Coming-of-Age Ceremony for Junior High School Students

My son turns fifteen this year, and in accordance with a Japanese custom I'd never heard of before, he'll be participating in a school ceremony called risshi-shiki, the Ceremony of Attending Manhood (also called Genpuku or Genbuku). It's a revival of an old tradition that goes back a millennium or so in which boys who had reached the minimum age of adulthood had their hair cut in the fashion of adults for the first time, and after that point they could be called to go to war and kill with a sword. In these modern times, it's become a ceremony where boys (and girls) stand up in front of their teachers and other students and declare their goals, what they want to do with their lives in the future. My son goes to a special experimental immersion school in which 50% of the classes are taught in English, so he has to give his speech twice, once in English and once in Japanese.

When I was fifteen and attending school in America, I never gave a thought about where my life would take me -- I was too busy playing AD&D and M.U.L.E. on my Atari 8-bit computer. Do you think this is a good way to get young people to think more seriously about the future?

A rissho-shiki ceremony is an opportunity to reflect on your personal goals.

Sapporo Snow Festival

Today is the start of the Sapporo Snow Festival, the famous snow-sculpting event in which a dozen or so teams work to create beautiful masterpieces out of snow. This is the 60th anniversary of the festival, which got its start in 1950 when the city of Sapporo decided to turn several local snow sculpting competitions into a regular event, and everything just sort of snowballed from there (sorry). Different sculptures are created each year, and it's always fun to see what the will be made -- one group is making a giant Miku Hatsune Nendoroid this year, for example. During my days as a single gaijin I did a fair bit of hitchhiking around Japan, and I visited the city of Sapporo but not during the festival. I'd love to go see it properly sometime.

The 60th Sapporo Snow Festival is going on right now. Wish I were there.

Asashoryu Bows Out of the Dohyo

Japan's sumo world was rocked today by the announcement that Mongolian wrestler Asashoryu, the top-ranked yokozuna (Grand Champion) in the sport, would be retiring to take responsibility for an incident in which he got drunk and punched an employee at a drinking establishment. This was far from the only time the sumo star has been in trouble: he'd also been reprimanded for brawling with other wrestlers privately and was photographed playing soccer back home in Mongolia while he was supposed to be on medical leave for a back injury. One of the biggest problems with the wrestler, from the Japanese point of view, was that he lacked the hinkaku (dignity) that's expected in a person of that rank, yet Asashoryu refused to accept Japanese-style humility, often striking a "guts pose" after a tournament win and preferring a large Hawaiian shirt to his official sumo wrestler yukata while in public. Asashoryu was one of the strongest wrestlers the sport had ever seen, with an unprecedented 25 tournament victories in his 11-year career.

Asashoryu's name always makes me think of a Street Fighter special attack.

Wacky Subculture, Anime & Traditional Products from Japan

J-List sells a ton of unique and wacky products from Japan, which I like to dig through for you. We love all forms of Japanese subculture, and whenever something becomes popular on the Japanese Interwebs, we'll be there to offer products to you, like our excellent lineup of Touhou manga, figure and cosplay products, or our fun Yukkuri! T-shirt. The Japanese always have a knack for coming up with fun new ways to explore our obsessions, and products like our "3D" Mouse Pads, which provide just the right wrist support an otaku needs, or those Evangelion earphones. Finally, there's a lot of crossover between "wacky" and "traditional" in Japan, and we like to think our line of hachimaki headbands are a little bit of both.

Cool Products Friday, February 5, 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.

