“Anthropological fieldwork at the preschools of three different cultures in reference to Tobin, Joseph Jay., Yeh Hsueh, and Mayumi Karasawa’s Preschool in Three Cultures Revisited: China, Japan, and the United States (2009)” Prior to going on that “virtual fieldwork” by watching the anthropological videos of Joseph Tobin from Preschool in Three Cultures revisited: China, Japan,…

Ever since Japanese Prime minister Shinzo Abe and Chinese president Xi Jinping have been elected, Xi Jinping has been avoiding a meeting with Abe and that is due to two reasons. The first one is because of the Yasukuni Shrine issue concerning Japan’s war responsibility. The second reason is due to the Senkaku islands dispute.…

Introduction The Goryo Shrine, most commonly known as the Kamigoryo shrine or kamigoryo jinja is located 5 minutes from Doshisha University and the Kyoto Imperial palace (Kyoto-gosho). It was established during the Heian Period of Japanese history on the site of a former Buddhist temple. This shrine is a little hidden making not as famous…

In 1944, while the United States of America knew they have almost won the war and will be soon taking over the Japanese, they needed to properly acknowledge themselves about their enemy. Since the Japanese were the most alien enemy they have ever fought throughout their war history, they had to take into account different…

Gaps A Building Block of the Japanese Mentality, and the Anthropology of Japanese Education in reference to Lauren J. Kotloff’s “… And Tomoko wrote this song for us” from Thomas P. Rohlen and Gerald K. LeTendre’s “Teaching and learning in Japan (1996)” While anthropology is referred to as the social science that studies human beings’…

Sushi Outside Japan, Sushi is regarded as fancy due to it being more expensive than other food. There is no doubt that there are many sushi restaurants in Japan that are very fancy and expensive as well, however, you can also find many that are so cheap and quick to serve that they could be…

What’s tissue-pack marketing? If you’ve been to Japan, you may have witnessed the concept of tissue-pack marketing whenever you walk out a cetnral station or are in the crowded areas. Usually, for most people, when offered flyers or brochure ads by randoms on the street, we tend to either reject them or accept them just…

As you may know, Kyoto is the ex-capital of Japan filled with nothing but magnificence. Known for being more traditional than the big cities such as Tokyo or Osaka, Kyoto will take you on a journey that will give you a glimpse of the Shogun lifestyle and the Onin war effects and many other historical…

When facing the choice of which city to live in, most of the students coming from abroad that I know of, would most likely want to live in either Tokyo or Osaka, which obviously are magnificent cities. However, many forget other cities that may not be commonly known for their splendid student life such as…

Every spring, many residents or visitors of Japan impatiently look forward to the blossoming of the Sakura. Between the end of March and early May, Japan becomes a magnificently beautiful light pink filled island that can soothe the eyes of the witness. However, we ask ourselves, are there any specific traditions practiced during this period…