In this article I give a detailed overview of Oregon Ki Society, an organization dedicated to spreading the teachings of Koichi Tohei that include Ki-Aikido and Ki principles. While Ki-Aikido is a martial art, the principles learned at OKS can be applied in many areas of your daily life, promoting things like mindfulness and self-control.
My reasons for purchasing Takahiro Ueda’s novel “Nimrod” are pretty typical: I liked the cover, liked the title, plus I liked the vague but significant-sounding marketing description on the obi (paper band used for marketing). Also, the book was relatively short, and (last but not least) the book was a winner of the Akutagawa prize,… Read More »
I was fortunate to talk with translator and author of “Cash Crash Jubilee”, Eli K.P. William on a bunch of interesting topics including translation, Japan, and studying Japanese. Find out why Eli doesn’t particularly like the term “augmented reality” –– and what he prefers instead.
The other day I wrote a post about how one of the science fiction stories I translated was published on a site that deals with various historically-relevant pieces of literature and other historical information. But it turns out that the main focus of that website is actually a radio station which streams historically relevant content… Read More »
I reviewed “Cash Crash Jubilee”, a dystopian SF novel I found terribly entertaining that’s set in an all-too-realistic Japan.
I finally decided to share some of my spontaneous piano pieces in the form of a new YouTube channel: “J.D.’s Piano of the Moment”.
Reading Japanese literature in its original language has a few perks. First, you have access to a huge number of works that have not been translated yet, many of which may never be translated. Also, reading untranslated text allows you to pick up nuances which would difficult––if not impossible––to translate, although skiled translators can use… Read More »
After getting a recommendation for the Japanese fiction novel 天使の卵 (“Angel’s Egg” or “Angel Egg”) by 村山由佳 (Yuka Murayama), I decided to give it a shot. The book turned out to be a very rewarding read, so in this post I’ll review it. This book is about the experiences of the 19-year old male narrator,… Read More »
I finally decided to shell out some serious money for a prosumer drone. Little did I know that our time together would only be a few days… (includes a Japanese vocabulary list of drone-related words)
One of great things about Portland, Oregon and the surrounding area is access to a nice amount of Japanese culture, and of course this includes delicious Japanese food. Ramen is one of my personal favorites. While you can find some mediocre places, there are two really great ramen restaurants I highly recommend: this and this.… Read More »