Podcasts about Kyoto

Guardian journalist and lifelong Nintendo superfan Keza MacDonald is the author of a new history of that reveals how the company's unique culture transformed a Kyoto playing card manufacturer into one of the most loved organisations in the history of popular entertainment. Whether you know the names of every Pokemon or are simply fascinated by how a major corporation can consistently innovate, delight, and enthral millions of adults and children across the world, this conversation is an unmissable guide to the story of a company unafraid to buck trends, resist market forces, and subvert everyone's expectations in the pursuit of excellence.   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Petals and Friendship: A Stroll Through Kyoto's Path Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-03-06-08-38-20-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 春の京都。En: Spring in Kyoto.Ja: 哲学の道には、満開の桜が咲き誇っていました。En: The Philosopher's Path was adorned with cherry blossoms in full bloom.Ja: ピンク色の花びらが、ゆっくりと川に流れて、まるで美しい絵のようでした。En: The pink petals floated gently down the river, resembling a beautiful painting.Ja: ハルトは、A子と一緒にこの道を歩くのを楽しみにしていました。En: Haruto was looking forward to walking down this path with A-ko.Ja: しかし、ハルトには一つの秘密がありました。それは花粉症です。En: However, Haruto had one secret. He had hay fever.Ja: 桜の季節になると、くしゃみと涙が止まらなくなります。En: Once the cherry blossom season arrived, he couldn't stop sneezing and tearing up.Ja: A子はカメラを手に、楽しそうに写真を撮っていました。En: A-ko was happily taking photos with her camera.Ja: 「ハルト、こっち見て！」彼女は笑顔で手を振ります。En: "Look over here, Haruto!" she waved with a smile.Ja: ハルトも応えたいのですが、目がかゆくてたまりません。En: Haruto wanted to respond, but his eyes were unbearably itchy.Ja: 「今日はひな祭りですね。女の子のための特別な日です」とA子は話します。En: "Today is Hinamatsuri. It's a special day for girls," A-ko mentioned.Ja: 周りには雛人形の飾りも見えます。En: Around them, displays of hina dolls could be seen.Ja: ひな祭りは、女の子の健康と幸せを祝う日です。En: Hinamatsuri is a day to celebrate the health and happiness of girls.Ja: ハルトは、そんなA子の話を聞きながらも、鼻をこすります。くしゃみを我慢しています。En: Despite listening to A-ko's story, Haruto rubbed his nose, trying to suppress a sneeze.Ja: 彼はA子に心配をかけたくありませんでした。En: He didn't want to worry A-ko.Ja: しかし、哲学の道の頂上に近づくころ、ハルトはもう隠せません。En: However, as they approached the top of the Philosopher's Path, Haruto could no longer hide it.Ja: 目は真っ赤で、鼻水も止まりません。En: His eyes were red, and his nose was runny.Ja: 「ハルト、大丈夫？」と、A子は驚いて声をかけます。En: "Are you okay, Haruto?" A-ko asked in surprise.Ja: とうとう、ハルトは正直に話す決意をしました。En: Finally, Haruto decided to be honest.Ja: 「実は、僕は花粉症なんだ」と謝りました。En: "Actually, I have hay fever," he confessed with an apology.Ja: 「それなら早く言ってくれればいいのに！薬を買いに行こう」と、A子は近くの薬局を見つけてくれました。En: "If that's the case, you should have told me sooner! Let's go buy some medicine," A-ko said, finding a nearby pharmacy.Ja: 薬を飲んでしばらくすると、ハルトは落ち着きを取り戻しました。En: After taking the medicine, Haruto gradually regained his composure.Ja: 再び哲学の道に戻ると、ハルトは深呼吸しました。En: Returning to the Philosopher's Path, Haruto took a deep breath.Ja: 「ごめんね、心配かけて。でもありがとう」と素直に感謝の気持ちを伝えました。En: "I'm sorry for worrying you, but thank you," he expressed his gratitude sincerely.Ja: A子は微笑んで、再びカメラを構えました。En: A-ko smiled and once again poised her camera.Ja: 「友達だから気にしないよ。いつだって助けるからね」と優しく言いました。En: "Don't worry, we're friends, and I'll always help you," she said kindly.Ja: ふたりは、ゆっくり哲学の道を歩き続けました。En: The two of them continued to walk slowly along the Philosopher's Path.Ja: 桜の花びらを眺めながら、ハルトは本当の友情がどんなときも支え合えることを知りました。En: As he gazed at the cherry blossom petals, Haruto realized that true friendship supports each other through any situation.Ja: 終わり。En: The end. Vocabulary Words:adorned: 咲き誇っていましたpetals: 花びらresembling: ようでしたsecret: 秘密suppress: 我慢confessed: 謝りましたcomposure: 落ち着きgratitude: 感謝gazed: 眺めながらregained: 取り戻しましたsupports: 支え合えるunbearably: たまりませんitched: かゆくsurprise: 驚いてsneeze: くしゃみrunny: 止まりませんpharmacy: 薬局medicine: 薬realized: 知りましたriver: 川floated: 流れてpoised: 構えましたtearing up: 涙がhonest: 正直expressed: 伝えましたbloom: 満開health: 健康friends: 友達festivity: 祭りapologized: 謝りました

HT2552 - Big Things and Little Things Some friends of ours are visiting Kyoto this week, many of the same places I visited in 2019 in my last visit to Japan. They are sending lots of pictures and I can't help but observing a difference between what they're photographing and what I photographed. Same locations, different visions. I suppose this shouldn't be a surprise, but it does have me thinking. Show your appreciation for our free weekly Podcast and our free daily Here's a Thought… with a donation Thanks!

The samurai weren't supposed to go quietly. This week, host Ben Thompson is joined by guest Mike Primavera to tell the story of Kondo Isami the peasant-born swordsman who rose to command the most feared killers in Kyoto: the Shinsengumi. As Japan cracked open under pressure from Western powers and internal rebellion, Kondo and his men became the iron fist of the collapsing shogunate — hunting assassins, cutting down rebels, and enforcing order with cold steel in the streets. But when civil war erupted and the emperor's modern army marched forward with rifles and artillery, Kondo faced an impossible choice: adapt… or die defending a dying world. He chose the sword. This is loyalty pushed to its breaking point. An era ending in blood. And a man who stood firm while history moved past him.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Cherry Blossom Confessions at Kyoto's Hinamatsuri Festival Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-03-04-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 春の日差しが柔らかく降り注ぐ京都の清水寺。En: The gentle spring sunlight is softly shining down on Kiyomizu-dera in Kyoto.Ja: 今日はひな祭りの日。En: Today is the day of the Hinamatsuri festival.Ja: 女の子の健やかな成長を祝うこの祭りには、たくさんの人々で賑わっています。En: This festival, which celebrates the healthy growth of girls, is bustling with many people.Ja: そんな中、ハルトは緊張した様子でアイコを待っていました。En: In the midst of this, Haruto waits nervously for Aiko.Ja: 「お待たせ、ハルトくん。En: "Sorry to keep you waiting, Haruto-kun."Ja: 」 アイコが微笑んでやって来ます。En: Aiko comes over with a smile.Ja: 彼女の笑顔に、ハルトの心も少し軽くなります。En: Her smile lightens Haruto's heart a bit.Ja: 「こんにちは、アイコさん。En: "Hello, Aiko-san.Ja: 今日は来てくれてありがとう。En: Thank you for coming today."Ja: 」 彼は頑張って平静を装いますが、内心はドキドキしています。En: He struggles to maintain a calm demeanor, but inside, his heart is racing.Ja: このデートで彼の想いを伝える計画です。En: He plans to express his feelings during this date.Ja: しかし、人混みでなかなかタイミングをつかめません。En: However, the crowd makes it hard to find the right moment.Ja: 「とても賑やかで素敵ね。En: "It's so lively and wonderful.Ja: お祭りの日に来られて良かった。En: I'm glad we came on the festival day."Ja: 」 アイコは清水寺の美しさと、満開の桜に感動しています。En: Aiko is amazed by the beauty of Kiyomizu-dera and the cherry blossoms in full bloom.Ja: 「うん、本当に綺麗だね。En: "Yes, it's really beautiful."Ja: 」 ハルトは相槌を打ちながら、どう言えば自分の気持ちを伝えられるか考えます。En: Haruto nods in agreement, all the while pondering how to convey his feelings.Ja: ふたりはゆっくりと境内を歩きますが、混雑のため話しにくい状況です。En: The two walk slowly around the temple grounds, but it's difficult to talk due to the crowd.Ja: ハルトは少し迷いましたが、思い切って言います。En: Haruto hesitates a bit, but then boldly suggests: "Aiko-san, if you'd like, shall we go somewhere a bit quieter?"Ja: 「アイコさん、もし良かったら、少し静かなところに行ってみない？En: They take a side path and emerge onto a quiet cherry blossom-lined street.Ja: 」二人は裏道に入り、静かな桜の並木道に出ます。En: From there, they can see the townscape of Kyoto and the cherry blossoms in full bloom.Ja: そこからは京都の町並みと満開の桜が見えます。En: The spring breeze comfortably envelops them.Ja: 春風が心地よく二人を包みます。En: "This is a great spot."Ja: 「ここ、いい場所だね。En: Aiko says.Ja: 」 アイコが言います。En: Haruto looks at her profile and makes up his mind.Ja: ハルトは彼女の横顔を見て、決心します。En: "Aiko-san, I...Ja: 「アイコさん、僕は…あなたのことが好きです。En: I like you."Ja: 」 ハルトは心からの言葉を伝えます。En: Haruto expresses his heartfelt words.Ja: 緊張で手が震えています。En: His hands are shaking with nerves.Ja: アイコは少し驚いた様子ですが、すぐに微笑みます。En: Aiko looks a bit surprised, but soon smiles.Ja: 「ハルトくん、私もあなたといると楽しい。En: "Haruto-kun, I enjoy being with you, too.Ja: ありがとう、勇気を出してくれて。En: Thank you for having the courage to tell me."Ja: 」その言葉に、ハルトは心の底から安堵を感じます。En: With those words, Haruto feels a deep sense of relief.Ja: ふたりの間に笑顔が広がり、時間が静かに流れます。En: Smiles spread between them, and time quietly flows.Ja: 「また、一緒にお祭りに行きましょう。En: "Let's go to the festival together again."Ja: 」 アイコが提案します。En: Aiko suggests.Ja: 「うん、ぜひ行こう。En: "Yes, let's definitely go."Ja: 」 自信を取り戻したハルトが答えます。En: Haruto, having regained his confidence, replies.Ja: 春の桜の下、ふたりの心は新たなスタートを切ったのでした。En: Under the spring cherry blossoms, their hearts embark on a new journey together. Vocabulary Words:gentle: 柔らかくsunlight: 日差しfestival: 祭りcelebrates: 祝うhealthy: 健やかgrowth: 成長bustling: 賑わっていますnervously: 緊張したdemeanor: 平静racing: ドキドキconvey: 伝えるemerge: 出ますlined: 並木道townscape: 町並みbreeze: 風envelops: 包みますspot: 場所profile: 横顔heartfelt: 心からshaking: 震えていますcourage: 勇気relief: 安堵smiles: 笑顔regained: 取り戻したconfidence: 自信embark: スタートlively: 賑やかastonished: 感動pondering: 考えますsuggestion: 提案

Madhouse's Supernatural anime celebrates 15 years, Next Pokémon game series announced for 2027, and Kyoto Animation co-founder dies... Also, MediaDo acquires Seven Seas Entertainment, Shogakukan apologizes for releasing manga from a convicted sex offender, and a Pokémon voice actress marks 30th anniversary with first-ever game stream! Meanwhile in Japan... Play Tetris on a massive Kyoto station staircase, and a Puyo Puyo Game is in development for use in nursing homes!

L'amaro in bocca è tanto, ma bisogna guardare avanti. Cerchiamo di analizzare i pro e i contro di una partita che in pochi secondi è passata da essere esaltante a deprimente. Un ringraziamento speciale a Leonardo Scarton, @leonthesilkroad per tutti, che sta viaggiando da Roma a Kyoto per raggiungere la sua amata. Infine la rubrica "Fatti cor pennello" di Luca Lo Porto e gli audio ambientali di Roma Juventus..VUOI ASCOLTARE IL PODCAST SENZA PUBBLICITÀ E NUOVI CONTENUTI EXTRA?.Sostieni Salida Lavolpiana su Patreon e accedi a Salida Lavolpiana Plus per un ascolto senza interruzioni: https://www.patreon.com/c/salidapod/membership .INFO .E-mail: salidapod@magnesiapodcast.it.SOCIAL .Twitter: https://x.com/salida_pod.Instagram: www.instagram.com/salida_pod.Telegram: https://t.me/+tlLFCGKW3ps0MWM0.VUOI SOSTENERCI?.https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/salida-lavolpiana--5909766/support.CHI SIAMO .Sito: https://linktr.ee/salidapod

Our Yokohama F.Marinos correspondent Stuart Woodward guests on this week's podcast, after his side claimed a first victory of the Chaos Energy J.League Cup at home against Tokyo Verdy on Saturday (to 28:00). Then in Part 2 Jonny and Ben round up the other four east games, highlighted by a first victory for Kashiwa and a stunning comeback by Kashima away at Urawa (to 43:30), then we run through the west slate, with a focus on Kyoto's brilliant late fightback at Hiroshima. Stuart and Dan Orlowitz made a joint guest appearance on The Football Heritage Podcast, and you can access the episode via various means here.

Pdubz and Beautiful catch up and discuss recent stories from wild Japanese politics to Pdubz' horrible luck at the airport. Beautiful also argues that beer makes you more girly. ***Support our Patreon to get access to bonus episodes and episodes 1-50 over at:https://www.patreon.com/TKOrajioPlease give us a 5 star review on Spotify and Apple Podcast to help us out Contact us at:tkorajio@gmail.comInstagram: tko_rajioTwitter @TKO_RAJIO 

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Blossoms of Art and Connection in Kyoto's Maruyama Park Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-03-02-08-38-20-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 春の京都、桜の花が美しく咲き誇っています。En: In spring Kyoto, the cherry blossoms are beautifully in full bloom.Ja: 町中は「花見祭り」で賑わい、笑い声と楽しそうな人々で溢れています。En: The town is bustling with the "hanami matsuri" or cherry blossom viewing festival, filled with laughter and joyful people.Ja: ここは丸山公園。En: This is Maruyama Park.Ja: 静かに桜を見上げる一人の青年がいます。En: There is a young man quietly looking up at the cherry blossoms.Ja: 彼の名前はレン、心の奥では芸術的な情熱を燃やしつつ、他人との深いつながりを求めていますが、自信がなく、いつも一人です。En: His name is Ren, and while he burns with artistic passion deep inside, he seeks deep connections with others but lacks confidence, so he is always alone.Ja: レンは公園のベンチに座り、スケッチブックを膝に置き、桜を描こうとしていました。En: Ren is sitting on a bench in the park, placing a sketchbook on his lap, trying to draw the cherry blossoms.Ja: しかし、色を選べず、手が止まります。En: However, he can't decide on the colors and his hand stops.Ja: 「春の本質を絵にできるのだろうか？」自問自答していました。En: "Can I capture the essence of spring in a painting?" he questions himself.Ja: その時、近くで写真を撮っている明るい女性に気づきます。En: At that moment, he notices a cheerful woman taking photos nearby.Ja: 彼女の名前はユキ。En: Her name is Yuki.Ja: 自然を愛し、カメラを通して世界を捉えるのが好きです。En: She loves nature and enjoys capturing the world through her camera.Ja: 彼女はレンの近くに来て声をかけます。「こんにちは！絵を描いているのですね。見せてもらってもいいですか？」En: She approaches Ren and speaks to him, "Hello! You're drawing, aren't you? May I have a look?"Ja: 突然の声に驚くレンは少し戸惑いましたが、ユキの優しい笑顔に引き込まれ、スケッチを見せることにしました。En: Surprised by the sudden voice, Ren is a bit perplexed, but he is drawn in by Yuki's gentle smile and decides to show her the sketch.Ja: 「まだ未完成です」とレンは言いました。En: "It's still unfinished," Ren says.Ja: ユキはじっくりレンのスケッチを見て、とても感心した様子でした。En: Yuki looks intently at Ren's sketch and seems very impressed.Ja: 「すごい！桜の微妙な色合いがとてもきれいです」と言いました。En: "Amazing! The subtle hues of the cherry blossoms are so beautiful," she says.Ja: その言葉にレンの心は少しずつ溶けていきます。En: Her words gradually melt the hesitance in Ren's heart.Ja: 二人はその場で話し始めました。En: The two begin to talk on the spot.Ja: ユキも写真を撮ることが好きだと知り、アートについての共通の話題で盛り上がります。En: Discovering that Yuki also likes photography, they bond over their shared interest in art.Ja: レンは、ユキの積極的で親しみやすい性格に触発され、心を開いていきました。En: Ren, inspired by Yuki's proactive and friendly personality, began to open his heart.Ja: 花びらがはらはらと舞い落ちる中、レンは決心します。En: Amidst the petals fluttering down, Ren makes a decision.Ja: 「僕が最近描いた絵、見て欲しいです」彼は心臓がドキドキしながら、ユキに言いました。En: "I want you to see the pictures I've recently drawn," he says to Yuki, feeling his heart pounding.Ja: ユキは絵を見ると、目を輝かせて言いました。「すごい！レンさんの絵は本当に素晴らしいです！」En: Yuki looks at his artwork and says with sparkling eyes, "Amazing! Ren-san, your paintings are truly wonderful!"Ja: 彼女の言葉は、レンの心に自信を灯しました。En: Her words lit a spark of confidence in Ren's heart.Ja: その後、二人は共にアートプロジェクトを始めました。En: Afterwards, the two of them started an art project together.Ja: 共通の情熱でつながった二人の間に新しい関係が芽生えました。En: A new relationship sprouted between them, connected by their shared passion.Ja: レンは桜と共に心を開き、アートと愛の両方で成長しました。En: Ren opened his heart along with the cherry blossoms, growing in both art and love.Ja: 丸山公園には、レンとユキの笑顔と共に、春らしい優しい風が流れています。En: In Maruyama Park, alongside the smiles of Ren and Yuki, a gentle spring breeze flows.Ja: 新しい季節、新たな出会い、そして新しい始まりの予感が、桜の花びらと共に舞っています。En: A sense of a new season, a new encounter, and a new beginning flutters with the cherry blossom petals. Vocabulary Words:bloom: 咲き誇るbustling: 賑わいessence: 本質intently: じっくりsubtle: 微妙なhues: 色合いperplexed: 戸惑うhesitance: 躊躇proactive: 積極的fluttering: 舞い落ちるbond: つながりcapturing: 捉えるsparkling: 輝かせてheart pounding: 心臓がドキドキsprouted: 芽生えましたartistic: 芸術的なproject: プロジェクトartwork: 絵connection: つながりconfidence: 自信encounter: 出会いpassion: 情熱viewing: 見ることquietly: 静かにinspired: 触発するshared: 共通のlaughter: 笑い声intrigued: 惹かれるgentle: 優しいunfamiliar: 未知の

