Japan's amazing adaptions of "black culture," all about gestures used by the Japanese, and what's the currency of Japan?

The Japanese are very good at taking outside culture and adapting it to fit their own needs, and they have done this in many different areas, from Buddhism and writing from China to Hollywood movies from the USA to Flamenco dancing from Spain. Many Japanese have also embraced "black" culture from the USA, and have internalized a lot of the music and fashion style into themselves. I'll never forget the time, soon after arriving in Japan, when I turned on the TV to see what I thought were two black gaijin speaking excellent Japanese on a variety program. It turned out I was watching the Bubblegum Brothers, a two-man JPOP group popular in the 1990s who adapted a "black style" that was so complete I was actually fooled. As part of their own personal vision quest, many young people explore the local hip hop and reggae music scene, and there are quite a few night clubs in our city where you can see "gangsta" or "rastafari" nihonjin partying til the wee hours of the morning. When Japanese think of black culture they think of the U.S. or Jamaica, but in reality most of the black foreigners in Japan are from Kenya or Nigeria. I always roll my eyes when, while walking in Tokyo's hip Harajuku region, I overhear a Kenyan man talking to a Japanese girl saying, "Yes, I'm American," despite his decidedly non-American accent. It's more than just young people who are interested in black music and culture in Japan -- back in my single days I used to frequent a bar with an owner who would play his collection of classic jazz and blues for his customers, which he played on honest-to-gosh LPs. That takes dedication.

Every country is different, and it's a lot of fun noticing the differences I see in Japan and reporting them to you. One reflection of culture can be seen in the gestures that Japanese make in daily life, like the ubiquitous "peace" sign which shows up whenever someone takes out a camera. (A brief aside: when Japanese get their picture taken, then often say "cheese" just like in English, but an alternate version is to say "what's one plus one?" which of course is "ni" in Japanese, which also results in a smile.) Some other gestures you might see include making a slash across the cheek with your forefinger, which means "That guy is dangerous, he looks like he's yakuza"; raising a pinky, which means "I'm meeting my girlfriend tonight"; indicating themselves by pointing to their noses, rather than their chests, as North Americans would do; beckoning by seeming to wave their hand in a way that would mean "go away" to Americans; and good old "Banzai," used mostly at political rallies in this peaceful era. One gesture the Japanese generally know but never use is the classic flipping of the bird, however they have the oddest habit of pointing to things using their middle finger, which always look odd to me.

The currency of Japan is the yen, a word which means "circle" since coins are round, or something like that. The yen was first introduced as part of the country's modernization efforts during the Meiji Era in the 1870s. One unique aspect of the currency is its low per-unit value. If I want to eat a meal and America or Europe, $10 or 10 euros will usually be enough, but you can't even buy a gumball with ten yen. To eat well, you'd need more like 1000-1500 yen, and for a family of four to eat properly might cost 5000 yen easily. A side-effect of this numerical oddity is, when learning to speak Japanese it's necessary to get used to using very high numbers quickly. Want to buy a car? You'll need 1-3 million yen. How about building a house? Depending on its size, you'd be looking at a 20 million yen expenditure. When I read about the current Japanese budget deficit expressed in yen, the numbers are so high that they might as well be expressed in scientific notation. Japan's money is very efficient, with paper notes issued in values of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000, whereas there are many more flavors of paper money used in the U.S. Like Europe, the Japanese force their citizens to use coins for low-value denominations like 100 and 500 yen rather than paper money, which takes getting used to but nets a significant savings for society overall, as coins can be used for decades. In America if you've got a pocketful of change you might be able to buy a couple of cokes, but it's quite easy to have $20 worth of yen in your pocket in Japan.

Remember that you can get all the great anime, manga, toy/hobby, fashion, and other magazines in Japan sent to you each month, thanks to J-List's popular Reserve Subscription service. Here's how it works: for most items, you have the option of either paying month-to-month or paying for a full year in advance. If you choose the former option, we'll reserve the current issue of the magazine(s) you want each month, charging them to a credit card on file if like, or else by check/money order or Paypal. The ten most popular reserve subscription magazine at J-List are, in case you were wondering, Goth-Loli Bible, Megami Magazine (my own personal favorite), Hiragana Times, FRUiTs, Kera, COSmode, SHOXX (J-Rock all the way), Nihongo Journal, and Newtype Japan, and fashion magazine Egg.


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" (a yes/no verification screen will be displayed to filter products from our mature site). To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Hello! Leah! -- Leah Dizon. Very popular idol whose photobooks are extremely hard to find anywhere here.
	The Master of Knee-Socks!!! Japan is, shall we say, in touch with their fetishes. Here's a great DVD for fans of tall black knee-socks.
	THE JAPANESE TRADITION (region 2). This, this is amazing -- the complete humor serious that you can see by searching for "How to eat sushi" on Youtube. Alas, this version lacks subtitles. :(
	2004 Encyclopedia of High School Uniform ~ Joshikou Seifuku Zukan. Japan's fascination with the high school uniform is alive and well, I see.
	Otona ga Tanoshimu Hari-e . Creating pctures by cutting out shapes, a popular art form in Japan called hari-e.
	Hobby Japan April 2007. Great issue of Hobby Japan, loaded with toys I want to buy.
	Shinku PVC Figure *Rozen Maiden* ~ Alter. Rozen Maiden is an excellent show about a hikikomori (shut-in) boy with a fascination for the occult. When he accidentally buys a cursed doll, his life is changed forever,.
	Hello Kitty Kimono "Warabe" Doll. This is one of the coolest Hello Kitty items we've seen all year!
	Furikake Soft/Wet Type ~Tarako (Cod Roe ). Delicious furikake, which you sprinkle over (furikakaru) over rice.
	Square Geta w/Shima (Stripes) Pattern ~ Varnished Paulownia. We've gotten in some geat traditional Japanese sandals for the summer -- check them out!
	Basic Hiragana Drill . How's your hiragana or katakana? Well, you can improve it with these great drill books.
	Lucky Cat Coin Bank. A classic Lucky Cat to put your money in. Cool!
	Revoltech No.025 -- Megatron. We love these low-cost Reveltech toys from Kaiyodo and don't find them revolting at all. This is Megatron, the classic villain from the Transformers universe.
	Revoltech No.024 -- Gaiking. And this is Gaiking, one of the three Shogun Warriors that I played with when I was a boy, not knowing anything about the classic anime series.
	Re-ment Puchi Delivery ~ Full Collection (10 Sets) *Puchi Sample Series*. A new Re-Ment series, great! This is a collection of foods you can order and have delivered to you.
	Mentos -- Pine Fresh (Pineapple). Yum! A Japan-only flavor of Mentos!
	The Ghost in the Shell -- Bilingual comic. One of our most popular bilingual books, featuring a much better translation (I am told) than the Toren Smith one. And my dissing of him has nothing to do with jealous that he got a character named after him in Aim for the Top and I didn't.
	YUME MIRU KUSURI :: A Drug That Makes You Dream. It's finally out -- order your copy today! Seriously, this is one of the best games ever brought out in English. I was beside myself for several of the endings when I was play-testing it.