Sharon Domier
@sharonthelibrarian.bsky.social
East Asian Studies librarian recently retired and enjoying time to read picture books, take long walks, and chat with my dogs. I will always make time for former students and folks with quirky questions about Japanese toilets or books.
Woohoo! This wonderful English translation by Avery Udagawa is the Libby Reads! At Boston Public Library. I loved this book in both languages.
November 21, 2025 at 1:28 PM
Woohoo! This wonderful English translation by Avery Udagawa is the Libby Reads! At Boston Public Library. I loved this book in both languages.
Friends, does anyone recognize what this was before it was broken? Tucked inside a jewelry box belonging to Yukitaka Osaki. The black pieces kind of felt like ink stone to me but I couldn’t make sense of the inscriptions.
August 16, 2025 at 1:22 PM
Friends, does anyone recognize what this was before it was broken? Tucked inside a jewelry box belonging to Yukitaka Osaki. The black pieces kind of felt like ink stone to me but I couldn’t make sense of the inscriptions.
I'm pretty sure everyone, at least once, wonders about where the poop goes when they flush the toilet on an airplane. JAL is happy to show you. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TomV...
JALの整備士による動画de航空教室 第6弾～トイレでうんちをするとどこへ行くか？トイレの仕組みを解説！～
YouTube video by JAL 日本航空【公式】
www.youtube.com
July 29, 2025 at 1:26 PM
I'm pretty sure everyone, at least once, wonders about where the poop goes when they flush the toilet on an airplane. JAL is happy to show you. www.youtube.com/watch?v=TomV...
Ceramic tea cup by Ikuko Iwamoto. Gift from a former student. Much appreciated.
July 15, 2025 at 1:54 AM
Ceramic tea cup by Ikuko Iwamoto. Gift from a former student. Much appreciated.
I would love to see research on the popularity of Japanese valets/manservants in the USA between 1868 and 1945.
June 19, 2025 at 5:17 PM
I would love to see research on the popularity of Japanese valets/manservants in the USA between 1868 and 1945.
Anyone working on Japanese actors performing in New York City during the 1890s? I am looking for anecdotes, playbills, newspaper articles on Yukitaka Osaki （尾崎行隆）Yukio Ozaki's little brother who was interested in theatre and later became the dresser/steward/manservant to William Gillette.
May 24, 2025 at 6:54 PM
Anyone working on Japanese actors performing in New York City during the 1890s? I am looking for anecdotes, playbills, newspaper articles on Yukitaka Osaki （尾崎行隆）Yukio Ozaki's little brother who was interested in theatre and later became the dresser/steward/manservant to William Gillette.
Friends, could somebody remind me how to check if someone graduated from Keio in the 1880s and if it is possible to access the files from overseas?
May 20, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Friends, could somebody remind me how to check if someone graduated from Keio in the 1880s and if it is possible to access the files from overseas?
In the midst of going down a rabbit hole. Ozaki Yukimasa 尾崎行正 had 4 sons - Ozaki Yukio 尾崎行雄, Osaki Yukitaca 尾崎行隆, Ozaki Yukitake 尾崎行武, and Ozaki Yukimasa 尾崎行昌.
May 15, 2025 at 10:57 AM
In the midst of going down a rabbit hole. Ozaki Yukimasa 尾崎行正 had 4 sons - Ozaki Yukio 尾崎行雄, Osaki Yukitaca 尾崎行隆, Ozaki Yukitake 尾崎行武, and Ozaki Yukimasa 尾崎行昌.
Good morning. Avoid the news and let’s do a woods walk instead.
February 22, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Good morning. Avoid the news and let’s do a woods walk instead.
Someone is in a hurry for good things to happen in 2025.
January 6, 2025 at 9:16 PM
Someone is in a hurry for good things to happen in 2025.
Who needs Santa to decide if you have been naughty or nice when you have these judgmental buggers at home.
December 25, 2024 at 12:20 PM
Who needs Santa to decide if you have been naughty or nice when you have these judgmental buggers at home.
Damn it. It shouldn't be so hard to track down biographical information about fascinating American women from the early 20th century. These stories need to be told.
December 23, 2024 at 5:16 PM
Damn it. It shouldn't be so hard to track down biographical information about fascinating American women from the early 20th century. These stories need to be told.
You know that sense of sadness when you see typos in books because even if there had been a human proofreader, the person didn't know the original Japanese to be able to spot the error.
December 20, 2024 at 5:43 PM
You know that sense of sadness when you see typos in books because even if there had been a human proofreader, the person didn't know the original Japanese to be able to spot the error.
Doing a bit of research on Japanese toilets. A Japanese scholar pointed out that given the premodern diet, Japanese excrement would have resembled that of a goat so using bamboo strips would have kept them plenty clean. No need for soft paper:) Just FYI.
December 18, 2024 at 9:21 PM
Doing a bit of research on Japanese toilets. A Japanese scholar pointed out that given the premodern diet, Japanese excrement would have resembled that of a goat so using bamboo strips would have kept them plenty clean. No need for soft paper:) Just FYI.
Excavated from this morning’s cleaning. “for all sensuous people”
December 12, 2024 at 1:51 PM
Excavated from this morning’s cleaning. “for all sensuous people”
What is a reasonable number of book bags to keep for a retired librarian? I swear I have donated dozens and dozens to my local library, but still I find more every time I turn around.