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Blossoms of Friendship: Finding Hope in Kyoto's Bamboo Grove Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-03-01-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 竹林は静かだった。En: The takeyabu was quiet.Ja: 優雅な竹がそよ風に揺れ、早春の陽射しが青々とした地面に光を落としていた。En: The elegant bamboo swayed in the gentle breeze, and the early spring sunlight cast its rays on the lush green ground.Ja: 京都の嵐山竹林は、まるで別世界のようである。En: The Kyoto Arashiyama bamboo grove felt like another world.Ja: そこに、プラム色の桜の花が静かに咲いていた。En: There, plum-colored cherry blossoms bloomed quietly.Ja: ハルトは絵を描くためのインスピレーションを探していた。En: Haruto was searching for inspiration for his paintings.Ja: 彼はスケッチブックを持って竹林を歩いたが、自信がなくて、何を描けばいいかわからなかった。En: He walked through the bamboo grove with his sketchbook in hand, but, lacking confidence, he didn't know what to draw.Ja: ハルトは新しい友達を作ることに不安を感じていたし、今はただ一人になりたかった。En: Haruto felt anxious about making new friends and just wanted to be alone at the moment.Ja: そのとき、ハルトは女の子に出会った。En: That's when Haruto met a girl.Ja: ミユキという名前の明るい笑顔の学生だった。En: Her name was Miyuki, a student with a bright smile.Ja: 彼女はカメラを持って、桜の写真を熱心に撮っていた。En: She was enthusiastically taking photos of the cherry blossoms with her camera.Ja: しかし、彼女のカメラが突然故障した。En: However, her camera suddenly broke down.Ja: 「どうしよう…」とミユキは呟いた。En: "What should I do..." Miyuki murmured.Ja: その言葉を聞いて、ハルトは勇気を出して声をかけた。En: Hearing those words, Haruto summoned his courage and spoke up.Ja: 「手伝いましょうか？En: "Can I help?"Ja: 」ハルトの申し出にミユキは驚いたが、嬉しそうに微笑んだ。En: Haruto's offer surprised Miyuki, but she smiled happily.Ja: 二人は一緒にカメラを見て、色々と話しながらカメラを直そうとした。En: Together, they examined the camera, trying to fix it while chatting.Ja: 不思議なことに、ハルトはミユキと話していると緊張がほぐれていくのを感じた。En: Strangely enough, Haruto felt his tension ease as he talked with Miyuki.Ja: その後、ミユキはカメラを一旦下ろし、ハルトと一緒に竹林や桜をじっくりと見つめた。En: Afterwards, Miyuki set her camera aside and quietly gazed at the bamboo grove and cherry blossoms with Haruto.Ja: 「竹林は素晴らしいですね」とミユキが言った。En: "The bamboo grove is amazing," Miyuki said.Ja: 「この美しい瞬間をただ感じるのもいいですね。En: "Sometimes it's nice to just feel the beauty of this moment."Ja: 」ハルトは頷き、ミユキの言葉に励まされた。En: Haruto nodded, encouraged by Miyuki's words.Ja: 彼らは桜の下でじっくりと話をし、互いに世界の美しさを共有した。En: They talked under the cherry blossoms, sharing the beauty of the world with each other.Ja: 一瞬一瞬が大切だということを二人は感じた。En: They both realized that every moment is precious.Ja: 「また、一緒にここに来ましょう」とミユキが提案した。En: "Let's come here together again," Miyuki suggested.Ja: ハルトは微笑んで頷き、スケッチブックを広げた。En: Haruto smiled and nodded, opening his sketchbook.Ja: ミユキが隣にいてくれて、彼は新しい絵のインスピレーションを感じた。En: With Miyuki by his side, he felt inspired for a new drawing.Ja: 桜の花と竹の中で、新しい友情と可能性が芽生えた。En: Amidst the cherry blossoms and bamboo, a new friendship and possibilities began to sprout.Ja: ハルトは今、より自信を持って、絵を通じて人々と繋がることができるような気がした。En: Haruto now felt more confident, feeling like he could connect with others through his art.Ja: ミユキもまた、レンズを超えて瞬間を生き生きと捉えることの意味を学んだ。En: Miyuki also learned the value of capturing moments vividly beyond the lens.Ja: 桜の下、二人はそっと微笑み合い、新しい旅の始まりを感じながら穏やかにその場を離れた。En: Under the cherry blossoms, they smiled gently at each other, feeling the beginning of a new journey as they quietly left the place. Vocabulary Words:breeze: そよ風elegant: 優雅lush: 青々としたgrove: 竹林rays: 光plum-colored: プラム色inspiration: インスピレーションanxious: 不安enthusiastically: 熱心にmurmured: 呟いたsummoned: 出してcourage: 勇気examined: 見てtension: 緊張ease: ほぐれていくencouraged: 励まされたprecious: 大切suggested: 提案したamidst: 中でsprout: 芽生えたfriendship: 友情journey: 旅capture: 捉えるvividly: 生き生きとpossibilities: 可能性felt: 感じたquietly: 静かにstudent: 学生examined: 見てdiscouraged: 自信がなくて

Most cultural institutions know games matter. Very few know what to do about it. Kristian Volsing is one of the people who figured it out — and built the path in real time.As part of the V&A's contemporary design team, Kristian co-curated Design/Play/Disrupt, one of the most significant museum exhibitions ever dedicated to game design. He navigated studio NDAs, convinced the National Gallery of Art to lend a Magritte for a game show, and flew a colleague to Kyoto — where Nintendo showed her exactly one meeting room.In this conversation, we go deep on what it actually takes to build a sustainable games program inside a cultural institution: why live events beat collection-building as a starting point, how to work with an industry that guards its IP fiercely, and what experimental game designers actually need from institutions like yours. If you're a champion inside an organization who sees the opportunity but doesn't yet have the authority to act on it — this one is for you.(00:00) - Why Cultural Institutions Can't Afford to Ignore Games Anymore (01:36) - Kristian Volsing's Path From Film Student to V&A Curator (05:27) - How a New Director Opened the Door for Digital Design at the V&A (09:20) - Inside Design/Play/Disrupt: Why Depth Beats the "50 Games on a Wall" Approach (17:32) - Nintendo, NDAs, and What It Actually Takes to Partner With Game Studios (27:55) - The Hard Truth About Collecting and Preserving Digital Work (40:50) - Where Your Institution Should Start: Practical Advice From Someone Who Built the Path For more insights, signup for my newsletter.Jamin Warren founded Gameplayarts, an advisory that helps museums and cultural organizations engage with the world of gaming. He provides them with the research, strategy, and execution they need to reach gamers for the first–or millionth–time. Gameplayarts' past and present clients organizations like MoMA, the Getty Research Institute, Tribeca Enterprises, and PBS.

Send a textBritish author, podcaster, and reverend Peter Laws joins this chilling episode of Supernatural Japan to discuss his fascinating career exploring the dark side of belief, horror, and the unexplained. Known for his book The Frighteners: Why We Love Monsters, Ghosts, Death & Gore, the Matt Hunter thriller series, his atmospheric YouTube channel Into the Fog with Peter Laws, and his appearances as part of Team Believer on the hit Uncanny podcast, Peter brings his unique perspective on the supernatural to the show. In this episode, he shares insights into his work in writing and podcasting and recounts a terrifying story about travelers who unknowingly book a haunted Airbnb in Kyoto filled with eerie dolls. If you love Japanese ghost stories, paranormal podcasts, and true creepy encounters in Japan, this is an episode you won't want to miss.Subscribe to: “Into the Fog With Peter Laws”: https://www.youtube.com/@IntoTheFogBRAND NEW Website: supernaturaljapan.comGet lots of Premium and Exclusive Content!Premium membership: @patreon Support on: @BuyMeACoffeeConnect with Supernatural Japan:Website: supernaturaljapan.comInstagram: @supernaturaljapanFacebook: @SupernaturalJapanBlueSky: @MadForMapleX: @MadForMapleYouTube: @BusanKevinSupport the show

Lauren Shannon has been living in Japan for over 25 years and is a partner at Arigato Tours. Lauren shares Kyoto’s unique take on sushi, creative Matcha dishes, and the massive Nishiki market. Plus, a deep dive into sake. [Ep 378] Show Notes: Destination Eat Drink food and travel guides Destination Eat Drink YouTube channel Arigato Travel website

Pokemon Day 2026 is here! Celebrate the 30th anniversary of Pokemon with the Krewe by reliving the 25th anniversary of Pokemon! lol Digging deep in the vault to pull out a special Pokemon Day throwback to Season 1, Episode 3 of the podcast... where we have the WHOLE OG Krewe freshly hatched out of our podcast Pokemon egg!  ++++++ In this episode, the Krewe gathers to discuss the iconic Japanese media franchise, Pokémon! Celebrating its 25th anniversary this February, Pokémon is the highest grossing media franchise in the world! From its anime and games, to trading cards and mobile apps, Pokémon truly unites people from across the world. Tune in to this episode to hear the krewe discuss the history, major moments, and each krewe member's favorite Pokémon! ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ Past KOJ Pokemon/Nintendo Episodes ------ The History of Nintendo ft. Matt Alt (S4E18) The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 2] (S4E3) The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 1] (S4E2) We Love Pokemon: Celebrating 25 Years (S1E3) Why Japan? ft. Matt Alt (S1E1) ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

Meet Chai Kanda, CEO of Shiki Properties in Kyoto, who sits down to talk about Japan's short-term rental market. He talks about his work restoring machiya for vacation rentals, Japan's tourism boom, and how regulations affect Japan's tourism industry.--0:00 Intro0:45 Meet Chai1:07 What brought Chai to Japan2:07 Chai's childhood in Japan2:27 Leaving Sydney for Japan2:51 Chai's original vision for Japan3:52 Chai's first job in Japan4:11 Staying in Kansai long term4:36 Discovering real estate6:43 From rentals to acquisitions for Chai9:30 The pros and cons of machiya investment for Chai11:38 The charm of machiya12:15 Chai on Airbnb in Japan13:58 Chai on renovation budgets16:27 Chai navigating funding and partnerships17:35 Chai on customer demand for machiya18:55 Adapting to rapid growth20:17 How booming tourism affects regulations24:32 Kyoto-specific rules25:29 Expanding beyond Kyoto29:02 Expanding into Japan's "Little Venice"32:37 Chai comparing markets34:20 The usual process of starting in a new area36:56 Tourism and neighborhood change39:55 Evaluating sustainable tourism markets43:09 Chai on overtourism in Japan45:13 Crowded buses and local frustration47:27 Transit expansion challenges48:10 Untangling the tourism challenge50:27 Chai's long-term vision52:36 From real estate to hot sauce54:12 The reality of launching food products in Japan56:04 Chai's Scoville rating56:55 Key lessons from two decades in business58:25 The fear of failure in Japan1:00:39 Being prepared for business in Japan1:03:26 Wrapping up1:04:01 Outro____________Shiki Group:https://linktr.ee/shikigroupShiki Properties IG:https://instagram.com/shiki_propertiesShiki Real Estate:https://linktr.ee/shiki.realestateFollow us:https://unpacking.jp/https://www.instagram.com/unpacking_japanhttps://www.tiktok.com/@unpackingjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/unpackingjapanhttps://www.youtube.com/@unpackingjapanshortshttps://www.x.com/unpacking_japanhttps://creators.spotify.com/pod/profile/unpackingjapanSubscribe for more in-depth discussions about life in Japan! Interested in working at a global e-commerce company in Osaka? Our parent company ZenGroup is hiring! To learn more, check out https://careers.zen.group/en/

durée : 00:02:33 - Bientôt chez vous - C'est un problème qui revient de plus en plus dans les médias nippons. Des clients hurlent, insultent les employés, les obligent à s'excuser à genou. La préfecture de Mie, près de Kyoto, envisage désormais des sanctions lourdes pour protéger les salariés, allant de l'amende à la prison. Vous aimez ce podcast ? Pour écouter tous les autres épisodes sans limite, rendez-vous sur Radio France.

As regular listeners may know, in my free time, I'vbe been  researching Japanese washi. I'm looking for the "perfect paper," something that I can return to again and again in my own prints. It hasn't been straightforward. There's a lot of washi out there. A lot to test. A lot to understand. The search continues.   I'd like to introduce  you to a papermaking community in Saitama Prefecture, Japan — Ogawa Washi. In Ogawa and Higashi-Chichibu, papermakers have been producing washi for over 1,300 years with studios continuing  to operate there today.   I had the opportunity  to speak with Seiko Musashi; Ogawa washi exporter, art program coordinator, translator, about the history of the area, who is making paper now, and how these paper maing studios continue even as generations change and family lines shift.   We also talk about how Ogawa connects outward. In the past few years they've hosted longer, week-long workshops in mokuhanga and washi making. Including groups from RMIT University, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and earlier visits from the University of California Santa Cruz through connections with Terry McKenna and his Karuizawa Mokuhanga School. It's one of the ways this small papermaking community stays active and engaged with artists from outside of Japan.   Seiko has dedicated much of her life to sharing Ogawa's washi beyond Japan — and in our conversation, we reflect on what the future might look like for communities like Ogawa. Please follow The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast and my own mokuhanga work on my website andrezadoroznyprints.com Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com   Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. If there are any issues with something you've heard in the episode please don't hesitate to email.  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Ogawa Washi - these are the following links to Ogawa Washi and Seiko Musashi (Office Harvest).  www.officeharvest.com Wano Kaze is the Ogawa Washi shop - www.wanokaze-washi.com Patty Hudak - is an American artist who splits her time between Vermont and NYC, who works in installation, and mokuhanga. She has travelled the world, and is a part of three artist collectives. Patty's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Come Closer Mia O - is one of the most interesting and creative mokuhanga printmakers working in the medium, today. As a South Korean born, Japan based printmaker Mia's work moves outside the traditional formats of mokuhanga, through shape, collage, colour, and even the folds of washi. Mia's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Untitled Michi no Eki (道の駅）- is a community driven space crated by the Japanese government in order for local people from the area ususally found off of highways. You can find toursim information as well as rest and get food and drink. kōgyō kumiai (工業組合）- is a manufacturing collective in which groups of manufacturers or craftspeople cooperate for mutual benefit. Terry McKenna - is a mokuhanga printmaker and teacher residing in Karuizawa, Japan. He received guidance in the art form from Richard Steiner, a prominent mokuhanga printmaker based in Kyoto. Terry established the Karuizawa Mokuhanga School, a renowned residency dedicated to mokuhanga education, located in Karuizawa, Japan.  Further details about Terry and his school can be found, here. Additionally, you can listen to Terry's interview with The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, here and Richard Steiner's interview here.  Your Magic Tree (2013) 43 cm × 26.2 cm Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum - is a major public art museum located in Ueno Park in Tokyo. Founded in 1926 as Japan's first public art museum, it is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government and is known primarily as a venue museum, hosting a wide range of temporary exhibitions rather than maintaining a large permanent collection. It presents major international shows, large juried exhibitions by Japanese art associations, and exhibitions organized by independent artist groups. More info, here.    The Great Britain Sasakawa Foundation - is a UK-based not-for-profit organization that promotes relations between The United Kingdom and Japan. Established in 1985, it supports projects in areas such as arts and culture, education, research, policy, and public engagement that strengthen understanding between Japan and the United Kingdom. It provides grants to individuals and institutions, funds exhibitions and cultural exchanges, and supports academic research related to Japan. More info, here.    Daiwa Anglo-Japanese Foundation - is a UK charity established in 1988 with support from Daiwa Securities Co Ltd to strengthen links between Britain and Japan. It promotes UK–Japan relations by awarding grants to individuals and organizations across diverse fields, offering scholarships to outstanding British graduates to study Japan and its language, and organizing a year-round public programme to deepen understanding of Japan in the UK. Its London headquarters, Daiwa Foundation Japan House, serves as a cultural hub hosting lectures, seminars, exhibitions, and other Japan-related events, while its Tokyo Office supports scholars, administers grants from Japan, and contributes to the wider network fostering UK–Japan exchange. More info, here.    Richard Flavin (1943-2020) - was a printmaker, papermaker, letterpress printer, and artist with a strong interest in Japan, particularly traditional culture, and utilitarian antiques. He was committed to Japanese hand papermaking and woodcut printmaking. More info, here.   Richard Flavin Washi House - can be found, here.    Timothy Barrett - is a master craftsman, scholar, and innovator in hand made papermaking. He is the founding director of the papermaking program at the University of Iowa's Center for the Book, established in 1986, which is one of the few facilities in the United States where both Western and Japanese-style handmade paper are produced and taught. Barrett's work brings together research, teaching, and artistic practice, emphasizing the expressive, historical, and functional qualities of paper as a material. Timothy Barrett has written many books on papermaking such as Japanese Papermaking (2005), and Nagashizuki: The Japanese Craft of Hand Papermaking (1979).    Paul Denhoed - is a Canadian paper maker who has lived in Japan for twenty five years. He currently works with Oguni Washi in Niigata, where Paul teaches students how to make Japanese washi. More info, here.    shodo -is the name attributed to calligraphy in the Japanese style, which involves writing characters using a brush and ink.   Echizen - is a region in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, known for its long history of papermaking. The area is home to many paper artisans. One notable figure is Iwano Ichibei. He is a Living National Treasure in papermaking and the ninth generation of his family still making paper today. More information can be found here.in English, and here in Japanese.    kawara ban - were single sheet prints in Edo Period Japan which reported newsworthy events in writings and illustrations and made in various formats and sizes. They were mass-printed on inexpensive paper to keep costs accessible, emphasizing short-term public enjoyment rather than preservation.    kawaraban of Commodore Perry entering Japan.    Nicholas Cladis - is an artist and paper historian who teaches and lives in Iowa. He lived in Echizen from 2014-2020 where he studied how to make washi, taught at the Fukui Prefectural University, as well as being the International liaison for the paper making union. More info can be found on his website, here. You can find Nicholas' episode with The Unfinished Print, here.    Nasu Kozo -  paper is some of the best Japanese washi from Ibaraki Prefecture. It is durable, strong, and highly absorbent perfect of mokuhanga.    Sekishu-Banshi Washi- is, like Nasu kozo washi a traditional and very durable handmade paper from the Iwami region of Shiman Prefecture.  It is an UNESCO-recognized, unbleached, and hand-beaten paper which has been used for calligraphy, restoration, and shoji as well as mokuhanga. Here is a video from UNESCO about Sekishu-Banshi.   Ogawa Washi Michi no Eki - is the michi no eki discussed in our interview with Seiko Musashi. More info, here.    neri - is a natural, viscous, plant-based mucilage used in traditional Japanese papermaking to keep fibers evenly suspended in the vat, prevent them from clumping, and slow the drainage of water through a screen. It is typically extracted from the roots of tororo-aoi (sunset hibiscus) and is essential for the nagashi-zuki technique, where it helps distribute fibers smoothly and uniformly during sheet formation.   Hosokawa shi - is one of the traditinal handmade papers made in Ogawa. It was added to the UNESCO Representative List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2014. More info, here.    Mariko Jesse - is an illustrator, and mokuhanga printmaker who splits her time in Tōkyō, London, and California. Her work can be found, here. Mariko is also a part of the collective, wood+paper+box, which can be found, here. Mariko's interview with The Unfinished Print, can be found, here.    Japanese Paper Company - is an online Japanese washi shop which sells Japanese washi. An interview with Megan Adie, a co-owner of the JPC, with The Unfinished Print, can be found, here. More info about the JPC can be found, here.              

