I was planning on uploading this video over on Koichiben, but that was before I took a look at the new statistics tracker that Youtube recently put up. It’s a really neat feature that shows all sorts of things, one of them being a geographical tracker; basically, I can see who watches my videos and where they are.

It turns out that all of my Koichiben videos are watched primarily by people in Japan…except for my four Gojira videos, which are all primarily watched by Americans, the Brits, and Australians (don’t worry Norway, you’re in there somewhere too!). Based on those statistics, I decided I should go ahead and pull the series over here. Just makes more sense, I think.

This video is kind of a mix of all the other ones, with a few new things added in. Godzilla’s New Life 5: American Buildings Too Tall was actually made for a Video Art class here at school (Art classes + thesis is what second semester senior year is all about), so it’s a much different style from my previous ones. This one goes a little into the back-story of Godzilla coming to America, some of the things he goes through, and then the story of what happens after he gets back from his Hawaiian vacation (Godzilla #4). Poor Godzilla. Times are a little tough for the lizard. So, without further adieu, check out the video! I hope you laugh, even though it’s a bit darker than previous ones. I really enjoyed making it, anyways.

Poor Godzilla! I wonder what will happen next? How will he get out of his impoverished situation? I suppose you’ll just have to find out when I get around to making the next one.

Also, Previously on: “Gojira’s New Life”

Godzilla Hates Cats:

Godzilla Plays Oblivion:

Godzilla’s Office Mate:

Godzilla Goes to Hawaii:

**If you haven’t already, please fill out my questionnaire about the use of technology when learning Japanese. It’s for my thesis, and I’ll release the information after I’m done with it so you can hopefully learn something new about learning Japanese as well :)

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Tanuki are: A) Badgers, B) Raccoons, C) Wolverines, D) Raccoon dogs

Here’s a tanuki macro to help you out:

The word tanuki is often mistranslated as “raccoon” or “badger”. By looking at them, though, you can tell that’s clearly not what they are. I’ve wondered what the actual translation was for years now but have been too lazy to look it up until just recently. So, for those of you who knew enough to choose D, congratulations! Raccoon dogs, or tanuki (狸), show up all the time in Japanese folklore and fairy tales, and are fairly unique in that they’re one of the only “real” yōkai. I mean, you’ll probably never see a kappa or a bake-zōri, but a tanuki sighting isn’t quite so far-fetched. To begin with, let’s start with stereotypical tanuki image:

Tanuki Anatomy 101

So what does this diagram tell us? Basically, that the mythological tanuki is a binge-drinking, happy little creature with massive magic testicles and tremendous freedom with money.

Now, I know that the tanuki’s comically distended scrotum is distracting, but let’s focus first on the booze and debt. It’s said that tanuki love rice wine and women, buying both whenever possible with leaves transformed (their main power is shape-shifting) to look like money. After all, due to their almost constant drunkenness, tanuki are generally unable to hold down a job for any substantial amount of time and are, therefore, poor. Our yōkai friend up there may look financially responsible with his bankbook in hand, but it’s all an act. That bum.

With that out of the way, I’m now free to discuss the balls—not because I want to, but because I have to. I can call them kintama (金玉 or “golden spheres”) if it makes you more comfortable. Now, you may be thinking, “Oh gosh, there goes Erin again. Always with the genetalia talk”.

50 Uses For Kintama

Honestly though, you can’t talk about tanuki without talking about kintama as well. They’re an “integral part of the tanuki folklore”, as illustrated in old Japanese paintings and, more recently, the Studio Ghibli film Pom Poko (平成狸合戦ぽんぽこ or , Heisei Tanuki Gassen Ponpoko). Symbolizing good fortune rather than anything sexual, they’re actually a fairly benign subject, don’t you think?

Depictions of tanuki will often show them with their kintama being put to various uses. For example, they could be flung over their shoulder, spread out beneath them, used as drums (pon-poko-pon) or bludgeons or nets, etc. Kintama are, you could say, the swiss army knife of tanuki body parts. There are times, of course, where they’re just kind of lying about, but that’s not nearly as interesting.

Tanuki in Real Life

Believe it or not, tanuki aren’t normally a hot topic in Japan. Recently, though, Chibu (知夫里島 or Chiburishima) in Shimane has been in the news for its tanuki infestation problem. No joke. Raccoon dogs were introduced to the uber-rural island (think no traffic lights or conbini) 66 years ago, when the mayor received some as a present for something or other. You can imagine what happened when the little scamps realized they had no natural predators in Chibu to worry about.

