Blavatsky's teenage years & Theosophy in New England, Boston trilogy, Shawn F. Higgins

After forty years of progress, the academic quality of theosophical history can reach a very high level of research. I would like to draw attention to a series of papers from a certain Shawn F. Higgins of the Harvard Divinity School, who has recently posted a series of writings on theosophical history of an exceptional level of quality and research, which feature, in certain cases, I think, some ground-breaking work on people and subjects that have had little coverage so far.

 

The 'Boston Trilogy'

 

Part 1 Ground-breaking piece on Walt Whitman & American theosophists

Sylvester Baxter Zuni Indians Frank Cushing, George David Ayers, Cyrus Field Willard, John Bridge, Arthur Griggs, William Q Judge 

The Nationalist Club Jan 7, 2024 Shawn F. Higgins

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/marginalia/2024/01/the-nationalist-club/

 

Part 2 of epic balzacian trilogy about Theosophy in Boston

Alcott & transcendentalists, many known & lesser-known Theosophists... Oscar Wilde Walt Whitman Mohini Chatterji  

“Even the Theosophists claim me. How much of me is going to be left for myself after all the claims of the radicals are satisfied?” Walt Whitman Traubel, Horace. With Walt Whitman in Camden: Vol. II. (July 16, 1888-October 31, 1888)

Holyrood Jan 13, 2024 Shawn F Higgins

https://patheos.com/blogs/marginalia/2024/01/the-midnight-visit-to-holyrood/

 

Part 3 - more great research   

William James Emerson Charcot Charles Rockwell Lanman Sarah Farmer Bull Sara Chapman Vivekananda Franz Hartmann Karl Kellner Dharmapala 

The Ivory Tower of Theosophy Shawn F. Higgins Feb 23, 2024

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/marginalia/2024/02/the-ivory-tower-of-theosophy/

 

By 1885, when Matilda Joslyn Gage joined the Rochester Branch, it was already filled with influential people. Maud Gage Baum and Lyman F. Baum joined the Society in Chicago, in 1892, under the tutelage of W.P. Phelon.

The Chicago Branch was chartered on November 27, 1884, by Stanley B. Sexton (President) William P. Phelon (Corresponding Secretary,) Mira Morse Phelon (wife of William Phelon and niece of Samuel Morse, inventor of the telegraph,) and newly-arrived immigrant, Jakob Bonggren.Maud L. Brainard was named Secretary.Other notable members of the Branch were: Rev. William H. Hoisington, and his wife, Lauretta Hoisington. Known as the “Blind Man Eloquent,” Hoisington, a famed lecturer on Egyptian history, joined the Society in 1876.

Oz: A Story Of Ancient Initiation November 24, 2024 by Shawn F. Higgins

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/marginalia/2024/11/oz-a-story-of-ancient-initiation/

 

Twain response to Bram Stoker: “I don’t care whether Annie Besant and William Jennings Bryan occupy lofts in his upper story,”

Mark Twain’s Side Quest For The Holy Grail Nov 29, 2024 Shawn F. Higgins

https://www.patheos.com/blogs/marginalia/2024/11/mark-twains-side-quest-for-the-holy-grail/

 

Blavatsky's Teenage Years

Detailed account of Blavatsky (1831-1891) 1847-1949, ages 16-18, many references, including random autobiographical digressions scattered in her own writings

The Ahkoond of Swat December 12, 2024. Shawn F. Higgins

https://www.patheos.com/.../2024/11/the-ahkoond-of-swat/

Blavatsky and D. T. Suzuki, Daisetsu Teitaro, Daisetz

Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki (October 18, 1870 – July 12, 1966) was a Japanese author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in spreading interest in both Zen and Shin (and Far Eastern philosophy in general) to the West. His American wife, Beatrice Lane Suzuki, was a member of the Theosophical Society (Adyar) and played an important role in Japanese Theosophy. Dr. Paul Carus befriended the Japanese Zen master Soyen Shaku (1859-1919), whom he met at the Parliament. After attending the Parliament Soyen traveled to Sri Lanka to study Pali and Theravada Buddhism for three years. At Carus's request Shaku also sent one of his students, Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki, to the United States to translate Buddhist works for Carus's Open court Publishing Company. He also became close to Anagarika Dharmapala. 

