#Koji Hayashi

[nakamorijuan]

林浩治 - ワイルド・ビジョン Koji Hayashi - WILD VISION VIRTUA FIGHTER - 1st Opening Theme

[stuff-diary]

Maboroshi

Movies watched in 2024

Maboroshi (2023, Japan)

Director & Writer: Mari Okada

Mini-review:

I was really curious about this movie, since Mari Okada has written and/or directed some pretty amazing stories, and the promotional materials and trailers looked very interesting. However, I can't say I liked it as much as I expected. I did love how ambitious the film is in terms of concept and themes, and the animation definitely lives up to the Mappa standard. In particular, the final act includes some truly stunning visuals. Unfortunately, I just couldn't connect with these characters, and I didn't find any of them likeable or interesting. Therefore, this movie doesn't even come close to the emotional wallop delivered by the ending of Okada's previous directorial work, the beautiful Maquia: When the Promised Flower Blooms. So yeah, Maboroshi is well-made, but rather disappointing.

[clemsfilmdiary]

To Sleep So as to Dream (1986, Kaizō Hayashi)

夢みるように眠りたい　（林海象）

5/19/23

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

The Naikama Peace Agency

The Naikama Peace Agency is the namesake of Naikama, an important coastal city. The agency is made up of over a hundred staff, but most notably would be their employment of nonhuman magical ability users as field agents.

While different field groups are stationed around Japan, they all respond to the primary field team. Their task is to secure dangerous darkness affiliated creatures or those who use their magic and risk exposing the system to the general populace.

Field agents are identified by the red (#C3272B) ribbons they wear somewhere on their person, identifying them as a safe member of the public.

林 正 (Hayashi Masa)

Age: 20

Pronouns: He/Him

Birthday: February 7th

Titles: Detective Hayashi, The Sightseer.

"The youngest member of the Naikama Peace Agency, Masa is gifted with a rare ability that allows him to bend reality at will. Having altered his own reality for the worst, Masa uses his ability in a supportive manner instead, offering insight into decisions that could impact the country's future."

光司 立花 (Tachibana Koji)

Age: 52

Pronouns: He/Him

Birthday: April 13th

Titles: Captain Tachibana.

"Captain Tachibana is the field leader of the Naikama Peace Agency, a bake-danuki he has a soft spot for tricks amongst his detectives. When it comes to his work, Koji is focused and straight forward, ensuring the safety and peace of his home."

茜 黒沢 (Kurosawa Akane)

Age: 28

Pronouns: She/Her

Birthday: July 12th

Titles: Detective Kurosawa.

"Akane is the gem of her mother, a vibrant fiery woman, her father is said to be a Yōkai. Her fire related abilities landed her in the custody of the Naikama Peace Agency, where she took the option of joining them and doing right by her home."

琥珀 前田 (Maeda "Ko" Kokahu)

Age: 25

Pronouns: They/Them

Birthday: February 20th

Titles: Detective Maeda, Feather of the Woods.

"A tengu with a great appreciation for the forest they grew up in, Kohaku was invited into the Naikama Peace Agency with the promise that their home would remain untouched by advancements of the city. Known for their excellent swordsmanship and homemade cooking amongst their coworkers."

楓 雪邑 (Yukimura Kaede)

Age: 31

Pronouns: He/They

Birthday: March 23rd

Titles: Detective Yukimura, Second in command.

"A man most dedicated to his work, Kaede has the ability to speak and understand any language written or spoken. Although not entirely useful in the field, Kaede works most with the public to ensure capture of active fugitives."

川口 密子 (Kawaguchi Mitsuko)

Age: 25 Pronouns: She/Her Birthday: August 4th Titles: Detective Kawaguchi, The Blessed Devil.

"A mysterious agent working at the Naikama Peace Agency, Mitsuko governs power over light and its absence. Feared as she is respected, loathed as she is admired, envied as she is uncared for, she is a child of the darkness that was saved from being a monster before birth by the Mother Goddess, and possesses great insight into the nature of the beings of the dark. One can't help but wonder if the monsters she keeps the people of the country safe from include her, too."

[brokehorrorfan]

Dark Water will be released on 4K Ultra HD on March 19 via Arrow Video. Peter Strain designed the cover art for the 2002 Japanese horror film; the original poster artwork is on the reverse side.

Hideo Nakata (Ringu) directs from a script by Yoshihiro Nakamura and Kenichi Suzuki, based on Kôji Suzuki's 1996 short story. Hitomi Kuroki, Rio Kanno, Mirei Oguchi, Asami Mizukawa, Fumiyo Kohinata, and Yu Tokui, star.

