A Japanese hero

You’ve heard of medical missions,Red cross disaster volunteers,and fund raisers for disaster prone areas.But, this guy is a real hero for the Filipinos affected by the Sendong typhoon. Issey Tanaka (20), went to the typhoon effected area in Cagayan de Oro from Japan to see what he can do to help the people there. His story is really something to be proud about if you’re Japanese and I really wish there are more people out there just like him. Here are parts of the article I found. “Mabuhay” ka Issey Tanaka and I hope you will keep doing what you are doing, and if you ever read this blog, I wish to join your cause.

For Issey Tanaka, showing sympathy doesn’t end in offering prayers or in a heartfelt expression of support.

Because for him, it means going where the tragedy is, despite the distance.

So he went all the way to Cagayan de Oro and Iligan City from his homeland Japan to spend the holidays and spread cheer in Sendong-hit areas.

Tanaka, 20, embarked on this seemingly impossible mission to personally see the devastation Sendong brought so he could identify what he can do for the victims.

“I want to help people. I wanted to contribute and I want to promote to the Japanese people, let them know of what’s going on in the Philippines,” Tanaka told Yahoo! Southeast Asia in an interview.

With sheer will and some money from his supportive parents, Tanaka flew to PH. He tapped Xavier University which agreed to temporarily adopt him while doing his volunteer duties.

To read more of the article, Click here.

Japanese-Filipino sumo wrestlers.

I don’t know much about sumo wrestling but I’ve seen many European sumos out there but never that that I thought I’d see a Filipino (Well half Filipino). I was just surfing the web to find a new post under this category since I haven’t been posting a topic like this in awhile. Well, here is Takayasu Akira. Having a Japanese father and a Filipino mother, he is the first sumo wrestler born in the Hesiei  era. Only in the age of 21 he is already in the top makuuchi division in 2011.

More about Takayasu Akira from wikipedia:

Early Life:Born to a Japanese father and a Filipino mother, Takayasu was raised in Tsuchiura, Ibaraki and was a center fielder on his junior high school baseball team. On his father’s recommendation he joined Naruto stable upon graduating from junior high school.

Career:On his entry to Naruto stable, Takayasu was already 180 centimeters tall and weighed 120 kilograms, and consequently had much expectation pinned on him from the start. His first tournament was in March, 2005. He made steady progress through the lower divisions, with only a few losing record or make-koshi tournaments. He won the yusho or championship in the third makushita division in September, 2010 with a perfect 7-0 record. This propelled him into jūryō division, where along with Masunoyama became one of the first two sekitori to be born in the Heisei era. He decided against adopting a traditional shikona despite reaching the elite and will continue to use his birth name. In his first jūryō tournament in November he almost pulled off a second consecutive championship, losing to Toyohibiki in a playoff after both finished with 11-4 records.

After two more strong performances at jūryō Takayasu was promoted to the top makuuchi division in July, 2011. His debut record of 9-6 at maegashira 11 earned him a maegashira rank of no. 6 in the following tournament, then his highest to date, but he only managed a 6-9 record there. After a 9-6 score in the November 2011 tournament he was promoted to a new high of maegashira 3.

Now, I finnaly have someone to root for on the sumo wrestling industry ヽ(*≧ω≦)ﾉ

A short video on Akira:

EDIT

Another half Filipino sumo wrestler named Masunoyama Tomoharu. His wiki page is in Japanese and working I’m working into translating it but being the same age as Akira and ranking in the Maegashira 9. Unfortunately, there is no videos of him on youtube yet but here is a picture. Make that two wrestlers I’m going to root for.

HELLO TO ALL!!!!

Hello all!!! I really apologize from my very long absents due to personal reasons..I will try to make up from my absents with as much post as possible I can put here..and I want to start from this article I got from a reader of my site..Thank you Herman Near..

We all know who MoyMoy Palaboy is right?those two Filipino guys who lip sync songs and became popular on youtube. Well, one of their videos “Everybody by Backstreetboys” because quite popular among Japanese netizens that a fan even made an Anime version of the video..The video was produced by a person named KiyoP. Read more about this in here.

Here is the video showing both the original and the Anime version.

THE RETURN!!!

I HAVE RETURNED

from this very very very very long break.. I apologize that I left you guys hangin for some time.
BUT NOW!! I AM BACK!!
but I have been attacked but LOADS AND LOADS OF SPAM!!!! damn spam(=_=). I hope wordpress would fix this. But anyways, I would like to start with this video from Younojisama.WHAT!? You don’t know remember him? well if you don’t then just click here..
His the guy who sang harana in Japanese. NOW he has returned with “Di na Mababauwi” originally sang by Spongecola (Filipino rock band). His coming up with the Japanese version later.. ENJOY!!!

More Philippines reference in Japanese video games.

I hope you know your video games.I also hope you know about Front Mission 3 where there is alot of Filipino reference in that game and Soul Calibur where these is a Filipina character named Talim(Sharp) . Well, here are some pretty recent games that had some of those references. I got this from Gameops.net. So you can check out more of this post in there.

Here is a reference from the game called “Let’s play Katamari Damacy” for the PS2. I have not played the game so I was a bit surprised. Its pretty amusing to see some of these references.

