The joy of "onigiri" rice balls, observations on cooperative elements of Japanese language, and man, that's a really Nice Boat!

If you were to plan a picnic, you might pack a basket containing things like sandwiches, potato salad or maybe some pickles, but a Japanese person would almost certainly bring along onigiri, the delicious rice balls from Japan. Formed using the honorific o prefix that can be seen on many Japanese words and nigiri, meaning "to squeeze," onigiri are a popular way to grab a quick snack in Japan. Although they can be as simple as a hunk of salted rice pressed into a shape, there's usually a bit of fish, konbu seaweed or ume plum inside, and nori covering the outside. Onigiri are a major product category for convenience stores in Japan, and even before a new gaijin learns to start reading the language around him, he often memorizes the all-important onigiri color code at Seven Eleven -- red for salmon, blue for "sea chicken" aka tuna mayonnaise, and so on. Onigiri are a staple of bento culture, and Japanese housewives get up extra early to press rice balls to include in lunches for their kids or husbands. Onigiri can be heated but are usually eaten cold, but there's a subset called yaki-onigiri that's basically a triangle of white rice that's roasted over a flame while being painted with soy sauce -- delicious. Along with popular bento items, we sell a lot of onigiri related products on the site -- I thought today's Hello Kitty Onigiri Maker is especially cool.

A language reflects the character of the people who use it, and vice-versa, and I'm sure that if I were to study German, I would see that the precision and attention to detail that Germans are famous for would be evident in their speech. One interesting area of Japanese grammar students learn early on is the verb ending masho, which corresponds to "let's..." as in "let's eat" (tabemasho), "let's go" (ikimasho) or "let's not smoke" (tobacco wo yamemasho). In situations where verbal or written warnings would be worded in a command form in English (do not smoke, do not ride on the escalator backwards), it's common for Japanese to express the same message with this softer "let's..." verb form, making statements like "let's put our telephones into vibration mode" (maanaa modo ni shimasho) or "when a pregnant woman or elderly person gets on the train, let's give our seat to them" (seki wo yuzurimasho). These statements subtly create a warm and fuzzy "let's all cooperate" atmosphere that make people want to do their part for the good of everyone, an important pillar of Japanese society. Every year, the Japanese tax office sponsors commercials featuring famous TV personalities walking to their post office to mail their income tax forms -- "Let's fill out our tax forms accurately and honestly," is the message. Language like this presents a challenge for translators -- if translated literally, the message might not convey the same meaning to everyone.

The various forms of popular otaku culture in Japan and around the world continue to grow, making barriers like geographic location mean less and less, and the recent events surrounding the broadcast of the last episode of the popular anime School Days were a further example of this. School Days is an anime series based on a dating-sim game about a love triangle between Makoto, his girlfriend Kotonoha and their friend Sekai, which combines beautiful characters and a complex (and fairly violent) story. The day before the last episode was to air, a girl killed her father with an axe, and fearing that the act might have been inspired by the show somehow, the TV studios decided to replace the much-awaited last episode with soothing classical music and images of a boat somewhere in Europe, which fans immediately dubbed "Nice Boat!" spreading images all over YouTube. The boat is now a part of pop culture history, and because we love to make esoteric things for otaku, we've made a limited-edition T-shirt to commemorate this really excellent boat.

Just a reminder that's it's a great time for you to make your 2008 calendar order now, as each day, we're seeing calendars disappearing off the site as they sell out, and since the order cutoff for most of the calendars has already passed, many are gone for good. We currently have a wonderful selection of 190+ anime, JPOP, bikini idol, traditional and modern art, and men's calendars on the site. Why not browse our great selection of Japanese calendars now?

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 sites. 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.

