Photos: Bosozoku parking

19 Jan 2011

Here's a peek at a few of the bōsōzoku-style custom rides spotted in the parking lot at the Tokyo Auto Salon custom car show last weekend, via Flickr user brunnnno.

Bosozoku car photo by brunnnno --

Bosozoku car photo by brunnnno --

Bosozoku car photo by brunnnno --

Bosozoku car photo by brunnnno --

Bosozoku car photo by brunnnno --

See more bōsōzoku-style rides »

Welcome to Japan

19 Jan 2011

Poster by Masayoshi Nakajo, 1988 --
Poster by Masayoshi Nakajo, 1988 [+]

Behold a place where the people's needs miraculously meet the corporate agendas. Enjoy a nation of modern cultural perspectives -- "humanication," "forever freshness" and "the super next." Experience a country that does things better, or so its citizens fervently believe.
- Leonard Koren

LED-powered Harajuku smiles

17 Jan 2011

A commercial promoting the Laforet Grand Bazar winter sale in Harajuku (January 20-24) features a mob of people with flickering LED-illuminated smiles who overrun a dramatic love scene reminiscent of a popular '90s-era TV show.

Geee - Harajuku Love Story --

The ad -- entitled "Geee / Harajuku Love Story" -- makes use of wirelessly-controlled Mouth LED technology developed by artists Daito Manabe and Motoi Ishibashi.


+ Video

Here is a rough translation of the dialogue that takes place as the smiling mob approaches.

[Man]: We can make it work. I'll do my best.
[Woman]: Will you come to see me if I get lonely at night, no matter what?
[Man]: I will go immediately. I'll fly.
[Woman]: Will you come and pick me up if I call you from Mt. Everest?
[Man]: I'll fly there right away.
[Woman]: Will you bring me hot nabe soup if I ask for it?
[Man]: I will. I'll bring a year's worth.
[Woman]: What if I asked you to take me to the moon?
[Man]: That might be difficult...
[Woman]: That's not good enough.
[Man]: But I can make you happy.

The commercial appears to have been inspired by an earlier project by Manabe and Ishibashi entitled "Party in the Mouth," which featured a mob of women with glowing LED smiles wandering the streets of Tokyo at night.


+ Video

Here is some video from the Laforet website:


+ Video

Czech & Polish posters for kaiju films

11 Jan 2011

Here are a few classic Japanese monster movie posters from Poland and the former Czechoslovakia. [Via Monster Brains]

Polish Godzilla poster --
Godzilla (Poland, 1957)

Polish Godzilla poster --
Son of Godzilla (Poland, 1974)

Czech poster for Daikyoju Gappa --
Monster from a Prehistoric Planet (Czechoslovakia, 1986)

Polish kaiju film poster --
War of the Gargantuas (Poland, 1975)

Polish Godzilla movie poster --
Godzilla vs. the Sea Monster (Poland, 1978)

Polish Godzilla movie poster --
Terror of Mechagodzilla (Poland, 1977)

Polish kaiju film poster --
Gappa the Triphibian Monster (Poland, 1973)

Polish Gamera movie poster --
Gamera Super Monster (Poland, 1980)

Polish King Kong movie poster --
King Kong Escapes (Poland, 1967)

Polish Godzilla poster --
Godzilla vs. the Smog Monster (Poland, 1971)

Polish kaiju film poster --
The X from Outer Space (Czechoslovakia, 1968)

Polish Godzilla poster --
Godzilla vs. Gigan (Poland, 1977)

Rabbit New Year cards

31 Dec 2010

The Year of the Rabbit has come hopping around, and here to mark the occasion are some antique bunny-themed nengajō from the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston collection. Happy 2011!

