Buddhist Superstitions and Japan

One thing that surprised me about the Japanese was how superstitious many people here are, and there are many beliefs held by people here that seem odd to foreigners, such as, don't cut your fingernails at night or you won't be able to be with your parents when they die, don't whistle at night or snakes will come and get you, and so on. Many of these beliefs come from Japan's unique flavor of Buddhism, which seems to be very death-oriented -- for example, it's bad luck to sleep with your head to the north (kita makura), as dead people about to be cremated are laid with their heads pointing north. In this vein, there's a complex system of lucky and unlucky days according to a Buddhist calendar, with six different days that cycle throughout the month. It's good luck to get married or start construction on your home or take delivery of a car on the luckiest day (called Taian), but if you were to get married on the unlucky day (called Butsumetsu), you'd probably end up divorced and unhappy. The six days, and their kanji meanings, are Sensho ("win first"), Tomobiki ("take away with"), Senpu ("lose first"), Butsumetsu ("Buddha's Death"), Taian ("Great Calm"), and Shakkou ("Red Mouth"). Supposedly, it's lucky to do things in the morning on Sensho, but it's unlucky to do anything in the morning on Senpu -- wait til the afternoon instead on that day. Never have a funeral on Tomobiki, as the soul of the deceased will be taken away instead of staying near his loved ones. Many of the traditional 2013 calendars J-List stocks, such as the Lucky Cat art calendar, display this "lucky day" right on the calendar pages, if you're interested in following this Japanese tradition for any reason.

Always get married on a "lucky" day to avoid divorce down the road.

Anime = Emotional Communication

My favorite aspect of anime is the way characters communicate emotion to viewers in ways that go beyond what's possible in the real world, aka "meatspace." Character designers are excellent at making use of subtle visual cues to really make their characters come alive, for example using blue hair on a female character to create the image of purity or mystery or communion with nature, or giving characters like Asuka from Eva and Yoko from Gurren Lagann red hair to reinforce their fiery personalities, and of course who can say no to a really cute eye patch? I love to observe the various facial expressions animators create, like the odd "blue forehead lines" that indicate frustration, or the "so embarrassed my soul is about to come out of my body" face. Of course, anime characters wouldn't be nearly as memorable without the highly trained voice actors that bring them alive. The other day I was at the gym working on my "Toradora diet" (I'm re-watching the entire series on my iPhone while running on a treadmill). When the highly emotional Christmas party episode played, with its amazing performance by voice actress Rie Kugimiya, it was hard to keep from choking up.

Anime is good at communicating emotions.

More Good News for English Eroge Fans: Shuffle! ships

Man, it's a great time to be a fan of English-translated eroge and visual novels. Not only did we just ship a great set of combo games at a new low price -- they are Crescendo and Target: Phermone, Idols Galore and Slave Pageant, Absolute Obedience and Enzai, and Amorous Professor Cherry plus Kango 1 & 2 -- but we just posted the excellent moe racing game Moero Downhill Night Blaze in packaged and download versions. Now we've got even more good news: the awesome English visual novel Shuffle! has been released and is shipping now. Grab a copy!

J-List Sale Reminder

Remember, J-List is having three great sales right now. First, we're giving a whopping $15 or $40 back when you order items from Japan and choose EMS shipping, which is fully insured and trackable and will arrive at your house in about 4 days. (Yes, there's still time to get items by Christmas, as long as you order in-stock items using EMS before December 15.) Order $100 or more to get $15 back as a store credit, or $200 or more to get $40 back. Next, we have a special offer on J-List's world-famous anime and kanji T-shirts. Through the end of December, buy any 2 J-List shirts shipping from San Diego and get a free shirt chosen randomly by us in the size you choose. Finally, everyone who makes an order is entered into a drawing for a $50 gift certificate, one per day, given away by Santa Megumi on Christmas!

Cool Products Friday, December 7, 2012

For the new update, we've got some excellent products from Japan for you. You can view all new J-List products by clicking this link.

