Second Anniversary Edition

It’s hard to believe two whole years have passed since I started introducing Japanese media available in English to The Yuuyake Shimbun readers.  A lot has happened in the manga and anime worlds during the last 24 months.  We have seen the demise of magazines NewTypeUSA and its follow-up, PiQ.  We have seen the death of anime giant Geneon, and ADV has taken its lumps.  Manga publisher Tokyopop recently cut a good chunk of its staff. More…

Mika Inoue

Recent earthquakes in the Pacific Northwest have prompted emergency managers to remind the public to review their disaster plans and refresh their emergency kits. Shallow earthquakes of 4.0-magnitude and below have recently shaken residents up and down the Pacific coast from Oregon to Alaska, and across the Cascades into Idaho. And some aren’t that little-a recent series of tremblors along the Blanco Fracture Zone off the Oregon coast ranged from 3.7 to 5.6. According to FEMA Regional Administrator Susan Reinertson, the spate of temblors is no cause for alarm, but no cause for complacency either. More…

John Kodachi of KODACHI LAW takes a minute out for a photo in his new office in downtown Portland, Oregon.

By James Hill

Prominent local attorney John Kodachi has left his former law firm to establish his own firm, John A. Kodachi, P.C.  The new law office is situated in Suite 1110 of the Umpqua Bank Building, which located in downtown Portland at 1 S.W. Columbia Street, overlooking the Willamette River and Hawthorne Bridge.
“I have a great relationship with my former firm, but it’s exciting to establish your own practice after working 16 years for other attorneys,” said John Kodachi.  “I’m looking forward to serve the many legal needs of individuals and businesses in the community.”  More…

Portland, Ore. – Grown in Japan since the 8th century, the chrysanthemum is the official flower of Japan, and along with the Japanese maple, it is considered the quintessential symbol of autumn and a constant motif in literature and art. The highest Order of Chivalry is called the Order of the Chrysanthemum, and the Imperial crest features a 16-petalled chrysanthemum. Kiku Matsuri, the Chrysanthemum Festival, honors this beloved flower and is the fifth of the cycle of five annual Go-Sekku festivals in the traditional Japanese calendar. More…

By James Hill

During a recent visit to Yoshi Japanese Restaurant in Vancouver, Washington, I had a pleasant conversation with the owner, Nakao Yoshihiro, concerning his plans for the future. Unfortunately, he intends to sell the restaurant due to health issues surrounding his recovery from a stroke he suffered four years ago and a second one he experienced this year. He feels it is unfair to his many loyal customers to remain open indefinitely if he is no longer physically capable of running the restaurant at the same high standard they have come to expect for the last fourteen years. More…

Critical year purification ceremony to purify and dispel misfortune. According to the “Kigaku” (or Shinto divination method) the ages of 16, 24 and 40, 41, 42 for men and 12, 18 and 31, 32, 33 for women are considered Yakudoshi or critical year; the years 41 for men and 32 for women are considered Taiyaku or Honnyaku, meaning grand climactic years, with the preceding year Maeyaku and the following year Atoyaku requiring a special ceremony, also. These ages are according to Kazoedoshi (counting system where a person is 1 year old at birth) those who like to receive YAKUBARAE who cannot attend Taisai can make arrangements anytime by contacting Tsubaki Grand Shrine of America. More…