by Masahiko Inoue, translated by Rebecca Seippel Editor’s Note: Hover over footnotes such as this one [ref]This is an example footnote.[/ref] to view their text. But First, a Toast is a translation of a Japanese horror/sci-fi short story by Masahiko Inoue. The story is based on when Inoue first traveled to America in 1995 in order to attend…
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by James C. Opperman The wind blows in from the north, carrying with it the promise of snow. It creeps into the building no matter how often Natsuko fills the crevices in the hut she and Miyuki built all those years ago, when they moved together to the base of the mountains. Natsuko stands at the window and watches…
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By Will Slater This conceptual piece explores the cross-cultural flow of cyberpunk by imagining a pen pal exchange between canonical Japanese and American cyberpunk works. March 13, 1982 Friends in America, Ugh, I’m so sick of everything right now! The class divide in Japan is something that cannot be tolerated! The Yakuza crime syndicate runs our communities unimpeded! On top…
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by Sofi Sanders From Godzilla and Mothra to Rodan and Gamera, many of Japanese science fiction’s most recognizable characters belong to the kaijū or monster, film genre. Godzilla (1954), the inimitable grandfather of the kaijū genre, is still recognized worldwide both as a pioneer of Japanese mass entertainment and ambassador for Japan itself (Tsutsui and Ito 2006). But what exactly are kaijū? And how did…
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by Eugie Foster I did not dwell overmuch upon destiny, living among the priests in Oda, sweeping the steps of the jinja shrine, and meditating at the seashore. Until the morning the Heikegani crab with the face of a samurai etched in its sepia armor came ashore and spoke to me. As was my habit in those summer days, I had risen…
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