It was 35 years ago, in 1975, when a fictional cat was born. Little did she know that she would change the lives of countless people all over the world – or did she?
I am sure that you will recognize Hello Kitty anywhere – the ubiquitous face of a white/pink cat with a red bow on her left ear has been the obsession of one little girl too many. And even when these little girls grow up to become adults, their attachment to the cat doesn’t seem to go away. That’s the effect that Hello Kitty has had on people.
Sanrio, the company that started it all, thought of the concept in 1974. The very first product launched was a tiny coin purse with Hello Kitty’s face printed on it. As you and I very well know, Hello Kitty’s face has since then been associated with all sorts of products. From mobile phone cases to the mobile phone itself to bags to clothing – you can find anything with a Hello Kitty version!
Believe it or not, Hello Kitty has been spotted on some of the most unlikely items. You don’t think that there is an unlikely item for Hello Kitty? Well, how about an assault rifle? She may be cute, but she can be deadly as well!
How about this keyboard? It’s not as weird as the assault rifle, but I don’t really think I’d be caught dead with one.
Of course, that is not to say that there aren’t any cute Hello Kitty items. That’s why she is celebrating 35 years, and looks like she’ll keep on celebrating many more!
Posted November 22nd, 2009 by Maki | Comment (0)
Barack Obama is no stranger to controversy – his whole presidential campaign revolved around that, if you remember. More so, this is not the first time that the President of the United States has showed deference to a leader of another country. Remember him bowing to the King of Saudi? Now THAT irked a lot of Americans.
If you haven’t heard yet, President Obama did a repeat of the bowing thing. This time, he bowed before Emperor Akihito, again generating a lot of buzz. Of all the articles, blog posts, and commentaries that I have been reading on this event, I found Jake Tapper’s most interesting. He writes:
“This picture shows two things,” my friend writes.
“1) The ‘right’ is wrong about Obama’s bow.
“2) The ‘left’ is wrong about Obama’s bow.
“His bow is neither (1) unprecedented nor (2) a sign of cultural understanding.“At their 1971 meeting in Alaska, the first visit of a Japanese Emperor to America, President Nixon bowed and referred to Emperor Hirohito and his wife repeatedly as ‘Your Imperial Majesties.’”
So what’s the difference between Obama’s bow and Nixon’s bow? The latter got it right – angle and all. Apparently, Obama’s angle was all wrong, and the addition of the hand shake was just NOT right. The overall effect?
Kyodo News is running his appropriate and reciprocated nod and shake with the Empress, certainly to show the president as dignified, and not in the form of a first year English teacher trying to impress with Karate Kid-level knowledge of Japanese customs.
The bow as he performed did not just display weakness in Red State terms, but evoked weakness in Japanese terms….The last thing the Japanese want or need is a weak looking American president and, again, in all ways, he unintentionally played that part.
I wonder what Obama thinks about the buzz that he has once again generated? What do YOU think about it?
Posted November 21st, 2009 by Maki | Comments (10)
If anyone has ever doubted the artistic and cultural value of manga, then the time to throw away those doubts is NOW. The British Museum – no less – is holding an exhibit featuring the work of Hoshino Yukinobu, famed Japanese manga artist. His most famous character, Professor Munakata is the highlight of the exhibit, which also shows the best drawings of the artist.
In the most basic terms, manga refers to Japanese comics and cartoons in print form. This art has a long history, and has emerged to be one of the most popular forms these days. Its topics are not limited to a single genre but encompass a lot of subjects including romance, sports, action, adventure, business, and even sexuality.
Hoshino Yukinobu’s exhibit at the British Museum can be found in a room near the entrance. Visitors will not miss it as there is a larger-than-life picture of the famous Professor wearing a costume dating back to the 7th century.
Aside from the inherent cultural and artistic value of Hoshino Yukinobu’s work, why is the British Museum holding an exhibit for him? For Japanese culture lovers in the UK, you will be happy to know that the Museum is also holding an exhibit on ceramic figures (dogu) dating from ancient Japan. This exhibit will be open till 22 November.
Even if you are not (yet) a fan of Yukinobu’s work, you might want to drop by the Museum and check it out. There are also manga comic books available for your perusal – you never know, you just might find a new hobby!
Photo courtesy of The British Museum
Posted November 10th, 2009 by Maki | Comment (1)
Yesterday, Londoners were treated to a taste of what it’s like to cross the streets of Tokyo. Oxford Circus, which is considered to be the “heart of London’s West End shopping and entertainment district,†opened the first ever Tokyo-style pedestrian crossing in their part of the world. The style of this pedestrian crossing – as you can see from the photo, courtesy of Mirror.co.uk – allows people to cross the intersection diagonally, on top of being able to cross in straight lines. Obviously, in order for this scheme to work, traffic in all directions must be halted all at once to give way to the pedestrians.
According to a report by AFP, London authorities got the idea from the crossing in Shibuya, a well-known area in Tokyo. The mayor of London, Boris Johnson, was quoted as saying:
“This project is a triumph for British engineering, Japanese innovation and good old-fashioned common sense. The head-scratching frustration caused by the previous design is over and we’ve brought one of the world’s greatest crossroads into the 21st century. Being able to cross in an oblique rather than a perpendicular fashion will make Oxford Circus incredibly more efficient for the millions of pedestrians and road users that use the crossing every year.”
Indeed, why haven’t others thought of this before? Trust the Japanese to come up with such a simple solution to a simple problem!
So how much did the scheme cost the government? A whopping five million pounds, no less! We’ll see in the next few weeks – or months – if the scheme is worth it. I have a feeling it will be. 
Posted November 3rd, 2009 by Maki | Comments (4)