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Sparks Over Coffee: A Kyoto Tale of Friendship and Folklore Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-26-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 冬の日、京都の小さなコーヒーロースタリーに、あたたかいコーヒーと焙煎された豆の香りが漂っていました。En: On a winter day, the aroma of warm coffee and roasted beans wafted through a small coffee roastery in Kyoto.Ja: 紙灯篭や鬼の面が飾られ、節分の季節が訪れているのを感じさせました。En: Decorated with paper lanterns and oni masks, it gave a feeling of the Setsubun season approaching.Ja: 空（そら）はカウンターに座っていました。En: Sora was sitting at the counter.Ja: 彼はここによく来る常連客で、執筆のインスピレーションを探しに来ていました。En: He was a regular who often came here looking for inspiration to write.Ja: しかし、最近は筆が進まない日々が続いていました。En: However, recently he had been experiencing days where he couldn't write much.Ja: 彼の目は、お客さんと楽しそうに話すアスカにいつも釘付けになります。En: His eyes were always glued to Asuka, who was chatting happily with the customers.Ja: アスカはこの店のバリスタで、地元の伝説や民話に興味がある熱心な若い女性です。En: Asuka was a barista at this shop, an enthusiastic young woman interested in local legends and folktales.Ja: ある日、空の親友のケンタがやって来ました。En: One day, Sora's best friend Kenta came by.Ja: ケンタはいつも空を「夢見がちだ」とからかいます。En: Kenta always teased Sora for being a "dreamer."Ja: 「なあ、アスカと話したらいいのに」とケンタは言います。En: "Hey, you should talk to Asuka," Kenta said.Ja: でも空は恥ずかしがり屋で、なかなか話しかけられません。En: But Sora was shy and found it difficult to start a conversation.Ja: 節分の日がやって来ました。En: Setsubun day arrived.Ja: 店では小さな鬼を模したおにぎりや、福茶がふるまわれています。En: The shop served onigiri shaped like little oni and fortune tea.Ja: 空はこの機会に乗じて、勇気を出してアスカに話しかけようと決意しました。En: Sora decided to seize this opportunity and muster the courage to speak to Asuka.Ja: アスカはニコニコしながら、節分についての話を空にしました。En: Asuka smiled warmly as she talked to Sora about Setsubun.Ja: 「この店での豆まきは楽しいですよね」とアスカ。En: "The bean-throwing here is so much fun, isn't it?" she said.Ja: すると空は、自分も書いている物語で鬼の話を取り入れていることを話しました。En: Then Sora revealed that he was incorporating a oni story in the tale he was writing.Ja: 「あ、私もそういう話が好きです！」とアスカは目を輝かせました。En: "Oh, I love those kinds of stories too!" Asuka exclaimed, her eyes sparkling.Ja: 「誰かと一緒に作品を作るのも楽しいかもしれませんね。」En: "It might be fun to create something with someone else."Ja: 会話は弾み、二人はすぐに時間を忘れて話し込みました。En: Their conversation flowed naturally, and they soon lost track of time talking.Ja: その日をきっかけに、空とアスカはさらに親しくなりました。En: This day marked the beginning of a closer friendship between Sora and Asuka.Ja: ふたりはカフェの外でも会うことに決め、物語を一緒に作ることにしました。En: They decided to meet outside the café and work on a story together.Ja: 空は、自分の力を信じ、自信を持てるようになってきました。En: Sora started to believe in his abilities and gain confidence.Ja: 彼はアスカとの時間を通じて、他者とつながることの大切さを学びました。En: Through his time with Asuka, he learned the importance of connecting with others.Ja: 冬の終わりに向かって、二人の新しい物語が始まったのです。En: As winter drew to a close, a new story for the two of them began. Vocabulary Words:aroma: 香りroastery: ロースタリーlanterns: 灯篭masks: 面approaching: 訪れているinspiration: インスピレーションincorporating: 取り入れているfortunes: 福enthusiastic: 熱心legends: 伝説folktales: 民話teased: からかいますconversation: 会話opportunity: 機会seize: 乗じてmuster: 勇気を出すcourage: 勇気sparkling: 輝かせnaturally: 自然にconfidence: 自信connecting: つながるcounter: カウンターglued: 釘付けshy: 恥ずかしがり屋mest: ふるまわれますrevealed: 話しましたincorporating: 取り入れてmarked: きっかけbelieve: 信じabilities: 力

German chancellor Friedrich Merz lands in Beijing as the latest western leader looking to improve trade relations with China. Plus: why Kyoto’s mayor has announced plans for Japan’s first citizen discount on bus fares.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Finding Freedom: Rina's Zen Journey to Inner Peace Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-25-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 冬の静かな朝、京都の春光院に白い息を吐きながらリナがやってきました。En: On a quiet winter morning, Kyoto's Shunkoin welcomed Rina as she arrived, exhaling white breaths.Ja: 彼女は28歳のアーティストで、心の安らぎと新しいインスピレーションを求めていました。En: She was a 28-year-old artist seeking peace of mind and new inspiration.Ja: しかし、最近の彼女は、キャリアのプレッシャーと個人的な問題に心を奪われていました。En: However, lately, she found herself overwhelmed by career pressures and personal issues.Ja: 寺の入り口には、美しい禅庭園が広がっています。En: At the entrance of the temple, a beautiful Zen garden spread out before her.Ja: 光が差し込み、裸の木の枝が地面に影を落としています。En: Light filtered through, casting shadows of bare tree branches on the ground.Ja: リナは冷たい空気を吸い込み、大きく息を吐きました。En: Rina inhaled the cold air and exhaled deeply.Ja: 「ここで私は救われるだろうか？」と心の中で問いかけました。En: "Will I be saved here?" she asked herself in her heart.Ja: リナが寺の中を歩いていると、たまたま竹下という寺の僧侶に出会いました。En: As Rina walked through the temple, she happened to meet a monk named Takeshita.Ja: 彼は柔らかな笑顔でリナを迎え入れました。En: He welcomed Rina with a gentle smile.Ja: 「ようこそ、春光院へ。お手伝いできることがあれば、何でも言ってください。」En: "Welcome to Shunkoin. If there's anything I can help with, please don't hesitate to ask."Ja: リナは優しい彼に感謝しつつも、心の中の不安を誰にも託せずにいました。En: While Rina was grateful to this kind man, she couldn't entrust her internal anxieties to anyone.Ja: しかし、突然のめまいが彼女を襲いました。En: But suddenly, she was struck by dizziness.Ja: 視界がぼやけ、彼女はその場に倒れてしまいました。En: Her vision blurred, and she collapsed on the spot.Ja: 目を覚ますと、彼女は暖かい布団に横たわっていました。En: When she awoke, she was lying on a warm futon.Ja: 心配そうに彼女を見つめるのは、東京から来た親友の絵美子でした。En: Looking at her with concern was her best friend Emiko, who had come from Tokyo.Ja: 「リナ、大丈夫？何があったの？」と絵美子が尋ねました。En: "Rina, are you okay? What happened?" Emiko asked.Ja: リナは優しい友の顔を見て、自分の抱える不安を打ち明けることにしました。En: Seeing the face of her gentle friend, Rina decided to confide her worries.Ja: 「最近、自分の期待に押しつぶされそうな気がして…。でも、竹下さんに話してみるね。」En: "Lately, I've felt like I'm being crushed by my own expectations... But I'll try talking to Takeshita-san."Ja: 翌日、竹下はリナの話をじっくりと聞いてくれました。En: The next day, Takeshita listened carefully to Rina's story.Ja: 「心の声を無視し続けると、それは体に現れることがあるのです。En: "When we continue to ignore the voice of our heart, it often manifests in our bodies.Ja: 自分自身を大切にする方法を見つけましょう。」En: Let's find a way to take care of yourself."Ja: 竹下の提案で、リナは静かな瞑想の時間を設けました。En: With Takeshita's suggestion, Rina set aside time for quiet meditation.Ja: 彼女は自身の思いをひとつずつ見つめ、恐れと向き合いました。En: She examined each of her thoughts and faced her fears.Ja: すると、心の奥底から答えが浮かび上がってきました。En: Then, from deep within her heart, answers began to emerge.Ja: 「私は自分自身をもっと信じ、この恐れを越えなければならない。En: "I must believe in myself more and overcome this fear.Ja: これは私の旅の始まりなのだ。」リナは心の中で強く思いました。En: This is the beginning of my journey," Rina thought strongly to herself.Ja: 数日後、リナは春光院を後にしました。En: A few days later, Rina left Shunkoin.Ja: 彼女の胸には、決意と新たなインスピレーションが満ち溢れていました。En: Her heart was filled with determination and a newfound inspiration.Ja: 「自分の恐れを認めることで、これほどまでに自由になれるとは。」彼女は微かに微笑みながら、こう感じていました。En: "To find such freedom in acknowledging my fears," she thought with a faint smile.Ja: リナはこれからの人生を歩むための力を得て、満たされた心で寺を去りました。En: Rina left the temple with the strength to walk her life's path ahead, her heart fulfilled.Ja: 彼女の中に息づく新しいアートの扉が、静かに開こうとしていました。En: A new doorway to art within her was quietly beginning to open. Vocabulary Words:exhaling: 息を吐くinspiration: インスピレーションoverwhelmed: 奪われているzen garden: 禅庭園branches: 枝entrust: 託すdizziness: めまいblurred: ぼやけたfuton: 布団concern: 心配confide: 打ち明けるcrushed: 押しつぶされるmanifest: 現れるmeditation: 瞑想emerge: 浮かび上がるacknowledging: 認めるdetermination: 決意expectations: 期待fulfilling: 満たされるdoorway: 扉path: 道quiet: 静かなcasting: 影を落とすhesitate: 躊躇するinternal: 心の中のsaved: 救われるsuggestion: 提案examine: 見つめるfear: 恐れovercome: 乗り越える

Audrey Robinovitz is a fragrance writer, critic, Diptyque shop girl, and honestly, a perfume obsessive who matches my freak.Today we chat about everything from the difference between Olivier Pescheux's Diptyque and Olivia Giacobetti's, to the role scent plays in various religions, to our collective breaking point with fantasy accords (and so much more)! ENJOY.FOLLOW AUDREY: @foldyrhandsSUBSTACK: eatyourlipstick.substack.comFRAGS MENTIONED:Maison Margiela Lipstick On, Guerlain Insolence, L'Artisan Passage D'Enfer, Rundholz Feb 14 1912, Parfum Prissana Ma Nishtana, Dior Poison, Le Labo Santal 33, Glossier You, Diptyque Fleur de Peau, Essential Faith, Nemat Amber, Guerlain L'Heure Bleue, Mugler Angel, Diptyque: Orpheon EDP, Benjoin Boheme, Fleur de Peau, Vetyverio, Tempo, Philosykos; Frederic Malle En Passant, L'Artisan: Tea for Two, Premier Figuier; Dior Diorissimo, PHLUR Father Figure, Clue Perfumery Dandelion Butter, D.S. & Durga Debaser, Diptyque: Orpheon EDT, Kyoto, Philosykos EDT, Volutes, Chergui, L'Eau Trois; Clue Perfumery With a Candlestick, Comme des Garcons 2011, Penhaligon's Endymion, Le Labo Santal 33, Jorum Studio: Firewater, Pony Boy, Gorseland; IUNX Talc******Thank you to our sponsor: Commodity!SHOP THE ARCHIVES!https://commodityfragrances.com/products/archive-collection-discovery-kit15% OFF: code PERFUMEROOM15 now-March 17(valid for all orders $35+)

Send a textCelebrate the 100th episode of Supernatural Japan as returning contributor Phillip Jackson shares chilling tales from Kyoto, diving into the eerie tradition of goryō worship—the vengeful spirits of wronged nobles. This episode explores the tragic story of Prince Sawara, brother of Emperor Kanmu, who was accused of an assassination plot, exiled to Awaji Island, and whose angry spirit was blamed for disasters in the ancient capital. Discover why ceremonies to appease these feared ghosts continue to this day, and don't miss Kevin's announcement of the brand-new Supernatural Japan Premium membership on Patreon for listeners who want even more supernatural content.BRAND NEW Website: supernaturaljapan.comConnect with Phil Jackson in Kyoto: https://www.hiddenpathskyoto.com/Get lots of Premium and Exclusive Content!Premium membership: @patreon Support on: @BuyMeACoffeeConnect with Supernatural Japan:Website: supernaturaljapan.comInstagram: @supernaturaljapanFacebook: @SupernaturalJapanBlueSky: @MadForMapleX: @MadForMapleYouTube: @BusanKevinSupport the show

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Rediscovering Family Bonds in Arashiyama's Bamboo Wonderland Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-24-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 冬の朝、嵐山の竹林は静かでした。En: On a winter morning, the bamboo grove in Arashiyama was quiet.Ja: 空は灰色で、冷たい風が竹の間を通り抜けていました。En: The sky was gray, and a cold wind blew through the bamboo.Ja: この日は特別な日でした。En: This day was special.Ja: 春木、瑞希、そして直樹の家族は、久しぶりに一緒に過ごすために嵐山にやって来ました。En: The families of Haruki, Mizuki, and Naoki came to Arashiyama to spend time together after a long while.Ja: 「今日は電話を置いていくよ」と春木は言いました。En: "I'm leaving my phone behind today," Haruki said.Ja: 「家族と一緒の時間が大切だから。En: "Time with family is important."Ja: 」彼の決意に瑞希は微笑みました。En: Mizuki smiled at his resolve.Ja: 「いい考えね。En: "That's a good idea.Ja: 直樹、あなたもスマホをしまって。En: Naoki, you put your smartphone away too."Ja: 」直樹は少し不満そうでしたが、嫌々スマホをポケットにしまいました。En: Naoki looked a bit unhappy, but reluctantly put his smartphone into his pocket.Ja: 竹林を歩くと、静かな自然の音だけが聞こえてきます。En: As they walked through the bamboo grove, only the sounds of nature could be heard.Ja: 竹の葉のさやさやとした音、遠くから聞こえる川のせせらぎ。En: The rustling of bamboo leaves, the distant murmur of the river.Ja: 冬の冷たい空気は、彼らの頰を赤くしました。En: The cold winter air made their cheeks red.Ja: 春木は瑞希と直樹と話しながら、家族との時間を楽しもうとしていましたが、ふと電話がないことに不安を感じました。En: Haruki tried to enjoy the time with his family while talking to Mizuki and Naoki, but he suddenly felt anxious about not having his phone.Ja: 仕事のメールや電話が気になり、心は落ち着きませんでした。En: He was worried about work emails and calls, and couldn't settle his mind.Ja: 「パパ、見て！En: "Dad, look!Ja: あの竹、すごく背が高いよ！En: That bamboo is really tall!"Ja: 」直樹が指をさして叫びました。En: Naoki shouted, pointing with his finger.Ja: 春木はその瞬間、感動している息子の顔を見て、仕事を忘れました。En: Haruki saw the face of his son, who was impressed at that moment, and forgot about work.Ja: これこそが大切なことだと彼は気付きました。En: He realized that this was what was truly important.Ja: しかし、急に風が強くなり、雪が降り出しました。En: However, the wind suddenly grew strong, and snow began to fall.Ja: 竹林の中はすぐに白くなり、視界が悪くなりました。En: The bamboo grove quickly turned white, and visibility worsened.Ja: 「ここじゃ寒すぎる。En: "It's too cold here.Ja: 一旦どこかに避難しよう」と瑞希が提案しました。En: Let's find shelter somewhere," Mizuki suggested.Ja: 家族は道を急ぎ、近くの小さな茶屋を見つけました。En: The family hurried along the path and found a small teahouse nearby.Ja: そこは暖かい光とお茶の香りで満ちていました。En: It was filled with warm light and the aroma of tea.Ja: 茶屋でお茶を飲みながら、春木は瑞希と直樹に仕事のことを謝罪しました。En: While drinking tea at the teahouse, Haruki apologized to Mizuki and Naoki about his work.Ja: 「もっと家族との時間を大切にするよ」と春木が誓いました。En: "I'll cherish family time more," Haruki vowed.Ja: 直樹も、「家族ともっとこういう時間を過ごしたい」と言いました。En: Naoki also said, "I want to spend more time like this with the family."Ja: 三人は笑顔を交わし、また一つ近づいたように感じました。En: The three of them exchanged smiles and felt as if they had gotten even closer.Ja: 嵐山の竹林の冒険は、彼らに家族の絆を再び感じさせました。En: The adventure in the bamboo grove of Arashiyama made them feel the bond of family once again.Ja: 春木は仕事の重要性も知っていましたが、それ以上に家族の大切さを理解しました。En: Haruki understood the importance of work, but even more so, he understood the importance of family.Ja: そして、直樹はスマホの世界よりも、身近な家族との時間を楽しむことを学びました。En: And Naoki learned to enjoy the time with his family more than the world of his smartphone.Ja: その日の夜、三人は温かい気持ちで、京都の寒い風を感じながら帰路につきました。En: That night, the three of them returned home feeling warm, while the cold Kyoto wind blew around them.Ja: 心には、新しい思い出と温かさが残っていました。En: In their hearts lingered new memories and warmth. Vocabulary Words:grove: 竹林resolve: 決意reluctantly: 嫌々rustling: さやさやmurmur: せせらぎanxious: 不安shelter: 避難visibility: 視界cherish: 大切にするbond: 絆venture: 冒険linger: 残るaroma: 香りinspired: 感動settle: 落ち着くvow: 誓うapologize: 謝罪nearby: 近くwhisper: ささやきadventure: 冒険wind: 風treasure: 宝物important: 重要finger: 指teahouse: 茶屋special: 特別memories: 思い出cold: 冷たいunderstood: 理解しましたpocket: ポケット

