It's extra, but I'm so excited about finally going home to Taiwan this summer (as faculty on an NCTA study tour www.nctasia.org) that I made my group a virtual mixtape and wrote extensive liner notes. The mix: www.youtube.com/playlist?lis... Notes: docs.google.com/document/d/1... My caveats:

One of the greats indeed...

Avui hem tingut la primera sessió del meu seminari de màster sobre humor, i m'ho he passat d'allò més bé comentant contes medievals japonesos amb la classe. Mentre em dura l'energia, us en traduiré un de curtet: 「児の飴食ひたること」"El nen que volia menjar caramel" que surt al _Shasekishū_ (s. XIII). 1/6

El cap de setmana passat vam celebrar Sant Jordi amb el Casal Català Tokyo i em van demanar que llegís un poema. Vaig triar “Ano hito ga kite” de Tanikawa Shuntarō (1931-2024) i en vaig fer una traducció: “Has vingut” 1/4

No other ancient document holds my interest and affection quite like this one papyrus, written in Egypt in the Armenian alphabet. It's a goldmine of linguistic evidence not for the Egyptian or Armenian language, but for Greek! Here's my enthusiastic introduction to it: dannybate.com/2026/03/24/t...

Commentary: AI translation of literature should be questioned because literary translation requires human interpretation and cultural understanding that machines cannot provide.

早稲田大学・早稲田大学文学学術院「専任教員」「テニュアトラック教員」の公募（募集分野：日本古典文学（和歌を中心とする韻文））（2026年03月16日~2026年05月15日 必着） jrecin.jst.go.jp/seek/SeekJor...

La Filmoteca ja ha anunciat el programa d'abril, així que ja és moment de parlar-vos del cicle JAPANIMERAMA que he comissariat conjuntament amb Elodie Mellado (Filmin). Tot i que per ara teniu les pelis d'abril, això s'allargarà fins al juny, i fa il·lusió anunciar que tindrem coses sucoses!

📢Trobada amb professionals de la traducció (fantasia, ciència-ficció, terror) Amb @lluisdelgado.bsky.social , @cinexina.bsky.social , Anna Llisterri i @edgarcotes.bsky.social (que farà també de mestre de cerimònies) Dilluns 23 de març, 18:30 Biblioteca Montserrat Abelló (Barcelona) Entrada lliure

just in time for #aas2026 I wanted to post a link to my state of the field (of modern Japanese literature) essay updated from 2018 with more data: jabeljabel.github.io/japanese-lit.... For those interested in the AAS data specifically... jabeljabel.github.io/japanese-lit...

L'Italia del rugby fa la storia: l'Inghilterra è battuta 23-18! Dopo 32 sconfitte in 32 partite, all'Olimpico di Roma arriva la p... https://www.gazzetta.it/Rugby/6-nazioni/07-03-2026/l-italia-del-rugby-fa-la-storia-l-inghilterra-e-battuta-23-18.shtml

El que fa memorable aquest principi és la sorpresa de l’aparició sobtada del País de la neu després del túnel, amplificada pel fet que el verb actiu de la primera frase no té subjecte explícit.

It's that time in my Making comics intro course when I talk image-text relations, which gives me an excuse to share 2 favorite comics that do bewildering things that can only be done in comics! Ibn Al-Rabin's seminal Le Verbe Prophétique alongside the always brilliant @tomgauld.bsky.social. So good!

3/5 Zoom Book Talk by Tom Gaubatz hosted by UBC "The Textual Townsman and the Particularism of the Early Modern" 4:30 PM - 6:00 PM asia.ubc.ca/events/event...

Once again, Steven Mintz says it best: stevenmintz.substack.com/p/learning-t...

I just received author copies of my book on Chongryon (Chosen Soren). KumHee and I went through many emotional ups and downs during our research. I cannot describe what the weight of a physical copy means to me (FYI: It's physically heavier than I expected). The official release date is 31 March.

I am pleased to share that our long-awaited forum in the Journal of Asian Studies, "Digital Humanities in/and Asian Studies," is out! My article examines some case studies of the possibilities DH can offer East Asian Studies. read.dukeupress.edu/journal-of-a...

For a class activity, I'm collecting versions of the famous opening to Kawabata Yasunari's _Yukiguni_ (1948). 「国境の長いトンネルを抜けると雪国であった。夜の底が白くなった。信号所に汽車が止まった。」

“Humans across multiple languages spontaneously associate the nonwords kiki & bouba with spiky & round shapes, respectively...We tested the bouba-kiki effect in baby chickens. Similar to humans, they spontaneously chose a spiky shape when hearing a kiki sound & a round shape when hearing a bouba.”😲🧪

Does anyone else remember Nina Katchadourian's found poetry project where she photographed books to make poems.

This guy had even read my book (it's why he'd emailed) and I still hadn't convinced him. He thought I could be writing "hundreds" of books. I asked why I would want to do that and who would read them. I haven't heard back on that question yet.

I had an email exchange with a guy yesterday who insisted I was making a mistake not outsourcing my writing to an LLM. He said, "It knows more than you do." He couldn't understand that this was impossible because the work of writing is figuring out what "I" think.

Traduir Zeami per a aquesta antologia ha estat un exercici molt interessant. Per deformació professional, estic acostumat a cercar sempre la lectura històrica dels textos, intentant entendre què volien dir en el seu context, i parant atenció a no imposar-hi interpretacions anacròniques.

