Buddhist lucky and unlucky days in Japan, a funeral for a great anime character, and do you have a "good head"?

If you want to get married on the cheap in Japan, I suggest you do it on Butsumetsu ("Buddha's Death"), the unlucky day according to a 6-day cycle that can supposedly affect a person's luck, including cause you to get divorced if you aren't careful. This is one of the more prevalent Japanese superstitions, and it's common for people to consult a special calendar that indicates these Buddhist days before making big plans like getting married, starting construction of a house or taking delivery of a new car. People will always aim for the luckiest day (Taian, "Big Peace"), and avoid at all costs the unlucky day of Butsumetsu, and in certain industries, this can affect the cost of services provided, e.g. weddings get more expensive on Taian, but drop in price on Butsumetsu. Today (Saturday) is Sensho ("Early Victory"), when it's lucky to make important decisions in the morning but not at other times of the day. The other five days, which cycle in order, are Tomobiki ("Taking Away Together") when you must not have a funeral or the dead will take you away with them; Senpu ("Early Defeat") when the morning is considered unlucky; the all-around unlucky day Butsumetsu; lucky Taian; and Sekko ("Red Mouth") when the 12 o'clock hour only is considered a time of good luck.

Yesterday a Buddhist funeral was held for one of the most awesome fictional villains in Japan, Raoh, the ultra-strong oldest brother of Kenshiro from Fist of the North Star. One of the most popular (and violent) manga and anime series from the 1980s, Fist of the North Star is the tale of a post-Armageddon world in which all cities and technology have been destroyed and only those who can wield raw strength can survive. Amid all the destruction, four brothers battle each other using ancient Chinese martial arts techniques. The coolest of the bad guys of the series, Raoh has always been the most popular character, and his funeral came complete with a statue of Raoh on his horse, Kokuoh. The funeral was held at the Koyasan Temple in Tokyo and featured all the trimmings, from chanting Buddhist priests and incense and hundreds of fans who had gathered in the rain to pay their respects. It was part PR gimmick, of course, promoting the upcoming animated film that focuses on the death of Raoh. If you're a Fist of the North Star fan, whatever you do, don't watch The Road Warrior starring Mel Gibson or contemplate that the entire series is one big tribute/parody of the film, with various famous personas from the 80s (Stallone, Bruce Springstein, Boy George) added in for story content.

Has a Japanese person ever told you are "good head"? If so, it's a complement, although it might not sound like one. In Japanese, the phrase for "smart" (intelligent) is good head (atama ga ii), which sometimes gets carried over into English by Japanese who are still learning the language. The English word "smart" (sumaato) is used in Japanese to mean slender, well proportioned (as in, "That girl is very smart and stylish"). If someone says you have a bad head (atama ga warui), they're saying that you're stupid, the same meaning as that ubiquitous Japanese insult, baka. Some other phrases that make use of the word head include atama ga katai (hard-headed, stubborn), atama ga yawarakai ("head is soft" which means someone who is flexible and open-minded), and atama ga furui ("head is old," i.e. someone whose thinking is old-fashioned).

We've got a happy announcement for fans of Hirameki International's excellent visual novels and interactactive anime games. All games have been marked down in price by $10 or more, from the outstanding Ever 17 - Out of Infinity to the gorgeous gothic vampire tale Animamundi to the fantastic Ai Yori Aoshi double game and more. The interactive DVD games like Hourglass of Summer and Tea Society of a Witch are marked down too, to just $14.95. Why not pick up some of these great Hirameki titles today?

Mother's day falls on May 13th this year, and J-List would like to suggest that you look on our site for a rare gift for her. Your mother may or may not be a Pocky-munching, anime-watching, nihongo-studying otaku, but even if she's not, we've got some outstanding and fun items on our site for her, from rare Hello Kitty products for her kitchen or bathroom to a Totoro alarm clock or music box, or perhaps some coloring books for grown-ups, which are great for keeping older minds sharp. One thing's for sure, J-List has gifts they won't expect to get!

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.