Send a textEpisode 250The air is thick with the scent of pine and salt, drifting in from the nearby coast, as a boy of ten stands at the edge of a world he barely understands. The capital of Kyoto, full of gilded halls and whispered intrigues, has turned against him. Banished, stripped of comfort, and forced to wander the wild landscapes of the east, he carries only the memory of family and the fragile hope of survival.In the quiet hills of Izu, life slows, and the boy begins to stretch into a young man, learning the rhythms of rivers, the secrets of forests, and the ways of people who live close to the land. Here, among the olive-green terraces and bamboo groves, he meets a woman whose calm strength and fierce loyalty will shape the life he is yet to claim. Together, they navigate alliances and rivalries, learning that power is not taken but earned, slowly, in steps that often feel perilously small.By the time he reaches the shores of what will become Kamakura, the boy is gone. In his place stands a man with the weight of exile behind him, eyes fixed on the horizon, ready to build a home not just for himself but for a new order, one that will endure long after the capital has forgotten his name. The scent of pine still lingers, but now it carries promise, and the wind carries the first whispers of a city that will rise from ambition, resilience, and quiet determination.Support the showInsta@justpassingthroughpodcastContact:justpassingthroughpodcast@gmail.com

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Embracing Change: Haru's Journey Under Kyoto's Torii Gates Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-23-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 冬の空気は冷たく、京都の伏見稲荷大社には多くの人々が集まっています。En: The winter air was cold, and many people gathered at Fushimi Inari Taisha in Kyoto.Ja: 朱色の鳥居が並ぶ小道を進むと、香炉から立ち上るお香の匂いが漂います。En: As they progressed down the path lined with vermilion torii gates, the scent of incense wafted up from the incense burners.Ja: 鈴の音が響き、祭りを楽しむ人々の笑い声が混ざります。En: The sound of bells echoed, mixed with the laughter of people enjoying the festival.Ja: ハルは二人の友人、ユキとサクラとともに初詣に訪れていました。En: Haru visited for the hatsumode with two friends, Yuki and Sakura.Ja: ユキは大学で法律を学び、将来の弁護士を目指しています。En: Yuki was studying law at university, aiming to become a future lawyer.Ja: サクラは地元の新聞社で記者として働いています。En: Sakura was working as a reporter at a local newspaper.Ja: 二人とも自信に満ち、明るい未来を見据えていました。En: Both were full of confidence, looking forward to a bright future.Ja: 一方、ハルは悩んでいました。En: On the other hand, Haru was troubled.Ja: 現在の仕事に満足しておらず、将来が不透明に感じられました。En: He was not satisfied with his current job and felt his future was uncertain.Ja: しかし、友人たちにはその不安を隠していました。En: However, he hid these worries from his friends.Ja: 彼らにどう話せばよいのか、悩んでいました。En: He was unsure how to talk to them about his concerns.Ja: 神社の境内で、ハルたちは豆まきを行うことにしました。En: At the shrine's precincts, Haru and his friends decided to perform a bean-throwing ritual.Ja: 「鬼は外、福は内」と叫びながら豆を投げると、ハルの心の中の不安が少しずつ和らぐのを感じました。En: As they shouted, "Demons out, fortune in," and threw beans, Haru felt his inner anxieties gradually ease.Ja: 豆を投げる瞬間、ハルは大切なものに気付きました。それは、友人たちとともに歩むことの大切さでした。En: At the moment of throwing the beans, Haru realized something important: the value of walking alongside his friends.Ja: 次の日、ハルは心の中の重荷を軽くしようと、ユキとサクラに話しました。En: The next day, Haru decided to lighten the burden in his heart by speaking with Yuki and Sakura.Ja: 「最近、仕事のことで悩んでいるんだ」と正直に告白しました。En: He honestly confessed, "Lately, I've been troubled about work."Ja: ユキは優しい目でハルを見つめ、「一人で考え込まず、私たちにも話してみたら？」と提案しました。En: Yuki looked at Haru with gentle eyes and suggested, "Instead of thinking about it alone, why not talk to us about it?"Ja: サクラも「新しいことに挑戦するのは怖いけど、私たちがいるから大丈夫だよ」と微笑みました。En: Sakura smiled and added, "It's scary to take on new things, but with us here, it'll be alright."Ja: その優しさに触れて、ハルは心が温かくなりました。En: Touched by their kindness, Haru felt his heart warm.Ja: 彼は自分を見つめ直し、新たな目標を見つけようと決意しました。En: He decided to reevaluate himself and find a new goal.Ja: 友人の支えが、ハルに大きな自信を与えました。En: The support of his friends gave Haru great confidence.Ja: 祭りの歓声が続く中、ハルは未来に向かって一歩ずつ前進する勇気を取り戻しました。En: Amid the ongoing festival cheers, Haru regained the courage to take steps towards the future.Ja: 彼の歩む道は険しくとも、ユキとサクラとともに、それを乗り越える力を感じました。En: Although the path ahead was steep, he felt the strength to overcome it with Yuki and Sakura by his side.Ja: そして、彼は心の底から感謝を感じ、晴れやかな気持ちで神社を後にしました。En: And with gratitude welling up from the bottom of his heart, he left the shrine with a cheerful spirit.Ja: 伏見稲荷大社の鳥居の下、冬の風が爽やかに吹き抜けました。En: Under the Fushimi Inari Taisha's torii gates, the winter wind blew refreshingly through. Vocabulary Words:vermilion: 朱色wafted: 漂うincense: お香precincts: 境内ritual: 儀式anxieties: 不安gradually: 少しずつconfessed: 告白しましたreevaluate: 見つめ直しburden: 重荷cheers: 歓声overcome: 乗り越えるsteep: 険しいrefreshingly: 爽やかにconfidence: 自信gathered: 集まっていますtroubled: 悩んでいましたuncertain: 不透明laughter: 笑い声support: 支えuncertain: 不透明path: 道shrines: 神社destination: 目標honestly: 正直にaiming: 目指していますgathered: 集まってburst: 破裂edge: 端whisper: ささやき

How do you design financial infrastructure that keeps running when the unexpected hits, whether that is a regional outage, a regulatory shift, or a sudden spike in digital demand? In this episode of Tech Talks Daily, I'm joined by Katsutoshi Itoh from Sony and Masahisa Kawashima from NTT, both representing the IOWN Global Forum, to unpack how photonics-based networks could change the foundations of digital finance. Speaking with me from Kyoto, they share how the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network vision is moving beyond theory and into practical, finance-specific use cases. Financial institutions are under constant pressure to deliver uninterrupted services while meeting ever tighter compliance standards. Yet as we discuss, many existing architectures still rely on asynchronous data replication and layered resilience added after the fact. On paper, it works. In a real disruption, gaps quickly appear. Itoh and Kawashima explain how synchronous replication over ultra-low latency optical networks can reduce the risk of data loss while simplifying disaster recovery and lowering operational complexity. We also explore the role of Open All-Photonic Networks and why reducing packet forwarding layers can dramatically cut latency and infrastructure costs. Instead of concentrating compute and storage in dense urban data centers, photonics enables distributed computing across regions while maintaining deterministic performance. That shift opens the door to improved resilience, better infrastructure utilization, and new approaches to scaling without constant over-provisioning. Sustainability sits alongside resilience in this conversation. Rather than treating energy efficiency as a compromise, the IOWN vision distributes power demand geographically, making better use of locally available renewable energy and reducing concentrated load pressures. It is a subtle but important rethink of how infrastructure supports broader societal goals. Looking ahead, we consider what this could mean for digital banking platforms, AI-driven risk management, and cross-border financial services. If infrastructure limitations fall away, institutions can design services around business needs rather than technical constraints. If you are curious about how photonics could underpin the next generation of financial services, this episode offers a grounded and thoughtful perspective. As always, I would love to hear your thoughts after listening.

The Krewe wraps up Season 6 with an episode looking back at the highs, the lows, & what's to come! Join Doug & Jenn for listener feedback and behind-the-scenes stories as they put a bow on the 6th chapter of KOJ Podcast! ------ About the Krewe ------ The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, Threads: @kreweofjapanpodcast & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy! ------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------ Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode! Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season! Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan!  ------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------ JSNO Event Calendar Join JSNO Today!

Send a textDive into one of Kyoto's darkest legends in this chilling episode of Supernatural Japan as we explore the haunted history of Nanzen-ji, where legendary outlaw Ishikawa Goemon was supposedly boiled alive after a failed assassination attempt on Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Was Goemon truly a Robin Hood–style hero or a criminal whose story grew in the telling? We separate history from folklore, examine the gruesome execution that shocked feudal Japan, and uncover the chilling ghost stories said to haunt Nanzen-ji's peaceful temple grounds today—perfect for fans of Japanese history, haunted places, and dark folklore.OUR NEW WEBSITE! https://supernaturaljapan.com/Follow the podcast: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supernaturaljapanFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/supernaturaljapanBluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/madformaple.bsky.socialX: https://x.com/MadForMapleEmail: supernaturaljapan@gmail.comTales from Kevin Podcast:https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/tales-from-kevin/id1767355563Support the podcast (Help fund the creation of new episodes) https://buymeacoffee.com/busankevinYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BusanKevinWebsite: https://supernaturaljapan.com/Support the show

In this episode of the Specialty Matcha Podcast, Ryan and Zongjun (Sam) share their experiences and learnings from their recent trip to Kyoto, where they met renowned matcha farmer Tsuji-san, toured Marukyu Koyamaen, and visited Baisa Nakamura. They deep dive into insights from Tsuji-san on matcha fertilization, innovations happening in the world of matcha, and cross-cultural exchanges happening in contemporary tea culture.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Blossoms of Friendship: A Kyoto Decision Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-19-23-34-02-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 京都の桜の名所は、今日も多くの人々で賑わっていた。En: The famous cherry blossom spots in Kyoto were bustling with many people today as well.Ja: 冬の終わり近く、ほんのりと桜が咲き始める中、ハルトはベンチに座って深呼吸をした。En: Nearing the end of winter, with the cherry blossoms gently starting to bloom, Haruto sat on a bench, taking a deep breath.Ja: 「どうしよう…」と心の中で呟く。En: "What should I do…" he murmured in his heart.Ja: ハルトは会社から転勤の話を受けて、どちらを選ぶべきか悩んでいた。En: Haruto was troubled about which option to choose, having been told about a transfer from his company.Ja: 向こうから同僚のミユキがやってきた。En: From the distance, his colleague Miyuki approached.Ja: 「おはよう、ハルト君！」彼女は微笑み、隣に座った。En: "Good morning, Haruto!" she smiled and sat down next to him.Ja: ミユキはハルトに密かに好意を持っていたが、それを言い出せずにいた。En: Miyuki secretly had feelings for Haruto but hadn't been able to express them.Ja: 「今日はいい天気ね。桜ももうすぐ満開になるわ。」En: "It's a nice day today. The cherry blossoms will be in full bloom soon."Ja: そこに、ソラが手を振りながら駆け寄ってくる。En: Then Sora came running over, waving her hand.Ja: 「久しぶり、ハルト！ミユキちゃんも元気？」En: "Long time no see, Haruto! How are things with you, Miyuki?"Ja: ソラは海外留学から戻ったばかりで、久々にハルトと再会したところだった。En: Sora had just returned from studying abroad and was reunited with Haruto after a long time.Ja: 「二人で花見なんて、いいね！」En: "It's nice, having a cherry blossom viewing with you two!"Ja: 三人はしばらく話しながら、桜を見上げていた。En: The three of them chatted for a while, looking up at the cherry blossoms.Ja: ハルトはリラックスしてきた。En: Haruto began to relax.Ja: 桜の美しさと友達との時間が、彼の心を少し和らげてくれた。En: The beauty of the cherry blossoms and the time spent with friends eased his troubled heart a little.Ja: 「でも、どうしようかな…」ハルトはふと言った。En: "But what should I do…" Haruto said suddenly.Ja: ミユキは彼を見つめる。En: Miyuki looked at him.Ja: 「ハルト君、何か悩んでるの？」En: "Are you worried about something, Haruto?"Ja: 彼女の優しい声に、ハルトは思わず本音を話し始めた。En: Her gentle voice prompted Haruto to start speaking honestly.Ja: 「転勤の話があって…どうするべきかわからないんだ。」En: "I got a transfer offer… and I don't know what to do."Ja: ソラは彼の肩に手を置いた。En: Sora placed a hand on his shoulder.Ja: 「新しい環境も悪くないよ。En: "A new environment isn't bad.Ja: でも、今の生活も大事だし、ミユキちゃんもいるしね。」En: But your current life is important, and Miyuki is here too."Ja: ハルトは続ける。「そう、友達や大切な人を置いていくのが怖いんだ。」En: Haruto continued, "Yes, leaving my friends and loved ones behind scares me."Ja: 「…私、ハルト君にいてほしい。」En: "...I want you to stay, Haruto."Ja: ミユキが小声で言った。En: Miyuki said in a small voice.Ja: ハルトは驚いて彼女を見つめた。En: Haruto looked at her in surprise.Ja: 「本当の気持ち、ずっと黙っててごめん。En: "I'm sorry for keeping my true feelings silent for so long.Ja: でも、あなたと一緒にいたい。」En: But I want to be with you."Ja: 桜の花びらがふわりと風に乗って舞い落ちてきた。En: Cherry blossom petals softly rode the wind and fluttered down.Ja: ハルトは深く考えた。En: Haruto thought deeply.Ja: キャリアも大事だが、何より彼に大切なのは、彼を応援してくれる人たちの存在だった。En: His career was important, but above all, what mattered most were the people who supported him.Ja: 「決めたよ、ミユキ。僕、ここにいる。」ハルトは笑顔で答えた。En: "I've decided, Miyuki. I'll stay here," Haruto answered with a smile.Ja: 「仲間と一緒に、桜のしたで笑っていたいんだ。」En: "I want to laugh together under the cherry blossoms with my friends."Ja: ミユキとソラは、ハルトの決断を聞いて喜び、彼を応援した。En: Miyuki and Sora were delighted to hear Haruto's decision and supported him.Ja: 花見の集まりの中、彼らの友情と愛情が一層深まった。En: Amidst the cherry blossom gathering, their friendship and affection deepened even more.Ja: 彼らは桜の名所を見上げ、これからも未来を共に過ごしていく決意を新たにした。En: They looked up at the famous cherry blossom spot and renewed their resolve to spend the future together.Ja: 桜はまだ半分しか咲いていないが、三人の心にはすでに満開の桜が咲き誇っていた。En: Although the cherry blossoms were only half in bloom, in the hearts of the three, they were already in full bloom. Vocabulary Words:bustling: 賑わっているblossom: 咲くmurmured: 呟くtroubled: 悩んでいるoption: 選択肢transfer: 転勤colleague: 同僚reunited: 再会したabroad: 海外viewing: 観覧relax: リラックスease: 和らげるvoiced: 声を出すenvironment: 環境affection: 愛情resolve: 決意gentle: 優しいprompted: 促したhonestly: 本音でcurrent: 現在のsupported: 応援したreassured: 安心させたdelighted: 喜んでfluttered: 舞い落ちたcareer: キャリアcherished: 大切なdecision: 決断future: 未来half: 半分petals: 花びら

