Welcome to All About Fukuyama Masaharu, part lyrics blog, part fan site, 100% about Masha. It started out as a blog around April 2009 to repost all English lyrics, but after a while I got a bit ambitious and posting many other things I can gather from the net, some pictures, some articles, mostly news in English from the perspective of a fan although you can find some translated articles in here. I do not pretend to say I take credit for the text in here; frankly I just search, gather, summarise, reword and repost. I will always include the name of the fan who said whatever I posted to the best of my ability but as you can see, my sources are mostly from 2 main fan forums of Masha that is not in Japan. My problem is I can't read Japanese or Chinese, but my persistence sometimes does pay off when I just keep looking. You will also find some pictures in here, but all of the pictures you don't see in here are in Facebook, just look for All Abt Masha. I am quite active in that Facebook page, and it is also a place to find information! My main purpose for this blog is for myself; to gather all lyrics in English under one roof. But I am very sure foreign fans can also benefit from the contents in this blog, and without the many wonderful foreign Masha fans who translate, discuss and share whether privately or publicly, this blog will never be what it is today. I am still hoping to find more English lyrics somewhere, although from the looks of it, I will say things have slowed down a bit. Anyway, have a look. If you have any snippet about Masha to share with me, or pictures or lyrics, anything at all, please do not hesitate to do so. Do join in the discussion by using Post A Comment. Do consider sending me your submission of reviews. And for new Masha fans, if you like, do join my Contact List. Thanks for dropping by!
Very exciting read, one by a psychiatrist and commentator Masaaki Noda debunking the legend of Ryoma. Some excerpts below where he talked about Ryoma-Den. I believe he is not one of the % in the ratings' number. For full article, click here. Please, don't throw your TV at him!
Q: What do you think of the NHK drama "Ryoma-den"?
A: Why does the program make him so popular with beautiful women everywhere he goes, such as Tosa (present-day Kochi Prefecture), Edo (Tokyo), Kyo (Kyoto) and Nagasaki, I find myself asking. I guess they do it to attract viewers.
Anyway, the show makes it look like it is based on Ryoma's achievements, but, actually, it is full of fictitious accounts. It is unacceptable.
Q: What do you mean?
A: Ryoma befriended Thomas Glover (1838-1911), a Scottish merchant living in Nagasaki, and bought a large volume of weapons from him. But in the drama, Ryoma repeatedly says Western powers are trying to colonize Japan and that is why he must overthrow the shogunate. But that doesn't make sense.
I asked a history expert I know whether there are any documents that show Ryoma had a sense of crisis, fearing for the possible colonization of Japan. The answer was no. If so, it means he is lying in the drama. The creator of the show is having Ryoma tell lies. Does NHK intend to send a kind of political message to the viewers through the program?
Q: But it is a drama. Aren't viewers aware that this is a fiction?
A: TV broadcasters should not be allowed to do anything they like in the dramas just because the stories are fictional accounts. Developments that largely deviate from historical facts and proven affairs must not be tolerated. In particular, moving images are stored in people's memories and have the power to stir emotions. A reporter of a local newspaper in Kochi told me that people there are showing a cool reaction to the NHK drama on grounds that it jars with historical facts.
Q: You also come from Kochi. Is it all right for you to say bad things about Ryoma?
A: I have never met anyone in Tosa to speak ill of Ryoma. Personally, I, too, do not think badly of him. There is no need to. All I want to say is I've had enough of others using Ryoma to suit themselves.
He made some good points on Iwasaki Yataro. I am however not sure how overblown is Ryoma's contribution. I agree on the militarism of Ryoma but I never did quite see it the way this interviewee did. On the lying Ryoma, well some people do have foresight even if the danger is not imminent. Like Winston Churchill warning Britain of the danger of Nazi Germany when it was still early and no one listened to him, at all. Same goes for Charlie Chaplin making a movie that shows what actually did happened in history thanks again to Nazi Germany. So frankly the drama is presenting a point of view that Ryoma believes the danger is imminent, the possibility is high. No documents doesn't mean it wasn't the way it was. Quite an interesting interview.
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