Dark Water is presented in 4K with Dolby Vision (HDR10 compatible) and original Japanese lossless 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio with English subtitles. Special features are listed below.

Special features:

Interview with director Hideo Nakata

Interview with author Koji Suzuki

Interview with cinematographer Junichiro Hayashi

Interviews with actors Hitomi Kuroki and Asami Mizukawa and theme song artist Shikao Suga

Making-of documentary

Trailers

TV spots

Booklet written by film historians David Kalat and Michael Gingold

Dark Water follows Yoshimi, a single mother struggling to win sole custody of her only child, Ikuko. When they move into a new home within a dilapidated and long-forgotten apartment complex, Yoshimi begins to experience startling visions and unexplainable sounds, calling her mental well-being into question, and endangering not only her custody of Ikuko, but perhaps their lives as well.

Pre-order Dark Water.

[ojamajodoremi-polls]

Welcome to the Favorite Classmate Tournament!

This is gonna be a big one. Due to the number of classmates and the fact i couldn't evenly distribute it in a number of pairs and sides that made sense for the brackets (maybe there's a way and I'm just bad at math), every side initially includes 3 pairs and 1 trio each, and finals will be a poll between 3 contenders and y'all will have to live with that, I did my best.

As always, pairs/trios and their order in the bracket were randomly generated.

Complete list of polls under the cut, they'll be linked as soon as they're posted. Polls will be open for a week. May your fave win!

Side A

Yuji Sagawa vs Masato Rinno

Natsumi Sato vs Jun Sato

Minto Wada vs Naomi Okuyama

Kazuya Yoshida vs Hajime Kikuchi vs Michiaki Watabe

Side B

Mutsumi Kudo vs Itoko Hamada

Manabu Takagi vs Kota Amano

Hiroko Kine vs Miho Maruyama

Ichiro Hirano vs Kenta Iizuka vs Marina Koizumi

Side C

Koji Ito vs Kotaro Okajima

Tamaki Reika vs Yuko Koyama

Yoko Manda vs Kayoko Nagato

Shino Hanada vs Nobuaki Yamauchi vs Keiko Yamamoto

Side D

Yukari Umeno vs Masayoshi Nakajima

Takeshi Hasebe vs Maki Higuchi

Noriko Kano vs Nanako Okada

Junji Manda vs Sachiko Ijuuin vs Goji Nakata

Side E

Sora Miyamae vs Masaharu Miyamoto

Masaru Yada vs Takuro Hagiwara

Yutaka Ota vs Dai Morikawa

Kotake Tetsutya vs Kanae Iida vs Ryota Hayashi

Side F

Susumu Yanagida vs Aya Matsushita

Nobuko Yokokawa vs Kenji Ogura

Shiori Nakayama vs Kaori Shimakura

Takao Kimura vs Toyokazu Sugiyama vs Shouta Taniyama

[canmom]

Animation Night 134: Rintaro’s OVAs

Hi everyone! Welcome back to Animation Night.

Tonight we’re coming back to Rintaro, or りんたろう (or Shigeyuki Hayashi, but the pseudonym is near universal). This time I even found a picture of him!

Rintaro one of the oldest of the anime old school to still be alive. He joined the anime industry as an inbetweener on Toei’s landmark film The Legend of the White Snake in 1958 and Astro Boy - but in his own right, he’s also a co-founder of Madhouse alongside people like Osamu Dezaki (Animation Night 95), Yoshiaki Kawajiri (25, 67) and Masao Maruyama (later, founder of MAPPA). He directed such classics as Space Captain Harlock (1978) and Galaxy Express 999 (AN62), he helped create the network of connections that led to Akira, he did a chapter of Tezuka’s Phoenix (AN80) he was still going strong in the 2000s with Metropolis (53).

He is, in short, one of the most significant directors in anime. And yet, to actually find out much about him beyond the films he’s made and the places he’s worked is surprisingly hard. Even in interview, his answers are a little vague. But then, the anime and manga industry are full of reclusive, shy creators. So let’s look at the films...

...or rather, let’s look at the OVAs! Look at them with our mouth eyes.

Pop.

Rintaro spent the late 70s and early 80s working not at Madhouse but at Toei, which was a chance for him to spread his wings outside of the shadow of Dezaki. This was the Captain Harlock era, and the Galaxy Express 999 era, the latter’s remarkable film building the important connection with Yoshinori Kanada and his ‘liquid fire’ effects.