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Finding Sanctuary: Harto's Artful Revival Amid Kyoto's Bamboo Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-18-23-34-03-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 京都の冬の朝、嵐山の竹林はしんと静まり返っていた。En: On a winter morning in Kyoto, the bamboo grove of Arashiyama was enveloped in silence.Ja: 緑の竹が空に向かって真っ直ぐに伸び、その間を透けるような日の光が優しく地面を照らしていた。En: The green bamboo stretched straight up toward the sky, with gentle sunlight filtering through, softly illuminating the ground.Ja: 遅れて訪れる観光客の足音が時折響く中、一人の青年が歩いていた。En: Amidst the occasional echo of footsteps from late-arriving tourists, a young man walked alone.Ja: 彼の名前はハルトだった。En: His name was Harto.Ja: ハルトは絵を描くことが好きな芸術家だった。En: Harto was an artist who loved to paint.Ja: しかし、最近は描くことに迷いが生じていた。En: However, lately, he had been experiencing doubt in his ability to create.Ja: 友達から「また京都に行ってみたら？」と言われ、En: A friend suggested, "Why don't you visit Kyoto again?"Ja: 彼はインスピレーションを求めてこの地に戻ってきたのだ。En: So, he returned to this place, seeking inspiration.Ja: 竹林の中で進む彼は、過去のことを考えていた。En: As he walked through the bamboo grove, he pondered past events.Ja: 突然、懐かしい声が耳に入った。En: Suddenly, a familiar voice reached his ears.Ja: 「ハルト、久しぶり！」En: "It's been a while, Harto!"Ja: 声の主はサクラだった。En: The voice belonged to Sakura.Ja: サクラはハルトの昔の友達で、今は京都でガイドをしていた。En: Sakura was an old friend of Harto, and she was now working as a guide in Kyoto.Ja: いつもと変わらず優しさが溢れる笑顔を見せてくれた。En: She greeted him with the same kind smile as always.Ja: しかし、ハルトには彼女の笑顔の裏に何かが隠されているように見えた。En: However, to Harto, it seemed as though something was hidden behind her smile.Ja: 「本当に久しぶりだね。」ハルトは少し照れながら返事をした。En: "It really has been a long time," Harto replied, a bit shyly.Ja: その後、彼らは一緒に竹林を歩きながら話した。En: After that, they talked while walking through the bamboo grove together.Ja: 途中、写真に熱心なダイキが合流した。En: On the way, they were joined by Daiki, who was keen on taking photographs.Ja: ダイキはカメラを持ち、竹の間からこぼれる光を撮影していた。En: Daiki held a camera, capturing the light spilling through the bamboo.Ja: 彼は初対面のハルトにも挨拶し、写真の魅力を熱く語り始めた。En: He greeted Harto, whom he was meeting for the first time, and enthusiastically began discussing the allure of photography.Ja: 「今日は節分だね」とサクラが話題を変えた。En: "It's Setsubun today," Sakura changed the topic.Ja: 「みんなで豆まきに行こうよ。」En: "Let's go bean-throwing together."Ja: その提案に、ハルトもダイキも賛成した。En: Harto and Daiki both agreed to her suggestion.Ja: 節分の行事が始まり、賑やかな祭りの中で三人は笑顔で豆をまいた。En: The Setsubun event began, and amidst the lively festival, the three of them cheerfully threw beans.Ja: 悪いものを追い払うため「鬼は外！福は内！」と声を掛け合った。その時、ハルトはふと心が軽くなるのを感じた。En: Chanting "Oni wa soto! Fuku wa uchi!" to ward off evil spirits, Harto suddenly felt a weight lift off his heart.Ja: そして、勇気を出して自分の悩みを打ち明けた。En: With newfound courage, he confessed his struggle.Ja: 「最近、絵を描くのが怖いんだ」と、ハルトは声を震わせて言った。En: "Recently, I've been afraid of painting," Harto said, his voice trembling.Ja: 「期待に応えるのも難しい。どうしていいかわからないんだ。」En: "It's hard to live up to expectations. I don't know what to do."Ja: 予想に反して、サクラとダイキは優しく彼を励ました。En: Contrary to his expectations, Sakura and Daiki kindly encouraged him.Ja: サクラは自分もガイドとしての日々が時に重くなることを告白し、En: Sakura admitted that her days as a guide could sometimes be overwhelming,Ja: ダイキは写真だけでなく人との交流が自分の喜びだと語った。En: and Daiki spoke about how interactions with people, not just photography, brought him joy.Ja: 「そのままのハルトでいいんだよ。」サクラの言葉は暖かかった。En: "Harto, it's okay to be yourself," Sakura's words were warm.Ja: 豆まきが終わり、三人はゆっくりと竹林を後にした。En: After the bean-throwing, the three of them slowly left the bamboo grove.Ja: ハルトは新しい気持ちに満たされていた。En: Harto felt filled with a renewed sense of purpose.Ja: 伏し目がちだった彼の心の中に、希望の光が差し始めたのだ。En: Inside his previously downcast heart, a light of hope had begun to shine.Ja: 彼は今、竹林の静けさと、人々の温もりという新しいテーマにインスピレーションを見出していた。En: He now found inspiration in the new theme of the bamboo grove's tranquility and the warmth of people.Ja: 「本当にありがとう。」ハルトは二人に感謝の言葉を伝えた。En: "Thank you so much." Harto expressed his gratitude to the two of them.Ja: そして、彼らとの交流が、彼の中で新しい絵の形になっていくことを感じていた。En: He sensed that his interactions with them were beginning to take shape as a new painting within him.Ja: 京都の冷たい冬の日、ハルトは友人たちとの再会を通じて心の迷いと向き合い、次の一歩を踏み出したのだった。En: On a cold winter day in Kyoto, Harto faced his inner confusion through the reunion with his friends and took the next step forward.Ja: 竹の高くそびえる姿が、彼にとって新しい希望を象徴しているようだった。En: The towering bamboo seemed to symbolize a new hope for him. Vocabulary Words:enveloped: 包まれていたsilence: 静まり返っていたilluminating: 照らしていたecho: 響くpondered: 考えていたfamiliar: 懐かしいguide: ガイドhidden: 隠されているshyly: 照れながらkeen: 熱心なcapturing: 撮影allure: 魅力Setsubun: 節分bean-throwing: 豆まきcheerfully: 笑顔chanting: 声を掛け合うward off: 追い払うweight: 重くなるtrembling: 震わせてexpectations: 期待confess: 打ち明けたoverwhelming: 重くなるinteractions: 交流embrace: 受け入れるrenewed: 新しいdowncast: 伏し目がちgratitude: 感謝reunion: 再会confusion: 迷いsymbolize: 象徴している

In Folge 394 von Rolling Sushi geht es um Kupferdiebe, Wasserknappheit, Umzugswellen, den Stickerboom, das Lernen von Japanisch, einen japanischen Karnevalswagen, getrennte Fahrpreise in Kyoto, die Wahlergebnisse, ignorierte Förderschüler, illegale Straßengastronomie, kostenlose Shinkansen-Tickets für Touristen, eine Bar für unzufriedene Angestellte und Natto.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Monkeying Around: Finding Tranquility in Unexpected Ways Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-17-08-38-20-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 京都の雪がしんしんと降る朝、隠れた寺院は静寂に包まれていた。En: On a morning when snow fell silently in Kyoto, a hidden temple was enveloped in silence.Ja: 寺院の一角では、若い僧侶のソラが、凍えるような寒さの中で静かに座っていた。En: In one corner of the temple, a young monk named Sora quietly sat amid the freezing cold.Ja: ソラの心は集中を求めていた。En: Sora's mind was seeking concentration.Ja: 彼の目標は、瞑想の達人スキルを先生に見せることだった。En: His goal was to show his meditation mastery skills to his teacher.Ja: しかし、小さなおサルのいたずらが彼の前に立ちはだかった。En: However, the antics of a small monkey stood in his way.Ja: サルはソラの袈裟を引っ張ったり、彼の周りを飛び回ったりした。En: The monkey pulled on Sora's robe and jumped around him.Ja: ソラは目を閉じて落ち着こうとしたが、サルはますますしつこくなるばかりだった。En: Sora tried to calm himself by closing his eyes, but the monkey only became more persistent.Ja: その様子を見て、寺院の友人ヒロとミカは、楽しそうに笑っていた。En: Watching the scene, Sora's friends Hiro and Mika laughed merrily.Ja: 「ソラ、大丈夫？」とヒロがからかう。En: "Sora, are you all right?" Hiro teased.Ja: 「サルの友達ができたね！」とミカも冗談を言った。En: "You've made a new monkey friend!" Mika joked.Ja: ソラはため息をつき、少し考えた。En: Sora sighed and thought for a moment.Ja: 「そうだ、今日は節分だ！」ソラは急いで立ち上がり、寺院の一角にある小さな収納箱から豆を取り出した。En: "That's it, today is Setsubun!" Sora quickly stood up and took out beans from a small storage box in a corner of the temple.Ja: 豆を持って、ソラは提案した。「これを使ってみよう。En: Holding the beans, Sora proposed, "Let's use these.Ja: サルを驚かせて追い払おう。」En: We can scare the monkey away."Ja: ソラは豆を手に持ち、意を決してサルに向かって豆を投げた。En: Sora held the beans in his hand and, with determination, threw them at the monkey.Ja: しかし、サルは俊敏だった。En: However, the monkey was nimble.Ja: 驚いたことに、サルはすばやく動いて豆の袋ごと奪い去ってしまった。En: To his surprise, the monkey swiftly moved and snatched away the entire bag of beans.Ja: 「まさか！」ソラはあ然とした。En: "Unbelievable!" Sora was astonished.Ja: ヒロとミカは大笑いし始めた。En: Hiro and Mika began to laugh out loud.Ja: ソラもやがて笑い出した。En: Sora eventually started laughing too.Ja: 「本当に困ったサルだね。En: "What a troublesome monkey.Ja: でも、もしかしたら、これも心の安らぎを見つけるための一部かもしれない。」En: But perhaps this is also part of finding peace of mind."Ja: こうして、ソラは思った。状況に埋め尽くされた中で、時には柔軟性と軽やかさが、静けさや安らぎを見つける鍵になることもある。En: Sora thought about how sometimes, amidst being overwhelmed by situations, it is flexibility and lightheartedness that can be the key to finding tranquility and peace.Ja: 笑いの共感の中で、ソラは新しい考え方を身につけることができた。En: Through shared laughter, Sora was able to adopt a new way of thinking.Ja: 雪は静かに降り続き、寺院にはほんの少しの笑い声が響いた。En: The snow continued to fall silently, and a little laughter echoed in the temple.Ja: ソラ、ヒロ、ミカは再び一緒に座り、今度はすべてを受け入れる心の安らぎを見つけようとした。En: Sora, Hiro, and Mika sat together again, this time seeking an accepting peace of mind. Vocabulary Words:silently: しんしんとenveloped: 包まれていたconcentration: 集中mastery: 達人antics: いたずらrobe: 袈裟nimble: 俊敏astonished: あ然としたfrozen: 凍えるようなgoal: 目標persistent: しつこくなるlaughter: 笑いtranquility: 安らぎscenario: 様子overwhelmed: 埋め尽くされたflexibility: 柔軟性lightheartedness: 軽やかさtranquility: 静けさskill: スキルunbelievable: まさかamazed: 驚いたswiftly: すばやくsnatched: 奪い去ったproposal: 提案determine: 意を決してechoed: 響いたseeking: 求めていたoccasion: 節分adopted: 身につけたcorner: 一角

Hear how Japan, startup life, and global travel shaped Taylor's approach to entrepreneurship and intentional living. ============================ Get the Monday Minute my weekly email with 3 personal recs for travel, culture, and living beyond borders you can read in 60 seconds. ============================ ON THIS EPISODE In Part 2 of the conversation, Taylor Wallace reflects on how her deep connection with Japan shaped her worldview and confidence as a global traveler, sharing stories from Kyoto, Mount Fuji, and the cultural experiences that made the country feel like a second home. She then traces her path into entrepreneurship, the sale of her startup while living abroad, and how community and global mobility helped launch her location-independent life. Taylor also breaks down her concept of the Fit Founder Lifestyle, offering practical insights on balancing business ambition with health, travel, and intentional living while building a career on the road. → Full show notes with direct links to everything discussed are available here. ============================ FREE RESOURCES FOR YOU: See my Top 10 Apps For Digital Nomads See my Top 10 Books For Digital Nomads See my 7 Keys For Building A Remote Business (Even in a space that's not traditionally virtual) Watch my Video Training on Stylish Minimalist Packing so you can join #TeamCarryOn See the Travel Gear I Use and Recommend See How I Produce The Maverick Show Podcast (The equipment, services & vendors I use) ============================ ENJOYING THE SHOW? Follow The Maverick Show on Instagram and DM Matt to continue the conversation Please leave a rating and review — it really helps the show and I read each one personally You can buy me a coffee — espressos help me produce significantly better podcast episodes! :)

Shiga is a prefecture to the east of Kyoto. It is a travel destination known for its lake and sightseeing and is beautiful in any weather. In this recording relax to the sounds of a rainstorm pattering on a traditional roof with the occasional rumble of thunder.Download the White Noise App for continuous playback.© TMSOFT All rights reserved.

In this episode of the Reiki Lifestyle Podcast, Colleen and Robyn welcome Lena Takahashi and Muniqui Muhammad from Healing Land Reiki in Japan. They share what it's like to practice and teach Reiki in the country where Reiki began and why many people are surprised to learn that Reiki is still not widely understood in Japan the way it is in the West. Lena and Muniqui tell the story of how Reiki found them through synchronicity, including a "Reiki handbook" that sat on a shelf for fourteen years before it became the key that opened their path. They describe the impact of their first Reiki sessions, the clarity and inner quiet they experienced, and how that turned into a dedication to share Reiki as a practical, life-changing practice. They also talk about what it means to be a Reiki Master as a lifelong student, staying open-minded, continuing to study, and valuing evidence-based Reiki history alongside direct personal experience with Reiki energy. And their journey to become ICRT Licensed Teachers in Japan.  A central part of the conversation is Mount Kurama and the relationship Lena and Muniqui have built with the mountain and temple community. Lena shares the full story of helping bring the World Peace Reiki Grid to Mount Kurama, the timing, and the years-long process that led to its official acceptance. You'll also hear about: Why self-practice comes first, and how personal change naturally draws people to you Technique vs. energy, and why there are many right ways to practice Healing Land Reiki's center in Kyoto, plus private and group visits to Mount Kurama The May Full Moon Ceremony (Wesak Festival)on Mt. Kurama and why they will share this profound experience with Reiki students.  Their journey in the ICRT Licensed Reiki Master Teacher program and what professional ethics reveal Healing Land Reiki: HealingLandReiki.comInstagram/Facebook: Healing Land Reiki Muniqui on Reddit/Instagram: Brother in the East Reiki Lifestyle: Reikilifestyle.comFind the podcast on your favorite app and on YouTube. **DISCLAIMER** This episode is not a substitute for seeking professional medical care but is offered for relaxation and stress reduction, which supports the body's natural healing capabilities. Reiki is a complement to and never a replacement for professional medical care. Colleen and Robyn are not licensed professional healthcare providers and urge you to always seek out the appropriate physical and mental help professional healthcare providers may offer. Results vary by individual.

