Kodomo Tencho, Japan's Cutest "Talent"

Japan's entertainment world is a very unique place, and it's interesting to observe it with my gaijin's eyes. Any given variety show will feature a panel of various interesting entertainers known as "talents" -- a comedy duo here, an actress there, perhaps a retired Hawaiian sumo wrestler or an American known for speaking a rare dialect of Japanese to spice things up a bit. The point is to entertain viewers with the mix of personalities and always offer something the viewer will want to watch. Currently one face you see a lot of is a Seishiro Kato, the nine-year-old child star who distinguished himself in last year's NHK Taiga Drama. He's universally known by the name Kodomo Tencho ("child store manager") due to a series of Toyota TV commercials in which he appears as the manager of a car dealership explaining about the tax breaks you get from buying a fuel-efficient car.

You can see "Kodomo Tencho" (child store manager) on Toyota commercials every day.

Japan's Former Capital of Nara Turns 1300 Years Old

The year 2010 marks the 1300th anniversary of the founding of Nara, the former capital of Japan and one of my favorite places in the world. The city was built by Empress Gemmei in 710 in imitation of the Chinese city of Xi'an (where the terra cotta soldiers were buried), and it served as the center of Japanese civilization until 794 when the new capital of Heian-kyo (Kyoto) was established. During the Nara Period, Japan experienced an influx of Buddhist art and culture, and the oldest works of Japanese literature appeared during this time. Today Nara is principally famous for Todai-ji, the breathtakingly beautiful temple that houses the largest bronze Buddha statue in the world, and for deer, which walk freely throughout the sprawling Nara Park. The city government combined these two images to create Sento-kun, the official mascot commemorating the city's 1300-year history. Nara's birthday celebration will be going on all year, so if you have any plans to be in Japan, consider adding the city to your list of places to visit. (See this page for some useful tourist information.)

Walking through very old places like Nara, it might be easy to think that the fascination we foreigners feel for Japan is a new thing, but it's not. Back in the 1920s, a famous gaijin by the name of Albert Einstein visited Japan, invited to hold a series of lectures on General Relativity so that the Japanese could understand his theories. (If I know anything after teaching ESL for eight years, I'm pretty sure they smiled politely but didn't understand a word he said.) Everywhere Einstein went he was followed by reporters and fawning fans, and he stayed many months here, traveling all around the country and sharing his thoughts with leading Japanese scientists. He also schlepped around the Kyoto area, and was fascinated by the physics behind the nightingale floors in Nijojo Castle, which are designed to squeak when walked on so that ninja couldn't sneak into the castle. He also stayed in a traditional ryokan inn in Nara and walked around feeding the deer, just like foreign visitors do today. It's kind of cool to feel a kinship with such a famous person -- did he have trouble keeping his yukata on while he slept, too? How did he manage with chopsticks?

Nara is a beautiful ancient city in Japan, one of my favorites.

Back in Japan, and Other Stuff

Well, we're back in Japan after the approximately 20-hour door-to-door journey from San Diego. We had a great time in the U.S., spending time with family, shopping, and doing general "American stuff" we can't usually do here. I even got some quality time in watching a Chargers game with my son, which is impossible to do in Japan.

J-List has a huge selection of awesome books from Japan, from glossy artbooks to manga volumes to anime and manga magazines that give you free stuff in each issue. Like Azumanga Daioh? We've got the entire series in stock. Need a whole bunch of gorgeous anime posters? Hit just about any issue of Megami Magazine and your prayers will be answered. Want to explore the most beautiful art Japan has to offer? See artbooks like 100 Masters of Bishoujo Painting or Headphone Musume or the K-On! Official Guidebook. Magazines that give you free stuff are popular with our revolving magazine subscription customers, too.

Cool Items Wednesday, January 6, 2010

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.

