kawaii-things-in-japan

Kawaii Culture of Japan

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:06:43 +0100

Culture of Japan

The culture of Japan has evolved greatly over millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period to its contemporary hybrid culture, which combines influences from Asia, Europe and North America. The inhabitants of Japan experienced a long period of relative isolation from the outside world during the Tokugawa shogunate until the arrival of "The Black Ships" and the Meiji period.

Fūjin and Raijin, Tawaraya Sōtatsu, 17th century.

Pine Trees, Hasegawa Tōhaku

[edit] Japanese language

Computer keyboard with hiragana and the Latin alphabet. Although hiragana is printed, most Japanese don't use this to type, but use romaji, or Latin alphabet.

Main article: Japanese language

The Japanese language is spoken mainly in Japan but also in some Japanese emigrant communities around the world. It is an agglutinative language and the sound inventory of Japanese is relatively small but has a lexically distinct pitch-accent system. Early Japanese is known largely on the basis of its state in the 8th century, when the three major works of Old Japanese were compiled. The earliest attestation of the Japanese language is in a Chinese document from 252 A.D.

Japanese is written with a combination of three scripts: hiragana, derived from the Chinese cursive script, katakana, derived as a shorthand from Chinese characters, and kanji, imported from China. The Latin alphabet, rōmaji, is also often used in modern Japanese, especially for company names and logos, advertising, and when inputting Japanese into a computer. The Hindu-Arabic numerals are generally used for numbers, but traditional Sino-Japanese numerals are also common.

[edit] Literature

Main article: Japanese literature

This section requires expansion.

[edit] Visual arts

Main article: Japanese art

[edit] Painting

Pictorial Scroll of Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu

Main article: Japanese painting

Painting has been an art in Japan for a very long time: the brush is a traditional writing tool, and the extension of that to its use as an artist's tool was probably natural. Chinese papermaking was introduced to Japan around the 7th century by Damjing and several monks of Goguryeo,^[1] later washi was developed from it. Native Japanese painting techniques are still in use today, as well as techniques adopted from continental Asia and from the West.

[edit] Calligraphy

Main article: Japanese calligraphy

The flowing, brush-drawn Japanese language lends itself to complicated calligraphy. Calligraphic art is often too esoteric for Western audiences and therefore general exposure is very limited. However in East Asian countries, the rendering of text itself is seen as a traditional art form as well as a means of conveying written information. The written work can consist of phrases, poems, stories, or even single characters. The style and format of the writing can mimic the subject matter, even to the point of texture and stroke speed. In some cases it can take over one hundred attempts to produce the desired effect of a single character but the process of creating the work is considered as much an art as the end product itself.

This calligraphy form is known as ‘Shodo’ (書道) which literally means ‘the way of writing or calligraphy’ or more commonly known as ‘Shuji’ (習字) ‘learning how to write characters’.

Commonly confused with Calligraphy is the art form known as ‘Sumi-e’ (墨絵) literally means ‘ink painting’ which is the art of painting a scene or object.

[edit] Sculpture

Guardian in Todaiji, Nara

Main article: Japanese sculpture

Traditional Japanese sculptures mainly consisted of Buddhist images, such as Tathagata, Bodhisattva and Myō-ō. The oldest sculpture in Japan is a wooden statue of Amitābha at the Zenkō-ji temple. In the Nara period, Buddhist statues were made by the national government to boost its prestige. These examples are seen in present-day Nara and Kyoto, most notably a colossal bronze statue of the Buddha Vairocana in the Tōdai-ji temple.

Wood has traditionally been used as the chief material in Japan, along with the traditional Japanese architectures. Statues are often lacquered, gilded, or brightly painted, although there are little traces on the surfaces. Bronze and other metals are also used. Other materials, such as stone and pottery, have had extremely important roles in the plebeian beliefs.

[edit] Ukiyo-e

The Great Wave at Kanagawa
Carved by Hokusai

Main article: ukiyo-e

Ukiyo-e, literally "pictures of the floating world", is a genre of woodblock prints that exemplifies the characteristics of pre-Meiji Japanese art. Because these prints could be mass-produced, they were available to a wide cross-section of the Japanese populace — those not wealthy enough to afford original paintings — during their heyday, from the 17th to 20th century.

[edit] Ikebana

Main article: ikebana

Ikebana (生花^?) is the Japanese art of flower arrangement. It has gained widespread international fame for its focus on harmony, color use, rhythm, and elegantly simple design. It is an art centered greatly on expressing the seasons, and is meant to act as a symbol to something greater than the flower itself. Traditionally, when third party marriages were more prominent and practiced in Japan, many Japanese women entering into a marriage learned to take up the art of Ikebana to be a more appealing and well-rounded lady. Today Ikebana is widely practiced in Japan, as well as around the world.