	School Days Parody T-Shirt - "Nice Boat!". For fans of School Days, or for anyone looking for the most esoteric T-shirt ever: this is our cool new "Nice Boat" T-shirt. Great joke for all anime fans!
	Delicious New Japanese Snacks. See some great new Japanese snacks today, including a "bitter & orange" flavor of Nestle Aero chocolate, delicious Meiji Porte in "Hokkaido Milk" flavor, and mouth-cleaning Fragre mints.
	Cool Sanrio Bento Boxes -- My Melody. The popular Sanrio character My Melody is undergoing a big boom in Japan right now, and we've gotten in two different bento boxes that are great for collectors, featuring beautiful printing and design.
	Fresh Stock of Various 2008 Calendars. We've restocked some great 2008 anime, JPOP, sexy idol and other calendars for you, including getting in more stock of the incredibly popular 2008 Tachikoma Trading Figure Calendar, an extremely cool item.
	Hello Kitty ONIGIRI / Rice Ball Maker Set. We've got something really outstanding: plastic molds that can be used for making Hello Kitty-shaped "onigiri" or rice balls for bento. You could also make other interesting foods with this, like cookies, cakes and more.
	Casio Electronic Dictionary XD-GW6900. Wow, here's an electronic dictionary for serious students of Japanese, the newly updated Casio XD-GW6900, which is loaded with the best features to help you succeed in your mastery of the language. It's got over 100 dictionaries inside, and uses the excellent pen-style kanji input method that helps you memorize characters by the stroke order. Outstanding!
	Comp Hs vol. 6 ~ Comp Heroine 6. Follow the best anime series in Japan with Comp Hs, aka Comp Heroines, the outstanding "BIshoujo Only Visual Magazine." From Clannad (!) to Lucky Star (!) and everything in between, this mag is also cool because you get free stuff in each issue.
	Final Fantasy Trading Arts Mini vol.1. Wow, here's a really cool set of Final Fantasy miniature figures that are incredibly cute. We've got full sets in stock as well as a set of the heroines only. Really nice.
	Kiki's Delivery Service Blankets. If you don't know about the extra-soft acrylic blankets they sell in Japan, well, now you do. We've gotten in two different Kiki's Delivery Service blankets that are so soft and warm you won't believe it -- highly recommended.
	Delicious of Restocked Snacks. See restocked snack items too, including Cola Wata Gum cotton candy that turns to gum in your mouth, UHA High Conc. Milk Candy, Ju-C candies in Apple flavor, delicious Hi-Chew, and more!
	Sabra Nov 2007. Connoisseurs of such things know that the most beautiful women from Japan can usually be found in the pages of Sabra, the elegant magazine of gorgeous models. You also get a DVD too.
	Melty -- Tina Yuzuki. This is definitely an accurate description for the lovely half-Japanese, half-Portuguese Tina-chan in her first-ever hardcover photobook release.
	New "H" Manga. Of course we've got some great new ero manga on the site for you, starting with the fabulous Scold me! Twins Sisters (love that title) and a nice one called Midnight Nursing.
	Tony Works ~ Sora no Iro, Mizu no Iro. Wow, that sold out really fast. We've gotten the awesome artbook of "H" illustrator Tony Taka (his pen name, he's really Japanese). Beautiful art throughout.
	Momo Leopard, Young Hip Cover Gal. Then for fans of "furry" themes, we've got a cute Peach Leopard Girl that's also a cast off. Or go for the incredible ChiChinoe figure, which finally game in, although most of our order sold out in preorder.
	Melancholy of Suzumiya Hiharu Cosplay Special. The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya is one of the most influential anime series in years, and now fans can get their cosplay fantasies fulfilled with this great release from SOD featuring "Hahiru" [sic] as she performs while wearing virtually every costume she wore in the series. Awesome.
	Finally, Lots of Restocked DVD Titles. We've got plenty of great DVD titles back in stock today, including Dream Idol First Buk 4 Hours, Shiko Shiko Japan, Akiho Yoshizawa's dynamite Max Pink File, Over 180cm Woman (the Japanese love tall, domineering AV idols), and the always-fun Zenra Bowling!

Thoughts on Japan and group culture in anime, hard and difficult areas of Japanese, English etc., and various mysteries of life in Japan

Japan is famous for its cooperative group culture, and you can see this in many places, from clubs in schools to doujinshi circles to more formal organizations. In the past few years I've noticed that many anime series have been made by groups rather than individual creators or companies, for example the Ikki Tousen Committee, the Claymore Production Committee, and the School Days Production Committee. These groups are generally made up of a variety of members working on the project, including producers, artists, representatives from companies like Bandai, and quite often, major anime retailers like Toranoana or Animate, who can give input that will help make the project successful with fans. One reason these committees come into being is financial -- having a group of experienced individuals be responsible for a project and makes it easier to raise funds -- but it also spreads responsibility around to more members. When Steamboy, the most expensive anime film ever made, failed to make back even half of its $26 million price tag, I'm sure Akira creator Katsuhiro Otomo was glad to have had the Steamboy Promotion Committee to take some of the blame off him.