	K-On! vol. 3 We love K-On! around here, the story of four (later five) girls who decide to form a school band. The third volume of the 4-koma (4-panel) manga is out, with all-new stories about the girls for fans to enjoy.
	Sho-Comi Jan 2010 If you like shoujo (girl's) comics you're sure to love the new issue of Sho-Comi, loaded with cute stories of amazing girls and more than 400 pages -- wow.
	Japanese T-Shirt - Afterschool Tea Time (Girl's Fitted) By customer request, we now make our popular K-On! (Keion) tribute T-shirt in a cool girl's fitted size, so female fans of the show can wear it too. Fantastic original design with "Houkago Tea Time" written in the Beatles font.
	K-ON! Summer Special Figures Also for K-On! fans, a collection of figures of the girls that's great for displaying in your special figure-displaying place. They're capsule toys so they're nice and inexpensive, although they'll sell out quickly.
	Rin + Len Kagamine Vocaloid Plush If you're a Vocaloid fan, here are two outstanding plush tos for you. Not only are they kawaii as all get-out, but they're large and really well made, so that they'll be an important part of your anime plush collection for years and years.
	BIG Miku Hatsune Towel Be the coolest guy in the gym with your very own Miku Hatsune towel, a popular item available from COSPA. Features gorgeous printing with art by KEI. Now with 100% more "geek cred" points.
	Hello Kitty Light Stand This is just plain cool: a really awesome Hello Kitty lamp that will become the most awesome thing in any room it's placed in. The perfect illumination for those marathon Japanese study sessions.
	Melon Pan Bakery Phone Strap Melon Pan (melon bread) is a famous image of Japan's snack culture, and of certain anime series, and now you can have a soft, cute melon bread phone strap attached to your phone.
	COPIC Original ~ Basic Double Marker Set A new year is a good time for setting goals, like improving your skills as an artist. See a deluxe new set of gorgeous COPIC Basic Double Markers w/ "fude" pen brush tips on the other end.
	MAMESHIBA Products, Other Stationery Items Mameshima is a cute little bean character that will teach you lots of useless trivia, and we've restocked cute die-cut mini stickers and deluxe pencil case for his fans. Click to see.
	Red Ribbon Gray Sailor Uniform J-List offers an extensive selection of costumes for guys and girls, and today we've got a nice new school uniform for girls with a gray skirt and bright red ribbon on the top piece. All sizes in stock including 5L, and these complete school uniforms are very affordably priced. Also: Miko Shrine Maiden and Haruhi costumes restocked.
	Authentic High School Uniforms from Matsukameya One item I'm extremely proud to carry is our line of authentic high school uniforms from Matsukameya of Nagoya. We sell both guy's gakuran style uniforms as well as several styles of authentic girl's uniforms, and the quality of the custom-made uniforms are all outstanding.
	iTunes Japan Prepaid Cards from J-List It's fun to browse the iTunes Japan store to see what songs you can discover. Topping the top 200 J-POP songs this week is an awesome song from Kayla Kimura for you to listen to, or check out the best hits of Every Little Thing, or just lose yourself in the new Anime section with tons of anime songs to discover.
	Revoltech Queen's Blade #6 Menace Next, I am a huge fan of Queen's Blade, and this is a brand new figure you can preorder now. Menace is a sexy Egyptian queen who looks great while she fights, or gets put into some embarrassing ecchi situations. This figure is in stock now.
	3D Oppai Mouse Pads from Shunya Yamashita Also: mousepads that provide important wrist support are a hot item in Japan, and we highly recommend these two offerings from Shunya Yamashita.
