[okazu]

About

February 18th, 2006 by Naomi

Welcome to Okazu!

[General Info] Okazu is an Asian studies blog with a primary focus on food and visual culture. What began as an outlet for my love for Japanese candy has evolved into the exploration of the connections between popular culture and food.

For now, Okazu serves more or less as a one-woman project. This would explain why some of the entries are a little more personal in nature. My original long-term goal for this site was its transformation into an informative and interactive community and resource. This remains to be seen, but I am currently satisfied with its humble web-status. If you have any additional information, advice, or resources you’d like to share, please send me an e-mail. Your encouragement is greatly appreciated, as I am no expert (on food or Asian cultures) by any stretch of the imagination. Please take a look at the “Donate/Help” page to find out about the additional ways in which you can help.

[okazu?] According to Jeffrey’s online Japanese dictionary, okazu (御菜) is a term that refers to an accompaniment for rice dishes. It can also mean “food for thought” (in the context of conversation or, my personal favourite, the context of ‘material for assisting arousal during masturbation’). If you’ve come here looking for dirty stories about school girls, you’ve come to the wrong place. Probably.

[About the Girl] I’m a twenty-something year old student at the University of Vermont, majoring in Asian Studies with a minor in Art History. I spent the summer of 2008 living and studying Chinese in Kunming, China.

That’s me.

I dabble in the visual arts, make a mean cheesecake, and have a rather vast toy collection, which includes 200+ My Little Ponies. I help moderate a board at The My Little Pony Arena, an online collector’s forum.