The Short And SweetDue to older experiments with spoiler tags, I’m using “more” tags now. Just go to the main link for my short, concise, minimum spoilers assessment of anime that ended at the end of the Winter 2011 season (not just the 12 ep quick runs). All aboard!
Made With Real PaperPerhaps many of us have heard the term “paper tiger” as an expression. Mao Zedong (Chairman Mao) was fond of it. How many of us have actually seen them, let alone made them with origami?
The Footman’s Bread and ButterThe Japanese yari (槍、やり), or spear, was not originally a dominant weapon of war. My own research into this issue should not be thought of as authoritative, but this post contains my impressions on this fundamental weapon that became an essential component of the battles of the Sengoku Jidai (戦国時代), or Warring States Period.
Go to this blog for full details on the announcement of Gundam Memories ~ Tatakai no Kioku. One small quibble: Japanese usually leaves singular and plural undefined. We silly Westerners default to singular when we shouldn’t. This could easily be read as “Memories of Battle” (as in, battle in abstract, indicating numerous battles) or “Memories of Battles.”
Bandai’s “Real Grade” line of Gundam models has a very young history. There’s the original Gundam, a Char’s Zaku, and now a beautiful Aile Strike from Gundam SEED. Based on these images, I think you will agree that Bandai has truly outdone itself here. This is one hell of a model.
Readers may recall my post on origami and how origami gained international exposure when a victim of the nuclear bombings of Japan set out to fold 1,000 for the sake of other victims before she perished. Here, we have a Canadian 8 year old boy folding 1,000 for donations of $2 apiece to send a total of $2000 to Japan for victims of the earthquake and tsunami. (Story at link.)
Dartmouth has the same relationship to the capitol of my province of Nova Scotia as Yokohama has to Tokyo. The story references a tradition that 1,000 in a year will make a wish come true. I’m not sure if that started with the aforementioned nuclear weapon victim, but either way, it’s in Japanese (and world) culture now.
There’s a Facebook page for this, and this is for donations to the Canadian Red Cross for Japan. I include the links for completeness. I have no personal connection to either effort, but I wholly wish them well.
The Start of an EraSavvy followers of mecha anime have long been aware that “bad guy” machinery is often built to be more interesting, both conceptually and visually, than the protagonist side’s machines. This trend did not invent itself. In many ways, it was begun back in the original Gundam series with the lowly Zaku.
There will be a time to place the tragedy of this tsunami in a historical context. Today is not that time. As reports of the damage come in, we can only pray that the death toll is not even greater and that Japan will recover from this tragedy, as it has recovered from others. – Jeremiah Bourque
In doing a little research on the history of the yari, the Japanese word for “spear,” I came across a mention that battles in early Japan, circa 700 A.D., were highly ritualized affairs with lone warriors dueling on horseback with bow and sword. So… what’s wrong with this, exactly?
One of my formative lessons in Japanese culture was an old National Geographic article about the cranked up, high stress, high velocity fresh fish business during the mid-80’s, when Japan was booming. It explained how no-fault apologies stop blood from running in the streets. Fascinating, really.
