Author Archives: terry!

terry!

About terry!

As a Hello Kitty fan, I grew up loving all things Japanese that are colorful, cute, and small. I watched a lot of Japanese TV when I was little and am very well versed with Japanese music be it modern, old school, or traditional. I have been playing taiko (Japanese drumming) for a little over ten years and have been playing tsugaru shamisen (a three-stringed lute) for a couple of years. I suppose you can expect to see blogs from me about cultural/performing arts and pop culture…among other subjects. The possibilities are endless! Yoroshiku, ne!

KODO One Earth Tour 2013: Legend
By terry!

お久しぶり！(Ohisashiburi!) Well, it’s certainly been a while since I have blogged with Ganbare Japanese. I apologize for my unintentional hiatus. Sometimes the days just get away from me and the next I know, it’s a new year!

ANYWAY, if any of you East Coast readers have some free time in the coming days, then I definitely recommend checking out a performance by world-renowned taiko (Japanese drumming) group, KODO. KODO is a taiko group that I have long admired for their organization and precision.

 

KODO

image courtesy of KODO

I have seen KODO in concert about a dozen times and actually visited Sado Island (located in Japan’s Niigata prefecture in the Sea of Japan) last summer to learn taiko from KODO members and apprentices. I liked KODO before this experience, but after all was said and done in Japan, I love KODO and have a newfound appreciation for them.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Qq_cw22Ors

Get a ticket and go to a KODO concert in the coming days. I promise you will not regret it! . They are wrapping up their 2-month-long US tour and won’t be back on tour in the States till early 2015. A few of my friends will be performing onstage, so please clap and cheer loudly for them!

Check out the remaining tour dates HERE

They will also be touring Japan in May and June and I highly recommend going to a KODO concert if you are in Japan–that’s something that is definitely on my bucket list! It seems KODO is more popular outside of Japan…I hope those of you living in Japan can appreciate their talent, too… they are definitely my all-time favorite taiko troupe forever and ever!

-terry

72nd Annual Nisei Week Festival
By terry!

The 72nd Annual Nisei Week Festival is in full swing out in Little Tokyo in Los Angeles. Definitely check this out if you are on the fence about it. The coming weekend of August 18th-19th will host a gyoza eating contest on Saturday in addition to many cultural demonstrations on Sunday including a taiko gathering showcasing the talent of various Southern California taiko groups. Come out to Little Tokyo to experience Japanese culture and some delicious food!

-terry

 

It’s Golden Week!
By terry!

Okay, so any of us who aren’t living in Japan at this moment can be a little envious of the vacation period that most everyone in Japan is in the midst of enjoying.

Golden Week was named so as there are many important public holidays that fall within days of one another.

Rather than giving their employees one day off here and there for vacation, most companies shut down their entire operation for one week! I guess it’s a delayed spring break; regardless, vacation time is golden! Travel tip: Golden Week is the busiest travel season next to Shogatsu (New Year’s), so transportation costs are likely to double and triple in and out of Japan. Plan ahead…and wisely.

What are you doing for Golden Week? Do share with us!

-terry

New music from m-flo…taking it back to “square one”
By terry!

The latest m-flo album, Square One, was released earlier this month. It is awesome! Their first new work in about 5 years if you don’t count their releases of remixes. I like this new album. It has the feel of early m-flo works when they used to collaborate with Lisa.

Check out some videos!

“All I Want Is You” from the new album, Square One

…and  throwback–one of my favorite songs “Come Again” featuring Lisa

“Like” this post if you love m-flo, too!  ❤

-terry

Battle Games?! Battle Royale vs. The Hunger Games
By terry!


This post does not contain any life changing spoilers, so read along!

Sound off! How many of you have read both Battle Royale and The Hunger Games? How many of you have watched the Battle Royale movie and are planning to watch The Hunger Games? Let us know!

Basically there as been some controversy brewing over the past three years alleging that Suzanne Collins, author of The Hunger Games, deliberately ripped off Battle Royale. The synopsis of both stories is quite similar and reflective of the other: teens pitted against one another in a fight for survival. There can only be one victor.

Seeing as Battle Royale first surfaced about 12+ years ago and was quite the rage of its time, it’s a little difficult to believe that Collins claims she had never even heard of Battle Royale when she conceived the concept of her Hunger Games. It is what it is and presumably what Collins says. I mean who are we to judge if someone is telling the truth or not right?

Sure, had Battle Royale made its big screen debut here in the US, it might have been a box-office hit, but perhaps the US audience would not have been ready for such a twisted storyline. Trust me, the US would not have been ready in 1999-2000 around the time that schoolhouse violence was rampant following suit of the infamous Columbine Highschool Massacre. Let’s not introduce Battle Royale to the scene and give our youth any more ill ideas. But I digress!

Without revealing any unsolicited details, I will tell you that coincidence or ripoff, I am a fan of The Hunger Games having devoured the trilogy in practically one week’s time. It is a well-written trilogy that surpasses Harry Potter and the Twilight Saga in my opinion; I couldn’t get into either of those series. I admit I have not read Battle Royale–remember I have this thing where I feel books get lost in translation, but Battle and Hunger are very much the same, yet entirely different. Does that make sense? I see The Hunger Games as an emulation of Battle Royale but I wouldn’t say it’s a ripoff. I mean if we are going to go there, then consider the following: is every good love story a blatant ripoff of a good love story that precedes it? You fall in love, you get married… but what are the details in between? There are many ways to tell the same story while keeping it original, right?

For what it’s worth, check out the trailers for Battle Royale and The Hunger Games WARNING: there is blood and violence! 

Happy Hunger Games! May the odds be ever in your favor!

-terry