Each language is unique, and presents special challenges to learners coming in from other language groups. For example, Chinese or Thai are tonal languages, Romance languages have noun gender to keep track of, and so on. According to the J-List staff, the most difficult areas of learning English are the "helping verbs" that fly around English sentences ("she shouldn't have been able to drive, should she have?"), or knowing whether to answer a statement with a tag question on the end in the positive or negative ("You're Japanese, aren't you?"). The Japanese language also has some rough patches, beyond the obvious challenge of mastering kanji, which include getting used to grammatical particles that "mark" the parts of sentences, including the often-confusing "topic marker" (wa) and "subject marker" (ga) of a sentence; getting used to verbs coming in formal and informal forms; and (as a male) learning not to imitate female speakers too much, since you can easily find yourself speaking effeminately. Happily, Japanese is not an especially difficult language to pronounce, once you train the muscles in your mouth to say the five vowels, which are "a" (ah), "i" (ee), "u" (oo), "e" (eh) and "o" (oh). These sounds are so tightly formed compared to the "lazy" sounds of American English, though, that I've actually experienced muscle pain in my mouth from speaking too much Japanese.

There are certain mysteries associated with living in Japan, as any gaijin will tell you. Why does your boss say so desu ne ("Yes, that's so") right before shooting your idea down? Why are some trains called nobori (climbing) trains and others kudari (descending) trains? (Trains headed in the direction of Tokyo are the former, and away from the capital, the latter.) Why do stores suddenly start playing Auld Lang Syne from speakers fifteen minutes before closing? (To politely let you know you should complete your purchase and leave.) Then there's the great mystery of the kanji characters for "small" and "big" (sho and dai) which you see on most toilet flush handles. Although Japan is generally wasteful when it comes to its natural resources, often covering the sides of mountains with concrete just in case there might be a rock slide someday, it has a green side too, taxing less efficient car engines at a higher rate, selling refill versions of products to cut down on trash volume and promoting low-energy lighting. Japanese toilets are set up to conserve resources, too: you can turn the handle to the right to perform a normal flush ("big"), or hold it to the left for a few seconds to just let out a little bit of water ("small"). It took me a few years to make the connection, but of course the "small" character stands for shoben (meaning number 1, literally translated as "small convenience"), while the other turn of the handle stands for daiben (number 2, or "big convenience"). One more mystery solved.

As you probably know, J-List sells a wide range of delicious Japanese snacks, with the newest releases from companies like Glico, Meiji, Morinaga and more always on the site. Although our Japanese snacks are fun to much on any time, they can also make great gifts for the upcoming holidays, and what's why we've added a new Best Snacks Stocking Stuffer set, featuring a selection of the best snacks we carry, from Meltykiss to Kit Kat to Pocky to Meltykiss and that delicious Charcoal Roasted Coffee Candy.

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 sites. 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.

	J-list Best Snacks Stocking Stuffer Set A. Give the gift of great Japanese snacks this year with our new gift set. Includes all the most popular items, with something for everyone.
	Fox Squirrel T-Shirt - Men's standard. Really nice new T-shirt we're posting, the Fox Squirrel from Nausicaa and Laputa, one of the most beloved creations from Hayao Miyazaki.
	Pinky Street Figures. We've gotten in three great new Pinky Street figures too, gorgeous modern Tokyo girls who change outfits by popping their heads off and onto another included body. Super cute.
	Afro Samurai Figure. Awesome figure from Afro Samurai, the popular anime. Voiced in English by who other than Samuel Jackson. 1/8 scale, super detail.
	DX Hand-made Japanese OYAKATA Bamboo Setta. Here's a really cool pair of traditional Japanese "setta" sandals made from bamboo for a luxurious feel. They are especially long in the back, recommended for larger feet. These shoes were worn by firemen in the Edo Period.
	My Neighbor Totoro Wrist Watch -- Oval Gold Face. Wow, talk about something you'll treasure for years, here's a high quality Totoro watch from Seiko. Leather band, beautiful styling, chrome gold everywhere.
	Hello Kitty Tight 2-tier Bento Box ~ Glittery Ribbon. Enjoy a delicious bento lunch with Sanrio's famous Hello Kitty character. Nice tight-fitting bento box with two tiers, one for rice and one for the rest of your lunch.
	FURO-TAN --- Bath Water Proof Study Flashcard Set. The Japanese are nothing if not innovative when it comes to studying. Here's a new idea for you -- studying while soaking in the bath tub with these specially designed plastic cards!
	Kougyoku Yamaneko (Linx) Figure ~ Animal Girl *Preorder*. For fans of the genre known as 'kemono" (hair-thing, i.e. characters with animal characteristics), here's a great preorder figure with cat ears and a cool sword.
	Traditional Origami Paper. Origami (lit. "folding paper") is a great traditional Japanese art, and we've gotten in two new sets, a gorgeous traditional kimono series and a wacky origami bento box you can fold yourself! Incidentally origami has been shown to be good for older people, as it helps the brain maintain many skills.
	Cool Restocked Traditional Items. Some fun traditional items we're restocking include our Onegai Jizu Japanese statue that helps you diet, our some really cool cups for drinking sake, a cool cloth bag, and a netsuke featuring the flag of Shinsengumi.
	Bento & Related Items. Bento is popular all over the world, and J-List has dozens of cool items in stock. Today we're restocking the Nikyoro Ju-Bako style lunch box, our Bento Mini Cups for arranging your lunch, cool chopsticks for Autumn, and more.
	DMM May 2007. DMM is a leading AV industry magazine that follows all the top names in the business, from Yua Aida to Akiho Yoshizawa to Honaka and more. See lots of great pics as well as video caps, and each issue comes with a DVD of fun stuff too.
	Love -- Zhao Shan Shan. Positively captivating photobook featuring a gorgeous model from China, a beautiful, lithe woman whose photographs you'll treasure.
	Newly Posted manga Volumes. Got some great new manga for you today, with the gorgeous Baknyu ("Explosive Oppai") Fantasy my the famous Brave Soul artist Mogudan, and Squall, a collection of stories of sudden, savage love.
	A Girl 2 Figure Illustrated by o-ji. We've gotten this dynamite "cast off" (w/ removable clothes) figure back in stock since it was so popular. Incredibly detailed with a real cloth sweater you can take off.
	Mo-Retsu! Boin Sensei ~ Intense! Big Oppai Teacher. Rio Yamasaki stars as a teacher with some very big, um, guns, in this cool release from Soft on Demand's Ifrit label. Great for fans of meganekko, too.

