burning for learning

Wart – The Warden of Dreamland

~ MyLittle Dejima ~ Leave a comment

‘I’m the Great Wart, ahahaa!’, the frog king proclaims before the final battle in Super Mario All-Star (スーパーマリオコレクション) unfolds. In this pop-cultural article, I’m going to talk about Nintendo’s forgotten prince of darkness, speculate about his origin as well as some froggy customs from Japan. Will this mischievous warden remain only in our dreams or will Wart eventually make a return out of the state of decade-long slumber?

A question worth pondering about as to why Nintendo printed that striking red question mark in its game manuals for the character. Wart, the video game villain that jumbled up the dream machine to bring haunting monsters into the world of dreams indeed raises a couple interesting questions. Let’s find out more together!
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Ninomiya Sontoku: The Power of Curiosity & Passion

~ MyLittle Dejima ~ 2 Comments

The power of passion and curiosity, a subject I always wanted to write about. Incidentally, the desire to do so, first emerged during my stint in Japan, quite some time ago. But having months of transition behind me and needing to lay out my future anew now, it resurfaced and I suddenly felt the urge to finally write it down. Long enough it has been sitting in the back of my head …

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Sontoku’s classic image emerging during the Meiji period. Him using every opportunity to read in the Teachings of Confucius (論語；ろんご and 大学；だいがく) while carrying firewood or working the fields. Although a sort of romanticized depiction of his and not an actuality, it is this image which remains in the hearts of the people.
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