otakumag.com
Genre: Japanese Culture, Art, Manga and Film
review in one breath
The latest issue of Otaku Magazine is now available. This one is entitled "Play" and focuses on the themes of players and play in all its manifestations. I've been a fan of Otaku Mag since I first ran across it a year ago. Its dedication to Japan-inspired art and technology is thoroughly entertaining, and its glossy visual presentation sets a very high standard for underground publications.
This issue is being published as a limited release, so if you are interested in ordering it, I recommend you do so quickly. The issue is expected to sell out soon. For info on ordering and the new issue's contents, keep reading.
Continue reading Otaku Magazine: Play - New Issue Now Available.







In the reign of the Emperor Engi, which began in the year 901 A.D., there lived a man whose name has ever since been celebrated on account of his beautiful writings, poetic and other. He was the Emperor's great favorite, and consequently he was the strong man of the day; his name was Sugawara Michizane. Needless to say, it was not very long before, with all these things in his favor, he was the head of the Government, living in luxury.
About the year 110 B.C. there lived a brave prince known in Japanese history as Yamato-dake no Mikoto. (1) He was a great warrior, as was his son, who is said to have been a husband to the Empress Jingo--I presume a second one, for it could not have been the Emperor who was assassinated before the Empress's conquest of Korea. However, that does not very much matter to my story, which is merely the legend attached to the miraculous sword known as the Kusanagi no Tsurugi (the grass-cutting sword), which is held as one of the three sacred treasures, and is handed down from father to son in the Imperial Family. The sword is kept at the Atsuta Shrine, in Owari Province.