In 82, after adapting renowned satirical novel I Am A Cat for a TV special, Rintaro came back to Madhouse - around the time of Dezaki’s Space Adventure Cobra. There, he would direct Genma Taisen (Harmageddon), which can in many ways be called the prototype for Akira, setting up the power trio of Otomo, Koji Morimoto and Takashi Nakamura. I’ll be screening that for Animation Night before too long, so more on that then (or just read Watzky’s article!).

As Dezaki stepped back, Madhouse entered the era that made it famous, what we could call the ‘auteur era’. Riding the OVA boom, they animated dozens of sci-fi films, OVAs and TV shows by a variety of directors. Their style tended to emphasise static detail with bursts of complex animation; chiaroscuro night settings with bright lights driven by background animation. Rintaro was one of their stars.

So this evening we’re going to pick out two of his works from this period in the new OVA format...

Let’s start with Bride of Deimos (悪魔 (デイモス)の花嫁). (Unfortunately I can’t display ruby text on Tumblr, but imagine that デイモス is written above the first two kanji.)

Bride of Deimos was an interesting beast: a shōjo horror manga by writer Etsuko Ikeda and illustrator Yuuho Ashibe with a a very classic-shōjo, Year 24 Group-esque visual style. (Beyond ‘authors of this manga’, it seems almost impossible to find out anything about either.) If I’m reading the plot summary right, revolves around a high school girl called Minako, who is the reincarnation of a demon Venus, the twin sister of an incestuous demon named Deimos; she is reincarnating because was executed by the demons for her incest crimes but the original soul seems to be out there somewhere? Deimos wants to bring Minako back to the underworld so Venus can possess her body again; Minako would prefer not to, and she’s got a lot of jealous people and suitors to fend off in the meantime thanks.

The manga ran a solid 26 years, from 1974 all the way to 1990. Rintaro could obviously not adapt something of that scope, and his 1988 OVA excerpts just one chapter from the whole epic for a half-hour OVA. It revolves around a brother-sister pair, the brother raising orchids and taking care of a disabled sister, who are both very yandere over each other. Into this whole mess stumbles Minako.

So expect a lot of very gothic imagery; it’s worth noting that Madhouse had adapted Vampire Hunter D just a few years earlier, and I think you can see the influence in its character design. There’s at least one very elaborate sequence of background animation which you can see above; unfortunately sakugabooru do not seem to know who animated it.

And then, just a few years later, we have Teito Monogatari (帝都物語), known in English as Doomed Megalopolis.

The original Teito Monogatari (1983-7) was a sprawling historical epic serial novel crossing basically the entire 90s, following the occult works of an immortal warlord of the Taira clan who led a failed rebellion against the central government (the same Taira clan whose fall is chronicled in the Heike Monogatari, c.f. Animation Night 91) and has now become a ghost serving the same empire. In the present, he is succeeded by Yasunori Katō, a former soldier in the imperial Japanese army who is in fact a vengeful oni working for 90 years to bring about the downfall of the Japanese Empire, bringing him into conflict with a long list of historical figures...

His ruinous ambitions bring him into conflict with some of 20th century Japan's greatest minds including industrialist Eiichi Shibusawa, onmyoji Abe no Seimei's descendant Yasumasa Hirai, authors Koda Rohan and Izumi Kyoka; physicist Torahiko Terada, and author Yukio Mishima.  The resulting conflict, involving science, magic and politics; spans 90 years of Japan's history.

The story begins near the end of the Meiji period and ranges through the rest of the century. It reinvents major events such as the Great Kantō earthquake [in the story, the work of Katō and his allies], the founding of Japan's first subway, the February 26 Incident, the firebombing raids, the signing of the 1960 US Security Pact, and the ritual suicide of Yukio Mishima. The narrative finally reaches its climax in 1998, the 73rd year of a fictional Shōwa period.

The overall structure of the narrative seems to be that Katō comes up with various dastardly plans to destroy Tokyo, and is stopped by these historical figures (and original characters), deferring the destruction of Tokyo to later and later dates. In that regard it seems to fit the onryō mode, where the monster really is a victim of something terrible but nevertheless needs to be stopped. How that reflects on the subject of nationalism it raises so centrally, I’m not sure, and I’m curious to find out! e.g. it’s curious to me that it’s the villain Kato, despite fighting on behalf of indigenous people crushed by Japan, who dresses in the sinister, Nazi-like uniform of an Imperial Japanese Army officer.

This story proved wildly popular, and caused a resurgence of interest in mysticism, such as onmyōdō and feng shui, as well as the classic figure of the oni. It inspired numerous adaptations (one by Takashi Miike!) and subsequent works in the same vein in literature and manga.

