Improv musician Atsuhiro Ito wields a flickering noise contraption called the "Optron" (or "Optrum"), a miked-up fluorescent light tube he plugs into an array of effects pedals and plays sort of like an electric guitar. The Optron is featured in some Sony Walkman commercials.
+ Optron - Walkman CM 2 (with Yoichiro Shin on drums)
[More on YouTube: Atsuhiro Ito, Optrum, Optron]
Sculptor Satoshi Yabuuchi is auctioning a limited-edition bronze statue of Sento-kun, the popular but controversial official mascot he designed for the Commemorative Events of the 1,300th Anniversary of the Nara-Heijokyo Capital (the upcoming festival marking 1,300 years since Nara's establishment as Japan's capital in 710 AD). The current bid on this 30.5-cm tall sculpture -- one of only 130 created -- is 185,000 yen ($1,750).
[Via: Yahoo! Auctions]
To NY-based architect-poets and "reversible destiny" philosophers Arakawa & Gins, comfort deserves only a limited role in the home. In their vision, a home that keeps its inhabitants young and healthy should provide perpetual challenges. A tentative relationship with your environment, they argue, is key to "reversing the downhill course of human life."
This video takes a peek inside their Reversible Destiny Lofts in the Mitaka area of western Tokyo. Designed to stimulate the senses and force inhabitants to use balance, physical strength and imagination, the lofts feature uneven floors, oddly positioned power switches and outlets, walls and surfaces painted a dizzying array of colors, a tiny exit to the balcony, a transparent shower room, irregularly shaped curtainless windows, and more.
For the adventurous, two rental units are now available for 220,000 and 250,000 yen ($2,000/$2,400) per month, which is a bit pricey for Tokyo, but not outrageous. Short-term stays can also be arranged.
Bad news for rice in Japan -- the recent tainted rice scandal has dulled the public's appetite for the staple, and kids these days are consuming less than ever. In an attempt to revive interest in the grain, agricultural cooperative JA Ugo (based in Ugo, Akita prefecture) is enlisting the help of a sweet, doe-eyed anime rice farmer girl.
Designed by eroge illustrator Aoi Nishimata, the original moe character will appear on 10,000 bags of locally grown "Akitakomachi" rice, which will go on sale September 22. Some Tokyo department stores have reportedly said the bags seem out of place on their shelves, but JA Ugo believes young people will embrace the design. The moe rice will undoubtedly sell well, provided it's free from mold and pesticide.
In recent weeks, consumers have been shocked to learn that moldy rice tainted with the pesticide methamidophos was served to thousands of people at schools, day-care centers and nursing homes and included in a variety of commercial food products. The tainted rice was originally imported from China for use as a raw material in industrial products such as glue, but was instead distributed as food. There have been no reports of people getting sick from the tainted rice.
[Source: Asahi // Image: Aoi Nishimata]
Breaking up is hard to do, and few know this better than a lifelike sex doll owner who Shizuoka police have charged with illegal dumping.
On August 21, the 60-year-old unemployed resident of Izu (Shizuoka prefecture) wrapped his 1.7-meter tall, 50-kilogram silicone girlfriend in a sleeping bag, drove to a remote wooded area, and dumped her. A nice, clean break, he thought.
But nearly two weeks later, on September 1, a couple alerted police after discovering what appeared to be a corpse while walking their dog. The body had been wrapped in a bag and bound around the neck, waist and ankles. A head of black hair protruded from one end of the bag.
Police retrieved the body and immediately launched a criminal investigation. But several hours later, when forensic pathologists began to unwrap the "corpse" to perform the post-mortem, they realized it was actually a state-of-the-art sex doll. Seeing themselves as victims of a malicious prank, the authorities vowed to track down the perpetrator and charge him with interfering with police business.
The incident quickly captured the attention of the national (and international) press. After seeing the news reports, the culprit realized the trouble he had caused and contacted police on September 6.
According to investigators, the man had lived with the sophisticated doll for several years after his wife passed away, but decided to part with her after making plans to move in with one of his children. "It seems he grew attached to the doll over the years," said the chief investigator. "He was confused about how to get rid of her. He thought it would be cruel to cut her up into pieces and throw her out with the trash, so he proceeded to dump her illegally."
The man, who regrets his lifelike doll was mistaken for a corpse, now faces fines for violating Japan's Waste Management Law.
Anata to wa chigau n desu ("I am different from you"). In the few short days since Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda uttered these words to a pesky reporter after his shock resignation, Japan has witnessed the birth of a new buzz phrase online.
