Steve Forrest

Can’t quite read it, but it sure is beautiful 😊

Highway rest stop McDonalds sign and Gulf gasoline sign against a sky of dramatic, dark clouds, 4:30 pm. It gets dark early in the Northeast in November!

American skyscape. #SkyPortrait

回想の蕪村（十八～二十六） (一八) 　『夜半楽』は、安永六年(一七七七)、蕪村六十二歳の春に刊行した春興帖である。春興帖は、歳旦・歳暮の吟に限らず、当年の新春初会の作を中心に春季の句を集めて知友間に贈答するものである。『夜半楽』の「夜半」が夜半亭を意味していることはいうまでもないであろう。すなわち、『夜半...

There’s another poem by 管鳥 listed here, if that helps

yahantei.blogspot.com/2006/09/blog...

Today in the ARB: Susan Blumberg-Kason reviews “Totto-chan: The Little Girl at the Window: The Sequel” by Tetsuko Kuroyanagi, tr from Japanese by Yuki Tejima asianreviewofbooks.com/totto-chan-t...

Traditional Chinese Children’s Primers: A Sourcebook Part of the <a href="https://www.leverpress.org/reeditions/">Re-Editions: Literary and Cultural Texts Recovered for the Classroom</a> series. First anthology of traditional Chinese children’s primers ...

Out now, #openaccess
Traditional Chinese Children’s Primers: A Sourcebook,
edited by Katherine Ngo and Kelly Ngo
Lever Press
#histchild #histed

doi.org/10.3998/mpub...

@asakiyume.bsky.social @tinyantennas.bsky.social

Truly — and today is a perfect contrast!

Autumn woodland scene in late afternoon sunlight: a narrow trails curls between trees and up a wooded bank

wetlands scene in the same woods: a pool stretches away into a little stream, as seen from a shaded bank. The trees across the water a bright with sunlight.

looking down into the pool, where a stand of pine trees is reflected so clearly that the water is a surprise

at the end of the run, close to day's end, a slightly broader stretch of trail, leaf-covered, and the woods are alight with the sun's golden hour glow.

Restorative time out on nearby trails on a mild Saturday afternoon, before starting in on the next batch of recommendation letters. (tis the season). The light on the leaves & water was glorious -- pics don't do it justice
#AmRunning #LateAutumn

Applications are open for IUC's 10-month Japanese language program. I'm glad to answer any questions about my time there. I pivoted during the pandemic and enrolled the year I turned 40, so it's possible for a wide range of students. iuc.fsi.stanford.edu/programs-10M

Friday Nov. 7 (9AM PST, 12PM EST, 6PM CET, 1030PM IST), please join us for an exciting AAR #online #symposium on _Buddhist Feminist Historiography_ in celebration of Prof. Stephanie Balkwill's tour de force, _The Women Who Ruled China_

Register here: my.aarweb.org/event-inform...

[ONLINE THIRD THURSDAY LECTURE - Networks of Violence and Trade: Premodern Piracy in Japanese Waters]
Date: Thursday 20 November, 2025
Time: 6:00pm GMT - 7:00pm GMT
Speaker: Dr Michelle Damian (University of Wisconsin-Whitewater)
Sign up here: us06web.zoom.us/webi...

Atsuko-san and Nao-san bow to one another during a tea ceremony.

Boys dress in traditional armor for the 'Yoroi Kizome-shiki' (鎧着初式 'First Wearing of Armour Ceremony') at Kamigamo-jinja in November.

Nao-san enjoys a quiet moment of reflection at Ryoan-ji's dry landscape garden.

Atsuko-san dresses for her wedding day in traditional kimono and headdress.

🖌️CULTURE DAY🎎
November 3rd, 'Bunka-no-hi' (文化の日), is a national holiday in Japan. It's a day for promoting culture, the arts, and academic pursuits.

'Culture Day' was created in 1948 to commemorate the announcement of the post-war Japanese constitution.

