Vote for your favorite Nara mascot

20 May 2008

Sentokun --
Sento-kun

Ever since his unveiling in February, Sento-kun, the official mascot character for the Commemorative Events of the 1,300th Anniversary of the Nara-Heijokyo Capital, has garnered widespread criticism from the media, religious groups and the blogosphere. A Buddhist child monk with a rack of deer antlers sprouting from his head, Sento-kun is supposed to evoke the image of Nara's rich Buddhist history and the wild (but tame) deer that roam freely around town. But some citizens have expressed anger at officials for shutting them out of the decision-making process and wasting 5 million yen (about $50,000) of taxpayer money on an ugly mascot, and some Buddhist groups are reportedly upset with the inappropriate use of a religious image.

In response to the fiasco, a group of Nara-area designers called the "Creators Forum Yamato" have voluntarily organized an independent design contest to come up with a mascot that more closely represents the will of the people and the true spirit of Nara. After receiving 619 submissions from the general public (some from as far away as New York and Paris), organizers have narrowed the pool to 30 candidates and are encouraging the public to vote online.

Here are the candidates on the ballot...

Nara character ballot --

To vote, go to the online ballot, select the button under your favorite character, and hit the confirmation button at the bottom of the screen. Then hit the confirmation button on the next screen. The polls are open until May 25. As of this writing, nearly 15,000 ballots have been cast.

As a representative of the citizens of Nara prefecture, the winning mascot will work side-by-side with Sento-kun to make the anniversary event a success.

The Commemorative Events of the 1,300th Anniversary of Nara Heijokyo Capital will be held in Nara prefecture in 2010 to commemorate the 1,300th anniversary of the founding of Heijokyo (now known as Nara), the capital of Japan from 710 to 784 A.D. The large-scale, year-long international project is expected to attract 15 million visitors.

[Vote here]

UPDATE: The votes are in and the winner is Manto-kun (#8).

Woodblock prints of men posing as birds (1809)

16 May 2008

In early 19th-century Japan, it became fashionable for the culturally sophisticated theatergoing population of Edo to entertain themselves at parties by imitating the voices and gestures of famous actors. As this fad spread, people began to expand their repertoires by mimicking animals, and as animal poses became all the rage at parties, writers and artists collaborated to produce illustrated books containing model examples of these poses. One such document written by poet Santo Kyoden in 1809 included copies of these Utagawa Toyokuni ukiyo-e prints of men imitating birds.

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Crow pose

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Hawk pose

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Duck pose

The work, titled Harasuji Omuseki (?????), consisted of several volumes that also featured poses for animals other than birds. Waseda University has an online copy of Volume 3, which includes the animal poses below.

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Chicken pose

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni -- Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Crane pose, Owl pose

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Squid pose

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Goby pose

Miburi-e by Utagawa Toyokuni --
Shrimp pose

Flexible, lightweight 125-inch plasma display

16 May 2008

Shinoda Plasma 125-inch flexible display --

Next-generation large-screen display manufacturer Shinoda Plasma has unveiled a flexible, 1-millimeter thick, 125-inch film-type prototype display that can be used as a curved or wrap-around screen. The 3 x 1 meter plasma tube array (PTA) display (which actually consists of 3 seamlessly integrated 1 x 1 meter square sub-modules) offers a resolution of 960 x 360 and weighs 3.6 kilograms (8 lbs), or about 10 times less than a conventional plasma display. At a low-key unveiling on May 15, Shinoda Plasma announced plans to exhibit the device in June at the InfoComm 2008 conference in Las Vegas and confirmed their intent to begin small-scale production of a 150-inch (3 x 2 meter) version this autumn. While Shinoda Plasma envisions a variety of digital signage and advertising applications, the ultrathin displays would also undoubtedly make good digital wallpaper for the home.

[Source 1, Source 2]

Solar-powered bra displays text, holds drinks

14 May 2008

Triumph Photovoltaic-Powered Bra -- Lingerie maker Triumph International Japan has unveiled a new eco-friendly concept bra called the "Solar Power Bra" (太陽光発電ブラ - Taiyoko Hatsuden Bra), which aims to stimulate eco-awareness and promote clean energy.

