Being an American in rural Japan can be a challenge, and while I do my best to fit in with the larger society around me, sometimes I just gotta be me, which incidentally is known as "going my way" in Japanese. It's common for my wife to get on my case about my being "too American," which (to her) is usually about my tendency to be loose with my schedule, to forget important dates because I know she'll remind me anyway, and to say "yes, I'll be there in fifteen minutes" then show up three hours later. But my wife isn't the only one who takes me to task for being such a Yankee -- my kids do it too, which never ceases to amuse me, since they're, y'know, American as well. A few weeks ago I was driving in the mountains with my daughter, and we stopped at a restaurant that serves the most delicious thin-crust pizza, although we had to hunt around for the place since they have no sign indicating which road to turn at. When I mentioned my intention to tell the owners that they might consider investing in a lighted sign, my daughter said, "Why do you have to say anything to them at all? You always say whatever comes into your head without thinking -- you're such an American." One of my most embarrassing moments as a parent was when my son was three or so, at the playground. It was time to go, but of course he wanted to stay, so I had to gently insist that he go now. He got mad, and in front of dozens of amused parents shouted, "Don't you know there are rules grown-ups have to follow when they want a kid to leave the playground? You're an American, and Americans don't understand rules!" It's always interesting to see one's self through the eyes of a child.
Naturally, mastering a foreign language requires hard work and many hours learning things like grammar and vocabulary, but you also have to develop a "sense" for the language itself, internalizing the "real meanings" behind what you hear. Two handy words students of Japanese encounter soon into their studies are sukoshi (su-KOH-shi) and chotto (CHO-toh), both of which essentially mean "a little bit." If it's a little cold, you could say either chotto samui desu or sukoshi samui desu and your meaning would be communicated properly. One slight difference between the two words, however, is that chotto sometimes has a negative context, especially when used by itself without an adjective after it. If a girl makes a not-too-delicious bento lunch for you then wants to know how it tastes, you might reply "chotto..." which essentially means, "it doesn't really taste that good, but I'm too polite to come out and say it directly." Or, if there was someone you disliked, you could imply something bad about them without actually saying anything, by using "ano hito wa chotto..." ("That person is kind of..."), with the details of what you were going to say left up to the imagination. Although the Japanese have perfectly good words for "yes" and "no" -- hai and iie, pronounced HA-ee and EE-eh -- they're not really used that often. Instead, agreement or disagreement is more commonly expressed with softer, more nuanced and less direct words and phrases.
One of the banes of foreign visitors to Japan is seiza (SAY-za), the traditional way of sitting on your knees. Written with the characters for "proper sitting," it is an important part of many traditional Japanese cultural activities, from tea ceremony to flower arrangement to martial arts, and somehow sitting that way seems to encourage reflection and calm the mind. To sit seiza style, kneel with your knees together, then sit back so that your rear end is planted on the bottoms of your feet. Unfortunately, sitting this way for more than a few minutes can be quite a challenge for those not born here, and Japanese always chuckle amusedly at the sight of a gaijin trying to keep his legs from going to sleep while he kneels. One of the wackiest items we've ever carried at J-List is the Girlfriend Knee Pillow, a soft set of knees siting seiza style that's great for single guys to lay their head on after a hard day's work.
J-List has always been heavily involved in evangelizing the PC dating-sim games, generally known as eroge in Japanese, a fascinating kind of entertainment from Japan that lets you virtually interact with a variety of anime girls (or guys) as you explore unique game stories with multiple endings. Today we're posting great demo movies from some of our upcoming titles to help you choose which of our new game you want to preorder. The updated games are the gorgeous Kanonesque game Snow Sakura, the epic ADV-and-card-battle game Princess Waltz, the super cute Cosplay Fetish Academy, and the game voted "best bishoujo game ever," Family Project.
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 sites. 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.
| | Mikuru Asahina Action Dress Up Figure Maid ver.. Wow, they keep getting more and more innovative with these anime figures. Here's a really excellent Mikuru from the Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya wearing her famous maid outfit, with many included accessories that let you pose her, have her serve you tea, you name it. Figure is "cast off" and has separate, removeable undergarments. Wow. |
| | Rilakkuma 4-in-One Bento Storage Boxes. Rilakkuma, whose names means "Relax Bear," is one of the most popular characters in the San-X pantheon, probably because people in this modern world know they should relax more. In addition to this storage box set we're posting the popular Rilakkuma Bento Box. |
| | Delicious New J-Snacks. Winter is nearly here, and that means seasonal Japanese snacks, like the Winter Pocky we've got for you, dusted with cocoa powder, yummy. Also, two delicious flavors of Morinaga's classic Choco Ball and fabulous Polte in "Roasted Caramel" flavor. Oh my. |
| | SHODO ~ Natural Stone Mini Calligraphy Set. Shodo, or Japanese brush calligraphy, is a famous traditional art form that you can try with this set that includes everything you need -- telescoping brush, sumi ink and a stone to hold the ink that you will write with. |
| | Moe Kei ~ Painting Guide to "Moe" Style Cute Girls. Here's a nice book that teaches you techniques for painting "moe" (mo-EH) images, really cute bishoujo characters, using common tools like Photoshop. Lots of color examples in this book. |
| | Omiyage Bon 2 - Home Stay & Culture Guide. Here's a really good bilingual book from Japan that serves as a bird's eye overview of nearly all aspects of Japanese culture, from scenic areas in Tokyo and Kyoto to culturally important areas of art and history. With text in both languages, it's great for students too. |
| | KUSHI ~ Traditional Wooden Comb. This is our popular "Geisha Comb," a beautiful item cut from a single piece of wood. Great for both using to groom your hair as for wearing as a decoration. |
| | My Neighbor Totoro 22 x 40cm Pillow. We are huge fans of Studio Ghibli around here, and today we're happy to bring you an outstanding new Totoro pillow, which is extremely soft and firm and great for sleeping with, tossing on the sofa, or just lazing around the house with. |
| | Karami 14 -- Jun Nada. Here's a treat for fans of beautiful photography, a new issue of Karami -- the magazine that's always dedicated entirely to one model, with no ads or anything -- featuring the sweet and pure Jun Nada. See her in many ero settings, eating cup ramen, you name it. |
| | Vitamin M -- Mizuki Sugasawa. Wow, here's a really amazing glossy hardcover photobook featuring "Vitamin M" herself, Mizuki Sugasawa, a long-haired beautiful bikini model from Japan. Features many exciting pictures of Mizuki at the beach, enjoying private time, and more. |
| | New Manga In Stock. We've gotten in some cool new manga for you, including an amazing futanari fantasy work from Ippon Nagare, and a fascinating collection of true "H: stories by Kaoru Hazuki. |
| | New Yaoi Manga, Too. See some new yaoi manga too, including Punishment School (the Japanese title is great: Oshioki Gakuen) and First Rate Love, both yomikiri or single-volume complete books. |
| | Hiyoko Brand ~ Hiyoko Kobayashi illustration. A fabulous art book from Hiyoko Kobayashi, creator of many a beautiful "H" illustration, creator of such wacky animes as "My Wife is a High School Student." 104 pages of glossy, gorgeous art. |
| | Kuki Pink File -- Shiori Mizuno. Fantastic new Pink File release featuring the remastered goodness of Shiori Mizuno, with super detail for fans of this lovely thing. |
