All about weddings and wedding capitalism in Japan, and what it is to be "good head"

One interesting area of life in Japan is weddings, and Japanese really take the subject of getting married seriously. One of my first instances of culture shock in Japan happened when I was riding my mountain bike (gaijiin always ride mountains bikes here) and came across a sprawling palace that looked like it had fallen out of a time warp from Czarist Russia. Turns out it was a wedding hall, a giant facility created solely for marriage ceremonies and receptions, which are quite common in all corners of Japan. In our prefecture, various companies compete ferociously to capture the largest share of the local wedding market, coming up with interesting themes such as Georgia House, which recreates an Antebellum plantation house from the American South; Lockhart Castle, an authentic castle that was imported from Scotland; and Sharon Gospel Church, a U.S. style Baptist church in Japan.

Japanese weddings are divided into the ceremony (shiki) and the reception (invariably called a "wedding party"). The ceremony is usually either Western style, often with a gaijin minister reading the vows in heavily accented Japanese, or a traditional Shinto wedding with kimonos and ceremonial sake. The reception is usually a two-hour affair, which begins with a speech by the groom's boss and features speeches, karaoke or other performances by friends of both bride and groom. During the party, the happy couple disappear to change clothes several times, reappearing to show off new kimonos or beautiful wedding dresses, a custom called iro-naoshi (ee-ROH na-OH-shi, "fixing the colors"). In Star Wars Episode I, Queen Amidala has a new outfit for most every scene, which is clearly taken from this Japanese tradition. A Japanese wedding will always end with the tearful bride reading a letter to her parents, thanking them for raising her, apologizing for being so selfish, and promising to be happy with her new husband ("shiawase ni narimasu").

Has a Japanese person ever told you are "good head"? If so, it's a complement, although it might not sound like one. In Japanese, the phrase for "smart" (intelligent) is "good head" (atama ga ii), which sometimes gets carried over into English by Japanese still learning the language. The English word "smart" (sumaato) is used in Japanese to mean slender, well proportioned (as in, "That girl is very smart and stylish"). If someone says you have a bad head (atama ga warui), they're saying that you're stupid, the same meaning as that ubiquitous Japanese insult, baka. Some other phrases that make use of the word head include atama ga katai (hard-headed, stubborn), atama ga yawarakai ("head is soft" which means someone who is flexible and open-minded), and atama ga furui ("head is old," i.e. someone whose thinking is old-fashioned).

Announcing the return of Pocky to J-List! Since the summer is so hot and humid in Japan, J-List is forced to remove all chocolate items like Japan's popular chocolate-covered stick snacks when the heat is on. Now that it's starting to cool off, we've got Pocky back on the site in a big way, and we've got many of the new flavors for 2006 in stock for you!

We're also happy to announce that we've gotten our first batch of 2006 calendars in, and have posted them to the site now. These large-format calendars are printed exclusively for the Japanese market, and feature beautiful glossy printing and fantastic original art. We've got more than 50 different calendars featuring all the best anime, JPOP, Japanese idol and Race Queen, and more, on the site now! We're also going through adding pictures to the calendars, so you can see how good they look. Remember, calendars are a very limited-time item, and when they're gone, they will be gone for good. They make great Christmas gifts!

Here are today's "really cool products" that I thought were especially noteworthy. Note: the J-List links below may be for adult products and should probably be considered "not safe for work." To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	2006 Japanese Calendar STUDIO GHIBLI - Totoro Howl Kiki. Here it is -- the 2006 Ghibli Anime Calendar, a fantastic calendar printed just for the Japanese market (shh, don't tell Studio Ghibli that we're selling it to you). It's cool becasue the pictures are all totally new and original, not just frames from Mr. Miyazaki's movies, and they often provide insight into the beloved Ghibli films that nothing else can.
	Deka Gacha -- Buzz Lightyear ~ Toy Story. Gashapon are the small capsule toys that are popular in Japan, named for the sound they make as they come out of the machine. Here's a "Deka Gacha" or giant capsule toy. Very original idea from Yujin.
	La Beach!! ~ Urecco Million Mook 78. La Beach is a cool photomagazine published by the people who bring you Urecco, the #1 nude magazine in Japan. "La" is how you read the kanji for "nude" so it's a funny joke. Get it?
	Love Love Date -- Risa Koda. The race to bring you portable adult entertainment on UMD format for PSP owners continues with this new release by HMP.
	Kitty *Japanese Style* Wedding Plush. Hello Kitty's SO is Dear Daniel, and here is a set of plush toys of them getting married. There's one for Japanese style and one for a tuxedo and conventional wedding dress.
	Genuine Tabi (Ninja Shoes) -- Black ~ L-size. Tabi are the shoes that have separated toes, which ninja used to wear. A totally cool item from Japan.
	Pocky Special Autumn Sampler Set. Happy Pocky Day everyone. Wait, Pocky Day isn't until November 11th, so named becase 11.11 looks like four Pocky sticks lined up. Well, it's Pocky Day at J-List.
	Pocky Decorer Purely White ~ New Flavou!!. There are, of course, several different types of Japan's most popular stick snack. These are the most "gorgeous" (to use a Japanese English word) type, like eating a decoration cake on a stick.
	Mousse Pocky -- Custard Fondu ~ New Flavor!!. Mmm, another fave of mine, this is the Custard Fondu flavor of Mousse Pocky, which features thick, whipped custard cream around a crunchy Pocky stick.
	Table of Daily Used Chinese Characters in Japanese - English ~ Kanji Hyo. A handy poster of kanji for students, put it in the bathroom so you can study while doing your business.