[edit] Performing arts

Main article: Theatre of Japan

The four traditional theatres from Japan are noh, kyogen, kabuki and bunraku. Noh had its origins in the union of the sarugaku with music and dance made by Kanami and Zeami Motokiyo.^[2] Among the characteristic aspects of it are the masks, costumes and the stylized gestures, sometimes accompanied by a fan that can represent other objects. The noh programs are presented in alternation with the ones of kyogen, traditionally in number of five, but currently in groups of three. The kyogen, of humorous character, had older origin, in 8th century entertainment brought from China, developing itself in sarugaku. In kyogen masks are rarely used and even if the plays can be associated with the ones of noh, currently many are not.^[2] Kabuki appears in the beginning of the Edo period from the representations and dances of Izumo no Okuni in Kyoto.^[3] Due to prostitution of actresses of kabuki the participation of women in the plays was forbidden by the government in 1629 and the feminine characters had passed to be represented only by men (onnagata). Recent attempts to reintroduce actresses in kabuki had not been well accepted.^[3] Another characteristic of kabuki is the use of makeup for the actors in historical plays (kumadori). Japanese puppet theater bunraku developed in the same period that kabuki in a competition and contribution relation involving actors and authors. The origin of bunraku however is older, lies back in the Heian period.^[4] In 1914 appeared the Takarazuka Revue a company solely composed by women who introduced the revue in Japan.^[5]

[edit] Architecture

Hondo at Kiyomizu-dera, Kyoto

Main article: Japanese architecture

Japanese architecture has as long a history as any other aspect of Japanese culture. Originally heavily influenced by Chinese architecture, it also develops many differences and aspects which are indigenous to Japan. Examples of traditional architecture are seen at Temples, Shinto shrines and castles in Kyoto, and Nara. Some of these buildings are constructed with traditional gardens, which are influenced from Zen ideas.

Some modern architects, such as Yoshio Taniguchi and Tadao Ando are known for their amalgamation of Japanese traditional and Western architectural influences.

[edit] Gardens

Main article: Japanese garden

Garden Adachi Museum of Art , Yasugi, Japan.

Garden architecture is as important as building architecture and very much influenced by the same historical and religious background. Although today, ink monochrome painting still is the art form most closely associated with Zen Buddhism. A primary design principle of a garden is the creation of a landscape based on, or at least greatly influenced by, the three-dimensional monochrome ink (sumi) landscape painting, sumi-e or suibokuga.

In Japan, the garden has the status of artwork.^[6]

[edit] Traditional clothing

Main article: Kimono

Maiko in kimono

Traditional Japanese clothing distinguishes Japan from all other countries around the world. The Japanese word kimono means "something one wears" and they are the traditional garments of Japan. Originally, the word kimono was used for all types of clothing, but eventually, it came to refer specifically to the full-length garment also known as the naga-gi, meaning "long-wear", that is still worn today on special occasions by women, men, and children. Kimono in this meaning plus all other items of traditional Japanese clothing is known collectively as wafuku which means "Japanese clothes" as opposed to yofuku (Western-style clothing). Kimonos come in a variety of colours, styles, and sizes. Men mainly wear darker or more muted colours, while women tend to wear brighter colors and pastels, and, especially for younger women, often with complicated abstract or floral patterns.

The kimono of a woman who is married (Tomesode) differs from the kimono of a woman who is not married (Furisode). The Tomesode sets itself apart because the patterns do not go above the waistline. The Furisode can be recognized by its extremely long sleeves spanning anywhere from 39 to 42 inches, it is also the most formal kimono an unwed woman wears. The Furisode advertises that a woman is not only of age but also single.

The style of kimono also changes with the season, in spring kimonos are vibrantly colored with springtime flowers embroidered on them. In the fall, kimono colors are not as bright, with fall patterns. Flannel kimonos are ideal for winter, they are a heavier material to help keep you warm.

One of the more elegant kimonos is the uchikake, a long silk overgarment worn by the bride in a wedding ceremony. The uchikake is commonly embellished with birds or flowers using silver and gold thread.

Kimonos do not come in specific sizes as most western dresses do. The sizes are only approximate, and a special technique is used to fit the dress appropriately.

The obi is a very important part of the kimono. Obi is a decorative sash that is worn by Japanese men and women, although it can be worn with many different traditional outfits, it is most commonly worn with the kimono. Most women wear a very large elaborate obi, while men typically don a more thin and conservative obi.

Most Japanese men only wear the kimono at home or in a very laid back environment, however it is acceptable for a man to wear the kimono when he is entertaining guests in his home. For a more formal event a Japanese man might wear the haori and hakama, a half coat and divided skirt. The hakama is tied at the waist, over the kimono and ends near the ankle. Hakama were initially intended for men only, but today it is acceptable for women to wear them as well. Hakama can be worn with types of kimono, excluding the summer version, yukata. The lighter and simpler casual-wear version of kimono often worn in summer or at home is called yukata.

Formal kimonos are typically worn in several layers, with number of layers, visibility of layers, sleeve length, and choice of pattern dictated by social status, season, and the occasion for which the kimono is worn. Because of the mass availability, most Japanese people wear western style clothing in their everyday life, and kimonos are mostly worn for festivals, and special events. As a result, most young women in Japan are not able to put the kimono on themselves. Many older women offer classes to teach these young women how to don the traditional clothing.

