Murakami and the Wild Sheep Man
When I re-read Steinbeck’s Grapes of Wrath in my thirties, I found his writing so moving I nearly gave up all hope of being a writer. The descriptions and images in just the first few pages made the hairs on…
The Bulletin
a journal of japanese canadian community, history + culture
The Bulletin
a journal of japanese canadian community, history + culture
Terry Watada
To Niqab or not to Niqab?
What happened to the party’s “solemn commitment and undertaking to Canadians of every origin that such violations will never again in this country be countenanced or repeated”? Covered with its own symbolic neqab, I suppose.
Stale Off the Boat
Fresh off the Boat, ABC’s anything-but-fresh sitcom about an Asian American family going through culture shock in Orlando, Florida, during the mid-1990s suffers from bad writing and stereotypical portrayals. The show centres on a Taiwanese-American family moving from Washington DC…
The Fortune Cookie Restaurant: a New Taste Sensation
“I like American food! American? That’s the best Chinese food in San Francisco.”– Flower Drum Song My friends and family know I love Chinese food – whether it’s take-out, dim sum, noodle/won ton/bbq holes-in-the-wall or high-end gourmet Chinese cuisine, I love it…
Racism is Over?
In the recent film festival favourite Dear White People, written and directed by James Williams and Teyonah Parris, the president of a fictitious Ivy League School, Winchester University, in the US declares that racism is over in America – especially…
James Shigeta: a pioneer actor who broke much ground
James Shigeta died on July 28, 2014. The news made nary a wrinkle in the Japanese News Media. But to me, the passing of the famed actor, singer and recording artist was a profound event; it meant the end of…
Bending a Golden Ear to Zen Teaching
The Golden Ear is a gentle rumination on the nature of existence and as a fable it is effective as long as the reader can accept the premise of a talking, telepathic and philosophical plant.
Yuri Kochiyama: a Hero amongst Heroes
Rev up your search engine and type in “Yuri Kochiyama.” You’re bound to learn about the Nisei Japanese American woman who fought for the rights of the dispossessed, the freedom of political prisoners and redress for interned Japanese Americans. You’ll…
What Started it All
The lads are much more interesting to look at than listen to. Their r’n’r sound is ordinary and hardly approaches the excitement generated by Presley or Bill Haley’s ‘Rock Around the Clock’ Comets … Their hairdos, their ultrahip clothes and…
Take Me Out to the Ball Game
Japanese baseball players have certainly had an impact on Major League Baseball. From the idiosyncratic style of Hideo Nomo to the hitting prowess of Hideki Matsui (Godzilla), Japan has contributed a great deal to the old ball game. Ichiro Suzuki,…
Saying Goodbye
he
told me
to remember.
we are the children ...
i have a photograph,
his image
comes
back like a corona
spill on the horizon
Word Play – Part Two
Many of the words listed have not survived or will in time, but then that’s the nature of language. They are an indicator of the culture at that moment. Whatever happened to the “beat or boom box” for example? Who would’ve predicted the geek would last until today, especially with a positive connotation given its initial meaning?
