Archive for March, 2009

Cherry blossoms in Tokyo

The agency said its officials confirmed the first blossoms on someiyoshino trees designated as “sample trees” at Tokyo’s Yasukuni Shrine as well as at those on the grounds of regional meteorological agencies in Nagasaki.

They counted “five or six blooms” on a cherry tree — a condition leading to the certification of a blooming tree — on these cherry trees.

The agency said the cherry blossoms will likely be in full bloom in about one week

If you want to know about the blooming status of the rest of Japan, check out the agency’s official 2009 forecast page. Here is how their map looked as of March 18:

For information on great cherry blossom viewing locations, check:

• Loveliest of trees, the cherry now Is hung with bloom along the bough – a guide to Tokyo and Kansai area hanami spots from the Japan Times
• Flowers of Spring in Japan – a seasonal guide from Nihon Sun
• A Flower Lover’s Guide to Tokyo: 40 Walks for All Seasons – a very handy guidebook
• Cherry Blossoms of Kyoto: A Seasonal Portfolio – a new book full of great photos and a bit of info on Kyoto’s best spots.

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Goofy foreigner commercial

A commercial for a new Sony Cybershot mobile phone featuring a Japanese guy traveling around and experiencing traditional stuff with a wacky foreigner:

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Alex Ramirez’s tea ceremony dance

Alex Ramirez of the Yomiuri Giants shows off the new tea drinking dance he will do this year when he hits home runs:

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Korean drycleaners want Americans to care about Dokdo

From the New York Times:

Chang-Duck Jeon, president of the Korean Dry Cleaners Association, assumed the role of publicist: He ordered 250,000 “Dokdo bags” from a South Korean manufacturer and solicited orders from the approximately 3,000 Korean-owned dry cleaners in the city. About 100 of them ended up stocking the bags.

“It was a way to speak out,” Mr. Jeon reasoned. “What’s ours is ours.”

It was not the first effort by Koreans to argue their case in the United States, but it might be the most ambitious. “This is the first attempt I’ve heard of to commercialize this,” said Alexis Dudden, a professor of modern Japanese and Korean history at the University of Connecticut who follows the Dokdo-Takeshima debate closely.

[via The Marmot's Hole]

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Manga on eBook readers

Publishers Weekly reports on the trouble of making comics look nice on eBook readers:

Most publishers said having digital rights drove the decision about which comics to release on the Kindle. Since most of Yen Press’s books are licensed Japanese titles, DeYoung commented, “we’re working with Yen on the ones we have the rights for, there’s not many left after that.” At Go! Comi, Taylor said they can convert their original properties, “but we’re negotiating for digital & e-book rights for our Japanese manga. Japanese publishers are cautious with the new technology and are worried about [digital] theft, even though theft is not an issue with the Kindle [proprietary format].” “Also, the manga-kas are worried if it will look good,” continued Taylor, “but the Japanese have a foot in the door with manga on cell phones.”

In other E-book news, Sony has made a deal with Google to give owners of Sony eBook readers access to more than half a million public-domain books.

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‘Good Nazi of Nanjing’ movie

BBC/Xinhua report on a new film about John Rabe, a German who wrote diaries about the infamous “Rape of Nanking” in 1937:

As Germany and Japan were allies, Rabe used his Nazi party membership to do all he could to protect civilians in the zone – including 650 sheltering refugees in his own house and garden.

With a flash of his swastika armband and through sheer force of personality, he intervened in acts of looting and attempted rape by the Japanese troops.

The diaries of this unlikely and unsung hero only became public knowledge in the late 1990s, when they were published in Germany. They have now been made into a film, simply titled John Rabe.

The biopic, which premiered recently in Germany, may stoke historical tensions between Beijing and Tokyo. But it is hoped that Rabe’s story may renew debate and ultimately help heal old wounds.

Teruyuki Kagawa, a Japanese actor who appears in the film, has said that it may be difficult for Japanese viewers to watch:

“When faced with this film, many people will be shocked [to learn] the Japanese carried out such cruel acts.

“I think Japanese people will find the two hours very hard [to watch].”

A trailer of the film can be viewed here (in German). Those interested in seeing what Nanking deniers think about Rabe can check out this video (Japanese subtitled in English).

Related academic journal link: According to Professor David Askew, an expert on the event, Rabe’s diaries tend to support the “Middle-of-the-Road School” of scholarship on the Nanking massacre, meaning that his writings support the claim that a great massacre took place, but that they do not support the claim that the civilian death toll was as high as 200,000 or 300,000. Further details can be found in this article.

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