Happi is another type of traditional clothing, but it is not famous worldwide like the kimono. A happi (or happy coat) is a straight sleeved coat that is typically imprinted with the family crest, and was a common coat for firefighters to wear.

Japan also has very distinct footwear. Tabi, an ankle high sock, is often worn with the kimono. Tabi are designed to be worn with geta a type of thonged footwear. Geta are sandals mounted on wooden blocks held to the foot by a piece of fabric that slides between the toes. Geta are worn both by men and women with the kimono or yukata.

[edit] Cuisine

Main article: Japanese cuisine

Through a long culinary past, the Japanese have developed sophisticated and refined cuisine. In recent years, Japanese food has become fashionable and popular in the U.S., Europe and many other areas. Dishes such as sushi, tempura, and teriyaki are some of the foods that are commonly known. According to Japan's Institute of Cetacean Research "Whaling and whale cuisine are part of Japanese culture",^[7] and Japan is the world's largest consumer of whale meat.^[8] The healthy Japanese diet is often believed to be related to the longevity of Japanese people.

[edit] Sports

Main article: Sport in Japan

In the long feudal period governed by the samurai class, some methods that were used to train warriors were developed into well-ordered martial arts, in modern times referred to collectively as koryū. Examples include kenjutsu, kyūdō, sōjutsu, jujutsu and sumo, all of which were established in the Edo period. After the rapid social change in the Meiji Restoration, some martial arts changed to modern sports, gendai budō. Judo was developed by Kano Jigoro, who studied some sects of jujutsu. These sports are still widely practiced in present day Japan and other countries.

Baseball, football, and other popular western Sports were imported to Japan in the Meiji period. These sports are commonly practiced in schools along with traditional martial arts.

Baseball is the most popular sport in Japan. Football is becoming more popular after J league (Japan professional soccer league) was established in 1991.In addition, There are many semi-professional organizations which are sponsored by private companies. For example , volleyball, basketball, rugby union,table tennis, and so on. The motorsport of drifting was also invented in Japan.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Popular culture

Main article: Japanese popular culture

Musashi Miyamoto in Vagabond by Takehiko Inoue, adapted from an Eiji Yoshikawa's novel, Musashi.

Japanese popular culture not only reflects the attitudes and concerns of the present but also provides a link to the past. Popular films, television programs, manga, music, and videogames all developed from older artistic and literary traditions, and many of their themes and styles of presentation can be traced to traditional art forms. Contemporary forms of popular culture, much like the traditional forms, provide not only entertainment but also an escape for the contemporary Japanese from the problems of an industrial world. When asked how they spent their leisure time, 80 percent of a sample of men and women surveyed by the government in 1986 said they averaged about two and a half hours per weekday watching television, listening to the radio, and reading newspapers or magazines. Some 16 percent spent an average of two and a quarter hours a day engaged in hobbies or amusements. Others spent leisure time participating in sports, socializing, and personal study. Teenagers and retired people reported more time spent on all of these activities than did other groups.

Many anime and manga are very popular around the world and continue to become popular, as well as Japanese video games, music, fashion, and game shows;^[9] this has made Japan an "entertainment superpower" along with the United States and United Kingdom.

In the late 1980s, the family was the focus of leisure activities, such as excursions to parks or shopping districts. Although Japan is often thought of as a hard-working society with little time for leisure, the Japanese seek entertainment wherever they can. It is common to see Japanese commuters riding the train to work, enjoying their favorite manga, or listening through earphones to the latest in popular music on portable music players.

A wide variety of types of popular entertainment are available. There is a large selection of music, films, and the products of a huge comic book industry, among other forms of entertainment, from which to choose. Game centers, bowling alleys, and karaoke are popular hangout places for teens while older people may play shogi or go in specialized parlors.

Together, the publishing, film/video, music/audio, and game industries in Japan make up the growing Japanese content industry, which, in 2006, was estimated to be worth close to 26 trillion Yen (USD$ 400 billion.).^[10]^[11]

[edit] National character

Further information: Nihonjinron

Cultural map of the world according to the World Values Survey, describing Japan as highest in the world in "Rational-Secular Values".

The Japanese "national character" has been written about under the term Nihonjinron, literally meaning "theories/discussions about the Japanese people" and referring to texts on matters that are normally the concerns of sociology, psychology, history, linguistics, and philosophy, but emphasizing the authors' assumptions or perceptions of Japanese exceptionalism; these are predominantly written in Japan by Japanese people,^[12] though noted examples have also been written by foreign residents, journalists and even scholars.

In terms of comparative cultural characteristics at the world level, the cultural map of the world according to the World Values Survey describes Japan as highest in the world in "Rational-Secular Values", and average-high in "Self-Expression Values".^[13]

[edit] See also

Books on Japanese culture:

Japan Unbound: A Volatile Nation's Quest for Pride and Purpose

Kawaii Pikachu

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:58:35 +0100

Pikachu

Pikachu
National Pokédex Arbok - Pikachu (#025) - Raichu
Series	Pokémon series
First game	Pokémon Red and Blue (1996)
Designed by	Ken Sugimori
Voiced by (English)	Ikue Ōtani Rachael Lillis (some Indigo League episodes) Chika Sakamoto (Puka; episode 67) Satomi Kōrogi (Sparky; episode 78) Craig Blair (PMD special)
Voiced by (Japanese)	Ikue Ōtani Chika Sakamoto Satomi Kōrogi Tomoe Hanba (PMD special)
Portrayed by	Jennifer Risser (Pokémon Live!)

