Nippon-Ichigo

All the sweetest things about Japan!

A Cat Temple: Enlightened Felines

A temple dedicated to cats? I MUST see it!

At this cat temple, Gotanjoji, people see themselves reflected in the personalities of its various furry denizens. Quiet reflection, visits before or after work, even sitting in the rain… People share precious moments with these felines that is appreciated by both. Cats are more like us than we think…and they can sense it, too!

Official description: Ohta-kun, Fu-ta, Elf, Cowcow … are four of the sixteen cats that live on the grounds of a temple at the foot of the mountains of Echizen City, Fukui Prefecture. The former head priest began providing care for abandoned cats, and today, the temple is visited by many cat lovers from near and far. Among the visitors was a man who comes to get away from the stress of his job, and a former cat owner who overcame the death of his cat by coming to this temple. There’s a story behind not only the people who come to visit but the cats that have made their way to this temple. For three days, we listened to their stories.

Watch the Video Here!

Nippon-Ichigo is Here!

A good while back, I said that I was going to integrate my old blog, Nippon-Ichigo, into this website. Well, save a small handful of articles I may rework for this site, it’s finally been done! The old domain will be sunset, and the most substantive posts have been brought over and added to their […]

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Coming Soon: Nippon-Ichigo!

A long time ago, I started a website called Nippon-Ichigo in anticipation of blogging about my theoretical experience of living in Japan at the same time as filing my first application to JET. Talk about putting the cart before the horse, right? Ah, classic me. I learned a lot of interesting things in the process […]

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Aftershock: Preorder

Aftershock: Artists Respond to Disaster in Japan is available for preorder now. The printing of this gorgeous book has successfully been funded via Kickstarter, and you can go ahead and reserve yours now! It is truly a unique book, and we all hope that it can bring comfort and inspiration to those who see it. […]

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Japanese-Inspired Fonts

I’m very picky about fonts in general. I think rather than being a connoisseur I’m just straight-up snobbish at this point, picking at what fonts are used in mediums such as comics (even professionally-lettered comics) or on the sides of trucks, but I try to make something good out of that snobbery nonetheless. Like many […]

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Artwork for Japan

Right now, a lot of people are still coming together to help Japan. I’m very glad. Watching people unite and get through the tragedy has been inspiring. It easily could have been soul-crushingly sad, but people want to keep hope and push through to succeed and keep moving, and they should. I admire them. The […]

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Nashville Cherry Blossom Japan Relief Event 2011

The Nashville Cherry Blossom Festival became the Nashville Cherry Blossom Japan Relief Event! In light of recent events, many vendors offered to put part or all of their proceeds towards relief efforts in Japan, and there were many ways to donate. The only foreign consulate here in Tennessee is one for Japan, and we’re proud […]

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Great Tohoku Earthquake & Tsunami

I actually have a lot of articles planned right now, all lying dormant due to a momentary dip in language-studying momentum and real-life happenings. Yet all those things pale in face of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and subsequent tsunami which has rocked northern Japan. Last Thursday I went to bed at a decent time, for […]

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