· November, 2005

Stories about Japan from November, 2005

Japan: Moving Noodles

25 November 2005

Amy Nakazawa at Blue Lotus describes the first meal she cooked in her new Tokyo apartment: hikkoshi soba — “Hikkoshi means moving, and soba are buckwheat noodles; and eating soba right after moving is the done thing in Japan.”

China: Interpreting the Mascots

  18 November 2005

Mutant Frog Travelogue analyzes the symbolism behind China's recently unveiled five mascots for the Beijing Olympics. “China’s choice also says something about the degree to which its “peaceful rise” diplomacy has been incorporated in creative and non-traditional ways into popular culture. Whether one buys into the message or not, one...

Japan: Analyzing the Harujuku Girls

12 November 2005

Japundit analyzes the bizarre, somewhat disturbing posse of Japanese hipsters employed to trail American pop singer Gwen Stefani — the Harujuku Girls.

Japan: Whale Hunt

9 November 2005

A whaling fleet sets sail in Japan, ostensibly for research. Tokyo Times is skeptical.

China, Japan, Korea, India: Pan-Asian Sidenotes on Old Travelogues

  7 November 2005

Preetam Rai at betterdays took photos of the wry commentary penciled in the margins of an old travelogue written in the 1930s by an American traveler who visited China, Japan and Korea. Rai had bought the book in Bangalore bookshop. He observes: “The commentator was surely a proud pan-asianist. Pan-Asianism...

China, Japan: After Yasukuni

  3 November 2005

At Angry Chinese Blogger, a thoughtful discussion, in light of news that Japan is finally considering an internationally acceptable war memorial to replace the war-criminal infested Yasukuni Shrine, about the choices facing both Japan and China.

Japan: War Crimes

2 November 2005

A post by Curzon at Coming Anarchy on former U.S. defense secretary Robert McNamara's remorse at helping plan the firebombing of Tokyo starts a discussion about war crimes and war criminals.