Goodbye to New York, examining Japan's Buddhism and Shinto religions, Buddhist Altars, and fun linguistic coincidences

Well, our fun time in New York is at an end, and now it's time to head back to San Diego, which is a far less Christmassy place to be, all things considered. I have many memories of this convention, although my favorite was no doubt being surrounded by Domo-kun booth babes. It was a lot of fun, spending so much time in this amazing city, and I'll never look at New York quite the same way after this trip...

Japan is a mix of traditions taken in from different periods of time, and you can see this when studying the religions of the country. The original religion of Japan is Shinto, written with the characters kami (gods or spirits) and way or road, making it similar to other "the way of" words like shodo (writing + way = calligraphy), sado (tea + way = tea ceremony) or the martial art judo (flexibility + way). Shinto essentially finds kami, or spirits, in things like mountains, trees and rocks, making it seem very much to me like a Native American belief with its strong basis in nature. In the sixth century Buddhism was introduced into the country, and amazingly the two religions generally learned to treat each as an aspect of the other, allowing for much less conflict than you'd expect. Now, the various sects of Buddhism (which are as confusing to me as understanding the nuances of the Protestant churches are for my wife) are by far the most important religious tradition in Japan, and most families will surround themselves with Buddhist traditions even as they visit Shinto shrines on January 1st to pray for good luck in the New Year, or get married in Western weddings in beautiful churches.

One of the most famous everyday symbols of Buddhism in Japan is the butsudan, or household Buddhist Altar, which nearly every head-of-family household will maintain, unless they specifically identify with another religion. As far as I've been able to tell, Japanese Buddhism is primarily about respecting and remembering your ancestors, since (as my wife has told me), without your ancestors, you certainly wouldn't be here. Every morning my mother-in-law wakes up and makes an offering to her mother and father, by ringing a bell and burning a stick of incense for them. I've always thought that the absolute knowledge that you'll be remembered and loved by those you leave behind is one of the most comforting aspects of Japanese-style Buddhism. A butsudan is only maintained by the head of a household, the father or oldest son in a family, and if, say, a family has five children who move into homes of their own, they won't keep one but will return to their parents home on special events like the O-Bon holidays in the summer. A Buddhist altar is quite complex, filled with tablets on which are inscribed the names of your ancestors and an image of Buddha meditating, along with various other symbolic images. If you asked me what the most bizarre thing I've seen since coming to Japan is, I'd have to answer opening the newspaper and seeing an ad from a Buddhist altar store advertising a big sale on all the latest butsudan and grave stones. Wacky!

It's always fun to see what natural coincidences occur between languages. A Swedish friend of mine who's married to an Indian woman mentioned that the word for "no" in both Swedish and Hindi happened to be the exact same. This happens between Japanese and English, for example in the word "so" which has the exact same meaning in both languages (so desu ka? = is that so?). You probably known that "thank you" in Japanese is arigato, which sounds suspiciously like the same word in Portuguese, obrigado, although the Japanese word was in use before the Portuguese came to the country, making them unrelated. Most adjectives in Japanese end in an -i ("ee") sound, such as takai (high, expensive), yasui (cheap) or tsuyoi (strong), which is odd since many adjectives in English end in the same sound, like friendly, early or heavy. For the linguistically minded out there, these are known as false cognates, an accidental matching up of languages which seems related but which are totally separate in background.

Remember that the J-List machine is humming, getting orders out the door with incredibly speedy speed both from Japan and our U.S. office. The unique Japan-themed products we've got for you would be perfect for the Japanophiles on your list, so browse our site now and let us know what we can do for you!

Here are today's "really cool products" that I've picked out for you, out of the 30+ new items we've added to the J-List and JBOX.com sites today. Note that some products may be "not safe for work" but that all links will allow you to redirect yourself either to the J-List or JBOX.com websites. To see all the J-List products, check out J-List or the JBOX.com updated products link.

