Wednesday, May 13, 2008 There was a bizarre Japanese TV show that was on a few years back called OH! Mikey, in which an American family moves to Tokyo and must get used to their new life in strange Japan. Since the characters are all played by mannequins who never move, well, it's one of the strangest things you can possibly imagine. Anyway, in one of the episodes, Mikey tells his mother Barbara that the teacher will be dropping by for a visit soon, which makes  her sure that Mikey has done something scandalous at school. In reality, it's customary for teachers to visit the homes of their students once per school year, to observe the home environment first-hand and to talk with the parents about any concerns they might have for the new school year. It's another example of Japan being focused on the important issues of education and child-rearing, and it's something I'd like to see considered for adoption in the U.S. My daughter's home visit was today, and my wife spent an hour discussing various topics with her teacher. As usual, my daughter going to the U.S. for the summer was a minor problem, since even during summer vacation the other kids will attend various school events as well as practicing the theme to Space Battleship Yamato on brass band instruments, a rather unlikely tradition at their school. But my wife stuck to her guns, letting the teacher know that going to the U.S. to learn English and do fun things like Girl Scout Camp is equally important to our family. When you flit between the U.S. and Japan a lot, you can sometimes find yourself coming unglued culturally. I was in Tokyo yesterday on business, enjoying the best American-style cheeseburger in Japan at the Hard Rock Cafe, and when it was time to leave, I had a mini-stress attack as I tried to remember how I was supposed to pay. Should I ask for the check and pay at the table, as in the U.S., or take the receipt to the cash register near the door and pay there, as is done in Japan? I wasn't sure which custom went with which country for a moment, a fact that was no doubt exacerbated by my strange surroundings. Another area with the potential for cultural goof-ups is driving. Although it's not that difficult to learn to drive on the left (just make sure you're closer to the center of the road than your passenger, whichever country you're in), it's a constant challenge to remember which side of the car to get in, and I've gotten quite good at nonchalantly strolling around to the other side of your car after trying to get in on the wrong side. Similarly, although automobile controls are identical no matter what country you're driving in, the turn signal and windshield wiper controls are reversed between the U.S. and Japan. This increases the likelihood that I'll accidentally turn my wipers on when making a turn, usually when a group of attractive girls happens to be watching me. "Even monkeys fall from trees." This is one of the many bits of wisdom you can glean by studying Japanese kotowaza, or proverbs, which are so plentiful in Japan there are books to help you study them. This phrase is saru mo ki kara ochiru in Japanese, and it means that even experts make mistakes occasionally, and no one is perfect. Another one that comes up a lot is, "Sit on a rock for three years" (ishi no ue ni mo san-nen), which means you should stick to something for a certain time (three years) before knowing whether you like it or not, which can be good advice for young people who change their minds too easily. Or, "If you fall down seven times, get up an eighth" (nana korobi, ya-oki), meaning that you should never give up trying to attain your goals -- always come back swinging. One of my favorites, juu-nin toh-iro, which literally means "ten people, ten colors," or people are all different, so don't look at me funny for wearing this domo-kun hat, alright? Although they can be difficult to learn since they often use old or archaic grammar, pulling one out at the right moment can bring a look of astonishment to the face of a Japanese person that's pure gold for a gaijin. Most kotowaza were originally adapted from Chinese versions, but sometimes they're added from other sources, for example snippets of wisdom from the Bible or Shakespeare. There here are local versions of all the most famous English proverbs, too ("a bird in the hand" and so on). 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.