As of this year, the tanuki population (2000匹) is nearly three times that of the human population (700人). The humans aren’t pleased with this arrangement, to say the least, but since 40% of the population is elderly, I don’t see them closing the population gap anytime soon. On top of the huge bills the tanuki rack up at local taverns, they also destroy crops and bother the local cattle.

Apparently the inhabitants of the island have had enough–the tanuki aren’t even afraid of them anymore. This month they’re holding a poll to determine exactly what should be done. I’ll update later as to what they decide. On a related note, I wonder how raccoon dog tastes…

Suggested Tanuki Reading

If you want to know more about tanuki, I would suggest finding a copy of Bun-Buku Chagama (ぶんぶく茶釜 or “The Bubbling Kettle”) or Kachi-Kachi Yama (かちかち山 or “Click-Clack Mountain”). Don’t quote me on those English title translations, though–onomatopoeia is hard to translate.

Note From Erin

I hope you all enjoyed this article. Sorry for not writing lately; this semester has been especially tough. Next semester promises to be an easy one, though, so hopefully I can make up for it then.

これからも、よろしくお願いします～

Chibu News: Yahoo News via random Japanese blog
Image Source: MorgueFile, The Kuniyoshi Project, and PomPoko

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Every week (i.e. whenever time allows), I’ll be doing a “Japan week in review.” These segments will cover smaller news articles from throughout the week that we don’t want to cover individually. Although these articles of news won’t necessarily be very important, they’ll surely be interesting instead. Included after the break is a video; before that, though, let’s go through the stories not covered in moving picture.

Army of Tiny Crustaceans is Destroying a Small Japanese Island: On a small island 1650 ft off the cost of Hiroshima, a whole bunch of tiny crustaceans are burrowing into the island, causing it to break apart into a billion little pieces. The island’s name is Hoboro, if you ever want to visit, though I’m not sure why you would, since it’s inhabited (except for our friends the “nanatsuba-kotsubumushi,” of course). Supposedly the increasing number of these shrimp/crab relatives was caused by increasing temperature of surrounding waters, which caused plankton blooms. These little guys love the stuff, so they reproduced like crazy. Since they make their homes by burrowing into rock, they are destroying the island one burrow at a time. Reports say that the island could disappear within the century if this keeps up. Wow! [source]

Japan Stops their Brutal “Research” of Whales: When Japan “researches” whales, they kill them in large numbers and feed them to their upper classes. “I say, Mr. Tanaka, I’m going to have to research some more of that ‘Whale Curry‘, it tastes smashing” (British Accent). Thankfully, due to international pressures, Japan has halted (for now) this nasty practice. We’ll see how long Japan can keep from eating that lovely whale cocaine. [source]

Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda’s Vlog: As you can in the video above, Yasuo Fukuda (along with the whole Liberal Democratic Party) has started a Youtube page. You can even check out his English Video and see what the Prime Minister actually had to say (instead of what he said in my video). It’s pretty interesting and pretty blah at the same time. His English is fairly good, anyways. I’ll include it below for your convenience:

Mobile Post Offices: In Aichi Prefecture (where I used to live), a lot of rural post offices are getting shut down. To combat the obvious problems that would arise because of this, mobile post offices (big vans) are being sent out. People can do all the normal mail stuff as well as withdraw money from ATMs. One neat little tidbit for the non-Japanese explorer: If you need to withdraw money from an ATM, the post office is the way to go! Most ATMs won’t accept your cards, but for some reason post office (and Airport) ATMs often do. Just something good to know if you are visiting. [source]

Death By Mochi is Wonderfully Tasty: Every New Years, a lot of Japanese people eat mochi soup (zoni). It’s one of those things that if you grow up with it you’ll absolutely love it. With every wonderful thing comes a price, though, and Mochi Soup is no exception. Every year a handful of people die from choking on the mochi, although usually they are of the elderly variety. This year four people died, and ten people were hospitalized - a pretty average New Years in my book. Party on, Garth. [source]