All about Japanese swords, thoughts on the "horse with a heart mark" and government, and, can you ski?

Japanese swords are famous around the world, up there with ninjas and Hello Kitty as a symbol of the country. Like the kanji writing system and Buddhism, sword-making was imported from China, and was immediately embraced by Japanese craftsmen who sought to perfect the art. Most famously worn by the samurai warrior class between the 14th and 19th centuries, it was common to carry both a long katana sword and a shorter blade, called a wakizashi. The law that governs carrying of weapons in Japan is known as the Firearms and Swords Control Law, something I've always been amused by, since one doesn't usually worry about something like the need for "sword control." While samurai swords are quite common in Japan -- my wife's parents have a pair of swords on display in their bedroom -- it's rare for one to be used in a crime. But that's just what happened in Tokushima Prefecture, where the president of a construction company who was known for his collection of ancient Japanese swords seems to have gotten into a heated argument with his son about something. Things got out of hand, a sword was drawn, one managed to kill the other before taking his own life. (Police are still investigating the details.)

There's a new "horse idol" in Japan's racing world that's claiming the hearts of fans. Her name is Treasure Smile and she's popular because she's got a natural heart shape on her head, which has caused thousands of fans to flock to Iwate Prefecture in Northern Honshu to take pictures of the "horse with the heart mark." The local track is milking Treasure Smile's popularity for all its worth, advertising that anyone wearing a heart on their clothes can get into the races for free. Along with boat and bicycle racing, horse racing is popular in Japan, and there are thirty tracks in various places around the country. It's also one of the many areas of society that the Japanese government is heavily involved in, much to the confusion of gaijin like me who wonder why the government needs to be operating race tracks at all. Unlike the U.S. with its tradition of individual sovereign states, Japan's history since the Meiji Restoration has been one of modernization from the core outward, with the government taking an active role in a range of industries from the publically-run Japan Tobacco which once controlled the distribution of all cigarettes and salt in the country, to the sprawling Japan Post Office, which operated as the world's largest savings bank and also sold life insurance on the side. One by one, these industries have been slowly privatized, with the old Japan National Railways becoming JR and the inefficient government-run phone company becoming the modern NTT. Presumably these moves have improved efficiency and competition, although the invisible bonds between these former public entities and government are still significant.

Suki desu ka? One of the first useful words a student of Japanese learns is how to say "like" (suki), which is pronounced quickly so that it sounds rather like the English word "ski," leading all students to immediately make the joke Sukii ga suki desu ka? (Do you like to ski?), since the words sound similar. The word suki is often a student's introduction to the concept that a word or idea in one language might have many possible meanings in another language, depending on the situation. Right off the bat, suki can mean "like" (in the context of your favorite food or hobby) or "love" (when said in reference to another person). Like all Japanese words there's some ambiguity involved, which is the subject of more than a few melodramatic misunderstandings in anime or television dramas. For example, if a woman was looking at a cake and said suki desu, she could theoretically be expressing her love of cake, or else she could be confessing her feelings for a boy who was also in the room. A couple of years ago I saw a variety show in which former JAV actress slash novelist slash TV talent Ai Iijima walked around New York, asking Americans Kyonyu suki? which sounds like "Can you ski?" in English, but is really asking if they prefer women with, er, large oppai. It was funny to see the Americans on the show nodding their heads for the camera at her question. Try it on your friends!