And here are bits from the game “Yakuza 4” . Again, I haven’t played this one as well, but I plan to get this series pretty soon.

If you want more details on these. Go check out Gameops.net.

 

Jose Rizal Day

It is June 20 and it is Dr. Jose Rizal day in Philippines. So let us celebrate this day with a little post dedicated to the hero and a couple of quotes from him.

Jose Rizal (1861-1896) is the national hero of the Philippines. He was by all accounts a polymath, an extremely intelligent man who spoke around ten languages, travelled extensively, wrote two books “noli me tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” which were critical of the manner in which Spain was ruling the Philippines, which had been a Spanish colony for centuries. He was involved in politics and was eventually executed by the Spanish at the age of 35. One of the many countries he visited was Japan, and this bust was erected on the site of a hotel he stayed at in 188

By the way, did you know that Jose Rizal had a Japanese girlfriend?

Usui Seiko, nicknamed “O Sei San”
O Sei San, a Japanese samurai’s daughter taught Rizal the Japanese art of painting known as su-mie. She also helped Rizal improve his knowledge of Japanese language. If Rizal was a man without a patriotic mission, he would have married this lovely and intelligent woman and lived a stable and happy life with her in Japan because Spanish legation there offered him a lucrative job.

If you want more info of about Usui Seiko, I recommend visiting this article page. But it doesn’t really tell us how Rizal and Seiko never ended up together.Click here!
And here is a bit more about Rizal’s other love life. Click here!

Quotes:

He who does not know how to look back at where he came from will never get to his destination.
Jose Rizal

He who does not love his own language is worse than an animal and smelly fish.
Jose Rizal

It is a useless life that is not consecrated to a great ideal. It is like a stone wasted on the field without becoming a part of any edifice.
Jose Rizal

Japanese enjoying ‘second childhood’

I found this inspiring article while going through the news online. This specific article actually inspired me that you can never stop learning. This is a about a 63 years old Japanese man living with his Filipina wife in Pangasinan (North of Manila).. Just read the article and I think you will like it. Sorry no pictures though…

SAN CARLOS CITY, Pangasinan, Philippines — He’s a stranger in a strange place, doing a strange thing. But somehow everything makes perfect sense to Japanese national and third grade “pupil” Etsuo Yamagata.

“I want to study English, Tagalog, and Pangasinense,” Etsuo said in stammering yet comprehensible English. He is 63 years old.

Belinda Yamagata, 57, Etsuo’s Filipino wife and long-time employee of a leading Japanese electronics company, helps prepare the student daily for his classes at Jose Macam Paningbatan Sr. Elementary School here in the town of San Juan.

As a routine, Belinda or “Belen” accompanies her husband to school every morning before going to the local market. Thursday was no different.

“Every day, we leave the house at 6:50 a.m. and walk to school together. We treat it as exercise,” she said.

After having kamote and coffee for breakfast, Etsuo emerges from their eye-catching pink house carrying a back pack, and clad in a white T-shirt, walking shorts and rubber shoes. “I also like pandesal,” he quipped.

more

Anime created by Filipinos

Now here are some new stuff. I found this video on youtube just literally 30 minutes ago before making this post.
It features the anime craze. It starts off by talking about “One Piece” that was produced by Toei Animation, but did you know that the characters were made in the Philippines?..then they show a picture of some of the animes that were created by Filipinos. I saw “Neon Evangelion” and “Lupin the 3rd” in there and I did not know they were created by Filipinos…then through out the show, they start showing the anime craze in the Philippines like cosplaying,anime on jeeps, and such..The description on the video has more information about the video.

It is a 15minute long video.I don’t know the name of the show and there are no subtitles AND it was just recorded via video camera. BUT, it looks good enough to watch!!.

Former Gravure Model living in Manila

A washed-up celebrity fleeing to the Philippines to avoid arrest for amphetamine possession has been the top story on Japanese TV news broadcasts for days. Every major network sent reporters to snoop around Manila, interviewing random people who claim to have seen the woman. Finally, one managed to track her down on the street:

The Philippine immigration bureau said that Minako Komukai, 25, applied for an extension of her stay in the country on Feb. 8.

She arrived in Manila on Jan. 21 from Tokyo.

Her extended visa is valid until March 21 and may be extended every two months for a total of 16 months unless cancelled upon a proper request from the Japanese government.

But the Philippine immigration bureau and the police said they have to receive any official request from Japanese authorities about Komukai.

jprobe

 

MeiDolls Cafe Valentines Maid and Butler Photo Contest

TThe Philippines’ first Maid Cafe, MeiDolls Cafe, is having a mini photo contest for Valentines Day. The ‘MeiDolls Cafe Valentines Maid and Butler Photo Contest!’ is open to everyone, just submit a picture of you in a maid or butler costume for a chance to win 300 pesos worth of GC and an exclusive Meidolls mug.

You may submit your entries to mini_reia15(at)yahoo(dot)com until January 30, 2011 and the voting will start on February 1, 2011. Announcement of winners will be on MeiDolls’ special Valentines Day shindig on February 13, 2011. Winners will also get a chance to be MeiDolls’ honorary Maid and Butler of the night.

gameops