#文化の日 #Japan

宇都宮市の百人一首マンホール、新たに３種類設置　生活支える足元にいにしえ思う｜下野新聞デジタル 【宇都宮】「百人一首ゆかりの地」をＰＲするため、市が昨年度初めて設置した下水道マンホール蓋（ふた）「百人一首デザインマンホール」。市は第２弾として新たに、天智天皇の和歌「秋の田の～」など３種類の蓋を制作した。30日に、宇都宮中央郵便局前（中央本町）など市内３カ所に設置する。

宇都宮市の百人一首マンホール、新たに３種類設置　生活支える足元にいにしえ思う｜県内主要,地域の話題,政治行政｜下野新聞デジタルニュース｜下野新聞デジタル www.shimotsuke.co.jp/articles/-/1...

Promotion flyer for US JET Alumni Association event, "The Religion of Anime," featuring headshots of 3 men (Yuri Lowenthal, Roland Kelts, and Jolyon Thomas) in bottom right. A torii gate stands before a rising sun amidst the clouds in the background in shades of pink and lavender. QR code on the flyer matches the link in the post. The event is on 12 November at 7:00 PM ET via Zoom.

I'm delivering a public lecture and leading a roundtable discussion on the religion of anime on Nov. 12 at 7:00 PM ET. Flyer with registration information below. This is hosted by the US JET Alumni Association, but is open to the public for a small fee. usjetaa.wildapricot.org/event-6396204

(Just discovered that this was my 20th running of this one -- back in 2004 it was the first half I ever attempted. Missed one in 2017 when I locked myself out of my car, and 2020 was cancelled [COVID]...I knew it was a while ago, but TWENTY-TWO YEARS!? No wonder I feel so old rn, ouf)

Monson Memorial hall, a 19th cent. stone building with bell tower and a lawn before it, and a flagpole out front -- the US flag flutters in a gentle breeze against and almost cloudless blue sky. Portapotties at lower right are for the racers, some of whom can be seen waiting around for the off.

View from the arched-over stairs into the hall, looking out across the lawn to the street, to an ornate steepled church and some town buildings with a steep wooded hill right behind (Monson is generally pretty hilly!). Took this after I'd finished, but people are still coming in to the finish arch visible at lower left.

Close up view of part of the Memorial Hall's granite (?) stone frontage -- the autumn sunshine picks out the texture of the stone blocks in amazing detail.

On an almost impossibly perfect day for running, to Monson for this year's Memorial Classic Half. Well-organized, friendly folks, & the eats afterwards were top-notch, as ever. If you're in CT, western MA, or in nearby NY, & looking for a good 13miler, plan on it for next year!
#AmRunning

Year 24 Group mangaka Keiko Takemiya receives the Persons of Cultural Merit award One of the recipients of the prestigious Persons of Cultural Merit award for her contribution to manga is Keiko Takemiya.

One of the recipients of the prestigious Persons of Cultural Merit award for her contribution to manga is Keiko Takemiya.

Huh, hadn’t realised there were two sorts of magpies to see!

やさしい朝日新聞 やさしい日本語でニュースを紹介します

The Asahi has a new simplified Japanese news site, to help language learners, children and the elderly. Around 3 articles a day are written with easy vocabulary and grammar. There are also options to toggle furigana, and spacing between words. yasashii.asahi.com

Seems like 阿炎 Road maybe?

The rikishi are taking-in the town and doing what we all do when in London.
Seeing the sights, admiring the parks, shopping on High Street, taking tea at Fortnum's, using the olde phonebox, eating Chinese, and having a terrific time.

A pie chart showing the numbers of items for each means of printing. Woodblock works at 2436, movable type at 990, lithography at 40, and electrotype at 1.

Title page from the catalogue. Full text and data available on the CRTA via the link in the post text

Crunched some interesting data from a 1938 Buddhist book catalogue, 佛學圖書目錄. Of approximately 3467 books listed, nearly 3/4 were woodblock printed works. This old technology remained in widespread use through the modern era. crta.info/wiki/%E4%BD%...

