aarongerow.com

Aaron Gerow is a scholar of Japanese and East Asian cinema, media, and culture who teaches at Yale University in the United States. His personal website, Tangemania (aarongerow.com), is a hub for his research on Japanese film, along with news, opinion, and links to English-language resources. If you are looking for an academic entry point into Japanese cinema studies—especially early Japanese film, contemporary directors, and questions of genre and spectatorship—his site is a useful place to start.

Who Aaron Gerow Is

Gerow's academic background combines film studies and Asian civilizations:

• MFA in film studies from Columbia University
• MA in Asian Civilizations from the University of Iowa
• PhD in Communication Studies from the University of Iowa

He spent nearly 12 years in Japan, working for the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and teaching at Yokohama National University and Meiji Gakuin University. At Yale, he teaches Japanese and East Asian cinema, media, and culture, and helps run a combined doctoral program in East Asian cinema between the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Film and Media Studies Program.

What He Researches and Writes About

His published work covers topics such as Japanese early cinema, contemporary directors, film genre, and spectatorship. Several of his books are highlighted on the site:

He has also contributed to edited volumes such as City Secrets Movies and Defining Moments in Movies, and worked on DVD releases including The Roots of Japanese Anime and A Page of Madness.

What You Can Find on Tangemania

The site is organized into clear sections, mostly in English, with a Japanese (日本語) section for his activities in Japanese:

• News and Opinion — updates and commentary
• Books — his own titles and books he contributed to
• Articles — including journal articles and internet articles
• Interviews — conversations with or by him
• Reviews and Reports — film reviews and event reports
• Links — a curated list of external resources

The name "Tangemania" honors Tange Sazen, the one-armed, one-eyed ronin from Japanese cinema, most famously played by Okochi Denjiro.

How to Use the Site for Research

If you are a student, researcher, or curious viewer, the site works well as a starting point rather than a comprehensive database:

1. Start with the Books section to see which of his works matches your topic—early cinema, Kitano Takeshi, or film studies methodology.
2. Check Articles and Interviews for shorter, more accessible pieces that may be available online.
3. Use the Links page to branch out to other English-language resources on Japanese film, including blogs, review sites, and film organizations.
4. Look at the Japanese section if you read Japanese and want to follow his activities in that language.

The site focuses mostly on English-language resources, so it is especially helpful if you are researching Japanese cinema but working primarily in English.

Who This Site Is For

Tangemania is most useful if you:

• Are studying Japanese or East Asian film at the university level
• Want an academic perspective on Japanese cinema rather than fan-oriented coverage
• Are looking for a reading list or research guide to the field
• Want to follow the work of a specific scholar and his publications

It is less suited to someone looking for streaming links, plot summaries, or general entertainment news. For that, the external links on the site may point you toward other resources, but the site itself is centered on scholarship and commentary.

If you are learning Japanese, the highest-value cultural topics to learn early are politeness levels and honorifics, greetings and bowing, gift-giving etiquette, and seasonal events. These four areas come up constantly in real conversation, and getting them roughly right prevents the most common awkward moments. Everything else — business card protocol, tea ceremony details, festival trivia — can wait until you actually need it.

The reason is simple: in Japanese, grammar and culture are not separate subjects. A sentence that is grammatically perfect can still be socially wrong, and a phrase you memorized from a textbook can mean something quite different depending on who you are talking to.

Why culture changes the meaning of words

Consider a single verb: taberu (to eat). In its plain form, it is fine between close friends. Add -masu and it becomes polite. Switch to the humble form itadakimasu and you are now lowering yourself relative to the listener. Use the honorific meshiagaru and you are elevating the other person. Same action, four different social messages.

This is why memorizing vocabulary alone stalls out. You can know every word in a sentence and still not know whether you just sounded rude, overly formal, or strangely distant. Culture is what tells you which version fits the room you are in.

A second example: sumimasen can mean "excuse me," "I'm sorry," or "thank you for the trouble." Which one it is depends entirely on context and social relationship, not on the word itself.

The four topics worth learning first

1. Politeness levels and honorifics (keigo)

Japanese has a layered politeness system. You do not need to master it on day one, but you should understand that it exists and roughly how it works.

• Plain form — casual, used with close friends, family, and children.
• Polite form (desu/-masu) — the safe default for strangers, acquaintances, and most daily situations.
• Honorific and humble forms (keigo) — used in business, customer service, and when speaking to someone of clearly higher status.

