#kurofune

[lucdrawsthings]

baby baby baby boy

[yurikotigerisnotmaiwaifu]

Yuriko Tiger Tweet 12/13/2021

[mrsometimes11]

I am 90% sure Ibrahim originally went to 'Japanese Opera; A Discussion' fully expecting an indepth look at Kurofune in comparison with Yuzuru (yes I had to Google the names of Japanese opera), and was slightly disappointed when it turned out to be Elizabeth and Penny solving murders.

He stayed, and he enjoys it, but part of him still wonders if he'll ever get to present an essay he wrote on Joruri.

[vulpiximisa]

Storyboard vs Final Shot poses

[engshoujosei]

Our Torsos Align: Human x Monster Love 

1 2-in-1 Omnibus

Licensed by Seven Seas

This manga collection of stories about beastly love is from the point of view of the devourers and the devoured. A woman’s bird-like rescuer expresses his love in a language she doesn’t understand. Mermaids bring luck, but drag you into the depths. An extraterrestrial angel with no limbs learns to feel. Enjoy these tales of monstrous and, at times, haunting romance in this beautifully illustrated collection that’s sure to thrill.

Status in Country of Origin

2 Volumes (Complete) 

Tags:

Alien/s

Amazon

American/s

Bird Boy/s

Collection of Stories

Elaborate Art Style

Homunculus

Human-Nonhuman Friendship

Human-Nonhuman Relationship

Mermaid/s

Monster Boy/s

Monster Girl/s

Sea

Siren

[bonguri]

20230408 Achimura Sakura 4 by Bong Grit Via Flickr: 清内路小学校横の黒船桜。黒船のペリー来航時の頃に植えられたと伝えられるしだれ桜です。 @Achi-mura, Shimoina district, Nagano pref. （長野県下伊那郡阿智村）

[ltwilliammowett]

Black Ships

The Black Ships ( 黒船, romanized: kurofune, Edo period term) was the name given to Western vessels arriving in Japan in the 16th and 19th centuries.

Commodore Perry's fleet for his second visit to Japan in 1854 - Engraving from Gleason’s Pictorial Drawing-Room Companion, Boston, May 15, 1852, Volume II, No. 20, page 305

In 1543, Portuguese initiated the first contacts, establishing a trade route linking Goa to Nagasaki. The large carracks engaged in this trade had the hull painted black with pitch, and the term came to represent all Western vessels. In 1639, after suppressing a rebellion blamed on the influence of Christian thought, the ruling Tokugawa shogunate retreated into an isolationist policy, the Sakoku. During this "locked state", contact with Japan by Westerners was restricted to Dutch traders on Dejima island at Nagasaki.

In 1844, William II of the Netherlands urged Japan to open also the mainland to trade, but was rejected. On 8 July, 1853, the U.S. Navy sent four warships into the bay at Edo and threatened to attack if Japan did not begin trade with the West. The ships were Mississippi, Plymouth, Saratoga, and Susquehanna of the Expedition for the opening of Japan, under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry. The expedition arrived on 14 July, 1853 at Uraga Harbor (present-day Yokosuka) in Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. Though their hulls were not black, their coal-fired steam engines belched black smoke.

Their arrival marked the reopening of the country to political dialogue after more than two hundred years of self-imposed isolation. Trade with Western nations followed five years later with the Treaty of Amity and Commerce. After this, the kurofune became a symbol of the end of isolation.

[pix4japan]

Ferns during Rainy Season

Location: Shimoda Park, Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan Timestamp: 13:30 June 6, 2023

During the arrival of Commodore Perry's squadron of nine steam-powered U.S. Navy warships, known as the "black ships" (黒船/kurofune), in Shimoda Harbor between 1853 and 1854, an interesting discovery was made. Among the crew members was a botanist who embarked on one of the ships. During their time in Shimoda, the botanist collected an impressive array of plant specimens. In total, they gathered 106 species of plants, 69 species of trees, and 16 species of ferns. Notably, among these were 23 previously unknown species, including fascinating finds like the tachitsubo violet and kaji strawberry.

