Japan's lack of faith in construction, new foods you can eat in Japan, and the J-List Year-End Party

Japan is a nation founded on construction, and much of the country's modern economy is derived from building roads, bridges, and tall, sturdy buildings. Japanese have a lot of faith that their excellent engineering and building codes will protect them from the earthquakes that plague the country, but that faith is being sorely tested now. An architect named Hidetsugu Aneha has admitted to designing numerous structures including hotels, condominiums and even an office building in our own city using deliberately falsified data about the construction and amount of steel used in order to to keep costs down. As a result, a staggering 73 buildings in 17 different prefectures may have to be torn down, as they may collapse in the event of a large quake. Already several hotels constructed using the falsified data have closed their doors to avoid endangering guests, and the full extent of the scandal may not be known for some time.

When you come to live in Japan, it's inevitable that you'll get used to eating some new foods. Being an island nation dependant on the sea, Japanese eat a lot of seafood, something I've really come to appreciate since coming to live hear in 1991. Between delicious sushi, beautifully arranged sashimi and various other types of fish, I eat a lot more seafood here than I thought possible back in the States. Another staple of Japanese gastric culture is rice, and steamed white rice is eaten with almost meal -- in fact, the word for cooked rice (gohan) also serves as a general word for food in general. (Japanese often imagine that Americans eat every meal with a big plate of white bread on the side.) I still love good old Vlassic Dill Pickles from home, but I've come to appreciate some of the local pickled foods, especially Korean-style kimchi (spicy pickled cabbage, although the stuff they make in Japan is never spicy enough for me). Chocolate came to Japan only in the last century, and it's still thought of as somewhat exotic. A much more "down to Earth" Japanese snack treat might be yaki-imo, or baked sweet potatoes cooked over hot stones, sold by a vendor who drives around in a truck playing an eerie song in imitation of the Ice Cream Man from back home. It took me a while, but now I can really appreciate the taste and warmth of baked sweet potato eaten on a cold winter afternoon. (Here the yaki-imo song in MP3 format.)

Tonight is J-List's bonenkai (boh-NEN-KAI), or Year End Party, a big tradition in any company in Japan. Literally meaning "Forget the Past Year Party," it's a time to look back on all that's happened over the past year and say otsukare-sama deshita (ohts-KAH-ray-sah-mah deh-SHTA, "thanks for your hard work") to all employees. 2006 has been an outstanding year for J-List -- we've brought many cool things from Japan to tens of thousands of customers all over the world, and we thank everyone for helping us grow. After eating at a local restaurant famous for its fresh fish (the fish all live in a big tank in the center of the restaurant, and the sashimi guy plucks them out and prepares them as each order comes in), we'll hit a karaoke room and belt out some songs.

We've been hammering out lots of cool new Japan-themed T-shirt designs this month, since our shirts and hoodies make popular gifts, and today we've got another cool design we think you'll love. Thanks to the popularity anime, a lot of obscure Japanese words have been finding their way into English, and one word we're hearing a lot is "sukebe" (pronounced "su-KEH-beh"), which means someone with a dirty mind, essentially the same thing as the famous "ecchi." Our new shirt is perhaps the perfect stealth design, since people who know what it means will laugh, but those who don't will think it's just a generic T-shirt. Totally wacky!

Want to visit Tokyo? Thanks to up-and-coming film director Joe Doughrity and his DVD documentary Seven Days in Japan, you can! Joe made a film of his adventures exploring in Japan's most populous city, and shows you just about everything you've ever wanted to see, from anime museums to the nightlife of Shibuya and more -- he even visit an animation studio. It's a great way to enjoy a visit to Japan for just $10.

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.

