U.S. Navy Goes Manga

Not everyone loves manga, the Japanese comics. I would say that it does have a considerable following outside of Japan. Needless to say, the Japanese people have a strong passion for manga. Perhaps that is why the U.S. Navy has decided to go with this art form in an attempt to allay the concerns of Japanese citizens with regard to the George Washington, a nuclear powered aircraft carrier.

The George Washington is to be stationed in Yokosuka and will arrive there in August. The online newspaper Japan Today reports:

The U.S. Navy in Japan said Wednesday it has produced a Japanese ‘‘manga’’ comic book describing the daily life of the crew of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier George Washington which will arrive in Yokosuka in August. U.S. Naval Forces Japan, based in the city, plans to give away several thousand copies of the book to people in front of the base from noon Sunday in an apparent bid to dismiss safety concerns over the first nuclear-powered U.S. naval vessel to use a Japanese city as a homeport.

The book ‘‘Manga CVN73,’’ named after the carrier’s number in the U.S. Navy, depicts the hardships of a fictitious young U.S. sailor of Japanese descent engaging in various missions on the carrier and his experiences after the ship arrives in the port city in Kanagawa Prefecture, south of Tokyo. Two Japanese cartoonists Harumi Sato and Hiroshi Kazusa did the drawings.

Cmdr Dave Waterman, the chief of the naval force’s Public Affairs Office, told reporters that readers would learn from the comic book that the crew is professional and constantly trains so that damage control in any kind of event can be addressed.

Do you think this approach will work? I cannot say, but I do think that the use of manga is a marvelous idea.

Shunsuke Nakamura

Though the Japanese may not be as well known for sports as the Chinese are, they do have their own share of nationals who have played or are playing for famous teams in other countries. In the world of football, they have Shunsuke Nakamura, who is currently playing for Celtic in the Scottish Premier League.

So why are we featuring Shunsuke Nakamura? We actually got wind of him through Patrick Brennan’s e-mail (Thanks, Patrick!). To be honest, I have never heard of him before, so I did some research, and this is what I found on Wikipedia:

He is one of the most prominent and successful Asian players to have played in Europe and on 13 September 2006 became the first Japanese player to score in the Champions League and the second Asian player to do so.

He has won the Asian Cup in 2000 and 2004 with the Japanese national football team, and was named Most Valuable Player in the 2004 competition. He has also appeared in the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship, and the 2000 Summer Olympics as a member of the Japanese Under-23 team.

Apparently, his success has become a bitter pill to swallow for fans of their archrival team, the Rangers. They have started (and are continuing) a campaign, which I find particularly offensive due to its racist slant. I do not want to promote racism of any kind but perhaps, if we get the word out, we can stand up against this. The slogan that the Rangers’ fans are using has something to do with the idea that people from Japan eat dog meat – you can see a video on YouTube highlighting this.

It shouldn’t really matter, but just to set the record straight – the Japanese in general do not eat dog. Oh the complexities of race…

Nomi No Ichi – Japanese Flea Markets

A flea market by any other name is still a flea market – and in Japan, it is called nomi no ichi. This traditional name is still used by the older generation in Japan but the young people use the global term flea market. Today, flea markets still abound in Japan, perhaps even more than in the past. This should not really be a surprise as the Japanese are known to be environmentally conscious, maybe more than some other nations today. They even have the word mottainai, which refers to the concept of recycling – reduce, reuse, and recycle.

As such, one can find most anything in the nomi no ichi – everything that the Japanese people deem reusable can be found here. Flea markets can be found almost anywhere in Japan. They are normally held during on the weekends, from early morning to late afternoon. The venue is usually on temple grounds and shrine grounds. According to the Japan National Tourist Organization, some of the most popular nomi no ichi in Japan include:

*Togo-no-Mori Nomi-no-ichi at Togo Shrine in Tokyo (3-min. walk from JR Harajuku Station); 1st Sunday of every month.
*Hanazono Jinja Nomi-no-ichi at Hanazono Shrine in Tokyo (5-min. walk from Shinjuku Sanchome Station); every Sunday (except May and November).
*Kyoto Temmangu Nomi-no-ichi at Kitano Temmangu Shrine in Kyoto (30 min. by bus from JR Kyoto Station); on the 25th of every month.
*Kyoto Toji Garakuta-ichi & Kobi-ichi at the South Gate of Toji Temple in Kyoto (10-min. walk from Toji Station on Kintetsu Line); Japan’s largest flea market, the 21st of every month, with a smaller market 1st Sunday of every month.

The next time you pay Japan a visit, try roaming these grounds and you might just find something to take home with you!

Urawaza – Quirky Japanese Solutions

We all love how the Japanese think – they are just a breed of their own! I believe that nothing showcases this way of thinking more than a recently released book entitled Urawaza: Secret Everyday Tips and Tricks from Japan. Quite obviously, with the release of this book, these supposedly secret everyday tips and tricks no longer remain secret.

Written by Lisa Katayama, who was born in Tokyo, Urawaza highlights tons of quick fixes for mundane things. It could have been an ordinary collection of DIY tricks except that the solutions that Katayama are things that we probably would not have thought of – that is, unless you are Japanese.

How’s this for starters - put your plant in a water soaked diaper if you are going away on a trip and you can’t find anyone to water it for you. Over time, it will slowly soak the water from the diaper, making sure that your plant will not die. Think that’s clever? How about this one – having problems with your sled sliding smoothly down the hill? Give it a boost by spraying nonstick cooking spray! You’ll be gliding down the hill at speeds you’ve never imagined before!

