AJET Connect MAY 2014

JAPANESE POP-CULTUREコーナーJaclyn Thompson, MiyazakiJapanese pop-culture is an endless world of strange andwonderful things, with something for everyone. It can alsobe a great conversation starter with students, colleagues andfriends alike. The only problem with the everlasting is keepingup, so here are my recommendations to help you stay afloat.Music Chris HartChris Hart is a new American J-Popartist. All the way from San Francisco,Chris made his Japan debut on the TVprogram Nodo Jiman Za! World afterhis YouTube video was noticed by theexecutives. Since then, he has appeared on several TV shows,released cover songs, and this year released his first original song“I Love You” and first original album “Song for You” in Februaryand March respectively. He takes nihongo ga jouzu desu ne tothe next level, writing his own songs in Japanese.TV AmachanAmachan is a drama set in the Tohoku regionbefore and after the Great Eastern JapanEarthquake. It was broadcast last year from Aprilto September on NHK. The main character, AkiAmano (Rena Nonen), becomes a local idol andmoves to Tokyo to pursue her career, but thendecides to return to Tohoku to help revitalize thearea after the earthquake. The catchphrase “je je je” (indicatessurprise) was selected as one of the top four most popularwords of 2013. The sound track also became popular, featuringin the New Year’s Eve Kohaku program 2013.Anime & Manga Attack onTitan (Shingeki no Kyojin)Attack on Titan began as a manga, firstpublished in 2009. Since then it hasgrown with two spin-off manga series, alight novel, an anime series, several videogames, and due to be released next year,a live action film. In the story largecreatures called Titans almost wipe-outhumanity. The surviving humans live inpeace for 100 years protected by three walls until one day Titansattack again. The hero, Eren, his adoptive sister Mikasa, and theirfriend Armin join the “Survey Corps” to fight back and discoverthe mystery behind the titans.Word Omotenashiお・も・て・な・し(meaning: hospitality,service)The word omotenashi becamepopular last year after ChristelTakigawa used it during herspeech to the International Olympic Committee in the bid forthe 2020 Olympic Games. The speech referred to the nihon noomotenashi no kokoro (lit. the hospitable heart of Japan), andwas a huge hit across Japan especially after the announcement ofvictory. The special pronunciation used in the speech, one syllableat a time with a slight pause in between each, is often mimicked.Celebrity Sanma AkashiyaKnown for his laugh, protruding front teeth, andability to talk under wet cement, Sanma is a wellknownJapanese TV comedian and actor, whosereal name is Takafumi Sugimoto. At the age of58 he is still going strong hosting regular TVshows including Sanma No Manma and Odoru,Sanmagoten, both of which are celebrityinterview shows. One of his most famous props isa small toy hammer that is actually his face in a dinosaur costumewhich he smacks on the desk while he’s laughing.Jaclyn Thompson is a third-year ALT in Miyazaki Prefecture.Driven to Japan by her passion for Japanese study, she isslowly saying goodbye to her university level English, andhello to Japanese fluency… Is what she would like to say, butin reality she is saying hello to junior high school textbookEnglish and talking at the pace of a snail. I’m fine thanks,and you?