Rabbit New Year's card -- Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit, 1951 // Snow rabbit, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card --
Sumo-wrestling rabbits, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit in bed, 1915

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbits playing musical instruments, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card -- Rabbit New Year's card --
Rising sun and rabbit, 1915 // Rabbit with pink background, 1951

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbits on bicycles, 1904

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbits, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit on boat, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit holding giant calligraphy brush, 1903

Rabbit New Year's card -- Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit, 1951 // Rabbit walking a tightrope, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit and waves

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit and waves, 1915

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit on boat

Rabbit New Year's card -- Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit, 1951 // Rabbit in the moon, 1915

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit and tiger, 1915

Rabbit New Year's card --
Silver rabbits in snow, 1910

Rabbit New Year's card --
Young girl holding a rabbit, 1915

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit carrying vegetables, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card -- Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit and turtle, 1911 // Snow rabbit, 1927

Rabbit New Year's card --
Rabbit writing New Year's greeting on screen

Pink Tentacle’s greatest hits – 2010

24 Dec 2010

As 2010 draws to an end, here's a look back at the year's most popular Pink Tentacle posts.

Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 --

Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 --

- Old-school Tokyo subway manner posters: 27 train etiquette posters from the 1970s-1980s

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Custom scooters: Photos of 30 Japanese scooter mods

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Post-apocalyptic Tokyo scenery: Fantastic photo manipulations by Tokyogenso

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Macabre kids' book art by Gojin Ishihara: Not just for kids

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Concept cars: A look back at 50+ years of Japanese concept car designs

* * * * *

Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 --

Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 --

- Japanese town logos: 50 examples of kanji-based logos for Japanese towns

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Kaikidan Ekotoba monster scroll: Mysterious mid-19th century scroll featuring 33 legendary monsters and human oddities

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Futuristic mega-projects: Shimizu Corporation's bold architectural plans for the world of tomorrow

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Horror illustrations by Tatsuya Morino: The great monsters of Gothic literature get a makeover

* * * * *

Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 --

Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 -- Best of 2010 --

Selections from the Japanese urban legend series

- Ningen: Giant humanoid sea creatures of the Antarctic
- Sony timer: Rumors of a secret kill switch in Sony products
- Severed samurai head in Tokyo: A head buried in Tokyo has haunted the city for 1,000 years
- Secrets of the Tokyo underground: Rumors of a hidden city under Tokyo
- Hanako-san: Girl ghost haunts restrooms across Japan
- Human-faced dog: Encounters with mysterious canines
- Okiku doll: A haunted toy with hair that grows
- Urban legends from Meiji-period Japan: Phantom trains, bloody chocolate, and more
- Cursed commercial: Infamous Kleenex ad that sparked fear across Japan
- Human pillars: Tales of human sacrifice for large-scale construction projects

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Sci-fi illustrations by Shigeru Komatsuzaki: Fantastic art from the 1960s-1970s (bonus points for the comments)

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Manga farming: Nifty gardening technique by Tokyo-based artist Koshi Kawachi

* * * * *

Best of 2010 --

- Paintings by Tetsuya Ishida: Surreal and provocative

Happy holidays, and thanks for reading. See you again in 2011!

Calne Ca videos

20 Dec 2010

Calne Ca (a.k.a. Calcium) -- a mechanically modified version of the Hatsune Miku virtual idol created by freelance 3D graphic designer Deino -- stars in a pair of music videos set in a chaotic post-human future.


+ Video for "Machine Muzik," original Hatsune Miku track composed by Saya Kanae


+ Video for "Nehanshika," original Hatsune Miku track composed by Gab

Calne Calcium --
(Image via Karune-Calcium)

[More: deino333 via @R3active]

Videos by Sekitani Norihiro

08 Dec 2010

Here are a couple of deliriously mad videos by Sekitani Norihiro for breakcore artists from Japan and Germany.


+ Maruosa - Muscle Spark


+ Zombieflesheater - Face Destroy

Vintage political posters

22 Nov 2010

Here is a selection of old Japanese posters featuring political, social and environmental messages.

Political poster from Japan --
Sheltered Weaklings (Takashi Kono, 1953) [+]

Political poster from Japan --
Anti-pollution poster (Kenji Ito, 1973)

Political poster from Japan --
Against the introduction of nuclear weapons into Japan (Kinkichi Takahashi, 1960s)

Political poster from Japan -- Political poster from Japan --
Anti-war poster (Kenji Iwasaki, 1960s) [+] // Give Us Back Man (Tsunehisa Kimura, 1969) [+]

Political poster from Japan --
Poster for exhibit in support of Vietnamese women and children (Makoto Wada, 1968)

See more vintage political posters »