Japanese Era Names: Heisei

Do you know what year it is? I often don't, thanks to the Japanese custom of counting years according to the reign of the Emperor in power. The current era of Heisei (translatable as "Having Achieved Maturity and Peace") started in 1989, when Emperor Akihito ascended to the throne, making this year 平成 Heisei 25. Heisei is the fourth era since Japan became a "modern" nation; the others were 明治 Meiji ("Enlightened Rule," 1868-1912), when Japan began to emulate the West for the first time; 大正 Taisho ("Great Righteousness," 1912-1926), which saw a terrible earthquake that killed 140,000 in Tokyo; and the long and eventful 昭和 Showa ("Brilliant Harmony," 1926-1989) period, a time of war, rebuilding and eventually, toilets that wash your butt for you. When you live in Japan for a while, you naturally come to memorize certain events in the Japanese era system: for example I was born in Showa 43, I came to Japan in Heisei 3, and started J-List in Heisei 9. Japanese Emperors are always referred to by their era name in Japan, e.g. Emperor Showa for Hirohito, Emperor Heisei for the current Akihito, and it's quite common for Japanese to have no idea what their Emperor's name is. Considering how flat and dreary the Heisei period has been economically for Japan, I'd like to see them choose a name with a bit more kick to it when the current Emperor passes on.

Mr. Obuchi declares the Heisei era in 1989. He later died in office of a stroke, the poor guy.

The Latest Trends in Anime Character Creation

As a student of Japanese pop culture, I like to observe how 2D characters evolve and change with each new anime season. Sometimes these character updates are visual, like the Pocky Shiori from Tamako Market puts her hair up with (though we suspect they're really these Pocky Chopsticks), and sometimes they're internal, like making the teacher from Kiss x Sis (which I naturally only watch for the plot, honest) into a rekijo, a female who loves Japanese history, which is all the rate in Japan these days. Virtually all sentai (fighting team) stories from Himitsu Sentai Goranger to Sailor Moon follow established character patterns, with the Leader/most heroic fighter, the charismatic Lancer/second in command, the Smart Guy/nerd, the Big Guy/athlete, and the Chick (usually a balancing force who keeps the team together). In the spandex-enabled magical girl anime Vividred Operation, it wasn't enough to update the "Smart Guy" character (Himawari-chan) to be a genius computer hacker. The creators went a step beyond, making her a hikikomori (NEET) who was also a "factory otaku," that is, a girl who loves the aesthetics of sprawling manufacturing facilities, which is a thing in Japan.

The latest character design innovation? Hair Pocky.

Sakura Viewing with Hatsune Miku

While some may mark the arrival of spring through the traditional appearance of a groundhog or other mythical creature, in Japan it's much easier: when you hear the unpleasantly loud roar of the boso-zoku biker gangs driving around your city, you know winter has finally been banished and warmer weather is here at last. One of the joys of spring in Japan is naturally doing hanami, or cherry blossom viewing, and all around Japan cities will engage in a great battle, claiming that no, their sakura are the most beautiful in the country. While there are some great places to view cherry blossoms in Japan, including Ueno Park in Tokyo, Hirosaki Park in Aomori and Arashiyama in Kyoto, this year I'll be taking the family to Ueda Castle in Ueda, Nagano. It's one of the few really beautiful and historic castles in the Kanto (Tokyo) part of Japan, and happens to be the setting of the Summer Wars anime film, if you're into 聖地巡礼 seichi junrei (lit. making a pilgrimage to the holy land), what visiting locations used in anime is called by otaku-dom. But there's another reason to go: this year Hatsune Miku is the official hanami mascot at Ueda Castle, and you can buy limited products from her "Senbon-zakura" ~ One Thousand Sakura Trees single there.

Enjoy sakura viewing at Ueda Castle with Miku.

Remember, No Delay for Saya no Uta Download Preorder

As you know, the awesome English-translated visual novel Saya no Uta has gone "master up" (as they say in Japan) and is in duplication now. Normally we ship preorder package games then begin sales of the download a week later, to give time for the package editions to reach people who have waited so patiently for the game to be released. But customers told us that they wanted the option of getting their game via download on release day, and we've heard their requests. Starting immediately, you can preorder the download edition of the game which will be available as soon as the package editions ship, with no delay for either version. In addition, for $5 more you can order the package/download bundle, so you can be playing the download game while the package edition makes its way to you. Two great new ways to order Saya!

Will You Be at Anime Conji?

