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Kanto

WorldVision

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:kant:

The Kantō region (関東地方 Kantō-chihō) is a geographical area of Honshu, the largest island of Japan. The region includes the Greater Tokyo Area and encompasses seven prefectures: Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tokyo, Chiba, and Kanagawa. Within its boundaries, slightly more than 45 percent of the land area is the Kantō Plain. The rest consists of the hills and mountains that form the land borders. In official census count on October 1, 2010 by the Japan Statistics Bureau, the population was 42,607,376 amounting to approximately one third of the total population of Japan.

In the Pokémon franchise, a region named after Kantō is the first geographical setting of both the anime and the game series (it was featured in Pokémon Red, Green, Blue, Yellow, FireRed and LeafGreen, Gold, Silver, and Crystal, and HeartGold and SoulSilver).

:kant:


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Amir

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February 20, 2013
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Po-Ta-To - 3 syllables like...

Tsu-Ki-Ko ? xthink
 

ShoeFlo

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January 23, 2013
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:kant: WV 138: Ryuichi Sakamoto - The Sheltering Sky :kant:


My debut entry for Kanto is a poignant movie theme performed by a beutiful little Japanese orchestra.

Ryuichi Sakamoto, born in Tokyo in 1952, is one of the most famous and highest regarded musician in Japan.
In his early years as an artist he was member of the Electronic band Yellow Magic Orchestra which even had an Top 20 hit in the UK Charts in 1978. People say their music were very influential for genres like Techno
His composition "Behind the Mask", that was created for a commercial, was later covered by Michael Jackson amongst others.

He didnt make music only, he actually got international attention for acting in the Japanese-British WW2 movie Furyo - Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence released in 1983 for which he also composed the theme that is considered his most famous compositions up to now. In the movie he plays alongside David Bowie and he embodies the role of a strict and sadistic prison commandant. David Bowie is a tough and renitent prisoner from the UK and Ryuichi feel strangely attracted to him.

Despite the movie being quite good it's easy to see Ryuichi wasnt an trained actor so after that he kept focussing on music.

He won an Oscar and Golden Globe for his score for the movie The Last Emperor in 1987. Three years later he won the Golden Globe for his score for Bernardo Bertoluccis love drama The Sheltering Sky. Now, guess whats the theme of that movie ;) Here you go!

Ryuichi also composed pieces for the Olympics Opening ceremony in Barcelona 1992.

Sadly, Ryuichi Sakamoto has struggled with health issues lately. He suffered from throat cancer in 2014 and right after he overcame it in 2020 he was diagnosized with rectal cancer :( Hope he will stay strong and beat the cancer a second time
 
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ShoeFlo

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:kant: WV 139: Sumio & Emiko Shiratori - Yuugure :kant:

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Yuugure is part of the soundtrack of the 1990 Anime series Moomins based on the Moomins novels of the Finnish author Tove Jansson. The moomins are some troll creatures that look a bit like hippos. They are going through a lot of fun and obscure adventures, discover magical creatues and objects and just live their lifes. Moomins was never big in Germany but I nonetheless watched it for a short time when I was young. Especially because my favorite animal were Hippos and the moomins resemble them so much. I loved the characters and found them rather cute. Having said that, my memories about the episodes is totally lost. Probably because I hardly followed the plot but only looked at the hippos.
Nevermind, hope you enjoy it!
 

ShoeFlo

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:kant: WV 140: Meiko Kaji - Shura no Hana (Flower of Carnage) :kant:

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Lyrics (Japanese transliteration + english translation)


Shindeita Asa ni
Tomorai no Yuki ga furu
Hagure inu no Touboe
Geta no Otokishimu

Iin na naomosa
Mitsumete aruku
Yami wo dakishimeru
Janomeno kasa hitotsu

Inochi no michi wo
Yuku onna
Namida wa tooni
Sutemashita

Furimuita Kawa ni
Toozakaru Tabinohima
Itteta tsuru wa Ugokasu
Naita Ame to kaze

Kieta mizu mo ni
Hotsure ga miutsushi
Namida sae misenai
Janomeno kasa hitotsu

Urami no michi wo
Yuku onna
Kokoro wa tooni
Sutemashita

Giri mo nasake mo
Namida mo yume no
Kinou mo ashita mo
Henno nai kotoba

Urami no kawa ni
Mi wo yudanete
Honma wa tooni
Sutemashita
Begrieving snow falls in the dead morning
Stray dog's howls and the footsteps of Geta pierce the air

Walking as she gazes at her fateful gloom
Embracing the despair, only with a Janome-umbrella

I'm a woman who walks at the brink of life and death
Who's emptied my tears many moons ago.

