Here are the final reports of CLAMP’s research expedition in the Kansai area to collect data for Gate 7. After Kyoto they made a quick stop at Osaka and are now back to Tokyo.

If we were talking about a movie, I would call this the pre-production stage. I hope it won’t last long until we reach the production stage =)

旅行最終日！

今回の取材旅行は、今日が最終日。
せっかく関西に来たとなれば、やっぱり『鶴橋 風月』は外せないということで、
京都から大阪まで足を延ばしました（笑）。
このモダン焼き＆お好み焼きを食したら、東京に戻ります。

今回の取材は、これからの新作に反映されます。お楽しみに。

『鶴橋 風月』阪急３２番街店（『ツバサ』で登場した所）からお送りしました（笑）。

It’s the final day of the trip!

Today is the final day of our research expedition.
Having come all the way to Kansai [the area of Japan comprising Osaka, Kyoto, etc.], there was no way we could pass up going to Tsuruhashi Fugetsu [a famous Okonomiyaki chain, http://www.ideaosaka.co.jp/web/english/], so we made our way from Kyoto to Osaka. (laughs)
Having eaten modan-yaki and okonomiyaki, we will return to Tokyo.

This is being sent from the Tsuruhashi Fugetsu at the Hankyuu Line 32-ban-chou Store (the store that appeared in Tsubasa). (laughs)

戻りました。

全員、無事自分の部屋に到着しました。
とても楽しい取材旅行だったんですが、とにかく伊勢も京都も大阪も、寒かったです(泣)。

と、私たちが不在中に、「xxxHOLiC・籠」ＯＡＤ公式サイトが更新されてましたね。
アニメ中に出てくる、モコナ柄タンブラー台紙がプリントアウト出来ます。

「xxxHOLiC・籠」OAD公式サイトで、アニメ中に登場するモコナタンブラー台紙がプリントアウトできます。是非。

We’re back!

On the XXXHOLiC OAD official website you can print out the Mokona-decorated image that covers the tumbler in the anime. Promise.

The English translation was provided once again by Mia Lewis.

Speaking of which, Mia Lewis recently wrote a paper called Painting Worlds with Words: Ateji in CLAMP’s Manga, about the use of “ateji” in manga, having CLAMP as the main object of study. She will be will be doing a presentation about that paper at the Oscar Lee Symposium for East Asian Studies. She asked me to announce it here and those interested are welcomed to come.

Event Name: Oscar Lee Symposium for East Asian Studies (the Columbia University undergraduate East Asian Studies symposium)
Date: April 30, 3010
Location: Kent Hall, Columbia University, 116th st and Broadway, New York, NY
Time: 1-4 pm

The details of the individual panels are still being decided. The presentation on CLAMP and ateji will last approximately 10 minutes, and will be part of a larger panel on Japan, language, and perceptions created by media, with a question and answer session to follow. The Columbia East Asia Review (an undergraduate academic journal on East Asian Studies) will also be released at this event, and includes the paper “Painting Worlds with Words: Ateji in CLAMP’s Manga.” (See abstract below.) For more information, please contact Mia Lewis at MEL2148@columbia.edu.

Abstract: This study explores wordplay in the works of CLAMP, a popular Japanese mangaka (comic artist) group. Specifically, it examines CLAMP’s use of ateji, the pairing of kanji (Chinese characters) and furigana (a reading gloss) with different meanings. This allows two different words to become one, creating meanings that transcend words’ literal definitions. Original research on ateji in six different manga zasshi (comic magazines) and three of CLAMP’s works—Cardcaptor Sakura, Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, and Clover—identifies five distinct ateji techniques. This study focuses on the way these techniques are employed by CLAMP to express complex ideas, develop plot, and portray characters. As a technique embedded within the Japanese language, the implications of ateji use in manga extend beyond the medium of comics, pointing to shifting trends in the language as a whole.

Could be very interesting specially for those studying manga and Japanese culture. I know I certainly would go if I could (but New York seems a little too far for me xD)