#Imperial Japanese Flag

[savage-kult-of-gorthaur]

FIERCE [HEAD SHOP] POSTER DESIGNS RISING -- WELCOME TO 1984.

PIC INFO: Spotlight on an vintage felt velvet "roaring Black Panther" blacklight poster design, with the Japanese flag of the Rising Sun flocked in the background, c. 1984. Poster artist unknown.

Source: www.worthpoint.com/worthopedia/black-panther-kamikaze-japan-flag-1916044433.

#Blacklight poster #Flag of the Rising Sun #Poster #Graphic Design #Poster Design #Imperial Japanese Flag #Big Cat #Big Cats #Blacklight Poster Design #Japanese Flag #Posters #Head Shop Culture #Head Shop #Welcome to 1984 #Japanese Style #1984 #Panther #Poster Art #Japan #1980s #80s

[rongzhi]

What are some censorship rules that you feel you could most comfortably poke fun at without feeling like you could get in some kind of trouble or ending up on some watchlist for doing?

I guess the FOSTA/SESTA censorship law is a pretty miserable piece of legislation that has had a net negative impact on society since day 1. If I could find something funny about it, I'd definitely go for that one.

Although, you can make fun of it directly without being put on some watchlist, though keep in mind this is the law that laid groundwork for online surveillance/suppression of sex workers, and is basically the blueprint for some anti-abortion legislation proposals that would make it illegal to discuss obtaining abortions online. so if some people have their way, someday you COULD get put on a list for giving tips and info online to those seeking abortions. but i digress.

#yes i know anon was prob asking about china but i don't have an answer to that as i'm not at risk of ending up on any chinese watchlists #and i don't have a direct line to the NRTA to find out what gets you on any watchlists anyway，surprise surprise #You probably wouldn't get put on a list anyway #you'd probably just get perma banned from whatever platform you were posting on if you kept breaking their rules about what you can mention #the most basic of censorship rules for most sites i don't think anyone would have a problem with anyway bc most ppl in china agree w them #[these rules usually include no nazi flags or imperial japanese (rising sun) flag depictions， adhering to 1 china policy in discussions #not spreading superstition #or promoting belief in the superstitious] #I see netizens openly complain about topics being suppressed from search trends all the time it's probably (i'm guessing) not as sensitive #as you think #like you'd have to really be causing a scene to get taken note of #anyway sometimes i get what are essentially like. idk. essay prompts. in my inbox #and i just need you all to know i'm dumb as bricks and i don't keep up with international politics in any significant way #answered ask #text #...I guess to actually answer the question I think you could probably make fun of censorship of ghosts and witches a lot #the film censor bureau really shoots itself in the foot with the censorship laws. the chinese film horror genre is a fucking joke #and i see chinese netizens complaining that the domestic movie censorship has gone too far all the time #It's really a shame bc it's stifling some great story telling and everyone knows it

[gacha-incels]

And here’s the Korean dipshit incels’ charming little image for Mihoyo’s (Genshin Impact) other game, Honkai Star Rail. I guess from what I’ve seen they’re also mad at this game for being related to Genshin (see previous post on this), having male characters they think look “gay”, being from China and appealing to women. The last time I saw these idiots complaining it was literally because the free 5-star character being given out was a male (first strike) who was, to their shock and horror, showing skin in his outfit. Get the fainting couch NOW‼️‼️‼️

#honkai star rail #mihoyo #homophobia #korean incel #Japanese imperial flag #??? #sinophobia

[mrsnaildood]

Here I was raving over how fun, interesting and well rounded this season was and then I learn there was a Rising Sun flag in the background

#ninjago still at it with the orientalism #god that's disappointing #can we stop using the japanese military flag that is associated to imperialism and is a symbol for far right nationalists who erase history #for quote unquote japanese aesthetic #please. #doodler rants #ns16 spoilers #ninjago crystalized spoilers

[flecks-of-stardust]

this is still bothering me, so i’m going to talk a little bit about something that cropped up in Act 5 of Wandersong. if you saw my liveblog, you can probably guess what.

