Author | Lightnews

Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Sep 20

Traditions are wonderful. I am in fact quite conservative when it comes to my nation’s traditions. But if I’m feeling sad because of a tradition, what good is it doing me? And when I change, am I losing part of what makes me me? blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/summertime...

Summertime Sadness

Traditions nourish. But sometimes we have to change, like it or not.

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Sep 13

Thank you so much! By the way my book will be published from Penguin Random House in December this year😊 www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735293...

Eight Million Ways to Happiness by Hiroko Yoda: 9780593474433 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books

A Japanese cultural historian shares a path to joyful living drawn from her nation’s unique approach to spirituality and nature, offering a “fascinating” (Wintering author Katherine May)...

www.penguinrandomhouse.com

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

geha714 @geha714.bsky.social · Sep 8

www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aVN... Jujutsu Whatsit!? The Japanese spirituality hiding in your favorite anime. From AnimeNYC 2025! by @mattalt.bsky.social and @hirokoyoda.bsky.social

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Sep 9

I gave a talk about how anime can be a lens into Japanese spiritual traditions! Our spirituality is so subtle that you might miss these references, even if you’re a fan of a given show or film. www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aVN...

Jujutsu Whatsit!? The Japanese spirituality hiding in your favorite anime. From AnimeNYC 2025!

YouTube video by Matt Alt's Japan

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · Sep 8

@hirokoyoda.bsky.social’s talk from AnimeNYC 2025 about spirituality in anime is now online! Details here! blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/animated-s...

Animated Spirituality

Japan's spiritual traditions are everywhere -- even in your favorite anime shows.

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Sep 8

I gave a talk at AnimeNYC 2025 about Japanese spiritual traditions hiding in plain sight in your favorite anime series, from Jujutsu Kaisen and DanDaDan to Totoro and even Gundam! Now the video is online — check out my newsletter for info! blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/animated-s...

Animated Spirituality

Japan's spiritual traditions are everywhere -- even in your favorite anime shows.

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Aug 22

I will be giving a talk at AnimeNYC! The title is “Jujutsu Whatsit?” I’ll use situations from many anime shows and films to explain Japan’s spiritual traditions. See you on Saturday 8/23, 4:30pm in room 1A15! animenyc.com/programming/...

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Aug 17

Ever notice how many Japanese claim not to be religious at all? It’s because the spiritual and secular blend so seamlessly here. Like, for instance, noodles!
blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/spiritual-...

Spiritual noodles

The city of Miwa is home to a ritual where commerce, cuisine, and kami intersect

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Aug 15

I will be giving a talk at AnimeNYC! The title is “Jujutsu Whatsit?” I’ll use situations from many anime shows and films to explain Japan’s spiritual traditions. See you on Saturday 8/23, 4:30pm in room 1A15! animenyc.com/programming/...

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Jul 28

A story about how going offline can reconnect you in unexpected ways! blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/nakama

Nakama

A story about unplugging and reconnecting in the mountains

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Jun 25

One of the things I love about the Japanese worldview is that it helps us remember that death might not be the end we think it is. When we remember those we’ve lost, we also remember that they are and always will be there for us. blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/sightseein...

Sightseeing with the Dead

Visiting graves can broaden horizons

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · Jun 16

Excited to be judging the translation award category again this year, with @hirokoyoda.bsky.social !

Deb Aoki @debaoki.bsky.social · Jun 16

The 2025 American Manga Awards nominees & Manga Publishing Hall of Fame announcement is now up on @publisherswkly.bsky.social / @pwcomicsworld.bsky.social

www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

2025 American Manga Award Nominees Announced

Anime NYC and Japan Society have announced the 35 nominees for the second annual American Manga Awards, set to take place on August 21.

www.publishersweekly.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · May 30

When you look at mountains, the first thing that probably strikes you is their beauty. You may think, what a great place to go climbing, or have a picnic. But there is another way of looking at the mountains in Japan. One not rooted in leisure, but spirituality. blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/searching-...

