Announcing the Start of 2010 Japanese Calendar Season!

We're happy to announce the start of 2010 Japanese Calendar Season! Every year J-List posts hundreds of great calendars, which are printed exclusively for the domestic Japanese market, and our customers love having access to such a huge selection of fun and interesting calendars from Japan. The first 20 or so calendars for this year have been posted, including beautiful scenes of Japan in all seasons, breathtaking tea gardens, famous dogs and cats from Japan, cute idols like Yuko Ogura, and more. Note that the bulk of our anime/idol calendars will be posted in a couple of weeks from now, but you can get started checking out the traditional new calendars now.

Deflation in Japan and $9 Jeans

Despite some recent positive rumblings, the recession continues to be hard on the Japanese economy, pushing the unemployment rate here all the way up to 5.4%, very high by local standards. As I've written before, the two recessions Japan endured during its post-bubble "lost decade" have made the Japanese quite good at dealing with economic hard times, and it's interesting to see how companies deftly switch gears, lowering prices and offering new and innovative products to attract customers. The latest product to make headlines is a $9 pair of jeans that mammoth department store chain Aeon is hawking, no doubt hoping to entice buyers curious about how good a pair of $9 jeans could actually be in order to get them into the store. Unfortunately all the price-slashing has raised the threat of deflation, and a benchmark that tracks wholesale prices fell 8.9% in the month of July alone.

Would you like a pair of $9 jeans? Some prices in Japan are falling fast.

Confusion when Translating Japanese to English

It's funny how words in one language don't always match up with words in another, especially when you're talking about languages as different as English and Japanese. Take the word sasuga (sah-soo-GAH), which is used to express praise when one's expectations have been met. For example, if a man named Yamada-san surprised you by knowing a bit of unexpected trivia, you might say, "Sasuga, Yamada-san!" which could be translated as "Good old Yamada-san!" or "I always knew you could do it, Yamada-san!" or perhaps, "I had a feeling you woundn't let us down, Yamada-san!" These linguistic differences cause headaches for translators because there's often no "best" way to express something in another language, making translation between Japanese and English about the least exact science there is. Some other short Japanese phrases that crop up in anime yet have potentially long and complex translations in English include masaka! (MAH-sah-kah), meaning "You've got to be joking!" and yappari (ya-PAH-ree), translatable as, "just as I suspected."

Obon Festival in Japan

Japan is in the middle of Obon (pronounced "oh, bone!"), a four-day Buddhist holiday that's kind of like Thanksgiving in the U.S., in that this is when everyone heads home to spend time with family, but it's also similar to Halloween since the sky is supposedly filled with the ghosts of our dead ancestors who've come home for a visit. Much of Japan shuts down during August 13-16 as people travel to their jikka or "real home," meaning their parents' house. There they'll spend some quality time with family and make a special trip the family grave to wash it with clean water and leave chrysanthemums, which are flowers for the dead, something I found out when I accidentally bought some to give to my wife (oops). While I don't know much about Buddhism itself -- which incidentally is no different from many Japanese people, who often can't tell you why a Buddhist temple and a Shinto shrine are different -- I have known the Japanese to really care about their ancestors. My wife regularly looks to her dead grandmother for guidance and protection, and every morning my wife, her mother or my daughter will burn a stick of incense at the family altar to let the dead known they haven't been forgotten. Some parts of Japan have beautiful festivals related to Obon, like the floating lanterns of Nagasaki or the famous Daimonji festival in Kyoto, in which fires spelling out the kanji character for "great" are lit on a mountain above the city.

Some parts of Japan have beautiful Obon festivals, like Nagasaki's floating lanterns.