	Prince Animage 2010 Winter Prince is a special magazine published especially for girls who love all the best male characters in anime, from the handsome guys of Hetalia to Sengoku Basara's good-looking men to Code Geass. Free stuff, too.
	Moe Moe Fighting Girl Encyclopedia It's time for another fun Moe Moe guide to the the world, in this case all the various forms of fighting, from karate to judo to Brazilian Capoeira and much more, all with awesome illustrations.
	Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha A's ~ The Battle of Aces Awesome fighting game for Sony PSP featuring all the Nanoha characters rendered in 3D, with a fun original story.
	Restocked Love Plus, Queen's Blade games Then, we've restocked the awesome 3D animated dating-sim game Love Plus, which made headlines on CNN when a Japanese man "married" one of the characters in the game, plus the fun Queen's Blade fighting game with an ecchi "armor damage system."
	POND'S Bamboo Charcoal Black Facial Cleaner We've been carrying more make-up and skincare products from Japan, which our customers enjoy being able to buy. From Pond's we've got two fabulous items that are made with sumi, that is bamboo charcoal, to make your skin extra-clean.
	Nail Clipper with Lens for Multi-use This is cool: a really well made pair of fingernail clippers with a built-in magnifying glass to make it easy to see what you're doing. Made in Japan, and very sharp.
	Chirimen Hello Kitty Gama-guchi Mini Purse These are awesome: Hello Kitty coin purses made of chirimen (traditional kimono fabric). Two colors available.
	Rilakkuma Bath Ball Have fun in the bath next time with this awesome ball that fizzes and turns your bath into a relaxing onsen hot spring, while revealing a Rilakkuma toy at the center.
	Keep Warm the Japanese Way This year yutanpo hot water bottles are a hot item (sorry for the pun) because they're eco (ecologically good for the Earth) because you put hot water in them and they keep you warm all night. We've restocked our most popular (and kawaii) items today, plus the popular Hot Hand Cream.
	Authentic School Briefcase Don't look now, but we've restocked the Japanese school bag that's used by thousands of real high school students in Japan every day. Made by the famous Matsukameya of Nagoya, who also create the authentic school uniforms we sell.
	New Snacks from Japan Today's new Japanese snacks are very nice: a new flavor of Meiji's Mushroom Mountain, little cookie mushrooms with chocolate tops, in Strawberry Tart flavor, plus fabulous Porte in Creamy Raisin Whip, and new Shigekix.
	Akihabara Canned Bread is Good Food for Otaku We've restocked the Space Battleship Yamato bread-in-a-can, a popular omiyage (souvenir) from Akihabara that's fun to eat, or just display the can on your anime shelf.
	Ukiyoe Drops (Azuki Flavor) Got even more traditional Food Drops candies for you too, this time in delicious Azuki flavor. Also restocked other popular flavors like Kushi Katsu and Takoyaki from Osaka, Buta Don and the "Going To Hell" spicy candies.
	Food Pencil for Bento Nothing makes a man happier than having a heart drawn on an plate of omrice (omelet over rice) by a woman he loves. You can do that and much more with the Food Pencil set, restocked today.
	Sugar Bunnies Sanrio Bento Box Set Today we're posting a really kawaii bento featuring the new Sanrio character Sugar Bunnies. This bento box comes with everything you need: tight lunchbox with interior compartments and chopsticks w/case.
	Red KIKU Flower Art Lacquered Stacking Bento Box Then see restock of the beautiful jubako (stacking bento box) type bento box with vibrant images of kiku (chrysanthemums) on it.
	Make Onigiri for the One in Your Heart Show that special person in your life you love them with the fun heart-shaped onigiri shaper we're restocking today. Other fun shapes also restocked.
	Hello Kitty Bento Items Also, see some great bento accessories restocked, including the Hello Kitty DECO Bento Set which makes cute Sanrio-shaped onigiri and furikake images, one of our most popular Sanrio products.
	Rilakkuma Items Also: the Rilakkuma salt and pepper shaker is restocked, a popular item that will add many cute points to your table.
	Oil Brush for Takoyaki Maker Our popular Takoyaki maker is a fun way to make authentic Osaka-style octopus batter balls, as well as other fun foods like pancake balls with sausage inside and syrup on top. We've restocked the special brush for applying oil before cooking.
	Awesome Ghibli Playing Cards Then for the Studio Ghibli fan in you, we've restocked the fun playing cards for Totoro, Kiki's Delivery Service and Spirited Away. I've spent hours with these cards, playing with my own kids.
	Lucky Panda, Ninja Relaxation Toys Next, see fresh stock of our great Hidamari no Tami inspired items, including Lucky Panda and Lucky Ninja. They never need batteries!
	Fun Japanese Study Aids J-List stocks hundreds of products to help you learn Japanese, and today we've restocked the Chibi Maruko Kanji Dictionary, as well as the Kanji Drill workbooks used by Japanese kids.
	Kanji Practice Flashcards Also, we've finally gotten the popular Kanji Flashcards from White Rabbit in stock in San Diego. This is nothing less than the single best Japanese study item J-List has ever carried, in my opinion.
	My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS Another great item for students of Japanese: we've restocked My Japanese Coach for the Nintendo DS in San Diego, which is a great way to start learning Japanese. Compatible with all DS systems in the world.
	Restocked Traditional Items Making some tea? Why not do it in our awesome Lucky Cat Tea Pot, which we've restocked today. Also enjoy the Gold Lucky Coin Key Chain, "Surprise" Daruma whose eyes pop out at you, Kyudo Archery Set and a fun wooden ninja sword.
	Uncho Kanu Figutto Action Figure *Preorder* I have to admit, Uncho is not the character I think of when I think "cat ears" to myself, but she sure is awesome in this new figure that we've posted for preorder.
	Sasara Kusugawa Figutto Action Figure *Preorder* Another fabulous cat ear figure, this is a unique sculpt of Sasara from the popular eroge ToHeart2. Comes with various optional parts.
	Sora Kasugano 1/6 Figure School Swimsuit *Preorder* From the (slightly ecchi) folks at Griffon comes this new figure of Sora from Yosuga no Sora, wearing a sexy swimsuit that she's having trouble keeping on, apparently.
	Chingcame 4 Deluxe Photobook Without a doubt my favorite series of photobooks from Japan are these, the chinkame line of small photobooks filled with stylish and elegant photography. So glad to see the series has started up again.
	Champion RED Mar 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. Not only do you get 500+ pages of awesome content, you get a cool figure, free.
	Otome Senshi Lovely 5 A nice new offering for fans of yuri (lesbian) themes, this is really special collection of stories that combine beautiful characters, goth-loli outfits and more.
	Chooooo Skinship Love Plus Doujinshi In Japanese slang, cho means "super" or "extremely," so the title of this full color Love Plus parody doujinshi becomes clear. I would love some skinship with those three girls.
	J-List's Valentine's Day Sale Remember we're having a great Valentine's Day special on all our "H" games. Here's how it works: buy Bazooka Cafe, a great game to play this Feb 14th, and get $5 off. Then get $5 off for each additional game you buy together, which adds up to a huge savings!
	The Virgin Great Pussy You know, I've lived in this country for long enough to think that I wouldn't be surprised every time I got out of bed. But I am surprised by the incredible hole toy we've just posted which simulates a very special event.
	TENGA Flip Hole, Brush Massager Restocked Even more sock of the popular TENGA Flip-Hole, which is incredibly well-designed and popular with our customers, as well as the innovative Electric Ecstasy brush and popular Pururun Lotion Bath.