This episode, we talk about two monumental projects that were started in this reign.  One was the historiographical project that likely led to the creation of the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki.  And then there was the start of the first permanent capital city:  the Fujiwara Capital. Listen to the episode and find more on our website:  https://sengokudaimyo.com/podcast/episode-143   Rough Transcript   Welcome to Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  My name is Joshua and this is Episode 143: Temmu's Monumental Projects     Ohoama sat astride his horse and looked out at the land in front of him.   He could still see the image of the rice fields, now long fallow, spreading out on the plain.  To the north, east, and west, he could see the mountains that would frame his vision.  As his ministers started to rattle off information about the next steps of the plan, Ohoama began to smile.  He thought of the reports his embassies to the Great Tang had brought back, about the great walled cities of the continent.  In his mind's eye, Ohoama envisioned something similar, rising up on the plain in front of him. There would be an earth and stone wall, surrounding the great city.  The gates would be grand, much like the temples, but on an even greater scale.  Houses would be packed in tight, each within their own walled compounds.  In the center painted red and white, with green accents, would be a palace to rival any other structure in the archipelago.  The people would stream in, and the city would be bustling with traffic. This was a new center, from which the power of Yamato would be projected across the islands and even to the continent.   Greetings everyone, and welcome back.  This episode we are still focused on the reign of Ohoama, aka Temmu Tennou, between the years 672 and 686. Last episode we talked about the Four Great Temples—or the Four National Temples.  Much of this episode was focused on the rise and spread of Buddhism as we see in the building of these national temples, but also on the changes that occurred as the relationship between Buddhism and the State evolved.  This was part of Ohoama's work to build up the State into something beyond what it had been in the past—or perhaps into something comparable to what they believed it to have been in the past.  After all, based on the size of the tomb mounds in the kofun period, it does seem that there was a peak of prosperity in the 5th century, around the time of Wakatakeru, aka Yuryaku Tennou, and then a decline, to the point that the lineage from Wohodo, aka Keitai Tennou, seemed to have come in during a time when they were rebuilding Yamato power and authority. This episode we are going to talk about two projects that Ohoama kicked off during his reign.  He wouldn't see the completion of either one, since both took multiple decades to complete, but both focused on linking the past and the future.  The first we'll talk about is a new attempt to gather historical documents and records—the last time that was done was in the time of Kashikiya Hime, over 50 years ago.  That was during the height of Soga power.  Since then a lot had changed, and presumably there were even more stories and records that had been written down.  Plus the tide had changed.  So they needed to update—and maybe even correct—the historical record. But beyond that, there was a greater goal: Ohoama and his court also needed to make sure that the past was something that they wanted to go back to, among other things. The other thing we are going to discuss is the start of a project to build a brand new capital city.  And when we talk a bout city, we really mean a city.  This was a massive undertaking, likely unlike anything that we've seen so far.  Sure, there had been monumental building projects, but this was something that was going to take a lot more work - how much more monumental could you get than a new city?  And it would create a physical environment that would be the embodiment of the new centralization of power and authority, and the new state that Ohoama was building, with his administration—and Yamato—at the center.   Let's start with the big ones.  First and foremost, we have the entry from the 17th day of the 3rd month of the 681.  Ohoama gave a decree from the Daigokuden to commit to writing a Chronicle of the sovereigns and various matters of high antiquity.  Bentley translates this as saying that they were to record and confirm the Teiki, which Aston translated as the Chronicle of the Sovereigns, and various accounts of ancient times.  This task was given out to a slew of individuals, including the Royal Princes Kawashima and Osakabe; the Princes Hirose, Takeda, Kuwada, and Mino; as well as Kamitsukenu no Kimi no Michichi, Imbe no Muraji no Kobito, Adzumi no Muraji no Inashiki, Naniwa no Muraji no Ohogata, Nakatomi no Muraji no Ohoshima, and Heguri no Omi no Kobito.  Ohoshima and Kobito were specifically chosen as the scribes for this effort.  We aren't told what work was started at this time.  Aston, in his translation of the Nihon Shoki, assumes that this is the start of the Kojiki.  Bentley notes that this is the first in a variety of records about gathering the various records, including gathering records from the various families, and eventually even records from the various provinces.  And I think we can see why.  Legitimizing a new state and a new way of doing things often means ensuring that you have control of the narrative.  Today, that often means doing what you can to control media and the stories that are in the national consciousness.  In Ohoama's day, I'd argue that narrative was more about the various written sources, and how they were presented.  After all, many of the rituals and evidence that we are looking at would rely on the past to understand the present.  The various family records would not only tell of how those families came to be, but would have important information about what else was going on, and how that was presented could determine whether something was going to be seen as auspicious, or otherwise.  Even without getting rid of those records, it would be important to have the official, State narrative conform to the Truth that the state was attempting to implement. Ultimately, there is no way to know, exactly, how everything happened.  If the Nihon Shoki had a preface, it has been lost.  The Kojiki, for its part, does have a preface, and it points to an origin in the reign of Ohoama—known as the sovereign of Kiyomihara.  In there we are told that the sovereign had a complaint—that the Teiki and Honji, that is the chronicles of the sovereigns and the various other stories and legends, that had been handed down by various houses had come to differ from the truth.  They said they had many falsehoods, which likely meant that they just didn't match the Truth that the State was trying to push.  Thus  they wanted to create a so-called "true" version to pass down. This task was given to 28 year old Hieda no Are.  It says they were intelligent and had an incredible memory.  They studied all of the sources, and the work continued beyond the reign of Ohoama.  Later, in 711 CE, during the reign of Abe, aka Genmei Tennou, Oho no Yasumaro was given the task of writing down everything that Hieda no Are had learned.  The astute amongst you may have noticed that this mentions none of the individuals mentioned in the Nihon Shoki.  Nor does the Nihon Shoki mention anything about Hieda no Are.  So was this a separate effort, or all part of the same thing?  Was Are using the materials collected by  the project? As you may recall, we left the Kojiki behind some time ago, since it formally ends with the reign of Kashikiya hime, aka Suiko Tennou, but realistically it ended with Wohodo, aka Keitai Tennou—after that point there are just lists of the various heirs.  As such, there is some speculation that this was originally built off of earlier histories, perhaps arranged during the Soga era. The general explanation for all of this is that Hieda no Are memorized the poems and stories, and then Yasumaro wrote them down.  Furthermore, though the language in the Kojiki does not express a particular gender, in the Edo period there was a theory that Hieda no Are was a woman, which is still a popular theory. Compare all of that to the Nihon Shoki.  Where the Kojiki was often light on details and ends with Suiko Tennou, the Nihon Shoki often includes different sources, specifically mentions some of them by name, and continues up through the year 697.  Furthermore, textual analysis of the Nihon Shoki suggests that it was a team effort, with multiple Chroniclers, and likely multiple teams of Chroniclers.   I have to admit, that sounds a lot more like the kind of thing that Ohoama was kicking off. We have an entry in the Shoku Nihongi, the work that follows the Nihon Shoki, that suggests 720 for the finished compilation of the Nihon Shoki.  So did it take from 681 to 720 to put together?  That is a really long project, with what were probably several generations of individuals working on it. Or should this be read in a broader sense?  Was this a historiographical project, as Bentley calls it, but one that did not, immediately, know the form it would take?  It isn't the first such project—we have histories of the royal lineage and other stories that were compiled previously—much of that attributed to Shotoku Taishi, but likely part of an earlier attempt by the court.  In fact, given that the Kojiki and Sendai Hongi both functionally end around the time of Kashikiya hime, that is probably because the official histories covered those periods.  Obviously, though, a lot had happened, and some of what was written might not fit the current narrative.  And so we see a project to gather and compile various sources.  While this project likely culminated in the projects of the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, I doubt that either work was necessarily part of the original vision.  Rather, it looks like the original vision was to collect what they could and then figure things out. It would have been after they started pulling the accounts together, reading them, and noticing the discrepancies that they would have needed to then edit them in such a way that they could tell a cohesive story.  That there are two separate compilations is definitely interesting.  I do suspect that Oho no Yasumaro was working from the efforts of Hieda no Are, either writing down something that had been largely captured in memory or perhaps finishing a project that Are had never completed.  The Nihon Shoki feels like it was a different set of teams, working together, but likely drawing from many of the same sources. And as to why we don't have the earlier sources?  I once heard it said that for books to be forgotten they didn't need to be banned—they just needed to fall out of circulation and no longer be copied anymore.  As new, presumably more detailed, works arose, it makes sense that older sources would not also be copied, as that information was presumably in the updated texts, and any information that wasn't brought over had been deemed counterfactual.  Even the Nihon Shoki risked falling into oblivion; the smaller and more digestible Kojiki was often more sought after.  The Kojiki generally presents a single story, and often uses characters phonetically, demonstrating how to read names and places.  And it just has a more story-like narrative to it.  The Nihon Shoki, comparatively, is dense, written in an old form of kanbun, often relying more on kanbun than on phonetic interpretations.  It was modeled on continental works, but as such it was never going to be as easy to read.  And so for a long time the Kojiki seems to have held pride of place for all but the most ardent scholars of history. Either way, I think that it is still fair to say that the record of 681 was key to the fact that we have this history, today, even if there was no way for Ohoama, at the time, to know just what form it would take. Another ambitious project that got started under Ohoama was the development of a new and permanent capital city. Up to this point we've talked about the various capitals of Yamato, but really it was more that we were talking about the palace compounds where the sovereign lived.  From the Makimuku Palace, where either Mimaki Iribiko or possibly even Himiko herself once held sway, to the latest palace, that of Kiyomihara, the sovereigns of Yamato were known by their palaces.  This is, in part, because for the longest time each successive sovereign would build a new palace after the previous sovereign passed away.  There are various reasons why this may have been the case, often connected to insular concepts of spiritual pollution brought on by the death of an individual, but also the practical consideration that the buildings, from what we can tell, were largely made of untreated wood.  That made them easier to erect, but also made them vulnerable to the elements, over time, and is probably one of the reasons that certain shrines, like the Shrine at Ise, similarly reconstitute themselves every 20 years or so. Furthermore, we talk about palaces, but we don't really talk about cities.  There were certainly large settlements—even going back to the Wei chronicles we see the mention of some 70 thousand households in the area of Yamateg.  It is likely that the Nara basin was filled with cultivated fields and many households.  Princes and noble households had their own compounds—remember that both Soga no Umako and Prince Umayado had compounds large enough that they could build temples on the compounds and have enough left over for their own palatial residences, as well.  However, these compounds were usually distributed in various areas, where those individuals presumably held some level of local control. It is unclear to me how exactly the early court functioned as far as housing individuals, and how often the court was "in session", as it were, with the noble houses.  Presumably they had local accommodations and weren't constantly traveling back and forth to the palace all the time.  We know that some houses sent individuals, men and women, to be palace attendants, even though they lived some distance away.  This was also likely a constraint on the Yamato court's influence in the early days. We do see the sovereign traveling, and various "temporary" palaces being provided.  I highly doubt that these were all built on the spot, and were likely conversions of existing residences, and similar lodging may have been available for elites when they traveled, though perhaps without such pomp and circumstance. What we don't really see in all of this, are anything resembling cities.  Now, the term "city" doesn't exactly have a single definition, but as I'm using it, I would note that we don't see large, permanent settlements of significant size that demonstrate the kind of larger civil planning that we would expect of such a settlement.  We certainly don't have cities in the way of the large settlements along the Yangzi and Yellow rivers. We talked some time back about the evolution of capital city layouts on the continent.  We mentioned that the early theoretical plan for a capital city was based on a square plan, itself divided into 9 square districts, with the central district constituting the palace.  This design works great on paper, but not so much in practice, especially with other considerations, such as the north-south orientation of most royal buildings.  And then there are geographic considerations.  In a place like Luoyang, this square concept was interrupted by the river and local topography.  Meanwhile, in Chang'an, they were able to attain a much more regular rectangular appearance.  Here, the court and the palace were placed in the center of the northernmost wall.  As such, most of the city was laid out to the south of the palace. In each case, however, these were large, planned cities with a grid of streets that defined the neighborhoods.  On each block were various private compounds, as well as the defined markets, temples, et cetera. The first possible attempt at anything like this may have been with the Toyosaki palace, in Naniwa.  There is some consideration that, given the size of the palace, there may have been streets and avenues that were built alongside it, with the intention of having a similar city layout.  If so, it isn't at all clear that it was ever implemented, and any evidence may have been destroyed by later construction on the site.  Then we have the Ohotsu palace, but that doesn't seem to be at the same scale as the Toyosaki palace—though it is possible that, again, we are missing some key evidence.  Nonetheless, the records don't really give us anything to suggest that these were large cities rather than just palaces. There is also the timeline.  While both the Toyosaki palace and the Ohotsu palace took years to build, they did not take the time and amount of manpower that would be needed to create a true capital city.  We can judge this based on what it took to build the new capital at Nihiki. This project gets kicked off in the 11th month of 676.  We are told that there was an intent to make the capital at Nihiki, so all of the rice-fields and gardens within the precincts, public and private property alike, were left fallow and became totally overgrown. This likely took some time.  The next time we see Nihiki is in the 3rd month of 682, when Prince Mino, a minister of the Household Department, and others, went there to examine the grounds.  At that point they apparently made the final decision to build the capital there.  Ohoama came out to visit later that same month. However, a year later, in the 12th month of 683, we are told that there was a decree for there to be multiple capitals and palaces in multiple sites, and they were going to make the Capital at Naniwa one of those places.  And so public functionaries were to go figure out places for houses.  So it wasn't just that they wanted to build one new, grand capital.  It sounds like they were planning to build two or three, so not just the one at Nihiki.  This is also where I have to wonder if the Toyosaki Palace was still being used as an administrative center, at the very least.  Or was it repurposed, as we saw that the Asuka palaces had been when the court moved to Ohotsu? This is further emphasized a few months later, when Prince Hirose and Ohotomo Yasumaro, at the head of a group of clerks, officials, artisans, and yin yang diviners were sent around the Home Provinces to try and divine sites suitable for a capital.  In addition, Prince Mino, Uneme no Oni no Tsukura, and others were sent to Shinano to see about setting up a capital there as well.  Perhaps this was inspired by the relationship between the two Tang capitals of Chang'an and Luoyang.  Or perhaps it was so that if one didn't work out another one might. Regardless, Nihiki seemed to be the primary target for this project, and in the third lunar month of 684 Ohoama visited the now barren grounds and decided on a place for the new palace.  A month later, Prince Mino and others returned with a map of Shinano, but there is no indication of where they might want to build another capital. After that, we don't hear anything more of Shinano or of a site in the Home Provinces.  We do hear one more thing about Naniwa, which we mentioned a couple of episodes back, and that is that in 686 there was a fire that burned down the palace at Naniwa, after which they seem to have abandoned that as a palace site.  And so we are left with the area of Nihiki. This project would take until the very end of 694 before it was ready.  In total, we are looking at a total of about 18 years—almost two decades, to build a new capital.  Some of this may have been the time spent researching other sites, but there also would have been significant time taken to clear and level.  This wasn't just fields—based on what we know, they were even taking down old kofun; we are later told about how they had to bury the bodies that were uncovered.  There was also probably a pause of some kind during the mourning period when Ohoama passed away.  And on top of it, this really was a big project.  It wasn't just building the palace, it was the roads, the infrastructure, and then all of the other construction—the city gates, the various private compounds, and more.  One can only imagine how much was being invested, especially if they were also looking at other sites and preparing them at the same time.  I suspect that they eventually abandoned the other sites when they realized just how big a project it really was that they were undertaking. Today we know that capital as Fujiwara-kyo, based on the name of the royal palace that was built there, and remarkably, we know where it was.  Excavations have revealed the site of the palace, and have given us an idea of the extent of the city:  It was designed as a square, roughly 5.3 kilometers, or 10 ri, on each side.  The square itself was interrupted by various terrain features, including the three holy mountains.  Based on archaeological evidence, the street grid was the first thing they laid out, and from what we can tell they were using the ideal Confucian layout as first dictated in the Zhouli, or Rites of Zhou.  This meant a square grid, with the palace in the center. Indeed, the palace was centered, due south of Mt. Miminashi, and you can still go and see the palace site, today.  When they went to build the palace, they actually had to effectively erase, or bury, the roads they had laid out.  They did the same thing for Yakushi-ji, or Yakushi-temple, when they built it as part of the city; one of the reasons we know it had to have been built after the roads were laid out.  We will definitely talk about this more when we get to that point of the Chronicles, but for now, know that the Fujiwara palace itself, based on excavations of the site, was massive.  The city itself would surpass both Heijo-kyo, at Nara, and Heian-kyo, in modern Kyoto.  And the palace was like the Toyosaki Naniwa palace on steroids.  It included all of the formal features of the Toyosaki Palace for running the government, but then enclosed that all in a larger compound with various buildings surrounding the court itself.  Overall, the entire site is massive.  This was meant as a capital to last for the ages. And yet, we have evidence that it was never completed.  For one thing, there is no evidence that a wall was ever erected around it—perhaps there was just no need, as relations with the mainland had calmed down, greatly.  But there is also evidence that parts of the palace, even, were not finished at the time that they abandoned it.  Fujiwara-kyo would only be occupied for about 16 years before a new capital was built—Heijo-kyo, in Nara.  There are various reasons as to why they abandoned what was clearly meant to be the first permanent capital city, and even with the move to a new city in Nara it would be clear that it was going to take the court a bit of time before they were ready to permanently settle down—at least a century or so. Based on all the evidence we have, and assuming this was the site of the eventual capital, Nihiki was the area of modern Kashihara just north of Asuka, between—and around—the mountains of Unebi, Miminashi, and Kagu.  If these mountains are familiar, they popped up several times much earlier in the Chronicles--Mostly in the Age of the Gods and in the reign of the mythical Iware-biko, aka Jimmu Tennou.  Yet these three mountains help to set out the boundaries of the capital city that was being built at this time. There is definitely some consideration that they were emphasized in the early parts  of the Chronicles—the mythical sections, which were bolstering the story of Amaterasu and the Heavenly Grandchild, setting up the founding myths for the dynasty.  Even though the Chronicles  were not completed until well after the court had moved out, the Fujiwara capital is the climax of the Nihon Shoki, which ends in 697, three years into life at the new palace.  And so we can assume that much of the early, critical editing of the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki were done with the idea that this would be the new capital, and so it was woven into the histories, and had it continued as the capital, the very landscape would have recalled the stories of the divine origins of the Royal family and the state of Yamato itself.  This was the stage on which Ohoama's state was built.  He, and his successors, didn't just change the future path of the Yamato government.  They rearranged the physical and temporal environment, creating a world that centered them and their government.  I suspect that Ohoama didn't originally consider that these wouldn't be finished during his reign.  That said, he came to power in his 40s, only slightly younger than his brother, who had just died.  He would live to be 56 years old—a respectable age for male sovereigns, around that time.  From a quick glance, Naka no Oe was about 45 or 46 years old, while Karu lived to about 57 or 58.  Tamura only made it to 48.  The female sovereigns seem to have lasted longer, with Ohoama's mother surviving until she was 66 or 67 years old, and Kashikiya Hime made it to the ripe old age of 74.  That said, it is quite likely that he thought he would make it longer.  After all, look at all the merit he was accruing!  Still, he passed away before he could see these projects fully accomplished.  That would have to be left for the next reign—and even that wasn't enough.  The Fujiwara Capital would only be occupied for a short time before being abandoned about two reigns later, and the histories as we know them wouldn't be complete for three more reigns.  So given all of this, let's take another quick look at Ohoama himself and where he stands at this pivotal moment of Yamato history.When we look at how he is portrayed, Ohoama is generally lionized for the work he is said to have accomplished.  I would argue that he is the last of three major figures to whom are attributed most of the changes that resulted in the sinification of the Yamato government.  The first is prince Umayado, aka Shotoku Taishi, who is said to have written the 17 article constitution, the first rank system, and the introduction of Buddhism.  To be fair, these things—which may not have been exactly as recorded in the Chronicles—were likely products of the court as a whole.  Many people attribute more to Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou, as well as Soga no Umako.  Of course, Soga no Umako wasn't a sovereign, or even a member of the royal family, and Kashikiya Hime, aka Suiko Tennou, seems to have likewise been discounted, at least later, possibly due to the fact that she is thought to have come to power more as a compromise candidate than anything else—she was the wife of a previous sovereign and niece to Soga no Umako.  Many modern scholars seem to focus more on the agency of Kashikiya Hime and suggest that she had more say than people tend to give her credit for.  That said, Shotoku Taishi seems to have been the legendary figure that was just real enough to ascribe success to.  That he died before he could assume the throne just meant that he didn't have too many problematic decisions of his own to apparently work around. The next major figure seems to be Naka no Oe, aka Tenji Tennou.  Naka no Oe kicks off the period of Great Change, the Taika era, and is credited with a lot of the changes—though I can't help but notice that the formal sovereign, Naka no Oe's uncle, Karu, seems to have stuck with the new vision of the Toyosaki Palace and the administrative state while Naka no Oe and his mother moved back to the traditional capital.  And when Naka no Oe moved the capital to Ohotsu, he once again built a palace more closely aligned to what we see in Asuka than the one in Naniwa, which brings some questions about how the new court was operating.  But many of his reforms clearly were implemented, leveraging the new concepts of continental rulership to solidify the court's hegemony over the rest of the archipelago. Ohoama, as represented in the Chronicles, appears to be the culmination of these three.  He is building on top of what his brother had implemented through the last three reigns.  Some of what he did was consolidate what Naka no Oe had done, but there were also new creations, for which Ohoama is credited, even if most of the work was done outside of Ohoama's reign, but they were attributed to Ohoama, nonetheless.  Much of this was started later in Ohoama's reign, and even today there seem to be some questions about who did what.  Nonetheless, we can at least see how the Chroniclers were putting the story together. There are a lot of scholars that point to the fact that the bulk of the work of these projects would actually be laid out in the following reigns, and who suggest that individuals like the influential Uno no Sarara, who held the control of the government in Ohoama's final days, may have had a good deal more impact on how things turned out, ultimately.  In fact, they might even have been more properly termed her projects—there are some that wonder if some of the attributions to Ohoama were meant to bolster the authority of later decrees, but I don't really see a need for that, and it seems that there is enough evidence to suggest that these projects were begun in this period. All of this makes it somewhat ironic that by the time the narrative was consolidated and published to the court, things were in a much different place—literally.  The Fujiwara capital had been abandoned.  The court, temples, and the aristocracy had picked up stakes and moved north.  Fujiwara no Fuhito had come on the scene, and now his family was really taking off.  This was not the same world that the Chronicles had been designed around. And yet, that is what was produced.  Perhaps there is a reason that they ended where they did. From that point on, though, there were plenty of other projects to record what was happening.  Attempts to control the narrative would need to do a lot more.  We see things like the Sendai Kuji Hongi, with its alternative, and perhaps even subversive, focus on the Mononobe family.  And then later works like the Kogoshui, recording for all time the grievances of the Imbe against their rivals—for all the good that it would do.  With more people learning to write, it was no longer up to the State what did or did not get written down. But that has taken us well beyond the scope of this reign—and this episode, which we should probably be bringing to a close.  There are still some things here and there that I want to discuss about this reign—so the next episode may be more of a miscellany of various records that we haven't otherwise covered, so far.  Until then if you like what we are doing, please tell your friends and feel free to rate us wherever you listen to podcasts.  If you feel the need to do more, and want to help us keep this going, we have information about how you can donate on Patreon or through our KoFi site, ko-fi.com/sengokudaimyo, or find the links over at our main website,  SengokuDaimyo.com/Podcast, where we will have some more discussion on topics from this episode. Also, feel free to reach out to our Sengoku Daimyo Facebook page.  You can also email us at the.sengoku.daimyo@gmail.com.  Thank you, also, to Ellen for their work editing the podcast. And that's all for now.  Thank you again, and I'll see you next episode on Sengoku Daimyo's Chronicles of Japan.  