bit of a warning for, ah, discussion of war, particularly the World Wars, under the cut, as well as discussion of racism in fantasy.

it’s always tricky territory when you’re writing about war, because of how many factors that can go into a war. it’s not inherently bad to write about war, it just gets. complicated when you start drawing on real world aspects, especially when you do not have the specific context yourself.

i was not happy about the war between Rulle and Chaandesh to begin with, but frankly, as a whole the worldbuilding of Act 5 does not sit right with me. i’m going to keep this as brief as i can because i am not the Most knowledgeable on what i’m talking about here, but i did live this. i grew up with this history, and it’s disappointing, to say the least, to see them so carelessly handled in this game (that i otherwise adore).

one of the first things i noticed is that the major city in Rulle, which you spend a significant amount of time in, is called Xiatian. that’s pretty obviously ripped from mandarin; 夏天, xia4 tian1, means ‘summer’ in mandarin. it’s probably to keep with the theme of Rulle being more of the land of sun, and Chaandesh being the land of moon. what i don’t understand is why they chose to name the city that when seemingly nothing else in Rulle or Chaandesh has a similar theme. so there’s just one random city that happens to have a very obviously mandarin name.

it just makes me very wary in general to see stuff like this, because it often is a sort of... orientalism, so to speak? not sure if that’s the right term. specifically, what i’m referring to is the racist depiction of (usually east-) asia that amalgamates the different cultures in the area into one mess. in wandersong, there’s also people who have names that are also obviously mandarin based, like Ping, but aren’t real names people would have in mandarin. ‘Ping’ is nothing. that’s not a name. a nickname, maybe, but look at that man, do you think he walks around with a nickname? and there’s also the architecture style, which. oh my god, this is so common, but the architecture is japanese. even if not, because admittedly the two can be similar, it’s still basically the most stereotypical (east) asian thing you can find out there, and it speaks to lazy worldbuilding.

i don’t trust this sort of worldbuilding. most of the time it just feels like they wanted to build an area that felt ‘foreign’ or ‘exotic’, and then looked around for the quickest way to achieve this, which is so often based on non-white cultures. my culture isn’t ‘exotic’, white people just don’t bother to learn about other cultures. i don’t see why someone would choose to base aspects of a fantasy kingdom off of real countries but only take the bare bones and get everything else wrong, unless they were lazy and didn’t properly do research. frankly, i would have loved to see a fully chinese inspired area in wandersong, but Xiatian just isn’t that.

the reason i even bothered typing this up though is specifically because of the (possibly scant) japanese influence in Xiatian. if you’ve paid any attention to your history classes, you will know japan participated in the world wars, and they were fighting alongside germany in world war two. there is so, so much history of the violence japan enacted against so many countries in asia that just isn’t discussed, because people like to think of japan as the ideal technological utopia that can do no wrong. even today, japan refuses to take responsibility and adequately apologize for its war crimes.

[image description: a screenshot from Wandersong, taken from Skurry’s vod of the game. Kiwi and Miriam are crossing a red bridge, depicted in a markedly East Asian style. In the background is the sun, a dull red, with rays of orange coming out from it in stripes. end image description]

this specific screen... worries me. i’m aware that it’s almost certainly just the game’s art style, which is very shape based, with simple colors often used to provide contrast. but given the japanese influences, as well as the fact that Rulle and Chaandesh are at war, it made me think of this:

[image description: the Rising Sun flag. It has a red circle set slightly off center, with rays of red and white radiating out from it. end image description]

the Rising Sun flag has extensive war history, and it was the flag that was flown when japan participated in world war two. to this day, this flag is associated with japanese military violence and imperialism in china, korea, and other countries in asia. even now, it’s flown by the japanese navy. as much as japan may want to deny it, this flag has military ties.

which is why it’s alarming to me that an area with japanese influences that is at war has iconography that reminded me of this flag. i highly doubt this was intentional, but it truly speaks to the lack of care put into the worldbuilding in this act of the game. if they’d even put slightly more effort into refining the worldbuilding, maybe changed some aspects around, made the area feel less japanese, etc, i probably wouldn’t have noticed. they should have put more thought into building this area, and frankly, the choice to make the area east asia inspired adds literally nothing to the game. i’d rather they kept doing pure fantasy.