By the time Rintaro got to it, there had already been one successful tokusatsu adaptation of the first four chapters in 1988 by Toho, which had received wide acclaim. There had also been a certain OVA called Urotsukidōji, discussed back on Animation Night 69, which proved that sex and violence were very in - and as a result, this OVA went a lot harder than earlier Rintaro works or indeed previous adaptations of Teito Monogatari. Hoping to distinguish his take from previous adaptations, Rintaro emphasised the supernatural aspects - the things it was possible to display with elaborate effects animation. And thus animators like Tatsuyuki Tanaka provided suitably gruesome imagery.

The series spans four episodes, each about forty minutes, all overseen by Rintaro but directed respecitively Kazuyoshi Katayama, Koichi Chigira, Kazunari Kume and Masashi Ikeda. Like Toho’s take, it focuses on the first four chapters, spanning the period 1912-1928, in which the Meiji government was rapidly industrialising Japan and transforming it into a colonial power to stand against the Europeans; not long before the story starts, Japan had annexed Korea in 1910. Beyond his earthquake shenanigans, Katō schemes to possess a girl called Yukari Tatsumiya and her daughter Yukiko. A full-on wizard war ensues.

And I think that’s enough time writing. So, if you will join me tonight, we’ll be watching Bride of Deimos followed by all four episodes of Teito Monogatari (Doomed Megalopolis)! Starting shortly on twitch.tv/canmom - hope to see you there!

[byneddiedingo]

Masahiko Shimazu and Koji Shitara in Good Morning (Yasujiro Ozu, 1959)

Cast: Keiji Sada, Yoshiko Kuga, Chishu Ryu, Kuniko Miyaki, Haruko Sugimura, Koji Shitara, Masahiko Shimazu. Screenplay: Kogo Noda, Yasujiro Ozu. Cinematography: Yuharu Atsuta. Production design: Tatsuo Hamada. Film editing: Yoshiyasu Hamamura. Music: Toshiro Mayuzumi. 

Good Morning is, maybe, lesser Ozu, but that's because the director himself set the standard so high -- and perhaps because in some ways it's a reworking of I Was Born, But... (1932) without the depth and clarity of the silent film's themes. We are deep into postwar Japan here, with modernization and the youth culture threatening some of the values and traditions of the country. The families in Good Morning live in a new suburb, but are struggling with problems that still afflict the middle class: unemployment, saving for retirement, keeping up with the Joneses, and so on. Minoru (Koji Shitara) and Isamu (Masahiko Shimazu), the two young sons of Keitaro (Chishu Ryu) and Tamiko Hayashi (Kuniko Miyake),  have been sneaking out to watch TV at their neighbors, an unconventional young couple who are scorned by others in the community because "they wear pajamas in the middle of the day" and the woman is said to be a singer in a nightclub. When the parents forbid them from going there, the boys demand that Keitaro buy them a TV set, and throw a tantrum when he refuses. He tells them they talk too much, and Minoru, the older son, retorts that it's adults who talk too much, wasting their breath on meaningless exchanges like "good morning" and "good night" and on small talk. Banished to their room Minoru and Isamu take a vow that they won't speak to adults anymore -- even to their parents and teachers. The vow backfires on them when they're unable to relay the message that they're supposed to bring their lunch money to school, but it also causes trouble when the boys' failure to exchange greetings like "good morning" is interpreted as a reflection of their parents' attitude toward the neighbors. Ozu and co-scenarist Kogo Noda develop this premise into what is essentially a situation comedy, but one that illuminates both the essentials of small talk as a social lubricant and its limitations when it comes to deeper relationships: A shy young man and woman are obviously drawn to each other, but they can't find a way to verbalize their mutual attraction, and at the film's end are shown standing on the platform waiting for a train, both unable to get past talking about the weather. That Ozu manages to introduce layers of meaning into a comedy full of juvenile fart jokes is a tribute to his genius.

[mizukimatsuda]