The Woman Dies The Woman Dies presents 52 pieces of flash fiction by Aoko Matsuda, the author of the short story collection Where the Wild Ladies Are. Each of Matsuda’s small but sparkling stories responds to var…

Aoko Matsuda's The Woman Dies is a collection of flash fiction that responds to various aspects of pop culture in clever and surprising ways. The stories are filled with buoyant energy and sharp insight, and this is a super fun book. #Japanesefiction 📚 japaneselit.net/2025/10/11/t...

It’s a chōshi 銚子 (also called sashinabe with the same characters) — see them a lot in illustrations of celebratory scenes

Welcome! You are invited to join a webinar: Third Thursday Lecture - The Art of Manga. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. Speaker: Professor Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere (Research Director, Sainsbury Institute) About the Talk International enthusiasm for manga and anime is at an all-time high. Manga has finally established itself as part of the mainstream culture in the United States, with sales of print manga titles in the U.S. increasing 27 times faster than those in the conventional book industry in the USA. In Europe, manga has long been recognised as a powerful form of visual graphic expression. Britain, however, has traditionally been a bit slower in its embrace of manga. Bucking this trend in 2019, the British Museum held one of the most ambitious exhibitions on manga, focusing on its history, range, and impact. Featuring over 50 artists from past to present, the Citi Manga exhibition attempted to contextualise and as well as capture the power of manga. Happily, the exhibition was a confirmed success with record visitor numbers, attracting new diverse audiences to the museum. Six years later, the de Young Museum, part of the Fine Art Museums of San Francisco in the United States is currently hosting a very different manga exhibition featuring the art of manga drawings (genga) highlighting 10 manga artists (mangaka). With a total of 689 individual works on display, this exhibition is one of the most ambitious one to showcase this important art form. Working with the artists, multiple Japanese publishers, and various stakeholders to create this exhibition was instructive. This lecture will introduce the Art of Manga and explore the lessons learned and possibilities for the future. PLEASE NOTE: We kindly request that no screenshots or recordings are taken during this webinar. By registering for this lecture, you also confirm that you will not use third party AI transcription or recording software for this event.

Third Thursday Lecture – The Art of Manga
🗓️ Thurs 16 Oct 2025 | 🕕 18:00 BST | 📍Online (Zoom)
Join Prof. Nicole Rousmaniere as she explores manga’s global impact as an artform.
🔗 Register:

Takaichi wins! Who wins and who loses from her shocking upset

I’m nearing the limits of my endurance, but I took a first crack at thinking about the winners and losers from Takaichi’s surprising upset Saturday. Much more to come.

open.substack.com/pub/observin...

Can’t Do Nuttin’ For Ya, Man! So, all the books I’ve ever written or edited appear on the LibGen pirate website (among others) – I haven’t bothered to check for books to which I’ve contributed a chapter – and theref…

On the Anthropic plagiarism and intellectual theft settlement.

thesphinxblog.com/2025/10/03/c...

YouTube video by Modern Japan History Association 2025 Annual Lecture: Andrew Gordon, "After the Pandemic: Revising a Textbook and Rethinking History"

A video of this year's Distinguished Lecture, "After the Pandemic: Revising a Textbook and Rethinking History," given by Andrew Gordon is now available on the MJHA YouTube channel.

Please have a look, and feel free to share with anyone who might be interested

youtu.be/EN8tx8J8KzA

Today Brian Tsz Ho Wong (@edinburghuni) completes his series on the NDLJP Full-Text Search System using the system to identify different locations visited by politicians in the 1940s.

Check out the latest installment, with links to part 1 &2
digitalorientalist.com/2025/09/30/u...

The People of Print Cambridge Core - Printing and Publishing History - The People of Print

People of Print: Eighteenth-Century England is out today and free to download until 7 Oct:

www.cambridge.org/core/element...

Edited by Rachel Stenner, Kaley Kramer & I, this volume collects 10 new biographical essays about lesser known, diverse figures involved in the #18C print trade.