The Life and Times of Johnny Blade has Finally Arrived!

After beating my head against a wall for months trying to decide the direction of my new writing project I am happy to announce The Life and Times of Johnny Blade is up and running.

I have had this project rolling around in my head for several months. I knew that I wanted to do something different compared to the other blogs and sites about Japan but I was unsure of the direction. I also wanted to create a cool writing project different from anything I have attempted in the past. My solution is to combine the web project and the writing project together creating something, I think, is unique.

The idea of The Life and Times of Johnny Blade is an on-going web novel about a guy trying to make it in Tokyo, Japan. The novel is broken down into volumes and sections. Each story is considered an edition of the larger work. There is also a side story section of the site which will feature stories related to the main plot. A very large task for me to take on but I feel that I am ready for a major writing project. It has been years since I took on a major writing project so I am excited to finally get this one off the ground. What I am a little nervous about is the fact that this will be my first big online writing project. I have not made a big splash on the online blogging world so this project will most likely expose my writing to a much larger group of people then The Ghost Letters does. I will have to be at my best when writing the Johnny Blade material. Spelling and structure errors are will have to be watched a hole lot closer. My proof reading skills are going to kick into high gear. This will only improve my ability to catch the little errors which I usually have to go back and fix later. Every edition of Johnny Blade will have to be as mistake free as possible before publishing.

My goal with the Johnny Blade series is to create a story which will be interesting, unique, an enjoyable read, and hopeful some people can relate to the themes and topics of the material. I hope that people will come to enjoy and look forward to each edition of Johnny Blade. I also hope that people are too hard on me at first. I am still working out some of the details like page design and such but I am happy with the set up so far. Please give The Life and Times of Johnny Blade a fair shot. If you like it give me some link love. Better yet, if you like it tell some of your net buddies who might also like it.

The Emperor Shows his Face to the Masses In Tokyo

Slightly jet lagged and a little hung over I woke up(after only a few hours of sleep) on January 2,2009 resolved to make it to Chiyoda ward. The reason I skipped some much needed rest was to witness something kind of special. Apparently, there are only two dates on the calendar in which the inner garden of the Emperor`s　palace is open to the public; his birthday and New Years. Despite the royal family having no real power many Japanese still gather in mass twice a year to see the royal family address the public. This year I was among the hoard of people gathered to catch a glimpse of the Japanese Emperor.

I have never been a person who puts much faith in royalty. I mostly view royalty as a drain on government funds and allowing a society to make gods out of men. Yet, there is something special about royalty which I cannot deny. The history that royal families stand behind is amazing. The thought of one blood line being able to maintain their position at the top of society for so many years boggles my mind.


Anyway, at around 1:40 pm on the 2nd day of the year I found myself standing with a large crowd of people all waiting to see the royal family of Japan. The energy of the crowd was strange for me. All of those people getting so excited to see some old man and his spoiled family was a little shocking for me. These `royals` are nothing more than humans just like everyone waiting to see them for a few minutes. They are nothing more than people who are living off the legend of their dead relatives. For the Japanese it appears that this old man and his spoiled family hold a lot of meaning. From what I gathered at the palace the royal family are more than just a family of people. It seems that the royals are the symbol of the spirit of Japanese society. They are supposed to give hope to the Japanese people. While they may be giving hope to the masses it is still rare for most Japanese to ever see the royal family. I guess the idea that the Emperor is alive is enough for most Japanese to get all filled with hope.

The actual amount of time the royal family took to spread hope was very short. They presented themselves to the public about 15 minutes at the most. When they showed-up from atop a special balcony the crowd went crazy. People started cheering and screaming like a rock star had just showed up. Everyone had paper Japanese flags and waved them in the air. The sea of flags looked like one of those rallies after a politician wins an election. People were going mad for a man who can offer no solutions to issues effecting their daily lives. The event was capped off by the old Emperor giving a short speech which he told the Japanese people to `stay strong during these tough times.` Yeah, ok old man we will stay strong while you enjoy the best of life with our tax money.

Hell, I should not be so hard on this tradition of praising the Emperor. At one time the position of Emperor carried a lot of power and influence. The Japanese even used to think that the Emperor was god. I can imagine how hard it must be to toss old traditions out the window. For over 1,000 years it was believed that the Emperor was god. A 1,000 plus year old tradition is something which does not go away easily. Now days all Japanese know and understand that the Emperor is not god. They know that he really is just an old man with a spoiled family. So I think that the Japanese people do not put much faith in the Emperor rather their faith rest in the title of Emperor. The position itself stands for something much more than some old man and his crazy family. The idea that the soul of Japan rest with the title of Emperor is something I may never fully understand.


Overall, it was cool to experience such an event. It is a part of Japanese culture that is rare to witness because it only happens twice a year. Now I can say that I have seen the Emperor of Japan. If you want to see something kind of rare then mark your calendar for the Emperor`s birthday.