this is unfortunately not surprising to me, as i’ve seen so many other games do something similar, though i do have to admit that wandersong is the first game to stumble into something that so painfully represents military propaganda for some people. just the general lack of commitment to researching what you’re borrowing aspects from is very common in games that have some elements of fantasy. it’s exhausting. so much of what’s considered ‘exotic’ in media is really just watered down and blenderized aspects of non-white cultures, and people just don’t acknowledge it.

and, like. look. i still love wandersong. i think the message it conveys is really important. i know the devs really put their soul into making this game. but they could have spared some of that to make their story less racist. i’m tired of seeing white people do less than the bare minimum when engaging with non-white cultures, and even then sometimes, just stomp all over culture altogether. you can all do better.

#wandersong #if this sounds too blunt? i honestly don't care #this is mostly just me getting the thoughts out #i know japanese imperialism is not really something that's discussed in the us but now you know ✨ #god i'm just fucking tired okay #i can't play Anything without running into racist bullshit #eyestrain #also the rising sun flag hurts to look at

[genderqueer-karma]

youtube tryna set me up talm bout recommending me fucking “nps ngs live” i think the fuck not you trick ass bitch !!!

#yo it's d :) #don’t get me wrong i love the song but i never wanna watch a full live version #this can get main tagged. why not. #malice mizer #for my beloved followers and/or mooties who are out of the loop: a lot of questionable imagery. ‘visual shock’. sure jan 😒 #(questionable imagery includes the imperial japanese flag and also a certain salute.) #yeah i know the intent was (supposedly) not hateful given that the song is about the horrors of war and shit but damn !!! #that shits a set up though. she’s NOT going in my watch history

[angstics]

on my chemical romance's history of racism:

(edit: i wont rewrite anything since that will create discrepancies in reblogs. however, i will include these important additions: post 1 and post 2)

cultural appropriation is a neutral term that turns negative when people co-opt a culture without consideration to its people and history, or their prejudices and privileges. the rising sun japanese flag is an imperialist symbol used during japan's occupation of other countries from 1870 to 1945 (the guardian 2019). unlike other symbols of terror, the rising sun is normalized because of the japanese government's refusal to acknowledge its history. the symbol's meaning was popularized a few years ago when people from south korea protested its legality in the 2020 tokyo olympics (bbc 2020). aware or unaware of its history, americans have long appropriated the rising sun. in part because of their fascination with japanese art, in part because of orientalism -- a fixation on asian cultures that centers "exoticism".

my chemical romance has been associated with the rising sun symbol a couple of times. frank iero used to have a tattoo of it. gerard way designed frank's killjoys outfit to include it (seen in concept art and music videos). it is often used in mcr fanart.

tokenism is when something contains limited diversity to divert criticisms for the lack of it. my chemical romance has had a very white cast of characters in their music videos and stories. in the "i dont love you" music video, a main character is in black body paint. in the casting call, they specifically asked for a white man (there is 100% an online source -- please let me know if you have it). even casting a black person for this role would place him in a video that appropriated his skin color to mark his "difference" from the light-skin female character.

the female character points to the band's main problem with tokenism. if they arent casting a white woman, theyre casting a light-skin asian woman. the woman in the "i dont love you" mv is fetishized for physical traits stereotypically attributed to east asian women: big eyes, daintiness. east asian women feature most prominently aside from the band and main characters in the "welcome to the black parade" music video and photo shoot. the photoshoot is the only place where an ashy-faced black man and ambiguously tribal? brown man are seen (brought in by photographer chris anthony per the "making of the black parade" book). the director antagonist of the danger days music videos (shown in "sing") is a japanese woman. she is the only main character of color in the music videos and the killjoys: california comics. the focus of this post is on my chemical romance, but the comics are important to showcase that the reality is never "color-blind casting" or "limited roles". it's mostly white creatives (band members and directors and artists) who ignore non-white people when they cant use them, reflected as much by gerard way years later (nyt 2019).