アイナ・ジ・エンド × 坂東祐大 - 創造

一部衣装制作させていただきました

---

AiNA THE END

Creative Director / Kota Tohata

Planner / Mami Koyama

Art Director / Yasunari Abe

Director / Kyotaro Hayashi

Assistant Director / Toshimasa Kumagai , Yuzuha Kashihara , Masaru Ito

Steadicam Operator / Yasutomo Kevin Yoshida

1st Camera Assistant / Mayu Miyahara

2nd Camera Assistant / Megu Ishihara

Focus Puller / Shingo Ito

Key Grip / Tetsuya Tomohisa

Assistant Grip / Kazuhito Ohtsubo , Soichiro Kawase , Miyabi Tanaka

DIT / Seiji Kogami

Lighting Director / Naoto Tanoue

1st Lighting Assistant / Ryoichi Kurihara

Lighting Assistant /

Shimizu Kenichi , Isamu Suzuki , Satoshi Ikai , Kento Fuda ,

Masayuki Kawata , Kenichi Asaura , Morikawa Hisashi , Masateru Furukawa ,

Takashi Yamaguchi , Takashi Goda , Kei Katsuma , Shinozaki Seiji

Light Board Operator / Kanako Shida

Assistant Operator / Sara Yamada , Hiroki Kodama

Production Designer・Costume Design / Chihiro Matsumoto

Production Design Chief / Masayuki Nakayama

Production Design Assistant / Takumu Ishii , Momo Kawasaki , Ayaka Mori , Nono Saito   

Costume Work / Yuko Makino

Set Carpenter / Koyuki Matsuo , Mei Inoue , Akihito Mineyama , Nozomi Sekiguchi

Special Effect / Keiichi Nishioka , Kineko Sasamori , Hiroto Suzuki

Hair & Makeup <AiNA THE END> / Tamayo Yamamoto

Hair & Makeup <dancer> / Yurika Ichihashi

Hair & Makeup Assistant / Misaki Oka , Honoka Fuse , Kanematsu , Hina Nagamoto

Stylist <AiNA THE END> / Ai Suganuma

Stylist <dancer> / Koji Oyamada

Stylist Assistant / Ayane Saito , Ayumi Takahashi , Reki Tanaka

Costume Design /

KANEHIRO , Tsukasa Koyama , Syo Nomura Sachiko Tahara (Lazy Hours) , Mizuki Matsuda

Choreographer / YOH UENO

Assistant Choreographer / KAYAKO

Dancer / Doto Saya , Yamato Yoshida , Wait(Taiki) , Yuka Otani , isono , miu__________ ,

isa , Yumi , Tokiwa , YU-NA , Sassy , Yumiho , Haru , YOULI , SAYA , Ayaka Matsumoto , ninaricci , chihiro , Mizuka Imanishi , Nao Oishi , Mei , Saki Kato , Hikari , Shin , hinano , calpas , KIM SAYA , Anzu , Miyuu , Ami

Offline Editor/ Masayuki Kubo

Online Editor / Yoshihumi Hashimoto

Mixer / Showsuke Asada

#commissioned

[warningsine]

Japan's top court ruled on Wednesday that a defunct eugenics law under which thousands of people were forcibly sterilised between 1948 and 1996 was unconstitutional.

The Supreme Court also declared that a 20-year statute of limitations could not be applied, paving the way for compensation claims from victims after years of legal battles.

"For the state to evade responsibility for damages payments would be extremely unfair and unjust, and absolutely intolerable," the court in Tokyo said.

Japan's government acknowledges that around 16,500 people were forcibly sterilised under the law that aimed to "prevent the generation of poor quality descendants".

An additional 8,500 people were sterilised with their consent, although lawyers say even those cases were likely "de facto forced" because of the pressure individuals faced.

A 1953 government notice said physical restraint, anaesthesia and even "deception" could be used for the operations.

"There are people who couldn't be here today. There are those who died as well. I want to visit the grave of my parents and tell them we've won," victim Saburo Kita, who uses a pseudonym, told reporters after the ruling.

Kita was convinced to undergo a vasectomy when he was 14 at a facility housing troubled children. He only told his wife what had happened shortly before she died in 2013.

"But a complete resolution of this issue hasn't been realised yet. Together with lawyers, I will continue to fight," said Kita, one of several victims who celebrated outside the court, some in wheelchairs.

Apology

The number of operations in Japan slowed to a trickle in the 1980s and 1990s before the law was scrapped in 1996.

That dark history was thrust back under the spotlight in 2018 when a woman in her 60s sued the government over a procedure she had undergone at age 15, opening the floodgates for similar lawsuits.

The government, for its part, "wholeheartedly" apologised after legislation was passed in 2019 stipulating a lump-sum payment of 3.2 million yen (around $20,000 today) per victim.

However, survivors say that was too little to match the severity of their suffering and took their fight to court.

Regional courts have mostly agreed in recent years that the eugenics law constituted a violation of Japan's constitution.

However, judges have been divided on whether claims are valid beyond the 20-year statute of limitations.

Some ordered the state to pay damages but others dismissed cases, saying the window for pursuing damages had closed.

"We will pay damages based on the verdict that was finalised today," government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi said.

"The relevant ministries and agencies will examine the content of the court decision and consider appropriate measures to be taken," Hayashi told reporters.