| Otome Graph Premium ~ Mai Hime. We're big fans of the anime Mai-Hime and its two spinoff series, My-Otome and My-Otome Zwei, and this is a great art book for fans of the latter, filled with cute illustrations of all the girls. Otome (oh-toh-meh) is a word that means "girl" or "maiden." | | Mugen Puchi Puchi -- Endless Pop Pop - Raspberry. We've gotten in two new colors of the hugely fun Mugen Puchi Puchi, or Endless Pop Pop, the electronic bubble wrap keychains from Japan that enable you to pop! pop! pop! your free time away without the social stigma of popping real bubble wrap in public places. Raspberry and lime are now in stock. | | Comptiq Jan 2008. One of the most popular "reserve subscription" magazines is Comptiq, an anime and bishoujo game magazine that focuses on the beautiful characters with tons of illustrations for you. You also get free stuff in most every issue -- this one comes with a full deck of Lucky Star karta cards! | | Mascot Robot Haro ~ Mobile Suit Gundam OO. Haro is the lovable robot character from the Gundam universe, who provides for great comic relief from the stresses of war in space. This is a great Mascot Robot Haro toy that can do many things to amuse you! | | Revoltech No.051 Regult ~ Macross. Here's a really cool toy from the Revoltech line: the Zentraedi Battle Pods (aka Regult) from Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, the breakthrough anime from 1982. Because it's by Revoltech, there'll be about 500 ways to move and configure this cool toy. In stock now! | |
| Red CHIRIMEN & SAKURA Hello Kitty Spring Mini Pouch. Keep your money and other valuables in this fantastic Hello Kitty pouch, which springs open when you squeeze it and which is made of high quality chirimen crepe fabric from Japan. The plush Hello Kitty sewn into the front just makes it all that much better. | | Shaved Ice Gummy. We love to bring you snack items that enable you to understand Japan more. Here's a fun candy version of the popular "shaved ice" eaten in the summer. They come in three flavors, mango, strawberry and lemon. | |
| egg May 2008 vol. 139. Follow Tokyo's street fashion culture with Egg, the awesome fashion magazine from Million Publishing that shows you all the latest trends in Harajuku and Shibuya culture. Plus, the English inside ("Street Groove," "Baby its Nasty Looks") is incredibly entertaining. | | The Fuccons Volume 1 (Oh Mikey!). Curious about the Fuccons (aka OH! Mikey), the bizarre late-night Japanese TV show that's entirely performed by mannequins? We have the DVDs in stock in San Diego. | | Mini ONIGIRI Shaper ~ Star, Heart. Then make awesome shaped onigiri cubes with your next bento, with star and heart shapes pressed into them, with the cool new rice ball shaper we've gotten in. | | Men's High School Uniform. Here's the ultimate otaku item, guys: your very own authentic high school uniform, called a gakuran in Japanese. Custom made to your size measurements by the famous Matsukameya of Nagoya, and only available through J-List. | | FUURIN ~ Japanese Summer Bell -- Owl. Enjoy the coming summer a bit more with this pleasant fuurin wind chime from Japan, featuring a ceramic owl that makes beautiful sounds when the wind blows. | | Restocked Lucky Charms, Ken-dama Pen. Also: see fresh stock of the omamori (traditional Shinto lucky charm) that promises to bring you better health, as well as more stock of that awesome Ken-Dama Pen. | | Kokeshi -- Spring Color ~ Haru. I just love the traditional wooden dolls, called kokeshi ningyo, and am glad we're able to carry them on J-List. The new round Japanese doll for Spring is back in stock! | | Hariko Daruma -- Small *12cm* ~ Classic Type. One of the most famous images of Japan are the daruma (dharma), a red doll based on a Chinese monk who meditated for so long, his arms and legs receded into his body. Color one eye black when you make a wish, and when it comes true, color the other eye. | | DX Magatama w/ Natural Flint Stone Set in Wooden Box. We've restocked our cool deluxe magatama amulet, made of iron and which comes with a stone of flint, used in Shinto ceremonies and considered to be of great spiritual importance here in Japan. Comes in a beautiful wooden box. | | Japanese Study Items. See fresh stock of some popular Japanese study items, including Understanding Basic Japanese Grammar and 200 Essential Japanese Expressions, two great ways to approach the language. | | Sushi Magnets. More sushi magnets for your refrigerator, white board or any other metal surface. | | Japanese T-Shirts for Girls. In addition to our popular lineup of standard T-shirts featuring kanji, anime and other designs from Japan, we sell many great fitted T-shirts for girls from American Apparel. This is one of our most popular, the long-selling "Now Accepting Applications for a Japanese Boyfriend." | | AQUATEC ~ Super Strong Ink Double Marker Set of 8 colors. When you absolutely positively have to make bold lines on paper, here's a set of 8 different permanent markers that will get the job done. Each marker has two tips, for making fat or thin lines. Gorgeous pens from Japanese pen manufacturer Magic. | |
| COPIC Pens, Paper. Also, COPIC is the #1 producer of really excellent artists' pens, and we've restocked the COPIC Comic Liner, with a tip just 0.3 mm across -- wow. Also, Custom Paper 101, the non-transparent, acid-free paper is back in stock. | | Charcoal Products. Get clean with charcoal, a natural cleanser. We're restocking the Charcoal Natural Face Pack and Charcoal Body Towel today. | | Lots of Restocked Snacks. Delicious restocked snack items abound, with Marsh of Koala in Honey Pancake flavor, Fujiya "Wa" Ka Dango (sweet dumplings that are really gummy), innovative Glico Pretz in Milk Cocoa flavor, and fun Lotte Dragon Fruit Gum. |
For fans of our NSFW items from Japan, we've got many new and restocked products, too -- click here to see all new products. Believe it or not, you can actually see signs that say Chikan Chui or "Beware of Pervs" in Japan. We liked this wacky concept so much, we made a line of T-shirts featuring this bizarre kanji message. This month we're making this T-shirt line our "J-List Wacky T-Shirts of the Month" so you can pick them up at a special price. All three shirts are included in the special, our traditional athletic grey for men, and both the "reverse" featuring girls groping guys, on a fitted girl's shirt as well as a white guy's standard shirt. Check them out now! |
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