Kiki's Delivery Service Subtitle Confusion

The other day I got an odd hankering to watch one of my favorite Hayao Miyazaki films, Kiki's Delivery Service, the story of one young witch's journey out into the world. The version I was watching was in Japanese, but with English subtitles, and as the movie progressed I noticed something interesting: the subtitles didn't match the Japanese dialogue of the film very closely. They included quite a few lines by Kiki and her black cat Jiji which didn't exist in the original, and I eventually figured out that they had been transcribed from the English dub of the movie and not translated directly from Japanese. It was immediately apparent that, whoever the producers of the English version were (*cough* Disney *cough*), they didn't rate their viewers' intelligence very highly, since many of the lines added did nothing but cover five-second patches of (gasp!) silence by stating information that was obvious to viewers, anyway. It became quite interesting, seeing what parts of the movie the U.S. producers felt needed "improving" by adding meaningless bits of exposition, despite the fact that no character was actually talking. Incidentally, if you're interested in the official DVD releases of all the Studio Ghibli films, complete with extras full storyboard versions and English subtitles, J-List has them all in stock, along with a great upscaling region-free DVD player to play them on.

The English version of Kiki's Delivery Service left me puzzled by some of the changes.

South Korean ESL vs. Japan

When we were in Las Vegas we happened to see a family from South Korea playing in the pool, and I decided to say hello. The family had a boy of around five years of age, and I was immediately impressed with how good his English was: he was able to answer a few of my questions and even make a joke, saying his family was from North Korea, which got his father quite flustered. The boy knew English because he'd been studying ESL, but I was amazed all the the same. Japanese children study ESL, too, often from a very young age, but something about Japan -- its conservative and xenophobic island-nation mind-set, perhaps -- keeps most students from actually, you know, learning the language. What was South Korea doing differently that enabled children to actually interact using English? Japan should study what programs its Asian neighbors are getting results with and make changes to its curriculum, although as long as I'm wishing, I could also use a pony.

What are the South Koreans doing to learn English that Japan isn't?

Once More Into The Breach: Japanese Election Hell

Japan currently stands at the brink, staring down at an abyss so hellish I can scarcely contemplate it. I'm talking, of course, about the upcoming election in which the various political parties here will woo voters non-stop for two weeks in an attempt to win enough votes to form a governing majority. Naturally, elections are different in Japan than they are in the U.S. Most obvious to visitors from other countries are the loudspeaker cars that drive around your neighborhood shouting the name of their candidate and thanking you for your support. This annoyance aside, there are some interesting limitations placed on how politicians can advertise themselves to voters. Election posters are allowed, displayed on designated bulletin boards throughout a given city, or at private residences. Television advertising is not allowed during the election period, a big change from the U.S., where our elections seems to pivot on which candidate is running which (usually negative) ad this week. Similarly, using the Internet to reach out to voters is currently NG (a word the Japanese use meaning "no good"), and it's illegal for a registered candidate to send email or use services like Twitter to get votes during the official election season, although third parties aren't always bound by these rules. Incidentally, Japan's famous otaku Prime Minister Taro Aso was in J-List's home city of Isesaki today, here to give a speech in support of local politician.

Incidentally, don't ever steal or deface these posters, as this carries a serious penalty if you're caught by the police.

An official election poster display board;.

The Japanese Language Proficiency Test

The primary test for students of Japanese is the Japanese Language Ability Test, or JLPT, used by a mind-blowing 500,000 applicants each year to measure their language ability and serve as a goal for each year's study activities. Started in 1984 in response to the rising tide of interest in Japan around the world, the test is held each December both inside Japan as well as in 40 countries internationally. There are four levels to the test, with level 4 being the easiest -- you need to know your hiragana and katakana and maybe the first hundred kanji characters -- and level 1 equivelent to the language you'd need at a Japanese university. The test is structured so that students can move up one level each year, and I found that having the test as a personal goal was an excellent motivator. The sign-up deadline is this September, so if you're interested in taking the test, now is a good time to register. For information, see the JLPT English page, and a list of links on where you can take the test outside of Japan here. There are just 118 days before this year's test -- if you need study supplies, textbooks or other products to help you learn, J-List has you covered!

