Welcome, curious traveler, to this corner of the web!
I write speculative fiction. I translate literature and videogames. I am a Japanophile fueled by coffee and green tea. I practice Japanese tea ceremony in the Urasenke tradition.
Topics I frequently write about on this blog are #writing #NaNoWriMo #sciencefiction #science #Japan #teaceremony
Reach out to me on Twitter or Instagram or check out my print publications (in German) if you like.
When we read or write historical fiction or even historical fantasy, we often forget that names did not always work the same way they do now. In Edo period (1603-1867) #Japan, identity was much more fluid and people frequently changed their names for a variety of reasons. Through looking at naming conventions from that time, we can also learn more about Edo society as a whole, particularly about social hierarchy and group membership.
When I tell people that I have a degree in #Japanese Studies, everyone assumes that I have been to #Japan several times. Surely I have spent an exchange year in Tokyo, Osaka or Kyoto like all Japanese students do. Even though student me was always broke, had to supplement her pocket money by waiting tables for the rich and still felt like Japan was on another planet, I must have spent some time there, right? But why? Why is lived time in the native environment of one's language seen as the holy grail of language learning?