Make Terracotta Animals, Not War: The Tomb of Emperor Jingdi

Today’s post is a flashback to my trip to China in the aftermath of the Tohoku earthquake. We spent most of our time in Beijing, but we did manage to make one trip… Continue reading →

Welcome to the World of Tsugaru Shamisen

I traveled north to Aomori this past spring for Golden Week, and the friend who so graciously hosted me was living in the city of Tsugaru, home of the art of Tsugaru shamisen.… Continue reading →

Yabusame: The Japanese Art of Horseback Archery

Horses and archery probably aren’t the first things that come to mind when you think of Japan, but in fact, bows date back to Japan’s prehistoric Jomon era (14,000-300 BC) and historical records of… Continue reading →

Day of Reckoning: The University of Tokyo Announces Its Entrance Exam Results

On my way to renew my library books today, I unwittingly stumbled onto a mass of activity the likes of which I’d never seen on the University of Tokyo campus. I’m generally struck… Continue reading →

Noh Experience Necessary: Japanese Theater Brought To Life

I had such an action-packed summer in Kyoto on the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) program that I still have a ton of pictures and stories to post. One of the best things about… Continue reading →

A Birthday Hello

Thanks to all of you who took the time to send me such sweet messages and gifts for my birthday. I thought I would experiment with a little video message to make my… Continue reading →

Peter Bjorn and John / Fujiya & Miyagi / Ill Ease @ Bimbo’s

First of all, I should note that I am officially done with my first year of graduate school.  I submitted my last paper this morning and an intense feeling of relief immediately overtook… Continue reading →

Ridiculously cute…

Mocha in "His First Broccoli!" Read and post comments | Send to a friend

Music as a method of coping

The Apples in Stereo- Same Old Drag Yesterday I became fascinated with The Apples in Stereo and their latest album New Magnetic Wonder. This video of them is great – maybe because it… Continue reading →

of Montreal / The Blow / Rubies @ Great American Music Hall

Briefly (for the February 2, 2007 show): 1. Rubies – Endearingly, awkwardly indie girl pop.  Potential but some growing to do.  They definitely need to get a drummer and stop using a drum… Continue reading →