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martes, 31 de julio de 2018

One Piece anime katanas recreated as exquisite letter openers by Japan’s swordsmith legacy heirs

https://ift.tt/2v8yBCk Casey Baseel

Slice through your paper foes like Zoro and Law would.

If you’re going stick One Piece into the box of a single genre, the hit anime/manga is a pirate story. But creator Eiichiro Oda has always crafted the series aesthetics to be whatever he thinks is cool, and so swordsman and Straw Hat Pirate Roronoa Zoro doesn’t fight with a cutlass, rapier, or any other standard buccaneer blade, but rather a trio of Japanese-style katana.

All of Zoro’s katana were created by master swordsmiths in the One Piece world, and those craftsmen’s present-day, real-life counterparts are the cutlery makers of Seki, a town in Japan’s Gifu Prefecture which in generations past was a major supplier of steel to samurai warriors. Seki has now branched out into bladed instruments for less violent purposes, such as cooking knives, shaving razors, and letter openers, which brings us to a tie-up between Seki-based Nikken Cutlery
and One Piece.

Nikken has recreated Zoro’s three swords, starting with the Wado Ichimonji, the earliest katana the character is seen carrying.

Each of the One Piece letter openers is made of stainless steel for an authentic and weight feel. They’re officially classified by Nikken as “paper knives,” and promise to open envelopes with a satisfying slice. The included display stands are two-tiered, allowing you to keep the swords sheathed or place the scabbard on a different level of the rack so that you can admire the naked blade as well.

In the course of his adventures, Zoro goes on to acquire the Sandai Kitetsu, which has a uniquely irregular hamon hardening line.

▼ Unlike the in-anime Sandai Kitetsu, Nikken Cutlery’s version isn’t cursed.

Rounding out Zoro’s trio of weapons is the ominous-looking Shusui, with its jet-black blade contrasting with a fiery hamon.

And finally, if you’re a fan of One Piece’s other katana expert, Trafalgar Law, Nikken’s artisans have also produced a paper knife of his Kikoku.

Nikken Cutlery has previously offered curved katana-style scissors based on the personal weaponry of historical samurai, but this is the company’s first anime crossover. Each letter opener is priced at 4,000 yen (US$36) and can be ordered here directly from Nikken Cutlery.

Source: Nikken Cutlery via Japaaan
Images: Nikken Cutlery

Japanese VR game lets you live the wonderful fantasy of getting poked in the chest by a cute girl

https://ift.tt/2OAqDKe Casey Baseel

New game saves you the awkwardness of having to ask a real girl, “Hey, would you mind poking me in the chest?”

As the most immersive form of electronic entertainment we have today, virtual reality can let you do some amazing things, like take to the skies to protect Tokyo from a rampaging Godzilla or go on a gallant quest in the fantasy landscape of the Dragon Quest franchise. Now Tokyo-based VR developer IVR is set to give gamers a detailed simulation of another thrilling experience: getting poked in the chest by a cute girl!

On August 1, the company will be releasing Tsun Tsun VR through Steam. Tsun tsun is the Japanese onomatopoeia for poking or spikiness, and just like the title promises, Tsun Tsun VR’s selling point is that is allows you to feel an anime girl’s slender yet firm fingertips stabbing you in the torso, by means of a tactile feedback vest that you wear while playing it.

IVR proudly describes Tsun Tsun VR with:

The world of Ready Player One has come true! In this game, you can experience having a girl poke your body. Through the experience of actually being touched by a VR girl, we have given birth to an unprecedented sense of immersion.”

▼ We must have missed the part of Ready Player One where the heroes stop their treasure hunt to get poked by anime girls.

VR titles tend to occupy differing points along a scale between “game” and “experience,” and Tsun Tsun VR seems closer to the latter, since getting poked in the chest by pink-tressed Koino Katsiki seems to make up the bulk of the content, with some occasional hugging being the only other gameplay wrinkle.

▼ Given the scary look in her eyes, though, we’re not sure how gentle her embrace is.

