Thursday, April 28, 2011

Thursday Thirteen - Amazing Japan

I’d like to share a collection of unique ideas from Japan I’ve been gathering.  I hope you enjoy.

1. Namazu-e – the ancient myth that giant catfish cause earthquakes; a lot of the art was politically charged regarding those that benefit from having to rebuild















2. Chickens Suit – the brainchild of an Australian brought to fruition in Japan.  Note this stylish bird’s wearing an homage to Australia’s flag; there is a similar one in the style of Japan’s flag














3. Pluto-kun – a character designed to advocate the safety of plutonium in the early 1990’s for Japan's Power Reactor and Nuclear Fuel Development Corporation














4. Cute posters – not entirely a unique cultural element but I love this poster promoting power saving during this difficult time in the country



















5. Hello Kitty – you can buy everything from toasters to vibrators with this Sanrio character (personally, I have a pen, some notebooks, a bat plush for Halloween, and a marshmallow lollipop – what can I say?)



















6. Anime – has anyone not run into this?  I’m neither a reader nor a watcher but I do love the artwork for “InuYasha, a Feudal Fairy Tale”.  Gotta love a scruffy dog boy



















7. Hentai – meaning “sexually perverted” in Japanese vernacular, the term covers a full range of fetishism in both real life and pornography; the program “Madventures” showed the host in a full body suit being ridden by a girl dressed in a manga costume

















8. Language – with no spaces between words, the Japanese use five character sets and words borrowed from many other countries: hiragana (phonetic), katakana (phonetic for foreign words), kanji (Chinese characters), rōmaji (Roman letters), and Arabic numerals; here’s a random, mostly inclusive sample:
コンビニエンスストアの LAWSON 店舗にて、払い戻しをし

9. Samurai – the teachings and discipline still have resonance today















10. Visual Kei – a sub genre of J-rock that is stunning to both eyes and ears; here’s an image of X Japan from the eighties

















11. Mascots – the Japanese use them for everything; this odd one was created back in 2008 for the 1,300th Anniversary of the Nara Prefecture capital












12. Kimono – still in use today for mostly formal occasions (I want the one pictured)



















13. Hanami – this traditional custom of flower appreciation takes on a whole new meaning when the cherry trees are in blossom

8 comments:

  1. Great post! After knowing you all this time, only a few items were new to me, most notably, the chicken suit. I found a web site with instructions for putting it on the chicken.

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  2. Japanese culture is fascinating. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. You mean you haven't actually watched Inuyasha? The story is better than the artwork.

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  4. My hubby and daughter have a fascination for anything Japanese. They both watch and read anime and mangas. And both have a kimono and a Chinese outfit too. My daughter recently went to a cherry blossom festival and had a great time.

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  5. Cool! Hello Kitty is so adorable!

    *hugs*
    Paige

    My TT is at http://paigetylertheauthor.blogspot.com

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  6. I'm oddly fascinated with the chicken suit. What is wrong with me?

    Happy Belated TT to you! ;)

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  7. Lovely! Japan is one of my favorite cultures to study as well.

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  8. I actually have a new Hello Kitty thing to add to your collection, lol. I just haven't made it to the post office yet.

    Very fun list, Darla!

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