Benjamin Boas (born 1983) is an American author, translator, and contemporary

Japanese culture Japanese culture has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Since the Jomon period, ancestral ...

consultant. He has been appointed as a

Cool Japan refers to the aspects of Japanese culture that non-Japanese people perceive as " cool". After the success of " Cool Britannia," the Japanese government started using the phrase. The Cool Japan strategy is part of Japan's overall brand strategy, ...

Ambassador by the Japanese government and as a Tourism Ambassador for

Nakano, Tokyo Nakano (, Latn, ja, Nakano-ku) is a Special wards of Tokyo, special ward in the Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis in Japan. The English translation of its Japanese self-designation is Nakano City (, Latn, ja, Nakano-ku).

Biography

Born in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, he grew up with a fondness for Japanese games and comic books, which motivated him to study the Japanese language and culture. After graduating from

Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...

, he studied at

Kyoto University , or , is a National university, national research university in Kyoto, Japan. Founded in 1897, it is one of the former Imperial Universities and the second oldest university in Japan. The university has ten undergraduate faculties, eighteen gra ...

on a

Fulbright scholarship The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States cultural exchange programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people ...

from 2007. He has also held research positions at the

University of Tokyo The University of Tokyo (, abbreviated as in Japanese and UTokyo in English) is a public research university in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1877 as the nation's first modern university by the merger of several pre-westernisation era ins ...

as a Monbukagakusho scholar, at the

Osaka University of Commerce , abbreviated to , is a private university located in Higashiosaka City, Osaka Prefecture, Japan. History The origin was founded in 1928 as Osaka Joto School of Commerce (大阪城東商業学校) by Noboru Tanioka (谷岡登, 1894–197 ...

, and at the anthropology department at Keio University Shonan Fujisawa Campus. In 2015, he published his experiences of learning Japanese culture and language into a manga from

Shogakukan is a Japanese publisher of comics, magazines, light novels, dictionaries, literature, non-fiction, home media, and other media in Japan. Shogakukan founded Shueisha, which also founded Hakusensha. These are three separate companies, but ...

. The same year, he was appointed as a Tourism Ambassador by the Nakano Tourism Association, to spread word about Nakano City. In 2016, after

Studio Ghibli is a Japanese animation studio based in Koganei, Tokyo."Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment". ''Studio Ghibli Collection - Madman Entertainment''. Retrieved 2020-12-14. It has a strong presence in the animation industry and has exp ...

commissioned him to write a critical essay on the Japanese government's self-promotion activities, he was appointed as a Cool Japan Ambassador by the Japanese Cabinet Office as part of their

initiative. In this role, he regularly appears in programs on Japan's public broadcaster

NHK , also known by its Romanization of Japanese, romanized initialism NHK, is a Japanese public broadcasting, public broadcaster. It is a statutory corporation funded by viewers' payments of a television licence, television license fee. NHK ope ...

, such as ''Tokyo Eye 2020'' and ''Journeys in Japan''. While spreading the appeal of contemporary Japan through these activities, he also writes critically about how the country could improve its efforts, and has been quoted in news articles for his views of the Cool Japan strategy. He is a frequent speaker at universities and institutions in Japan and the United States. Boas holds a 2nd-degree black belt and instructor certification for

aikido Aikido ( , , , ) is a gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art which is split into many different styles including Iwama Ryu, Iwama Shin Shin Aiki Shuren Kai, Shodokan Aikido, Yoshinkan, Renshinkai, Aikikai, and Ki Aikido. Aikido is now practic ...

from

Yoshinkan Yoshinkan (養神館 ''Yōshinkan'' lit. "Hall of Spirit Cultivation") Aikido is a style of aikido that developed after World War II in the Yoshinkan Dojo of Gozo Shioda (1915–1994). Yoshinkan Aikido is often called the "hard" style of aikido b ...

. He also represents the United States in international competitions of mahjong and took third place in the 2007 Open European Mahjong Championship and second place in the 2008 European Riichi Championship.

Bibliography

Books

* *

Articles

* * *

Documentaries

* ''Journeys in Japan'' (NHK WORLD) ** "Yanai: Old Town of Goldfish Lanterns" * ''TOKYO EYE 2020'' (NHK WORLD) ** Jul. 2017 "Countdown to 2020: Enhancing Tourism with Technology" ** Sep. 2017 "Nakano: A Subculture Paradise" ** Jun. 2018 "A Martial Arts Tour of Tokyo" ** Jan. 2019 "Exploring Tokyo Underground"

Translations

* ''Battleship Island Building No. 30, Between Dreams and Reality'' by Takahashi Masatsugu. Daiwa Shobo * ''Dance Time'' (2016), directed by Mariko Nonaka

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boas, Benjamin 1983 births Living people Brown University alumni 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American writers American expatriates in Japan Writers from New York (state)