Today's New & Restocked Items

Young Ace Jan 2013 It's time for another fresh volume of Young Ace, Kadokawa's vivid monthly manga serial packed with dozens of popular titles in easily readable format, with furigana kanji readings throughout! New issues of Fate/Zero, Last Exile, Evangelion, Gunbuster, Disappearance of Nagato Yuki, and more! Your omake (free anime gift) for this issue includes an awesome Evangelion clock! view this product »

	Monster Hunter CG Artworks 2 Monster Hunter is booming as one of the most popular franchises in Japan, and we've got all the best supporting gear for your "Monhan" needs!		Authentic Japanese KOTATSU We posted fresh stock of our popular kotatsu heater tables, so you can spend winter just like they do in Japan.
	A Certain Mini Skirt Santa Claus Celebrate Christmas with your boyfriend and surprise him in this sexy Santa outfit. This lacy mini-skirt dress with a cute hat is sure to make an impression!		Student's White Loose Socks From Tamatoys, another great accessory for your dolls and girlfriends. They go great with our "socks glue" which we also restocked today.
	Neon Genesis Evangelion Playing Cards A fantastic set of playing cards based on the Evangelion series. 54 cards with cool artwork featuring your favorite characters!		All Ages Manga Restocked We carry excellent manga from Japan, and today we restocked the official Personal 4 anthology comic and more.
	Sword Art Online, Hatsune Miku, K-On! Blu-rays Pick up the Blu-rays of your favorite anime series. We have the limited edition second volume of Sword Art Online, plus Miku, K-On, and more!		Restocked PS3, PSP and PSVita Anime Games We've restocked some great games for your favorite console. Check out Okami, Tales of Xillia, White Album, Persona 4, Tokitowa, and more.
	URUSEI YATSURA Smart Phone Case The Oni girl Lum makes her way into the digital age, in this attractive tote holder for smartphones and cameras.		New Figures In Stock Super-cool action figures of Persona 4's Izanagi-no-Okami and Fullmetal Alchemist's Edward Elric are now in stock. Supplies limited, so act now!
	More Touhou Keychains Restocked In advance of the upcoming winter Comiket, those awesome Touhou keychains have been restocked. Cirno, Suwako, Youmu, Sakuya, they're all here for you!		Awesome 2013 Calendars from Japan Remember, anime and other calendars from Japan make great gifts, and we've got a ton in stock. Hurry though, as several popular titles have already sold out.
	Star Dress with Tie, So Cute! A great new dress in a classic style for those who love Japanese fashion. Stay fashionable the Japanese way this winter.		Shimapan, Spats & Other Cosplay Japanese memes are even more fun when you can touch them, and we've got stock of real shimapan striped anime pantsu plus sukumizu swimsuits.
	Domo-kun Products from J-List J-List has been a Friend of Domo-kun ever since the cute brown monster became an icon in the Interwebs. Click to see our discounted Domo items!		See Out 2012 With a Horse Head Mask There's no better way to say good-bye to 2012 than with a horse head mask. You'll be the life of the party on New Year's Eve! In stock in San Diego.
	New Nyanko Earphone Jacks We got those ridiculously cute Nyanko Earphone Jack cats in stock, and they've got cute moustaches! Compatible with iPhone and Android.		Cute Rilakkuma Products Restocked We also have restocked more Rilakkuma products in time for Christmas, including the cute Mug Cup, plus our favorite plush toys.
	New Totoro & Ghibli Plush Toys! This amazingly kawaii Totoro doll sleeps soundly with Mei on his belly. Will fill you with warm and fuzzy feelings.		Other Totoro Products Restocked See other Ghibli products restocked, too, including our favorite Totoro soft blankets, Totoro toys you can keep in your car and more.
	New Snacks from Japan We've got a great new flavor of Pocky from Japan, delicious Ivory White Chocolate. Also enjoy Fettuccine Gummy, it's crazy!		Kumade Ame ~ Traditional New Year's Candy Set Bring in the new year with this candy set of good fortune. You get three tasty candies in an elegant and traditional display. Very Japanese.
	Traditional Rabbit Face Drops + Kompeito Speaking of traditional candies, we restocked our favorite Kyoto Candy including Rabbit Face Drops plus other candy from the Showa Period.		Today's Restocked Snacks We've got great restocked snacks like the "Unchi-kun" poop candy, the grilled fish full of chocolate, fortune-telling gum, Winter Pocky and more.
	SAKURA Sparkle JUBAKO ~ Cherry blossom Here's an elegant new bento box for the discerning collector. Very traditional and cool, with plenty of space for all your food.		Elegant Bento Boxes Restocked A nice restocking of elegant bento boxes, like our Clover Motif Wooden Style Bento and 3 Tier Stacking Bento Box, plus Hello Kitty.
	Cute Bento and Kitchen Accessories We restocked some extremely cute items for your kitchen, including Animal Makimaki Rice Molds and Panda Cookie Cutters.		Fun Takoyaki Products Restocked Takoyaki is the iconic food from Osaka, and we've restocked our popular Takoyaki cooker for making your own octopus-filled batter balls.
	Products for Learning Japanese We restocked our popular Study and Culture Fuku-bukuro grab bags, plus several fun books for helping you learn Japanese, including the Moekana series!		Restocked Traditional Japan Products Bring love, luck and happiness into your life with this very special two cat Maneki Neko set. They will bring good luck into your home or business!
	Enjoy Tea Ceremony, Japan Style Follow in the footsteps of the great tea masters with these authentic cups, bamboo whisks, and other accessories for making and enjoying tea.		Waver Velvet 1/8 Figure ~ Fate/Zero *Preorder* Here's a great figure of Fate/Zero's true heroine, Waver Velvet, and his trusty servant Rider. Really captures the atmosphere of the characters.
	Nozomi Figure ~ se Kirara *Preorder* Here's a fantastic figure of the cute Nozomi from visual novel Se-kirara. Her pose is so wonderful, you won't know where to look.		Okarin Figure ~ Steins;Gate *Preorder* Okarin is one of our favorite characters, because he speaks to the mad scientist in everyone. Enjoy this awesome figure with plenty of optional parts.
	Kuroko Shirai 1/4 Figure **Preorder** Wow! Check out this incredible 1/4-scale (16 inches!) figure of Kuroko from Railgun in a sexy bunnygirl outfit. Smoking hot and huge!		Even More Preorder Figures From Robotics;Notes, here's a cute Nendoroid action figure of super hacker Frau Koujiro. Also enjoy Ichiko from Binbougami ga!