The green, high-quality cotton bra features a waist-mounted solar panel that powers a small, chest-mounted electronic billboard or any other electronic device you choose to connect. A pair of reusable drink containers attach to the bra cups, allowing the wearer to reduce consumption of aluminum cans and plastic bottles while increasing bust size. When not in use, the containers can be collapsed and stored in small pockets in the cups.

Triumph hopes the bra inspires people to think about global warming, the dwindling supply of fossil fuels, and the future of energy.

[Source: Nikkei]

A few of the many concept bras by Triumph:

- NO! Shopping Bag Bra
- Voter Turnout Lift-UP Bra
- My Chopsticks Bra

Alien e-mail reply to arrive in 2015?

14 May 2008

Email to Altair --

An "e-mail" message from aliens inhabiting the Altair solar system could reach Earth within 7 years, some astronomers suggest. The alien message would come in response to a radio-wave signal sent toward Altair 25 years ago by Japanese astronomer Hisashi Hirabayashi, who suggests we may receive a reply as early as the year 2015 if intelligent aliens received, decoded and responded quickly to the message. Altair is located approximately 16 light-years from Earth.

Hirabayashi, a former researcher at the University of Tokyo Astronomical Observatory (now known as the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan), along with colleague Masaki Morimoto, sent the message via a US radio telescope in 1983 on the Tanabata holiday, a traditional Japanese star festival celebrating the annual meeting of two stars -- Vega (which represents the goddess Orihime) and Altair (which represents the god Hikoboshi) -- in the night sky.

The message, which is believed to have reached Altair in 1999, consisted of 13 binary-encoded images (71 x 71 pixels each) that showed, among other things, the characteristics of our solar system, the location of our planet, the known chemical elements, whole numbers, human characteristics, and the basic structure of DNA. Their message also attempted to explain biological evolution with a depiction of mammals evolving from primeval life forms (see the image above of the fish crawling onto land).

Hirabayashi theorizes that if the aliens are intelligent enough to receive radio-wave signals, they should recognize that the data consists of 13 images and they should be able to send a reply. But Hirabayashi is not holding his breath. "I believe aliens exist, but they are difficult to find," he says. "We haven't even observed any planets around Altair, so it is highly unlikely we will receive a response."

Hirabayashi's original illustrations, which went missing for many years, were recently discovered at the Nishi-Harima Astronomical Observatory, where Morimoto works as an advisor. Strangely, one of the pictures sent to Altair includes the molecular formula for ethanol along with the kanji characters for kanpai (the Japanese toast of "cheers!") and the English word "TOAST."

"I came up with that idea while drinking," Hirabayashi playfully admits. "The aliens probably won't understand that part."

[Source: Sankei]

* * * * *

UPDATE -- According to this graphic, the message to Altair included descriptions of the following:

- Whole numbers, prime numbers, definition of lengths
- Addition, multiplication
- Main chemical elements, atomic structure
- Solar system data (size of sun/planets, distance of planets from sun)
- DNA structure and basic composition
- History of terrestrial biological evolution (primeval life forms, fish, amphibians, anthropoids, etc.)
- Image of human form and face, number of human genes
- World population
- Message transmission frequency
- Chemical formula for ethanol
- Kanji character for kampai (Cheers!), English word "TOAST"

Nico Nico animated GIFs

13 May 2008

GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF --
GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF -- GIF --

Video-sharing service Nico Nico Douga has a mesmerizing collection of 700 animated GIFs for use on their site. [Via Xorsyst]

Japanese custom scooters

12 May 2008

These photographs of Japanese custom scooters come from bike shop galleries, auction sites, and Flickr. Follow the links for more images.

* * * * *

Bikeshop Rodeo has killer photos of their mean machines.

Japanese custom scooter --
Suzuki Skywave

Japanese custom scooter --
Honda Forza

Japanese custom scooter --
Suzuki Skywave

Japanese custom scooter --
Honda Fusion

* * * * *

Gull Craft transformed Honda Forzas into these retro-futuristic KYBELE cyber scooters, and their photo report shows how to make your own. (Via AutoblogGreen)

Japanese custom scooter --
KYBELE Cyber Scooter

Japanese custom scooter --
KYBELE Cyber Scooter

* * * * *

Flickr user tokyo scooter stuff has thrown together an awesome collection of found photos of custom rides.