Pikachu (ピカチュウ Pikachū^?) is one of the species of Pokémon creatures from the Pokémon media franchise—a collection of video games, anime, manga, books, trading cards, and other media created by Satoshi Tajiri. As do all Pokémon, Pikachu fight other Pokémon in battles central to the anime, manga, and games of the series.^[1] Pikachu is among the most recognizable Pokémon, largely because a Pikachu is a central character in the Pokémon anime series. Pikachu is widely considered the most popular Pokémon,^[2] is regarded as the official mascot of the Pokémon franchise, and has become an icon of Japanese culture in recent years.

Within the world of the Pokémon franchise, Pikachu are often found in houses, forests,^[3] plains, and occasionally near mountains, islands, and electrical sources (such as power plants), on most continents throughout the fictional world. As an Electric-type Pokémon, Pikachu can store electricity in its cheeks and release it in lightning-based attacks.^[4]

[hide]

Concept and creation

Pikachu first appeared in 1996, among the 151 initial Pokémon when Game Freak delivered the first-ever Pokémon game for the Japanese Game Boy.^[5] The design and art direction for Pikachu was provided by Ken Sugimori, a friend of the creator of the Pocket Monsters game, Satoshi Tajiri.^[6] Though not the first Pokémon created, Pikachu was the first "Electric-type" Pokémon created, conceived after the type was suggested to Sugimori and designed around the concept of electricity and the common symbol for lightning.^[7] The name is a portmanteau of the Japanese words pikapika, an onomatopoeia for electric sparkling, and chū, which is the Japanese onomatopoeia for a mouse's squeak.^[8]

In an interview, Pokémon Diamond and Pearl director Junichi Masuda noted Pikachu's name as one of the most difficult to create, due to an effort to make it appealing to both Japanese and American audiences.^[9] Initially both Pikachu and the Pokémon Clefairy were chosen to be lead characters for the franchise merchandising, with the latter as the primary mascot to make the early comic book series more "engaging". However with the production of the animated series, Pikachu was chosen as the sole flagship Pokémon, in an attempt to appeal to female viewers and their mothers, and under the belief that the creature presented the image of a recognizable intimate pet for children. Its color was also a deciding factor, as yellow is a primary color and thus considered easier for children to recognize from a distance, and with consideration to the fact the only other competing yellow mascot at the time was Winnie-the-Pooh.^[10]

Design and characteristics

Pikachu are small, mouse-like Pokémon that have short, yellow fur with brown markings covering their backs and parts of their tails. They have black-tipped, pointy ears and red circles on their cheeks, which are said to contain "electrical sacs".^[3] Their tails are shaped in the form of a lightning bolt.^[11] In Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, gender differences were introduced for some Pokémon; a female Pikachu now has an indent at the end of its tail, giving it a heart-shaped appearance.

Pikachu forage for berries, roasting them with their electrical attacks before eating.^[12] For already fallen berries and apples they use their electricity to roast and tenderize them. They are said to store electricity in their cheeks,^[3] and by simply squeezing them they can discharge sparks, lightning bolts, or other forms of electricity. Discharging sparks and thunderbolts may be a sign of wariness from the Pokémon. An inability to discharge electricity, as occurs in the presence of a strong magnetic field, causes an illness with flu-like symptoms. Pikachu tend to gather in areas with high amounts of thunderstorm activity. When threatened, a group of Pikachu can generate an intense electrical output, and the electro-magnetic forces exerted by the resulting field can even produce short-lived, localized thunder and lightning storms.^[13] They occasionally use an electric shock to recharge a fellow Pikachu that is in a weakened state.^[14]

Pikachu evolves into Raichu via the use of a Thunder Stone. In the Pokémon Yellow game, using a Thunder Stone on a Pikachu makes it cry and refuse to evolve. From the second generation of the Pokémon games onward, Pikachu has an evolutionary predecessor, Pichu, which evolves into Pikachu after establishing a close friendship with its trainer.

Appearances

In the video games

In the video games, Pikachu is a low-level Pokémon, which has appeared in all of the games naturally without having to trade. The game Pokémon Yellow features a Pikachu as the only available Starter Pokémon. Based on the Pikachu from the Pokémon anime, it refuses to stay in its Poké Ball, and instead follows the main character around on screen. The trainer can speak to it and it displays different reactions depending on how it is treated.^[15] An event from April 1 to May 5, 2010 allowed players of Pokémon HeartGold and SoulSilver to access a route on the Pokéwalker which solely contained Pikachu which knew attacks that they were not normally compatible with, Surf and Fly.^[16] Both of these attacks can be used outside battles as travel aids.

