Mazinger Z, again

"Mazinger Z" was an epoch-making TV anime.

It was broadcasted since 1972 to 1974 by a Japanese TV broadcaster, Fuji TV.

It made new format of Robot anime, and it was enthusiastically watched by Japanese boys.

There were some anime of huge robot before "Mazinger Z", like "Gigantor" or "Ambassador Magma".

But "Mazinger Z" was the first anime which a boy as hero gets inside and operates. It gave a new concept of robots as weapons, like battle planes.

It became the base of following anime, like "Gundom","Evangelion" or "Rahxephon".

Revolution by the anime wan't only it.

The sponsor of the anime was Poppy (Now we call the company "Bandai"), a Japanese toy maker.

Poppy launched the figure of Mazinger Z made with iron and zinc. It was very heavy and crafted.

Poppy called the figure "chô-gôkin".

The word means superalloy material. "Chô-gôkin" was new advanced metal's name on the story.

Poppy used the name as the name of their new toys. Now in Japan, it means all metallic firure toys. It had become a general noun.

A Japanese newspaper, Mainichi Shimbun, tells that Bandai will launch the special chô-gôkin of 2 million yen (= about 20,000 US dollars)as a memorial of Mazinger Z's 35 years anniversary.

http://mainichi.jp/enta/mantan/news/20090325mog00m200012000c.html

Old boys loved Mazinger Z have been around 40 years old, now.

They have enough money to buy the special figure.

They are the hot targets to many companies.

The new TV anime series of Mazinger Z will start since this April.

Middle agers will be like children with watching the anime.

And Bandai will earn much money.

About Japan, for beginners - Japanese name(2)

The first characters which the Japanese used were Chinese letters.
We call them kanji. Kanji means Han dynasty's letters.
Later two letters were formed on ground of kanji.
Hiragana and katakana. They are called kana.
Kana means false letters, or temporary letters. The Japanese thought that only Chinese letters were true letters.
Chinese letters are logograms. For example, 北 has meaning of north and pronounciation of bei.
It is Beijing's Bei.
We used kita as meaning of north in original Japanese. So when we write the letter of 北, we prounounce it kita. But 北 has other pronounciations in Japanese, like hô, hok, and hoku.
Hokkaidô's Hok is written by the letter.
Pronounciations of kanji, not in original Japanese, were from ancient China. They are different from modern Chinese.
We call the kanji's pronounciations from ancient China on-yomi.
We call the kanji's pronounciations based on original Japanese kun-yomi.
One kanji letter has more than two different pronounciations.
It makes impossible to know the correct pronouciations of person's names on history in written text.
For example, An Empress named Teishi was on the 10th century.
We know only her name written in kanji, 定子.
But we don't know the pronounciation of her name.
There are many possibilities. Maybe it would be Sadako. But it is not proved exactly. So we call her by on-yomi.
ITÔ Hirofumi was the first PM of Japan in late 19th century.
His name was written, 伊藤博文, in kanji.
He called often Itô Hakubun. Hakubun was pronounciation in on-yomi of his personal name Hirofumi.
Hirofumi was kun-yomi, and Hakubun was on-yomi.
The last shôgun's name was TOKUGAWA Yoshinobu, and he also often called in on-yomi Keiki, not Yoshinobu.
The pronounciations of Keiki and Yoshinobu are different, but have the same letter in kanji.
In one personal name, there are some cases mixed by on-yomi and kun-yomi.
For example, my personal name is Kazuma, written 和馬 in kanji.
和(kazu)+馬(ma), it means Japanese horse.
Kazu is kun-yomi of the letter.
Ma is on-yomi of the letter.

AboutJapan, for beginners - Japanese name(1)

In Japanese text, surname is in front.
For example, Asô Tarô's surname is Asô, and Tarô is his personal name.
But when we show our names to foreigners, particulary to westerners, we often reverse the positions of surname and personal name.
Asô Tarô is also written, Tarô Asô.
Doing so was originally our good will to westerners. Westterner's personal name is in front of names.
We made consideration to their custom.
But now it makes us confused. There are two Japanese, one writes its surname in front, and another writes its personal name in front, in English text.
As a result, foreigners can't know what is his surname or personal name.
I write surname in front about Japanese name on this blog.
And I will write surname in capital letter to show clearly that it is surname.

