Christopher Kincaid's Blog, page 28

Horimiya: Surprisingly Subtle

Horimiya appears to be a standard high-school rom-com, but it quickly shows how it is more. The series focuses on how people have hidden sides to their personalities that slowly reveal to those closest to them. The main characters Hori and Miyamura develop a relationship while discovering these layers. Hori is a popular, head of…

“Don’t You Feel Lonely?”

Since my girlfriend of 4 years broke up with me over a year ago, people keep asking me if I am lonely. Blunt question!  Lately, there seems to be an obsession with loneliness. News reports it as an epidemic. Since the pandemic started, doctors and other officials have fretted over loneliness as a mental health…

JP Site Changes

Google has an update coming sometime this summer that may change search rankings. Last time a big update like this happened, JP’s traffic dropped off by half. This time, I am trying to be preemptive. I’ve changed the caching system and changed how images are handled. I shifted the images to the new webp format…

The Fox Brothers and Old Tanuki’s Trick Chapter 4

That evening the fox brothers approached the den of Old Tanuki. Kitsu tottered on his hind legs and fumbled with the small paper lantern they used to light their way. Mitsu balanced the tray with fewer problems. He was getting used to walking on his hind legs. No crows greeted them this time. At least,…

The Confessions of Lady Nijo

The Confessions of Lady Nijo is an example of Japan’s traditional women’s literature: the diary. Her father was the head of the Minamoto clan: Major Counselor Masatada, who served the Emperor from 1228-1272. Her mother was the niece of an Honorary Empress. Nijo herself was a lady-in-waiting and the concubine to the Retired Emperor Go-Fukakusa…

Neir:Automata, a Review of Its Themes

I’m an old school JRPG gamer. Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger still remain at the top of my list. I’m not much on action rpgs. I prefer menu-based combat. But when Neir:Automata went on sale on Steam, I bought it. It’s been a long time since an RPG grabbed me like Neir:Automata did. As…

The Possible Impact of NFTs

NFTs, or nonfungible tokens, have appeared throughout the news cycle recently. NFTs use blockchain technology similar to Bitcoin to make a certificate of authenticity for a digital item or to make what amounts to a digital trading card. A certificate of authenticity NFT basically states you own an original or serial-numbered copy of a digital…

The Fox Brothers and Old Tanuki’s Trick Chapter 3

Mitsu fidgeted with excitement. Father will finally know that I am as good at tricks and illusions as Kitsu. Once he gives me a chance, he will see that I am better, Mitsu thought as he held a silver tray with the wasabi cakes. He wobbled on his hind legs. He still wasn’t used to…

The Gossamer Journal

The Gossamer Journal is the memoir of a woman we know only as Michitsuna’s Mother. Michitsuna is the son she had through her marriage with Fujiwara no Kaneie. Michitsuna’s Mother, whom I will call the Gossamer Lady to follow literary convention, was born perhaps around 937 (we don’t know for certain) and died in 995.…

Poems from the Frontier of Japan

Most people think of Basho and haiku when they think about Japanese poems. Japanese poetry encompasses more than lovely nature images. The word literature conjures, at least for me, feelings of stuffiness and boredom. It’s easy to forget that what we deem literature, that is, writing representative of a time period, was the love poems…