If these quirky solutions have caught your attention, then you would want to get yourself a copy of Urawaza, which, by the way, is the Japanese term for “secret lifestyle tricks and techniques.” The book is available at Amazon for only $10. Even if you are too conventional to try out the tricks, it would be quite a good read.

Robots taking care of senior citizens

In Katsuhiro Otomo’s anime Roujin - Z, caring for the elderly has become such an issue that a robotic bed system was developed in order to take care of them.

Now, in what looks like another case of life imitating art, the Japanese are beginning to use the help of robots in caring for the elderly and the sick.

These robots may not look as sleek as the humanoid like drones developed by Honda or even as technologically advanced as the bed system in Otomo’s Roujin Z, but nevertheless, this system is helping in giving care to the elderly in their own unique way.

The robot, a product made by the Business Design Laboratory Co., is called Yorisoi ifbot and it can “talk” to its users. The 604,800 yen priced device’s main purpose is to help entertain children but it has gained a lot of demand from senior citizens and families who take care of a senior family member.

The robot cannot only respond to greetings by the owner, it can also ask riddles or sing songs as a way of stimulating the brain functions of the elderly.

Another robot that is in the market is the Chapit, developed by Ray Tron, Inc. This robot actually helps the elderly in operating various equipment inside their homes. The robot eliminates the confusion that the elderly feel when trying to operate so many different devices at home.

HK picture scandal could spill over to Japan

The biggest controversy in Hong Kong today are the emergence of very racy photos that involve some of HK’s top stars. The photos involve Edison Chen and some of his former girlfriends, which include superstars Cecilia Cheung and Gillian Chung.

According to reports, the photos were taken from Chen’s laptop when he had it repaired. Apparently, he forgot to remove the incriminating photographs and the technician stole it from his laptop. It has now been released to the public and is creating such an uproar there because it involves so many stars. Stars Bobo Chan, Joline Tsai and even Maggie Q are said to be included in the 1300 pictures stolen from Chen.

But the scandal threatens to spill over to Japan because there are rumors that there are some pictures that also include Japanese star Chiaki Kuriyama, who was also rumored to have been involved with Chen. The pictures are now available on the internet and time will tell if Kuriyama is indeed included in these photos.

Hiro Nakamura - The Newest Japanese Hero

Yatta!

Who hasn’t heard of Hiro Nakamura? If you haven’t immediately head on to NBC’s official website and catch up on the latest episode of their series that’s taken the world of television by storm - HEROES. From the very start Hiro has been one of my favorite characters. Played by Masi Oka, who is more than worthy of an entire post for himself, Hiro Nakamura is one of the funniest but coolest characters of the series.

Hiro is a programmer at Yamagoto Industries in Tokyo, Japan who bored with his work and is convinced that he has the power to bend the space-time continuum. He is of course right and is able to go to New York using his powers, which starts his adventures.

Hiro is just one of the many people with extra-ordinary powers around which the TV series Heroes revolves. Watch even just one episode, if you haven’t yet and I can guarantee you that you will be hooked…like all Hiro’s fans are.

Baby Hatch

Despite much controversy and opposition a hospital at Kumamoto, Kyodo has installed the first ever baby hatch in Japan. The baby hatch is placed in the first floor of the Jikei Hospital and built into the wall. It is accessible outside through a door, which the parents can open to be able to pace the baby on a small specialized bed that maintains the same conditions as an incubator does. The hospital staff is alerted by an alarm and a surveillance camera pointed at the baby’s bed automatically starts capturing images once the door of the hatch is opened.

Taiji Hasuda, the hospital director, says that the baby hatch is a last resort meant to save the lives of babies who would otherwise be left to die. They however hope that parents will instead seek help from the hospital instead of leaving their babies in the hatch.

Sakuran

Sakuran, a film by renowned photographer, Mika Ninagawa, made waves in Japan. Sakuran revolves around the lives of women called oiran.

The oiran were women that existed during the Edo era. The oiran lived in self-contained “Pleasure Quarters” and like geishas were required to be well-versed with the arts of dance, music, poetry and calligraphy, and conversation. However, unlike geishas, the oiran were prostitutes, although they were considered to be elite prostitutes. Also unlike the movie, Memoirs of a Geisha, the movie about the oiran had a good reception Japan.

This could have been due to the more unsentimental approach of the film wherein the main character, a tayu (one of the highest ranking courtesans), had no silly day dreams of a prince in a shining armor but only wished to escape her life. It showed a far stronger breed of women, which is something modern women can relate to more easily.

Japan’s Geishas - Living Art

Geishas are the subject of much speculation from any other world outside Japan. Despite their fame the western world and even other eastern cultures do not completely understand the mystique that surrounds geishas. According to Liza Dalby, an American anthropologist who did research on geishas, the misunderstandings are probably due to the fact that there is no comparable group to them in other societies and so people have no basis on which to compare them to. Geishas are often mistaken by people as some kind of elite prostitutes, which is definitely not the case. In fact the word geisha comes from gei, meaning art, and sha, meaning a person.

To be a geisha one has to be well-trained in the traditional manner, etiquette, and various arts. One will need to master not only the intricacies of wearing a kimono but seemingly mundane stuff such as how to greet customers properly, how to serve a meal, and how to make conversation. Geishas aim to entertain but are at the same time a living piece of art.