Japanese custom scooter --

Japanese custom scooter --
Suzuki Skywave

Japanese custom scooter --
Suzuki Skywave

Japanese custom scooter --
Yamaha Maxam 3000 Concept @ Tokyo Motor Show

Japanese custom scooter --
Yamaha Maxam @ Tokyo Motor Show

* * * * *

This Yamaha Maxam is for sale on Yahoo! Auctions. With only a few hours left as of this writing, the highest bid is 400,000 yen (under $4,000).

Japanese custom scooter --
Yamaha Maxam

* * * * *

From Alfa Auto:

Japanese custom scooter --
Honda Forza

Japanese custom scooter --
Yamaha Grand Majesty

* * * * *

From Lotaus:

Japanese custom scooter --
Suzuki Skywave

* * * * *

From M-Style:

Japanese custom scooter --
Suzuki Skywave

* * * * *

The Japanese Scooters Flickr pool has lots of great photos, too. Not sure what these guys are riding, but it looks like fun.

Japanese custom scooter --
Beat (Photo by gori-jp)

More outrageous modes of transportation:

- Dekotora photo galleries
- Extreme Japanese custom vans
- Dekochari art bikes

Kyoteizinc: Chiptune disco video

08 May 2008

Omodaka: Kyoteizinc --

Omodaka, a creative project adopting a self-described "trial and error process of mutational fusion of music and motion graphics," has a new video for chiptune disco track "Kyoteizinc," which features the captivating computer-tweaked dance of Masako Yasumoto. (Watch it.)

The video is directed by Hiroshi Kizu. Omodaka is on Tokyo-based independent label Far East Recording.

Kintaro ukiyo-e prints

02 May 2008

Kintaro (a.k.a. "Golden Boy"), a popular child folk hero embodying strength and bravery, appears in statues, storybooks, anime, manga, noh, kabuki and candy. He was also the subject of numerous Edo-period woodblock prints.

Various legends say that Kintaro was raised by a Yamamba ogress in the mountains, where he learned to communicate with animals. In this Kuniyoshi print, Kintaro wears a dragon haramaki and referees a sumo match between a rabbit and a monkey, while an eerie blue demon and tengu look on.

Kintaro --
Kintaro Referees Sumo Bout Between Rabbit & Monkey (Kuniyoshi, ca. 1830)

As a youngster, Kintaro developed superhuman strength that enabled him to crush boulders, fight monsters and demons, uproot trees, and defeat bears at sumo. In this Yoshitsuya print, Kintaro demonstrates his unparalleled fighting skills by overpowering a giant python. His trademark axe is pictured at the bottom.

Kintaro --
Model Warrior of Japan: Kintaro (Yoshitsuya, 1856)

The next series of prints, also by Yoshitsuya, show Kintaro with monsters and animals at various times of the year.

Kintaro --
Kintaro at New Year's, Throwing Beans to Dispel Demons (Yoshitsuya, ca. 1840)

Kintaro --
Kintaro in the Third Month, Refereeing Sumo between Rooster & Crow Tengu (Yoshitsuya, ca. 1840)

Kintaro --
Kintaro in the Fifth Month, Riding a Carp (Yoshitsuya, ca. 1840)

Kintaro --
Kintaro in the Ninth Month, Riding a Bull (Yoshitsuya, ca. 1840)

Kintaro appears to be based on a real person named Sakata no Kintoki, a powerful Heian-period (794 to 1185 AD) warrior whose legendary status has grown with time. This Kuniyoshi print shows the young warrior wrestling a giant carp under a waterfall.

Kintaro --
Kintaro Struggles with Giant Carp (Kuniyoshi, ca. 1835)

Kintaro is closely associated with Children's Day (May 5), when parents of young boys typically display Kintaro dolls -- usually riding a large carp -- in the hope that their kids grow up to be brave and strong.

[More: Kintaro (Wikipedia)]