December 10, 2024 at 9:04 PM
What is a reasonable number of book bags to keep for a retired librarian? I swear I have donated dozens and dozens to my local library, but still I find more every time I turn around.
Currently reading (and enjoying) Taiwan Travelogue, but I really want to see pictures of all the dishes being mentioned. I wonder if it could be adapted as a graphic novel. Or maybe a cookbook.
November 27, 2024 at 2:30 AM
Currently reading (and enjoying) Taiwan Travelogue, but I really want to see pictures of all the dishes being mentioned. I wonder if it could be adapted as a graphic novel. Or maybe a cookbook.
Audible has a nice selection of Japanese lit. Search engine is not the easiest to figure out, so try typing in your author 上橋菜穂子 村上春樹 川上美惠子. You can also search by genre (light novel) and filter by language.
November 25, 2024 at 11:21 AM
Audible has a nice selection of Japanese lit. Search engine is not the easiest to figure out, so try typing in your author 上橋菜穂子 村上春樹 川上美惠子. You can also search by genre (light novel) and filter by language.
Speaking of Japan Foundation, please sign up for their digital library card and borrow ebooks, audiobooks, digital magazines for free using the Libby app. Love the fact that it isn’t just English but also Japanese. www.jflalc.org/libby
Japan Foundation Los Angeles |
www.jflalc.org
November 18, 2024 at 1:21 PM
Speaking of Japan Foundation, please sign up for their digital library card and borrow ebooks, audiobooks, digital magazines for free using the Libby app. Love the fact that it isn’t just English but also Japanese. www.jflalc.org/libby
Thanks to the Japan Foundation newsletter, I was reminded about the Japan Film Festival and able to sign up to watch some really great films being streamed. en.jff.jpf.go.jp
JFF Theater
You can watch Japanese movies with multilingual subtitles online for free. Content is updated regularly. Operated by the Japan Foundation.
en.jff.jpf.go.jp
November 16, 2024 at 1:23 PM
Thanks to the Japan Foundation newsletter, I was reminded about the Japan Film Festival and able to sign up to watch some really great films being streamed. en.jff.jpf.go.jp
Reading a dissertation turned book and temporarily flummoxed by the writers' constant use of East-Asian ... when the book is about Vietnam. Then it occurred to me that I have never considered how Vietnamese tend to align themselves in terms of regional cultures. New rabbit hole!
August 2, 2024 at 8:08 PM
Reading a dissertation turned book and temporarily flummoxed by the writers' constant use of East-Asian ... when the book is about Vietnam. Then it occurred to me that I have never considered how Vietnamese tend to align themselves in terms of regional cultures. New rabbit hole!
Just a periodic reminder that Japan Foundation's Libby collection gets better each month. I just discovered Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen's bilingual My First Book of Haiku Poems. Perfect companion to the first cup of coffee.
August 2, 2024 at 11:13 AM
Just a periodic reminder that Japan Foundation's Libby collection gets better each month. I just discovered Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen's bilingual My First Book of Haiku Poems. Perfect companion to the first cup of coffee.
Probably an odd question coming from a Japanese librarian, but can anyone suggest authors/titles of Japanese love stories that have been translated into English? Nothing comes to mind at the moment.
June 24, 2024 at 12:00 AM
Probably an odd question coming from a Japanese librarian, but can anyone suggest authors/titles of Japanese love stories that have been translated into English? Nothing comes to mind at the moment.
youtube.com/watch?v=ytMY... If only we could start each morning with a wonderful read aloud, oh wait, I think we can. Here is one to enjoy with your morning coffee.
【 悲しみを乗り越えるための絵本 】なきすぎてはいけない 内田麟太郎
亡くなったおじいちゃんが孫に話しかけています。私が亡くなって寂しいだろうが、泣き過ぎてはいけない。笑っていてくれと大きな愛を込めて語っています。そして、今は幼い孫も大きくなって、孫ができるようになったら命のバトンをもらっていることに気づくだろう。生きること、命をつないでいくことをおじいちゃんの言葉で語っています。...
youtube.com
June 20, 2024 at 10:12 AM
youtube.com/watch?v=ytMY... If only we could start each morning with a wonderful read aloud, oh wait, I think we can. Here is one to enjoy with your morning coffee.
I am enjoying Hit Parade of Tears
by Izumi Suzuki, translated by Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph and Helen O'Horan, way more than I thought I would. On audiobook I can’t tell that the stories were done by different translators. Really smooth, lovely translations.
by Izumi Suzuki, translated by Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph and Helen O'Horan, way more than I thought I would. On audiobook I can’t tell that the stories were done by different translators. Really smooth, lovely translations.
January 23, 2024 at 10:43 PM
I am enjoying Hit Parade of Tears
by Izumi Suzuki, translated by Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph and Helen O'Horan, way more than I thought I would. On audiobook I can’t tell that the stories were done by different translators. Really smooth, lovely translations.
by Izumi Suzuki, translated by Sam Bett, David Boyd, Daniel Joseph and Helen O'Horan, way more than I thought I would. On audiobook I can’t tell that the stories were done by different translators. Really smooth, lovely translations.