Kurashi - News From Japan

Novel Approach My editor Patrick Sherriff over at Tower English in Abiko helped me publish my novel on July 21, 2018. I have a lot to say about his skills as an editor, with a keen sense of sticking to his three approaches to fiction editing. Well, it helped me a lot, and his support was terrific... Here is how Patrick puts it: Character arcs. Every story is a journey. For a story to have meaning, there has to be change. Characters start out one way, they experience difficulty or, as the novelist calls it, conflict, until by the end of the story they have changed. That basic pattern — starting with a goal in mind, dealing with conflict, changing — should be present in the novel as a whole and within each scene and for every major character. You can order Kamikaze to Croydon here at Amazon as a paperback, and also at Kindle as an eBook. I hope you will also be kind enough to leave comments and rate it. Iinuma Masaaki is a promising young pilot from the mounta...

This is a fun movie about how Toyota got its start in the early 20th century, with a lot of details from the factory floor and how to fund such an adventure. In the 1920s, Japan was importing some 2000-4000 cars and trucks and made almost nothing domestically. GM and Ford had factories in Japan, back then. Now, the foot is firmly on the other shoe, ahem... How to get that first model A1 to go that extra mile, in 1936 or so? In my novel, Kamikaze to Croydon, I mention how young Iinuma Maasaki, the pilot of my novel, reacts to seeing one of these Toyotas in Tokyo. You can order Kamikaze to Croydon here at Amazon as a paperback, and also at Kindle as an eBook. I hope you will also be kind enough to leave comments and rate it. Do click that link, and go through the easy steps. His sempai and navigator, Tsukagoshi Kenji, warns him that making such vehicles would require a lot of resources, that Japan did not have. We were interrupted as a black car drove past on t...

Swedish Draken fighter. How we managed to stay neutral during the Cold War. Read more about my visit this summer, to the F10 Royal Air Force Museum here . And more from 2018: "Not an eye is dry" watching this unique formation of Swedish-built aircraft, including the Tunnan, Draken, Viggen and Gripen.

New update in my novel: 　Then I went to watch this sad new movie, Osaka Elegi, about a girl and the city which I almost never had any time to venture into, with its neon lights and modern music and the Kansai accent that I found hilarious. But, I could not understand the ending.     After that, I had the sense that Osaka would surpass anything, if left to its own devices. The new subway line from Umeda was in the movie, and I mentioned it in a letter to Tsukagoshi in Tachikawa. And he replied, “I hope to join you soon.” You can order Kamikaze to Croydon here at Amazon as a paperback, and also at Kindle as an eBook. I hope you will also be kind enough to leave comments and rate it. Do click that link, and go through the easy steps. These guys make the best radio controlled "scale flying" events, which in 2016 involved the Mitsubishi Ki-15 "Kamikaze-go" that was privately owned by Asahi Shimbun in 1937.

Just a few years before I first arrived on these shores, TV Asahi made a special dramatization about the events I cover in my novel, Kamikaze to Croydon . Order it here at Amazon The 1985 TV drama is a bit silly, but then so was a lot of TV back then. These scenes, however, are really beautiful, filmed with a model airplane, set to the music by Brahms. 美貌なれ昭和 (Bibonare Showa) means something like "The Beautiful Showa" and the dramatization included segments about the female Japanese violinist, Nejiko Suwa , who was studying and performing in Europe during the 1930s until 1945. Enjoy. Now, if seeing that makes you want to make a balsa wood model of the Ki-15 , there are the drawings and lots of helpful advice, from Mike Stuart in the UK! Thanks for finding, P.

When I arrived to these shores, I had almost no idea about anime or manga.  This is where I learn my pottery, in Hibita, east of Tokorozawa. And, when was Totoro set? 1958? It is a major push for environmental education. Where? Tokorozawa. This is one forest you can visit from Tokyo. In April of 1990, with the objective of preserving the lush nature of Sayama Hills to future generations, the National Trust of Totoro no Furusato was born.  Due to the efforts of 5 initial contributors, including film director Hayao Miyazaki, a large amount of donations were received from all across Japan. Sayama Hills is known as the inspiration of Mr.Hayao Miyazaki’s animation masterpiece, “Tonari no Totoro (My Neighbor Totoro, 1988)”.  The Trust Fund was named in its honor. Totoro Fund Website We are a legally incorporated foundation with the purpose of preserving the beautiful natural habitat and cultural assets of Sayama Hills and its surround...