A group of victims said on Wednesday it "wholeheartedly" welcomed the ruling.

"We cannot forgive the irresponsibility of the government and its lack of human rights awareness, as well as the fact that what is now described as the biggest human rights violation in Japan's post-war history was left unaddressed for such a long time," the group said in a statement.

Lawyer Koji Niizato said it was "the best ruling we could have hoped for".

"Victims of the eugenics law put up a wonderful fight, one that influenced the Supreme Court and changed society," Niizato said.

(AFP)

[spacenutspod]

NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Katherine Cook, fourth from the left, attends a welcome reception for the 26th class of Mansfield Scholars at the Iikura House in Japan on Sept. 1, 2022. The reception was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan, the Mansfield Foundation, and the National Personnel Authority of Japan.Contributed photo A yearlong journey of cultural and professional development overseas has a NASA Deep Space Logistics employee excited about current and future collaboration with one of America’s key international partners in the agency’s Artemis program.    Katherine Cook, who develops cargo delivery services for NASA’s Gateway, recently returned to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after an immersive experience in Japan. There, she collaborated with JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), government ministries contributing to Japan’s space activities, and The National Diet’s House of Representatives. Katherine Cook speaks at Kumamoto University Graduate School for Science and Technology in Japan on Dec. 16, 2022. The university is located on Kyushu, the southernmost main island of Japan.Contributed photo “Everything I did involved Artemis and human exploration,” Cook said. “Developing technologies for Moon to Mars is challenging, but if we can find a good balance of leveraging the strengths of each partner and continue to evolve the partnership, we’ll be able to share knowledge in an even more integrated way.”      As part of her trip, Cook spent about five months at the Tsukuba Space Center, approximately one hour north of Tokyo, working under JAXA Vice President and Director General for Human Spaceflight Technology Hiroshi Sasaki. She partnered with JAXA subject matter experts to host themed discussions for the directorate team, sharing and discussing ideas about the U.S and Japanese approaches, including future partnering opportunities.   Her research themes included: NASA’s Moon to Mars objectives; commercial capabilities such as commercial low Earth orbit development; lunar surface transportation such as rovers and utility vehicles; lunar in-situ resource utilization, human landing systems, and science priorities to enable human exploration to the Moon and beyond. This required intense language training – before and throughout Cook’s trip – so she could understand, write, and speak Japanese with an audience ranging from students and coworkers to Japanese dignitaries, such as the Minister of Foreign Affairs Yoshimasa Hayashi and JAXA President Dr. Hiroshi Yamakawa.           On June 15, 2022, Koji Tomita (fourth from the left), ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of Japan to the United States, hosts six members of the Mansfield Fellowship, including NASA’s Katherine Cook, fifth from the left, in Washington, D.C., before their departure to Japan.Contributed photo “I think a lot of growth came out of challenging myself – both in learning more about NASA and U.S. agencies collaborating on space and learning about it deeply enough to explain it and communicate it in a succinct way that could make it through translation,” Cook said. Cook was just the third NASA person selected in the nearly 30-year history of the Mansfield Fellowship, a program named for former U.S. Senate Majority Leader and U.S. Ambassador to Japan Mike Mansfield. Invited to lecture at several university graduate programs, Cook was inspired by students’ interest in NASA’s Moon to Mars plans, as well as their knowledge and in-depth questions. Her interaction with Japanese colleagues was equally positive, as they welcomed her to their group with open arms. During the Artemis I launch in November 2022, Cook invited members of the JAXA human spaceflight team to a launch viewing party. Aware that she was disappointed about missing the launch live, they blew her away by showing up in great numbers, doling out high-fives and ecstatically cheering on the launch in front of a big screen TV at the Tsukuba Space Center. After a ride on the new Superconducting Maglev, the world’s fastest bullet train that travels up to 311 mph and operates on a magnetic levitation railway system, Mansfield Fellows stop by a convenience store for a drinkable ice cream treat on May 18, 2023. NASA’s Katherine Cook is pictured third from the left.Contributed photo “One thing that leaves an impression on you from Japan is their hospitality. The word for it is ‘omotenashi,’” Cook said. “It’s more than just a word; it’s culturally ingrained in how they interact with each other and the level of consideration that they put into everything they do.” Enriched technically, culturally, and spiritually from her transformative experience in Japan, Cook returned to NASA “forever changed.” She learned a great deal about science, life, and her own agency. She even picked up a saying that she incorporated into her daily work routine.           “In Japan, at the end of every day, you say, ‘Otsukaresama deshita,’ which means, ‘Thank you for your hard work.’ When you pass a coworker in the hall and when you toast in celebration with coworkers, you say ‘Otsukaresama des,’ ” Cook said. “Even still, when I meet with my Japanese counterparts, I will often say it. And it reminds me to carry that appreciation of my team throughout my day back at NASA. The simple phrase bonds us all together across the international Artemis work we do.”

