Welcome to the first in a four part series of entries about my experience applying for a Monbusho Research Scholarship (aka the “Monbukagakusho” or “MEXT” Scholarship). If you don’t know what the Monbusho is, I’ve previously written a couple other entries about it which could serve as an introduction of sorts, which can be found here.

I wanted to write about the application process because of the confusion and uncertainty I encountered when I was applying for one. The process is extremely long (about seven months went by from when I turned in my application until I finally found out I had been accepted), and the application guidelines could be maddeningly vague. Countless times I wished I could have access to a couple successful applications, just to give me some idea if I was on the right track on not. But despite tireless internet searches, I could never seem to find anything like that.

So I decided that if I got a Monbusho Scholarship, that I’d write a detailed account of the application process in the hopes that it might be of some use to future Monbusho applicants. I’m pleased to say that I did get it, and so here is my account.

Continue reading How I got the Monbusho Research Scholarship (Part 1 of 4)→

As my loyal readers (all three of you) may recall, several months ago I wrote about my application for a Monbusho Research Scholarship to study in Japan [Link to that entry]. Hoping that the Monbusho would become a big part of my life and that I’d eventually write numerous entries about it, I even gave “Monbusho Scholarship” its own blog category, as you can see to the left of this entry.

For months one lone entry inhibited the “Monbusho” category, because for months I knew nothing new to report. The application process was long and there seemed to be no end in sight. But just this week, I received final confirmation that my bid for a Monbusho Scholarship was successful! Yippie!

I’ll be leaving for Japan in April, for a period of two years. I’ll be living in Tokushima City, studying at Shikoku University. This is an incredible opportunity, and I can’t say how thrilled I am to have been selected.

As I mentioned in the first entry about the Monbusho Scholarship, I intend to write in detail about the application process and my approach to it, in the hopes that such an account might be useful to future applicants. But it’ll probably be at least a couple months or so before I get to that, so interested parties should check back later this year for that.

So now I gotta start getting ready to go to Japan–I’ve only got six weeks to get everything in order. Yikes!

In other news, I’ve just recently gotten copies of Tonoharu: Part One in. An entry about that, as well as details on how to purchase it, will come next week.

Pictured: Me, in the Future (???) 

As mentioned in my first entry, I’m currently living off my savings and cartooning fulltime. My hope is to make fulltime cartooning a sustainable reality, and as such, money is the predictable bottom line. If this venture fails to earn me at least a living wage, I’ll be forced to abandon it (or at least abandon its fulltime pursuit).

But as important as capital is, if I devote too much time to the pursuit of funds, then I wouldn’t have any time to devote to my artwork, thus rendering the whole endeavor meaningless. So there’s a delicate balance that needs to be reached, between time spent on my art and time devoted to the logistics of getting by. Only in rare instances are these two factors in harmony with each other. One such instance is in my pursuit of a Monbukagakusho (or “Monbusho” for short) Scholarship.

Continue reading An Introduction to the Monbusho Scholarship→