Ass n’ Boobs Airbag: You really just have to look at the picture. These airbags are supposedly better for you when you smash your face into them. I imagine they’d be a lot more fun too. Made by Takata, these airbags will reduce injury from airbags, but greatly increase (suspicious) male driver collisions. [source]

Tallest Elevator Test Tower: *Ah, dang, I messed up on this one. I thought it was the tallest elevator (as said in the video above). It’s actually the world’s tallest elevator testing tower, which sounds a lot less impressive, because I don’t imagine there are very many towers dedicated to elevator testing. Still, it seems like a pretty cool place to visit, so why not check it out if you’re near Inazawa City? [source]

Japanese Inmates Think Their Jumpsuits Aren’t Stylish: Aw damn, and I thought gray with vertical stripes was in again. O Brother Where Art Thou is hax. Recently a survey was done showing everyone what everyone already knew: Jail cells are too small, solitary confinement is no fun, and their clothes aren’t very fashionable. It’s not like we’d want our prisoners to be wearing the latest fads. How would we tell them apart from society? They have to look crazy, otherwise it would be hard to spot them amongst the millions of spiffy Japanese teenagers.

Hello Kitty Shames Soldiers, Kills You With Love: Apparently Hello Kitty has come out with it’s newest (and cutest!) high powered rifle … just kidding. Actually, a crazy gun-otaku put together a themed Hello Kitty AR-15 rifle for his wife. Here’s a quote from the creator: “Well, in the “spirit” of the California Assault Weapon Ban I decided to do my best to alleviate the fears of my fellow citizens and gun-banning legislators when I put together a new AR-15 for my wife.” Maybe if President Bush saw these he’d start equipping our fearless soldiers with these deadly assault rifles. [source]

So what do you think about this week’s useless Japanese News? I’m particularly interested in politicians blogging. I don’t think they pull it off very well, with Mr. Fukuda being no exception. All the American candidates are using Youtube as well, though for a different purpose. Fukuda’s use of it is more of a running thing; I think it’s good to keep the young’uns informed. Otherwise, I’m terrified of the Hello Kitty Gun, laughing at the Japanese inmates, and craving Mochi Soup. I might have to go make some of that right now, I think we have leftovers. See you all next week (or so)!

*Update: Aw, man, I kind of feel bad for posting this. I’m not very happy with it, overall. This has been a big learning opportunity, so there will be big improvements on this series for next time, though. Until next time…

6) Leggings/Tights: It wasn’t too long ago that I gave in to the trend and bought my first pair of tights. While showing a little leg is still “in”, many have opted to cover up. If you’ve got a pair and don’t know how to wear them, you might find a little inspiration in any one of the sites listed here.

7) Goods from Miyazaki Prefecture: Before becoming governor of Miyazaki Prefecture, Hideo Higashikokubaru (aka Sonomanma Higashi or “As It Is” Higashi) was a famous comedian and tv host.

This gives him more of an insight into media in politics than most of his colleagues, I would think. He’s quite popular, and his image has been used widely in the marketing of local products. This uncontrolled branding has actually led to some embarrassing situations (e.g. people using his face to sell fake eels and porn). These little scandals aside, I still think he’s cooler than the Governator.

Here’s a clip from his acting days:

(He shows up around 1:23 as the gun-toting psycho)

8) High-End Donuts: For a long time (since 1973), if you wanted donuts in Japan, Mister Donuts was your man, er, store. Not that there was anything particularly special about their products—they were just one of the rare stores which made donuts their main focus. Honestly, the best part of Mister Donuts for me isthe Pon de Lion toy set they give with their kiddie meals.

For a long time, Mr. Donuts enjoyed a relatively competition-free reign as Japan’s top donut shop. That all changed, though, with the arrival of the New York-based donut shop, Donut Plant, in 2005. Marketed as being a little more posh and upscale (as much as a donut can be, anyway) sort of place, it was a big hit… At least for the first year. It began loosing popularity in late 2006, around the time, coincidentally, that Japan’s first Krispy Kreme opened. A video of the crazy lines at that location can be seen here (taken this year, a good six months after the store’s initial debut!).

Above are plain donuts from Mister Donut, Donut Plant, and Krispy Kreme. So which donut will reign supreme? Only time will tell, but it seems like the main obstacle to overcome for these companies is moving away from a sugary, heavy donut to a more delicate, airy donut. Japanese pastries and deserts almost always involve less sugar than their Western counterparts, so this is key.

