a friend just sent me this song and it is the funniest, most Japanese– yet simultaneously universal song ever about coming across public displays of affection as a single person and being annoyed about it. thought i’d share. lol translated lyrics below.
…so, i’ve just started watching Yuri!!! On Ice (i’m only 3 episodes in), but already there’s something that’s kind of annoying me about it. you know, how Victor keeps putting poor Yuri into really awkward, sometimes overtly sexual, situations that in real life would typically be viewed as sexual harassment or otherwise in appropriate but that is obviously considered to be more than okay by the people making the anime (and anime / manga in general) and is considered to be “cute”, “hot”, “relationship goals” by fans.
anonymous said: hi, so i have a question, ive been studying japanese for a while-6 years- but still dont have the hang of it and actually had to drop out of the japanese program at my school because the anxieties from my now retired teacher were so bad it was messing up all my grades, needless to say, after spending a semester in japan for abroad a year out of being in the program i was more confident and aware of what i have to work on, now ive come to the conclusion of wanting to teach there and i would love to join the jet program to start, but im pretty sure i left a bad impression dropping out of the major with my JPN teacher who is still here, and she discouraged me from going abroad while i was still in her class, plus my friends who left…
screaming! rushing out the door on my way to work i found a totally unexpected package in my mail box which turned out to be this book! the first ever (in so far as i know) book in Japan written by, about and for non-binary people in Japan! the book is the product of crowdfunding by the non-binary group Label X well over a year ago and i totally forgot that the book was said to be released around now. the book isn’t available on Amazon (not at the moment anyway), but it can be found online here and the book will be sold in bookstores! how amazing is that?! really is exciting times right now. 🙂 i’m at work right now so can’t look over the book at all and will be working overtime all week, but i look forward to checking out the book more thoroughly this weekend.…
nerdyglitterpatrol said: Hey Vesper. I’m a non-binary transman (fledgling danso) living in Japan. I came here very recently, at the end of July, so it’s been about 2 months now. I’ve been curious about finding other non-binary or trans individuals that I could be friends with to generally explore the lgbt and non-binary parts of Japanese life, culture, and society. Any recommendations for meeting or making friends with other trans/non-binary either Japanese or gaijin in Japan? Second part of my question. I’ve considered using mixi, but I have no idea how it works and while I’m decent at conversational Japanese, reading it is another story. I’m also hesitant to come out as non-binary trans to Japanese people because the concepts seem to be underdeveloped in Japan, Japanese people don’t seem to know what to do with non-binary/trans individuals. And it’s hard for me to come out to my cis friends…
[cross-posted in part to Ace Spec Japan] had a great time at the ace meetup today. there was a great turn out and it was nice to see some new faces. it’s amazing to see how much the group has grown in 3 years, especially since it’s mostly happened via word of mouth and Tumblr. personally, i always enjoy the stimulating conversations (and rant sessions) that are much harder to have with most Japanese people for various reasons…. looking forward to the next meetup! although at this point, i’m not sure when that’ll be. hoping that i’ll be able to visit the Kansai area sooner than later and organize a meetup down there as well because it feels rather… unfair? that all the meetups and such have thus far only be held in Kanto, which is out of reach for some. plus i just really want to visit Kansai, damnit. oh…
anonymous said: How do I tell someone I’m non-binary in Japanese?
aaahhh, more annoying Japanese TV. despite what i said (in Japanese) while letting off steam livetweeting on Twitter, i know it’s not fair of me to expect anyone, let alone this guy (Jun Soejima, an actor / “talent” btw), to react any certain way or educate the people around him on behalf of other black people in Japan. i really don’t actually expect that or anything else of him, despite my whining, but it does admittedly annoy me when people on Japanese TV just laugh off some really shitty, problematic stuff that people say or do to them, be it re: racial issues, trans issues, or anything else. they’re in a difficult situation and have all kind of things to consider when they react to something, whereas i can huff and puff at the TV saying all the choice words i like without consequence. i get that…. but meh. it was…
Ace Spec Japan Meetup Ace Spec Japan, a LINE-based group for aces in Japan, will be having its next meetup in Chiba on Sunday, September 18th, 2016! see our new (and still under construction) WordPress blog for details! (Kansai) Rainbow Festa Rainbow Festa (aka Kansai Rainbow Parade) will be held in Ogimachi Park, Osaka on Saturday, October 8th, 2016. for more information, see the official website. Yokohama Diversity Parade Yokohama Diversity Parade (aka Yokohama Rainbow Festa) will be held again this year at the Osanbashi International Terminal in Yokohama on Saturday, October 15th, 2016. last year Yokohama hosted its first Pride and this year Yokohama will be its first Parade! see the official website for more information. i’ll be at the Ace Spec Japan meetup, of course, but i can’t make Kansai Pride (going to forever call it that because they keep renaming it ffs) again due to work… i really…
the-shynamites: 今月末に閉店しちゃうらしいです ？？？？ マジか？うっわ、やっばい。マジだ… 2週間前に行ってホンマに良かった… (｡ŏ﹏ŏ) so apparently Gossip, the first LGBT cafe in Tokyo which opened its doors in 2010, will be closing August 31st, 2016… the cafe’s owner, Takita-san, has posted a message in Japanese and English on the cafe’s website… ah, this news makes me really sad…. Gossip is where i’d always go when in Tokyo when i wanted to connect with the local LGBT scene without going to Ni Chome, which has always felt much less accessible to me as someone who doesn’t like bars or clubs… Gossip was where i could casually read LGBT books and magazines over cake or falafel, it’s where LGBT gatherings would be hosted… it was the first LGBT place that i went to in Japan. ahhh, i’m sad….. really sad. i’m glad that i went there 2 weeks ago, but wish i had known then that it’d be my last time going…
