Japanese at PSU

My review of Tuttle's HARUKI MURAKAMI MANGA STORIES (v1) is published. In case anyone is interested...

Book Review: Haruki Murakami : Manga Stories reviewed by Jon Holt Haruki Murakami. Adapted by Jean-Christophe Deveney and illustrated by PMGL. Haruki Murakami: Manga Stories. New Y...

To far away FB friends: watch our wild and wacky student kyogen show live-stream on YouTube, June 14 at 7 PM Pacific Time-or watch later.
https://youtube.com/live/9xouEfe44Fw?feature=share

If you're near Portland come see us live at Lincoln Performance Hall, June 14, 7 PM.
(Play program, front cover & back cover below)

Proud to see a new translation by myself and our PSU grad student Ayumi Naraoka -- a translation of manga historian Shimizu Isao -- and his take on Natsume Soseki's influence on...manga! Congratulations to Ayumi on her first publication!
https://www.tcj.com/natsume-soseki-and-manga/

This four-week (ONLINE) course examines four masters of Japanese comic books (manga), including Tezuka Osamu (‘Astro Boy’, ‘Buddha’), Mizuki Shigeru (‘Kitaro’, ‘NonNonba’), Hagio Moto (‘Heart of Thomas’, ‘Drunken Dream’), and Higashimura Akiko (‘Blank Canvas’). What do manga stories written and drawn in the past 50 years tell us about what Japan was like in the 20th century and contemporary times? What do graphic novels tell us about the kind of people the Japanese wanted and want to be? Looking at early masters of manga adventure and boys’ stories like Tezuka and Mizuki as well as seminal women’s and girls’ comics geniuses like Hagio and Higashimura, we will survey a wide diversity of Japanese comic books and in the process consider issues of humanity, nationality, and gender through the lens of manga.

No Japanese language ability or background in Japanese culture is required. This course counts towards the Japanese major and minor, can be used to satisfy Junior cluster (U: Global Perspectives or Pop Culture) or Comics Studies requirements.

Contact [email protected] if interested or if you have questions!

Upcoming Japanese Book Sale at PSU -- Tuesday April 18 9am-2pm. Books in English and Japanese, manga, comics, cool stuff, more! Huge sale at dirt cheap prices! All proceeds support our program's graduate students!

Dr. Holt with Teppei Fukuda (M.A., Japanese 2020) published another translation of an essay by Fusanosuke Natsume. This time a brief eulogy of the recently departed Matsumoto Leiji and an essay also on his use of the warship in Yamato (Star Blazers). Just came out on THE COMICS JOURNAL website this morning.
https://www.tcj.com/the-ruins-of-space-battleship-yamato-an-essay-on-matsumoto-leiji-and-war/

Dr. Holt with Teppei Fukuda (M.A., Japanese 2020) published another translation of an essay by Fusanosuke Natsume. This time a deep and stimulating essay on Shugyo (Training -- Martial Arts and More) in Manga -- just published on THE COMICS JOURNAL website this morning.
https://www.tcj.com/the-tradition-of-training-images-in-manga/

Dr. Holt with Teppei Fukuda (M.A., Japanese 2020) published another translation of an essay by Fusanosuke Natsume. This essay is on "Pig Gourd (Hyootan-tsugi)" -- a phantom funny character who makes cameos in all Tezuka works. From Natsume's breath through Manga Studies monograph "Where is Tezuka Osamu?" (1992) -- just published in JOURNAL OF GRAPHIC NOVELS AND COMICS today. Available to all PSU students through the library.

https://www-tandfonline-com.proxy.lib.pdx.edu/doi/full/10.1080/21504857.2023.2170438

JPN 408 Kabuki Workshop SPRING 2023
Sign up and be a part of the magic of Kominz-sensei's new kabuki show in English!

Japanese 345U Manga Now SPRING 2023

Dr. Holt with Teppei Fukuda (M.A., Japanese 2020) published another translation of an essay by Fusanosuke Natsume. This time a very recent piece (2022) on Taniguchi Jiro and his gekiga years -- just published on THE COMICS JOURNAL website this morning.
https://www.tcj.com/taniguchi-jiro-and-his-gekiga-years/