Reading Time: 14 minutes Only around one percent of the population of Japan claims Christian affiliation, so most Japanese have little resonance with the traditions and symbols of Abrahamic faiths. As a result, residents generally perceive the imagery of the Devil as an ‘edgy’ aesthetic choice rather than a blasphemous expression.
Japan
Posted inNews
Shinzo Abe’s assassination doesn’t disprove Japan’s success with gun control
Reading Time: 3 minutes On July 8th, former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated by a gunman while giving a political speech in the city of Nara. Abe had become a towering figure not only in Japanese politics but in international affairs. He held the title of Prime Minister longer than anyone else in Japan’s post-war history, and […]
Posted inGeneral
Christianese 101: Translating Evangelists’ Success Stories
Reading Time: 10 minutes Hi and welcome back! Sometimes, it’s fun to reveal the real meaning of all the Christianese that evangelicals use. Because oh, they use a lot of it. And the more Christianese you see in use, the less the Christians involved have to say that’s real and true. So when I say that evangelism might just be the […]
Posted inReligion
Manga Messiah: Another Bait and Switch Evangelism Attempt in Japan
Reading Time: 10 minutes Out of everywhere evangelicals seek to make sales, Japan might be one of their most resistant evangelism markets. But three dishonest evangelical couples have recently decided to use some beloved Japanese art forms to lure in unsuspecting marks: cosplay, fake collectibles, and a manga-style comic book called Manga Messiah.
Posted inNews
Op-ed: There’s only one guest of honour
Reading Time: 5 minutes Trump was very excited about his approaching trip to Japan last Thursday. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe goes to a lot of trouble to flatter his ego, as the Washington Post reported: Perhaps no world leader has been as assiduous in flattering President Trump’s ego as Shinzo Abe. But Japan’s prime minister may have just outdone himself, pressing […]
Posted inCulture, General, Sex & Gender
A Third Gender in Japan?
Reading Time: 2 minutes Even as a scholar of gender and culture, I sometimes come across a surprising new fact. This is one of those times (in this instance, about Japan).
Posted inUncategorized
Japan’s Gun Death 2240 Times Lower than US
Reading Time: 2 minutes The BBC recently produced an article looking into why Japan has such vanishingly low gun deaths and gun crime in comparison to the US. Yes. let’s have a gun debate. The article included the following: Japan has one of the lowest rates of gun crime in the world. In 2014 there were just six gun deaths, […]
Posted inGeneral, Myth & Folklore
Snake Spouses and Feminine Symbols in Japanese Folktales Part 4
Reading Time: 3 minutes When we talk about snakes and feminine sexuality, there’s more to it than the dreaded vagina dentata! Cultural context and cyclical fertility matter too.
Posted inGeneral, Myth & Folklore
Snake Spouses and Feminine Symbols in Japanese Folktales Part 3
Reading Time: 6 minutes Snake husbands are bad news in Japanese folktales. REALLY bad news. Don’t ever marry a dude who turns out to be a snake, if you can help it.
Posted inGeneral, Myth & Folklore
Snake Spouses and Feminine Symbols in Japanese Folktales Part 1
Reading Time: 2 minutes Why do snakes appear as potential spouses in Japanese folktales, and what do they mean? This paper attempts to explain this phenomenon.