The Really Big Numbers of Avatar

The other day I was talking with my wife and daughter about an article I'd seen, which said the film Space Pocahontas Avatar had earned an unprecedented 2 billion dollars in ticket sales. "How much money is that?" my daughter asked, so I tried to tell her...then fell flat on my face. Numbers are notoriously difficult to work with in Japanese, since instead of the Arabic system that's based on the unit 1,000 they use the Chinese system which uses 10,000 (mahn) as a base unit, followed by oku which has a value of 100 million. Numbers themselves are exactly the same, of course, and a Japanese math book would have the same written formulas that a Western one would; it's the act of verbally expressing large numbers that's such a challenge. In the end, it took the three of us several minutes of intense discussion to figure how to express the number $2,000,000,000 properly in Japanese yen.

Which works better for you? I think I like the Disney-animated one best.

The Adventure of English

If you've been reading my twitter feed lately, you might have noticed me writing about an interesting BBC documentary I'd come across. Called The Adventure of English, the 8-part series follows the evolution of the English language from its early Anglo-Saxon roots, through centuries of refinement by the likes of Chaucer and Shakespeare, and finally to its arrival as England's most famous export to the world during the Colonial Era. For a "language otaku" like myself, the show was awesome linguistic pr0n, and I loved every episode. One of the themes of English is how it was changed by other languages it came into contact with, especially after the Norman Invasion, which led to 300 years of rule by French-speaking kings and is the reason 50% of modern English words are French in origin. This mirrors another island nation I'm fond of. Japan also had a linguistic "invasion" in the form of kanji from China around the 6th century AD, which the Japanese adapted to their spoken language. Today, every kanji used in Japan has two basic readings, a Japanese one for the simpler concepts like mizu for "water" or sora for "sky," and a Chinese reading that's used to create more complex compound words such as suiso for "hydrogen" or and kuuatsu for "air pressure."