Aiming to pass the JLPT is a good way to motivate yourself to study

Noriko Sakai and "Hansei"

Well, singer Noriko Sakai has turned herself in to the authorities, admitting to using stimulant drugs with her husband for the past year. If I know anything about Japanese people, it will be time for her to show hansei, a word which can be translated as reflection, introspection, and contemplation about what you've done wrong. This concept is one that everyone living in Japan needs to understand, as it's really an important part of human relationships here. It can open doors, like the time I took a trip to Guam without getting a required re-entry stamp in my password that I needed to get back into the country, so I used my Gaijin Bambi Eyes to get the Immigration staff to make an exception for me. More importantly, hansei is a device for communicating on a deeper level than mere words that you've done something wrong and are thinking seriously about it, which is a very Japanese thing to do.

Noriko Sakai falls from grace. I hope she comes out okay in the end somehow.

I'm depressed now. I think I'll watch the Gunbuster opening theme, which she sang.

Meru Otonashi and Japan's Negative Internet Culture

It's funny how the Internet can bring out the best and the worst in people, and all of us seem to change a little when interacting with others online. Depending on various factors -- the kind of virtual interaction, the degree of anonymity of the participants and so on -- even the most passive person can turn into a fire-breathing Internet troll, spitting venom at all who disagree with their views. This strange mechanism works in Japan, too, as normally mild-mannered net users shed their polite exteriors when participating in heated discussions in chat rooms or forums like the famous 2chan BBS. Japan's negative net society is so pervasive that it's changed the course of more than a few careers, such as artists caught plagiarizing by sharp-eyed 2-channelers and one of the producers of Gurren Lagann, who was pressured into resigning by online haters. One of my favorite characters from the anime and manga Sayonara Zetsubou Sensei (Goodbye, Mr. Despair) is Meru Otonashi, a quiet girl who's too shy to speak to anyone directly, so she sends them emails from her keitai. The mails she sends are so hateful and insulting that the recipients can't believe what they're reading, but since the girl is all sweetness and light in person, no one can take her to task. Of course not all parts of the Internet are full of negativity, and if you're on Twitter, feel free to follow J-List and read some hate-free, positive observations about Japan, anime and our wonky little company called J-List.

Meru-chan embodies all the hate and negativity on the Internet.

Would You Like to Climb Mt. Fuji?

There comes a time in every Japan-loving gaijin's life when he or she must take the plunge and climb Mt. Fuji. An active volcano 12,388 ft (3,776 meters) high that rises gracefully from the prefectures of Shizuoka and Yamanashi, Mt. Fuji is an incredibly beautiful image of the country. In Japanese its name is Fuji-san, with san being the correct pronunciation for the character for mountain, although this character is read yama in other situations, and foreigners are famous for using the wrong name (Fuji-yama). Climbing season is from July 1 to August 31, during high summer, since it's really hot down at sea level yet freezing cold at the apex. Climbers usually start from the 5th level, the highest point that vehicles can reach, and take one of three walking routes up to the top (the 10th level). As you climb up, you pass the various milestones and get a special stamp on your walking stick to commemorate each achievement; eventually you'll reach the top, out of breath from the thin air but happy to be having such a great experience. Traditionally mountains are associated with Shinto, the indigenous religion of Japan, and Mt. Fuji has been considered a holy place for thousands of years.

Mt. Fuji, or Fujisan, is the most famous single symbol of Japan.

Don't Write a Person's Name in Red in Japan

The other day my wife was writing my name and address on a box she was going to send to our house in Japan. As she did so, she said, "P-chan," -- my nickname at home, which I inherited from an old cat we used to have, not the famous anime pig -- "I only have a red pen, so I'm going to write your name in red. Sorry about that." I didn't understand why she was apologizing, then I remembered the odd (from my viewpoint) superstition about writing people's names in red ink in Japan (and Korea). This may date from a practice in ancient Japan in which a samurai would send an official declaration to an enemy that he planned to kill, writing his opponent's name in his own blood. There are many other death-related superstitions in Japan. The number 4 is read shi, which is the same pronunciation as the kanji character death, and it's supposedly bad luck to give a person four of something -- hence, most gifts come in sets of five. It's sometimes considered bad luck to take a photograph with three people in the frame, as the one in the middle will be likely to die young, and some people will always make sure to avoid taking pictures with three subjects to avoid this taboo. Finally, it's considered bad luck to cut your fingernails at night, because you won't be able to be with your parents when they die. Superstitions can be fun!

