It has been a while since I’ve translated anything, so I thought I would do another song translation. This is an autobiographical song by Kana Uemura in which she reminisces about her grandmother. The title ‘Toilet Goddess’ belies how simultaneously heart-warming and heart wrenching the song truly is, and don’t be surprised if something about this bittersweet tune draws a tear or two. Apparently they have adapted this song in to a tv drama too, although I don’t have a television and haven’t seen it myself. I think the song is absolutely charming, and reflects something about the importance of grandmothers of course (Hi Granny!) but also family in general. Even if you can’t live with them, or even understand them sometimes, familial love runs deep.

Lyrics, in Japanese as well as in English, below the cut.

Happy Fourth of July!

I hope everyone enjoys this July 4th, wherever you are in the world!

Angela Aki’s Tegami

This is such a beautiful song, and Angela Aki reminds me of a Japanese cross between Lisa Loeb and Tina Fey. Enjoy the song! I’ll update about Hokkaido when I recover from this cold.

8 Short Films to Brighten Your Day

By ‘brighten your day’ I’m not saying that they are all happy and that they’ll improve your mood. Rather, I find that it can be invigorating to see what creative expression someone can share in such a small space both visually and in terms of length. I’ve been playing around with my old clips – and wishing I had taken more video in the past. I might post some of the things I’ve made at some point, but in the meantime here are some films I’d like to share!

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This is an awesome tilt-shift simulated time lapse video of a Sumou match! Cool, right?

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Les Escargots by Rene Laloux (1965) has great parallels in terms of construction to the animation in Monty Python films. Also it is a bit of a dystopian story, which is engaging.

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Apricot by Ben Briand (Australian)

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Breakup Service by Kosai Sekine

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Here’s Right Place, also by Kosai Sekine.

I must confess that I love everything he directs. He even makes aesthetically appealingmakeup and photocopy advertisements.

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Next up is Oh the Places we Go by Meredith Jones
(via Sydney Oh! Check them both out!!)

(also reminds me of my own foot-view obsessed photos, as well as the Foot Earth project

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Next is a collaborative music project by the morning benders and the echo chamber orchestra. I love this pretense! Also it looks like wicked fun. Bonus: I like the song.

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Last but not least is this lovely nightscape video by cat2525jp. It is way similar in both concept and design to Kosai Sekine’s Jemapur music video, but of course they’re both filmed in Tokyo.