Coming of Age Day in Japan, on Japanese puns used in TV commercials, and right wing politics at work in Japan

Today is a holiday in Japan, Seijin-no-hi, or Coming of Age Day. Venture into any Japanese city right now and you'll see hundreds of 20-year-olds decked out in the finest kimonos and sparkling new suits, greeting each other and taking group photos together. In Japan, the official age of adulthood is 20 (as commemorated in our wacky "you must be 20 years old to purchase tobacco and alcohol" T-shirts), and today is a special day to mark their official debut as shakai-jin (lit. "society-people"), or full-fledged members of society. Today, 20-year-olds throughout the country will endure long speeches by elderly community leaders, have lunch with friends, and go drinking in the evenings to enjoy their new freedom. For parents it's a proud day too, and doting fathers are all too happy to plunk down $5000 for a gorgeous kimono that their daughters will in all likelihood wear only once. Like many aspects of Japan, Coming of Age Day has been around for centuries -- in the old days women celebrated turning of age by dying their teeth black for the first time.

Each language has its own unique phonetic features and its own potential for dajare (dah-jah-REH), or bad puns, which are called dada-jare in my family because I'm the Dad and I usually make the bad puns (which is a pun in itself, really). In Japanese there are some silly conventions used in advertising that are unique to the language, which are interesting for a gaijin to observe and catalog. First of all, the word zo (zoh、増) means "more" (as in "50% more free"), but it's also the word for elephant （像）-- hence, it's not uncommon for a TV commercial to make use of elephants to reinforce the image of getting more free buy buying such-and-such brand. Similarly, rakuda （駱駝）is the word for camel, but it also means "[this] is very comfortable and convenient"　（楽だ）, so every few years some company or another makes a TV commercial featuring camels basking in comfort because of some product. Dogs say "woof!" in English, but to the Japanese the sound is "wan!" and some companies create cute dog characters showing that they're "number wan" in their respective industries. Finally, the word mou (moh) means "already" but it's also the local version of "moo" -- and so, it's common for commercial messages to be communicated using cows saying things like, "Stop wasting your money on brand X, already!" Those Japanese can be so goofy.

We interrupt this J-List update to bring you the latest news in right-wing politics, Japan style. One of the downsides to living next door to the mayor of a Japanese city is, every once in a while ultra-conservatives will park their loudspeaker cars in front of our house and blast the neighborhood with anti-mayor threats and slogans, which is what they're doing right now. Japan's right-wingers are not unlike the KKK in the U.S., making use of freedom of speech laws to get their political point across despite being universally ignored by all reasonable people. This time they're howling about the project to tear down our city's perfectly good Ferris Wheel and erect a new one two kilometers to the north, so it'll be visible from the freeway as people drive by, essentially the municipal equivalent of unnecessary surgery. "Come out and face us, Mayor Yanai!" they're shouting through the loudspeakers. "We were stupid to make a person like you our mayor!" If you've ever seen any of the films of Juzo Itami such as "Minbo, or the Gentle Art of Japanese Extortion," you know how comical Japanese right-wing yakuza types can be, with their giant trucks and their military uniforms and their incessant banzais to the Emperor while playing the theme song to the old Space Cruiser Yamato anime. Silly as they are, today is the first time I find myself in perfect agreement with them, since I also oppose the needless construction project. How do you say "pork barrel" in Japanese?

J-List loves to bring you a slice of Japan's amazing pop culture with every update. We're especially fond of Japan's tradition of manga comics, and stock hundreds of titles, including the outstanding English-translated manga magazine, Comic AG, one of the best values you'll ever see. In additional to being available in single issues, you can get a revolving subscription so each issue is sent to you automatically. Or order AGSET, sets of 5 comics for a discount, also very popular. Why not browse our manga pages now?

One of the coolest new products in recent months has been Unazukin, a cute electronic toy made by Bandai which looks a cross between a Russian nesting doll, the old egg-shaped Weebles toys and Fisher-Price people. Here's how they work: you push the button underneath, and then talk to your Unazukin, which will randomly nod his head affirmative, nod twice eagerly, or shake his head from side to side. It's a remarkable amount of fun to carry on a conversation with your Unazukin, asking it for advice while it indicates yes or no at the sound of your voice.

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.

	Sexy DVD Deluxe vol. 1. Nice photomag with 150 min DVD filled with top names like Aki Hoshino (yum).
	Cure Jan 2007 vol. 40. As always, the new issue of Cure is gorgeous to look at, filled with all the most popular "visual" bands in Japan.
	Secret Heaven. It's not often that I'm so caught up in an "H" manga that I stop what I'm doing and read through it. This was one such book -- the subtle-ness of the situations were great, and the art is second to none.
	You Kiss Me -- Yukie Kawamura. Gorgeous Japanese bikini idol's new photobook offering.
	Anicos Japan -- Mona Suzue. New Anime Cosplay DVD featuring the 2nd Haruhi Suzumiya cosplay to be seen, as well as cosplay from another fave of mine, Rozen Maiden.
	Six Types of Sex -- Ichika (region 2). Is this woman not way too pretty to be doing this?
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 48. New issue of Comic AG, which came out right after last week's. As usual the stories and quality are excellent.
	Mono-Chrome Hello Kitty Tight Bento Box. Great new Hello Kitty bento box, in "mono-chrome" style.
	Kakashi Art Clock -- Naruto. Three cool Naruto clocks are in stock. But we've got only 2 of each, so don't take too long deciding which you want.
	Shachihoko Netsuke w/ Tokugawa Aoi Family Crest. I was floored by how cool this looks -- a golden Shachihoko (a magical carp with a tiger's head) with the Tokugawa family crest. Guaranteed to look great on your phone, PSP or DS.
	Totoro Cushion -- Sleeping Totoro *Grey*. A totoro cushion to go with your Totoro blanket.
	Meiji Fran Pie Snow -- Wild Berry. Not sure what "pie snow" really means, but this flavor of Meiji Fran is outstanding.
	Fortune Poop Stickers -- Unchi. The Japanese can make anything cute, even poop, and that's what you get with the new Fortune Poop Stickers from San-X.
	Animal Pocket Mini Notebook -- Whale. Cute notebooks with funny English on them.
	Japanese Classic "Kaichu" Wallet. Why keep your stuff in a conventional wallet when this Japanese one is so cool!
	2007 Calendar -- Gackt. Another reminder that our calendars are being decimated -- so if you are interested in spending a year with Gackt or Totoro or the lovely Sayaka Ando, now is the time.

Picture of a 右派 car (right wingers loudspeaker car) I'd shot next to my favorite hair dresser.

The text on the side says "Leave a rich environment to our children and grandchildren." It's backwards by the way -- a stupid rule in Japan is, you right from left to right, except when writing on the right side of a car, in which case you go from the front of the car, back. Whatever.

And here are some pictures from our trip to Karuizawa, Land of Snow right now. Some of you probably think that snow is nothing, but to a San Diegan like me, it's magical even when it makes driving more difficult.

Out the window of our apartment.

Cold baka.

And since today's topic was dajare or bad puns in Japanese, on our way home we went to a restaurant called Auntie Pasta, which was pure gold as far as dajare go.