 

Dr. Suzuki wrote about Blavatsky's book The Voice of the Silence: "Undoubtedly Madame Blavatsky had in some way been initiated into the deeper side of Mahayana teaching and then gave out what she deemed wise to the Western world..." He also commented: "Here is the real Mahayana Buddhism."

 

Ethics between East and West: Beatrice Erskine Lane Suzuki and Albert Schweitzer

Federica Sgarbi 16 February 2024  The Journal of East Asian Philosophy  

Although she dedicated numerous enthusiastic refections to Schweitzer in her writ- ings, those refuting Schweitzer’s theories assume great relevance. In his comparison between Western and Eastern spirituality, Schweitzer fercely attacked the latter, expressing the absolute superiority of the Christian doctrine, which he fervently sup- ported. Lane, on the contrary, was strongly fascinated by Buddhism, and found in it a source of faith and a creed to live by. 

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s43493-024-00031-0

https://www.academia.edu/115635140/Beatrice_Erskine_Lane_Suzuki_and_Albert_Schweitzer_Ethics_betwwen_East_and_West

 

Passing: Ms. Mihoko Okamura-Bekku (1935-2023)

Richard Jaffe •06/30/2023 

I write to convey the sad news that Ms. Mihoko Okamura-Bekku died in Kyoto on June 17, 2023 at the age of 88. Ms. Okamura, who was born and raised in the United States, was a student, assistant, secretary, and confidant of D.T. Suzuki from the early 1950s until Suzuki's death in 1966. Following Suzuki's passing, Ms. Okamura taught at Otani University, worked for the Japan Foundation, and served on the board of trustees for the Japan Folk Crafts Museum. She also lectured widely in Japan about Suzuki's life, Zen Buddhism, folk crafts, and traditional Japanese arts. Ms. Okamura was the co-author, with Ueda Shizuteru, of several books, some illustrated with numerous photographs she took, concerning her life and travels with Suzuki and his teachings. 

https://networks.h-net.org/node/6060/discussions/12888354/passing-ms-mihoko-okamura-bekku-1935-2023

 

The Zen Buddhist Philosophy of D. T. Suzuki

Rossa Ó Muireartaigh 2022

Bloomsbury Introductions to World Philosophies

Offering the first complete overview of Suzuki's approach, reputation, and legacy as a philosopher, this is for anyone interested in the philosophical relevance and development of Mahayana Buddhism today.

https://www.google.ca/books/edition/The_Zen_Buddhist_Philosophy_of_D_T_Suzuk/GJhcEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover

 

Zen’s Unassuming Pioneer

How the “Great Simplicity” of D.T. Suzuki popularized Zen in America

Rick Fields Fall   2022

After a decade in the United States working with Carus, Suzuki returned to Japan, where in 1911 he married Beatrice Lane, a Radcliffe graduate (she had studied under William James) and a Theosophist. The couple lived in a small house in the compound of Engakuji until Soyen Shaku’s death in 1919 at the age of 59. They then moved to Kyoto, where Suzuki taught philosophy of religion at Otami University. There the Suzukis founded the “non-sectarian Mahayana” English-language journal The Eastern Buddhist. In 1927, Suzuki’s first series of Essays in Zen Buddhism, many of which had appeared in The Eastern Buddhist, was published in London.

https://tricycle.org/magazine/d-t-suzuki-zen-america/

D.T. Suzuki at the World Congress of Faiths in 1936

An Analysis of His Presentation at the Interfaith Conference

Tomoe Moriya[友江 守屋]

Journal of Religion in Japan 14 Jul 2021 

Compared to his early years and post-1949 lectures in the United States, as well as his English publications on Mahayana Buddhism, his half-year journey through Europe in 1936 is understudied. With limited access to primary sources in Japanese and English, previous studies tended to label him a “nationalist.” Instead, I analyze Suzuki’s discourses and other newly discovered primary sources from a historical perspective. Through this analysis, this paper will clarify Suzuki’s scheme to present Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Zen, to Westerners during the interwar period. 