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 sites. 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.

	Hello Kitty Dancing Plush in Christmas Stocking. A super item for Christmas, here's a plush Hello Kitty in stocking that actually dances for you when you press her paw. A really outstanding item from Sanrio for the holidays, and very huggable!
	Delicious New Japanese Snacks. Enjoy some fantastic new Japanese snacks today, including a new Baked Cheese "Meets Wine" Pretz made to go great with wine, Almond Premium Chocolates from Glico, and amazing "Glamatic" gum from Lotte that answers the question, "Where is all the Goth-Loli themed gum from Japan?"
	Revoltech Yotsuba ~ Yotsubato. One of the coolest toys to be released in the Revoltech line is Yotsuba, the star of the the manga and anime Yotsubato (aka Yotsuba&, or Yotsuba with an ampersand after it). This popular figure is back in stock now.
	The Bible II ~ Star Trek Deep Space Nine/Voyager. Here's a cool item for Star Trek collectors: the official Bible art/photobook for Star Trek Deep Space Nine and Voyager. Sold as a two volume set in an attractive outer box, the printing is beautiful. The Bible portion (showing all that is official from the show, according to the original writers) is in English, the other book is in Japanese.
	Rilakkuma Bento Set. Rilakkuma, aka Relax Bear, is fast becoming one of the most beloved characters in Japan. Enjoy this new bento set, including bento box (2-section), chopsticks w/ case, and a "Kinchaku" cloth bag to hold it all.
	NHK COOL JAPAN. Here's an extremely educational book published in both English and Japanese by Nippon Hoso Kyokai (NHK), Japan's version of the BBC, presenting a wealth of information on Japan for anyone interested in the country, culture and language.
	Restocked Cute Things from Japan. Finally, see a bunch of restocked cute Sanrio items for you, including our fun-to-hold Hello Kitty "Otedama" Bean Bag Plush, a chrome emblem that turns your car into a Hello Kitty Limited Edition, and a spiffy "chirimen" eyeglasses case.
	Mamegoma and Rilakkuma Toilet Paper Roll Holder. San-X is making some of the cutest things in Japan these days, and today we've got cute toilet paper holders for your bathroom featuring their most popular characters, Mamegoma the seal and Rilakkuma, aka "Relax Bear." Great for making your bathroom something guests will remember.
	New Pinky Street figures. The Pinky Street figures from Vance Project are just too cool, with stylish design and clothes you can "change" by popping the head off one body and putting it on the other included body. Very modern and cool.
	My Neighbor Totoro Wrist Watches. Wow, here's something for the Ghibli fan who has everything: dynamite Totoro watches with beautiful styling approved by Hayao Miyazaki himself. Featuring internal movements by Seiko.
	Calcifur Tote Bag -- Howl's Moving Castle. The most popular Howl item we've ever carried, this is the Calcifur Tote Bag, a cute cloth bag you can take anywhere and hold just about anything, .Back in stock today.
	Yours ~ Hiderou Horibe Art Works. Fabulous artbook by Hiderou Horibe, featuring his gorgeous characters and works. Features both full size glossy pages as well as his sketchwork, showing how how art was created.
	Fraulein Revoltech #001 Rei Ayanami *Preorder*. A new series of figures from the popular Revoltech line, featuring posable anime females. This is a really amazing Rei Ayanami figure that you can move into almost any shape you want. Preorder it now.
	Restocked Bento Items. We also have restocked bento items for you, including our cool Brilliant Style "Goth-Loli" bento box, Mini Sauce Dispensers, and
	Japan-Related Books. We have some cool restocked Japan-related books too, including an issue of Kimono Hime with tons of pictures featuring modern kimono culture, and Love Love Sweets, all about Japanese traditional candy making.
	The Top DVD No. 108 Aug 2007. Gorgeous new magazine dedicated to the top JAV stars, with really outstanding photographs throughout. Truth be told, I've been waiting for a magazine that featured famous, really beautiful models in great settings since Urecco took a turn towards the love hotel scene.
	Asian Dress Costume 4 Hour Special. The Japanse love exotic things, and the traditional "China Dress" and variants found in Vietnam and elsewhere are very lovely indeed. Here's a fabulous 4 hour DVD of gorgeous girls in Asian dresses.