	Awesome New Snacks from Japan Then we have some amazing all-new Japanese snacks for you, including Japanese Oreo Bars that are delicious to munch on, Japanese Cheetos that in bold nori (seaweed) flavor, plus a DX pack of Puccho candies.
	Restocked Sake, Beer Food Drops Then see fresh stock of the popular traditional "food drops" candies in beer and sake flavors, plus "Going To Hell" spicy candies. These awesome traditional treats allow you to explore foods from all corners of Japan, and you get a discount for ordering 3 or more at a time.
	Classic Hello Kitty Bento Box, Chopsticks Then, we have an excellent new bento box and matching chopstick case today, featuring the classic 1980's Hello Kitty. The bento is a good size for all eaters, and it comes with two compartments for separating your rice from the rest of your lunch.
	J-List [hearts] Totoro Bento We've also restocked the best-selling Totoro bento box we've carried in a while, the deluxe Thermal Bento Set that comes with a large stainless steel container for storing steamed rice, plus two other sections for the rest of your lunch, and it all fits inside a spiffy case.
	SAKURA Lover's Miso Soup Bowl Set Then: this is the most excellent set of bowls for miso soup we've ever seen, and we've seen a lot. You get two beautiful sakura-embossed bowls in red and black, plus matching chopsticks, and they come in a great display box, too.
	Triple Sake Cup Style Mini Multi Plate Or check out this set of three sake cups, which you can use for exchanging ceremonial drinks of rice wine at a wedding or just have fun with your friends.
	Electric Takoyaki Maker & Accessories Apparently there are a lot of fans of takoyaki, the traditional batter ball that contains a piece of cooked octopus meat inside, and we've sold a ton of these electric takoyaki cookers. See fresh stock today.
	J-List Reserve Subscription System Another way to learn Japanese is to read it, and J-List carries more than 40 magazines by our revolving subscription system. Here's how it works: order the subscription and we'll send the newest issue to you as it's released. You never have to pre-pay and you can cancel or change subscriptions at any time.
	Restocked Wacky/Traditional Products See fresh stock of our wacky Lucky Cat Toilet Paper, a fun way to bring a touch of traditional Japan to one of your home's most important rooms, plus a "Pass the Test" hachimaki headband and more fun yet safe products for ninjas.
	Asuka Langley Shikinami 1/6 Cold-Cast *Preorder* We love Asuka from Evangelion on many levels, and are happy to offer this fabulous statue to you. A large 1/6 scale figure that's made of "cold cast" polystone rather than PVC, it's guaranteed to be one of the most awesome figures in your collection.
	Kiki Oki Demon ver. Figure *Preorder* Then, I have to say that Japanese high school girls with samurai swords are giant Demonic bat wings are among my favorite things now, after looking at this figure from the Nitro+ game. Preorder her now.
	Japanese Brush Pens & More Life is too short to use inadequate pens, and J-List has restocked the popular Zebra Sarasa Ball Point Pens both in multiple colors as well as standard black.
	Peach Shock -- Momoko Tani ~ Sabra DVD Mooks Here's a wildly shocking photobook by the folks at Sabra featuring the beautiful Momoko Tani. Lovingly called Peach Shock, which refers both to her name (which means "child of peach") but also to her gorgeous round butt.
	Casual Romance Club is Almost Out of Print Looking for a great love-simulation game that has beautiful girls for you to interact with and eventually find love with? We certainly recommend Casual Romance Club , the amazing Japanese game that was released with optional text or voice (!) in English. This amazing game is nearly out of print, so you should get yours soon.

