J-list Blog

Sushi is the delicious raw fish on rice eaten in Japan, and it's so popular here that we have to plan carefully when we want to go eat it, to avoid having to wait an hour to get into the restaurant. By definition, sushi is raw fish on vinegared rice, with the vinegar originally added to keep the sushi from going bad back in the days when there was no refrigeration. Although the standard cut fish perched atop a pressed piece of rice (called nigiri-zushi or hand-pressed sushi) is the most famous type, there are many other varieties, including gunkan-maki or "battleship roll" with seaweed around the outside of the rice; maki-zushi or rolled sushi; and one of my favorites, chirashi-zushi or "scattered sushi" with different kinds of fish sitting on rice, which you mix together then eat. Certain types of sushi actually contain no fish, yet are still considered sushi, including cucumber rolls and the favorite of kids throughout Japan, tamago or scrambled egg sushi. Although Japanese eat a lot of raw things from the sea, the same cannot be said of the Chinese. I've got an American friend who has a Chinese wife, and whenever we eat dinner with them I rub my hands together in anticipation, knowing that she'll give me all her sushi and sashimi.

Oops, talking about food again, and getting hungry...

Japan is in the middle of Golden Week, a semi-accidental grouping of holidays which gives everyone a break from normal their school or work lives. The name Golden Week was coined in 1951 when an executive at the Daiei Movie Company noticed a spike in ticket sales around these holidays, so his company started a campaign advertise the holiday week as a great time to go see a movie, in the same way that "golden time" is the best time to watch television (although we call it "prime time"). While everyone uses this label today, Japan's public broadcasting network NHK stoically refuses, preferring the term "period of consecutive holidays" as the name Golden Week is ostensibly an advertising term for a private industry. Golden Week is a major economic event both for leisure-oriented businesses inside Japan as well as for areas popular with Japanese tourists, like Hawaii, Guam and California, but the fact that several of this year's holidays fall on Saturdays may mean fewer leisure-travelers. In case you're curious, the holidays that make up Golden Week are Showa Day on April 29, the birthday of the former Emperor; Constitution Day on May 3, to commemorate Japan's postwar constitution; Green Day on May 4, a day for appreciating plants and growing things; and Children's Day on May 5, which is traditionally a day to celebrate boy children by flying carp-shaped kites which represent the boys swimming up the stream of life. Happy Golden Week, everyone!

Although you probably don't know much about how the law functions in Japan, most Japanese have at least a basic idea of how the courts operate in the States, thanks to the many kaigai dorama or "overseas dramas" that are shown here. As a general rule, the law and lawyers don't play a large part in people's lives in Japan, which seems to be partially for cultural reasons and partially due to people just having a little more common sense and courtesy when dealing with each other. Awards for civil lawsuits are based on actual, provable damages, which makes it very hard for a plaintiff to get an unreasonably large judgment; in addition, lawyers' fees are based on the damages sought by plaintiffs, rather than damages actually awarded, which eliminates a lot of potential for greed. On the criminal side, prosecutors currently enjoy a mind-boggling 99% conviction rate, nearly always after a defendant makes a signed confession. There are some difficult cultural elements involved here, but the conviction rate is so high in part because prosecutors only bring cases for which they have solid evidence. Big changes are coming for the legal profession though, as Japan prepares to introduce a trial-by-jury system in which citizens will act as "lay judges" and determine the the outcome of cases. Personally, I don't think it will fly: between the tendency of Japanese to be overly group-oriented and come to agreement for the wrong reasons, the occasional amano-jaku, the kind of "absolute contrarian" that refuses to do things that are popular that I talked about recently, which in the case or something like a jury trial could really cause problems for the justice system here.

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 and JBOX.com sites today. 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.

L from Death Note ~ Nendoroid

Death Note is a manga that has recently become incredibly popular in Japan, published in Jump and created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The story is about a normal young man who comes across a strange book labelled "Death Note" which has a special power: if one writes the name of a person while imagining that person's face, that person dies. The young man known as Light Yamagi (aka "Kira") uses the notebook to cleanse the world of evil, all the while being hunted by the FBI to understand...

L from Death Note ~ Nendoroid

Death Note is a manga that has recently become incredibly popular in Japan, published in Jump and created by Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata. The story is about a normal young man who comes across a strange book labelled "Death Note" which has a special power: if one writes the name of a person while imagining that person's face, that person dies. The young man known as Light Yamagi (aka "Kira") uses the notebook to cleanse the world of evil, all the while being hunted by the FBI to understand...

Basic Kanji Drill New -- 1st Grade

For students of Japanese who want another way to increase their kanji skills, or for those who just want a good way to practice, here is a kanji workbook to get you up to speed starting from the Japanese first grade school level. This workbook takes you through step-by-step exercises that give you writing practice for the basic kanji characters learned by lower level Japanese elementary school students, with basic-use words that are probably familiar to second or third level Japanese language...

Doraemon Bilingual Comic vol. 7

Doraemon is possibly the most beloved character in all of manga and anime, the anime has been watched for generations and the manga loved by young and old alike. Here is a three volume set about the famous cat-shaped robot, republishing the first Doraemon comics from 1974, in a bilingual format, perfect for students of Japanese as well as fans of Doraemon. The original artwork is preserved in right-to-left format, with English written in the dialogue balloons and the Japanese written outside...

Love Dere ~ It is Crazy About Love

Fujimi Comics recruits the help of master hentai artist Kenuji Ono for this spicy adult comic that is so finely detailed that it's almost uncensored. Features fourteen great cosplay themed stories that will pleasure your visual pallet with images long after you're done reading this manga. Absolutely excellent illustration and perfect for those who like an artistic style of anime proportions. Japanese street wear, girl on top sex, 4P, maid cosplay, sailor seifuku cosplay, kyonyu (large breasts...

Doraemon Bilingual Comic vol. 7

Doraemon is possibly the most beloved character in all of manga and anime, the anime has been watched for generations and the manga loved by young and old alike. Here is a three volume set about the famous cat-shaped robot, republishing the first Doraemon comics from 1974, in a bilingual format, perfect for students of Japanese as well as fans of Doraemon. The original artwork is preserved in right-to-left format, with English written in the dialogue balloons and the Japanese written outside...