Aside from the main series, Pikachu stars in Hey You, Pikachu! for the Nintendo 64.^[17] The player interacts with Pikachu through a microphone, issuing commands to play various mini-games and act out situations. The game Pokémon Channel follows a similar premise of interacting with the Pikachu, though without the microphone.^[18] Pikachu appear in almost all levels of Pokémon Snap, a game where the player takes pictures of Pokémon for a score. A Pikachu is one of the sixteen starters and ten partners in the Pokémon Mystery Dungeon games. PokéPark Wii: Pikachu's Adventure features a Pikachu as the main protagonist.^[19] Pikachu has also appeared in Super Smash Bros.,^[20] Super Smash Bros. Melee,^[21] and Super Smash Bros. Brawl^[22] as a playable character.

In the anime

Ash Ketchum and Pikachu together in the pilot episode, "Pokémon, I Choose You!"

The Pokémon anime series and films feature the adventures of Ash Ketchum and his Pikachu, traveling through the various regions of the Pokémon universe. They are accompanied by a group of alternating friends, including Misty, Brock, May, Max, Tracey, and Dawn.

In the first episode, Ash Ketchum receives his Pikachu from Professor Oak as his starting Pokémon. New trainers are given a starting Pokémon; in Ash's homeland of Kanto this is often Charmander, Squirtle, or Bulbasaur, but Ash slept in and got Pikachu instead. At first, Pikachu largely ignores Ash's requests, shocking him frequently and refusing to be confined to the conventional method of Pokémon transportation, a Poké Ball. However, Ash puts himself in danger to defend Pikachu from a flock of wild Spearow,^[23] then rushes the electric mouse to a Pokémon Center. Through these demonstrations of respect and unconditional commitment to Pokémon, Pikachu warms up to Ash, and their friendship is formed. However, it still refuses to go into its Poké Ball. Soon after, Pikachu shows great power that sets it apart from Pokémon, and other Pikachu, which causes Team Rocket to constantly attempt to capture it in order to win favor from their boss, Giovanni.^[24]

Other wild and trained Pikachu appear throughout the series, often interacting with Ash and his Pikachu. The most notable among these is Richie's Pikachu, Sparky.^[25] Like most other Pokémon, Pikachu communicates only by saying syllables of its own name. It is voiced by Ikue Ōtani in all versions of the anime. In Pokémon Live!, the musical stage show adapted from the anime, Pikachu was played by Jennifer Risser.

In other Pokémon media

Pikachu is one of the main Pokémon used in many of the Pokémon manga series. In Pokémon Adventures, main characters Red and Yellow both train Pikachu, which create an egg that Gold hatches into a Pichu. Other series, including Magical Pokémon Journey and Getto Da Ze also feature Pikachu while other manga series, such as Electric Tale of Pikachu,^[26] and Ash & Pikachu, feature the most well known Pikachu belonging to Ketchum in the anime series.^[26]

Collectible cards featuring Pikachu have appeared since the initial Pokémon Trading Card Game released in October 1996, including limited edition promotional cards. The character has also been used in promotional merchandising at fast-food chains such as McDonald's, Wendy's and Burger King.^[27]^[28]^[29]^[30]

Legacy

A Toyota Ist customised to resemble Pikachu.

The ANA Boeing 747-400 airplane painted with Pikachu and other Pokémon (visible: Clefairy, Togepi, Mewtwo, and Snorlax).

As the face of the franchise, Pikachu has made multiple appearances in popular culture. In 1998, then-Mayor of Topeka, Kansas Joan Wagnon renamed the town "Topikachu" for a day as part of a promotional event for the franchise.^[31] A "got milk?" advertisement featured Pikachu on April 25, 2000.^[32] A Pikachu balloon has been featured in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade since 2001.^[33] Its appearance on 22 May 2006 during the morning rush hour was as part of a test examining parade balloon handling procedures.^[34] The original balloon was flown for the last time publicly at the Pokémon Tenth Anniversary "Party of the Decade" on August 8, 2006 in Bryant Park in New York City,^[35]^[36]^[37]^[38] and a new Pikachu Balloon that chases a Poké Ball and has light-up cheeks debuted at the 2006 Parade.^[39] The balloon was chosen on an online survey at iVillage as the second-best balloon in the 2007 Parade.^[40] Nintendo Power listed Pikachu as their ninth favourite hero, stating that while he was one of the first Pokémon, he is still popular to this day.^[41]

During the first episode of the eleventh series of Top Gear, presenter Richard Hammond compared an image of the Tata Nano to one of Pikachu stating "they've saved money on the styling 'cause they've just based it on this."^[42] In the third season of Heroes, Hiro Nakamura is nicknamed "Pikachu" by Daphne Millbrook, much to his chagrin. He is called this again by Tracy Strauss, after which he excuses himself before punching her in the face.^{[citation needed]} A Pikachu spoof called Ling-Ling was a main character in the Comedy Central show Drawn Together. An image of Pikachu has also been featured on the ANA Boeing 747-400 (JA8962).^[43]