[cherrycat-blossom]

How many oc do you have now

Do you think you can list them?

Sort for the late reply 😭 got quite busy, if you saw me online it's just me checking inbox.

Well, I won't give picture examples as I want to properly introduce them one by one 😔 so I will only list their names

1st years:

Haruhi Nishimura, Daisuke Chikafuji, Tadashi Aoki, Midori kazuto, Nakajima Kutsuki, Takemi Ryu, kisei Hanzo

Kunoichi:

Chiha Hana, Ai asami, Hitomi Daiki

2nd years:

Kirito Tatsuki, hiroto Tatsuki, kuragiri Hanzo, mayoi Hayashi, Hikari Ono

Kunoichi:

umiko Narumi

3rd years:

Kokoro shuto, Shimizu sakanoue

Kunoichi:

Meiko Kaneko, Kazue kohaku, kiyo sawai, chieko ran, Natsu Suzuki

4th years:

Shikiharu kamitouchi, ootani ouzou

Kunoichi:

Fuana Shibawara, ritsusa ariru, niwa yatsugasaki

5th years:

Iwao Matsushita, ayumu masamune,Ren kenji

Kunoichi:

kanashi Miyabi, Ayumi masamune, suguru uruyo, kanone koguchi

6th years:

Tetsu saihara, Fuyu chisuke, koharue kaoru

Kunoichi:

Akashi Hasegawa, reika inadera, Tamami kira, ichika mio

Teachers:

Maeda hiyori, Tamaki Kiriyo

Kunoichi:

Amajiki shuto

Outsiders:

( family related )

Ryu siblings, Hayashi siblings, Daiki siblings, Chikafuji siblings, saihara siblings, Umi Narumi, umika Narumi ( umiko's sisters )

( non family related )

Tomoe homura, Keiko Watanabe, tsukineko, yoru kumori, sora triplets, Hotene

Dokutake:

( kids )

Kouki akito, kousei Koji, Masaki yoshiki

Kunoichi:

Himari miki, kana Akina, michika Yukie

( adults )

Koushirou atsuki, Ryoma takato

Kunoichi:

Sokei namito, Riono yokosuga, yuhei kosugayama, Uro joutaki

A/n: I know I have a lot 😞 i will update if I made new ones

Btw, blue names meaning it's given ocs, not the ones I made ^^

[merryane-the-red-cat]

Legend of Mermaid -- La Légende des Sirènes

７色の風に吹かれて　遠い岬を目指してた 

Emportée par une brise aux 7 couleurs, je recherchais un cap lointain  

夜明け前　聴こえたメロディ

Avant qu’il y ait l’aube, une Mélodie peut être entendue 

それは　とても　なつかしい歌 

C’est un chant qui est si nostalgique

東の空へと　羽ばたく鳥たち 

Les oiseaux s’envolèrent vers le ciel d’Orient

さあ、宝島に　抜ける近道 

Allons, empruntons le raccourci vers l’île aux trésors

７つの海の楽園 

Le paradis des sept océans

嵐の夜の後には　愛を伝えるため　命がまた生まれる 

Après une nuit d’orage, nous échangerons notre amour et la vie pourra renaître

７つの国のメロディア 

La Mélodie des sept continents

誰もが　いつかはこ��を　旅立つ日が来ても 

Même s’il advient qu’un jour plus personne ne voyage ici 

私は　忘れない 

Je ne pourrais l’oublier

ゆっくりと　雲は流れて　虹の果てに　消えていった

 Doucement les nuages s’en iront, disparaissant pour laisser place à l’arc-en-ciel

星たちは　真珠のように

Et les étoiles telles des perles 

強い光　放ちはじめる 

Libèreront une forte lumière

南の空から　聴こえる口笛 

Depuis le ciel Méridionale, un sifflement peut être entendue

そう、大人になる　時が来ていた 

C’est vrai, nous devenons des adultes, le temps est venu

奇跡をめぐる冒険 

Une aventure tournant autour d’un miracle 

優しい母の願いを　胸に抱きながら　誰もが旅をしてる 

Tandis que nous serons contre notre cœur le souhait de notre tendre mère, nous partons en voyage