I enjoyed the BBC documentary on the history of English, but then I'm a "language otaku."

Setsubun: Out with devils, in with happiness!

Today is Setsubun, a fun day for anyone with kids in Japan. A remnant of a festival that took place on New Year's Eve during the old Lunar Calendar, it's a day when oni (devils) will be symbolically chased out of the house so that happiness can reign during the New Year. The father of the house will assume the role of a devil, wearing a paper mask that makes him look scary. When the devil attacks, the children pelt him with baked soybeans and chase him off, shouting Oni wa soto, fuku wa uchi! ("Out with devils, in with happiness!"). When the devil is properly vanquished, everyone is supposed to eat their age in soybeans to help guarantee good health in the coming year, which is easy for a child of eight or so but more difficult for parents who are getting up there in years. Setsubun is also a day to visit your local Shinto shrine, where people gather to be pelted by soybeans thrown out into the crowd by sumo wrestlers and kabuki actors who have been invited to take part in the festivities.

Feb. 3rd is Setsubun, a day for casting devils out of your home.

Valentine's Day Sale on Dating-Sim Games

J-List is happy to announce a special Valentine's Day sale on all our dating-sim games, which are great fun to curl up with in front of a warm computer. Here's how it works: buy the outstanding game Bazooka Cafe, which includes the free Valentine Special bonus game, and we'll send you a $5 coupon via email for a future J-List purchase. Want to save even more? Add any other game(s) to your order and we'll send you another $5 coupon for each game. Buy a total of four games and get a coupon for a $20 coupon back, in addition to the automatic 15% discount for getting four titles. This offer is available for both download and shrinkwrapped package games costing $14.95 or more. Although have Bazooka Cafe? We'll still honor the $5-per-game credit for other titles you pick up. Click here for more info.

Cool Products Wednesday, February 3, 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.

