It’s graduation time at the University of Washington and for several former students, this Sunday will be a very momentous occasion.
A few months ago we told you that 440 AJAs who were removed from the school during World War II are finally receiving their degrees – 66 years later. Well, the time has finally arrived, and while many are not alive to receive their degrees, the university’s ceremony is still an important gesture for the Japanese American community.
If you aren’t planning on going to the ceremony, but still want to see it, you can view the live stream on this website on Sunday at 2 p.m. Seattle time (11 a.m. Hawaii Standard Time).
One more thing. Be sure to check back here, because The Hawaii Herald will be featuring a story on Sunday’s ceremony in one of our future issues.
The title says it all, even if it doesn’t seem to make sense.
Fear not, Triump Japan International is here. On Wednesday, Triumph unveiled its solar powered bra in Tokyo, featuring a solar panel worn around the stomach. The panel powers small electronic devices such as cellphones and iPods. And, as if that weren’t enough, the bra comes with reusable drink cups attached to the bra cups to reduce plastic waste and, of course, increase bust size.
This isn’t new territory for Triumph, however. They’ve already introduced a bra that warms its wearer, one that features a fragrance that eliminates the smell from cigarette smoke and one that features chopsticks, among others. Here is a list of the top 8 bizarre bras from Triumph.
Unfortunately, for those of you interested in purchasing the solar powered brassiere, it will not be out in stores for a while. According to a Triumph spokesperson, “people usually cannot go outside without wearing clothes over it.”
Forget rising gas prices, try skyrocketing soybean costs. According to this Wall Street Journal article by Hiroko Tabuchi, the price of U.S. soybeans has risen 60%, making business difficult for Japan’s tofu industry.
Japan imported $863 million worth of soybeans from the U.S. last year to support tofu production, but the changing American soybean industry is greatly affecting the output of one of Japan’s staple foods. Because Japanese consumers will not tolerate genetically modified soybeans, according to tofu producers, and fewer non-genetically modified soybeans are being grown in America, due to its lower crop yield and susceptibility to insects, the tofu industry has to pay a higher premium to import non-GM soybeans.
Combined with the fact that the traditional Japanese diet is shifting towards Western foods, the tofu industry is in big trouble. Why doesn’t Japan just grow their own soybeans? Well, Japan’s soy-relationship with America dates back to the period after World War II, when the U.S. sent the food to the war-torn, and hungry, Japanese. Over the next decade, America aggressively pushed their homegrown soybeans to fit with Japanese tofu making.
Now Japan might have to revisit domestic soybean farming to lower its production costs. As of right now, tofu made from Japanese soy beans are higher end, costing twice as much as the American brand and marketed towards a niche market: young consumers. Take “Johnny” for instance. Produced by the Kyoto-based Otokomae Tofuten Corp., the tofu comes in a package shaped like a surfboard and is frequently eaten with syrup.
It’s no secret that horse racing is kind of a big deal, what with the Kentucky Derby, the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes and all. Along with horse racing comes horse breeding, which is equally a big deal. Heck, even the iconic television character Tony Soprano had a horse, Pie-O-My.
Today’s entry is a lengthy article in the New York Times on Japanese horse breeding by Ashley Walker. Walker manages the Web site for Churchill Downs, Inc. and follows horse racing extensively. His article delves deep into the history of Japanese horse breeding, which essentially takes off with the addition of 1989 Kentucky Derby winner Sunday Silence – a horse who never finished worse than 2nd in his 14-race career. After Sunday Silence failed to find a home in America after his racing career was over, Japanese breeder Zenya Yoshida brought him to his famous Shadai Stallion Station in Hokkaido (which most recently bought the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner War Emblem for $17 million). Since then, Sunday Silence has sired several prominent horses, including Cesario, Delta Blues, Deep Impact and Dance in the Mood; Walker estimates that the earnings of Sunday Silence’s descendants are over $500 million.
Clearly, horse racing in Japan is serious business. Here’s what Walker has to say about it:
Japan’s organization and presentation of the racing product, being completely different from our own, has produced gaudy results when looking at raw numbers.
Currently, the betting handle in Japan is almost double that of the American racing product. While that alone is a mind-boggling figure, when you take into account that they run approximately 60 percent fewer races than we do, it puts them squarely on top of the global racing scene.
So what’s all this mean in terms of American horse racing? Well, if you are really interested, Walker has more than enough to say about it. But let’s just say that this year’s Kentucky Derby champion Big Brown may not have an easy path to the Triple Crown.
Here’s Dance in the Mood taking home the CashCall Mile (Grade III) with ease:
Go Speed Racer! All the way to the movie theaters!
If you haven’t already heard, the new Speed Racer movie, starring Emile Hirsch as Speed, and directed by the WachowskiBrothers of Matrix fame, hits theaters tomorrow. Most fans of Speed Racer already know that the original cartoon, also known as Mahha GoGoGo, was from Japan. This article by Joe Williams in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch points out that the original animator, Tatsuo Yoshida, actually based the Speed character on Elvis Presley in Viva Las Vegas. Williams also goes on to describe Japan and America’s extensive export history, from baseball to ramen.
Of course, Speed Racer wasn’t in a class of it’s own when it first came out. This article by Cary Darling of the Kansas City Star points out that Speed Racer had competitors in the 60s in Gigantor, Astro Boy, which, coincidentally, looks like it will hit the big screen sometime in the future, and Kimba the White Lion.
Can’t wait for the movie to come out? Don’t read this review, or this one. This one, however, is something you might be interested in.
Shinoda’s exhibit, entitled “GLORIOUS EXCESS (BORN),” will be exhibited at Los Angeles’ Japanese American National Museum from July 11 to August 3rd. According to his blog, Shinoda says that the nine pieces will be “larger” and “deeper” than any of his previous works. If you happen to be in L.A. for the opening you might want to check it out since Shinoda says he will be signing autographs.
Shinoda, a Japanese American and a graduate from Pasadena’s Art Center College of Design, has done everything from shoe collaborations with DC Shoes to album art designs for Linkin Park. That kind of multifaceted talent is a microcosm of Shinoda’s talents. In both of his bands, Shinoda stars as a keyboardist, producer, mixer, guitarist, back-up vocalist and artist. Oh, and he raps.
Here’s Shinoda talking about being Japanese American:
Here’s Shinoda speaking Japanese to the massive crowd in Tokyo for the Live Earth concert, check out the response from the crowd:
And here’s Shinoda and Linkin Park performing their hit song Bleed It Out at Live Earth:
