You may know him as Samurai X, but he’ll always be Himura Kenshin to me. Adorable, red-haired, charming, committed pacifist, the quintessential wielder of the reverse-blade, and my absolute favorite anime hero, ever. You may be asking yourself, why am I, an (apparent) grown-up, talking about my favorite cartoon character, in a post that promisedContinueContinue reading “Trivial Things: Katana Collection – Kenshin”
Tag Archives: Japan
Trivial Things: Katana Collection – An Origin Story
I’ve got to hand it to them — swords do make an impression. I would guess that most people, having lived long enough and done enough stupid things involving a kitchen knife, typically have an emotional response to bladed weaponry. Sure, it’s often fear, or at least a reasonable level of nervousness. For some othersContinueContinue reading “Trivial Things: Katana Collection – An Origin Story”
Trivial Things: Hayao Miyazaki
Princess Mononoke (or as I first knew it, Mononoke Hime) will always hold a special place in my heart. It was the first movie I saw in Japan without English subtitles, where I could somewhat follow what was going on. It was also one of the first animation films I saw that had two centralContinueContinue reading “Trivial Things: Hayao Miyazaki”
Tsumaranai Mono (aka Trivial Things)
You can tell a lot about a person by convincing them to let you into their home and look around for awhile. Oof, did that sound weird-creepy? That was weird-creepy. Let me start over. I’m not a particularly material girl (I don’t hold onto a lot of stuff, Marie Kondo would be very bored here)ContinueContinue reading “Tsumaranai Mono (aka Trivial Things)”
JCMU: The Road to Japan Not Taken
I was a junior at Michigan State University when the plan hatched its little egg self in my brain. I couldn’t think of anything that I’d ever decided to do with my life that was as bold as this. Living and studying in Japan, who does that? This girl! And maybe 2.73 million other people.ContinueContinue reading “JCMU: The Road to Japan Not Taken”
Kimonos and Paper Parasols
As much as my visits to see my grandparents in New Jersey planted the seed, it was my grandmother on my father’s side who nurtured the soil and inspired me to see the other side of the world. Grandma and Grandpa H were one of those Edward Albee couples, constantly bickering and jabbing at oneContinueContinue reading “Kimonos and Paper Parasols”
Muttering Retreats 