	Dengeki G's Magazine Feb 2010 New issue of Dengeki G's, the square-backed anime magazine that's filled with awesomeness if you love anime and bishoujo games. This issue gives you a free Love Plus "waterproof" shower poster and karuta game to learn hiragana!
	Queen's Blade Hide and Seek vol 3 & 4 Queen's Blade is in the air these days, and we're happy to be posting *two* volumes of the popular manga. It's also a manga series that keeps going in and out of stock with the publisher, so if we run out, we'll get more later.
	Strike Witches Plush Toys I am a fan of Strike Witches, which combines the genre of moe with World War II-era magical girls with furry features. Enjoy these gorgeous large plush toys we have in stock now.
	Yui Hirasawa Figma Action Figure Then for fans of the awesome anime K-On! we have the new Figma of Yui, which is positively awesome because she can make any pose you like. Of course she comes with her guitar, case and stand.
	St. Sister Sexy Cosplay set To the Japanese, western nuns, which the Japanese always call with the English word sisutaa (sister), are enigmatic and mysterious. Here's a fun cosplay outfit from Joybank.
	Japanese School Bag ~ Sports Type If you watch five minutes of anime, you'll probably see these "sports style" school bags being carried by all the high school kids. Now you can own one yourself -- awesome.
	Awesome Restocked Totoro Products Then, got some outstanding Totoro items for you, including the soft Fuzzy Totoro Keychain series, a restocking of those dreamy ceramic Totoro Music Boxes, and more.
	Evangelion Interface Earphones Then: see fresh stock of the Evangelion earphones featuring the distinctive red or white "head interfaces" of Asuka and Rei. Compatible with any standard music player such as the iPod / iPhone.
	Unofficial Hatsune Mix vol 1 & 2 J-List carries dozens of great products for fans of the Vocaloid singing idol Miku Hatsune. Today we're posting fresh stock of both "official" manga volumes.
	Youkai Encyclopedia ~ Shigeru Mizuki Japan highly stylized world of yokai or "folk monsters" is simply fascinating, and we've restocked the awesome encyclopedia of the most famous of these traditional Japanese ghosts by the creator of GeGeGe no Kitaro.
	New Snack Goodness from Japan Today we've got Japan Kit Kat in delicious Maple flavor, UHA Puccho Gummy in Orange Gummy & Yogurt flavor (the package these come in is fabulous by the way), plus Meiji Sweets Gum that tastes like blueberry cheesecake yet is *sugarless*.
	Ukiyoe Drops (Kinako, Soy Sauce flavor) We have two more flavors of traditional ukiyo-e "food drops" which feature traditional Japanese flavors (kinako and soy sauce) in Sakura Drop-style tins with beautiful art on the side. A fabulous idea!
	DELI-GOO Happy Bagel Bento Case Introducing the pinnacle in the development of bento boxes from Japan: a lunchbox for your bagels. It holds everything you need for an awesome original lunch.
	Restocked Hello Kitty Bento Boxes Every time I check the top 50 bento box list at J-List, I can be pretty sure that the top selling item will be this Hello Kitty traditional bento, it's that popular. Fresh stock today.
	Hello Kitty 3D Cookie Cutter I love finding wacky stuff like this for J-List customers. It's a "3D" cookie cutter which you can use to make a fun Hello Kitty cookie that can sit up and be displayed. Can also make Hello Kitty shaped toast.
	Japanese T-Shirt 'The Absolute Zone' (2XL We just love our popular tribute to zettai ryoiki, the "absolute zone" which is a tiny patch of skin visible between the top of a girl's over-knee socks and where her skirt starts. We love it so much we made a T-shirt of it.
	The Best Kanji Poster In The World You say you want to learn kanji? Do you? Do you? Then this is your kanji poster, an outstanding giant sheet of laminated thick paper that shows *all* the kanji character you ever need to learn. Back in stock today.
	DX Green Tea Container ~ Lacquered Sakura Pattern Another beautiful traditional item from Japan, this is a high quality container for green tea, which is made with an elegant lacquered wood styling and sakura petals on the lid.
	WASHI Yu-zen KIMONO Shaped Coaster Set Also cool: coasters made of washi paper featuring beautiful images of kimonos. A super conversation piece for your guests.
	Bamboo Mini Sake Cup We sell a lot of cool items from Japan, and one of my favorite categories of products are our sake cups, so fun for throwing some back with friends. Made out of a single natural piece of bamboo.
	Love Plus T-Shirts *Preorder* Cospa is bringing out these Love Plus T-shirts, and I know I'm going to have a hard time picking which my favorite girl might be. Manaka, the pure girl who loves guys good at sports? Rinka, the tsundere of the game? Or the grown-up Nene?
	Mari Illustrious Makinami 1/6 Figure *Preorder* Mari is the new character in the Evangelion 2.0 movie, and she was an instant hit with fans due to her fan service, I mean her hard-hitting action scenes. Enjoy this very nice 1/6 scale figure that's up for preorder now.
	Revoltech Queen's Blade Cattleya Figure *Preorder* Queen's Blade is the popular artbook-based RPG that's become an anime and figure sensation. Enjoy this Revoltech offering of Cattleya, so detailed and able to assume any pose.
	Ameri Kawaii 1/8 Figure ~ Tayutama *Preorder* Tayutama (A Kiss on my Deity) is a Japanese visual novel/eroge by Lump of Sugar, and this is a fantastic sexy figure of Ameri-chan for your collection.
	Hadaka no Reon ~ Reon Kadena One day, Yasu looked up from his computer and said, "Well, I've found the most beautiful girl in the world." It was Reon Kadena, and we were compelled to agree with his assessment. Enjoy this dynamite zenra photobook, back in print after many years.
	Restocked Artbooks Then, what's the best artbook J-List has ever carried? While opinions might differ, I'd have to go with the amazing Dendrobium from master ecchi illustrator Nishieda. This dynamite book, which comes in a protective sleeve, is restocked today.
	Valentine's Day Sale: Bazooka Cafe Remember, J-List is having a great Valentine's Day sale! Just order the popular game Bazooka Cafe, and you'll get a coupon for $5 off for every game you buy. Want to get three other titles in addition to Bazooka Cafe? That gets you $20 off, in addition to any other discounts.
	Subarashiki Hibi *Preorder* The latest magnum opus visual novel from writer Suka-ji, known for his work on H2O -Footprints In The Sand-, Integral After And Another, Sakura no Toki, and others. Preorder this game and get it when it ships!
	Himari 1/8 Scale Figure w/Stretchy Underwear *Preorder* Then an extremely cool prepainted figure from the popular manga Protective Charm Himari: a cat girl figure with cloth pantsu that you can really pull down. Fun!