Practical rule for learners: default to polite form until the other person signals that casual is fine. If a Japanese speaker switches to plain form with you, that is usually an invitation, not a test.

2. Greetings and bowing

Bowing (ojigi) is not a single gesture. The depth and duration signal the relationship:

You do not need to bow perfectly. Foreign learners are generally given a lot of latitude. What matters more is knowing when a greeting is expected: on entering a shop, meeting a colleague, thanking someone, and apologizing.

Common greetings worth knowing early: ohayō gozaimasu (morning), konnichiwa (afternoon), konbanwa (evening), arigatō gozaimasu (thank you, polite), and shitsurei shimasu (said when leaving or interrupting).

3. Gift-giving etiquette

Gift-giving (omiyage, temiyage) is a real social obligation in many contexts, not just a nice gesture.

• When you visit someone's home, bring a small gift.
• When you return from a trip, bringing souvenirs for coworkers is a common expectation.
• Gifts are often given and received with both hands and a slight bow.
• It is normal to politely decline once or twice before accepting.
• Avoid gifts in sets of four (shi sounds like "death") or nine in some contexts.

For learners, the useful takeaway is not the full rulebook but the awareness that gifts carry social meaning and reciprocity.

4. Seasonal events and calendar awareness

Japanese conversation is full of seasonal references. New Year (oshōgatsu), cherry blossom season (hanami), Obon in summer, and year-end parties (bōnenkai) all shape what people talk about and how they greet each other.

Knowing these lets you follow small talk, understand why a colleague is on holiday, and use seasonal greetings appropriately. You do not need deep historical knowledge — just enough to recognize what is being referenced.

Everyday conversation vs. travel vs. business

Not all culture knowledge has the same payoff. Here is a rough split:

If your goal is conversation, focus on the first row. If you are preparing for a work assignment in Japan, the third row becomes essential.

How to learn culture alongside the language

Culture is not a separate study session. The most efficient approach is to absorb it while you practice the language:

1. Listen to native dialogues with context notes. Lessons that explain why a character uses a certain form teach more than vocabulary lists alone.
2. Watch dramas and variety shows with subtitles. Pay attention to how characters of different ages and statuses address each other.
3. Read the culture notes in your textbook or course. They are usually short and directly tied to the grammar you just learned.
4. Keep a "register log." When you learn a new phrase, note who you would say it to and in what situation.
5. Ask, don't assume. If you have Japanese friends or language partners, asking "would you say this to your boss?" is a fast way to calibrate.

A warning against overgeneralizing

Japanese culture is not a monolith. Rules vary by region (Kansai vs. Kantō), by generation (young people are often more casual), by setting (office vs. izakaya), and by individual personality. Treat cultural guidelines as tendencies, not laws.

Two practical cautions:

• Do not treat every Japanese person as a spokesperson for "Japanese culture." Ask about their own habits.
• Do not freeze up trying to find the perfect form. A sincere, slightly imperfect polite sentence lands better than silence.

The goal is not to become culturally flawless. It is to understand enough context that your language choices make sense — and to stay curious when they don't.

The Japan Times (japantimes.co.jp) is an English-language news site covering Japan across politics, business, culture, sports, life, and opinion. It is a practical starting point if you want Japan news in English rather than Japanese, and its own description frames it as covering "latest news on Japan: business, politics, commentary, sports, culture, life and more." The site also signals a subscription option, so expect some content to sit behind a paywall rather than assuming everything is free.

What The Japan Times Covers

Based on the site's own description, coverage is organized around these areas:

• Business — corporate, market, and economic news related to Japan
• Politics — government, policy, and political developments
• Commentary / Opinion — analysis and column-style pieces
• Sports — domestic and international sports with a Japan angle
• Culture — arts, entertainment, and cultural reporting
• Life — everyday living, society, and lifestyle topics

This breadth makes it useful both for hard news (what happened today) and for slower features (why something matters in context).

How to Navigate for Breaking News vs. Sections and Analysis

The site's own framing separates "breaking news" from sections and commentary. A practical way to use that structure:

1. For breaking news — start from the homepage or the top news area, where the most recent items are surfaced first. Use this when you need to know what just happened.
2. For a specific topic — go to the relevant section (business, politics, sports, culture, life) instead of scrolling the homepage. This filters out unrelated stories.
3. For interpretation — use the opinion/commentary area. This is where you get analysis rather than raw reporting, which helps when a headline alone doesn't explain the significance.