Pikachu has appeared multiple times on The Simpsons. In the 2002 episode "Bart vs. Lisa vs. The Third Grade", Bart Simpson has a hallucination while taking a test in class and envisages his classmates as various television characters, one of which is a Pikachu.^[44] Maggie Simpson appeared as a Pikachu in a couch gag during the opening animation of the 2003 episode "'Tis the Fifteenth Season".^[45] The couch gag was utilized a second time for the 2004 episode "Fraudcast News".^[46] In the 2010 episode "Postcards from the Wedge", Bart is distracted from his homework by an episode of Pokémon. After watching Ash Ketchum talk to his Pikachu, he muses how the show has managed to stay fresh over the years.^[47]

Pikachu was ranked as the second best person of the year by Time in 1999, who called it "The most beloved animated character since Hello Kitty". The magazine noted Pikachu as the "public face of a phenomenon that has spread from Nintendo's fastest selling video game to a trading-card empire", citing the franchise's profits for the year as the reason for the ranking; behind singer Ricky Martin but ahead of author J.K. Rowling.^[48] The character placed eighth in a 2000 Animax poll of favorite anime characters.^[49] In 2002, Ash's Pikachu received fifteenth place in TV Guide's 50 greatest cartoon characters of all time.^[50] GameSpot featured it in their article "All Time Greatest Game Hero".^[51] In 2003 Forbes ranked Pikachu as the eighth top-earning fictional character of the year with an income of $825 million.^[52] In 2004 the character dropped two spots to tenth on the list, taking in $825 million for a second straight year.^[53] In a 2008 Oricon poll Pikachu was voted as the fourth most popular video game character in Japan, tying with Solid Snake.^[54] The character has been regarded as the Japanese answer to Mickey Mouse^[2] and as being part of a movement of "cute capitalism".^[43] Pikachu was listed 8th in IGN's "Top 25 Anime Characters of All Time".^[55] Authors Tracey West and Katherine Noll called Pikachu the best Electric type Pokémon and the best Pokémon overall. They added that if a person were to go around and ask Pokémon players who their favourite Pokémon was, they would "almost always" choose Pikachu. They also called Pikachu "brave and loyal".^[56]

A newly discovered ligand believed to provide better visual acuity, discovered by Osaka Bioscience Institute Foundation (大阪バイオサイエンス研究所^?), is named "Pikachurin", borrowed from the nimbleness of Pikachu.^[57] The name was inspired due to Pikachu's "lightning-fast moves and shocking electric effects".^[58]

Hello Kitty

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:56:25 +0100

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty
Sanrio character
Hello Kitty
First appearance	1974
Last appearance	Ongoing
Created by	Yuko Shimizu
Information
Nickname(s)	Hello Kitty
Species	Cat
Gender	Female
Nationality	British^[1]
Full name	Kitty White^[1]

Hello Kitty (ハローキティ Harō Kiti^?)^[2] (full name Kitty White)^[1] is a fictional character produced by the Japanese company Sanrio, first designed by Yuko Shimizu. The character is a staple of the kawaii segment of Japanese popular culture.^[3] The character is portrayed as a female white Japanese bobtail cat with a red bow. The character's first appearance on an item, a vinyl coin purse, was introduced in Japan in 1974 and brought to the United States in 1976.^[4]^[5] This debut came under the Sanrio company lineup, where her various products are still developed and sold.

The Hello Kitty trademark has since spread globally; Sanrio earned over $1 billion annually in sales outside of Japan, as of 2003.^[6] Although mainly aimed at the pre-adolescent female market, the Hello Kitty product range goes all the way from purses, stickers and pen sets to toasters, televisions, clothing, massagers, and computer equipment. It has a cult-like following among adults as well, especially in Asia, where Hello Kitty adorns cars, purses, jewelry and many other high-end consumer products. A Hello Kitty anime, targeted towards young children, has also been produced. Examples of products depicting the character include dolls, stickers, greeting cards, clothes, accessories, school supplies, dishes and home appliances.^[7] Her fame as a recurring Sanrio character has led to the creation of two officially licensed Hello Kitty theme parks, Harmonyland and the indoor Sanrio Puroland.

[hide]

[edit] Character design

A spokesperson for Sanrio says that Hello Kitty is not normally given a mouth because "without the mouth, it is easier for the person looking at Hello Kitty to project their feelings onto the character" and that "the person can be happy or sad together with Hello Kitty."^[8] There has been some suggestion that Hello Kitty has its origins in Maneki Neko, and that the name Hello Kitty itself is a back-translation of Maneki Neko, which means beckoning cat in English.

[edit] Official character profile

Full name: Kitty White
Birthday: November 1
Blood type: A
Height: 5 Apples
Weight: 3 Apples
Place of birth: In the suburbs of London, England
Favorite food: Mama's homemade Apple Pie
Favorite word: "Friendship"
Description: A bright and kind-hearted girl, good at baking cookies and loves Mama's apple pie. Very close to her twin sister Mimmy.^[1]^[9]

[edit] Products

The Hello Kitty Airbus A330-200.

