Hello! My name is Anna Carter and I currently attend the College of William and Mary. Interestingly, my hometown in southwest Virginia has fewer people in it than the class of 2014 that I recently joined. I’m not certain what academic path I may take; right now, college is a new adventure that I’ve not quite figured out, and I’m excited about the challenge it represents.
Although I definitely did not realize then, my first encounter with Japanese anything was Hello Kitty; I remember being in elementary school and owning random items such as erasers and rubbery pencils bedecked with the iconic, oddly ambiguous face of Sanrio’s marketing giant. Like many members of my generation, I later became entranced with Japanese entertainment through contact with anime and manga (the addicting gateway drugs to Japanese culture) like InuYasha, Fruits Basket, Ouran High School Host Club, Fullmetal Alchemist and many others. This developed into an interest in Japanese music and films.
My repeated (though relatively limited) exposure to these various forms of media eventually led me to research different facets of the Japanese culture. My knowledge of this fascinating society is still fairly narrow, so when I spotted a course titled “Japanophilia” during registration I signed up immediately. I hope this course will help me broaden my awareness of the many unique aspects of Japan.