New and Restocked NSFW / 18+ products

	Gorgeous Sexy Photobooks, Ero Magazines We've got great live-action photobook and "H" magazines posted today, plus something for "trap" fans. Click to enjoy.		Excellent New Anthology Manga, More Every day brings new manga full of choice "H" content. See an anthology for Monster Hunter fans, something for nakadashi lovers and more.
	New Ero Evangelion Doujinshi Two hot new Eva doujins in stock, which all fans of the seminal (heh) Gainax anime should not miss.		Gorgeous Ero Manga Restocked We've restocked some of our hottest erotic manga, including Koinaka ~ Inside Love (I love this book) plus For Sweet Lover and Girlie by Cuvie.
	Gorgeous Sexy Artbooks Restocked See great restocked naughty artbooks, including Tony Taka's epic "Fault!!" offering plus the excellent Pieces 9 by Shirow Masamune.		Kanojo Biyori Cast off Figure *Preorder* Figures keep getting sexier! Feast your eyes on this incredible figure of a sexy girl with cast-off panties and a see-through blouse. Two versions.
	TENGA FLIP HOLE SOLID PACK The awesome Tenga Flip Hole, made popular by its unique design made for multiple uses. Includes the advanced Tenga Solid Lotion.		Our Most Popular 'Oppai' Toys Restocked Sometimes a guy wants to grip something soft, round and warm, and today we restocked the popular Puru Puru Oppai Finale, and other related items.
	Restocked Parody Onahole Toys, Too Our most popular anime-themed dolphin polishers are restocked, including Accel World, IdolMaster and SAO.		Shuffle! in English Now Shipping! It's one of the best written eroge ever, and now you can play it in English, in a great shrinkwrapped format with no DRM.
	Moero Downhill Night Blaze Download Sales We're happy to have gotten Moero Downhill Night out to our customers in package form. Now you can buy the download edition too!		Idols Galore / Slave Pageant Bundle Pack Just a reminder: we posted great combo packs of our classic English-translated H-games, like this set, with two games for the price of one!
	Uchu Kikaku Collection 2012 Blu-ray Special The Uchu Kikaku label delivers 8 hours of HD sex for your viewing pleasure, featuring Cocomi Naruse, Tsubomi, Chika Eiro, Momoka Nishina and more.		Pantyhose and Stocking focused Adult releases Checkout 2 new releases in stock featuring Yui Tatsumi and Amamiya Tatsumi, including tons of fetishes for the legs and stocking lovers.
	Haruki Sato ~ 15 Sex x 8 Hours JAV Fans who didn't get a taste of the amazing Haruki Sato yet, time to get yourself treated with this amazing 2 DVDs, 8-hours best-of.		Superior Lesbian Tachi Witness the hottest and most passionate lesbian sex ever took on camera, with the Superior LesTachi series, featuring 5 magnificent Japanese girls.

Finally Today's Restocked DVD & Blu-ray Releases Enjoy the amazing Nana Ogura's most popular works (she has the tan lines thing going on her body, I love that), plus the amazing Yuma Asami performing the "horse-riding position" she does so well, Noa Kasumi and Kyoko Maeda's debut DVDs, Blu-rays featuring naughty young wives, plus several popular lesbian titles you will want to browse. view this product »