"japan takes over the world" is a media trope that is built on the late 20th century fear of the return of imperial japan. this trope frames japanese people as unique aggressors, feeding into "yellow peril" fears of asian people "taking over" the white race. this trope is suggested all over the danger days universe, where the corporation BL/ind overthrows the US government. the appropriation of the japanese modern flag and lettering on the killjoys outfits, the primary BL/ind villain being a japanese person who only speaks japanese in videos, the official BL/ind website having a ".jp" domain and english-japanese translations. japanese people and culture only exist in this universe to decorate and threaten.

the point of this post is not to punish my chemical romance. in the decade+ since, they have made meaningful changes -- the sing it for japan project to aid japan during the 2011 earthquake-tsunami, developing diversity in gerard's comics / tv show, a mexican-american main character in the 2020 summoning video. people of color treated as real goddamn people.

however. all these faults exist in frozen time. there is no discussion attached to the work. so anyone, fan or casual, may come across it and not notice or care for these important issues. i know all this shit and i still fail to see instances of what i highlighted. it's difficult locating not only your own prejudices but those of others. those you look up to.

"my chemical romance" is the product of many people from 2001 to 2013. many of these people were male, white, american, and/or, most radically, liberal. clearly laying out what they did wrong is important. being careful with history and culture and personhood is important. prioritizing growth is important. constantly. forever.

#mcr #this has been weighing on me for a long time. i just didnt know how to say it. why i should say it if someone else already has #and well. thru writing this i figured everyone should say it to really understand it #qessay

[usafphantom2]

20 February 1942. Lieutenant O’Hare in the cockpit of his Grumman F4F-3 Wildcat fighter. The “Felix the Cat” insignia of Fighter Squadron 3 (VF-3). The five flags, the ensign of the Imperial Japanese Navy, signify the enemy airplanes destroyed in the action of that day.

@ron_eisele via X

[usnatarchives]

Forgotten standard bearers? African American Soldiers and Iwo Jima 🦅

The Battle of Iwo Jima is known as one of the bloodiest and most intense battles fought during World War II. It lasted for 36 days, with the United States Marine Corps facing off against the Imperial Japanese Army.

The battle was significant for several reasons, including the iconic photograph of U.S. Marines raising the American flag on Mount Suribachi, which has become a symbol of American patriotism. However, there is another aspect of the battle that is often overlooked - the role of African American soldiers.

At the time of World War II, the U.S. military was still segregated, and African American soldiers served in separate units from their white counterparts. The majority of these soldiers were relegated to support roles, such as cooks, drivers, and laborers.

However, there were also several African American combat units, including the 369th Infantry Regiment, known as the Harlem Hellfighters, and the 761st Tank Battalion, known as the Black Panthers.

During the Iwo Jima campaign African American soldiers were responsible for providing artillery support to the Marines on the ground. They fired over 6,000 rounds during the campaign, often under intense enemy fire. African American Marines often served as ammunition handlers and stretcher bearers.

An estimated 700 to 900 African American soldiers participated in the epic island battle, many of whom were Marines trained in segregated boot camps at Montford Point, within Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

African American soldiers continued to serve with distinction and bravery despite discrimination and racial inequality.

#IwoJima #Marines #History #Battles #BlackHistoryMonth #national archives #black history #civil rights #archives #history

[yibocheeks]

Historical Background for 《无名》 (Hidden Blade)

A very brief summary of historical details of note for understanding the context of the film:

The film is set during the Second Sino-Japanese War and WWII. There are several powers in play at this time: the Chinese Communist Party, the Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang, and Imperial Japan. Imperial Japan invaded Manchuria (located in northeastern China) in the early 1930s and established the puppet state of Manchukuo. It was here where they hoped to establish a base from where they would continue their expansion into Asia.

In 1937, after many years of conflict, Japan occupied Shanghai, Nanjing, and Beijing. The Nanjing Massacre occurred at this time. After the fall of Nanjing, which had been the capital of the Republic of China at that time, the Kuomintang moved the capital west to Chongqing, under Jiang Jieshi's leadership. During this time, the Chinese Communist Party and the Kuomintang formed a temporary alliance, suspending the years of civil conflict between them, although their vie for power continued. The Chinese Communist Party set up their base in Yan'an.