In the future, IVR plans to add a feature by which players can swap in different avatars for Koino as well as increase the number of supported feedback devices, including shirts that can provide feedback to the arms (currently the game, which can be found on Steam here, is only playable with the Tactot vest, manufactured by bHaptics). Who knows? Maybe if the response is strong enough, IVR will team up with the makers of Japan’s interactive talking anime girl huggy pillow, unless they think the cushion’s softness would destroy the illusion of getting firmly poked in the chest.

Source: Steam via IT Media
Images: Steam

How you can help victims of Japan’s massive flood and earthquake by enjoying delicious Kit Kats

https://ift.tt/2LD28OZ Casey Baseel

This one of the best-tasting Kit Kat flavors out of Japan’s many exclusives, and it’s aiding the recovery of disaster-stricken Osaka and West Japan.

Due to the nation’s tectonic position and regional weather patterns, earthquakes and typhoons are a part of life in Japan. We’ve been reminded of that in tragic fashion twice this summer, with Osaka being shaken by the prefecture’s strongest-ever-recorded earthquake in June, followed by storms and flooding taking lives and destroying infrastructure in West Japan in July.

Way over on the far other end of the spectrum of inevitabilities of life in Japan are, of course, the bounty of exclusive local Kit Kat flavors the country is blessed with, and now the chocolate-covered wafers are set to help with the recovery of the areas that have been hit by this summer’s natural disasters. Nestlé Japan has announced that it will be selling a special Kit Kat flavor, usually sold only in the Hiroshima area, nationwide in order to help raise funds to be donated to relief programs in Osaka and West Japan.

Sweetening the deal is the fact that the flavor, Momiji Manju, combines one of Japan’s most delicious traditional sweets with the widely loved Kit Kat format. Covered in white chocolate and with powdered sweet anko beans sandwiched between the wafers, the Momiji Manju Kit Kats recreate the iconic maple leaf-shaped (momiji being the Japanese word for “maple”) bite-size cake dumplings that have been a favorite of travelers to Hiroshima for more than a century.

The earthquake/flood relief Kit Kat Mini Momiji Manju (box pictured above) contains three individually wrapped Kit Kats, is priced at 160 yen (US$1.40), and goes on sale October 9 at supermarkets and convenience stores across Japan. It follows Nestlé Japan’s previous charity Kit Kats for victims of this spring’s Kumamoto earthquake and 2017 north Japan typhoon, showing once again that helping those in need isn’t just kind, but sweet too.

Source: Nestlé, PR Times via IT Media
Top image: Nestlé

Sailor Moon yukata kimono line will keep you breezy and beautiful in the Japanese summer heat

https://ift.tt/2LSjvuc Katy Kelly

As the temperatures climb, there’s just one team of glamorous superheroines who can save us from the summer heat. Moon Crystal Power Dress Up!

With the recent heatwave still simmering our skin (and our schools), we’ve turned to all manner of methods to beat the heat. From topsy-turvy popsicles to salt tablets and cooling pads, Japan is constantly on the cutting edge of chill technology. But back in the day, though, there was a more traditional way to keep things cool: your mode of dress!

We’ve been excited since the announcement for the beautiful Sailor Moon collaboration line by kimono maker Kyoto Marubeni, featuring rustic patterns in Sailor Senshi jewel tones. Now it’s summertime, and it’s the perfect time to show off that light, breathable cotton and head out to watch some fireworks! First in the line-up is the relatively affordable yukata set, featuring six different designs of yukata. Each set, retailing at 18,144 yen including tax (US$160) comes with the yukata itself and a gorgeous embroidered obi sash.

▼ Here is the Jupiter print, fresh and crisp in springtime greens and pinks.

▼ Each yukata comes with a complementary obi featuring an embroidered image of Luna the cat.

▼ The Mercury and Mars yukata prints provide a lovely contrast in vermillion and aqua

▼ Venus’ yukata features an attractive lavender and periwinkle color scheme

▼ And since she’s the star of the show, Sailor Moon also gets a second yukata pattern.

