for major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Game Informer. In this episode we talk about how Andrew's career in photography got started, what it was like starting his photography business in Japan, some of the interesting assignments he has been on, how he deals with cultural faux pas and language difficulties, what he enjoys about being a photographer, the allure of Vietnam, and much more.

This episode will have you wanting to head to Asia with a camera around your neck.

Episode nine of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're talking about the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan's Tohoku region on March 11, 2011.

Richard Lloyd Parry is an award-winning foreign correspondent, the Asia Editor at The Times of London in Tokyo, and author of the book Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone. In this episode we talk about the experiences of people that lived through the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the tragedy at Okawa Elementary School where 74 of the 78 students present when the tsunami struck died, the reports of possessions and ghosts that arose in the months after the tsunami, whether Japanese society has learned anything from this tragedy, and more.

Note: In the episode Richard states that Okawa Elementary School is four miles away from the coast. It appears he mistakenly said miles instead of kilometers because all information found online indicates that Okawa Elementary School, which is now a memorial, is roughly 4-5 kilometers from the coast.

Episode eight of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're exploring the fascinating history of shōjo manga.

Dr. Deborah Shamoon is an associate professor in the Department of Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore. She is the author of Passionate Friendship: The Aesthetics of Girls' Culture in Japan, a book which examines the emergence and history of shōjo manga (a genre of Japanese comics aimed at girls and typically produced by women). In this episode we discuss the true meaning of the word shōjo, Meiji-era girls' culture and girls magazines, how important a role Osamu Tezuka played in the development of shōjo manga, the connection between the Takarazuka Revue and Osamu Tezuka's series Princess Knight (Ribon no Kishi), the potentially influential role of manga artist and Osamu Tezuka protege Hideko Mizuno, the importance of eyes in shōjo manga, how Boys' Love (yaoi) fits into the shōjo manga genre, the iconic shōjo manga series The Rose of Versailles (Berusaiyu no Bara), and much more.

Yeah, this episode is overflowing with all sorts of great information.

Episode seven of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're taking a deep dive into the crazy world of Japanese mascots.

Chris Carlier runs the blog Mondo Mascots and the very popular Twitter and Instagram accounts of the same name. On Mondo Mascots Chris documents Japan's many, many, many mascots. From the bizarre to the cute, Chris covers them all. In this episode we discuss the history of Japanese mascots, the origins of the term yuru kyara (yuru chara) and how it is different from go-tōchi kyara, the voting scandal at the 2018 Yuru Chara Grand Prix, whether the popularity of Japanese mascots is on the decline, Chris' desire to get a yuru kyara designed by him turned into a costume, and, of course, we talk about a whole lot of odd mascots, including the infamous algae ball with an erection from, Marimokkori. So yeah, this one's a pretty silly one.