Here’s to a better 2024…
I arrived at Ubusuna Jinja shortly after midnight. On my way I could smell the smoke from the two blazing barrel fires at the shrine. The rain had…
Author: Unknown
New Book Announcement: A LONG time in the making! “Anthropology through the Experience of the Physical Body”
Finally! The new book edited by Kaori Fushiki and Ryoko Sakurada has been published! The origins of this book go back to May, 2014 and the panel “Anthropology…
“Character for tax (税) picked as kanji of 2023” – and I my salary is less than it was two years ago…
Photo and story from Japan Today, 12/12/23. I would have actually voted for “(Hanshin) Tigers” as the kanji of the years. But… The money that I now actually…
Anthropology of Japan in Japan (AJJ) 2023 Conference at Meiji Gakuin University Shirokane Campus, December 2-3
Subtitle: アレ！VAOJ@AJJ 2023… Once again, the AJJ is meeting with a wide range of interesting participants, research topics and presentations. Of special note is a two panel first…
Hanshin Tigers Victory Parade in Osaka (11/23/23); photos by Gern Blanston
As I, along with my fellow faculty, staff and students, were required to work on the Labor Thanksgiving national holiday, I was fortunate that my good friend, Gern…
Saw this driving to work today (on the outskirts of Hirakata-shi, Osaka)
What is this? When my wife saw it, she called it a zombie bus. With a little checking I found out she wasn’t far from the truth. A…
Food Terrorism and Japanese Baseball: A Hanshin Tigers Case Study@SWCAS 11/4/23
Presenting at SouthWest Conference on Asian Studies. Virtual Panel 4.2 Understanding East Asia: Language Differences, Japanese Baseball, and Beyond Saturday, November 11, 2023, 7:30 – 8:45 AM A…
Happy Halloween 2023! In memory of Professor Mark Hollstein and all of his monsters…
Since my own office door is occupied as we celebrate the Hanshin Tigers taking on the Orix Buffaloes in the Japan Series, I have annexed Mark’s door for…
「門真市地域伝統文化まつり」 Kadoma City Neighborhood Traditional Culture Festival
It is autumn so it is time to dust off the danjiri and celebrate fall festivals in many neighborhoods in Kadoma City, including my own, Shirogaki-cho. These local…
“There is Power in a Union”
Listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwbzxemJZIc There is Power in a Union (Billy Bragg) “Talking with the Taxman About Poetry” (1986) Lyrics: There is power in a factory, power in the land…
Workers of the World Unite (against the homebreakers)!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8nmwDTf9k34 Listen! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S-G83Awrw8k Homebreakers (Mick Talbot, Paul Weller) The Style Council “Our Favorite Shop” (1985) Lyrics Good…
Hanshin Tigers 2023 Central League Champs!
Oh so happy… https://hanshintigers.jp/
“That is not a place to sit on the bus…”
I usually do not take photos on the bus or train. But I could not help myself this morning. As the fall semester started this week, the buses…
Kenney sensei…
Kenney sensei and two of her students 1998 Elizabeth Kenney was my teacher, colleague and dear friend. She supported me in so many ways since I met her…
Resource: The Earthquake Children Image Archive
Description (from the web site): Welcome to the Earthquake Children Image Archive. This website, containing over 500 images, serves as a companion to my book Earthquake Children: Building…
Shirogaki-cho Summer Festival (July, 2023)
WARNING! RAW VIDEO DATA:
VAoJ S2023RT Arc: Returning Home on the “Izakaya Shinkansen” (6/30/23)
This research trip has been in part driven by Japanese television media productions such as shows about izakaya/tachinomiya and meshi tero dramas. The influence that guided my last…
VAoJ S2023RT Arc: There’s more to Shitamachi than Izakaya and Tachinomiya (really…) – putting Monzen Nakacho into a greater context (6/27/30 – 6/30/23)
Set I: Jalan Jalan in Monzen Nakacho… Absolutely no political endorsement here; my interest is the reference to supporting shitamachi. Set II: Fukagawa Fudodo Temple …
