Tohoku-related Kickstarter project

Hello, folks. It's been awhile. I just wanted to pass along a link to this Kickstarter project.

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/784102139/tide-and-times-stories-from-the-tsunami-survivors

Be well.

Translation announcement

It's been awhile since we've spoken. I have a number of announcements to make, but for now, this will be my first. I'm well underway in translating Gogo no Date Kinu 五々の伊達絹, Kayaba Mokuhei's 1798 text on the history of the Date family of Sendai. Kayaba wrote Gogo no Date Kinu on the 600th anniversary of the death of Date Tomomune, the founder of the family. To my knowledge, this is a text that is rather unknown even in Japanese circles. It is a concise, relatively easy to read text, even in the original language, and I think it would make a fine addition to the body of primary works from the Edo period which have appeared in translation.

A fair amount of it is devoted to the life and work of Date Masamune, founder of Sendai-han. With Masamune's recent rise in popularity, I expect there will be a fair amount of non-academic readers interested in this book!

I hope to be done by some time in late June; I'll keep everyone posted on my progress.

Be well, everyone! けっばれけさいん  (頑張ってください)!

Renaming, resuming, and so on

So it's been months since I was last here. A lot's happened since then, for Japan and for me.

You've probably noticed I renamed this blog. I feel it's appropriate because I want to focus on things that are alive, and on things that ought to be remembered. For the longest time I wasn't able to do anything here because every time I looked at photos or a map, I would dissolve into tears. I'm continuing the tagging project, but first and foremost as a means of bringing northeastern Japan's heritage to the English-speaking world.

As for my education, I graduated college and got my M.A.; I'm working on my Ph.D. now. I've got things in mind for this blog, and for what I want to present to the internet, but they're still in development.

Thanks for reading, folks. Stay tuned.

In conclusion, here is a video of the Daikoku dance (Daikoku-mai) from Akita Prefecture. Enjoy:

Dainenji, the Date funerary temple

According to this post on the "Oshu Katakura-gumi" blog, the Date family's funerary temple of Dainenji has sustained immense damage. They included some pictures from Dainenji. It almost looks like the Roman ruins I've seen in the past. The Date family, for those unaware of the region's history, was the ruling family of the feudal domain of Sendai, which encompassed all of modern Miyagi Prefecture and parts of adjoining prefectures as well. The same blog posted a screencap of what looks like an open letter from Date Yasumune, current head of the family. Part of it is cut off, but this is my translation of the rest of it.

"....as well as visiting [shrines], from now I believe we must restore the historical heritage [sites], as well as protect them. But in the midst of such great devastation, I have no choice but to ask all of you for your help. Please take in and accept this sentiment, and provide [me/us] with the reinforcing presence of your strength. Please, I humbly beseech you. Heisei 23 4/1, Yours sincerely, Sendai Date family 18th head, Date Yasumune"

I hope that Mr. Date is able to make use of his unique position to be a powerful force for good things yet to come.

Edit: Just checked Mr. Date's website, it confirms the status of Dainenji.

A request from the mayor of Minami-Soma

"Here is my sincere request to you, from all over the world, I beg you as the mayor of Minami-soma city, to help us."

NYT article

This article on the continuing disaster in Fukushima Prefecture is heartbreaking and worth a read. I encourage you to look around, at the NYT, at English-language papers from Japan, and other countries, to get a balanced look at this issue. This story, and this disaster, are far from over.

Can anyone ID this?

This is a shrine in Yamamoto, just south of Watari, in Miyagi Prefecture. Can anyone out there ID this shrine? As you can see, it's looking intact.