星降る夜のファンタジア 

Une fantaisie d’une nuit aux étoiles filantes 

あふれる涙と祈り　誰にもわからない 

Débordante de larmes et de prières, personne ne connaît

未来を照らしてる 

Ce futur qui est illuminé

７つの海の楽園 

Le paradis des sept océans

嵐の夜の後には　愛を伝えるため　命がまた生まれる 

Après une nuit d’orage, nous échangerons notre amour et la vie pourra renaître

７つの国のメロディア 

La Mélodie des sept continents

誰もが　いつかはここを　旅立つ日が来ても 

Même s’il advient qu’un jour plus personne ne voyage ici 

私は　忘れない 

Je ne pourrais l’oublier

奇跡をめぐる冒険 

Une aventure tournant autour d’un miracle 

優しい母の願いを　胸に抱きながら　誰もが旅をしてる 

Tandis que nous serons contre notre cœur le souhait de notre tendre mère, nous partons en voyage

星降る夜のファンタジア 

Une fantaisie d’une nuit aux étoiles filantes 

あふれる涙と祈り　誰にもわからない 

Débordante de larmes et de prières, personne ne connaît

未来を照らしてる 

Ce futur resplendissant

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Interprètes : Asano Mayumi, Ueda Kana, Arai Satomi, Kogure Ema, Terakado Hitomi, Nakata Asumi, Nagata Ryoko

Paroles : Mitsui Yukiko

Compositeur et Arrangements : Hayashi Koji

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[fox-buried-in-maple-leaves]

Amant Éternel

Breakdown (Google Doc)

Factions

The Ambros Family

Ohm Ambros

Sulien Ambros

Nanami Ambros

The Baudelaire Family

Emil Baudelaire

Cyrille Baudelaire

Maude Baudelaire

Julien Baudelaire

Veronique Baudelaire

The Razvedka

Marionetka

Decord

Galin Maher

Khristine Ranble

Kisa Giraldo

Maxim Volkov

Adrik Morozov

Inessa Tymancha

Sasha Schäfer

Factionless

Fujimoto Katsumi

Heiden Baldur

Ajax Nikolaev

Laure Plouffe

Caïn Constantin

Home of Duke Carcaseau

Ezel De La Croix

Boniface Harcourt

Manon Harcourt

Coralie Harcourt

Andrien Harcourt

Fiacre Carcaseau

Xiangshui Department

Sun-Heimdall Hien

Liao Jing

Wang Mei Li

Zhou Hàoyú

Xie Ying Yue

Amune Palace

Saadah Maher

Tahirah Maher

Mirotvorets Agency

Amorette Desrosiers

Dijana Belyayev

The Herald

Thalassa Rosenthal

Behati

Naikama Peace Agency

Hayashi Masa

Tachibana Koji

Yukimura Kaede

Kurosawa Akane

Maeda Kokahu

Kawaguchi Mitsuko

Locations

Goldbrück

Carcaseau

Montagnes-Des-Renards

Amstello

Lanying

Sieveronia

Naikama

Amune

Reistara

World Building

Blood Curses

Lessons in Creation

//Razvedka//

La Nuit Noire

shadow

Academy

Not Main Plot Related:

Can You Hear Me God?

Bridge

By The Crystal Water

Hubris

[rose-pink-diamond-quartz]

LOVE THIS!

Some of my favorite blogs aren't mutuals. Oh well, no obligation, no hard feelings XD

There's a great version of the fourth song with lyrics by Nicki Jensen but it isn't on Spotify. It belongs in that spot.

I cheated, I just couldn't help tagging all my favorite mutuals o7

Also, if you follow me but I don't follow you, feel free to send an ask asking "What the hell?!" lmao

Anyway, I tag @star-siiign @outofcontextmlp @love-order-chaos-repeat @daxmiii @studentsix @glowing-gems @loving-bronies @postmemewhenimsad @perlethewitch @scrampton @anonymousslyyy @i-aint-gonna-beg-you-blog @non-specific-excuse @peachywishesbaby @agenderbeauty @fernandacruzsworld @crispyfestivallove @infinite-survivor-choco @misfit-freaks @fidonia @paulohsalves @frigidfendi @limondette @gameegeekz not sure why this one is blocked? @alwaysharmonyy or this one? @srito-rashito-carrerin-don-flash this one too?!

🎶✨when u get this u have to put 5 songs u actually listen to, publish. then, send this ask/tag 10 of your favourite followers (non-negotiable, positivity is cool) 🎶✨

I tag @batgirltongue @miniapplejack @slut-for-sparkles @gawainsplace @rose-pink-diamond-quartz @jadethewerewolf @stinkysteven @elelynnis @thisismisogynoir @negatistic-nocturnities (some of you may not actually follow me but that’s okay! I just like seeing you on my dashboard)