	Karami 31 -- Nao Yoshizaki. I just love the Karami series (incidentally, Karami means "winding" and would bring to mind the intertwining of limbs in sexual intercourse, if you were keeping score) because it features beautiful girls with nothing that's "dirty" -- just pure, excellent photography.
	Japanese T-shirt - Sukebe (Pervert). A new wacky Japanese T-shirt, this features the famous word "sukebe" (meaning someone who is sexually perverted, basically the same thing as "ecchi"). A really cool shirt with a minimalist design that will slip under any radar.
	Blue Eyes DX English Ver. vol. 2. The long awaited Blue Eyes vol. 2. Back when White Lightning as doing Blue Eyes, fans were given the very thin, somewhat lame American comic style books. But no more -- full perfect-bound TPBs are now available!
	Gothic Lolita Bible vol. 18. Newest G&LB, by which I mean Gothic & Lolita Bible. Darned nice photography in this, as well as a pattern you can use to make your own gothic outfit.
	A Study of Men's Penis with Innocent Girls. Just as Moodyz has invented the CFNM series (Clothed Female, Naked Male), Soft on Demand has carved a niche with their Study of Men's Penis series, in which girls who are somewhat on the naive side (if not virgins) poke, prod and squeeze a male member for the first time.
	Curvaceous Woman -- Shiori Inamori. Lovely new DVD by the gorgeous Shiori Inamori, who doesn't seem to mind getting creamed on camera to further her career.
	Tabloid Tokyo ~ 101 Tales of Sex, Crime and the Bizarre from Japan's Wild Weeklies. Want to learn about the steamy underside of Tokyo? This is an English book that presents articles translated from somewhat titilating tabloid articles. Articles you wouldn't be able to read anywhere else ^_^
	Pon Pon Doraemon. A very cool item if you're into Doraemon, basically a very well made soft ball with a Doraemon plush suit wrapped around it. Very nice for kids (although not recommended for babies as it's got little buttons and other parts that might pop off).
	Glico Sweet Potato Pretz w/Black Sesame. Since I talked about Sweet Potato (Yaki-imo, or more accurately Satsuma-imo), I thought we'd post something cool: Sweet Potato Pretz.
	Tomica Life 1970 - 2005. Okay, this is cool -- a photobook presenting the coolest Tomica (aka Tomy Mini Car) toys over the past 35 years. The 70s never looked so good.
	Why? What? Manga Classroom ~ Manga Naze Nani Kyoushitu. This frankly had the J-List staff in stitches all day long. It's an "H" manga that features great parodies of famous political themes, including the guaranteed first Saddam Hussain x George Bush x Rei Ayanami threesome you'll ever see. Really.
	Kitty Message Mug -- I Love You *Daisuki*. A really cute coffee cup with cute message, this is one of the top 10 cute things we've seen all year, and between you and me, that's saying something.
	2006 Calendar -- Namenayo Cat. This is one of the surprise hit calendars of the 2006 season -- the Namenayo (lit. "Don't lick me" but meaning something more like "Don't mess with me") cats-as-gang members calendar.

Christmas vs. Buddhism in Japan, all about New Year's, and a Japanese math problem for you to solve

The Christmas holiday means different things to different people, and each country has its own way of observing it. By and large, Japan is a Buddhist nation, although it seems that many people here don't consciously think about themselves in terms of the religion, despite the Buddhist altar, incense and candles in their house -- it's just atari-mae (ah-TAH-ree MAH-eh, mean "taken for granted") that these objects should be in a Japanese home. Because there isn't a long tradition of celebrating the yuletide as there is in the West, Christmas tends to be a bit of an external thing here, less of a holiday (not a holiday at all, actually, as everyone has to go to work), and more of a special time for different segments of society, such as children who look forward to presents, couples who are planning a special date, and friends gathering for a Christmas party with lots of karaoke. One thing I've noticed is that Christmas tends to be an American thing in Japan, having presumably been filtered through the U.S. occupation from 1945-1951, and Japanese today know who Santa Claus is but have little awareness of "Father Christmas" and other British images of the holiday (although they have Christmas Cake here). This is a bit of a bummer, since I've always loved the images presented in Tolkien's Father Christmas Letters (a treat if you don't know them, hunt them down on Amazon), and read them to my American/Japanese kids often.

Just a week after Christmas comes the most important of days in Japan, Oshogatsu, aka New Year's Day. Everyone is making preparations now, buying New Year's decorations to hang on their doors, display in the foyers of their homes, or in some instances, fix to the hoods of their cars. One of the most famous types of decorations is called kagami mochi, lit. "mirror rice cake," attractively arranged pressed rice that are delicious with a dollop of soy sauce. Tonight it's time for us to make our nengajo, or New Year's Cards, which we mail out to all our friends here. I'm torn between choosing something from the excellent Taste of Japan nengajo art collection we've posted to the site today or taking a picture of the kids with our dog Chibi (since 2006 is the Year of the Dog).

