Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Part II I’ve described how Japanese religions have made an impression on the country’s main media export: manga and anime. References to Japanese religion and folklore often appear in media as tropes, storytelling devices for describing situations the creator can assume the audience will recognize. In Part I we examined Shinto and natural […]
May 2020
Shinto and Buddhist Influences on Anime and Manga – Part I
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Part I Just as Christian symbolism and references have made their way into popular media worldwide, Japanese religions have also made an impression on the country’s main media export: manga and anime. References to Japanese religion and folklore often appear in media as tropes, which the website TV […]
Finding Japanese Calm
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! Current Tokyo resident, ex-Kyoto university student, martial-arts practitioner and Buddhism scholar, InsideJapan’s own Thomas Siebert went headfirst into his adopted Japan. Delving into his background and knowledge, he gives us a little overview of Buddhism and Shintoism, how they help him and can help you find ‘calm’. […]
Invitations to Stillness: Japanese Gardens as Metaphorical Journeys of Solace
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! This post, courtesy of our friends at Kyoto Journal, is adapted and condensed from an article by Japanese garden expert Mark Hovane. You can click here to read the entire article, and read other insightful stories about Japan and Asia in Kyoto Journal. There is a significant […]
Shojin-ryori: Cuisine of spiritual progression
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Sumptuous Shojin-ryori meal served at Fumonin Temple, Mt Koya
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! I know it sounds bizarre, but some of my first impressions of Japan are of vegetables. There’s a scene in Hiyao Miyazaki’s animated classic My Neighbor Totoro in which two little girls, having recently moved out to the country, explore a neighbouring granny’s garden in the early summertime. They chill fresh-picked tomatoes and cucumbers in a running stream, then crunch […]
Salaryman vs. Kawaii
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! When I first started learning Japanese at high school, I was interested only peripherally in Japanese pop culture. This made me stand out from my classmates, who were strides ahead of me already because of their love of Japanese comics, animation, and movies. They could confidently introduce […]
Like this post? Help us by sharing it! When I first started learning Japanese at high school, I was interested only peripherally in Japanese pop culture. This made me stand out from my classmates, who were strides ahead of me already because of their love of Japanese comics, animation, and movies. They could confidently introduce […]