Japan Station: A Podcast About Japanese Culture & the Japanese Language

Episode 12 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're stomping our way into the world of kaiju. Kevin Derendorf is an expert on the world of giant monster movies and the author of the recently published book Kaiju for Hipsters: 101 "Alternative" Giant Monster Movies. In this episode we discuss: What the word kaiju means The origins of the word kaiju The difference between the more commonly used 怪獣 (kaiju) and its homophone 海獣 What qualifies as a kaiju movie to Kevin The difficulties of finding obscure kaiju movies Director Nobuhiko Obayashi and his many interesting connections to kaiju movies Nobuhiko Obayashi's unmade and totally bizarre Godzilla movie, A Space Godzilla Hideaki Anno and his intense love of Ultraman Sion Sono's 2015 film Love & Peace And much more! It's non-stop kaiju on this episode of Japan Station!

Episode 11 of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're exploring the city of Tokyo. Dr. Steven Heine is the director of the Asian Studies Program at Florida International University and author of the book Sacred High City, Sacred Low City: A Tale of Religious Sites in Two Tokyo Neighborhoods. In this episode we talk about: The history of Tokyo Why Tokyo is laid out the way it is The differences and similarities between the Shitamachi and Yamanote areas of Tokyo The differences and similarities between the Inarichō and Akasaka neighborhoods of Tokyo Why Inarichō is the "Akihabara of butsuden" (Buddhist altars) What a gendai (contemporary) butsudan is The relationship between the fox god Inari, the legendary creature tengu, and the Sōtō sect of Zen Buddhism Whether Japanese people are religious The 1984 Juzo Itami film Osōshiki (The Funeral) Some not so well-known sites to check out during your next visit to Tokyo And much more! By the end of this episode you'll have a newfound appreciation for the city of Tokyo.

Episode ten of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're taking a dive into the world of photography. Andrew Faulk is an award-winning Tokyo-based photographer originally from the U.S. who has done work for major publications such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Game Informer. In this episode we talk about how Andrew's career in photography got started, what it was like starting his photography business in Japan, some of the interesting assignments he has been on, how he deals with cultural faux pas and language difficulties, what he enjoys about being a photographer, the allure of Vietnam, and much more. This episode will have you wanting to head to Asia with a camera around your neck.

Episode nine of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're talking about the devastating 9.0-magnitude earthquake that struck off the coast of Japan's Tohoku region on March 11, 2011. Richard Lloyd Parry is an award-winning foreign correspondent, the Asia Editor at The Times of London in Tokyo, and author of the book Ghosts of the Tsunami: Death and Life in Japan's Disaster Zone. In this episode we talk about the experiences of people that lived through the 2011 earthquake and tsunami, the tragedy at Okawa Elementary School where 74 of the 78 students present when the tsunami struck died, the reports of possessions and ghosts that arose in the months after the tsunami, whether Japanese society has learned anything from this tragedy, and more. Note: In the episode Richard states that Okawa Elementary School is four miles away from the coast. It appears he mistakenly said miles instead of kilometers because all information found online indicates that Okawa Elementary School, which is now a memorial, is roughly 4-5 kilometers from the coast.

Episode eight of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're exploring the fascinating history of shōjo manga. Dr. Deborah Shamoon is an associate professor in the Department of Japanese Studies at the National University of Singapore. She is the author of Passionate Friendship: The Aesthetics of Girls' Culture in Japan, a book which examines the emergence and history of shōjo manga (a genre of Japanese comics aimed at girls and typically produced by women). In this episode we discuss the true meaning of the word shōjo, Meiji-era girls' culture and girls magazines, how important a role Osamu Tezuka played in the development of shōjo manga, the connection between the Takarazuka Revue and Osamu Tezuka's series Princess Knight (Ribon no Kishi), the potentially influential role of manga artist and Osamu Tezuka protege Hideko Mizuno, the importance of eyes in shōjo manga, how Boys' Love (yaoi) fits into the shōjo manga genre, the iconic shōjo manga series The Rose of Versailles (Berusaiyu no Bara), and much more. Yeah, this episode is overflowing with all sorts of great information.

