The challenge of raising kids in a foreign country, more on the shrine China and Korea love to hate, and a Shinto ceremony in my living room

First of all, a minor computer problem here in Japan caused some delays in processing orders on Friday. We're very sorry for the problem -- all is working again now!

Sometimes it can be a challenge raising bilingual kids in a foreign country. While I'm more than capable of looking over my son's English assignments and diary entries and help my daughter with finding information on the Internet, I'm not exactly equipped to help them with their kanji, especially as they get older. My son is currently struggling with Classical Japanese History right now, and I'm not able to help him -- I don't have much of a sense for the nuances between the Kamakura and Ashikaga Bakufu periods of the post-Yoritomo era. Japan is a very test-oriented society, and one of the skills students pick up is getting very good at how to study for tests, something I see in my son as he prepares for the next level of the Step Test, a standardized English test that's popular here. My son is twelve and will be a teenager soon. I know this because he recently asked me what the words BRB, LOL, and ROTFL meant.

Yasukuni Shrine, the shrine in Tokyo that honors Japan's war dead, is controversial because the bones of Japan's former military leaders are also interred there, including the head honcho himself, wartime Prime Minister Hideki Tojo. For years no one thought anything about the shrine, until the 1980s when China and South Korea started objecting to Japan's prime ministers making official visits there, partially (some might argue) to reap the political benefits gained from stirring up anti-Japanese sentiment at home. Yesterday former Taiwanese president Lee Teng-hui made a visit to the shrine. He stressed that the visit, which was to honor his older brother who died in the war, was as a private individual, but the image of a former leader of an Asian country going to Yasukuni was too much for Beijing to take without voicing strong protest.

I'm sure you've all had the experience of being called home on short notice to participate in a Shinto ceremony in your living room. This happened to me yesterday -- we're about to start some remodelling in our house, redoing our bathrooms and replacing our older, allergy-unfriendly tatami mats with Okinawa-style square mats, and as is the custom here, we called our neighborhood Shinto priest out to bless the house before starting the construction. Since I am the "big black pillar" (daikoku-bashira) of the family, my wife wanted me to attend the ceremony. The priest had spread out an offering consisting of several icons of the Shinto religion, including fish, rice, clean water, oranges, a daikon radish and sake, and proceeded to bless the house and its inhabitants. Shinto is the original religion of Japan, which reveres the spirits (kami) in mountains, rivers and trees, and as a general rule, ceremonies related to life, such as baby naming or weddings, are derived from it, while Buddhism is reserved for death-related events. The Shinto priest who performed the home-blessing ceremony was the same one who did the ground-breaking ceremony when we started construction of the J-List office a decade ago. and he was fascinated with how far our little company had come, bringing Japanese products to people all around the world. (I told him we were lucky to have great customers.)

YUME MIRU KUSURI :: A Drug That Makes You Dream is the newest English-translated dating-sim game from Peach Princess, and an outstanding game it is, with rich and complex characters like the grown-up class president Mizuki, slightly spaced out transfer student Aeka, and the mysterious cat girl Nekoko. If you've been sitting on the fence about this beautiful game, we're happy announce a great new playable demo that lets you interact with the world and its characters before deciding if this title is for you. The demo is "all ages" and can be freely distributed. If you've always wondered what all the fuss about Japan's dating-sim games was, this is a great opportunity for you!

Remember that J-List has a great selection of fun and unique traditional items from Japan, including many items you couldn't find outside of souvenir shops in Kyoto. Want to explore the world of bento? J-List has dozens of bento boxes and related items on the site. How about adding a touch of Japan to your home? We recommend noren curtains, which separate rooms and add privacy to your home, and are also beautiful to look at, or consider adding a Daruma or Lucky Cat. Looking for something cool to wear this summer? We've got a full line of traditional Japanese sandals, from the tall wooden geta to "tatami" sandals that feel great on the feet, with styles for both men and women. We also have plenty of "wacky" traditional items, too, from authentic fundoshi underwear worn by the samurai to our solar-powered Lucky Horse (to help you win at the track?), so browse our products now!

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.

	More and More -- Reina Matsushima. A fabulous magazine + DVD from a woman who is all woman.
	Dengeki Comic Gao July 2007. Super thick issue of Dengeki Gao, filled with beautiful manga to read through.
	Office Lady with Panty Stocking II. For fans who want to explore Japan's fascinatoin with "OLs."
	Rei Ayanami Party Dress Ver. *Neon Genesis Evangelion*. Rei-chan never looked like this in the series.
	Tattoo Lifestyle vol. 15. Everything you wanted to know about the state of the art of tattooing in Japan today.
	Korean illustration. Beautiful illustrations from some of Korea's most amazing artists. I'm guessing they're mostly from South Korea.
	Hello Kitty Hariko Daruma -- Gold ~ Handmade Traditional Style Daruma. Hello Kitty gold daruma, kawaii!
	Womens Tatami Sandals -- Black & Pink Kimono Pattern ~ Size 5. We've gotten in many tatami sandals with different styles, so check out our selection!
	White Lucky Cat Tea Cup . It's a tea cup! It's a Lucky Cat! Wow, this is an amazing item.
	Hello Kitty Orange Bubble Gum Box (60 pcs). Delicious Hello Kitty bubble gum from Japan!
	Kuro Figure ~ Tekkon Kinkreet Movie Collection. Tekkon Kinkreet is totally cool, and we've gotten in two figures from the film.
	Design USB Game Pad -- 6 buttons ~ Elecom (White). Cool USB game pad! I love the design.
	New Tomato Pretz w/Basil Flavor. Delicious new flavor of Tomato Pretz for joo.
	Morinaga Green Tea Caramel. This, this is one of my all time favorite snacks, Green Tea Caramels that taste great. I highly recommend them.
	Natural Stone Magatama Strap -- Black Onix. These are incredibly popular, the curved Japanese beads you can use on your phone or keys, or wear it as an earring to signal that you'll fight anyone at any time (which is the basis of the Ikki Tousen anime).
	Japanese Shinto Lucky Charm - Sakura Omamori good luck. Since today was a big Shinto post, I'll steer you towards some authentic "omamori" we happen to make available.