If you write a person's name in red, something bad might happen.

Noriko Sakai is THE FUGUTIVE

Japan's entertainment world has been turned upside-down by a perfect storm of scandals this week. First, actor Manabu Oshio was arrested for testing positive for the drug Ecstasy after a Roppongi hostess was found dead in an apartment he'd been using, apparently having died of a drug overdose. He's the estranged husband of super-cute actress Akiko Yada, who became a household name after appearing in a popular AFLAC commercial, and the news has idol and J-drama fans all over the net buzzing. Then in an unrelated case, Takaso Yuichi, a former pro surfer and husband to the hugely popular J-POP star Noriko Sakai, was arrested for possessing stimulant drugs. Soon after this event the singer disappeared, apparently out of embarrassment over her husband's arrest, but as she was known to be near the Aokigahara "Sea of Trees" suicide forest area there was some fear that she might be contemplating something terrible. Instead, it turns out that drugs may have belonged to her and not her husband, and an arrest warrant has been issued for the fleeing star, which means that the poor woman now has the dreaded suffix of yogisha or "suspect" added to her name during news broadcasts. The singer, who performed the opening themes to Gunbuster and Video Girl Ai if you're an old-school anime fan like me, has a huge following in China, Taiwan and South Korea, and this scandal has fans all across Asia wondering what will happen to our cute Noripi.

Ccute idol and actress Noriko Sakai is currently a fugitive from justice.

Lowering the Age of Adulthood in Japan

The Japanese government is moving ahead with a plan to lower the official age at which a person is considered an adult from 20 to 18. Since its emergence as a modern nation, Japan has defined an adult to be age 20, and that's when a person can legally buy tobacco or alcohol and vote in elections. There's even a major day to celebrate young people's emergence as adults, Coming of Age Day in January, when all new 20-year-olds in each town will put on brand new kimono and suits and celebrate their new status as full-fledged members of society. By lowering the age a person can vote in elections to 18, the government is hoping to increase interest in politics and social issues, although it's likely that some political groups will benefit from the change more than others. The majority of supporters of the conservative Liberal Democratic Party, which has ruled the country for most of the past half-century, are older and located in rural parts of Japan, whereas younger, idealistic Japanese in cities usually support other parties.

Will we need to make a new version of our famous T-shirt?

Back in Japan, and Sleepy...

Well, I'm back on the other side of the world, having made the hop from California to Japan, a journey of 24 hours from door to door. As usual, being back "home" is always a bit of a shock, from the terrible humidity to how clean everything looks from the window of the bus I took from the airport. I apologize in advance if this post stops making sense partway through -- jet lag is starting to take its toll on me.

It's back to school season in the U.S. right now, as millions of students prepare for studies to begin again in September. J-List has stocked hundreds of great items from Japan for those who want to have a little bit of Japan in their school life. Whether you're looking or awesome Japanese pens, mechanical pencils or erasers, stylish and kawaii notebooks or useful study aids to help you memorize any information, we've got great items for back-to-school season on the site. View them all now!

Gaijin in Japan, Continued

Last time I talked about the way Japanese perceive Westerners, who kind of hold a special place in society here because we're so obviously different from the Japanese faces all around us -- we basically have a big sign that says gaijin! hanging around our necks. One question I'm sometimes asked is, do foreigners in Japan face discrimination. Now, the Japanese are human beings just like people in every other country, and not everyone is always happy to have to deal with a bumbling foreigner who doesn't necessarily know the local language and customs yet often assumes that others are familiar with his country. I have naturally experienced some issues during my time here, from an inebriated yakuza who was clearly not happy to have an American breaking the wa in the public bath he was using to the occasional crazy individual who walks up and down the train cars in Tokyo shouting while everyone pretends he's not there. These instances have been extremely rare, and it's interesting to observe that even when a Japanese person is put off by you for some reason their usual response is to be more polite. I've observed before that most of the "discrimination" many gaijin face is positive, not negative, taking the form of people giving us gifts or letting us out of certain obligations that Japanese would have to fulfill, like the time I broke my vacuum cleaner through misuse and the electronics shop fixed it for free, just because. I think that if people coming to Japan keep an open mind about the country and try their best to respect the local customs and avoid being overly sensitive, there'll never be a problem.