In 1940, Wang Jingwei, who was once a member of the Kuomintang but had always been in opposition against Jiang Jieshi, collaborated with Japan to establish the Wang Jingwei regime. They claimed to be the leadership of the Republic of China, when in fact they were a puppet government of Japan, overseeing the Japanese-occupied territory in eastern China, under Japan's control. They established their capital in Nanjing and used the Kuomintang flag. The Axis powers recognized the Wang Jingwei regime, while the Allied powers still recognized Jiang Jieshi as the leader of the Republic of China.

From 1937-1941, Japan had left a few neighbourhoods in Shanghai unoccupied, because that was where the American-British joint settlement and French Concession were located. Many people fled to this area to live at that time. After Pearl Harbor in 1941, the entirety of Shanghai became occupied by Japan. Many cities were bombed during these years, including Guangzhou, which experienced bombings for 14 months in 1937-1938.

During this era of war, which is also called the War of Resistance in China, espionage networks were established to try to undermine the enemy. Hidden Blade tells a story about these individuals.

Characters in the film (spoiler-free):

Director He (Tony Leung): Director of the Political Security Department for the Wang Jingwei regime

Mr. Ye (Wang Yibo): A subordinate under Director He, works for the Political Security Department of the Wang Jingwei regime

Captain Wang (Wang Chuanjun): A captain working for the Political Security Department of the Wang Jingwei regime, under Director He

Minister Tang (Da Peng): Minister of the Political Security Department of the Wang Jingwei regime, Director He's cousin

Officer Watanabe (Mori Hiroyuki): Head of secret service in Shanghai, claiming to be a follower of Ishiwara's faction (Japanese general who believed in the Pan-Asianism ideology)

Mr. Zhang (Huang Lei): A secretary of the Chinese Communist Party's underground network

Ms. Chen (Zhou Xun): A messenger of the Chinese Communist Party's underground network

Ms. Jiang (Jiang Shuying): Kuomintang agent assigned to assassinate Minister Tang

Ms. Fang (Zhang Jingyi): Disguised as a dancer, she worked together with other progressive youth to try to assassinate Japanese officers

#wu ming #hidden blade #hidden blade movie #无名 #wang yibo #tony leung #zhou xun #huang lei #da peng #jiang shuying #wang chuanjun #zhang jingyi

[fantasyinvader]

@maelor321

There's an answer for that, and it ties into how Edelgard is supposed to be a tyrant.

Edelgard convinced Count Bergliez to join her, under the promise of awarding him control over the Alliance territories according to Flower. As Minister of Military Affairs, Caspapa is said to control all armies in the Empire that are not under the direct control of the Emperor and is said to be a man who inspires great loyalty in his troops. As such, the armies that the other nobles may have could turn on them when he says to join Edelgard. From what we know, Edelgard was able to bring the corrupt nobility of the Empire to heel (minus Caspapa) likely because of this, and from there arrested any who didn't support her, stripping them of their power, lands and titles while telling the rest they can keep theirs if they support her. And, of course, the commoners are conscripted to fight with those who resist put to death.

This is what the devs her path leading to hadou, the path of supremacy or military rule, means.

We also have Hubert doing Hubert things, having even people Edelgard says to spare assassinated in his supports. This continues on into his endings, where he's said to put down any threat to her from the shadows which the Englist team translated as him putting down rebellions post-war.

It's noted though that this isn't enough to maintain order over all of Fodlan. Edelgard pledges to continue to work with Thales post-war until things calm down, that conversation hinting at something that was actually downplayed in the translation. Post-war, according to Caspar's endings, the Imperial army begins military expeditions which means (since the military is very precise with it's wording) they are conducting missions in those countries. It's considered a form of invasion, and what's worse is that the Japanese doesn't say they are "sometimes reckless" like the English does. It's "often out of control." And circling back to TWSITD for a second, the Byleth/Constance ending reveals that they pilfer Agarthan magic techniques (aka blood Magic) and technologies during the shadow war and use it to maintain the "peace" of Edelgard's rule. Meanwhile, the Empire takes over the Church of Seiros, restoring it in such a manner that Mercedes refuses to join it (instead, she looks after those hurt by the war in defiance of Edelgard's ideals). And then there's the propaganda.