After school my son attends a juku, an after-hours study school that compliments his school curriculum and ostensibly covers some of the subjects he's learning at school, but in Japanese (since his school is 70% English). His juku teacher likes to give mind-bending math problems to the students and see if they can find the answers. Here are two such problems that stumped me. Each of the equations below is incorrect. Add one straight line somewhere in each of the two equations to make it correct. See here for the answer.

He're happy to announce that Ever 17 is now in stock. A great new release from Hirameki International for Windows PCs, this is an incredibly dramatic bishoujo title that all fans should play. It is May 1, 2017, and without warning, seven people are trapped in an undersea marine park. Water, air and food are in short supply, and the protective bulkhead can only withstand the pressure of the surrounding water for 119 hours. How will they interact, by cooperating or fighting each other for the scarce resources? Will love grow between the doomed members? Who will betray whom? A super new interactive title that all fans can enjoy, in stock in San Diego!

We've gotten in a huge volley of some of our last stock of 2006 anime, idol, JPOP and other calendars, so now is a great time to browse our selection and make your orders. Restocked calendars include this year's runaway hit Tsubasa Chronicle (all three versions), the always-popular Studio Ghibli, Totoro and Domo-kun calendars, lovely Leon Kadena, Gackt's amazing offering, beautiful Japanese women in hot springs, famous castles of Japan, and a whole lot more. The stock we have will be the last we get in for these calendars, so hurry!

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.

	eonna Dec 2005 ~ e onna with DVD Region All. As time goes by, I really come to appreciate eOnna, which means "good woman" but with the "good" also translatable as "hot n' sexy." The women, who are mostly AV idols like Mihiro, are all non-nude in this mag, which has the potential to be more exciting.
	A Taste of Japan: Japanese Style New Years Cards Materials Collection. This is a fantastic item -- a book and CD-ROM collecting hundreds of images of nengajo that you can use to make your own cards, or use it as clip art for other projects. The pictures are in standard formats like JPG and PNG and are not protected.
	Ever 17 - Out of Infinity . I like the look of this game a lot -- the story is very dramatic and the art is fabulous. It's U15 game, suitable for ages 15 and up. Great story and artwork in this, the second PC game from Hirameki.
	Tekoki Clinic 7 ~ Masturbation by Nurse hands. This is, er, a really interesting series, and recommended for fans of the fetish of tekoki. Basically, these nurses are damned professional, and never break their "stern but kind nurse" face for anything.
	White & Black Maiden Shaman. In case you haven't seen this costume in anime shows like Inuyasha, this is a Miko, or a Shinto shrine maiden. Now you can fulfill your fantasty to see a shrine maiden be ravished.
	Tokugawa Aoi Pins. All families have a Kamon, or Family Crest, in Japan. My own family's is a circle with three lines through it (signifying "three" although why I don't know). This is a pin that is the family crest of the Tokugawas, the former Shoguns of Japan during the Edo Period.
	Jiji *Knit Type* Plush -- M ~ Kiki's Delivery Service. Kiki's Delivery Service is second only to Totoro in the quality of the toys that Ghibli licenses, and this is no exception: a "knit style" (e.g. handmade-looking) Jiji plush.
	Lotte Sour Orange Gum. Every year at the end of the year, Aya Ueto starts appearing in CMs (TV commercials) like crazy. This year she'll be doing Lotte Gum, which is okay with us. This new Sour Orange gum is really delicious.
	Elecom USB Speaker -- White. New speaker system for notebook computers. Personally, on the iBook I used to have, the top volume wasn't loud enough to hear the DVD I was watching if there was any other noise around, so I'm glad to have this.
	Pika Pika 3 ~ Sparkle 3. Nice erotic magna by Misaki Kawamoto, who is a female erotic manga artist, something that's by no means rare in Japan. I think that's kind of kinky.
	Glico Fuyu (Winter) Pocky w/Cocoa Powder. New flavor of Pocky, dusted with cocoa powder to give it an elegant and luxurous taste.
	Bleach "Taizen" Volume 1 ~ Full Set (Set of 8). Bleach is the show to watch, it seems, and it's getting really popular this year. Here's the first set of figures for the show we've carried. Full sets in stock (along with some individuals).
	Daruma Mask. This is a first -- a mask that's based on the Daruma, round red little gods that are associated with Shintoism (and hence with New Year's). We'd love to see a biker gang with these on their faces, called Daruma-gumi or something.
	Maneki Neko Mask -- Lucky Cat. Even weirder than the Daruma Mask is the Lucky Cat Mask, complete with the little paw and everything. I see that our stock has sold out even as I typed these words (that has to be a record), but we'll get more in.
	Kitty Trio Set -- Poodle. Did you know that Hello Kitty changes every year? It's true, one year she's flying in an airplane in a blue sky (1973) and before you know it's she's gone to live in Hawaii and is all tanned (1998). This year is "Hello Kitty with her cute Poodle" (2005).
	Kagami-Mochi Soap. A cool item we like to carry every year, this is the soap in the shape of traditional Kagami Mochi New Year's decorations. Guaranteed to score points with Japanese who come over to your house and fall to the floor in shock when they see this in your bathroom.
	Kagami Mochi -- Large. Kagami Mochi is the traditional decoration of New Year's, delicious rice cakes stored inside a round white decorative shell (well, in old days the shell was actually made of mochi, but a giant hard brick of pressed rice is somewhat hard to eat later).