On this episode, Jeff Hinshaw guides you through a somatic meditation and energy update connectd to the Aquarius New Moon Solar Eclipse (February 17, 2026), a powerful threshold moment inviting radical freedom, collective liberation, and visionary action. As we stand between major shift, Neptune newly in Aries (since January 26), Saturn entering Aries on February 13, and their historic conjunction at 0° Aries on February 20, we're asked to merge dream with discipline and take courageous steps toward a new 29-year cycle. With the North Node set to enter Aquarius in July and the Year of the Fire Horse igniting bold momentum, this eclipse offers a preview of emerging collective storylines around collaboration, mutual aid, and shared vision. In addition, on this Aquarius New Moon Solar Eclipse episode, Jeff Hinshaw is joined by Chef Stephanie Shershow for a conversation on friendship, service, ritual, and soul evolution. We reflect on meeting in India in January 2024 as Pluto entered Aquarius, the karmic bond that formed between us, and the many initiations Stephanie has moved through since—losing her home in a hurricane, the passing of her father, relationship endings, and her cross-country move west. Through it all, she shares how decades of sobriety, Kundalini yoga, and daily spiritual practice have become a non-negotiable anchor. Together we explore the Aquarian archetype of the water bearer—the outsider who returns to nourish the collective—and how Stephanie embodies this through her Aquarius Sun, Taurus Moon, and Libra Rising: the friendly humanitarian in a field of rolling greens, ensuring the revolution is well fed. We also dive into the power of food as ritual and how feeding someone can be an act of dignity and devotion. Stephanie shares stories from her work in recovery centers and her intuitive relationship to nourishment, while we preview our upcoming Aquarius New Moon gathering in Joshua Tree celebrating the launch of the Lonely Planet Travel Tarot. Inspired by tarot archetypes, Morocco, Kyoto, and shared global journeys, the evening weaves together mocktails, cherry blossoms, cacao, music, and collective intention. This episode is ultimately an invocation: to practice radical service, to make meaning through personal myth, and to remember that gathering around food and ritual is ancient. Plus, we celebrate the launch of the Lonely Planet Travel Tarot at  Maha Rose in Brooklyn, New York on February 20 with special guest Lindsay Mack—a gathering aligned with this rare cosmic turning point.   Mentorship & Sessions Cosmic Cousins!  I have openings for one-on-one mentorships for those seeking ongoing guidance and support on their personal or astrological journey. As well as openings for Deep Dive Astrology Readings and Tarot Soul Journey sessions. These are available online, so you can join from anywhere in the world.   Cosmic Cousins Links Newsletter 6-Month Online Fools Tarot Journey Mentorship Deep Dive Astrology Readings Tarot Soul Journey  Cosmic Cousins Substack & Memberships Intro & Outro Music by:  Felix III

In the spirit of Carnival season, here's a special bonus rebroadcast of our Mardi Gras Super-Sized Special released in January 2025 about a unique connection between New Orleans, Japan & Mardi Gras that took place in 2024! ++++++2024 was a special year for Carnival and the Japan-New Orleans connection! Lafcadio Hearn's life & works inspired the theme for Rex Parade 2024: "The Two Worlds of Lafcadio Hearn - New Orleans & Japan". But why Hearn? What went into the float design? What other ways has Hearn left a lasting impact on both New Orleans & Japan? Find out today with a super-sized special Mardi Gras bonus episode, featuring insights from Rex historian/archivist Will French & historian/archivist emeritus Dr. Stephen Hales, Royal Artists float designer/artistic director Caroline Thomas, Lafcadio Hearn's great grandson Bon Koizumi,  legendary chef John Folse, Captain of the Krewe of Lafcadio John Kelly, JSNO's resident Lafcadio Hearn expert Matthew Smith, and even the Mayor of Matsue Akihito Uesada! Get ready for Mardi Gras 2025 by reflecting on this unique connection between New Orleans & Japan!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Music Credits ------Background music provided by: Royalty Free Music by Giorgio Di Campo for Free Sound Music http://freesoundmusic.eu FreeSoundMusic on Youtube  Link to Original Sound Clip------ Audio Clip Credits ------Thanks to Dominic Massa & everyone at WYES for allowing us to use some of the audio from the below Rex Clips:Segment about Royal Artist & Float DesignFull 2024 Rex Ball Coverage (Krewe of Lafcadio/Nicholls State segment)Thanks to Matsue City Hall & Mayor Akihito Uesada for their video message below:Message from Matsue Mayor Akihito Uesada------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Past KOJ Hearn/Matsue/History Episodes ------30 Years, 2 Cities: The 2024 New Orleans-Matsue Exchange ft. Katherine Heller & Wade Trosclair (S6E11)From Tokyo to Treme: A Jazz Trombone Tale ft. Haruka Kikuchi (S6E10)Foreign-Born Samurai: William Adams ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E17)Foreign-Born Samurai: Yasuke ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E16)Explore Matsue ft. Nicholas McCullough (S4E19)Jokichi Takamine: The Earliest Bridge Between New Orleans & Japan ft. Stephen Lyman (S4E13)The Life & Legacy of Lafcadio Hearn ft. Bon & Shoko Koizumi (S1E9)Matsue & New Orleans: Sister Cities ft. Dr. Samantha Perez (S1E2)------ Links about Rex ------2024 Rex Parade/Float PDF with Full DesignsCaroline Thomas's Website------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

In the #MikeJonesMinuteCon, we'll look at the big movie weekend and how Mario is giving runners a boost in Kyoto!See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Orphaned and kicked out of work, Kazuo Taoka was an unlikely candidate to become one of postwar Japan's most important characters. But by combining violence with a talent for legitimate business and corruption, the immaculately-suited gangster would lead the Yamaguchi-gumi yakuza syndicate from a ragtag Kobe dockworkers' gang to one of the world's richest underworld forces, spreading from Japan into Southeast Asia and even the United States. That won Taoka plenty of enemies, which he almost always vanquished. But when a young rival yakuza saw Taoka celebrating at a Kyoto nightclub, the ensuing chaos would plunge Japan's criminal scene into chaos — and the country's one true Godfather would never be the same again. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Japan ist ein Land, das man nicht einfach „nebenbei“ bereist. Selbst nach zwei Wochen vor Ort tauchen immer wieder neue Fragen auf, neue Routinen – und neue kleine Überraschungen. Genau deshalb geht es in diesem dritten Teil der Japan-Reihe noch einmal ganz konkret um das, was eure Reise vor Ort leichter, entspannter und einfach besser macht.

Fresh from an adventure in Japan, Wild Frontiers founder Jonny Bealby is joined by our Far East experts as they dive into this trending destination. Director of Product & Operations, Marc Leaderman, unveils the country's fascinating history and shares cultural insights from his time in Japan.Drawing on a decade of experience in the ‘kitchen of Japan' - Osaka, Wild Frontiers Japan expert, Jim Hutchison, talks through some of the nuances of travelling in Japan and our Japan tailor-made adventures, from Tokyo's contrasting neighbourhoods to rural ryokans in Kiso-Fukushima, Kanazawa, Kyoto and the emotional experience of Hiroshima.Operations Manager, Stacy Mallaby talks through how to visit Japan on a small group tour, from the classic routing of our Land of the Samurai trip, to our new Four Islands Adventure itinerary. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Hidden Whispers: Unraveling Kyoto's Artifact Mystery Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-07-08-38-20-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 冬の冷たい風が京都国立博物館の門を吹き抜けた。En: The cold winter wind blew through the gates of the Kyoto National Museum.Ja: 春を待ちわびる節分の日、博物館は静かで、特別展示のポスターが訪問者を誘っていた。En: On the day of Setsubun, eagerly awaiting spring, the museum was quiet, with posters for a special exhibition enticing visitors.Ja: 春人は、興奮を胸に秘めたまま、館内を歩いていた。En: Haruto walked through the halls, excitement hidden within his chest.Ja: 彼は歴史に対する深い興味を持っており、特に伝説が大好きだった。En: He had a deep interest in history, particularly loving legends.Ja: 一方、友人の愛子は実用的で、伝説なんてただのおとぎ話だと思っていた。En: On the other hand, his friend Aiko was practical, thinking legends were nothing but fairy tales.Ja: それでも彼女は春人の探検欲を理解し、一緒に博物館を訪れていた。En: Still, she understood Haruto's thirst for exploration and accompanied him to the museum.Ja: 薄暗い展示室の中、二人はある興味深い会話を耳にした。En: In the dimly lit exhibition room, they overheard an intriguing conversation.Ja: 「あの遺物には秘密のメッセージがあるらしい」そう囁くのは、博物館のスタッフだった。En: "I heard that artifact contains a secret message," whispered a museum staff member.Ja: その言葉は、春人の冒険心を大いに刺激した。En: Those words greatly stimulated Haruto's adventurous spirit.Ja: 「愛子、調べてみないかい？」春人の目は輝いていた。En: "Aiko, shall we investigate?" Haruto's eyes sparkled.Ja: 「本気なの？」愛子は少し呆れた顔をしたが、彼の熱意に押され、頷いた。En: "Are you serious?" Aiko said with a slightly exasperated face, but pressed by his enthusiasm, she nodded.Ja: 「まあ、せっかくだからね。」En: "Well, since we're here."Ja: 展示室はむせかえった空気で満たされ、大昔の工芸品が幽霊のように佇んでいた。En: The exhibition room was filled with a stuffy atmosphere, and ancient artifacts stood like ghosts.Ja: 二人は、噂の遺物に近づき、注意深く観察を始めた。En: The two approached the rumored artifact and began to observe it carefully.Ja: それは、周りの光も吸い込むような漆黒の仏像だった。En: It was a jet-black statue that seemed to absorb the surrounding light.Ja: 静かな時が流れる中、二人は細部に目を凝らした。En: As quiet time passed, they focused intently on the details.Ja: 突然、足音が近づいてきた。En: Suddenly, footsteps approached.Ja: 「警備員だ！」愛子は焦った声で言った。En: "It's a security guard!" Aiko said in a flustered voice.Ja: 春人はすかさず仏像の影に身を潜めた。En: Haruto immediately hid in the shadow of the statue.Ja: 警備員が行き過ぎるまで、彼らは息を潜めて耐えた。En: They held their breath and waited until the guard passed by.Ja: 冷や汗をかきながら、再び展示物へ戻った二人。En: Sweating with nervousness, the pair returned to the exhibit.Ja: 春人は何かを見つけた。En: Haruto found something.Ja: 「ここ、何か刻まれている……」指を這わせると、確かに刻まれた文字があった。En: "Here, something's carved..." As he ran his finger along it, there was indeed a carved inscription.Ja: しかしそれは期待したメッセージではなく、新たな手がかりだった。En: However, it was not the expected message but a new clue.Ja: 「次のミステリーへの誘いだね。」En: "An invitation to the next mystery."Ja: 愛子は笑いながら、「春人、あなたの伝説って、まるで終わらない物語みたいね。でも、面白いわ。」と言った。En: Aiko laughed and said, "Haruto, your legend is like a never-ending story. But it's interesting."Ja: 春人は少し悩んだ後、微笑んだ。En: After pondering for a moment, Haruto smiled.Ja: 「うん、お話の中の旅も、ゴールと同じくらい価値があるかもね。」En: "Yeah, the journey in the story might be just as valuable as the goal."Ja: 節分の日、二人は何も変わらないようでいて、心のどこかが変化していた。En: On the day of Setsubun, it seemed like nothing changed about them, but something had shifted somewhere in their hearts.Ja: 歴史の中の謎。En: The mysteries within history.Ja: 冒険の楽しさ。En: The joy of adventure.Ja: 彼らは歩き続ける道のりに想いを馳せながら、次に会う時もまた情報を交換しようと約束した。En: As they dreamed of the path they would continue to walk, they promised to share information again the next time they met.Ja: その冬の日の風は、彼らの新たな友情をそっと包んでくれた。博物館には、まだ数えきれない物語が眠っていることを告げるかのように。En: The wind on that winter day gently wrapped their newfound friendship, as if hinting that countless more stories still lay dormant in the museum. Vocabulary Words:blow: 吹き抜けたeagerly: 待ちわびるenticing: 誘っていたexcitement: 興奮particularly: 特にpractical: 実用的accompanied: 一緒に訪れていたdimly lit: 薄暗いintriguing: 興味深いconversation: 会話adventurous: 冒険心exasperated: 呆れたstuffy: むせかえったghosts: 幽霊artifact: 遺物observe: 観察quiet: 静かなintently: 目を凝らしたflustered: 焦ったstealthily: すかさずinscription: 刻まれた文字pondering: 悩んだshifted: 変化thirst: 探検欲dormant: 眠っているgleamed: 輝いていたhinting: 告げるnewfound: 新たなexploration: 探検carved: 刻まれている

Fluent Fiction - Japanese: Confessions in Kyoto: Love Blossoms Beneath Snowy Cherry Trees Find the full episode transcript, vocabulary words, and more:fluentfiction.com/ja/episode/2026-02-06-08-38-20-ja Story Transcript:Ja: 京都植物園は冬の静けさに包まれていました。En: The Kyoto Botanical Garden was wrapped in the tranquility of winter.Ja: 雪がそっと舞い降り、木々や小道を白く染めていました。En: Snow gently fell, painting the trees and paths white.Ja: 高校生たちの中に、あいこの姿がありました。En: Among the high school students was Aiko.Ja: 彼女は写真と自然が大好きな女の子です。En: She is a girl who loves photography and nature.Ja: この日は学校の遠足でした。En: This day was a school field trip.Ja: あいこはクラスメートのけんたに密かな想いを寄せていました。En: Aiko harbored secret feelings for her classmate Kenta.Ja: でも、彼に気持ちを伝えることができずにいました。En: However, she couldn't bring herself to express her feelings to him.Ja: 友達の花は元気で明るくて、いつもあいこを応援していました。En: Her friend Hana was lively and cheerful, always supporting Aiko.Ja: 「あいこ、今日は特別な日だよ！En: "Aiko, today is a special day!Ja: けんたに気持ちを伝えるチャンスだよ」と花は言いました。En: It's your chance to tell Kenta how you feel," said Hana.Ja: 二人は雪の中を歩きました。En: The two walked in the snow.Ja: けんたは自然について話していて、あいこは彼の声を静かに聞いていました。En: Kenta talked about nature, and Aiko listened quietly to his voice.Ja: バレンタインデーのこの日、あいこは心の中で迷っていました。En: On this Valentine's Day, Aiko was conflicted in her heart.Ja: 「どうしよう。En: "What should I do?Ja: 思いを伝えるなんて恥ずかしい。En: It's embarrassing to express my feelings.Ja: でも、言わなければ何も変わらない」と考えました。En: But if I don't say anything, nothing will change," she thought.Ja: 植物園の中を歩きながら、あいこは突然立ち止まりました。En: While walking through the botanical garden, Aiko suddenly stopped.Ja: 彼女の目の前には雪に覆われた桜の木がありました。En: In front of her was a cherry tree covered in snow.Ja: とても美しい光景でした。En: It was a very beautiful sight.Ja: その風景を見て、あいこは決心をしました。En: Seeing this scene, Aiko made a decision.Ja: 「そうだ、手紙を書こう」と思ったのです。En: "That's it, I'll write a letter," she thought.Ja: 小さなベンチに座って、あいこはけんたへの手紙を書き始めました。En: Sitting on a small bench, Aiko began writing a letter to Kenta.Ja: 彼女の気持ちを素直に表現しました。En: She expressed her feelings honestly.Ja: 「けんた、あなたと過ごす時間が大好きです。En: "Kenta, I love spending time with you.Ja: この気持ちを知ってほしいです」と書きました。En: I want you to know how I feel," she wrote.Ja: そして、けんたを桜の木の下に誘いました。En: Then, she invited Kenta under the cherry tree.Ja: 木の下で、あいこは震える手で手紙を渡しました。En: Under the tree, with trembling hands, Aiko handed him the letter.Ja: けんたは手紙を受け取り、顔に優しい笑みを浮かべました。En: Kenta accepted the letter and a gentle smile spread across his face.Ja: 「ありがとう、あいこ」とけんたは言いました。En: "Thank you, Aiko," he said.Ja: 「実は、僕も君のことを想っていました」と優しく答えました。En: "Actually, I've had feelings for you too," he replied gently.Ja: その瞬間、あいこの心は温かくなりました。En: At that moment, Aiko's heart warmed.Ja: 二人は静かに雪の降る中で、これからもっと一緒に時間を過ごそうと話しました。En: Quietly amidst the falling snow, the two talked about spending more time together in the future.Ja: あいこは自分の感情を表現する勇気を得て、心から満たされた気持ちになりました。En: Aiko gained the courage to express her emotions and felt completely fulfilled.Ja: そして、植物園を後にした二人は、明るい未来に向かって歩きました。En: Then, as they left the botanical garden, they walked towards a bright future.Ja: あいこはもう恐れることはなくなりました。En: Aiko no longer had anything to fear.Ja: 自分の気持ちに素直であることが大切だと学びました。En: She learned the importance of being honest with her feelings.Ja: 暖かい記憶と共に、二人は友情と愛情を育てていくのでした。En: With warm memories, the two continued to nurture their friendship and love. Vocabulary Words:botanical: 植物園tranquility: 静けさgently: そっとharbored: 密かなexpress: 伝えるconflicted: 迷ってembarrassing: 恥ずかしいcovered: 覆われたsight: 光景decision: 決心bench: ベンチhonestly: 素直にinvite: 誘いましたtrembling: 震えるaccepted: 受け取りwarm: 温かくfulfilled: 満たされたnurture: 育ててfield trip: 遠足supporting: 応援してopportunity: チャンスamidst: 中でcourage: 勇気future: 未来fear: 恐れるhonest: 素直memories: 記憶friendship: 友情snow: 雪cherry tree: 桜の木

Planning a trip to Japan and wondering what to eat—and how to find truly great food? In this Japan food guide podcast episode, we break down the must-try Japanese dishes and share practical tips for finding amazing places to eat across the country. We cover iconic Japanese foods like ramen, sushi, okonomiyaki, tempura, yakitori, and more, explaining each dish. We also share our favorite restaurants and casual eateries, along with tips for spotting good local spots, avoiding tourist traps, and eating well! You'll learn: What to eat in Japan How to find good restaurants in Japan as a visitor How to tell if a place is worth the wait Our favorite places to eat in Tokyo, Kyoto, Okayama, and more!   Whether you're visiting Japan for the first time or planning a return trip, this episode will help you build a food-focused itinerary and eat confidently throughout your travels.