If you’re willing to splash out some extra cash, the following more mature prints might be up your alley. With designs from Silver Crystal (in pink or yellow ) to Uranus and Neptune to Five Sailor Scouts (deep blue or monochrome) to Moon Castle (pink or off-white) you’re destined to find a pattern that fits your pretty guardian needs. Each of these yukata comes on its own without a sash, and costs 41,040 yen.

Don’t worry, though – matching half-width sashes can be purchased to the tune of 16,200 yen and they come in stylish color pairs of red/black, yellow/purple, light blue/wine and pink/white.

If you’re hesitant about dropping a cool 57,000 yen on one outfit, there’s about always the more economical option to stave off the summer: a simple, elegant hand fan. The fans cost 4,104 yen each and sport the luxurious prints seen in the individual yukata sets for each Sailor Scout.

While the yukata are listed as “large free size”, the measurements themselves are more stringent: the kimono spans about 165 centimetres (64.9 inches), meaning the manufacturers recommend it for fashionistas between the height of 155-170cms (61 to 69 inches). Sadly, this would mean almost all of the Sailor Scouts themselves would be out of luck at their relative sizes… But maybe Tuxedo Mask might be able to just about fit into one if he really needed to cool down.

Source: Kyoto Marubeni, Wafukan Ichi
Top image: Wakufan Ichi
Insert images: Wafukan Ichi (1, 2, 3,)

Harajuku Guy in DVMVGE Logo Print, Samsara Collection, Jeremy Scott, Bernhard Willhelm & Chanel

https://ift.tt/2AtTLA7

Making a bold statement on the streets of Harajuku was Kenta, a fashion industry professional who stepped out in futuristic streetwear featuring all-over logo prints.

Kenta wore a Damage (DVMVGE) graphic tee and Samsara Collection printed shorts, which he acquired from Dog Harajuku. He continued the edgy sportswear motif with a basketball bag from Jeremy Scott and Bernhard Willhelm sneakers with blue laces. Silver hair, a blue headband, multiple ear piercings, and Chanel accessories completed his look.

Kenta gets his fashion favorites from Dog Harajuku, and he enjoys listening to rock ’n’ roll music. For more style updates, follow Kenta on Instagram.

Click on any photo to enlarge it.

Japanese Street Fashion

Aspiring Canadian cosplayer living in Tokyo arrested for immigration fraud sham marriage

https://ift.tt/2M9vBfL Casey Baseel

Approached Japanese man she met at cosplay event and offered to pay him to be her husband for visa purposes.

In 2012, Canadian citizen Shannon Wong came to Japan on a four-year student visa. But while that may sound like a long time, anyone who’s fallen in love with life in Japan will tell you it’s not nearly long enough to experience all that the country has to offer, and Wong wanted to keep living the dream of residing in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward while pursuing her interests in cosplay and Lolita fashion.

With her student visa winding down, though, it was looking like Wong would have to head back to Canada, until she met Narimichi Sasaki, a Japanese construction worker eight years older than her and living in Tokyo’s Nerima Ward. The two became acquainted at a cosplay event held in Shinjuku’s Kabukicho district, and Wong later approached Sasaki with a preposition. She would provide him with 700,000 yen (US$6,300) upfront and an additional 30,000 yen a month, and he would become her on-paper husband.

Sasaki agreed, and on June 17, 2016, the pair turned in their marriage paperwork at a ward office in Yokohama, two cities south from Tokyo. However, this February immigration officers in Tokyo began an investigation into the pair, uncovering the fraudulent arrangement and determining that the pair had not been cohabiting or otherwise living as husband and wife.

On July 11, officers from the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department’s arrested Wong and Sasaki, now 29 and 37 years old, respectively. No longer a student, Wong’s employment has been reported as both “restaurant worker” and “fuzoku worker,” the latter referring to the adult-oriented service sector, including jobs ranging from bar hostess to topless dancer and erotic masseuse.

▼ Wong in custody

Wong has admitted to the charges, and given Japan’s customary hardline stance on immigration fraud, is unlikely to secure a visa which would allow her to continue living in the country.