Edelgard's path isn't the hardest outside of ignoring the red flags. She just says it is.

[yuripoll]

S3 ROUND 1

NOTE: Yuki and the Authoress has mentions of suicide and depictions of homophobia & misogyny. To Die in June raises some red flags regarding Japanese imperialism for me. It also depicts war, death, and misogyny, as well as some sexual content.

#matches #polls #yuri #gl #girls love #wlw #manga #yuki and the authoress #joryusakka to yuki #nagori yu #to die in june #minadzuki ni shisu ichi #kuragenanami

[ybcpatrick]

early decaydance meeting [2005, colourized]

A note:

When I first posted this artwork in May of 2022, I didn't know that the design on the hoodie I chose to draw Pete wearing was a depiction of the Rising Sun flag.

Even though I was aware of the Rising Sun's historical context, I was, unfortunately, not aware enough to recognize it in the hoodie's artwork.

And for that, I'm sorry.

The Rising Sun is a symbol of imperialism and hatred.

It was the flag flown by the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II, as they violently colonized Korea, Taiwan, Manchuria, and numerous other regions of Eastern Asia. The populations of these regions were stripped of their cultures, dehumanized, and massacred. This history is recent. The consequences and impact of these atrocities are still being felt today.

Yet, despite the militarism and genocide the Rising Sun represents to Korea, China, and more, it is still used in Japan. Its recent history is disregarded, due to it having existed for hundreds of years prior to WWII. (It's also used in other countries, like the United States, where the history isn't common knowledge, and it simply "looks cool".)

This article, written by Lauren Oh, offers perspective on the way the symbol's usage in the US continually affects her as a Korean American. To her, it is a constant, painful reminder of how her heritage was damaged, and how millions of people suffered, just because they were Korean. And yet, the flag continues to be printed on T-shirts.

(The Wikipedia for the Rising Sun also delves into the extended history of the symbol, for those looking to find out more.)

It is crucial that we understand that the Rising Sun is deeply offensive.

It is crucial that we recognize it when we see it, that we educate others, as to actively help prevent its usage.

The Rising Sun should be viewed in the same way as the Swastika, or the Confederate flag; it is a hate symbol.

Reblogs have been turned off on the drawing, in an effort to prevent the image from being spread any further. I figured that it would be better to leave it up with this note attached to it, as a lesson, as opposed to trying to erase it entirely.

To my fellow artists, and to bandom in general: please do not make the same mistake as me. Learn to recognize the Rising Sun, and do not represent it in your artwork.

Don't draw Pete in the hoodie. Don't draw Andy in the shirt he was styled in at the VSFS. Don't draw Frank with the elbow tattoo he used to have, because "being accurate" doesn't actually matter. Don't reblog works that has the symbol depicted, reach out and let others know about the history. Be proactive.

Listen to East Asians. If you actively choose not to, even after reading all of this, you are being racist. You are excusing imperialism. You are enabling hatred, even if you think you aren't.

#shut up kell #i am white. if i've said anything incorrectly here please do not hesitate to let me know. thanks.

[judgemark45]

"Last Survivor Battleship of Imperial Japanese Navy in the US Hands" Battleship Nagato in 1946, ironically with a US flag in the foreground.

[kaurwreck]

Hiya, thanks for indulging me in my little hyper fixation!

（╹◡╹）♡

I have more questions if you’re interested in sharing!

Is there any connection between the real Port if Yokohama and the irl authors? Did Asagiri choose Yokohama for a specific reason or something like that?

Do the authors in a specific organisation get chosen for their irl relationships or was it randomized?

How do the literary texts have connections with manifestation of the ability in universe? (Some are obvious others not so much eg. For the Tainted Sorrow = gravity???????)