We love anime conventions, though we don't get to attend as many of them as we like. One show we'll be at this year is Anime Conji, a fun anime convention held April 12-14 this year. Since our San Diego office is local, the staff will be on hand with lots of fun T-shirts, eroge, random products from Japan and our always-popular Fuku-bukuro grab bags. Hope to see you there!

Understanding "Genki"

Words are complex things, which naturally won't always match up on a 1:1 basis with words in another language. A good example of this is 元気 genki, one of the first words a student of Japanese encounters, so I thought I'd write about this term. Essentially, the word means healthy and energetic, and also describes a sort of "baseline" state of happiness. The first greeting you usually learn in Japanese is often お元気ですか？ o-genki desu ka? which corresponds to "How are you?" (although it can be more accurately translated as "Are you fine?"). The reply is はい、元気ですhai, genki desu (Yes, I am fine). Some other situations where the word might be used include to describe a child with lots of energy, running around a room; to describe an elderly person who is still active and healthy; and when trying to cheer someone by saying 元気を出して genki o dashite, "Show me your happy smile." In another context, a man becoming "genki" can refer to a common phenomenon that happens to us in the morning.

Incidentally, every red-haired anime girl ever is defined as "genki."

Twitter Comes to Japanese Elections

One part of Peter's Unified Theory of Japan™ is that the country follows behind the West socially, taking its cues from the U.S. and Europe only after after new ideas have been thoroughly tested. Everything from laws against sekuhara (sexual harassment) in the workplace to allowing people to legally remove brain-dead family members from life support started in the West then filtered over to Japan some years later. Japan's conservatism is nowhere more prevalent than in its elections, and there are many laws that strictly regulate how elections are managed, including how early a candidate is allowed to sit outside your window in a loudspeaker car shouting I AM YAMADA, I WILL WORK HARD FOR YOU, PLEASE SUPPORT ME ON ELECTION DAY. Newfangled technologies like Twitter, Facebook or even email are strictly forbidden from being used in the weeks before an election, as each communication from a candidate is considered a printed pamphlet, which are also regulated by election rules. Happily, though, it looks like this is finally about to change, thanks to a law allowing use of social media in elections that's currently being debated in the Japanese Diet. Modernizing Japan's elections would change the dynamics of politics in favor or younger voters, allowing geriatric politicians with memories of WWII to hopefully fade away more quickly. Last night I caught a TV show on the subject, which carefully explained to viewers how Twitter worked, including explaining the company's "verified user" program which ensures the person you think is your candidate is really him. With any luck, Japanese elections could enter the 21st century only a decade or so behind the rest of the world.

The ban on Internet use during elections might be ending.

Gaijin Dream Jobs

A lot of foreigners want to come work in Japan, but aren't so keen on working in the field usually reserved for native English speaking gaijin, teaching of English conversation. While finding non-teaching work in Japan can be a big challenge, especially if you're not a fluent in the language and possessing of some in-demand skill, there are always options. Western-style wedding ceremonies are quite common here, and some foreigners work as pastors, joining happy couples in marriage. There are talent agencies like Inagawa Motoko Office who manage the careers of foreigners in Japan, if you're looking for work modeling, doing voice-over narration or perhaps working as an actor in dramatizations for Japanese television. While not everyone can be as successful as Nigerian comedian Bobby Ologun or former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Bob Sapp, who are both staples of Japanese television these days, there is a viable ecosystem of foreign "talents" you might be able to tap into. Another idea? Become a cast member at Tokyo Disneyland, where a small army of performers from various countries fill roles like Cinderella or Alice in Wonderland while Japanese visitors fawn and snap photos.

Gaijin dream job in Tokyo Disneyland?

Announcing No-Delay Saya Download Preorders!

As you know, the awesome English-translated visual novel Saya no Uta has gone "master up" (as they say in Japan) and is in duplication now. Normally we ship preorder package games then begin sales of the download a week later, to give time for the package editions to reach people who have waited so patiently for the game to be released. But customers told us that they wanted the option of getting their game via download on release day, and we've heard their requests. Starting immediately, you can preorder the download edition of the game which will be available as soon as the package editions ship, with no delay for either version. In addition, for $5 more you can order the package/download bundle, so you can be playing the download game while the package edition makes its way to you. Two great new ways to order Saya!

J-List Will Be at Anime Conji in San Diego

We love anime conventions, though we don't get to attend as many of them as we like. One show we'll be at this year is Anime Conji, a fun anime convention held April 12-14 this year. Since our San Diego office is local, the staff will be on hand with lots of fun T-shirts, eroge, random products from Japan and our always-popular Fuku-bukuro grab bags. Hope to see you there!

