the qualia journal

I think one of the most important things in life is to forget. As we live along, things accumulate, and the momentum becomes a killer rather...

As a kid I was fond of playing baseball. I was not a particularly good hitter. When I was cornered into two strikes, the bad image of a stri...

Believe it or not, Japanese University students start the activity of searching for a company to work for ("Shukatsu") more than o...

Nowadays, I am very uneasy. I look up at the sky from time to time, and think when it must be. Should it be on Saturday, Sunday, or sometime...

I have been to the wonderful Arashiyama district in the suburbs of Kyoto many times, starting from the school trip at the age of 15. For som...

I once heard that Mr. Ivica Osim, when he was serving as the head coach of the Japanese national football team, used to say to the players ...

This morning, Google is rumored to walk out of China after failure of negotiation with the local government. It is interesting to compare th...

I came to the city of Kan-Onji on the Shikoku island to meet with Dr. Michiyo Okada, who is a specialist on teaching children with special b...

March is the graduation time in Japan. Many school hold the graduation ceremony, where students receive the certificates and sing special so...

The Mount Fuji is an easily recognizable volcano mountain, and its shape is recognized by people in Japan. The other day I went to a restaur...

A human brain likes surprises, and mine is no exception. Every year, in spring, I used to be surprised as a kid to see the first signs of sp...

At least a part of human history can be regarded as a competition between different systems based on different philosophies and sets of valu...

I happened to see a clip from the old Godzilla series yesterday ("Mothra vs. Godzilla"). Originally, the film was released in 1964...

During the winter, all biological forms enter a kind of dormant phase. Human beings are no exceptions. While we go about busily along the st...

One of the greatest disappointments in life is that there are so many intolerant people. It hurts me deeply, when I see somebody carelessly ...

I used to take some days off when I was a pupil. When I had cold, I would say to my mother, "mom, I have fever", and lie in bed th...

The liberal arts education and learning remains important at any age. However, it is important to realize that what it signifies to be learn...

The brain has a great ability to betray you. Betraying you in the positive sense, that is. At some stages of life, when you are entering a n...

My artist friend Tatsuo Miyajima has started a new project called Peace Shadow. It is a petition for peace, made by burning your shadow. Ple...

When I was studying physics as an undergraduate at the university, I wrote an essay arguing for the necessity of reducing the cost of intern...