https://brill.com/view/journals/jrj/10/2-3/article-p135_2.xml?language=en

 

Race and Zen  Julius Evola, Facism, and D.T. Suzuki 

Filippo Pedretti

Vol. 49 (2021): Arc: Religion, Resistance, and Racialization 

Evola’s use of Daisetsu Teitarō Suzuki’s sources in his writings
(hereafter D. T. Suzuki), showing how Evola confronted their
Japanese nationalist/nativist elements, as well as their responses to
Japan’s encounter with Euro-American colonialism. 

https://www.google.ca/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=https://arcjournal.library.mcgill.ca/article/download/293/309&ved=2ahUKEwjSupvEwJ2GAxWZGFkFHUlgCZUQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw1CNNPySN-S-wTPY2FuDncV  

 

D.T.Suzuki and Swedenborg: an Introduction.

Federica Sgarbi 

EAST ASIAN NETWORK FOR THE ACADEMIC STUDY OF ESOTERICISM 2021

https://www.academia.edu/115585991/EAST_ASIAN_NETWORK_FOR_THE_ACADEMIC_STUDY_OF_ESOTERICISM_D_T_Suzuki_and_Swedenborg_an_Introduction 

 

With John Cage

D.T. Suzuki’s Very American Zen

Zen was a conservative form of Buddhism in Japan that eventually became a way for Americans to find inner peace.

Livia Gershon October 16, 2020

When he arrived in the United States for the first time in 1897, he worked for Paul Carus, a philosopher and world religions scholar. He also translated the work of Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg and exchanged ideas with American Transcendentalists and Theosophists. He returned to Japan and became a professor of Buddhist studies, but maintained contact with the U.S. In the 1950s, he joined Columbia University and became the premier teacher of Zen in America, focusing on the significance of direct experience in Zen Buddhism in a way that mirrored western mystical traditions.

https://daily.jstor.org/d-t-suzukis-very-american-zen/

 

Good bio by Tsem Rinpoche, Feb. 14, 2018

https://www.tsemrinpoche.com/tsem-tulku-rinpoche/inspiration-worthy-words/d-t-suzuki-the-man-who-introduced-zen-buddhism-to-the-west.html 

Blavatsky, Manga, Anime and Video Games

I'm not really that familiar with Japanes Manga and Anime, but who hasn't noticed the rise of popularity of this cultural export since the 1980s? With the success the Helena Blavatsky character in the Fate/Grand Order video game, I noticed a surprising amount of Theosophy-inspired characters, features and themes. Besides the basic eastern base of spiritual traditions, I notice that there is also a Japanese interest for western Victorian Gothic ideas, along with early western science-fiction, giving rise to the steampunk genre. Although there has been some academic study of religious influences in manga/anime, I don't think that there has been much research into Theosophical influences in the genre. Therefore this humble post proposes to sketch out some brief, rough notices of some of the more obvious instances that I've encountered, in a very informal way, which I think would make for some fun and interesting academic research.

 

1- Fate/Grand Order  is a free-to-play Japanese mobile game, developed by Lasengle (formerly Delightworks) using Unity, and published by Aniplex, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment Japan. The game is based on Type-Moon's Fate/stay night franchise, and was released in Japan on 29 July 2015 for Android^.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fate/Grand_Order

 

Figurine. That pet critter is Olcott

Young swimwear figurine

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Special Winter Outfit

 Cosplay Portrayals

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Blavat Sky

Blavatsky seems to have developed a fairly solid fan base. Some prominent successful merchandise include, a figurine, and a young beach swimsuit figurine. She has a special Winter outfit now.