There were two types of surname in Japan.
Clan name and family name.
Usually, only family name is used now. Most of young men don't know what are their clan names.
My family name is Itô. And my clan name is Fujiwara.
My personal name is Kazuma.
So I am called usually Itô Kazuma.
When clan name is used, I am called Fujiwara no Kazuma.
When we use clan name, in front of personal name, "no" is put.
"no" means "of". A no B = B of A.
So, Fujiwara no Kazuma means that, Kazuma who belongs to Fujiwara clan.
Conversely, when there is "no" in names, the front name of "no" isn't family name, but clan name.
Like Mononobe no Moriya, or Fujiwara no Kamatari.
TOKUGAWA Ieyasu, the first shôgun of Edo bakufu, belonged to Minamoto clan.
So he was also called, Minamoto no Ieyasu.

UESUGI Yôzan's Life

Uesugi family was a honorable family of samurai patricians, it had a title, Lord of Kantô.
A famous lord, Uesugi Kenshin governed Echigo (recent Niigata Pref.).
In his era, 16th century, Japan was in civil war.
Only force of arms saved the power of domain lords. Uesugi family was the most powerful in all big samurai lords.
Uesugi Kenshin was a genious on military affairs.
But we know now of him as a man of justice. He never fought for his merits and ambition. His battles were all caused to save weak people.
Therefore, Uesugi family couldn't get the rule of all Japan. Ones who got it were ODA Nobunaga and his inheritor, TOYOTOMI Hideyoshi.
Under the rule of Toyotomi administration, Uesugi Kagekatsu, who was a Kenshin's niece and the next lord of Uesugi family after Kenshin, became one of the five dominant lords.
His domain's scale was 1.2 million rice rates.
The biggest lord except Toyotomi admistration's central government was TOKUGAWA Ieyasu, his domain's scale was 4 million rice rates.
Rice rate was an unit, it showed how much rice made from the land.
After Toyotomi Hidetoshi was dead, Tokugawa Ieyasu caused a war to get the rule of the state.
Uesugi Kagekatsu stood by Toyotomi admistration, but he was beaten by Ieyasu.
So his domain was cut down from 1.2 million rice rates to 0.3 million rice rates.
Later, Toyotomi family went to ruin, and the era of Tokugawa admistration started.
Under the government of shôgun, the title of the samurai's highest ruler; Tokugawa family had it since 1603 to 1867, Uesugi family became one of liege.
By an accident, their domain was cut down to 0.15 million rice rates in 1664.
Uesugi's domain became very small.
But it didn't brush off their too many lieges. Beacause of it, their economy collapsed.
When Uesugi Harunori , he identified himself "Yôzan" lately, became the lord of Uesugi family, the house's economy was perfectlly broken.
In 1767, he was 24 years old.
He was born in a family of Uesugi's indirect descent, and married with a daughter of Uesugi Shigesada. Shigesada was the Uesugi's former lord.
Shigesada faced to financial collaspe, and the admistration of the domain was handed off.
It was the hardest time to Uesugi family.
There were not any magic to reintegrate finance. Without suppresssing expenditure and increasing income, it was impossible to rebuild finance.
When it was successfull, Uesugi Yôzan had become already 70 years old.
His life may be boring. But things he did were never so.
On his old days, Yonezawa, his domain's name, became the richest area in Japan.
In 1878, when Isabella Bird, a British female traveler, visited to Yonezawa, she admired the beautiful and rich land, and called it, "Arcadia in Orient".
A famine happened on Yôzan's old days aroud his domain's area.
Many people died. But in only Uesugi's domain, nobody died.
Because Yôzan stocked foods in preparation for deseases.

When he retired in 1785, he delivered admonition to his successor.
We call it now, "Denkoku no ji (admontion to successor)".

"I succeeded this state from our ancestors, and now I carry down it to you with missions. You must do the same thing to your succesor at some future. This state is never your personal own. Never forget.
People are belonging to state. They are never your personal owns. Never forget.
We exist for state and people. State and people never exist for us. We are servants of them. Never forget."

New Series of HAGAREN, STARTS!