Japan, South Korea and Freedom of Thought

One aspect of Japan I like very much is the way people are generally open to debate and free thought here. Freedom of speech is guaranteed by article 21 of the Japanese constitution, and you can express virtually any opinion in Japan without running into trouble -- you can even be a communist if you like, and no one will care one way or the other. There are quite a few outstanding TV programs here which, for me, capture Japan's tradition of free-thinking debate. One is If Ota Hikari Were Prime Minister, in which comedian (and very smart guy, in the center of the top left picture) Ota Hikari throws out various topics to be debated by different commentators, including actual sitting politicians from Japan's major political parties. The show does cool things like, bring a studio full of children in and have them fire questions at the politicians, who struggle to match their bizarre politician's logic against the smart insight of the kids. There's also an interesting program called Asa Made Nama TV (Live TV Til Dawn, the lower left image, above) in which political commentator Noritsugu Watanabe is locked in a room with leading politicians where they debate various issues all night long while the cameras roll. While there are always a few touchy subjects -- anything related to the Emperor or the politically connected Sokka Gakkai Buddhist religion (SGI) will be handled delicately -- virtually anything else is fair game for lively debate, from Japan's future and place in the world to whether North Korea's nuclear program means Japan should seek nuclear weapons herself.

Sadly, this tradition of allowing free thought doesn't seem to be the case with Japan's neighbors, at least where I sit on this side of the Sea of Japan East Sea. I happened to see an article that South Korea was requiring all children receive mandatory education on Dokdo, the islands also claimed by Japan. It's possible of course that this "education" will be open and free, presenting both sides of the debate fairly, but it's far more likely it will be a brainwashing session so that 100% of Korean children believe the "proper" things about Dokdo/Takeshima. Dissent on the issue is apparently frowned upon -- the author of an informative blog on the history of the dispute lost his university teaching job for daring to post evidence that was pro-Japan, something that really shouldn't happen in a country as modern and well-educated as South Korea.

Please note, by the way, that I'm not choosing sides on the Dokdo/Takeshima issue. I believe that neither side has an iron-clad claim to the islands, which each clearly wants only to keep the other side from getting them. There's a long history of both governments inadvertently referring to the islands as the territory of the other side in official documents, and the rest comes down to which county recorded the islands as their territory on old maps, which isn't conclusive one way or the other. While it was definitely the policy of the Allies and Douglas MacArthur that Dokdo/Takeshima was valid Japanese territory, clearly Japan should take the realistic view and negotiate and end to the conflict. My main point is that, Koreans should be able to debate issues like this dispute calmly and rationally, instead of posting silly billboards in Texas and shouting in all-caps on Twitter and Facebook.

Japan loves to debate issues on TV news programs; South Korea goes overboard with its passion sometimes.

Cross-Cultural Food

Whenever two cultures come into contact, there's a sharing of language on both sides. This is why we all know the word "head honcho," which was imported from the Japanese 班長 hancho (meaning neighborhood or squad leader) during the Allied Occupation. It's also fun to observe what happens to food when two cultures bump into each other: the creation of hybrid dishes that are totally new, and usually delicious. There are many examples of this intercultural food blending, including Tex-Mex cuisine, California Roll sushi and Teriyaki McBurgers from McDonald's. When you go to a 洋食店 yohshoku-ten or "Western restaurant" in Japan, you might encounter some blended foods you've never seen before, like korokke (Japan's take on French croquettes, delightful with Bull-dog sauce), Napolitan spaghetti (a pasta dish that can be made with simple ingredients including ketchup and Tabasco sauce), katsu (fried pork cutlet), nikujaga (a meat-and-potato stew, famous for sounding like the lead singer of a certain rock band) and various Japanese doria and gratin dishes. Few places represent the coming together of multiple cultures as much as Okinawa, and one food that can be seen as a bridge between East and West is Taco Rice, a popular dish of flavored ground beef, cheese, tomatoes and lettuce eaten over white rice. I had some last night, and it was wonderful.

I'm a fan of "hybrid" dishes like Okinawan Taco Rice.

Have You Ordered Saya no Uta Yet?

In the history of Japan's highly developed culture of visual novels, a few games really stand out as being absolutely fresh and unique, and one of these is Song of Saya. It's the story of Fuminori, a medical student who's been in a horrible car accident which forever altered his perceptions of the world into one of abject horror. But there is one bright spot in the hell that he constantly perceives, that of Saya, the only girl who appears beautiful to him. What dark secret to Saya hiding, and who will deliver the world to safety? Written by Urobuchi Gen, creator of Madoka Magika and Fate/Zero! The game is gone "Golden Master" and will be shipping in late April or early May. Order your copy now!