Hello Kitty can be found on a variety of consumer products ranging from school supplies to fashion accessories. These products range from everyday items to rare collectibles. The products of Hello Kitty are based on the original TV series.

[edit] Financial products

As of 2009, Bank of America began offering Hello Kitty-themed checking accounts, where the account holder can get cheques and a Visa debit card with Kitty's face on it.^[10] MasterCard debit cards have featured Hello Kitty as a design since 2004.^[11]

[edit] High end products

Sanrio and various corporate partners have released Hello Kitty-branded products, including the Hello Kitty Stratocaster electric guitar (since 2006, with Fender in the US) and even an Airbus A330-200 commercial passenger jet airliner, dubbed the Hello Kitty Jet (2005-2009, with EVA Airways in Taiwan).

2009 marked the collaboration between apparel and accessory brand Stussy and Hello Kitty. Stussy worked with Hello Kitty on collection focusing on the Hello Kitty character with Stussy signature graphics. This collection included T-shirts, keychains, and hoodies.

In 2010, Hello Kitty entered the wine market with collection made up of four wines available for purchase online, continuing an expansion of products targeted at older audiences.^[12]

[edit] Jewelry

In Spring 2005, Simmons Jewelry Co. and Sanrio announced a co-branded jewelry licensed partnership. “Kimora Lee Simmons for Hello Kitty” was launched exclusively at Neiman Marcus prices ranging from $300 to $5000 Designed by Kimora Lee Simmons and launched as the initial collection. The jewelry is all hand-made, consisting of diamonds, gemstones, semi-precious stones, 18K gold, Sterling silver, enamel and ceramic.^[13]

In Fall 2008, Simmons Jewelry Co. and Sanrio debuted a collection of fine jewelry and watches named “Hello Kitty® by Simmons Jewelry Co." The collection launched with Zales Corporation to further expand the reach of the brand, and it developed accessories to satisfy every Hello Kitty fan. The designs incorporate colorful gemstones and sterling silver to attract a youthful audience with retail prices starting at $50.^[14]

[edit] Music

Hello Kitty has her own branded album, Hello World, featuring Hello Kitty-inspired songs performed by a collection of artists, including Keke Palmer and Cori Yarckin.^[15]

Hello Kitty was also chosen by AH-Software to become a Vocaloid. The choice was attributed to the fact it was their 50th year anniversary.^[16]

[edit] Video games

Numerous Hello Kitty games have been produced since the release of the first title for NES in 1992; however, the majority of these games were never released outside of Japan. Hello Kitty also has made cameo appearances in games featuring other Sanrio characters, such as the Keroppi game, Kero Kero Keroppi no Bōken Nikki: Nemureru Mori no Keroleen. Special edition consoles such as the Hello Kitty Dreamcast, Hello Kitty Game Boy Pocket, and Hello Kitty Crystal Edition Xbox have also been released exclusively in Japan.

[edit] Partial list of Hello Kitty video games

Hello Kitty no Hanabatake (1992, NES) - a platformer
Hello Kitty World (1992, Famicom) - a Balloon Kid clone
Hello Kitty's Big Fun Piano (1994, PC) - a piano simulation^[17]
Hello Kitty's Cube Frenzy (1998, Game Boy Color) - a life simulation/minigame collection
DDR Hello Kitty (1999, Bemani Pocket) - a handheld Hello Kitty game in the Dance Dance Revolution series
The Hello Kitty Simple 1500 series (PlayStation) - a series of specifically low-priced games
Hello Kitty: Happy Party Pals (2005, Game Boy Advance) - an action/adventure game
Hello Kitty: Roller Rescue (2005, Xbox, GameCube, PlayStation 2) - an action/adventure game
Mainichi Suteki! Hello Kitty no Life Kit (2007, Nintendo DS) - a puzzle game
The Hello Kitty Simple 2000 series (2007, PlayStation 2) - a series of specifically low-priced games
Hello Kitty: Big City Dreams (2008, Nintendo DS) - an adventure game published by Empire Interactive developed by Sanrio Digital. In the game, Hello Kitty moves to the Big City where she meets other Sanrio characters and makes new friends.^[18]
Hello Kitty Daily (2008, Nintendo DS) - a PDA application featuring a diary, calendar, alarm clock, money managing system and school planner
Hello Kitty Online (2009, PC) - an online MMORPG developed by Sanrio Digital and Typhoon Games. The game allows players to create and customize characters, then use them to battle monsters, socialize with one another, mine for ore, do domestic chores like farming or cooking, and participate in quests.
Hello Kitty Seasons - A game where can customize your playable character and appointed as Deputy Mayor to help Sanrio Town grow with the help of the Sanrio Crew.
Hello Kitty Parachute Paradise (2009, iPhone/iPod Touch) - an iPhone game with tilt-based controls^[19]

[edit] Establishments

Sanrio Shop in Madrid, Spain with the Hello Kitty character outline as the entryway

There is a themed restaurant named Hello Kitty Sweets in Taipei, Taiwan. The restaurant's decor and many of its dishes are patterned after the Hello Kitty character.^[20]^[21]

In 2008, a Hello Kitty-themed maternity hospital opened in Yuanlin, Taiwan. Hello Kitty is featured on the receiving blankets, room decor, bed linens, birth certificate covers, and nurses' uniforms. The hospital's owner explained that he hoped that the theme would help ease the stress of childbirth.^[22]^[23]

Hello Kitty is included as part of the Sanrio livery at the Japanese theme parks Harmonyland and Sanrio Puroland.