	Neko Bus Fuka Fuka Plush -- Small. Who doesn't like a plush Cat Bus?
	Jashin Hunter vol. 1 - Shirow Masamune Illustrated. Shirow fans, this is one of the rarest items you can find -- it's a novel that the Ghost in the Shell creator illustrated, and it's very rare. We've got them in stock now though.
	Fundoshi -- White ~ Traditional Men's Underwear. Traditional underwear of Japan!
	The Scene of Busts ~ Onnanoko no iru Bust Kei. A bizarre photobook -- beautiful girls exposing their breasts in various public places in Tokyo. Not recommended for Mother's Day.
	Sport Chu! -- Tina Yuzuki. Tina Yuzuki continues to tear up the track with her beautiful body and half Japanese, half Portuguese good looks.
	Female Teacher Miss Akane is a Chijo Gal!! -- Hotaru Akane. Hotaru Akane is a very "ecchi" teacher in this restocked DVD.
	Mamegoma Bento Box Set. Mamegoma is so darned cute, I can't believe it. Mame means "bean" and goma means "sesame seed" so his name is pretty meaningless. But it's cute!
	Revoltech No.019 -- Convoy (Transformer) ~ Kaiyodo. Optimus Prime, he's cool as hell. But his Japanese name of "Convoy"? Not so much.
	Neon Genesis Evangelion Stamp Set *Rare Limited Edition *. Remember we've still got thos ecool Eva stamps, a limited edition series put out by the post office this year.
	Hello Kitty Car Aroma Ball *Ramune*. More Hello Kitty Aroma Balls for your car. Or really anywhere that you want a nice fragrance, to be honest. This is the "Ramune" version.
	Glico Hard Pretz -- Salt'n Pepper Flavor. I can't say as I've ever thought of Salt n' Pepper as a flavor before, but these are good.
	Arita Ware Mug Cup ~ Lucky Cat. Another nice item for Mom if she likes Japanese things of high quality. This is authentic Arita Ware porcelain, very beautiful to hold and own.
	Totoro Music Box -- Rainy Day ~ Scene Collection. My mother collects music boxes. Here is a nice Totoro music box.
	My Neighbor Totoro Deluxe Cuckoo Clock. Or show Mom that you love her with this outstanding Totoro Cuckoo CLock, just fabulous to look at!
	Totoro Alarm Clock -- w/ Umbrella. One of our most popular Totoro items, a cool alarm clock that plays (what else?) the Totoro theme song when it's time to wake up. Good for Mother's Day? Maybe...

It's fun going to Tokyo and hitting the toy stores to look for things to order for J-List. This is the "Soft Tank" line of toys. They're awfully cute.

However, "you cannot know which toy is inside."

Really, really tiny manga that are actually printed correctly on those little pages.

Man, I am so ready to start smoking, just so I can carry around these cool Gundam lighters. Hyaku-shiki (the gold mech that Char/Quattro pilots)? A Zeon lighter? So cool.

Or if you want to be really esoteric, go for a ring with the Aniheim Electronics logo on it. This is the company that made the original Gundam RX-78.

Japan's shock over Virginia Tech, how Japanese names work, and on the psychology of foreigners in Japan

Japan is numbly watching the aftermath of the sad events at Virginia Tech as they unfold. Much like Europe, it's illegal for most people in Japan to possess guns, and as a rule real firearms are a distant part of life for Japanese. The subject of guns has come up in my English conversation classes many times over the years ("How many guns did you own when you lived in America?"), and I always did my best to present the complex issue in a way that my students could understand, which was not always easy since they don't have a feel for our history. While incidents of gun-related violence are less common in Japan, they're not totally unheard of, a fact that we were all reminded of when Mayor Ito of Nagasaki, an outspoken opponent of nuclear weapons, was shot in the back by an irate yakuza boss on the same day as the tragedy in Virginia. The gangster in question had managed to run his Mercedes Benz into an open ditch at a construction site several years ago and had tried to make the city take responsibility for the repairs, and his frustration finally came to a head. This isn't the first time a Nagasaki mayor has been targeted: the city's previous mayor was shot by a right-winger in 1990 after he made remarks blaming former Emperor Hirohito for the events the war.

You may know that Japanese, like other nations in Asia, reverse the order of the family and given names, so that the name Hayao Miyazaki in English would be Mizayaki Hayao here. Essentially, the ideas of "first name" and "last name" are useless in Japanese, replaced by the family name and namae (nah-mah-EH), or the given name, which is so close to the English word "name" that it's spooky. Like learning to say your phone number in Japanese, it can be quite a challenge to make your brain un-learn a name memorized using one language when you need to use it in another. When you learn the name of Japanese film director Akira Kurosawa, the name takes up one gestalt part of your memory, and having to say the name in the reverse order causes your brain to do some fast calculation. Although the family name comes first with Japanese names, this rule doesn't apply to foreigners, whose names are always used as they are in English.