Sorry for the long ask. I hope you have a nice day! :D

I've hesitated to answer this ask because I wanted to be thorough and give each question due consideration. Further, the latter two questions rely a lot on my individual interpretation and I can't offer very much objectivity. But, I think I might be overthinking it, so below, please find attempts at answering each in turn.

The Port of Yokohama

The characters in Bungo Stray Dogs are named after and inspired by authors from modern Japanese literature. The "modern" era of Japan is generally (albeit not necessarily appropriately) measured as beginning during the Meiji Restoration, during which Japan restored centralized Imperial rule, ended a centuries-long seclusion by opening its borders to the West, and rapidly industrialized. For reference, Britain's Industrial Revolution spanned eighty years, from 1760 to 1840. By contrast, Japan industrialized within, roughly, forty years.

Japan reluctantly opened to the West under duress; Commodore Perry arrived in Japan with a squadron of armed warships, a white flag, and a letter with a list of demands from US President Fillmore. A year later, Japan signed the disadvantageous and exploitive Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States (日米修好通商条約, Nichibei Shūkō Tsūshō Jōyaku), which opened the ports of Kanagawa and four other Japanese cities to trade and granted extraterritoriality to foreigners, among other trading stipulations. 

However, Kanagawa was very close to a strategic highway that linked Edo to Kyoto and Osaka, and the then-government of Japan did not relish granting foreigners so much access to Japan's interior. So, instead, the sleepy fishing village of Yokohama was outfitted with all the facilities and accoutrements of a bustling port town (including state-sponsored brothels), and the Port of Yokohama opened to foreign trade on June 2, 1859.

Thus, Yokohama is representative of Japan's opening to the West, including Western literature. Short stories and novels as the mediums we know them were Western imports to Japan, and Western literature shaped, inspired, and became subject to cross-cultural examination by Japanese authors.

This included Russian literature: Kameyama Ikuo, a Japanese scholar of Russian literature, described Fyodor Dostovesky's enduring popularity in Japan as follows:

In Japan, there were two Dostoevsky booms during the Meiji period [1868-1912], and The Brothers Karamazov being translated into Japanese for the first time in 1917 triggered a third. After that, critics like Kobayashi Hideo led fourth and fifth waves of popularity before and after World War II, and then Ōe Kenzaburō led the sixth wave around 1968, right when the student protests were at their height. Today we might say we’re in the middle of a seventh, with Murakami Haruki writing about how he was influenced by The Brothers Karamazov.

I've oversimplified Yokohama's role in Japan's modern engagement with the West substantially for the sake of brevity, but in short, yes, Kafka Asagiri chose the Port of Yokohama for a reason. Yokohama was, for a time, Japan's most influential, culturally relevant international metropolis, before becoming eclipsed by Tokyo in more recent history.

The Organizations

There aren't bright-line rules to explain why each character is in each organization, although it isn't randomized either.

Attempts to delineate between the organizations based on the irl!authors' philosophies, legacies, literary genres, degrees of acceptance or rejection of Western influence, etc., are inaccurate oversimplifications at best. (At worst, they're orientalist and, in some cases, conflate fascist ideology with literary aesthetics -- or literary aesthetics with violence; I've seen both, oddly enough.)

That said, the namesakes' irl relationships and literary impacts are sources of inspiration for the relationships in bsd, including between and among the various organizations. For example, Jouno, Tetchou, and Fukuchi were all among Japan's first Western-style newspaper editors. Kouyou and Mori were in the same literary circles and collaborated on influential publications; such as the magazine in which they penned anonymous reviews of works by emerging authors that made or broke careers, and which established modern literary criticism in Japan. Akutagawa is such an enduring and intimidating titan in Japanese literature; the sharpness of his prose and his ability to gut me like a fish suit bsd!Akutagawa's theatric and violent role within the Port Mafia.

But, Mori Ogai and Yosano Akiko were dear friends, Chuuya Nakahara idolized Kenji Miyazaki, and modern Japanese authors weren't mafiosos, private detectives, military police, or surreptitious intelligence officers. I'd warn against (i) cramming bsd's characters into oversimplified archetypes or literary devices and (ii) overinflating the importance of or reading any certainty into the patterns and reflections of the irl!authors. bsd makes dynamic and creative use of its source material to tell a story that's very much its own.