Passing Decade, Coming Decade

Well, 2010 marks the end of the first decade of the 21st century, and good riddance, I say: no more trying to figure out how to refer to the current ten-year period in short form, like we do with normal decades such as the 80s or 90s. It certainly was a decade of change, with many aspects of our lives revolutionized on a daily basis, and we all got more connected with each other through the hive-mind known as the Internet. For J-List, it was an awesome decade of growth, as we served customers all around the world -- almost 300,000 of them, incredibly -- and discovered new and interesting ways to fulfill our mission of being a "Wonderful Toybox of Things from Japan" for you. Decades, of course, don't always begin or end in neat, rounded numbers. For me the 1980s ended with the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, but the 1990s didn't start until the Street Fighter II boom arrived. So when we look back on the new decade that's just beginning, it will probably look a lot different to us. But no matter what happens this decade, J-List plans to be a peaceful island of Japanese popular culture for you!

Street Fighter II started the 90s for me. What event will be the official start of the 2010's?

Ryoma Sakamoto, Renaissance Samurai

My wife is a very happy woman, thanks to NHK, Japan's version of the BBC and the Domo-kun people. Every year the television network produces one gorgeous high-budget historical period drama called the Taiga Drama, and this year's is to be about one of the most respected historical persons in recent history, Ryoma Sakamoto (1836-1867). Ryoma was a versatile "renaissance samurai" who was responsible for organizing the domains of Choshu and Satsuma (now Yamaguchi and Kagoshima Prefectures) to work together to overthrow the Tokugawa Shogunate and form a modern government centered around the Japanese Emperor, who had been nothing more than a figurehead ruler for a millennium or so. He knew that if Japan were to experience a protracted civil war, it might find itself colonized by the European powers of the age, and he cleverly engineered a nearly bloodless change of government. The reason my wife is happy is that the new drama about Ryoma's life stars Masaharu Fukuyama, the popular actor and singer who is one of her favorites.

I happened to catch an interesting TV show about Ryoma's life, which featured several television personalities sitting on the floor of the room Ryoma had been in when he was assassinated by Shinsengumi-allied samurai at the age of 32, which has become as famous to the Japanese as the Dallas Book Depository and the Grassy Knoll are in the U.S. They discussed many aspects of Ryoma's life, including his role as an "idea man," able to apply some of the ideas he learned from John Manjiro (a fisherman who was rescued by an American vessel and spent several years in the U.S.) to the strict world of the Edo Period Japan. He was fascinated with the technology of the West, and was the first samurai to wear Western-style boots instead of traditional geta sandals, and he also carried a Smith & Wesson pistol, as innovative a gadget in his age as the iPhone is today. He's also credited with founding Japan's first modern corporation, a trading company that would eventually grow into the Mitsubishi conglomerate of companies. All around, a pretty amazong person, and worthy to be thought of as the George Washington of modern Japan.

The Kyoto inn where Ryoma was assassinated is part of history; Ryoma was famous for wearing western-style boots.

Cool Items Monday, January 4, 2010

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.