One particular sight that caught my attention during the Ajisai Matsuri (Hydrangea Festival) in Shimoda Park was the enchanting pattern created by a fern along the pathway. Although my knowledge of botany is limited, I believe this fern could be a Japanese tassel fern (Polystichum polyblepharum, also known as 猪手・inode). This beautiful fern is native to Japan and South Korea, and it thrives in moist, well-drained soil under the dappled shade of evergreen trees.

As you explore the park further, you will encounter a diverse array of plant species. From majestic pine and cedar trees to delicate cherry blossoms, vibrant azalea bushes, and, of course, the numerous hydrangea bushes that give the festival its name. All in all, the park offers a splendid display of natural beauty.

Fujifilm X100V (23 mm) with 5% diffusion filter ISO 160 for 1/300 sec. at ƒ/2.0 Provia/Standard film simulation

Checkout the Pix4Japan blog for historical references, further details, and geotagged locations. (Link in Bio.)

[eky11]

[afranciscomiradiezblr-blog]

La gesta del Capitán Pessoa y sus cincuenta lobos de mar, (I) frente a un ejercito de Samuráis

Nagasaki principal puerto de Japón

Kurofune o naves negras de bandera Lusa y Española

El resto del articulo aquí: https://historiasdelahistoria.com/2017/11/29/la-gesta-del-capitan-pessoa-50-lobos-mar-frente-ejercito-samurais

[yurikotigerisnotmaiwaifu]

Yuriko Tiger tweet 11/21/2021

For idol show Kurofune-chan  Kurofune loft x

[paulisweeabootrash]

The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-chan

The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-chan/The Super-Cool Life of Strawberry-chan (1999/2004)

Format: Manga

Volumes read: 2 (whole series)

I bought this from the clearance section in the final days of Right Stuf to get up to the free shipping threshold. And let me tell you, sometimes things are on clearance for a reason. You ever read a newspaper comic strip and wonder "wow, how is this in print"? Like, something so aggressively unfunny that you can't imagine a target audience for it? Well, Strawberry-chan is the closest I've come to that in a manga.

Strawberry-chan was published very gradually in Zero (now Kurofune), a fantasy and sci-fi magazine from a publisher that specializes in BL, and was compiled in two volumes, titled "The Gorgeous Life of Strawberry-chan" and "The Super-Cool Life of Strawberry-chan" in English (rather than being numbered volumes of the "same" series). I think the original run was 1995-2004, based on the artist afterword at the end of volume 2. According to the afterword, she tried to end the series but it was brought back by audience demand. Demand for what? Unclear.

The title character, Strawberry-chan, is a pet frog, and the manga follows the terrible things that happen to him at the boys' boarding school where his owner, Akiyoshi Taro, is a student. The two main running jokes(?) are that Taro mistreats Strawberry-chan, usually by sticking a straw up his cloaca, and that his roommate Fujikake Masayuki is in love with Strawberry-chan and wants to take him away. And that's basically it.

On the one hand, I don't want to trash something purely because I don't understand it. I wonder if this made sense at the time if you were really immersed in the 90s BL world, or at least you read other things from the same magazine. Even if it was genuinely bad at the time, I am willing to give slack to fans of strange niche media. I have definitely enjoyed, and still enjoy now, things that make other people cringe. On the other hand, ugh.

I am not the target audience for this, and I know there are jokes I'm not getting. A handful of things read as parodies, most obviously the early gag where Masayuki rejects a human-form Strawberry because he's not into humans -- I'm sure this is a play on a confidently-gay character not being interested in a woman version of his love interest -- but most of it is just confusing and unfunny to me. So I asked my wife, who has read quite a lot more yaoi than I have, for a second opinion, and she reports that if the premise is overall supposed to be some kind of joke about the dynamics of yaoi relationships, then it's a pretty badly-executed joke.

A few specific gags do stand out as pretty funny, like when Taro seems to be unable to distinguish Strawberry-chan from other frogs, or when Strawberry-chan buries himself in a flower pot to hibernate. And maybe you'll enjoy Strawberry being a butt monkey if you're a bit of an asshole or if you're a really big tsundere fan (Taro doesn't actually hate Strawberry, despite all his mistreatment), but to me it's all just tedious and grating.