A simple rule: homepage for what happened, sections for what you care about, opinion for what it means.

What English-Language Readers Get Compared With Japanese-Language Sources

The trade-off is straightforward: an English-language source makes Japan news accessible if you don't read Japanese, but it may cover fewer local stories and carry less linguistic nuance than domestic Japanese outlets. For many readers, using both — English for accessibility, Japanese for depth — is the practical combination.

How Subscription and Free Access Work

The site includes subscription signals, which means access is not uniformly free. What that implies in practice:

• Some articles are likely readable without a subscription; others are likely gated.
• If you hit a paywall, you'll be prompted to subscribe rather than being able to read the full piece.
• The site does not, in the available information, specify exact prices or free-article limits, so treat those as things to check on the site itself rather than assumptions.

If your goal is casual headline-following, free access may be enough. If you want full articles and analysis, a subscription is the likely path.

How to Judge Reliability and Freshness

When following Japan news, two checks matter most:

• Freshness — breaking-news items should carry recent timestamps. If a story is presented as breaking but is dated days ago, treat it as background, not current.
• Sourcing — reliable reporting names where information comes from (officials, documents, other outlets). Vague attribution is a warning sign.

For cross-checking, compare a Japan Times report against at least one other outlet before treating a major claim as settled. Single-source breaking news is common and not automatically wrong, but confirmation reduces the risk of acting on an early, incomplete report.

A Practical Routine

• Daily: scan the homepage for breaking news.
• Weekly: read one section you care about (e.g., business or culture) for depth.
• When a big story breaks: read the news report first, then the opinion/analysis piece for context.
• Before sharing or acting: verify the timestamp and check a second source.

Used this way, The Japan Times works as a reliable English-language entry point to Japan news — with the caveat that full access depends on its subscription model, which you should confirm directly on the site.

Aaron Gerow's Japanese film website, Tangemania, is the personal research page of Aaron Gerow, a professor who teaches Japanese and East Asian cinema, media, and culture at Yale University. It is primarily an English-language resource for Japanese film studies, with a separate Japanese-language section covering his activities in Japan. Use it if you want a scholar's bibliography, articles, reviews, and curated links on Japanese cinema rather than a general streaming or news site.

Who runs the site

Aaron Gerow is the author of Kitano Takeshi and Visions of Japanese Modernity: Articulations of Cinema, Nation, and Spectatorship, 1895–1925, among other works. According to the site, he:

• Teaches Japanese and East Asian cinema, media, and culture at Yale University
• Helps run a combined doctoral program in East Asian cinema between Yale's Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and its Film and Media Studies Program
• Holds an MFA in film studies from Columbia University, an MA in Asian Civilizations from the University of Iowa, and a PhD in Communication Studies from Iowa
• Spent nearly 12 years in Japan working for the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and teaching at Yokohama National University and Meiji Gakuin University

The site's name comes from Tange Sazen, the one-armed, one-eyed ronin from Japanese cinema most famously played by Okochi Denjiro.

What you can find there

The navigation reflects the site's structure. Main sections include:

Books and publications

The site lists his own titles, including Visions of Japanese Modernity, Kitano Takeshi, A Page of Madness: Cinema and Modernity in 1920s Japan, and the Research Guide to Japanese Film Studies. It also points to collected volumes he contributed to, such as City Secrets Movies and Defining Moments in Movies.

DVDs and film projects

Gerow notes DVD work on The Roots of Japanese Anime (available via Zakka Films) and A Page of Madness (via Flicker Alley). These entries are useful if you want to see how his scholarship connects to accessible editions of early Japanese film.

External links

The links section points to resources such as Kinema Club, Midnight Eye, David Bordwell's site, Japan Focus, KitanoTakeshi.com, Mark Schilling's Tokyo Ramen, Nippon Connection, Nishikata Film Review, VCinema, Wildgrounds, and Zakka Films. These are worth checking if you want criticism, festival information, or further academic networks beyond Gerow's own writing.

How to use it for Japanese film research

1. Start with the bibliography. Browse the Books and Articles sections to identify key scholarly titles and journal articles on Japanese cinema, then look them up through your library.
2. Use the Research Guide. Research Guide to Japanese Film Studies is listed on the site and is designed for exactly this purpose—finding sources and navigating the field.
3. Follow the links for current criticism. Sites like Midnight Eye and Kinema Club complement the academic material with reviews and industry coverage.
4. Check the Japanese section if you read Japanese and want to follow his activities in Japan.
5. Expect a personal academic page, not a database. The site introduces his research and offers selected resources; it is not a comprehensive catalog of every Japanese film or a place to watch films.