The source material absolutely adds depth, commentary, and intention to Kafka Asagiri's storytelling, but only if read within the context and framework of the story being told.

For an example of why strict dichotomies and oversimplified metanalysis don't work for comparing the various organizations, I wrote a post explaining why it's inaccurate to compare the Port Mafia and the Agency using an East vs. West framework here.

The Abilities

Yes, the literary texts inspire how the corresponding abilities manifest in-universe. At least, I think so, based on my own interpretations. For example, I see the green light across the bay from The Great Gatsby in the Great Fitzgerald and a throughline between Fyodor's bloody ability and the symbolic eucharist in Crime and Punishment.

I speculate about Fyodor's ability manifesting as imagery from Crime and Punishment here.

I mention the potential relationship between irl!Akutagawa's literary voice and bsd!Akutagawa's ability here.

I also share some thoughts on Dazai and the manifestation of No Longer Human based on narration from No Longer Human here.

For the Tainted Sorrow, in particular, is a poem about grief, which characterized much of Chuuya Nakahara's brief life. I've always experienced grief in intense fluctuations of weight -- sometimes heavy and immobilizing, sometimes untethering and billowing, often compulsive and consuming. It has an immense gravity.

I've always thought that bsd!Chuuya's manipulation of gravity emblemized his intense and layered relationship with grief -- for irl!Chuuya, his brother, his parents' brutal expectations, his lover, his friends, his son; for bsd!Chuuya, the Sheep, the Flags, the yet-named seven taken by Shibusawa's fog. But where irl!Chuuya was seemingly crushed by the gravity of what he lost, bsd!Chuuya defiantly persists with a rougish levity, his grief galvanizing his ferocious love for others and his desire to live for and in service of their memories.

To roughly quote bsd!Chuuya's character song, "I will manipulate even the weight of this cut-short life."

But, that's only my interpretation; take it with a grain of salt. Or with the weight of several pounds of salt. The extent to which it compels you is yours to decide.

#bsd #bungou stray dogs #bsd meta #bsd analysis #i have no idea if any of this is useful to anyone given its subjectivity and cursory overview of really complex topics #i have more thorough breakdowns of things like my crime and punishment analysis and the influence of the West on modern japanese literature #but each of these answers could be a dissertation length analysis and unfortunately I do not have the bandwidth to go totally wild on them

[gamergoo]

I’m gonna ramble about Hayao Miyazaki and why I hope the man dies in the middle of his next movie, okay?

I saw the boy and the heron today and it was really good I just want to hit Hayao Miyazaki until he stops moving. The way we have allowed imperial Japan to be sanitized to the point people like him make wildly successful movies featuring blatant nostalgia for a time when Japan had a military is nothing short of a failure

Imagine if a German animation director kept putting shit in his movies about how much he misses the fucking Nazi party

Imagine if he made an incredibly successful movie about the engineers of the V2 rocket program, or a fantasy movie that features a scene where men are being paraded around a village surrounded by flags with a swastika on them and the main characters saluted them. It would rightly be called a Bad Dorectorial Decision

BUT you put the Japanese flag and suddenly it's okay.

I genuinely do not care if other Ghibli movies are bad and they need him to make things, I think they deserve to fail for that! The man is an imperial apologist, and while that might not be a controversial position in Japan, it should be everywhere else! During the Second World War, Japan killed somewhere around 300,000 people with chemical warfare, another 300,000 died in Nanjing ALONE, with total civilian deaths over the course of the war being estimated by British historian Max Felton at 30 MILLION!!!!! 23 million of which were Chinese by his count.

There is copious documentation of the IJA blindfolding and bayoneting Sikhs in Singapore, and the phrase “comfort women” has had lasting generational impact on Korea.

Idk man the fact that we have a director just openly nostalgic about the regime that did that doesn’t sit right with me. It’s one thing when he’s not making movies about it, bad people make good art all the time, but when he’s just throwing it into otherwise unrelated movies? I don’t like it!

#hayao miyazaki