Although far from being a professional film critic, I’ve enjoyed the cinema experience for as long as I can remember. I appreciate creativity and imagination across all mediums, and film is no exception. When daily life pushes you to your limits, a Hollywood blockbuster is a fantastic way to abscond from reality, albeit just for…
Adrian Francis and Paper City: Preserving the Fading History of the Tokyo Firebombing
“We who have witnessed the obscenity of war and experienced its horror and terrible consequences have an obligation to rise above our pain and suffering and turn the tragedy of our lives into a triumph.”–Ron Kovic The 1945 firebombing of Tokyo by U.S. warplanes is the single most destructive bombing raid in human history. In…
Gochiso Chaji: A Documentary That Will Change Your Perception of Japanese Tea
Some time ago, one of our readers, Luisa, kindly messaged me to introduce me to the movie “Gochiso Chaji – A Film About Japanese Tea.” She had just watched the movie at a preview with the Global Japanese Tea Association and, like the rest of the audience, was “amazed at how it really delivers the…
Making an Independent Japanese Horror Movie
As you may know, in Japan, summer is the season of ghosts. Traditionally, obon is when spirits come back to earth, and in September, ohigan is when the world of spirits and the world of the living are the closest. The heavy atmosphere due to the heat and humidity is also perfect to tell scary…
Exploring Our Relationships with Japanese Media and Pop Culture
One of my guiding principles in life is to wear my passions on my sleeve. Hobbies, interests, and passions can propel you to amazing places in life and can push you beyond self-imposed limits. In our latest edition of Kokoro Media Unfiltered, we explore the role that Japanese media and pop culture has played in…
Six Ways to Encounter Godzilla in Japan
Some of my earliest memories involve family trips to the San Bernardino, California, Fedco in the early 1980s. It’s an understatement to say that, as a child, I wasn’t very excited about checking out the latest appliances or home furnishings. The real highlight of those shopping trips was excitedly browsing the VHS movie section. (And…
“Kay” – a Japanese Short Film Exploring Parent-Child Relationships
I recently had the pleasure to be invited to the screening of a Japanese short film titled “Kay”, directed by Hironori Kujiraoka. The screening should have taken place in April 2020 but was postponed to September because of the coronavirus. Meanwhile, it was shown and awarded at several international short film festivals. It received Best…