2- There is also a character named Blavat Sky, a fortune teller and diviner at the Sphere Music Hall meetings from Kuroshitsuji or Black Butler is a manga written and illustrated by Yana Toboso.

https://kuroshitsuji.fandom.com/wiki/Blavat_Sky

https://kuroshitsuji.fandom.com/wiki/Kuroshitsuji

 

Koudelka Iasant

 

 

 

3-  Koudelka Iasant, main character in console role-playing game developed by Sacnoth and published by Aruze Corp in Japan and in the United States and Europe by Midway Games in 2001. In 1888, when Koudelka was nine years old, she was found in London by Mrs. Blavatsky, a renowned medium for the spirits. She raised Koudelka as her daughter, helping her hone her skills until she passed away in 1891. 

https://shadowhearts.fandom.com/wiki/Koudelka_Iasant

 

Dietlinde Eckhart

4- Dietlinde Eckhart is a kind of evil Blavatsky, based on woeful pop culture WW2 conspiracy theories. She is the main antagonist in Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa. She is a German-born, soft-spoken woman with radical visions for the future of her troubled country.

https://fma.fandom.com/wiki/Dietlinde_Eckhart 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fullmetal_Alchemist_the_Movie:_Conqueror_of_Shamballa 

 

Marianna Blavatsky

5- Another evil Blavatsky, Marianna Blavatsky is the villainess of Return to Castle Wolfenstein. The game was the long awaited re-imagining of the video game Wolfenstein 3D but actually, the game restarted the franchise. It would be followed by the 2009 sequel Wolfenstein.

https://wolfenstein.fandom.com/wiki/Marianna_Blavatsky 

 

Anna Bonus Kingsford

 

 

 

6- Theosophist Anna Bonus Kingsford appears in A Certain Magical Index, Toaru Majutsu no Indekkusu,  a Japanese light novel series written by Kazuma Kamachi and illustrated by Kiyotaka Haimura, a manga adaptation by Chuya Kogino began serialization in Monthly Shōnen Gangan since April 2007. J.C.Staff produced two 24-episode anime series between 2008 and 2011. An animated film was released in February 2013. A 26-episode third season aired between 2018 and 2019. Several spin-offs and other adaptations have also been made, including several video games.  

A Certain Magical Index, Toaru Majutsu no Indekkusu

https://toarumajutsunoindex.fandom.com/wiki/Anna_Kingsford  

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Certain_Magical_Index

 

Bad Castelvania Saint Germain

7- The Count of Saint Germain has gained popularity in pop culture versions, which extends to Japan. Count Saint Germain (San Jeruman)  is a character in the Castlevania animated series. He is a mysterious man investigating the events of Lindenfeld and its priory. 

https://castlevania.fandom.com/wiki/Saint_Germain_(animated_series)

 

Good Code:Realize Saint Germain

8- Count Saint-Germain from Code: Realize − Guardian of Rebirth is an otome visual novel video game developed by Otomate for PlayStation Vita, released in 2014 in Japan and in 2015 in North America and Europe. The game features a steampunk aesthetic and a cast of literary and historical figures, including Arsène Lupin, Abraham Van Helsing, Victor Frankenstein, Impey Barbicane, and Count Saint-Germain^, an affiliate of the Kur who is currently working as the deputy head teacher and advisor of the History and Culture Research Club at the high school, while under the assumed name Sanjome. 

https://code-realize.fandom.com/wiki/Saint-Germain

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Code:_Realize

 

9-Akashic Records of Bastard Magic Instructor, Roku de Nashi Majutsu Kōshi to Akashikku Rekōdo) is a Japanese light novel series written by Tarō Hitsuji and illustrated by Kurone Mishima. Fujimi Shobo has published twenty-four volumes from July 19, 2014, to November 17, 2023, under their Fujimi Fantasia Bunko imprint. A manga adaptation with art by Aosa Tsunemi has been serialized in Kadokawa Shoten's shōnen manga magazine Monthly Shōnen Ace from March 26, 2015, to June 25, 2021, and has been collected in sixteen tankōbon volumes. An anime television series adaptation by Liden Films aired from April to June 2017. 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Akashic_Records_of_Bastard_Magic_Instructor

 

Yu-Gi-Oh! Atlantis

10- A fictional Atlantis with Theosophical colorings is featured in season 4 of Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters, created by Kazuki Takahashi,

https://yugioh.fandom.com/wiki/Atlantis

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yu-Gi-Oh!_Duel_Monsters_season_4

 

 

 

11-Atlantis is a prominent setting in the Shin Getter Robo manga series.

