Explore “Possibilities”: A dark play on our primal needs & impulses Tokyo・March 21-24th
In a series of ten satirical vignettes, The Possibilities delves into the murky shadows of our past and questions our most primal needs and impulses. Traversing cultures and eras, The Possibilities is as mysterious as it is compelling.
Bad News: Mysterious Smog (煙霧) Eats Tokyo ★ Good News: It’s Summer?!
According to the Meteorological Agency, Tokyo temperatures today reached 25.3 degrees Celsius making it the earliest “summer day” since readings began in 1876. At the same time, a strong wind from the North filled the air with dust, making visibility less than 10 kilometers, due to “The Smog Of Unknown Origins.”
Saying Goodbye to The Buddha Of The Yakuza （極道の仏にお別れ）
井の上さんは裏社会でも表社会でも「仏 （ほとけ）」（Buddha）として親しく呼ばれた。警察用語では、「仏」は「死人」という意味もある。彼の死を知った知人は「いよいよ本当に身も心も仏様になりましたね」と肩を落としながら弔いの言葉を述べた。
World News This Week: Reported By Someone Who Wasn’t Paying Attention
North Korea launched a missile which saved the entire human race.
“Hashbrowns” are the 2012 Food of the Year says Japanese Diners Association
Hashbrowns refers to a dish of cooked potatoes, typically with onions added, that have been chopped into small pieces and fried until a golden brown. They are often served in American diners, which are typically small roadside restaurants with a long counter and booths, originally designed to resemble a dining car on a train. Hashbrowns can be served with gravy or cheese on top, and in Japan, are often dusted with finely cut strips of 海苔 (nori/Japanese seaweed). In the Kansai area, hashbrowns often include chunks of octopus along with the onions and are served with a healthy side of Kewpie Mayonnaise.
Japanese Tattoo Master: “The carving is one’s personal symbol..”
“People’s clothing are the ‘social symbols’ which allows other people to understand whether he/she is a Buddhist monk, a Christian priest, a salary man, or a medical doctor. Therefore the clothes are the symbols constructed by the community. But at the public bath, once naked, no one knows whether you are a monk, a priest, a lawyer or a musician. The tattoo is the individual’s own symbol. It is a different world. People who wear tattoos feel like they live in two different worlds. Usually, ordinary people live in the same society, whether they take off their clothes or whether they wear them.” He said during a tattoo session in his Yokohama studio.
Happy New Year From Japan Subculture Research Center!
May we all be healthy
May we all be safe
May we all be grateful for what we have
May we all live well
Notes On The Yakuza Lobby: How The Underworld Asserts Itself In The Political Sphere
Because of Japan’s personal privacy protection laws, created by the LDP to discourage magazine reporters for writing about their scandals and organized crime ties, I’m limited in what I can post here for readers who would like to know more about the Japanese ruling coalition and its ties to the underworld–but here are some useful items.
Kim Jong-Il’s Former Sushi Chef Reveals Former Supreme Leader’s Favorite Fish
Kim Jong-Il’s Former Sushi Chef Reveals Former Supreme Leader’s Favorite Fish
Michiel Brandt: she was awesome. she was my BFF. she is missed.
Michiel “Mimi” Brandt passed away on July 9th, from complications of her third bone marrow transplant. She was thirty years old. She was one of the founders of this blog and my BFF (Best Friend Forever). If you’ve read Tokyo Vice, you’ll find the following acknowledgement: “Michiel Brandt, the most cheerful researcher and two time leukemia survivor in the world. She’s inspirational”.
I’ll have to correct that.
“She was the most cheerful researcher and four-time leukemia survivor in the world. She was inspirational and the best friend I have ever had.”
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