	Sengoku Helm Artbook A gorgeous collaboration artbook on the theme of the three kingdoms legend, this is a fabulous collection of illustrations that all collectors will love owning.
	Hayate Yagami Figma Action Figure Positively fabulous new Figma Nanoha figure, with many attachments to create different poses and styles, which adds so much to your enjoyment of the figure.
	Vita Figma Action Figure ~ Lyrical Nanoha Also, the hammer-wielding fighting princess Vita from Lyrical Nanoha THE MOVIE is finally in stock. Two thirds of our stock sold as preorders but we've got some left, so snap one up now.
	Dot Frill Petticoat Skirt ~ Black Then, it's quite amazing to be typing this, but J-List now sells petticoats. These are awesome frilly skirts that are quite popular with the goth-loli scene in Tokyo. Click to see this item along with the other fashion items we offer.
	Cosplay Fuku-bukuro Set Also for fans of fine Japanese cosplay, enjoy fresh stock of the Cosplay Lucky Bag grab bags, a traditional red bag filled with awesome cosplay items, including a complete costume, accessories and more.
	Fuwa Fuwa Portable Mini Animal Nap Pillows J-List loves to surprise you with kawaii things from Japan, and today we've got these awesome "nap pillows" that are perfect for curling up with, and they're so cute you won't be able to stop stroking their fur.
	DANGO ~ Japanese Bamboo Deco Pick Whether you're sprucing up your bento or entertaining guests, these bamboo "deco" picks are a fun way to add a touch of Japan to your life. Incredibly detailed and awesome.
	Tiger Animal New Years Strap Then, celebrate the Year of the Tiger with the fabulous plush tiger and traditional chirimen phone strap. A great memento of 2010.
	Celebrate the 'Year of the Taiga' Or if you like, be a little less traditional, and pick up one of our Toradora T-shirts, which are a great tribute to our favorite tsundere character.
	The Familiar of ZERO Complete Artbook Speaking of tsundere, we restocked the excellent Zero no Tsukaima artbook that presents the best art of the series on glossy pages for your enjoyment.
	100 Masters of Bishojo Painting Also: see fresh stock of the popular artbook that presents fabulous painted illustrations by 100 of the top artists in Japan today. Virtually every artist you might want to follow is represented here.
	Ikki Tousen Fighting Game, Dating Sim for PSP The awesome 3D side-scrolling fighting game featuring all the hot and juicy characters from the Ikki Tousen / Dragon Destiny has been restocked. The "Costume Destruction Battle System" in which your opponents' clothes fly off is fun. Also the lovely dating-sim/visual novel game Like Life Every Hour is restocked.
	New Japanese Snacks Today's new snack items including UHA Puccho in bold Caramel flavor, Meiji Village of Bamboo Shoot in Strawberry Tart flavor, plus a truly amazing item, Morinaga Milk Cocoa Caramel Box -- wow, this looks good.
	Sauce Katsu (Aizu Limited) ~ Japanese Food Drops Sauce Katsudon is one of my favorite foods. It's a cutlet (katsu) of pork that's breaded and fried then simmered in a sauce and served on white rice (making it S don or rice bowl). See fresh stock of this wacky traditional Food Drops item.
	SENGOKU SAMURAI DX Bento Box Set Everyone in Japan is interested in history, even females, which are called reki-jo or "history girls." Among the coolest items we sell are these samurai-themed bento boxes, which feature real family crests from Japan's most famous warriors.
	Sushikko -- Sushi Maker (Multi Type) Make sushi the right way with this excellent sushi mold, which will press the rice into just the right shape for beautiful sushi creations.
	DX Simple Natural Wooden Chopsticks Set No Japanese meal would be complete without the use of chopsticks. Here's a set of five awesome all-natural chopstick sets, each made out of a different kind of wood.
	How to Bento Books We love to carry books that help you enjoy your "bento life" more, and we've got many fine ones in stock now, including How To Make Decorated Rolled Sushi. Click to view them now.
	Make 2010 a Year of Japanese Study Make 2010 the year you really get a handle on learning Japanese! We've restocked the Genki Japanese textbook series, the #1 study product we've ever carried. Or click here to view the top 50 study items on J-List right now.
	Kanji Practice Notebooks, Kanji Poster Then: we've posted fresh stock of our popular kanji practice notebooks, which let you memorize kanji characters by writing them repeatedly. Also, the only kanji study poster you'll ever need to hang on your wall.
	A Whole Bunch of Traditional Items From awesome traditional omamori to fabulous paper balloons played with by children in Kyoto for centuries to our popular Lucky Cat and Daruma products, we have some great items for you today. Click to browse.
	Revoltech Queen's Blade Elina Figure **Preorder** I just love these Revoltech Queen's Blade figures, since you can make any pose with them you like, including, er, ecchi ones. And yet they look just like the characters they're supposed to represent.
	Kagura Tsuchimiya Figma ~ Garei Zero *Preorder* From the animation of Garei Zero comes this Figma figure of Kagura Tsuchimiya, posed for action in weapon in hand, with many extras for you to attach to the figure.
	Champion Red Feb 2010 A fun monthly manga that's filled with the most delightful ecchi artwork and themes, which will entertain any fan of cute anime and manga girls and bishoujo style characters. Enjoy the new issue now.
	Yuri Hime Wild Rose vol. 3 Also, another issue of Yuri Hime Wild Rose, the yuri (lesbian) comic that brings the action to the next level, showing you the girl-on-girl visuals that you want to see.
	Claudette Cast off Figure ~ Queen's Blade *Preorder* This is a super "cast off" figure of Claudette, the mother of Elena and Reina, she has awesomely designed armor and weapons and a fully detailed body underneath. Preorder now.
	Awesome TENGA Products, See fresh stock of some of our most awesome TENGA products, which provide stress relief for so many around the world, along with the Angelic Temptation hole toy, the well designed Lapin massager for women that's made in Japan, the super Miku Hatsune simulator, and more.