Makiko Itoh : Not a nameless cat. aggregator

Maki's Quora answers: What transformed the cruel Japanese of World War II into the peaceful country who takes initiatives like the Kyoto protocol etc?

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:48:51 -0400

Simple. Different kinds of government in power. Different priorities, different times.

You're wrong to call the Kyoto Protocol a Japanese thing though. It's called the Kyoto Protocol because the meeting where the initiatives were agreed upon was held in Kyoto, Japan. Wikipedia: Kyoto Protocol (As a matter of fact Japan has had to withdraw from committing to the 2nd round of the protocol since it's had to fire up a whole bunch of conventional-fuel power plants due to the after effects of the Fukushimi Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, which led to the shutdown of all nuclear power plants in the country for inspection and retrofitting etc.)

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Maki's Quora answers: What are some of the most overrated things in America that many seem to follow or do?

Fri, 17 May 2013 20:44:37 -0400

Makiko Itoh

I've never understood the appeal of fraternities and sororities. Granted I've never been in a sorority (I did go to university in the US btw, but not a school with a strong fraternity/sorority presence) and my view may be skewed by Revenge of the Nerds, but I don't see what they're useful for at all except for some people to continue behaving like brats for another 4 years. The recent email from some sorority girl that got circulated didn't do much for the image of the "Greek system" either.

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Maki's Quora answers: How do you prepare Natto Gohan?

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:30:08 -0400

Makiko Itoh

There's nothing to it.

Get a pack of natto at a Japanese grocery store.
At the same Japanese grocery store, get a packet of microwaveable rice.
Mix the natto with the sauce and mustard that come with it.
Heat up the rice.
Put the rice in a bowl, and spoon the natto on top.Mix and enjoy.

You can of course cook your own rice. You can add things to the natto like more soy sauce, or chopped green onions.

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Maki's Quora answers: What are some Japanese movies about World War II?

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:21:01 -0400

Makiko Itoh

It is not directly about WWII and there are no battle scenes in it at all, but Twenty-Four Eyes (1954) (Wikipedia: Twenty-Four Eyes ) - 二十四の瞳 is considered to be one of the best anti-war films. It's available as a Criterion release in the U.S.

I can't say it's one of my favorites though. The actress who plays the teacher, Hideko Takamine, is considered to be one of Japan's best film actresses of all time, but she's a lot better in other movies - here she's mainly pretty. It's a pretty sentimental story. But if you're interested in what Japanese people thought in the '50s about the period of ultra-nationalism, militarism and the war, it should be interesting.

Going off on a tangent: The novel it was based on was assigned reading when I was in elementary school in Japan, along with some similar books, all with anti-war themes. Basically it made me hate any book or movie about war or anti-war because the message was so heavy-handed. I didn't see the movie until it was on NHK a couple of years ago, when it was shown as part of a series of "100 films about the Japanese family". (I didn't see Grave of the Fireflies until about 5 years ago for the same reason.)

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Maki's Quora answers: Who are the top programmers in Japan?

Thu, 16 May 2013 14:55:55 -0400

Makiko Itoh

Yukihiro Matsumoto, the creator of Ruby, is one.

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