TJ
Top 10 Cosplay & Cosplayer Rankings
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Top 10 Japanese Fashion Rankings
Top 10 Japanese Film Rankings
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Top 10 Japanese Music Rankings
Where to Stay in Toronto
Where to Stay in Toronto
Here are Tokyo Journal’s recommendations on places to stay in Toronto’s buzzing entertainment district. They are all within close proximity to the CN Tower, Rogers Centre (SkyDome), Ripley’s Aquarium of Canada, the Metro Toronto Convention Centre and the Hockey Hall of Fame, as well as Toronto’s impressive theater scene, The Second City improv theater, Roy Thomson Hall, the Distillery District and fantastic restaurants for all cuisines and budgets.
Living Legend - Dr. Rod Ellis
World-Acclaimed Applied Linguist Helps Pioneer Online Education
Dr. Rod Ellis is a world-acclaimed British applied linguist and thought leader in the field of second language acquisition. In the late 1990s, Dr. Ellis joined renowned applied linguists Dr. David Nunan and Dr. Ruth Wajrnyb at Anaheim University where they helped pioneer the field of online education. A former professor at Temple University in both Japan and the U.S., Dr. Ellis serves as a distinguished professor in the School of Cultures, Languages and Linguistics at the University of Auckland and as a senior professor in the Graduate School of Education at Anaheim University, where he has held the roles of department chair, dean of the Graduate School of Education and VP of academic affairs. He has taught in numerous positions in England, Japan, the U.S., Zambia and New Zealand. TJ caught up with Dr. Ellis at the American Association for Applied Linguistics 2015 conference in Toronto, Canada.
Chicchai Ossan
Amagasaki’s “Middle-Aged Guy” Mascot Visits L.A.
Chicchai Ossan is one of Japan’s most popular regional mascots along with Kumamon and Funassyi. While there are more than 3,000 mascots in Japan, each representing a specific prefecture or city, Chicchai Ossan is the first speaking character. Chicchai Ossan, whose real name is Shinichi Sakata, is a middle-aged Japanese man from Amagasaki in Hyogo prefecture. Speaking in a Kansai dialect with a sharp tongue and giving warm fatherly advice, Chicchai Ossan has become one of Japan’s favorite pop culture characters. He appears on Harajuku kawaii fashion shows, game shows and at other events. Tokyo Journal met with Chicchai Ossan at Anime Expo 2015 in Los Angeles.
Big Hero 6
Japan-Influenced Big Hero 6 Scores Oscar for Best Animated Film
Voice Actor Ryan Potter and CG Animator Matsune Suzuki Talk about the Heart-Warming East-Meets-West Story of a Boy and his Robot
Big Hero 6 is a magnificent mashup of Marvel-based Disney animation, Eastern and Western cultures, and the cities of San Francisco and Tokyo. Set in “San Fransokyo,” Big Hero 6 is an action-packed animated comedy adventure that finds robotics whiz kid, Hiro Hamada, forming a special bond with his personal companion robot called Baymax, while his diverse group of science-geek friends forms a band of unlikely heroes. Japanese- American actor Ryan Potter and Japanese CG Animator Matsune (Matt) Suzuki talked to Tokyo Journal shortly after the movie won the 2015 Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.
Father of Sign Gene
This Archived Article is taken from the Summer 2009 Issue #267
Father of Sign Gene
Another Sound of Silence
Words by Eija Niskanen
Photos by Daniel Goertz
EMILIO INSOLERA BELONGS to that rare Edemographic which sees himself referred to as a 'TCK'-that is, a 'transcultural kid', to you and I. Osaka is where he has laid his hat and now calls home, and it is from here that he is currently working on his latest independent action film: Sign Gene. Though Insolera's latest project may feature martial arts, yakuza fistfights and even the odd helicopter chase, central to its core will be the emphasis on deaf issues and Sign language. Indeed, the movie's biggest departure is the language in which it is directed: Sign language - or, more accurately, in one of several existing Sign languages.
