For Doll Lovers Only: Hinamatsuri

Japan is well known for its exotic festivals that attract people from all over the world. For the Japanese, though, these festivals hold much deeper meanings than merely showcasing what their culture has to offer. One of the longest running traditions in the Japanese culture is called the Hinamatsuri, or Japanese Doll Festival.

Hinamatsuri started way back in the Heian Period and has its origin in an old Japanese belief that dolls contained evil spirits. In the old days, dolls made of straw were sent floating down the river out to the sea. The goal was to send away the evil spirits.

Today, the festival takes on a different light and is celebrated on the 3rd of March. The festival is actually aimed at little girls, wherein the family prays for their happiness, safety, and prosperity. Those who take part in the celebrations display special dolls if they have girls in the family.

Another name for Hinamatsuri is Momo no Sekku, which translates to Peach Festival. The dolls which are displayed are called Hina dolls and they are placed on tiered platforms with following configuration:

• Sitting at the top center are Emperor and Empress. They are wearing the twelve-layered ceremonial robe called juhni-hitoe).
• On the next step stand three Court Ladies.
• On the 3rd step play five Musicians.
• On the lowest two steps are miniatures of tableware used to serve these people.
• Small set with Court house: two Warriors guard the Court people.
• On the right are peach blossoms.

This configuration actually follows the hierarchy of the Heian Period Imperial Court.

Posted May 3rd, 2008 by Maki | Comments (2)

Doraemon copter

Doraemon is probably one of the most iconic characters in Japan. The cute character has become a staple of Japanese pop culture in much the same way Hello Kitty has. Everyone knows Doraemon and every product or item that has his unmistakeable visage always sells well.

One of the ardent dreams of children is being able to ride on Doraemon’s bamboo copter. They may not be able to do this in real life but they can do the next best thing — which is to actually play with a real flying copter. Epoch has released a radio controlled toy that depicts Doraemon that actually flies. The propellers of the toy even looks exactly like the Bamboo Copter’s blades, so authenticity is a big selling point.

Posted February 18th, 2008 by Maki | Comment (0)

Xbox 360 outsells PS3 in Japan

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 may be a success in the US, but go to Japan and the American made console lags behind both the Nintendo (the current blockbuster console) and Sony (whose PlayStation 3 is getting respectable number lately). Microsoft’ third place showing in Japan shows that the fiercely loyal Japanese are not that easily impressed by something that is American. In fact, even some of the games that are developed by American developers are not usually very popular among the Japanese.

It came as a surprise though this week when the Xbox 360 actually outsold both the PS3 and the PS2. According to the Media Create top 50 Sales Chart, the Xbox 360 sold 17,673 units in one week, effectively pushing total sales to 500,000. This is a figure that the original Xbox never managed to achieve.

The PS3’s sales numbers are actually very near the 360’s at 17,434. In fact, it may be likely that the PS3 beat the 360 in sales because Media Create only makes an estimation based on a sampling of stores. Thus, the 360’s triumph may be more of a moral one.

The true test for Microsoft is if it can continue the numbers for the following weeks. It will also be a gauge whether the Japanese has finally embraced a foreign console.

Posted November 12th, 2007 by Maki | Comment (0)

Build your own mini Tokyo Tower

Japan produces some of the niftiest, coolest toys on earth — and I’m not talking of just game consoles or those cool robots. Take for example this new product from Gakken Toys, almost industrial type Lego-like building blocks that you can form into the Tokyo Tower. The figure is very easy to assemble and will really give your mind a good workout. When you’ve finished building it, turn off the lights and light up the tower and what you’ll have is a very cool light fixture at home (or at the office) that will surely elicit many positive comments from visitors. It is a true conversation piece. When you’ve gotten tired of the Tokyo Tower just disassemble it and build it into any structure or figure you want. This means endless fun not only for the kids but for you as well.