What it is not

The site does not present itself as a streaming service, ticketing platform, or news outlet. No pricing or login requirements are stated in the available site information, so treat it as a free-to-browse academic homepage unless you find otherwise. For general Japanese film news in English, the external links it recommends are a better starting point than the site itself.

Start by choosing one entry point—an era, a director, or a genre—then anchor it with English-language scholarship and criticism rather than trying to read a general history cover to cover. Aaron Gerow's site Tangemania (aarongerow.com) is a practical hub for this: it lists his books, articles, interviews, and reviews, plus links to other English resources. It works best as a map to research and criticism, not as a self-contained course.

First, pick a branch of Japanese cinema

"Japanese cinema" is not one subject. The research and viewing paths differ depending on what you want:

• Early cinema (roughly 1895–1925): silent film, benshi narration, the emergence of studios and stars. Gerow's Visions of Japanese Modernity: Articulations of Cinema, Nation, and Spectatorship, 1895–1925 addresses this period directly.
• Classic studio era and canonical directors: Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, and the studio system around them.
• Contemporary directors: Kitano Takeshi, Kore-eda, and others. Gerow's Kitano Takeshi is a book-length study of one director, useful as a model for how to analyze a single filmmaker.
• Genre and cult cinema: yakuza films, horror, anime, documentary. The Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival, where Gerow worked for nearly 12 years, is a reference point for the documentary side.

Choosing one branch first keeps you from drowning in titles. A director study or a single-period monograph gives you a framework you can extend later.

Where the English-language resources are

Gerow's site organizes his own output and points outward. The categories on Tangemania indicate the kinds of material that exist in English:

Two of these links are worth noting for beginners. Midnight Eye is an English-language site focused on Japanese cinema, useful for reviews and interviews. Kinema Club is a scholarly network for Japanese film studies, a place to find research-oriented discussion rather than fan commentary.

Use institutions to find structure

Gerow teaches Japanese and East Asian cinema at Yale University, where he helps run a combined doctoral program in East Asian cinema between the Department of East Asian Languages and Literatures and the Film and Media Studies Program. You do not need to be at Yale to benefit from this: program pages, faculty bibliographies, and reading lists show you what a structured course of study looks like, which you can replicate on your own.

His background also signals where the field's expertise sits: an MFA in film studies from Columbia, an MA in Asian Civilizations from the University of Iowa, a PhD in Communication Studies from Iowa, and roughly 12 years in Japan working for the Yamagata International Documentary Film Festival and teaching at Yokohama National University and Meiji Gakuin University. When you read a scholar's work, knowing whether their training is in film studies, area studies, or communication tells you what kind of argument to expect.

Separate criticism from scholarship

This distinction matters more than it first appears:

• Criticism and reviews (Midnight Eye, review sections, festival reports) are written for viewers deciding what to watch and what to think about a film. They are fast, opinionated, and tied to release cycles.
• Scholarship (monographs, journal articles) makes an argument about history, theory, or interpretation, and shows its sources. It is slower and expects you to check claims.

Read criticism to build a viewing list and sharpen your eye. Read scholarship when you want to understand why a film or period matters and how other researchers have treated it. Mixing the two without noticing which is which is the most common way beginners get confused about what is established and what is one critic's view.

A workable starting sequence

1. Pick one film or director you already want to understand. If you have no preference, a single-director study like Kitano Takeshi gives you a ready-made focus.
2. Watch the films before or alongside the reading, so the analysis has something to attach to.
3. Read one book-length study on that director or period, using its bibliography to find the next sources.
4. Use Gerow's site and its links to branch out: articles for shorter arguments, Midnight Eye for reviews, Kinema Club for the scholarly network.
5. Consult a research guide such as Research Guide to Japanese Film Studies when you need to find archives, databases, or further reading systematically.

One caution: this site is a scholar's personal page, and it mixes his own work, news, and opinion with links to others. Treat the "News and Opinion" section as commentary, and check the publication details of any book or article before citing it. The site also has a Japanese-language section, which is useful if you read Japanese but is not a substitute for the English resources if you do not.

If your goal is simply to watch more Japanese films, criticism and festival sites will carry you. If your goal is to study the field, start with one scholarly monograph, follow its citations, and use Gerow's page and Kinema Club to see where the research community gathers.