To be an otaku, one must know the proper suffixes to use—and how to use them. How can you tell when someone is using a suffix? Well, let me introduce “Jane Smith” and “John Brown” for the sake of clarity. In general, Japanese suffixes can be used with first names or last names, unlike “Mr.” or “Mrs./Ms./Miss” in English, which are usually used only with one’s surname.

In everyday life, “-san” (as in “John-san”) is the most common suffix and can be used whenever there is doubt about other forms, although I’ll be covering others in this article as well. Continue reading “Eastern Culture: Common Suffixes”

This semester, I’m conducting an independent study with Franklin & Marshall College’s new Asian history professor, Dr. Richard Reitan. Using the anime Sailor Moon as a keyhole into something deeper, my research will focus on understanding why Japanese popular culture seems fixated on heroines and heroes with Western (Caucasian) features.

In the late nineteenth century, Japan actually looked down upon most other nations as less civilized. Indeed, the Western version of “civilization” in Japan was met with resistance, and in the early twentieth century many Japanese scholars and elites began to profess their belief that Japan and its people had something to offer the Western world without having to conform to its ways. Japan’s collective identity—highly militaristic and male-dominated—remained proud and strong until the end of the Pacific War with the United States and Allied Powers. The nation was truly traumatized after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their unconditional surrender to the Allies a short time later. Continue reading “Eastern Culture: Manga and Anime Culture Part 1”