Midori by Moonlight Book Trailer

I'm happy to present the Book Trailer for Midori by Moonlight, created by myself, with music composed by my husband Manabu Tokunaga.

Japanese Girls Gotta Rock

The Guardian reports on the predominance of women in the J-rock scene, which can seem paradoxical when thinking of the strict gender roles associated with Japan. As a female musician I was always struck by the abundance of women musicians and singers in the Japanese music business, even during the time when there was a dearth of women heard on American radio. To this day I’d say that the most popular performers are female and Japan was even one of the few to embrace that classic American all-girl band, The Runaways, who were pretty much ignored in the States.

The article goes on to say that Japan’s culture of karaoke is an important influence on female J-rock because of all the great female singers from before, thereby placing a high importance on vocal melodies. I couldn’t agree more. And maybe this partly explains my long attraction to J-pop and enka and my many favorites from the days of Akina Nakamori and Sayuri Ishikawa on up to Namie Amuro, Hikaru Utada, Ayumi Hamasaki and now Yui, whom I’ve just been introduced to by a number of fine J-pop bloggers.

I’m not ready to say that this pure freedom of expression we see in Japanese women pop and rockers is something that can change a society but, perhaps, little by little, they are contributing as empowering role models to other young women.

Loser Dogs Have No Shame

In my novel, Midori by Moonlight, I write about the Japanese phenomenon of makeinu or “loser dogs.” Writer Junko Sakai originated this term in her 2003 book The Howl of the Loser Dog (Makeinu no Toboe) and stated that as an over-thirty single Japanese woman, considered a loser in society for being unmarried, she strove to take pride in the term “loser dog” and proclaim her satisfaction with her independence and success.

The Asia Daily News Online reports that this trend is hot in Taiwan society where Japan’s social and pop culture weighs in with a strong influence. A hit TV series called “The Queen” depicts a successful, unmarried female journalist who finds herself unpopular among friends and colleagues because of her competitive nature and her success, but mostly because she is a loser—in other words, still single. And having an over-thirty unmarried daughter is something her mother cannot bear.

Expectations from family and society can be difficult to ignore and overcome, but many Taiwanese women, like their Japanese counterparts, are refusing to rush into marriage just because they are of “marriageable age.”

I say, “You go, girls!” Wan wan!