Sources: Livedoor News/Jiji Tsushin, FNN via Otakomu
Top image: Pakutaso

Psychology professor says Japanese people show mood with their eyes, Westerners with their mouths

https://ift.tt/2vmMH2u Casey Baseel

Educator ties theory into why Japanese people wear surgical masks, but not sunglasses, but how solid is his logic?

Just as different cultures have different languages, so too can non-verbal communication differ between countries. This was part of the discussion in a recent lecture at Tokyo Women’s Christian University, given by psychology professor Akihiro Tanaka.

One of Tanaka’s visual aids was a slide labeled “Japanese people’s facial expression comes from their eyes, and Western people’s facial expressions come from their mouths,” as seen in this photo tweeted by Japanese Twitter user @mnishi41.

Directly underneath Tanaka’s statement is a row of common Japanese emoticons, representing a wide variety of emotions, and sure enough, all of them have an identical under score for the mouth. Below them is another row of stylized face sketches (meant to be indicative of Western aesthetics) in which the eyes are always the same simple pair of dots, but with vastly different mouths.

Finally, serving as real-world, real-people examples, the slide has a group shot of Japanese people wearing facial masks, and next to it a snapshot of Western women all wearing sunglasses.

The tweet quickly racked up over 140,000 retweets and 385,000 likes. However, looking through the comments, not very many Japanese Twitter users are voicing strong agreement. Instead, most commenters are pointing out that the reasons for the mask/sunglass discrepancy has more to do with differences in socially acceptable fashion between Japan and the West.

The lecture slide implies that people in Japan are generally OK with wearing masks, but not sunglasses, and that’s quite true. However, the major reasons why people in Japan wear masks in the first place are all respiratory system-related, with the most common purposes being to alleviate the effects of hay fever (a major, nationwide problem because of the highly allergenic strain of cedar that grows in Japan) or to avoid passing off or receiving airborne cold/flu germs on Japan’s crowded trains. Sunglasses don’t provide any benefits related to those concerns, so keeping their eyes uncovered is, in the minds of most Japanese people, completely unrelated to whether or not they’re wearing a mask.

Meanwhile, the reason most Japanese people don’t wear sunglasses isn’t for greater communicative effectiveness, but because near-opaque lenses have long had a stigma in Japan as being a sort of face-obscuring pseudo-disguise. Take a look at any public safety pamphlet, and there’s a 90-percent chance that the illustrations showing burglars and conmen will have them wearing sunglasses. All those media depictions eventually seep into real-world mentality, and thus affect fashion decisions.

▼ It’s sort of like how even if you like stripes, you probably wouldn’t put together an outfit like this, since it’d make you look like a convict.

Moving over to the other side of the slide, the reason Westerners don’t wear surgical masks in public isn’t so much because they feel the mouth is the critical body part for non-verbal communication, but because it’s a fashion choice that can legitimately frighten people if they see it outside a hospital. Just last year, some shoppers in the U.K. thought a group of Japanese supermarket patrons who were wearing masks might have been planning some sort of bioterrorism attack.

It’s also worth pointing out that in the cherry-picked photo of Western women wearing sunglasses, they all seem to also be wearing identical low-cut tops made out of red leather. The photo is zoomed in too tightly to see much of the surroundings, but there appears to be a race course fence behind them, so it’s likely they’re not just a group of random everyday Westerners, but models promoting some sort of motorsport event, and so they’re wearing sunglasses because they’re literally standing out in the sun for hours on end.

Written reactions to @ mnishi41’s tweet included:

“Not so sure about the logic on the mask/sunglass thing.”
“I think Westerners are just more likely to wear sunglasses because they have lighter irises and are more sensitive to bright light.”
“Isn’t it just that Japanese people think sunglasses are scary, and Westerners think facial masks are scary?”
“Just think if you wore sunglasses and a mask – no one would mess with you.”