At the end of the press conference following Fukuda's resignation, a Chugoku Shimbun reporter told the Prime Minister that many people thought he often seemed detached when he spoke, almost as if the problems facing Japan were none of his business. The reporter suggested that Fukuda also sounded distant in his resignation announcement and asked what impact he thought his sudden resignation (which comes just one year after previous Prime Minister Abe suddenly resigned) would have on the country. Seemingly perturbed, Fukuda fired back at the reporter: "You said I sounded detached, but I am able to see myself objectively. I'm different from you."
Fukuda's jarringly out-of-character words came as an awkward exclamation point to his resignation and threw some people for an extra loop. The phrase has been percolating for days on 2-channel, where dozens of popular threads with the words "anata to wa chigau n desu" (??????????) in the title have been posted, many containing Fukuda-inspired ASCII art.
The Asobit City otaku department store in Akihabara is cashing in on the buzz, too. A sidewalk display for what appears to be some sort of "Sayonara Fukuda Sale" features a stack of Fukuda-themed sweets. The subheading on the poster reads: "I'm different from you."
Club T is also jumping on the bandwagon with a line of Fukuda resignation memorabilia that includes T-shirts, coffee mugs, caps and more imprinted with the popular phrase.
[Sources: Akiba Blog, IT Media, FG]
Meet Rabbit-kun, a plastic trash sack with pink eyes, an X-shaped mouth, and a pair of bunny ears that double as handles. Designed by Tokyo-based creative group MAQ, Inc., Rabbit-kun aims to inspire a more responsible attitude toward waste by providing a cute and stylish way for people to carry their trash home after a day outdoors. Whether it's a picnic in the park, a hike in the mountains, or a day at the beach -- or any place without public trash cans -- Rabbit-kun is charming enough that you might actually enjoy carting your garbage all the way home.
The bunny-shaped sack is the latest in a line of eye-pleasing Garbage Bag Art Work trash bags by MAQ. Their previous creations include a series of color-coded bags imprinted with patterns of trees, fish and flowers, which are designed to add convenience and character to neighborhood garbage collection points.
Another bag, which features a life-sized illustration (by Lily Franky) of trash-loving Oscar the Grouch, was designed in collaboration with Sesame Street as part of an environmental awareness campaign for children.
For now, these bags are being distributed free of charge at select outdoor events, as well as to volunteer cleanup groups and schools.
And for animal lovers, MAQ offers the Mottainai series of bags featuring images of teary-eyed penguins, seals and polar bears, which turn the neighborhood trash heap into a friendly reminder of the fragility of our planet. A portion of the profits go to the Green Belt Movement (a grassroots environmental NGO established by Kenyan political activist, environmentalist and 2004 Nobel Peace Prize winner Wangari Maathai), which has planted millions of trees across Kenya to prevent soil erosion.
Garbage Bag Art Work trash bags are available at various locations in Tokyo or at the Mottainai online shop (Japanese).
The Ooishi Hyoroku Monogatari, a largely fictional story featured in picture scrolls in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, tells of a young warrior and his encounters with trickster foxes posing as yokai. According to the National Museum of Japanese History, the story takes place in 1624 in Kagoshima, where a group of notorious young warriors have assembled. When a rumor circulates about shape-shifting foxes that have hoodwinked some people in the area and shaved their heads, the men decide to test the courage of one of the young warriors, Ooishi Hyoroku, by sending him on a mission to capture the mischievous creatures.
When the foxes hear about this mission, they transform into eight different yokai to frighten the young warrior:
Uja
Minobajo
Mitsume Koen
Nurarihyon
Hobeni Taro
Teremenchippei
Konotsukitokko
Nuppeppo
Hyoroku flees in fear each time he encounters one of the monsters. After he finally catches a pair of foxes, his father suddenly appears and urges him to let them go. Hyoroku then finds that his "father" is actually a fox in disguise -- but only after he is tricked into eating sweet dumplings made of horse droppings.
Later, the foxes appear as Buddhist monks and trick him into shaving his head. In the end, though, Hyoroku successfully captures two more foxes, and his comrades honor his achievement by making him breakfast.
Several versions of the Ooishi Hyoroku Monogatari scroll remain in existence today. A scan of an entire scroll, dated 1801 (author/illustrator unknown), is viewable online at Waseda University Library. (An undivided version of this scroll is also available here. -Thanks, Darren!)
One day after a wild Japanese macaque caused a commotion at Tokyo's Shibuya station and escaped back into the streets, police have received multiple reports of monkey sightings in the area.
According to this TBS video news report, which refers to the search effort as "Operation Capture Monkey," the Japanese macaque was observed at various locations in the Harajuku/Omotesando area near Shibuya early this morning. Police armed with nets roamed the streets of Omotesando after at least one person reported seeing the monkey climbing a pink building. Others reportedly witnessed it scurrying across power lines. In addition to the sightings, a local resident found tomatoes and eggplants missing from his garden. He believes the monkey was responsible.