W/A/S: ?/?/?

I don't know how to rate this.

[vulpiximisa]

Bruv

[bonguri]

20230408 Achimura Sakura 5 by Bong Grit Via Flickr: 桜の下には・・・と言いますが、まさか、本当の墓地だとは。 @Achi-mura, Shimoina district, Nagano pref. （長野県下伊那郡阿智村）

[ellas-journey]

From Namban to Cool Japan

---------This text was first presented at the “Conferências da Primavera 2024” at Centro Científico e Cultural de Macau------------------------------

You can find the Portuguese version here.

The Portuguese arrived in Japan in 1543

I believe that surprise would be the emotion that would characterize this first contacts. The Japanese would meet, for the first-time people that talked and looked completely different from them. They would call these people Namban– Southern barbarians - a word first used by the Chinese that with time would identify the Europeans that arrived in the Japanese territory.

We could say that the fortunes that the Nau - ship- brought, not only in merchandize but also its people, would end up molding the first impressions of the Japanese: these barbarians where people that had a large variety of treasures and riches they never dreamed obtaining. Soon, the presence of the Jesuits would end up being a kind of spectacle for the people that lived far away from the ports, to which the processions would call the most curious eyes.

Not only where the Portuguese the ones that adapted to the ways of the Japanese, but the opposite would also occur, just not in a such a visible way, because all these contacts were happening in Japanese territory.

With the Nau arriving at the ports year after year, some people started to understand the Portuguese. Yoshimoto Okamoto tell us that after this date, the people started to imitate the Portuguese, adapting elements form they diet, clothing and furnishing into their own lives, and incorporating in their ways of talking some common Portuguese words. Not only the new Christians started to learn Portuguese, but also the common folk that little by little would integrate some words into their everyday life demonstrating that they knew about this new change of times [1]. The clothes started to take some European inspiration such as the adoption of collars and buttons, but it was the sacred objects like rosaries and crucifixes that started to have, not only a faint symbology but also one that showed the knowledge of this new culture that would turn out to be more like a fashion for the Japanese. “They wear rosaries of driftwood on their breasts, hang crucifix from the shoulder or waist, and sometimes even hold a handkerchief. Some, who are specially kindly disposed, have memorized the Our Father and the Hail Mary, and recite them as they walk of the streets.” [2]

It was precisely this last sentence that inspired me to present this theme. The simple fact that the common Japanese was singing the Our Father or Hail Mary on the streets reminded me of how a lot of Portuguese people today sing “Blue Bird”, the third opening of Naruto Shippuden on the streets like it’s a mantra.

Not having the time to present and explore the Japonism of the 19th century and the exchanges that happened in Europe and Japan after the end of the Sakoku, I do have to pass right to the present. I do believe it safe to say that the actual image of Japan is not of a military potence. Maybe samurai from far away times. But, with a lot of probability, an utopia full of characters with big sparkly eyes.

Being that I’m also part of this world of Japanese pop culture fans, it made sense to use an ethnological approach to the data collection. Mark Duffett tells us: “Critics might argue that ethnography leaves to much room for subjective interpretation and research bias. (…) The researcher acts as a kind of cultural translator who is privileged to explain the alien ways of a different cultural world because he or she has entered it as a surrogate for “normal” readers” [3] . Just like the best way to understand the exchanges that happened in the Namban century is to look at the populations that inhabited the places were the Kurofune would dock, the best ways to understand the ways in which the Japanese culture interacts with the Portuguese is to look at those that deal with her in their day-to-day life. And being that this culture exchanges happen mainly on the internet, it was here that the data was collected.

On February 29th it was open a questionary on Google Forms, that was shared on the authors social media, as well as on Reddit at the forum r/animeportugal, being closed on March 09th with a total of 55 answers.