Living as a gaijin in a place that's as homogeneous as Japan brings out some interesting responses in people, and one could write a book studying the psyche of foreigners in Japan. For example, there are the "three states of eye aversion" they seem to go through when it comes to looking at other foreigners around them, not wanting to directly meet the gaze of a an unknown foreigner on the street. There are many gaijin from various countries who appear regularly on TV speaking fluent Japanese and giving an "outsiders view" on things, but foreigners living in Japan often hate these TV personalities, if for no other reason than because their Japanese is better than ours. Among the foreign-born "talents" you can see on TV here are Bobby Orogon, the bumbling Nigerian comedian who makes Japanese language mistakes on purpose to get laughs; dashing bilingual Italian Gioramo, always there to provide his views on travel shows or documentaries about the Roman Empire; and the eternal Dave Spector, the most famous American in Japan, who has his own gossip section on the morning TV news where he reports on what all the American stars are doing this week.

Remember that J-List carries all the greatest PC dating-sim games from Japan, but translated into English. With a huge catalog of games for all tastes, there's something for everyone, whether you want games with incredibly cute characters, story-centric dramatic games, hilarious comedy dating-sims, all-ages titles or whatever. The upcoming YUME MIRU KUSURI :: A Drug That Makes You Dream has been declared Golden Master and will be shipping in a very short time. Why not preorder it for free shipping when it's printed?

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.

	Urecco DVD Jan 2007. The new issue of Urecco is in too, for fans of the new format with included DVD.
	Gekkan -- Remi Kawashima. Gorgeous model in this new photomagaznie.
	Lesbian Kiss 4 Hours. 4 hours of beautiful Japanese lesbians doing nothing more than kissing. Less is more.
	Show Biz Celebrity KOTONO Debut. The trend of former pop idols and actresses become JAV stars continues with Kotono-chan, just lovely.
	Shiba Wanko Japanese Spirit ~ Nagomi Box (region 2). This is an amazing item -- an anime series that teaches you Japanese manners and respect for culture through cute Shiba doggies.
	Very Lemon -- Ayuko Iwane. Wow is all i can say. Ayako Iwase is a beautiful angel from Japan.
	Egg Jan 2007 vol.123. And we have another issue of Egg for fans of Tokyo's gorgeous young fashion culture.
	Dengeki Comic Gao! May 2007. Great new issue of this comic, with 500+ pages, nearly all of which are interesting. Gao! means "Roar" in Japanese.
	Daruma The Lucky Dolls ~ Kaiun Daruma Daihyakka. Daruma are an amazing symbol of Japan, and here's an excellent book for you to see pictures in.
	Elina (Konoe Taicho) ~ Queens Blade *Preorder*. Gorgeous prepainted figure you can preorder.
	Maximum Penalty ~ Ryojoku Kei. Amazing ero manga action in her new book from Femio Tenma.
	Comic AG Super Erotic Manga Anthology vol. 54. The new issue of Comic AG is in stock too. Remember that you can order this via our monthly subscription and save hassle ^_^
	Suzumiya Haruhi Official Fanbook. Great official Fanbook, filled with tons of art, information and more.
	King of Mr Samurai T-shirt ~ LL Size. A cool new shirt in our made-in-Japan T-shirt line.
	Meiji Wata Pachi Grape. Wata Pachi cotton candy with Pop Rocks inside. Yum.
	Revoltech Eva-00 Proto Type (Blue Color) *Neon Genesis Evangelion*. This is a great series of affordable and high quality robot toys from Japan. Today we've got the Eva series going up
	Wedding Celebration Hello Kitty Plush Set. Super cute plush Hello Kittty and Dear Daniel! Great for anyone you know who's getting married.
	Lacquer-style Square Sake Cup / Kotobuki. Enjoy some sake in this traditional "masu" cup.
	Tatami Mini Pillow *Blue* . Then stretch out with a pillow made of authentic tatami material (igusa grass).
	Lunch Monkey Mayo Cup with Banana Spoon . Your bento life will be cuter with this fun Mayo cup.
	Morinaga DX Koeda Pistachio. We've got more snacks as usual, including a delicious Pistachio treat.
	Snoopy Ice Cube Tray. Hello Kitty ice cube trays? Got 'em. Now we've got Snoopy too!

A meal I ate the other day. I am a major Sukiyaki buff, and a restaurant that we go to often has it has a lunch item.

They say that Japanese food is very healthy, but if you pay close attention you see a lot of refined grains, lots o sugar even in foods you figure wouldn't contain any, and so on. Teriyaki sauce, which isn't eaten in Japan much at all (go figure), is soy sauce mixed with sugar, I think.

Near the cash register of the restaurant. Good Kobe beef!

Ah, curry, the basic food of Japan!

Funny English is everywhere!

Even more funny English!