NHK and Japanese history, a shocking fire at 3 am, and the living-challenged in Japan

Well, the popular historical drama Yoshitsune has come to an end, and what an end it was. Every year Japan's NHK public television network (the Domo-kun people) makes one breathtakingly beautiful samurai-era drama called the Taiga Drama, and this year's was Yoshitsune (yo-shee-TSOO-nay), the story of a popular folk hero in a war that preceded the Kamakura Shogunate of 1192. Last night the final episode aired, detailing the dramatic last battle of Yoshitsune and his retainers, especially his bodyguard Musashibo Benkei, who fought so hard for his lord that he died while standing on his feet and who has folk hero status in his own right. Taking its cues from the historical dramas of the BBC, Japan has a strong tradition of reliving its history through jidai geki (period dramas, where the word Jedi comes from). It's a very entertaining way for Japanese of all ages to learn about their history. It's common to see pop idols and other popular actresses widen their appeal with fans by appearing in jidai geki, such as former Morning Musume idol Maki Gotoh, who played Yoshitsune's sister.

We got a shock last night: we heard the air-raid siren that goes off every day at noon to signal lunchtime, but at 3 in the morning, which meant there was a fire somewhere in the city. We looked out the window, not expecting to be able to see anything, but were surprised to see a wall of flame and sparks shooting up just a few houses down from us. By the time I got there, the house had already been consumed by fire, and our local fire department was rushing to get water on it. Happily, no one lived in the house, but it was still a real shame, as it was a beautiful old-style Japanese home with real clay kawara tiles. They're still checking for the cause, but arson is feared.

Japan is a great place, with a lot to offer anyone who lives here, but the complexities of society can be too much for some people, who opt out of their rest of their lives through suicide. A staggering 30,000 Japanese choose to take their own lives each year, about the same number as in the U.S. despite the fact that Japan has half America's population. There are various reasons for the high suicide rate, of course -- those with failed businesses and lots of debt are a prime group in post-Bubble Japan, as are young people who face ijime, teasing bordering on psychological torture. Perhaps he biggest reason is the near total lack of a psychological help network, and an innate resistance to seeking help or counseling by people here. In recent years there's been an increase in online suicide groups who forms pacts and die together, often in the eerie forest known as Aokigahara Jukai, a "sea of trees" near Mt. Fuji. Tragically, no less than three separate group suicides were discovered on Sunday in Osaka, Nagoya and Sapporo, with a total of ten people ending their lives together. I personally can't understand the impetus to willingly join the living-impaired -- I mean, life is good, and if it's not for some reason, wait a while and things will get better. Each of us has a mysterious ability to change anything about our lives we want by improving our basic attitudes about life, so be mae-muki (MAH-eh MOO-kii, a really positive Japanese word I like that literally means "forward facing") and tomorrow will be a better day.

