February 2009

  • WTHIGO #2

    By msarko on 2/24/09 9:22pm
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    I have a theory about Japanese culture in the 20th century and beyond. After World War II, Japan was forced to disarm and essentially cease pursuing military endeavors for the foreseeable future. Every society, regardless of size, religion or other specifics, has an innate desire to exorcise internal pressures. Some, like the United States, Russia, Great Britain and various Middle Eastern nations do so by practicing warfare and other violent pastimes. When armed combat is imprudent, people cheer on American football, Canadian hockey and English rugby. Sometimes they cut out any pretense of sport and just watch boxers beat the snot out of one another.

    Other countries vent through other excesses. The French have proven time and again that war just isn't their thing. Instead, they join the Italians, the Swiss and to a lesser extent the Czechs in rampant drinking, sex and overblown political demonstrations.

    But what of the Japanese? Robbed of their long-preferred violence only to find sub-par alcohol and a complete lack of fattening cheeses (damn lactose intolerance), the people of lonely Nippon had to turn to other, stranger vices, most of their own invention.

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  • Fancy Folds

    By akgoemans on 2/20/09 5:33am
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    Photo Source: Kirainet via Flickr

    License: Deriv-Non-Commercial-ShareAlike-Attrib

    My word! Have you seen this fascinating art form? Admittedly, this is more of an ancient craft form but that does not make it any less impressive. What am I going on about? Why, Furoshiki, of course. Apparently it is this age-old, fabulous process of cloth wrapping. To be clear, this term refers to the cloth itself but somehow also applies to the folding technique itself. So by furoshiki, I also refer to various methods of whipping out a select piece of cloth and swirling it around an object in the most artist forms.

    You have to excuse my fascination. I was born with meager gift wrapping talent, let alone fancy cloth wrapping tendencies. At birthdays and other special occasions my gift was the tardy, sad looking piece with rumpled creases and extra cellotape.

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  • WTHIGO #1

    By msarko on 2/17/09 11:47pm
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    I'm hopelessly Western. I don't speak a word of Japanese, I have accepted that learning how to use chop sticks is a waste of time for me and I really don't give a damn about crazy Asian religions when it's hard enough for me have patience for crazy European religions. So maybe the following project is just a result of my willful ignorance. That doesn't mean it can't still be funny.

    Today, I am debuting a new feature on Kabuki Shojo called What The Hell Is Going On? In this column, I will have a series of artifacts from Japanese culture, past and present, hand picked for me by people who have some understanding of them. I will then, without being given context, attempt to determine just what the hell is going on in the drawing, photograph, video clip, or other media. Afterward, I will ask the selecting party to explain to me what is actually happening and I will report on my own accuracy using an objective scale.

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  • Hole in the Wall- Japan-style

    By beatriz on 2/13/09 9:40am
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    Japanese game shows are as bizarre as you might imagine, yet we in the USA have been compelled to copy this.

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  • No... Japan REALLY Loves Obama

    By msarko on 2/12/09 10:18pm
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    A colleague of mine recently wrote about President Barack Obama's popularity in Japan. When I read the headline, I thought someone had beat me to this. As a professional observer of all things insane and absurd, I'm both relieved and terrified that I was the first person on this site to find this particular bit of news. That, or I'm just the only writer here whose conscience has eroded to the point where it seems like a good idea to be reporting on these types of things.

    That's right, folks. Japan, the country that just can't help being a parody of itself, has embraced (literally and figuratively) our President via its love of complicated, unwieldy sex toys.

    To be fair, SInclair Products International is an American-based company. That doesn't stop Japanese consumers from being some of their biggest customers.

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  • There's more to blood than feeding a vampire

    By akgoemans on 2/12/09 1:09am
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    Photo Source: Anna_T @ Flickr: License: Attribute/Share-Alike/Non-Commercial Use

    What's the best ice breaker at a party? My guess would be “What's your sun sign?”. Well, that would be the case unless you are seriously opposed to astrology in general and would prefer a delightful banter about the rainbow controversy of Diablo III. Coming back to my original point, if fortune telling as a whole does not make the bile rise in the back of your throat, what do you think is the perfect ice breaker at a party in Japan? Judging from the popularity of this strange phenomenon, I would go for blood group discussions.



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