"Hagane no renkinjutsushi (Fullmetal Alchemist)" is a manga, or an anime of Japan.
The manga was serialized on "Monthly Comic Gangan" since 2001.
And it was made into anime in 2003, and broadcasted by TBS.
The anime was aired in other countries too, heavy hitting.
Manga of "Hagaren (short of "Hagane no renkinjutsushi" in Japan)" was sold about 33 million copies more in all of the world.
And now, Hagaren returns.
New series of it will be broadcasted from TBS on this April.
This remaking is little strange.
Usually, new one continues from the last scene of former one.
Or, it just becomes remaking of former one.
But this new anime series will be made into anime completely from the manga.
Former anime series was not.
Though the manga was still continued, the anime ate up stocks of the manga on the air.
So it had to have original story and the last.
But now, the manga is already ended.
In true meaning, the new series will be made into anime from the manga.
Therefore, this new one is not the second arc of the former.
And it is not just a remaking.
It will be another and true story of "Hagane no Renkinjutsushi".

Empress Michiko and Her Era (1)

Empress Michiko is the only wife of Emperor Akihito.
She is the first Empress on Japanese history who are from commonage.
She was born in 1934, as a daughter of SHÔDA Eizaburô and his wife Tomiko.
Shôda owned a big food company, Nisshin Seifun, and he was a billionaire.
Therefore, Michiko's girlhood was very rich.
But it was also the era of war.
She lived in Tôkyô, but she must evacuate to escape from bomb by US airplanes.
After the war had ended, she was 11 years old. Japan regained peace, and the economy rapidly developped. It meant her father's business also grew up.
She was in very rich family, but she and her family were frugal.
She was educated in a women's school of catholic, School of Sacred Heart managed by Jesuits.
She loved to pray, and was almost a christian.
But she didn't recieve baptism. Offcourse if she wasn't married with Crown Prince, she would be a christian.
We know her self-immolating spirit made in the school.
But in fact, when she met with Akihito at the first, she was not a christian.
It was very lucky to Prince Akihito. Because if she was a christian, he never could marry with her.
He was the Crown Prince, the oldest son of Emperor Shôwa (Hirohito). Imperial family is the highest oracle of Shintoism.
From a commonsense standpoint, they cannot marry with christians.
On history, imperial brides were provided from imperial family and other five highest ancestries of patricians.
After the war, national system of patrician was already abolished in Japan, but people thought that Crown Prince Akihito's bride would be selected from the traditional ancestries.
But when Akihito watched Michiko in a summer resort Karuizawa, he fell in love soon.
He had deep distress.
At a time in past, it was an honoroble charter to marry with imperial family.
But in the modern time, any pareants didn't want their daugter marry with imperial family.
Because it gives her an uneasy life, it is certain that she becomes unhappy.
So, all dominant candidates of Crown Prince's bride married soon with other males.
Crown Prince was very alone.
He strongly wanted warm home. He was raised separating from his parents and brother and sisters. Because he was the son of nation.
All people around him never gave him serenity. He thought he would die alone.
But he fell into love.
Michiko was beautiful, elegant, intelligent and very gentle.
Many journalists knew that crown prince hobnobbed with the beautiful lady.
But they weren't care. Because she wasn't a daughter of patrician.
They thought she was just a friend.
And she touhght so too.
Offcourse she liked and respected him. He was the Crown Prince. But he was very manly, and very intelligent.
If he was not a prince, he would be loved easily by women.
Michiko respected him as a man.
But that's all.
She knew that her status was low to marry with him.
So, when she was proposed by him, she was very surprised.
Crown Prince's aide KOIZUMI Shinzô, was the president of Keiô University, asked to Emperor Shôwa if he accept or not that his most important son marry with the common woman.
His answer was "YES".
Japan was in new era. In the days, imperial family also needed new princess.
The propose gave much fear to Michiko and her family.
They knew, if she said OK, her life would be so hard. Also her family's life.
Then, University of Sacred Herat gave a chance to her.
She went to Europe as a student ambassador from Japan's Sacred Heart for two months.
It was a plan, for making him gave up.
But he never gave up.
After Michiko returened to Japan, Akihito phoned to her, and he said.
"I had been isolate. I can never die with being isolate."
She whined. And decided.
She knew the way was never easy. But she decided to be with him. She decided so that she never make him isolate. Anymore.
Japanese nations were full of joy with hearing the news.

---to be continued