Enthronement

This week in Japan saw the new Reiwa Emperor Naruhito proclaim his Enthronement in a series of sacred Shinto rites that formalize his ascent to the Chrysanthemum Throne. Like the Emeritus Heisei Emperor before him, he wished to for the happiness of the Japanese people and pledged the following:

 

"I pledge hereby that I shall act according to the Constitution and fulfill my responsibility as the symbol of the State and of the unity of the people of Japan, while always wishing for the happiness of the people and the peace of the world, turning my thoughts to the people and standing by them," Naruhito said.

We at American Mishima wish Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako, peace and happiness throughout the Reiwa Era. Long may they reign. ばんざい! ばんざい! ばんざい!

Ten Years Later

What was once court-ordered therapy, became a blog, became a writing career. Yes, it was ten years ago that we started this American Mishima blog. Ten years of writing over 500 blogposts of Japanese-American interests and updates on our related books and projects. Initially, our blog was going to be named Osaka Not Oaxaca due to my late father's insistence that I give up my dreams of ever visiting Japan and focus on nearby Mexico. Not liking that idea, we chose to go with American Mishima and within that week, someone in Japan declared we had the best name for a blog page. Through this blog, we have covered culture, music, politics, art, and our personal projects such as videos, plays, books, and story ideas. While it is true, we have not posted as much lately, it is because we have been focused on producing more content for our books. We averaged around 64 posts a year here. Where we go from here is anyone's guess. We may continue from time to time but we are not sure what our level of commitment will be given our current production progress and personal schedules. We have shared some good times, and some bad ones here. I am not saying this is over, but we are taking a step back to focus on our upcoming books and screenplays. While we have never had more than 10,000 visits per year or more than 30 subscribed followers, we still thank you for your readership and support. 

ども ありがとう ございます!