One of the first impressions foreigners living in Japan may get is that everything is “about death.” This is likely because many of the unique aspects of Japanese culture — and let’s be honest, the invisible rules we foreigners are most likely to accidentally break — are related to death and funerals. Don’t stick your chopsticks in your rice (tachibashi) or try to hand food to another person chopstick-to-chopstick (awasebashi), and don’t sleep with your head facing north (kitamakura), as these are all reserved for solemn funeral ceremonies. Seen from the outside, much of Japanese culture seems dedicated to remembering the dead, such as the August holiday Obon (pronounced “oh, bone!”), when the spirits of departed members of the family come home for a visit. Similarly, remembering a person’s meinichi, the anniversary of their death, is quite important. (To the Japanese, the English word “anniversary” is always a happy, celebratory word, and they’re shocked that it’s used in this context.) April 17 happens to be the anniversary of the death of Carl Macek, the Gene Roddenberry of anime in the U.S., who had a great effect on my life on several levels, including inspiring me to bring my love of anime and business together. I will definitely raise a glass to Carl tonight.
April 17 is the meinichi of Carl Macek, the Great Bird of the Anime Galaxy