Mario Bros. is the biggest franchise of all time. Bigger than Star Wars, Marvel… bigger than Harry Potter. Nintendo is an empire. Dave Young: Welcome to the Empire Builders Podcast, teaching business owners the not-so-secret techniques that took famous businesses from mom and pop to major brands. Stephen Semple is a marketing consultant, story collector, and storyteller. I’m Stephen’s sidekick and business partner, Dave Young. Before we get into today’s episode, a word from our sponsor, which is… Well, it’s us, but we’re highlighting ads we’ve written and produced for our clients. So here’s one of those. [Travis Crawford Ad] Dave Young: Welcome back to the Empire Builders Podcast. Dave Young here with you, and Stephen Semple’s alongside, with another empire-building story for us that- Stephen Semple: An exciting story. Dave Young: It’ll take you back to childhood, but it doesn’t take me back to childhood because I’m too goddamned old. Stephen Semple: Well, it depends how you look at this, this might be- Dave Young: No, I suppose. I suppose the company [inaudible 00:01:55]. Stephen Semple: It might be older than your childhood, but depends what we decide to talk about. Dave Young: Yeah, it’s just like when the big games came out, the… So we’re talking about Nintendo today. Stephen Semple: Correct. Correct. Dave Young: And I had Atari and things like that. And my kids all had the Nintendo. I actually have a Nintendo Switch, but I didn’t get that until I was… Stephen Semple: It also originally started as an arcade game, if we go back, because we are going to go back far enough. Dave Young: Well, that’s true. That’s true. Stephen Semple: Yes, yes. But if we actually went back to the company, Nintendo, we would be going back to 1889. Dave Young: Okay. So not so much my childhood. There you go. Stephen Semple: 1889. Yeah. And we’re really not going to talk so much about the origin and Nintendo as a company, but really, the origin of the video game business, and more specifically Donkey Kong, and went on later to become the Mario Brothers franchise. That’s really what we’re going to talk about. Dave Young: Now, hold on. Hold on. Hold on. Now, I don’t know everything, but I’m pretty sure video wasn’t around in 1889. Stephen Semple: It was not. Dave Young: There was no video games. Stephen Semple: No, there was not. So that’s why we’re really going to be talking about more of the recent history of Nintendo. Dave Young: A real Donkey Kong, climbing ladders and throwing barrels. Stephen Semple: Okay. That’s it. That’s it. Dave Young: Or a monkey, a gorilla. Yeah. Stephen Semple: And here’s the thing, the Mario Brothers franchise is huge. It’s one of the biggest franchises in history. There’s been 800 million video games sold worldwide, making it the bestselling video game of all time. It’s bigger than Pokemon in game sales alone. The estimated lifetime sales across all revenues for the Mario Brothers franchise is $60 billion. Bigger than Star Wars, bigger than Harry Potter, bigger than Marvel. Dave Young: Wow. Stephen Semple: The movies alone sold over a billion dollars. There’s theme park now. It’s huge. It’s absolutely massive. And the Nintendo company is very old. It was founded back in Kyoto, Japan in 1889 by Fusajiro Yamauchi. That’s it, Yamauchi. Dave Young: Oh. Stephen Semple: Boy, I’m going to struggle with these names. Dave Young: What were they doing back then? What was the company doing? Stephen Semple: The first product they did was a playing card called Hanafuda, and it was very, very successful. So they actually started- Dave Young: As a gaming company. Stephen Semple: … in game business doing playing cards. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: Now, during the 1950s, during Japan’s economic recovery, because if you remember, the economy was decimated in World War II, and through the Marshall Plan and whatnot, there was this rebuild going on. And during that time, they had a new leader, Hiroshi Yamauchi, who decided to explore all sorts of new businesses. He was doing all sorts of stuff. They had taxis, they had love hotels. Yes, you heard it right, love hotels. Dave Young: Love hotels. Stephen Semple: Instant rice, and of course, toys. And most of the things they did failed, except toys held a promise, so they continued to lean into toys. So it’s April 1978, so this is basically really where our story starts, and Taito, a competitor, releases a game called Space Invaders. Dave Young: Oh, right. I remember Space Invaders. Sure. Stephen Semple: Remember Space Invaders? And of course, this is back in the day of arcades, and you’re putting money into the games. This is so big in Japan, there’s 100 yen shortage. It would be like being in the U.S., and we run out of quarters. Dave Young: Right. Stephen Semple: It’s so big. So Nintendo, because it’s having some success in the game space, decides to make a knockoff of Space Invaders. So it’s October 1980, they create this knockoff called Radar Scope, and they decide also to ship it to the U.S., because they’ve started up a U.S. division. And it takes four months for the game to travel from Japan to the United States, and once it arrives, the trend has changed, it’s no longer Space Invaders, it’s now Pac-Man is the big game. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: So they’re left with these 2,000 unsold cabinets sitting in the United States. Enter Shigeru Miyamoto, who’s a graphic designer with Nintendo, and he has an idea, and he says to them, “Look, let’s reuse the cabinets, and let’s just create a new game. Let’s do that.” And it’s like, “What the heck? Let’s give this a try.” So Shigeru grew up in rural Japan, and this deeply influenced how he looked at games, because he grew up in a place where there was no television, none of these things, and he would go and he would play in like a cave that was nearby, and he would create all of these stories and characters. And this is the ’80s where the games do not have characters or a story. Dave Young: Okay. Yeah. Stephen Semple: They didn’t have that. Dave Young: Space Invader, you’re just knocking down… Stephen Semple: Right. Pac-Man, the same thing, there was no story. Pong, all that stuff, no stories. He takes a look around and he realizes that Nintendo has the rights to use Popeye, so Shigeru makes a suggestion to create a game using Popeye, where they already have the rights, and he moves ahead and does that. And so he also decides to make a game where characters move up rather than scrolling left to right, and there’d be different levels, which was also a relatively new idea. And he created this whole thing where they could jump, and using just a joystick in the buttons that already existed. So they started to create this game, but they hit a snag. Just before the release, they discovered Nintendo only had the rights to use Popeye for playing cards. Dave Young: For playing cards. Darn it. Stephen Semple: Now, turns out this was a gift from heaven, and the best thing that could ever happen in Nintendo. Dave Young: So it would’ve been Bluto up at the top, and Popeye trying to get up there, climbing the ladders and- Stephen Semple: And saving- Dave Young: So sort of a nautical theme? Stephen Semple: And saving olive oil. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: Because remember, he would always capture olive oil. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: And Popeye was this love triangle, right? Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: So what does Shigeru do? Replaces- Dave Young: Bluto becomes- Stephen Semple: … with- Dave Young: … the gorilla. Stephen Semple: Right. Popeye becomes Mario. Dave Young: Yeah. Stephen Semple: And olive oil is Princess Peach. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: It’s the same story. Dave Young: Yeah. Beautiful. Stephen Semple: It’s exactly the same story. And if you think about it, even the whole idea of this gorilla capturing the princess kind of sounds like King Kong, doesn’t it? Dave Young: A little bit. Sure. Stephen Semple: A little bit. And of course, they can’t use the name King Kong, so it’s Donkey Kong. And the reason why Donkey Kong is, he went looking through English dictionaries, and there’s all this stubbornness, and all this other things that go along with it. So we went, “You know what? This monkey, this Kong is kind of stubborn.” So Donkey Kong is the name of the game. Dave Young: Did they run into any issues with the King Kong folks? Stephen Semple: Nope. Dave Young: No? Stephen Semple: No, because you think about it, it’s a completely different name, Donkey Kong, right? Dave Young: Yeah, but it’s still a big gorilla with the word Kong in it. Stephen Semple: Yeah. Nope, no. It was different enough. Dave Young: [inaudible 00:09:14] just because it’s stubborn, and it sort of went with the word Kong? Stephen Semple: Yep. So it was different enough. It was all great. And the original character was not Mario. Dave Young: Stay tuned. We’re going to wrap up this story and tell you how to apply this lesson to your business right after this. [Using Stories To Sell Ad] Let’s pick up our story where we left off, and trust me, you haven’t missed a thing. Stephen Semple: And the original character was not Mario. The original character was Jumpman. Jumpman. Dave Young: I kind of remember that. Stephen Semple: Jumpman. And the game allowed them to reuse the cabinets, and just do it. And think about it, the objective of this, because he was also just a very junior graphic designer, and the objective on this was, “Hey, if we can sell these 2,000 unsold cabinets sitting in the U.S., that’ll take the financial strain off of our U.S. operations, and it will be great, it will keep them afloat.” And here’s what happened, they sold in 1981 alone 60,000 cabinets. Dave Young: I tell you, I poured a lot of money into one of those cabinets when I was in college. Stephen Semple: So Shigeru goes from this low-level designer to the creator of one of the best performing games up to that point. And one of the things that also ends up happening, he starts making modifications to the game. And one of the modifications is, he’s walking one day, and he sees these pipes, and he realizes character should be a plumber, and the landlord for one of the Nintendo properties’ name was Mario. Dave Young: Okay. Stephen Semple: So that’s where the whole idea of Mario came from, and eventually evolved to being brothers, Mario and Luigi. And of course, there was continuing success, and other formats and differing games. And Mario Brothers grew beyond Donkey Kong, it went from Donkey Kong to really the franchise being the Mario Brothers, with all sorts of new characters being added, and all sorts of new themes, like there’s go-kart racing and all sorts of different things. But the birth of the idea happened when they had this problem of, “We’ve got to have these cabinets…” And Shigeru saying- Dave Young: “And we either have to make a whole bunch of Popeye playing cards, or we have to find something to put in these cabinets.” Stephen Semple: “We have to find something to put in these cabinets.” And Shigeru saying, “It needs to be a story.” Dave Young: Yeah. No, that’s brilliant. And I feel like I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out to our listeners here in the U.S. that Steve is Canadian, and he pronounces it Mario, and everybody I’ve ever met says Mario. Stephen Semple: Mario. Dave Young: Mario. It’s Mario Brothers. Stephen Semple: Mario. Dave Young: It’s sort of like you say Mazda, we say Mazda. Stephen Semple: Right. Yes. Yes. Dave Young: So- Stephen Semple: Yeah, that’s true. Dave Young: Here’s a weird tangential thought. Do you have a minute for one of my weird tangential thoughts? Stephen Semple: Isn’t that why we’re here? Just for your weird tangential… Isn’t what we tune in for? Dave Young: That’s the way I look at it. I wonder if the guy that shot the UnitedHealthcare… Luigi, I wonder if there was a little bump in Nintendo stock. Stephen Semple: Oh, I wonder. Dave Young: And I wonder too, what was the discussion inside Nintendo about that? At first it was probably, “Oh my God, a guy named Luigi just shot someone.” And that was probably, “Oh my God, a guy named Luigi just shot someone that… Okay.” It’s not cut and dry. Stephen Semple: Well, it isn’t, because sometimes these negative events actually have positive impacts on sales. The one that I always remember that always comes to mind, I always find bizarre, is the white two-door Ford Bronco was due to be discontinued until O.J. Simpson went and did a joyride on LA freeways, and it actually extended the sales of that vehicle several years. And to this day, the white two-door Ford Bronco is a premium price from that year. Dave Young: Yeah- Stephen Semple: It’s nuts. Sometimes these crazy things happen. Dave Young: I don’t know if it was a joyride, but yeah. But we remember it, for sure. Stephen Semple: But we remember it. But- Dave Young: And those things have these impacts that you couldn’t buy that. There’s nothing Ford Motor Company could do that would’ve done that, that would’ve saved the Bronco. Stephen Semple: So here’s the interesting thing, coming back to Nintendo, that I find… So one of the influences it had was it was the first game that came along and basically said, “We should have a story.” And if we take a look at video games today, they’re all very heavy story based. And in fact, the stories are unbelievably rich, like Zelda, and all these other ones are these very complex universes that have been created. And he was kind of the first to come along, and his influence from that came from the fact that he didn’t grow up with these things. Dave Young: Yeah, he grew up with stories. Stephen Semple: So again, it’s this whole outside… We had this graphic designer that didn’t grow up with these things saying to a game, “Here’s what it should do. It should have this story, and there should be this imagination.” And all these things. And when you think about it, there was a couple of accidents, a couple of lucky happenstances that led to the birth of this. First of all, the console. Because if you think about it, if it was the creating of a brand new game, you wouldn’t take some junior graphic artist and put on it. The objective was, “All we need to do is move these 2,000 consoles.” So it was like, “Okay, so we’ll give it to the junior guy to do.” And then it blows out of the water. The other lucky happenstance is, think about how Nintendo’s fortunes would be completely different if they actually had the rights to use Popeye. Dave Young: Yeah, it would have been, like, Mario Brothers, that whole universe would never have come about, and- Stephen Semple: Well, the whole universe would be Popeye Universe, even if it worked. Dave Young: And I can’t see that happening. Stephen Semple: Right. But even if it worked, it would not have been theirs, it would have been- Dave Young: Oh, true. Stephen Semple: The people who would have made all the money were the owners of the Popeye license, would have been a licensee. Dave Young: Yeah, that’s true. Stephen Semple: So they had a couple of really lucky, fortunate things that happened that totally changed the trajectory of Nintendo. But here’s the other interesting lesson, and look, we talk about this all the time in storytelling, is there’s a couple of things you can do in storytelling. One is, you can take an existing story and just change the characters. We just took Popeye, changed as Donkey Kong. And what you know is, we knew that story worked, so it’ll work over here with different characters. Or what you can do is, you can take existing characters, and you can change the setting. In magical worlds, you’re always talking about how Sherlock Holmes, and- Dave Young: House M.D. Stephen Semple: … House M.D. is the same story. Dave Young: Sure. Stephen Semple: It’s just one is a detective during Elizabethan times, and the other one is an emergency room doctor in modern times. Same character, different setting, changes the story. Dave Young: Right. Stephen Semple: So when you’re looking to use stories, find ones that work, and do that. Dave Young: Find the popular stories and just take the framework. And I’ll give you another example- Stephen Semple: Right. Either change the characters, make it same story with different characters, or take the characters and put them in a different setting. Dave Young: … there’s a book called the Bible that had this story about this Jesus fella. Stephen Semple: I think it’s rather a relatively popular book. Dave Young: And then in 1605, a guy named Miguel Cervantes wrote a book called Don Quixote, and he took a lot of the storylines and metaphors from this story in the Bible and created a book that became the second bestselling book of all time right after the Bible. Then a guy named John Steinbeck took a lot of the stories from Don Quixote, and renamed characters, and put them in different situations, but took the structures of the stories, and… So this works. Just do this. Stephen Semple: Oh, yeah. Dave Young: Just find a story you like- Stephen Semple: Absolutely. Dave Young: … and take the [inaudible 00:17:59]. Stephen Semple: Reimagine it. Reimagine it. Reimagine it. Either change it, keep the same story and change characters, or take the characters and put them in a new setting. Dave Young: I mean, the cool thing is, you can’t copyright a story arc, right? Stephen Semple: No, no. Dave Young: Something bad happens to someone and they overcome it. “Okay, no, that’s mine.” Stephen Semple: I’m still waiting for the overcome part. Dave Young: Yeah. Right? Stephen Semple: Yeah. Dave Young: That’s still the part of the story. Oh, I love it. Stephen Semple: I just found these things that came together for the creating of the Mario Brothers to be really interesting. And it’s also interesting when you consider who was expected to be the star of the show was the donkey, and it ended up becoming the Mario Brothers. Dave Young: Yeah. Great story. And I see it. Thank you for switching to English. American English. I’m sorry. Stephen Semple: American. Dave Young: [inaudible 00:18:54]. Stephen Semple: All right. Thanks, David. Dave Young: Where can we go play some Donkey Kong next time? Stephen Semple: Well- Dave Young: Anybody got an old Donkey Kong console? Stephen Semple: Yeah. You know what? My kids have got some old play stuff, I’ll bring it down. Dave Young: No, I want the console. I want the big- Stephen Semple: Oh, you want that… Well, I think we may have to look hard for that. Dave Young: Yeah, that’s good. Well, keep your eyes out. Stephen Semple: I will. Dave Young: Thanks for the story of Nintendo, Stephen. Stephen Semple: All right. Thanks, David. Dave Young: Thanks for listening to the podcast. Please share us. Subscribe on your favorite podcast app, and leave us a big, fat, juicy five-star rating and review at Apple Podcasts. And if you’d like to schedule your own 90-minute empire-building session, you can do it at empirebuildingprogram.com.

From Astro Boy to Gundam to real-world robots like ASIMO and Pepper, Japan's fascination with robots runs deep. This week, the Krewe is joined by author, cultural commentator, & robot enthusiast Matt Alt to explore how robots became heroes instead of threats in Japanese pop culture and how those sci-fi dreams quietly shaped Japan's modern relationship with technology, AI, and everyday automation. From giant mecha and cyborg icons to robot cafés and beyond, we dig into why Japan seems so comfortable living alongside machines in an episode that's equal parts nostalgia, culture, and future tech.------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, Threads: @kreweofjapanpodcast & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Matt Alt Links ------Matt's WebsitePure Invention - Publisher's PageMatt's NewsletterPure Tokyoscope PodcastMatt on IG------ Past Matt Alt Episodes ------Akira Toriyama: Legacy of a Legend ft. Matt Alt (S5E3)The History of Nintendo ft. Matt Alt (S4E18)How Marvel Comics Changed Tokusatsu & Japan Forever ft Gene & Ted Pelc (Guest Host, Matt Alt) (S3E13)Yokai: The Hauntings of Japan ft. Hiroko Yoda & Matt Alt (S2E5)Why Japan ft. Matt Alt (S1E1)------ Past KOJ Pop Culture Episodes ------Enjoying Shojo Anime & Manga ft. Taryn of Manga Lela (S5E18)The History & Evolution of Godzilla ft. Dr. William (Bill) Tsutsui (S5E1)Thoughts on Godzilla Minus One ft. Dr. William (Bill) Tsutsui (S4Bonus)Japanese Mascot Mania ft. Chris Carlier of Mondo Mascots (S4E8)Tokusatsu Talk with a Super Sentai ft. Sotaro Yasuda aka GekiChopper (S4E6)The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 2] (S4E3)The Evolution of PokéMania ft Daniel Dockery [Part 1] (S4E2)Japanese Independent Film Industry ft. Award Winning Director Eiji Uchida (S3E18)Talking Shonen Anime Series ft. Kyle Hebert (S3E10)Japanese Arcades (S2E16)How to Watch Anime: Subbed vs. Dubbed ft. Dan Woren (S2E9)Manga: Literature & An Art Form ft. Danica Davidson (S2E3)The Fantastical World of Studio Ghibli ft. Steve Alpert (S2E1)The Greatest Anime of All Time Pt. 3: Modern Day Anime  (2010's-Present) (S1E18)The Greatest Anime of All Time Pt. 2: The Golden Age  (1990's-2010's) (S1E16)The Greatest Anime of All Time Pt. 1: Nostalgia (60's-80's) (S1E5)We Love Pokemon: Celebrating 25 Years (S1E3)------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!