J-List sells our famous wacky Japanese T-shirts and soft, warm hoodies, hand-printed with care in San Diego by our experienced silkscreening staff. We're very happy with how successful they've become, and now we've got a new design for you. In Japanese, the letter "H" (pronounced "ecchi") is a euphemism for anything, er, naughty, and we have a new design that captures the bizarreness of this idea by parodying the famous Ecko rhinoceros logo. We've got both a standard T-shirt (in cool-looking Army Green) and a warm hoodie (in red) posted to the site for you now. Enjoy these wacky new designs! All our T-shirts make excellent Christmas gifts, too.

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.

	Japanese T-shirt - Ecchi (Ecko Parody) - Standard Men's. This is our newest wacky Japanese T-shirt, which features ECCHI, the famous letter "H," known to all anime fans as a euphemism for all things sexual in nature. I love the earthy colors of this shirt.
	Japanese Hoody - Ecchi (Ecko Parody). This is the hoodie version, which we're printing now rather than in a week or two, which we might do, to give those who want to get them in time for Christmas.
	Karami SP 03 -- Moe Shinohara. Since the word "Moe" (moh-EH) has come to represent everything about otaku culture in Japan today, there's a high number of JAV idols and models whose first names are Moe. Well, she's cute so I'll forgive her this time.
	Hatsukoi Densha - Train of First Love -- Aya Satonaka. Another beautiful photobook, this is Aya Satonaka who shows you her beautiful body and bikini self. Many shots taken in a cool train from way-rural Japan somewhere.
	For the Best Onanie of you -- Hikari Mizuno (region 2). Another beautiful JAV star from Japan, this is Hikari Mizuno, whose ears, sticking out of her hair like that, are so...so...kawaii! Comes with a handy latex toy.
	Mandarin. This is quite an interesting item, an "onanie hole" that has got to be one of the most meticulously made items ever.
	Arita Ware Yunomi -- Dragon ~ Green Tea Cup. It's hard to explain in small HTML field how cool this is. This is an Arita Ware yunomi (teacup) from the famous Arita area of Nagasaki Prefecture. Incredibly high quality, this cup is also incredibly light, being about 1/2 the weight of a comperable ceramic teacup.
	Naminori Business Card Case -- "The Beauty with Surf Bord". This is cool -- a "Surfing Samurai" business card holder, featuring reworked versions of old ukiyoe art with surfing and other wacky themes thrown in.
	Otogi Zoushi Art Collection. I love the look of Otogi Zoushi, but I didn't know that it was done by the creator of Innocence, which was also outstanding. Here's a cool artbook that I recommend a lot.
	Neko Bus Oikakekko -- Remote Control Neko Bus ~ My Neighbor Totoro. Have fun chasing your remote conotrol Totoro and Cat Bus. This is a new line of R/C Totoro plush toys that are really cute.
	Kanebo Chiquita Banana Gum. Japanese companies have many businesses, such as Sony's life insurance and makeup companies. Here's a delicious new bubble gum by Kanebo, the, er, make up people.
	Samurai Sword Ear Cleaner. The Japanese clean their ears with little scoop things, usually made of bamboo or wood. Here's a neat twist on this, a samurai sword that's really an ear cleaner when you pull it out of its sheath.
	Kitty Chirimen Glasses Case -- Red ~ Sakura. What a great idea! A hard eyeglasses case for Hello Kitty fans, made of chirimen, the stuff kimonos are made out of. These always go fast and Daisuke tell us we can't reorder so get them fast if you want 'em.
	2006 Calendar - The Joy of Bento Japan's bento, beautifully arranged boxed lunch, is a famous aspect of the country. This is the 2006 calendar we've got a few left of.
	2006 Calendar - Mihiro Every year, there are some nude calendars released, but some years the person they choose for the calendar isn't our favorite. Well, this year the glossy nude calendar features none other than Mihiro. Dude!
	2006 Calendar -- Akane Suzuki This is a good example of our sexy idol calendars, which feature idols who look darned good in bikinis.