When asked “What was your first introduction to the Japanese culture” 96,4% answered anime; only 1 person identified that it was in history classes and 1 thanks to the Orient Express Section on Fantasporto (International cinema festival in Porto). These results can be easily explained: in Portugal the 1st wave of Japanese animations screened on national television happens in the 70s. I do believe in the familiarity with series like “Heidi” (Heidi: Girl of the Alps), animation directed by Isaso Takahata, one of the future founders of Studio Ghibli, that was screened in the Portuguese televisions on 1976, or “Abelha Maia” (Maya, the honey bee), a collaborative animation between Japan and Germany screened in 1978 both at RTP. The 2nd wave happens in the 90s with the screening of Sailor Moon by Naoko Takeuchi and Dragon Ball by Akira Toriyama.

This wave of successful importations happened in part thanks to “Dynamic Portugal” the group responsible for the importation of international media, that was behind SIC Radical in the 2000s [4]. With the focus shifting from the televisions to the internet we are able to identify a 3rd wave happening recently in the years of the Covid-19 pandemic. Taking “The boy and the Heron” movie that recently won the Oscar for best animation as an example, it was able to acquire 200 thousand euros in revenue, becoming the 2nd most watched movie in Portugal, losing only to Jujustsu Kaisen 0, prequel to the popular animation series Jujutsu Kaisen by Gege Akutami.

When asked “What makes you like anime/manga?” I collected answers that were divided in 3 categories. The 1st one, does include the answers of people that say that started watching anime thanks to channels that specialize in the transmission of these animations, such as “Canal Panda”, being that there were 5 answers that specified “Dragon Ball”. In the 2nd it was the people that started thanks to recommendations of family or friends. The 3rd, and the biggest one, was from the people that got the interest thanks to the quality of the animation and stories. Citing directedly one of the answers “The stories are usually very different from the norm and the more adult and older animation style of the anime pleases me visually. Not to mentions that there are few animations with an adult story that are not comedies.”

In a funny way, when questioned “What do you like the most about the Japanese culture?”, most people answered the food, being that in 2nd place came the culture, and only in 3rd came the anime. In the answers that said culture, we start to see the Soft Power taking place, being that we can observe some Japanese stereotypes. Just as William Tsutsui tell us: “From pop music to consumer electronics, architecture to fashion, and animation to cuisine, Japan looks more like a cultural superpower today than it did in the 1980s, when it was an economic one” [5].

The confirmation of these stereotypes happens in the answers to the next question “What is the image that you have from Japan?”. Taking as an example the answer “It is a utopia of different cultures, foods and styles”, there were a lot of answers that were variations of this idea that Japan, more than a country, is precisely an ideal and perfect society. From being a tranquil country, innovative, that values the nature, organized, with a huge education, comfort to a big culture and history. Nonetheless the 2nd block of answers starts to denouncer a bigger knowledge of the reality with ambivalent answers. “Since I was born and raised in the European world, I am aware that it’s a very different country from ours, both culturally, politically and economically. However, and very interestingly, it itself is quite different from the other geopolitical blocs in Asia. Despite all the color and animation that anime and manga can bring to the image that the Western world (and even within Asia) has of Japan, I believe that on a social level it is very different. Take, for example, the case of communication, which are often exacerbated and even ridiculed to a certain extent in popular culture, and in real life are a requirement in the manual of good practices and manners. Or see the case of alternative attire; In the anime and manga we see very various characters, however young people often complain that Japan is not so open to a more alternative lifestyle, also saying that Japan is an essentially traditionalist country.” Even if most of the times, the answers learned to a positive side, we find nonetheless a bigger attention to the reality of the country with a look that is not filtered by the popular culture that is consumed.

When questioned “Are you part of any fandom?”, 52,7% answered in a negative way being that only 47,3% answered in a positive one. To those that answered that they were part of a fandom it was asked to complete answering from which series or games. This raises questions, that are not new, of what truly means being a fan. In the Infopedia dictionary we are informed that “Fan” is “a person that does have a big admiration/interest to something or someone”, adding that it derives from the shortening of the english word “fanatic”. This could demonstrate that people are still reluctant to call themselves a fan and assume themselves as such with the fear of being judged in a pejorative sense as fanatics or childish.

When askes “Did you know that the Portuguese were one of the firsts Europeans to have contacts with the Japanese?”, a surprising 81,8% answered that yes, being that only 18.2% did not know. From this 81.8% the majority complemented that they learned in the history classes during the various years of education, while only a small part discovered from themselves or via social media.

When asked “Do you consider that the Japanese culture does have an influence on your everyday life?” 58,2% answered yes, 12,7% that no, and 29,1% answered that maybe. This shows that the people are somewhat conscious that the Japanese popular culture integrated itself in their everyday life and how this affects them. This crescent global popularity of anime made a new global generation that is familiarized with this new cultural hybridism and that prefers these denationalized fantasies that the Japanese animation proportion [6] . This is clearly visible in the ways of expression of various people, but mostly the young adults, in the ways of talking, gestures, dress, gastronomical preferences and entertainment. It is possible to see a growing number of events dedicated to the Japanese culture from big conventions such as Iberanime to small cosplay meets, or the popularity of stores like Conbini or Hypertoys that caters products and experiences for this kind of likes. Just like João de Deus Ramos said: “The globalization that we talk about so much today actually corresponds to a reality, but it is not new. New will perhaps be only the degree.” [7]

[1] Okamoto. 1972. Pag. 68 [2] IDEM [3] Okamoto.1972. Pag. 77 [4] Duffett. 2013. Pag. 421 [5] Barros. 2016. Pag. 33 [6]Tsutsui. 2010. Pag. 59 [7]  Napier. 2005. Pag. 26 [8] Ramos. 2012. Pag 161

ALFAIATE, Rita. 2023 – “O influxo do Hibridismo Cultural na Banda Desenhada Portuguesa a partir dos novos autores” Tese de Douturamento. Universidade de Lisboa.

BAIN, Marc. 2020 – “How Japan’s global image morphed from miltary emprie to eccentric pop-culture superpower”.Quartz, 21 de Maio, 2020. https://qz.com/1806376/japans-image-has-changed-from-fierce-to-lovable-over-the-decades

BARROS, Carlos. 2016. – “A influência da cultura otaku na sociedade ocidental”. In E-revista de Estudos interculturais do CEI-ISCAP Nº4. Porto.

DUFFETT, Mark. 2013. – Understanding fandom: na introduction to the study of Media Fan Culture. Nova Iorque. Bloosbury Piblishing Plc.

FLORES, Jorge. 2022 – “Quando éramos exóticos”. In Histórias de Um Império: Coleção Távora Sequeira Pinto. Lisboa:Fundação Oriente.

KELTS, Roland. 2008. – Japanese Pop Culture: Its Problems - & Its enormous portential. In Japan Spotlight. Japan Economic Foundation.

MEIRELES, Selma Martins. 2003. – “O Ocidente Redescobre o Japão: O Boom de Mangás e Anime”.  IN Revista de Estudos Orientas n.4. Pag. 203-211

MOCKETT, Marie Mutsuki. 2016. – “Our Fairy Tales Ourselves: Storytelling from East to West”. Literary Hub, 27 Janeiro, 2016. https://lithub.com/our-fairy-tales-ourselves-storytelling-from-east-to-west/

NAPIER, Susan J. 2005 – Anime from Akira to Howl’s Moving Castle: experiencing contemporary Japanese animation. Nova Iorque: Palgrave Macmillan. 

OKAMOTO, Yoshitomo. 1972. – The Namban Art of Japan. Nova Iorque: Jonh Weatgerhill, Inc. 

RAMOS, João de Deus. 2012 – Portugal e a Ásia Oriental. Lisboa:Fundação Oriente.

RO, Christine. 2019 – “Did manga shape how the world sees Japan?” BBC Culture, 12 Junho, 2019. https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20190610-did-manga-shape-how-the-world-sees-japan

TSUTSUI, William. 2010. – Japanese Popular Culture and Globalization. Association for Asian Studies. Columbia:Columbia University Press.