Still, Tanaka raises an interesting point when he shows that Japanese emoticons almost always try to get their point across with the eyes, whereas Western doodles tend to favor mouth reconfigurations. One commenter theorized it might have something to do with characters in anime, Japan’s most popular and influential form of contemporary art, having larger, more expressive eyes then their Western cartoon counterparts. But another likely reason is that Japanese culture largely sees stoicism and serenity as a virtue, which often translates to trying to control, or at least manage, strong emotions.

However, that’s something that’s easier said than done, even for Japanese people. As such, the situation of trying to keep a stiff upper lip, literally, but thinking that your eyes (which have a greater amount of involuntary/subconscious muscle movement) might be giving away your true feelings, is immensely relatable to people in Japanese society. It makes sense that those scenarios would be reflected in the caricature-like visual shorthand of emoticons.

So while the theories that Japanese people wear masks because they feel they can communicate everything they need to with their eyes, and that Westerners will casually slap on a pair of shades because their mouth will do just fine on its own, both sound kind of shaky, there might indeed be a bit of an “art imitates life” aspect to those straight-mouthed Japanese emoticons.

Source: Twitter/@mnishi41 via Hachima Kiko
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso (1, 2)

lunes, 30 de julio de 2018

Chinese company’s employees eat out of a urinal to prove how much they value hygiene【Video】

https://ift.tt/2AouKpP Dale Roll

Apparently this Chinese tea company takes sanitation very seriously.

You know that saying, “It’s so clean you could eat off it”? Of course, anyone would want to make a floor or a toilet clean enough for food, but in real life, you can make them as clean as you want, but no one is really going to want their food to touch such unsanitary surfaces.

Except employees of a Chinese company, apparently, who seem to feel the need to prove how much they value hygiene in the most extreme possible way: by eating rice balls out of a urinal.

In the above video, initially posted on Chinese video sites, a director of the Zhangzhou-based Tenfu Group, a tea company, is seen putting small rice balls into a urinal, mixing them around with her hands, and then taking a delicate bite of one.

We would have thought that everyone in the room would be gagging, but then other employees willingly(?) take bites too. Since many of the employees faces are blurred out (presumably to protect them from the shame of eating out of a urinal), it’s a bit difficult to see, but you can catch one or two popping them into their mouths if you look carefully.

According to speakers in the video, this is an annual tradition, called “Bathroom Training”, that has continued for 25 years. The purpose of encouraging/forcing employees to eat out of a urinal is to demonstrate the company’s complete commitment to hygiene and sanitation. 

The cleaning staff at this company, in particular, are very proud of their job and apparently work hard to make sure the bathrooms are pristine. Later, the video shows employees sitting at a table eating a huge, restaurant-style lunch in what is apparently a bathroom. It does look very clean, and given the cleaning staff’s commitment, I’m not surprised it wouldn’t be unappetizing to eat there. Still, it’s a bathroom, so yuck!

The event apparently took place on July 4, and though it took a few weeks for the video to make its way onto Chinese video sites, and, finally, YouTube, it’s gone viral, for obvious reasons. One can’t help but admire the company’s commitment to hygiene, and yet also feel a little nauseated at the thought of eating something that touched a place where men pee.

Well, they aren’t the only company to do something a little weird and pretty gross; Japanese ad company Wakino is now selling advertisements on women’s armpits. What’s next?!

Source: South China Post via Afternoon News via Itai News
Images: YouTube/Netizen Watch

Japan Railway doing away with train departure chimes in plan to stop dangerous mad dashes

https://ift.tt/2vt6Ofx Casey Baseel

Company is tired of people thinking the chime means “Feel free to knock people over if they’re standing between you and your train.”

In rail-reliant Japan, trains come and go with such frequency that most stations don’t bother to have an actual employee individually announce each arrival and departure. Instead, there’s usually a pre-recorded voice that lets travelers know when the train is pulling up, and after it’s been stopped for a few moments, a chime plays from speakers on the platform, signaling that the doors are about to close and the train will be departing shortly.

