In Tokugawa days (1603-1867), criticizing the government was a capital offense. Rulers, not only in Japan but the world over, expected to be — and generally were — not only obeyed but revered, sometimes as gods, sometimes as beings only slightly less exalted. "God," ...
The challenge to which this installment of "Big in Japan" seeks to rise is that of happiness. Is it possible, in these grim, sad, threatening times, to write a happy story without doing violence to journalistic relevance? We know how bad the news is, both ...
"Mina-san, konban wa (皆さん今晩は, ladies and gentlemen, good evening). Thank you, I . . . "Listen to me, koe ga furuete iru (声が震えている, my voice is trembling), I won't pretend that I'm not a little kinchō suru (緊張する, nervous). Two things I didn't ...
As a gauge of where this country is heading and what kind of mood it's in, consider this fact: Last week, almost every mainstream weekly news magazine ran at least one story on old age and/or death. Shukan Asahi's was titled, "I want to die ...
Scientifically and technologically, the world is in flux bordering on chaos. Every day brings something new: a new discovery, a new device, a new technique, a new cure. The pace of change is dizzying; we scarcely know where we stand. Yesterday's novelty is today's ...
"Yukino! My big brother is in love with Yukino!" Little Kimika Keyes whoops with delight, which of course only throws Peter deeper into misery. Kimika is 10 and he's 14 — he should have the upper hand, but there is in her a bewildering ...
It's your funeral. What's your pleasure? Wine funeral? Jazz funeral? Outer space funeral? Internet funeral? "Natural" funeral, in which your ashes mingle with the ocean waves or fertilize and therefore in a sense become, say, a blossoming cherry tree under which, come spring, your loved ...
Shock, gasp, horror. Aya Hirano is not a virgin. Wait, there are larger issues involved. But first, Aya. She's the voice of Haruhi Suzumiya, heroine of the anime series of the same name, and as such an idol to thousands if not millions of young ...
The Hokkaido port of Otaru is less than an hour by train from downtown Sapporo. Same neighborhood, different world. Sapporo is big and growing. Otaru is small and shrinking. The future, no doubt, is with Sapporo. But the past is with Otaru. And the past, ...
"If only, when one heard That Old Age was coming One could bolt the door Answer 'not at home' And refuse to meet him!" (Anonymous, "Kokinshu" Imperial poetry anthology, 10th century) Once upon a time there was a ruler who hated old people. Any of ...
