More on the concept of "senpai" including "gaijin seniority," and the cutting edge of the female pachinko market

I talked last time about the invisible lines drawn between the three social groups in a Japanese school or organization, senpai (upperclassmen, seniors), persons who are on the same level as you seniority- or age-wise, and kohai (lowerclassmen, juniors), three concepts which can be tricky for non-Japanese to grasp. Social rules require that you speak with (slightly) polite language when addressing a senpai, whereas you can speak informally with people on the same or lower level. While we use the word "friend" in a wide range of situations in English, the corresponding Japanese word tomodachi is generally reserved for people who are the same age as you, while the terms senpai/kohai are used to refer to older/younger friends, even if you hang out with them all the time. Since the bursting of Japan's bubble economy in 1989, the vaunted lifetime employment system has all but disappeared, and it's quite common for a person to change jobs 2-3 times in his adult life. This causes a bit of a challenge to the Japanese system of seniority -- if a man in his 50s goes to work at a company with a boss in his 20s, which is the senior? The answer is, the employee with more seniority in the new company, which means that the tidy system of politeness based on age starts to look pretty strange in the Japan of today. It's an interesting example of social forces bringing about changes in language, right before our eyes.

Foreigners in Japan unconsciously pick up on the senior/junior system, too, and when I used to meet new English teachers while drinking at the local bar "AIUEO" (what a great name), we'd ask each other how long we'd been in Japan to establish the proper invisible order of "gaijin seniority." Of course, to be a senpai to someone doesn't just mean a one-way ticket to getting respect from them. You've got to earn it by providing help and guidance to your kohai, doing things like picking up the tab at restaurants and generally assisting them in their jobs. Just as various kind souls helped me get my "Japan legs" when I first arrived here, it was my responsibility to help out newer foreign teachers I encountered, and I did my best to fulfill this responsibility. In our town there's a guy who had everyone beat when it came to gaijin seniority, an American who came to Japan during the Vietnam War and stayed ever since. He writes articles for the Japanese newspaper about how the country has changed since he arrived, and has a kind of mythical status a "First Foreigner" in our prefecture.

The national past time of the Japanese isn't singing karaoke, or writing haiku poems, or taking in the beauty of Mt. Fuji while the cherry blossoms fall all around. For many, it's playing pachinko, essentially a vertically oriented pinball machine which you shoot metal balls into, hoping that enough balls happen to fall into one of the special holes in the machine so that more balls are released, eventually giving you more than you started out with. Although generally viewed as a hobby of middle-aged men, many women play the game, too, and since women have more money (they traditionally control the family finances in Japan), pachinko parlor operators are scrambling to attract this more profitable market segment. The newest theme in pachinko is machines that feature The Rose of Versailles, an anime series about the French Revolution that millions of females in Japan have fallen in love with over the last four decades. While you play, various scenes from the show are displayed on the LCD screen, with updated animation so it looks really nice. If you play well, you get to view special scenes with Oscar and young Marie Antoinette. Other recent pachinko trends include machines centered around enka singer Hibari Misora, and good old Yon-sama, aka South Korean heart-throb Bae Yong Joon, much beloved by middle-aged Japanese women.

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.

	The Chief Editor Akiho Yoshizawa ~ Henshucho Akiho Yoshizawa. I do so like the format of this magazine, which gives you photos and a DVD of a single (cute) idol.
	Nihongun Shisakuki Keikakuki. See World War II as you've never seen it before, rendered in beautiful CG. An amazing look at the airplanes of Japan's military.
	Ero Kawa AV Debut -- Kaori Ayukawa (region 2). Man, this girl is attractive. See this gorgeous new idol's debut on the Moodyz label here!
	Blue Tear ~ Aoi Namida. Really gorgeous H manga from Sanjuro Yumesaki and Plaza Comics.
	Sora Final Form Action Figure -- Kingdom Hearts II Play Arts *Limited Edition*. This is cool, a really nice figure from Kingdom Hearts II.
	Melissa Seraphy 1/8 Scale Figure -- Wagamama Capriccio. This is the perfect figure, and just in time for Halloween, featuring a super cute girl in her underwear that can hide inside a pumpkin.
	Coloring Book for Grown-Ups ~ Matsumoto Katsuji no Sekai. A coloring book for grown-ups? Yes, it's quite trendy in Japan now to relieve stress by coloring or painting in books like this.
	Hip Parade Trading Torso -- Set of 12 *Full Set*. Wow, what can I say? A trading torso is pretty cool, since most of us guys are fixated on this part of the female anatomy anyway. These are full sets with no duplicates, and each mold is unique and special.
	"Shaka Shaka" Mamegoma Strap w/Cookie. Mamegoma are "bean sesame seed" shaped seals, i.e. really cute. This is a line of little seal characters for your phone, w/ cookies.
	Glico Gokuboso Pocky -- Ultra Thin Pocky. Gokuboso means "extremely thin" and that's what you get in this new twist on Japan's favorite stick snack. Very thin, deliciously sweet cookie sticks, allowing for a lot more sticks to be included in each package.
	Cherry Bath Salt. Great sakura scented bath salt from Japan. Take a real bath in a hot spring.
	Zenmai *Inrou* Netsuke -- Wind Up Samurai. Wind Up Samurai is a cute character line from Japan, and we've got a new phone strap line that comes with a cute little "shogun official seal" box that you can put stuff in.
	Next Day Kerori DX Notebook. Next Day Kerori (Tsugi no Hi Kerori) is now on a cute notebook, made of quality paper that's fun to write with.
	Ofukoro -- Blue. Here's something cool: a vibrating ball that you put in the bath to, well, vibrate your bath water and take your stress away.