9) iPod Nano: The iPod craze is nothing new, though it’s neat that they keep getting smaller and smaller. I haven’t bought one, actually since I wouldn’t really feel satisfied watching a tv show or movie on such a tiny screen, which is kind of what they’re supposed to be used for, right? At least, that’s the way they’ve been marketed. Luckily, Koichi’s beloved iPhone has a screen that’s plenty big, so I’m always stealing it for long road trips :D

10) Yaki Ramen: To make yakiramen, or fried ramen-style noodles, all you do, it seems, is pour everything that would normally go into a bowl of ramen onto a griddle, fry it, add sauce (ソース), and serve. I’m not exactly sure why yakiramen was such a big thing this year, since it’s not really a new product, nor is it all that much different from the ubiquitous yakisoba (fried wheat noodles).

It does look delicious, though:

(Those guys have my dream job!)

And that concludes our coverage of the Top Japanese Impulse Buys of 2007 (check out Goo for 11-30). Are you guilty of buying anything this year just for the sake of being trendy? If so, don’t be too hard on yourself—it’s obviously a world-wide phenomenon!

Source: Goo Rankings
Picture Sources: Trendy Nikkei, Atashi, Amazon JP

1) The Mega Mac: A recurring menu item, the Mega Mac showed up again on Japanese McDonald’s in January this year. It’s advertised (see left) as being “beef heaven” (ビーフ天国 or beefu tengoku ), which may be a bit of an overstatement, but only a bit. It’s basically just two big Macs stacked on top of each other (+ extra cheese), so you could try recreating it at home if it sounds appealing to you, haha.

Koichi and Viet partook of this Mega meal while we were in Japan; I’ll try to find the video, if anyone’s interested.

Due to the success of this item, McDonald’s has created a few spin-offs which include the Mega Teriyaki, the Mega Egg (メガたまご), and the Mega Tomato (メガトマト), which is actually more like a BLHT (bacon, lettuce, hamburgers, and tomato).

2) Premium beer: as someone who doesn’t particularly like beer, I can’t see the draw, but I’m sure the average salary man could give you a quick overview as to what “premium” beer actually is. Next!

3) Billy’s Boot Camp DVD: You guys know Billy Blanks, right? The Tae Bo guy? Even if you don’t, it seems that most Japanese people do. Out of 400 people polled, 94% knew who he was, and 15% of them were on his Tae Bo program. I find it extremely ironic that a country with its own, original martial arts would embrace this more or less made up one, but apparently the OL/housewife crowd can’t get enough of Mr. Blanks. Here are some videos illustrating the phenomenon:

4) Mango: It’s easy to see why this one made the list. Mango is delicious, and I really don’t know anybody who doesn’t like it. Mango puddings, ice creams, and desserts (such as the McDonald’s Mango Pie) were extremely popular this past year.

5) Wii: Ah, the Wii. Like the Nintendo DS, it was marketed as being friendly and usable for people of all ages, which is true. Say what you like about the game selection and controls; so many Japanese people own Wiis that it’s speculated to be having a significant effect on regular TV viewership. According to the TimesOnline,

The Nintendo machine, which was specifically designed to repackage video gaming as a family-oriented affair, is believed by media insiders to be responsible for an unprecedented decline in early-evening viewing figures for Japan’s top-rated shows.

According to one senior executive of the country’s largest commercial television channel, Fuji TV, families who used to tune in to its colourful diet of soap operas, panel games and comedy variety shows may, instead, be drifting away and choosing to spend the same, economically-critical “golden hour” time playing on their Wii.

His comments come as Japanese television executives are reeling in horror at recent figures from Japan’s audience-tracking firms: last week was the first in nearly two decades where no single show on any commercial station attracted more than a 9 per cent audience share

If you haven’t bought a Wii yet, definitely think about it for Christmas. If we’ve got enough people interested, we may do some sort of Mii-making contest, so be sure to get one before then, yes?

Source: Goo Rankings

This is the end of Top 2007 Japanese Impulse Buys Part 1; look out for Part 2 later this week!