Searching for a Lost Kami

An adventure on San'in's Mount Daisen

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · May 29

Last month, @hirokoyoda.bsky.social and I traveled to rural San’in (Shimane & Tottori). We wrote a pair of interlinked essays about our experiences there:

Searching for a Lost Kami
blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/searching-...

Empire of Monsters
blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/empire-of-...

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Deb Aoki @debaoki.bsky.social · May 1

Returning as Translation Judges for the 2025 American Manga Awards will be authors/translators Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social and @mattalt.bsky.social.
Hiroko and Matt will also be special guests at Anime NYC in August and Matt will be returning as MC at the Manga Awards too!

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Apr 30

Thank you!

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

curious ordinary @curiousordinary.bsky.social · Apr 30

I'm so excited to read this book by @hirokoyoda.bsky.social when it's released. In the meantime I'd definitely recommend following her here and on her Substack.

Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Apr 29

I wrote a book! "Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom for Inspiration and Healing from the Heart of Japan" drops in December. I traveled Japan, exploring our patchwork of spiritual traditions: Shinto, Buddhist, Shugendo, and more. Pre-order here. Thanks! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735293...

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Apr 30

My latest newsletter is all about my new book! blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/eight-mill...

Eight Million Ways to Happiness

Announcing my new book, coming out later this year!

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Apr 29

I wrote a book! "Eight Million Ways to Happiness: Wisdom for Inspiration and Healing from the Heart of Japan" drops in December. I traveled Japan, exploring our patchwork of spiritual traditions: Shinto, Buddhist, Shugendo, and more. Pre-order here. Thanks! www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/735293...

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · Apr 23

@hirokoyoda.bsky.social and I make an appearance in this essay by Aatish Taseer for the New York Times Style Magazine. They sent him to Japan to uncover the role monsters play in Japanese culture. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/22/t...

Monsters Plague Japan. But What Do They Mean? (Gift Article)

How ancient history and modern calamities have cultivated a national obsession with menacing creatures.

www.nytimes.com

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · Apr 9

There are a lot of galaxy-brain moments in @hirokoyoda.bsky.social’s history of ikigai in Japanese and English. Most mind-blowing was how ikigai was seen as potentially dangerous, not so long ago. blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/ikigai-vs-...

“Ikigai” vs. Ikigai

The long strange trip of a word from Japanese to English and back again

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Hiroko Yoda @hirokoyoda.bsky.social · Apr 9

“Ikigai” just might be the West's favorite Japanese word at the moment. But I’ve noticed its use differs subtly yet profoundly between the two languages. So I decided to try and unravel how an otherwise unremarkable word became Japan’s biggest cultural export. blog.hirokoyoda.com/p/ikigai-vs-...

“Ikigai” vs. Ikigai

The long strange trip of a word from Japanese to English and back again

blog.hirokoyoda.com

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · Apr 4

Join @patrickmacias.bsky.social and I on a 148,000 light year journey through the Space Battleship Yamato exhibition in Shibuya: www.tokyoscope.blog/p/pure-tokyo...

Pure Tokyoscope Podcast 132: LIVE from the Space Battleship Yamato Expo!

Patrick Macias and Matt Alt bring you pop culture direct from Japan!

www.tokyoscope.blog

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · Mar 25

Getting cultural whiplash from this crazy crossover, as seen on @patrickmacias.bsky.social's newsletter: www.tokyoscope.blog/p/tokyoscope...)

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Reposted by Hiroko Yoda

Matt Alt @mattalt.bsky.social · Mar 24

This week marks fifty-five years since a group of manga fans hijacked a Japan Airlines flight. Yes, you read that right. And here's why that incredibly strange moment is relevant to the political dystopia we're all living through now: blog.pureinventionbook.com/p/the-revolu...

The revolution will be... illustrated?

What a terrorist incident from 1970's Japan tells us about American politics today

blog.pureinventionbook.com

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