Who is Japan’s No. 1 band? My response would be “Southern All Stars”. They are a great band who has released so many hit songs since their debut in 1978. When I was 13 years old, I first heard their debut song “Katteni Sindbad” and remember getting goosebumps. It is when I heard “Itoshi no Ellie”, that I realized the profound impact that music had...
The 30 best Japanese anime songs were recently announced on Asahi TV, as determined by a vote from 130,000 Japanese anime fans. The first place went to Yoko Takahashi’s “A Cruel Angel’s Thesis” 「残酷な天使のテーゼ」, released in 1995 as the opening song for the hit anime “Neon Genesis Evangelion”. It comes as no surprise, since Evangelion is a very popular anime after all! (By the way,...
From ORIGAMI Magazine Interesting and slightly exotic spice mixes sit on your grocery store shelves (especially your Asian grocery store shelves) waiting for you to discover them. These spice blends, called furikake, are staples of Japanese cooking but still relatively unknown to most of us, even those of us who love to go out for Japanese food. In most cases, you have to cook...
Kyohei Tsutsumi, the composer of many hit Japanese Kayokyoku songs, has passed away. It would not be an exaggeration to say that he has created most of the hit songs that everyone in Japan has sang along to at one time, since the 1960’s to the present. I grew up listening to these songs. To distinguish this genre from “City Pop”, led by the...
The anime film “Kimetsu no Yaiba” was recently broadcast on Japan’s Fuji Television during prime time TV for two weeks in a row. The blockbuster manga comic series ”Kimetsu no Yaiba”, published for the “Weekly Shonen Jump” magazine, concluded earlier this year in May, and boasts a cumulative circulation that exceeds 100 million. The drama behind humans and demons, the swordfighting, and the sometimes...
This weekly series of article introduces Japanese movies that we want to pass on to future generations. Our first featured movie is “The Yellow Handkerchief” (1977) directed by Yoji Yamada. This work is a road movie set in Hokkaido, Japan, with Ken Takakura as the lead, Tetsuya Takeda who became a star in drama series, and Kaori Momoi who can be seen on some...
Do you know Gen Hoshino? If so, you may know him as a talented actor in Japan, who has recently starred in popular TV dramas such as “MIU404” and “The full-time wife escapist”. Or, you may know him as a talented music artist, who is actively creating music and performing live shows. Why is he such a popular actor and music artist? Gen Hoshino...
Just after he became eligible for promotion to the second-highest rank “Ozeki,” tragedy struck. During a bout against Ozeki Kitao (who went on to become the 60th Yokozuna Futahaguro), Konishiki attempted to lift him, was counterattacked, and their combined weight (881 pounds) fell squarely on his right knee – damaging the ligaments and breaking bones. Watch the bout between Konishiki and Kitao by clicking here. Following his injury, Konishiki had to sit out the next two tournaments and was demoted to the lowest rank, Hiramaku. Unfortunately, this resulted in a vicious cycle: less training resulted in weight gain and prolonged his recovery. Because his right knee never fully healed, his performances were highly inconsistent. Whenever he could use his...