There are way too many people out there with utopian views of the Japanese nation, and we aren’t here to perpetuate anyone’s fantasy. Although Japan is pretty freakin’ sweet (I think we all pretty much agree), it’s still a country full of problems, just like anywhere else. And now, without further adieu…

This is my first article written for this blog, and it’s both depressing and late. But nevertheless, here it is. I’m a friend of Koichi from his college, but as you probably have haven’t noticed by now, I obscured my face; there’s a kind of virtue in being Anonymous, in that you can speak with confidence, yet never be too conceited about your work. Or it could be that I’m just shy and I don’t like showing my face on the net, but think up your own explanation. Maybe I’m ugly, on a Lovecraftian scale, and am trying to protect your sanity in a blessed act of mercy. Enough with the introductions, let’s start the article.

Recently there have been a number of anime series of the thriller/horror genre, and perhaps even in romance, which feature characters from middle-school to high-school participating in blood-drenched murders, suicides, that kind of fascinating stuff. At least from my perspective, in its animated form, the Japanese audience did not seem to object to violence on great levels, with some allowance for the time-slot where such shows are aired in on TV. That is, until this happened.

What occurred was not likely a copycat murder. But actually, not only the first murder perpetrated by Ax Girl, (her namelessness, in my opinion, helping to contribute to her notoriety as it had with Girl A/“Nevada-tan” some time ago.) but a second, similar but unsuccessful attempt at murder, took place.

What is notable about these two murders is this reaction: The Japanese anime series “School Days,” based on a PC visual novel (Read: Hentai game.), featured several extremely gory bad ends, with one romantic interest killing another, or killing the protagonist, or killing herself. Apparently the last episode was so violent that the TV stations airing it decided to, in light of the murders, cancel it and fill the unoccupied timeslot with serene scenery of European rivers and mountains, and a very “Nice Boat.”

Are Japanese audiences changing their attitude towards the material suitable for on-air television? This has certainly challenged my previous impressions of the audience and perception of media over there. It is interesting, to me, at least, to see Japanese audiences being concerned over the affects of media, for once, when previously my attitude had been “lol, Japanese anime have morals?” There will be more entries on this later, as it’s likely to continue to be relevant.

I don’t remember how I originally stumbled upon him (though I think it was through maxdesu’s subscription page), but I remember being immediately fascinated by his videos. This is why I subscribed:

1. He’s a very fast, crisp, and fluent Japanese speaker. I watch his videos and practice my Japanese listening. You can’t do this with every video you come across. Moonkey’s Japanese is good Japanese, not like the stuff you find in anime or yakuza films.
2. He’s a really nice guy. If you write him a comment, he’ll write you something meaningful back…though, I’m not sure how this works in English. From what I can tell his English is poor at best. Why not try commenting to him in Japanese?
3. He’s got that special something. All his shots are well planned out, no matter how simple they are. He’s good at setting up scenes and framing things up. A little planning goes a long way. It makes everything more enjoyable to watch.

Here are a couple of my favorites. Just remember, there are so many more videos out there. If you like his videos, you should subscribe to him and watch more:

…and…

I hope you enjoy Moonkey4U as much as I have (so far). He comes out with videos fairly regularly - so you’re never kept waiting too long. If you like him, please be sure to comment on his page and tell him! I’m sure he enjoys hearing from all sorts of people, he seems like that kind of guy.

Later this month, we will be posting the first of a series of articles on Japanese monsters and ghosts, or obake (お化け). Obake, also known as bakemono (化け物) are a motley bunch, with unique backgrounds and personalities. They are portrayed widely in Japanese folklore and art; some have even been popularized in anime and manga. As for the Tofugu Team, we have no real reason for undertaking this project, other than the fact that we find the obake to be quirky and interesting, and hope that you will, too.

Guest Writers: Status Update & Clarification

Thanks to all of you who have submitted articles so far! We’ve discussed what we’re going to do with the guest articles, and we’ve decided to tweak our earlier post about them, so follow this link to see what’s new. The main thing to keep in mind is to write about things you think your peers would be interested in or have an opinion about. Don’t worry if you think your writing style doesn’t mesh with ours—just make sure you write coherently and with a point of view. A little humor doesn’t hurt, either.

Contacting the Tofugu Team: Feeling Chatty?

Koichi: koichiben@hotmail.com

Erin: tofugu_girl@hotmail. com

Viet: vi3thoang@hotmail.com

We’re not always online, but feel free to add us if you like. We don’t bite. Except, Godzilla, sometimes.