Shin Getter Robo Atlantis

Shin Getter Robo is a manga series by Ken Ishikawa from 1996 to 1999. It serves as an interquel between the Getter Robo G and Getter Robo Go manga.

https://getterrobo.fandom.com/wiki/Shin_Getter_Robo_(Manga)

https://getterrobo.fandom.com/wiki/Atlantis

 

 was adopted by Blavatsky after her surviving famy, feared her latent psychic power, abandoned her in London. Under her tutelage, Koudelka honed her sk Edit10-10- Atlantis Dragon

The Boy and the Heron

 

 

12- Miyazaki's The Boy and the Heron features a golden gate, a symbol of which Through the Gates of Gold by Mabel Collins gives a mystical example.

https://theosophyproject.blogspot.com/2023/09/through-gates-of-gold-1-mabel-collins.html 

 

13-

Bleach Hell Arc

Bleach And Theosophy: Tite Kubo's Hell Arc & Blavatsky's on Hell

pontos fathom podcast episode 21. 

the resonances between Kubo's return to Bleach manga with his newest Hell Arc & Madame Blavatsky's diagrams of Hell from Theosophy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovq813fQgi8 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleach_(manga)

https://bleach.fandom.com/wiki/Hell

https://www.sportskeeda.com/anime/tite-kubo-s-latest-comment-gives-hope-bleach-hell-arc

 

Cosmic horror-manga-style

 

 

 

14- H. P. Lovecraft is popular is Japan, so there may be related Theosophical elements in the various Lovecraftian manga sagas.

https://screenrant.com/best-lovecraftian-anime-manga-feel-absolutely-cursed/

https://screenrant.com/best-anime-inspired-lovecraft-horror/ 

 

Neon Genesis Evangelion-Four Adams

15- I would imagine that Neon Genesis Evangelion,  a Japanese media franchise created by Hideaki Anno, is based on Kabbalistic concepts influenced by Blavatsky's spiritual evolution ideas.

https://wiki.evageeks.org/Theory_and_Analysis:Identities_of_the_Adams

https://loopingworld.com/2013/05/08/evangelion-and-kabbalah-metaphor-made-literal/

16-

Captive Hearts of Oz is a modern Oz shoujo style manga series, featuring the characters from L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz, published by Seven Seas. It is written by Ryo Maruyu with artwork by Mamenosuke Fujimaru. 2017. 

Dorothy Gale – along with her beloved dog, Toto – alongside a trio of fascinating new companions, and a mysterious young man known as "Zero," must follow the Yellow Brick Road on her journey to escape Oz and some of its less than friendly denizens, the evil Witches. Yet even though all this seems to be happening for the first time, Dorothy feels as if they have all met before... Buried secrets and conflicted romance await Dorothy as she travels through the wonderful land of Oz!

https://oz.fandom.com/wiki/Captive_Hearts_of_Oz 

 

17- Sailor Moon 

Sailor Moon  Bishōjo Senshi Sērā Mūn,  Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, the Japanese mass media juggernaut began as a manga series written and illustrated by Naoko Takeuchi. The series follows the adventures of a schoolgirl named Usagi Tsukino as she transforms into the eponymous character to search for a magical artifact, the "Legendary Silver Crystal". She leads a group of comrades, the Sailor Guardians, as they battle against villains to prevent the theft of the Silver Crystal and the destruction of the Solar System.

Theosophical elements 5, 10 Sailor guardians - ancient astrological planets, reincarnation, dark, dead aspect of the moon, Star Seeds, ancient cosmic evolution war, mysterious magical mentor cat https://youtube.com/watch?v=9Qz0azo8PZs https://tuxedounmasked.com/does-sailor-moon-have-a-connection-to-the-paranormal/

18- Toilet-Bound Hanako-kun

is a Japanese manga series written by Iro and illustrated by Aida, which results in their conjoined name 'AidaIro'. Kamome Academy is famous for its rumors regarding its Seven Wonders and supernatural occurrences. Nene Yashiro, a girl who wishes for a boyfriend, and a first-year high-school student, summons the Seventh and most famous Wonder, "Hanako-san of the Toilet", the spirit of a girl who allegedly haunts the bathroom and can grant wishes for the right price. Upon summoning her, Nene discovers that "Hanako-san" is nothing like the rumors say; Hanako-san is a boy. With a turn of events, she is spiritually bound to Hanako and becomes his assistant, helping him destroy evil supernaturals and change rumors in order to maintain the balance between the spirit world and the human world.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toilet-Bound_Hanako-kun

 

19- Shin Megami Tensei  

Gnostic-themed franchise consists of multiple subseries and covers multiple role-playing genres including tactical role-playing, action role-playing, and massively multiplayer online role-playing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megami_Tensei

Someone did a massive study of esoteric elements in this franchise.

https://philosophy-of-megaten.fandom.com/wiki/Theosophy_and_New_Age 

 

20-  Tensei Shitara Suraimu Datta Ken That Time I Got Reincarnated as a Slime

In Tensura Vol. 15, the character Ciel states: 'I am Ciel, a Manas, or a Theosophical Core, and the unifier of all Skills. I exist within the soul of my Master, Rimuru-sama'

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/That_Time_I_Got_Reincarnated_as_a_Slime

https://tensura.fandom.com/wiki/Ciel 

 

This covers some specific Theosophical influences. The article below covers general occult themes that would indicate a wider level of Theosophical influence.

Use of the Psychic in Manga and Anime - Eri Izawa

https://www.mit.edu/~rei/manga-psychic.html

A recent book, Anime, Philosophy and Religion, Edited by Kaz Hayashi, 2023, doesn't mention Theosophy much, but themes such as transhumanism have a Theosophical outlook. I think that Akira could be considered a kind of Theosophical allegory.

https://vernonpress.com/file/21868/3a392c5dd3d6382a446d47fc3ad92351/1696328632.pdf

Some mangas that feature the occult, the supernatural, and paranormal:

 

Top 30 Best Spiritual Anime

https://animeimpulse.com/blog/2019/2/15/top-30-best-spiritual-anime

 

Best Supernatural/Paranormal Manga

https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/33437.Best_Supernatural_Paranormal_Manga 

 

20 Must-Read Supernatural Manga

https://bookriot.com/supernatural-manga/ 

 

The 20 Best Supernatural Romance Manga

https://animeimpulse.com/blog/2019/2/21/the-20-best-supernatural-romance-manga

 

14 Best Supernatural Manga You Need to Read in 2024

https://animecollective.com/best-supernatural-manga/

 

Top 50 Mystery Manga of All Time

https://anilist.co/article/Top-50-Mystery-Manga-of-All-Time

 

10 Best Occult Anime, Ranked According To MyAnimeList

https://screenrant.com/best-occult-anime-ranked-myanimelist/

The Best Occult Anime

https://www.ranker.com/list/best-occult-anime/reference 

 

15 Anime Based On Hindu & Buddhist Mythology

https://www.cbr.com/anime-examples-hindu-buddhist-religious-mythology/ 

 

The 15 Best Steampunk Manga For Pure Enjoyment

https://thetruejapan.com/the-best-steampunk-manga/ 

 

20 Best Steampunk Animes Of All Time, Ranked

https://my-steampunk-style.com/blogs/steampunk-blog/steampunk-anime?srsltid=AfmBOoqzSt6Kfl_RnYPqFYqhl2yOZvCIuaWgBklwxDB3ThjK3reTgQvW 

 

Top 50 Magical Girl Manga

https://anilist.co/article/Top-50-Mahou%20Shoujo-Manga-of-All-Time

Best Magical Girl Anime

https://gamerant.com/best-magical-girl-anime-to-watch/ 

 

PS - Notes on feminine portrayal in Japanese popularity culture

first time I think that I've posted an image of FGO Blavatsky without cropping it, due to the issue of female representation in anime, which is part of a growing problem related to many complex social factors 

https://research.library.fordham.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1090&context=international_senior 

https://repository.usfca.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=2447&context=capstone 

https://www.cnn.com/2024/03/01/asia/japan-demographic-crisis-population-intl-hnk-dst/index.html

https://www.dw.com/en/japan-toyoko-kids-struggle-to-survive-on-city-streets/a-69303771