Pop Culture

‘Teki’ means enemy.  The 77-year old protagonist Gisuke Watanabe in Teki Cometh (Japanese title: Teki) can’t quite figure out the exact identity of that enemy but he’s aware it’s coming to destroy him.…

By Tori H. Tale In the December 19th edition of Josei Seven, it was reported that 90 million yen was paid by Nakai Masahiro in a settlement awarded to a…

Japan is the second largest market for publishing books in the world — a fact that probably comes as no surprise to people living in Japan who only need to…

"Performing..." is also a funny, melancholic and classic Japanese love story. Classic because within the traditional Japanese relationship, a man and woman only realize the depth of their love for…

The Real-Life Kamurochō: A Yakuza History Lesson with Tokyo Vice’s Jake Adelstein We explore Tokyo’s Kabukicho, the inspiration behind the central setting of the series formerly known as Yakuza. (originally…

I was writing to a former intern at Japan Subculture Research Center, Fresca, and asked her to send me her thesis to read—just as she mailed me. I think I…

Will The Empress Continue To Reign? Probably.

Ever spotted something odd about someone’s hands nearby? Everything seems ordinary until you notice it: one finger joint missing, maybe a whole finger, maybe several. lt leaves a noticeable gap.…

In Ichigatsuno Koeni Yorokobiwo Kizame (International title: Voice), a young woman named Reiko (Atsuko Maeda) professes to her boyfriend-for-hire that she had been sexually abused as a child. Reiko had been six years…

Skybound Japan's inaugural project, in collaboration with Fuji TV, is Heart Attack, an electrifying sci-fi television series based on the Skybound original graphic novel series by Shawn Kittelsen (Injustice 2,…