However, East Japan Railway thinks that some would-be passengers aren’t getting the intended message of “The train will be departing soon, so please step aboard calmly and orderly.” Instead, they think some people interpret the chime as “RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN TO THE TRAIN AND DON’T STOP NO MATTER WHAT HURRY HURRY YOU’RE GONNA MISS IT!” And while Japan is a country that hates being late, it also doesn’t like people running full tilt through the station and crashing into other travelers, often getting to the train just in time to stick a hand in the closing doors, causing the conductor to open the doors back up again and delaying the departure.

▼ Many of Japan’s stations require you to navigate steep stairs on your way to the platform, which can lead to nasty injury-inducing spills if you’re not walking carefully.

So in an attempt to combat such behavior, JR East (as East Japan Railway is also called) will be doing away with the platform departure chime for certain trains on the Joban Line, which runs north from Tokyo. Starting August 1, no departure chime will play from the platform speakers for local trains travelling between Tokyo’s Kameari Station and Ibaraki Prefecture’s Toride Station.

JR’s logic is that the platform speakers are too effective, pumping out the chimes with enough volume that people can hear them even if they’re still at the station entrance or elsewhere in the building yet not close enough to the station to catch the train without running at a dangerous speed. However, the company also realizes it can’t just have trains shutting their doors and leaving without any warning either, and so it’s arrived at a compromise. Instead of using the large platform speakers, the local trains will announce their departure via smaller external speakers mounted on the train carriages themselves, which should still be loud enough so that anyone close enough to make their way onto the train in time while still moving at a reasonable speed can hear the chime.

The Joban Line initiative is a limited-time test program, but if it’s found to be effective, JR says it will consider expanding it to other lines it operates as well. The lower-volume chimes are likely to disappoint some rail chime fans (yes, such people do exist), but on the other hand, having the trains themselves broadcast departure melodies could allow for some cool cross-promotions for specific trains, sort of like how certain Tokyo-area stations have previously played melodies from Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

Source: Kyodo via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert images: Pakutaso

Attendees beware: high chance of man-made sweat cloud forming at this year’s Summer Comiket

https://ift.tt/2AwaNgK Koh Ruide

Go prepared or you might not make it back home in one piece.

Summer Comiket in Japan isn’t a simple walk in the park; it’s a pilgrimage of endurance and patience. Before even reaching the event’s venue, Tokyo Big Sight, attendees have to wait in a massive disorganized mess under a scorching sun that’s hot enough to melt plastic.

Still, that won’t stop people from trying to get their hands on exclusive comics and goods not found anywhere else. Concerned about those who place manga and anime before health, veteran attendees like @pico_admiral have started to share invaluable Comiket survival advice on Japanese Twitter.

▼ That time of the year when humans accidentally create weather.
(Translation below)

“Ever since August 2013, temperatures at Summer Comiket have surpassed 40 degrees Celcius (104 degrees Fahrenheit). This year, the Comiket Cloud will occur. I’ll say it again, the Comiket Cloud will come. Books will be warped by the humidity, which is the same situation back in Comiket 84 that caused a United States soldier to faint. Should this weather continue, please take measures to prevent heat stroke. Or you’ll die.”

The legendary Comiket Cloud is a phenomenon generated by the heat and sweat of attendees at the venue, a vicious cycle that saturates the air with moisture, forming a hazy indoor cloud.

▼ You read that right. It’s a wonderful cloud made from human sweat.

▼ Summer Comiket newcomers must come prepared.
(Translation below)

“Take salt candies, salt tablets, salty lychee drinks, rock salt, or table salt. Whatever it is, just have some salt intake. If you have sports drinks and occasionally consume salt in your diet, you should be able to avoid the worst. If possible, cool down your blood by wrapping a cooling agent around your neck using a towel. Wear a hat to avoid direct sunlight.”

A lack of salt or proper hydration can quickly lead to dizziness, nausea, or vomiting. And you wouldn’t want to get sick in a crowded place surrounded by potentially hundreds of thousands of fellow attendees.

Nevertheless, people who take proper precautions will be generously rewarded with unparalleled access to a world filled with manga, anime and cosplay of all kinds. For under that Comiket cloud is an otaku’s heaven and a once-in-a-lifetime experience for many.

Source: Twitter/@pico_admiral via My Game News Flash
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso