About

My name is Martijn Huisman, a 25-year old researcher/writer and Erasmus University graduate from the Netherlands. Growing up, I became increasingly interested in Japan – especially its history and cinema – and later reggae music. To this mix was added a more professional interest and expertise in history (BA) and media and communication (MA) through studies at the aforementioned Erasmus University in Rotterdam. As a media researcher, I like to combine these three fields of interest and expertise to write essays and carry out research projects.

Being interested in and fascinated by Japan, I went to the ‘land of the rising sun’ from August 2009 until February 2010 as an exchange student at the Keio University in Tokyo. Since then, I have visited Japan several times for vacation and master thesis research. Occasionally I write essays about topics related to Japan or post travel stories and photos of my adventures there.

Bob Marley, and more generally (Jamaican) reggae music, has inspired me and continues to inspire me to carry out research and write about the man, his music and his legacy, as well as about other reggae artists and events. My first study about Marley’s 1979 visit to Japan and the subsequent popularity of reggae music there lead to an interview in January 2011 for BBC World Radio Service. On May 11, 2011, exactly thirty years after Marley’s untimely passing and after months of research, I published a second study about Marley’s five performances in the Netherlands. This publication drew widespread attention and resulted among others in an article in the Jamaica Gleaner, Jamaica’s oldest newspaper. Currently, I am writing a book about the global impact of Bob Marley and the Wailers and how the band has influenced people, music, and culture all over the world.

As for this website, it was created on June 20, 2009, to give the creative side of me something to play with. Being interested in many things, I write about a wide variety of topics, from Jamaican music to Japanese history, from essays about the media to travel stories and reviews of books and films. Hence the name of this website, OnePlanetOneWorld, as I do not restrict myself to my home country (the Netherlands) or my native language (Dutch), instead preferring to try and keep an open mind and look across borders. Over time, the website has also become a publication platform for academic essays and research projects.

If you want to know more about me or this website and its content, don’t hesitate to email me. You can also find me on Facebook and LinkedIn, but please leave a message if you add me: