come take a load off, my outdoor poly Amish friend
Nathaniel M. Smith
@nathanielmsmith.bsky.social
Anthropologist of Japan @ Ritsumeikan University in Kyoto. 立命館大学国際関係学部准教授。Writing/research on rightwing movements/politics/culture, US-Japan relations, and urban studies.
Kansai academicians! looking for someone to cover my grad courses in the 2027 academic year (yay sabbatical): Public Diplomacy Intro to Japan Studies Japan in East Asia Shoot me a DM or email if you are interested. Each course is MA-level, sometimes PhD students auditing. Usually 8-15 students.
first sabbatical since 2019 has been confirmed. I'll be unfettered for a year starting April 2027. just in time for the weakest yen in 40-years 😅
unexpected but lovely that Tucson is significantly cooler than Kyoto (in addition to not being soup-thick humid) bonus: hummingbird checking out a cactus flower
nice Kyoto job down at Ryukoku. "Global Ethics" with courses expected on human rights and governance (word on the street is that they pay very well too!) www.ryukoku.ac.jp/employment/d...
ryukoku.ac.jp
Leipzig side quest: spotting East German automotive history in the form of the charming Trabant
this semester's set of graduating advisees had a cool collection of thesis topics:
the evidence suggests these pages were *intentionally* left blank
the American Anthropological Association head's response to the embarrassingly poor Vanderbilt report americananthro.org/advocacy-sta...
Setting the Record Straight on Anthropology - American Anthropological Association
The Report on the State of Scholarship in the Humanities and the Humanistic Social Sciences identifies anthropology as the single most extreme case of scholarly deterioration in the humanities and soc...
americananthro.org
Another day, another stunning example of failure in science communication efforts by bamboo researchers
@mulboyne.bsky.social · 3mo agoAkira Inoue, a professor of agriculture at Kindai University, has demonstrated that the bamboo muzzle worn by Nezuko in "Demon Slayer" does not, as drawn, match any existing variety of bamboo. www.sciencedirect.com/science/arti...
LINE has added an AI agent directly below the messaging text window. You can remove it, but only for 30 days at a time... intrusion that knows it is intrusive... and yet still intrudes
📢 Transnational Japanisms: Art, Craft, Design (15-16 May) The conference programme is now live! 💻 Livestream and online access available 🔗 Register via the conference website www.sainsbury-instit...
due to some misguided fear of mispronunciation, in Japan Ronald McDonald is known as Donald McDonald. to stay consistent, the children‘s charity Ronald McDonald House is known here as (the actually quite difficult to say) Donarudo Makudonarudo Hausu
This is monstrous. Just profoundly shameful behavior by our government. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/21/w...
Trump Is Said to Be in Talks to Send Afghans Who Aided U.S. Forces to Congo
nytimes.com
if you happen to be in Kyoto later this month and want to hear my spiel in Japanese...
seems like gas prices have gone *down* here in Kyoto -- saw a few in the mid-150s today
still disappointed that The Get Up Kids schtick wasn't wearing interesting get ups
seems like a bad thing to demolish, but what I do I know? I’m not the governor of Kagawa
speaking of which, I haven’t noticed much jump in gas prices here at all. in the U.S. a few weeks back and everywhere shot up fast
James D.J. Brown@jamesdjbrown.bsky.social · 4mo agoSoutheast Asian countries suffering from energy supply shortages have asked Japan to share oil from its reserves. Japanese officials are hesitant, pointing out that Japan’s oil stockpile is intended to secure domestic supplies. www.asahi.com/articles/ASV...