All the compassion tears and dreams
The snowy nights and tomorrow

I've immersed my body in the river of venegance
And thrown away my womanhood many moons ago

On the behalf of heaven, they are our soldiers, the loyal, invincible and brave.

Now it's time for them to leave the country of their
Parents of their hearts buoyed by encouraging voices.

They are solely resolved not to return alive, without victory.
Here at home, the citizens wait for you.

In foreign lands, the brave troops
Instead of kindness from someone

I do not care about
I rather prefer selifshness from you my beloved.

Oh, it's the world a dream or an illusion?
I am all alone in jail.

I've got no idea how accurate the translation is, I know dear Amir takes Japanese lessons, he is free to suggest corrections ;)

Since I'm enjoying the rare pleasure of having a PQ I decided to go with an quite excentric choice, especially since most of my entries are gonna be (and already were) instrumental pieces. My WV 140 entry however is the beautiful Enka* song Shura no Hana by the gorgeous Meiko Kaji. It is the theme song of the iconic Japanese jidaigeki revenge movie Lady Snowblood from 1973 in which Meiko herself is playing the main character. I'm a proud owner of that movie whose visual aesthetics I love so much. The film recounts the tale of Yuki, a woman who seeks vengeance upon three of the people who raped her mother and killed her father and brother. The film's narrative is told out of chronological order, jumping between present and past events. it's a short summary, actually the background story and the historical context is a by far more complex, so is Yuki's rocky way to finalize her revenge. Moreover it offers a final twist that shows how vengeance itself can be a never-ending story. Lady Snowblood is pretty bloody, the settings are wonderful and the fighting scenes are not realistic, but certainly stunningly choreographed.

Meiko Kaji was a big star in Japan of the 1970s an released plenty of Enka songs back in the days. Therefore I am pondering on starting a Kaji NF in a few editions but as for now I felt the urge to send her most popular song. These days Kaji is an elderly but still adorable lady who is actually quite active on YouTube. She keeps contact not only to her Japanese but especially to the international community. She isn't fluent in English (which is why she always refused to act in international productions although she had quite some offers) so she speaks in Japanese, subtitled in English. She is doing many FAQs about her actor career and her movie preferences and so on.. it's worth watching, she is an inspiring personality.

if the song or the visuals of the video is somehow familiar to you but you can't put the finger on where you know it from, you most likely watched Tarantinos Kill Bill Vol. 1 in which the song kicks in when Yakuza boss O-Ren (played by Lucy Liu) gets scalped by Beatrix Kiddo. The look of O-Ren as well as parts of her life is inspired by the life of Yuki in Lady Snowblood, as well as the whole Kill Bill plot itself is in big parts inspired by Lady Snowblood (also the episodical structure and the rough training sessions with a martial-arts master and so on). Not gonna lie, I got to know about LS through Kill Bill. Some people know the Kill Bill movies are my favorite movies overall.

*Enka is a popular Japanese genre that is based on the pentatonic scale and supposed to resemble traditional Japanese music stylistically. The lyrics are usually written similarly around the themes of love and loss, loneliness, enduring hardships, and persevering in the face of difficulties, even suicide or death. It suggests a traditional, idealized, or romanticized aspect of Japanese culture and attitudes.

xcheer
 

Nicholas123

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Athens & Kordavian Islands
OMGGGGGGGGGGGGGG i just realised what ur entry is. :lol: Kill Bill (vol.1 & 2) are also my fave movies. :eek: :eek:

That song playing while the Bride is just throwing down Sofie Fatale (or more precisely what was left of her :mrgreen: ) in front of the hospital's door! :lol: xheart
 
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