Episode seven of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're taking a deep dive into the crazy world of Japanese mascots. Chris Carlier runs the blog Mondo Mascots and the very popular Twitter and Instagram accounts of the same name. On Mondo Mascots Chris documents Japan's many, many, many mascots. From the bizarre to the cute, Chris covers them all. In this episode we discuss the history of Japanese mascots, the origins of the term yuru kyara (yuru chara) and how it is different from go-tōchi kyara, the voting scandal at the 2018 Yuru Chara Grand Prix, whether the popularity of Japanese mascots is on the decline, Chris' desire to get a yuru kyara designed by him turned into a costume, and, of course, we talk about a whole lot of odd mascots, including the infamous algae ball with an erection from, Marimokkori. So yeah, this one's a pretty silly one.

Episode six of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time we're talking about Zen. Gesshin Claire Greenwood is a Zen priest and the author of the book Bow First, Ask Questions Later: Ordination, Love, and Monastic Zen in Japan. Funny, intense, and thought-provoking, the book chronicles the more than five years Gesshin spent in Japan training in Zen and living in monasteries. During her time in Japan she trained at both a temple monastery in Okayama Prefecture called Toshō-ji and an extremely strict monastery for Zen nuns in Aichi Prefecture called Niso-do. In this episode we talk about whether Zen is a religion, what led Gesshin to go to Japan, whether not knowing Japanese when she began training in Japan was an advantage, the difficulties of monastic life, a hilarious story involving a bullet train ride and faxed instructions on how to put on her kesagōri (a type of monastic pack for carrying one's belongings), a famous Koan about a monk killing a cat, and much much more. You won't achieve enlightened after listening to this episode, but it certainly won't hurt!

Episode five of the Japan Station podcast is here and this time I'm joined by comedian Showko Showfukutei. Originally from Kobe, Japan, Showko is a rakugo (Japanese traditional comic storytelling) performer, ventriloquist, and stand up comedian living in Melbourne, Australia. She is the only fully trained rakugo performer living outside of Japan and her unique brand of comedy has taken her all over the world and even the finals of Australia's Got Talent. In this episode Showko talks about rakugo, the epic tale of how she convinced her rakugo teacher to take her on as his student, the surprising way in which she learned ventriloquism, doing comedy on the streets of London, and much more.

Japan Station episode 4 is here and this time we're talking all about one man's mission to achieve the heights of fame in the land of the rising sun. In this episode David Elliot-Jones talks about the crazy journey he went on as the star of the ridiculous but thought-provoking documentary Big in Japan. Dave discusses why he and his two friends (Lachlan McLeod & Louis Dai) chose to leave their homes in Australia and spend two years of their lives in Japan chasing fame, what it was like working in Japan's entertainment industry, the dread he felt when having to do crazy stunts like walking around almost naked in Shibuya, the good and bad side of fame, how his soccer teammate's "penis ring" landed him in the news, what it was like asking Japanese people if they've ever had sex with a rice ball, and much more. Dave also offers a bit of advice for people hoping to make it break into the Japanese entertainment industry.

This time we're taking a deep deep dive into the history of Japanese animation with Dr. Jonathan Clements. An expert on Asia and anime, Jonathan Clements is the author of many books, including Anime: A History, The Anime Encyclopedia (co-authored with Helen McCarthy), and Sacred Sailors: The Life and Work of Seo Mitsuyo. In this episode we discuss the origins of Japanese animation and its fascinating history. We particularly focus on the making of Japan's first feature-length animated film: Momotaro: Sacred Sailors (桃太郎 海の神兵, Momotarō: Umi no Shinpei). Clements talks about how this World War II era Navy funded propaganda film got made, the challenges faced by the film's director Seo Mitsuyo, the influence of Western animation like Popeye and the 1941 Disney film Fantasia,and what people today can gain by watching this sometimes strange and often unsettling work. Clements also reflects on the importance of two of Japan's most respected and famous figures in the Japanese animation industry: Osamu Tezuka and Hayao Miyazaki. Oh yeah, and there's talk of a British POW potentially being responsible for what was very likely the first ever occurrence of native English voice acting in Japanese animation. Yep, it's a lot to take in but totally worth a listen, so go do that now!