	Cute Japanese Snacks w/ Character Bags. Snack sets that come in high quality handbags are rally big this season, and we've gotten in a cute new Sugar Bunnies fluffy bag w/ snack set.
	Various New Japanese Snacks. Enjoy delicious new Japanese snacks, too, including Crunky White Chocolate (love that eerie name), and a new Lotte Xylitol gum in delicious lemon flavor, with that cool sweetener from Norway -- yum.
	Goth-Loli & Punk Brand Book 2008 Autumn/Winter. Follow the latest in cool Goth-Loli fashions in the new Punk Brand Book 2008, which helps those interested in goth cosplay culture find the cool accessory items needed to make the perfect gothic outfit.
	Domokun Mimobot USB 2.0 Flash Drives. J-List and Domo-kun go together like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, or sushi and wasabi. We're posting the cool Domo-kun USB flash drives in all three varieties now -- in 1, 2 or 4 GB sizes. Domo!
	Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya CDs. The most influential anime since Evangelion has a great theme song, one that will get you out of your chair and dancing in the streets. We're posting this CD single along with the character CDs for Yuki and Mikuru. Kawaii!
	Haruhi Suzumiya 1/8 Red Bunny ver. ~ Metamo Figure *Preorder*. We're posting this really excellent figure of Haruhi in her bunny suit (seen in several episodes) now, a great upcoming PVC figure release that you can preorder now.
	Yuki Nagato 1/8 Cat Girl ver. ~ Metamo Figure *Preorder*. Also, enjoy Yuki Nagato (who is really an advanced android working with the Galactic Civilization) dressed in a cat girl suit, which looks rather cute on her.
	Evangelion Head Interface. Transform yourself into Asuka or Rei from Evangelion. Back in stock due to their popularity, but don't let these cool items slip past you this time.
	Link Plush ~ Phantom Hourglass. Here's a cute Link plush from Zelda, a great item from Japan that's both huggable and fun to display at your desk, in your car, wherever. Comes with cute little hat.
	Cute Sanrio Stationery & Pens. It's always fun to see what cute new items are coming out of Japan these days. Enjoy these Sanrio My Melody & Kuromi notebooks and pens with cute designs.
	Alice in Wonderland ~ Fushigino Kuni no Alice. Here's a cool stylized retelling of Alice in Wonderland from a manga perspective, a great new manga that's all in color, created by illustrator Sakura Kinoshita. Really beautiful art throughout.
	Souseiseki (Lapis Lazuli Star) ~ Rozen Maiden Traumend Puni-Cole. Rozen Maiden fans, rejoice, here's a really excellent figure for you, Souseiseki in one of the best forms ever made, with full doll-like movement and even a costume for solving crimes. Really cool.
	Space Battleship Yamato Mechanical Collection ~ Full Set of 10. Fans of Space Battleship Yamato, aka Star Blazers, this is a series you won't want to miss. Features the Yamato along with just about every other cool ship from the series, including the Andromeda (!), the baddest Yamato ship ever made.
	Bento Boxes, Related Items. The Hello Kitty Mono-Chrome Tight Bento Box is back in stock, as well as various chopstick items that are fun and easy for gaijin to use.
	Gekkan -- Yu Abiru. Next, we have a super issue of Gekkan, which means Monthly, a special magazine dedicated entirely to a single model, in this case Yu Abiru. This girl is one of the finest we've seen in a long time, and we know you will enjoy her fabulous pictures.
	New Manga Volumes. Enjoy gorgeous new "ero" manga from Japan, including the fabulous Unrein by the talented illustrator Inono, and a very ecchi manga featuring lots of maids, tentacles, and more.
	Admired Swimming Instructor -- Sarasa Hara. We love the gorgeous Sarasa Hara who plays a very sexy swimming instructor, ready to teach her students whatever they might need. Enjoy this superb offering from one of Japan's best studios.
	Volleyball Player Nagisa Okamoto. A real former professional volleyball player makes the jump to AV just for you in a new release from Soft on Demand. Features great "H" for fans of sports-themed DVD releases and Zenra Sports.