It's not hard to spot the gaijin in this picture, which is something you just get used to here.

The Nebuta Festival in Aomori

In the summer the Japanese love matsuri, or festivals, which are a fun time to wear traditional clothes and carry around an omikoshi, a kind of heavy portable shrine that's hoisted around the neighborhood by a dozen or so people. There are various major festivals held around the country, from the Gion Festival in Kyoto to the Heso Matsuri (lit. "belly-button festival") held in the exact center of Hokkaido to the Awa Odori festival of Shikoku in which participants perform the most amazing choreographed traditional dances. One of the most colorful festivals is the Nebuta Matsuri, held in Aomori Prefecture at the top of the main Japanese island of Honshu from August 2~7, which may date back more than 1000 years. It's known for the gorgeous lit-up floats that are paraded through the city, portraying mythical gods from ancient Japan and China. It's the kind of beautiful traditional event that's tailor-made to appeal to foreigners, and many make the journey to see the Nebuta Festival every year.

The Nebuta Festival in Aomori is one of the most unique in Japan.

Perception of Foreigners in Japan

I'm often asked how Japanese view the gaijin that live in their midst, disrupting the precious harmony the country is so famous for. It's quite a complex subject, which reaches deep into the Japanese psyche and across Japan's 466-year history of dealing with these smelly, overly tall barbarians from across the sea. For the most part Westerners in the Japan of today exist in a special place where the rules don't apply, at least the same way they do for the natives. Western foreigners are mysterious, physically different from Japanese in obvious ways, and every time an American or a Brit enters an electronics store to inquire about a product, the Japanese staff get a little more nervous. While this seems like an unkind reaction on their part, to be fair to them we foreigners are awfully good at doing the unexpected, like talking to them in rapid English or asking if they stock impossible to find products. Often the first (and sometimes only) contact a Japanese person will have with a Westerner over the course of their lives is the happy, outgoing eikaiwa (English conversation) teacher they had in school, and often the image of Westerners is defined by this first cross-cultural exchange. As a result, the Japanese generally expect us foreigners to be happy people to be around, overly active and expressing our emotions freely...which pretty much matches my own personality perfectly.

Foreigners in Japan seem to exist on their own plane of reality, as you can sometimes tell from gaijin in anime series.

Shochu

Everyone knows sake (SAH-kay), the famous rice-brewed beverage that's one of the most famous images of Japan. But another popular drink is shochu, a distilled beverage made from various sources including barley, sweet potatoes and rice. In decades past, shochu was seen as a lower-class drink, but in recent years its image has risen, and now it's considered quite trendy. Shochu can be drunk straight or on the rocks, but my own favorite way to enjoy it is as chuhai, that is, mixed with soda water and a flavoring like fresh lemon or grapefruit juice, and I keep wondering when restaurants and bars in America will discover this exotic yet highly drinkable Japanese concoction and popularize it. If you're interested in seeing what this unique beverage tastes like, we're happy to announce that the amazing traditional Japanese Food Drops series now includes shochu flavored candies. Try them now!

I'm a big fan of the Japanese drink known as shochu. I drink it all the time (bad Japanese pun).

The Bilingual Brain

The other day I was writing one of my J-List updates, and a rather embarrassing thing happened to me: I found myself unable to recall an English word I needed, although I knew what it was in Japanese. The word in question was sekkyoku-teki (sek-kyo-koo teh-kee), which means assertive or proactive or forward-thinking, and for some odd reason only the brain can understand, I could recall the Japanese term but not its English counterpart. So I asked my Japanese wife what the word was in English, and she told me, no doubt smirking to herself; I thanked her, remembering the infrequent but fun occasions when she momentarily forgot how to write a certain kanji character and I was able to whip it out for her. Being bilingual can be fun, but a little weird, too!