Molt content de sentir que ja ha sortit _Especulacions sobre l'escena_ (Ed. Institut del Teatre), una antologia de textos de teoria dramàtica per a la que vaig traduir una secció del tractat sobre Noh _Fūshikaden_ de Zeami.

Join us for a discussion of the new book.

Una de les novel·les que més m'ha impressionat darrerament.

Bon dia. Avui arriba a llibreries «Argila alienígena», d'Adrian Tchaikovsky, una aventura fascinant al planeta Kiln, on trobareu elefants que haurien fet xixines el paio aquest que ha publicat les seves memòries. Perquè Kiln no té rei. Kiln és la Revolució! llegirencatala.cat/llibres/argi...

The 2025 Headline of the Year Nominees 🧵

I'm thinking about putting together an MA seminar syllabus around the theme of "Humour" for next semester. What are your favorite laugh-out-loud funny Japanese literary works?

A brief return of the Murderbot Humble Bundle! The charity is still World Central Kitchen.

I just did a little doc for newbie grad students doing archival (mostly text and image) research in Japan (esp. those without the increasingly rare fellowships). The sheer info overload and bureaucracy can be overwhelming, but you can hit your stride with a bit of planning...suggestions welcome!

I keep finding this trope of the alien hive mind in recent SF novels by A. Tchaikovsky, A. Martine, E. Ashton, etc. If you have observed this as well, I'd be very interested to know why you think that might be or, at least, what other recent cultural developments you think it might be connected to.

A question for academics: what academic non-fiction book would you hold up as exceptionally written? Content matters in this to an extent, but I'm particularly trying to identify style here, and setting trade titles written by academics into a different category.

Since we are once again dealing with "the only silent era comedians of note were men" I feel I need to stand up for the ladies. Marion Davies!

Excellent essay from historian Steven Mintz on why he’ll only evaluate writing he can witness firsthand open.substack.com/pub/stevenmi...

日本初、国際ゲイ小説賞を受賞した作家、安堂ホセさんから受賞スピーチ動画をいただきました🎥🥳 フランスの出版社、翻訳家だけでなく、エージェントや河出にまでメッセージを😭　この視野の広さも安堂作品の魅力です。 【速報】芥川賞作家・安堂ホセ『迷彩色の男』が、フランス🇫🇷発の文学賞・国際ゲイ小説賞（外国小説部門）を受賞！【日本初】｜Web河出 スピーチ全文、テキストではこちらで読めます▼ web.kawade.co.jp/information/...

Spanish-speaking Japanologists take note: networks.h-net.org/group/announ...

The call for papers and panels to the 18th International EAJS conference is now open! The conference will be a hybrid event hosted in Poznań, Poland from 27-30 August 2026. Please read the rules and instructions below before you submit your panel or paper. #EAJS2026 eajs.eu/2026-call-fo...

第1戦、勝った！ youtu.be/L6qOAOwFhvI?...

Nueva colección en Satori: CLÁSICOS DEL TEATRO NOH ❤️🧡💚 Por primera vez en español y en traducción directa del japonés, una colección exclusiva dedicada a los clásicos del teatro Noh. Imprescindible. Traducidos y prologados por Hidehito Higashitani, David Almazán y José Pazó.

Muy pronto en Satori... Toshiko Tamura. La escritora rebelde y olvidada del Japón moderno. LA VIDA DE ELLAS Historias de mujeres que rompen moldes en una sociedad que las quiere en silencio, mujeres que se atreven a desear contra corriente, a decidir por sí mismas y a actuar sin miedo.

Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):

A look back on translating Strange Houses, with a bit of a spoiler discussion of one big issue. #Uketsu #StrangeHouses #JapaneseLit #StrangePictures #Books

Llegint una antologia de contes de terror de Kadokawa m’he trobat amb aquesta petita joia que Inoue Masahiko (1960) va escriure el 1983 per al premi de micro-ficció Hoshi Shin’ichi, organitzat per Kōdansha. No m’he pogut estar de traduir-la per compartir-la amb vosaltres.

Dear friends, As have become a habit, I mark each #autumnequinox by sharing a small poem by Xin Qiji. I also start my translation cycle of Chinese and Japanese poems and prose that mark the twenty-four lunisolar micro-seasons. Translation notes blogged here: #everynightapoem

this exists it is called thinking

Carolina Negri (ed.) - Storia della letteratura giapponese Dalle origini all'Ottocento À paraître chez Einaudi

Qué buena pinta tiene la nueva colección de Clásicos del Teatro Noh en Satori. Empiezan con _Matsukaze_, _Ataka_ y _Dōjōji_. Con traducciones y prólogos de Hidehito Higashitani, David Almazán y José Pazó. satoriediciones.com/catalogo/col...

At EAJS in Sendai this weekend, and thanks to Prof. Till Weingärtner (Cork), I found out about シルバー川柳, a yearly prize given by the 全国有料老人ホーム協会 for senryū about the everyday lives of senior citizens. My favorite so far (mostly because of the 本歌取り from 金子みすゞ): 「パスワード みんな違って みんなダメ」

Mary Isbell's book Searching for Wonder: Teaching Literature with Student-Selected Texts is free and available for digital download now! unewhaven.pressbooks.pub/searchingfor...