Japanese Rastafarianism: A Not-So Farfetched Idea After All

As I was revising Angelic Guardians: The Memory last night, a sudden thought struck me. I had designed the character Raian Daishizenno/On'ai based on my old high school crush, but the inspiration had no interest in attending church while we attended school together, and he was a huge pothead. Moreover, he was also a hardcore Bob Marley fan. So, after learning more about Marley's religious background in college, I created Raian to represent Rastafarianism but with the acceptance of Jesus' second coming instead of Ras Tafari's, which ultimately makes Raian a Messianic Rastafarian.

Doesn't seem to be much of a problem, right? Wrong. Not only is Raian a Rasta, but he's also a Japanese Rasta. Sounds like a contradiction, doesn't it? Japanese? Rastafarian? They don't look right, and they certainly don't sound right.

Actually, it makes complete sense! I came across a website concerning Rastafarianism around the world (you can find it at http://www.howtogrowbud.com/info/rastafari/ ), and with a coexist country like Japan, it was no surprise I found this paragraph:

A small but devoted Rasta community developed in Japan in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Rasta shops selling natural foods, Reggae recordings, and other Rasta-related items sprang up in Tokyo, Osaka, and other cities. For several years, “Japan Splashes” or open-air Reggae concerts were held in various locations throughout Japan. For a review by two sociologists of how the Japanese Rasta movement can be explained in the context of modern Japanese society, see Dean W. Collinwood and Osamu Kusatsu, “Japanese Rastafarians: Non-Conformity in Modern Japan,” The Study of International Relations, No. 26, Tokyo: Tsuda College, March 2000 (research conducted in 1986 and 1987).

And given the fact that Raian was born in Tokyo in 1988, linking him with Rastafarianism/Messianic Rastafarianism only seems natural despite of his Japanese heritage. It's unclear, however, if such religion still exists in Japan today. If so, then let The Memory shed some light onto it through Raian Daishizenno.

Now if you will excuse me, I think I'm hearing "One Love/People Great Ready" on the radio.

Shameless Self-Promotion!

About a month or so ago, I reformatted my account on deviantART.com (or DA as I like to call it), and I added a lot of fan ficlets from Angelic Guardians as well as the rough draft to Angelic Guardians: The Gathering. Go, check it out!

http://theprettymachine.deviantart.com

And if you can't view some of the "Glimpses" entries, that's because you have to be a member to unlock MA-themed postings. XD

When One Door Closes, Another One Opens... Half-Way.

It's been a crazy past month for me, and for that, I profusely apologize for my absence. My editor Erica Spriggs had to let me go due to personal reasons, which left me without another editor. However, I do want to personally thank her for giving me a solid idea of doing a query and a synopsis, something that my past editors had never showed me.

But one thing that she did suggest to me as we were working on the synopsis was to join a writer's club. Now, Logansport might be strong in the arts, but writing? We're not. As far as I know, we don't have a writer's club or alliance in Cass County, and the nearest one would require me to drive out-of-town on a Saturday afternoon in which I would most likely have to be excused early due to my night job.

(Hey, someone has to make a living.)

It also doesn't help that Logansport has been without a bookstore since Borders slapped a huge "store closing" sticker on Waldenbooks in the Logansport Mall at the start of 2009. I was hoping my old day job would boost me in my endeavours and promote Angelic Guardians when the time had come.

But that has all changed.

Last week, my mom showed me a copy of the Friday morning newspaper with the headline "Greensfelder building to house bookstore" in bold on the front cover. No, it's not Books-a-Million. No, it's not Barnes & Noble. And, thank God, it isn't Borders. (I'm still holding a major grudge against them these days, but, hey, they're getting what they deserved.) No, this bookstore will be operated independently with a coffeeshop, gifts, and free Wi-Fi to boot. It's something downtown Logansport needs to attract businesses away from the east side and possibly save several mall fronts from leaving town. (If you've ever stepped into the mall these days, you'd know why... ghost town.)

Now, usually, I wouldn't brag about something like this except Kitty Keswick, author of the Freaksville series, moved all the way from California to Logansport and bought the Greensfelder building to start this bookstore. Yes, that's right, a famous young adult, supernatural, and children's writer is starting her own businnes in dinky ol' Logansport. When I heard about this, I sent her a message via Facebook to welcome her and try to set up a networking relationship so I can get my foot in the door with agents and publishing companies. Sadly, she has yet to reply to the email (which is understandable), but I'm hoping we can get things started and rolling this fall once Some Kind of Wonderful is open for business.

Guess who's gonna be camping out over there between in jobs with her Toshiba and her smoothie?

Kitty (or Marie, as I might refer to her in future posts) has a blog for you to follow, if you are interested: http://wolfychicks.blogspot.com

Also, don't forget to follow up on her progress with SKOW: http://discoversomethingwonderful.blogspot.com