[edit] Reception

The Hello Kitty brand rose to greater prominence during the late 1990s. At that time, several celebrities, such as Mariah Carey, had adopted Hello Kitty as a fashion statement.^[24] Newer products featuring the character can be found in a large variety of American department stores.

The Dutch artist Dick Bruna, creator of Miffy, has suggested that Hello Kitty is a copy of Miffy, being rendered in a similar style, stating disapprovingly in an interview for the British paper The Daily Telegraph:

'That,' he says darkly, 'is a copy [of Miffy], I think. I don't like that at all. I always think, "No, don't do that. Try to make something that you think of yourself.^[25]

In May 2008, Japan named Hello Kitty the ambassador of Japanese tourism in both China and Hong Kong, which are two places where the character is exceptionally popular among children and young women. This marked the first time Japan's tourism ministry had appointed a fictional character to the role.^[26]

UNICEF has also awarded Hello Kitty the exclusive title of UNICEF Special Friend of Children.^[27]^[28]

Hello Kitty's popularity has been waning in Japan for over a decade. In 2002, Hello Kitty lost her place as the top-grossing character in Japan in the Character Databank popularity chart and has never recovered. In the most recent survey, she is in third place behind Anpanman and Pikachu from Pokémon.^[29]

[edit] In popular culture

This "In popular culture" section may contain minor or trivial references. Please reorganize this content to explain the subject's impact on popular culture rather than simply listing appearances, and remove trivial references. (November 2010)

In 1999, a brutal murder known as the Hello Kitty murder took place in Hong Kong. The popular name of the case derives from the fact that the murderer inserted his victim's head into a Hello Kitty doll after decapitating her.^[30]

As of August 2007, Thai police officers who have committed minor transgressions such as showing up late or parking in the wrong place are forced to wear pink Hello Kitty armbands for several days as penance.^[31]

During the financial crisis of 2007–2010, a poster of a Hello Kitty pre-paid debit card expanded to roughly 1 meter in length was displayed on the floor of the US Senate by Senator Byron Dorgan as a demonstration of extreme methods used by credit companies to attract "children 10 to 14 years of age". Though not an actual credit card, it was criticized for its promotional website encouraging users to "shop 'til you drop."^[32]^[33]

[edit] See also

Japan portal

Hello Kitty (TV series)

Japanese Writing System

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:53:25 +0100

Japanese writing system

Japanese
Japanese novel using 漢字仮名交じり文 (text with both kanji and kana), the most general orthography for modern Japanese. Ruby characters are also used for kanji words. Published in 1908.
Type	mixed logographic (kanji), syllabic (hiragana, katakana), and alphabetic (rōmaji)
Spoken languages	Japanese language
Time period	4th century AD to present
Parent systems	(See kanji and kana) Japanese
Unicode range	U+4E00–U+9FBF Kanji U+3040–U+309F Hiragana U+30A0–U+30FF Katakana
ISO 15924	`Jpan`
Note: This page may contain IPA phonetic symbols.

Japanese writing

Kanji

Kana

Uses

Rōmaji

Punctuation

The modern Japanese writing system uses three main scripts:

Kanji, ideographs from Chinese characters,
Kana, a pair of syllabaries, consisting of
- Hiragana, used for native Japanese words, and
- Katakana, used for foreign words and names, loanwords, onomatopoeia, scientific names, and sometimes to replace kanji or hiragana for emphasis.

To a much lesser extent, modern written Japanese also uses phrases from the Latin alphabet such as "CD" and "DVD."

Romanized Japanese, called rōmaji, is frequently used by foreign students of Japanese, who have not yet mastered the three main scripts, and by native speakers for computer input.

Here is an example of a newspaper headline (from the Asahi Shimbun on 19 April 2004) that uses all four scripts: (kanji (red), hiragana (blue), katakana (green), and Latin Alphabet and Arabic numerals (black)):

ラドクリフ、マラソン五輪代表に1万m出場にも含み

The same headline, transliterated to the Latin alphabet:

Radokurifu, Marason gorin daihyō ni ichi-man mētoru shutsujō ni mo fukumi

The same headline, translated to English:

"Radcliffe to compete in Olympic marathon, also implied to appear in the 10,000 m"

Here are some examples of words written in Japanese:

Kanji	Hiragana	Katakana	Rōmaji	English
私	わたし	ワタシ	watashi	I, me
金魚	きんぎょ	キンギョ	kingyo	goldfish
煙草 or 莨	たばこ	タバコ	tabako	tobacco, cigarette
東京	とうきょう	トウキョウ	tōkyō	Tokyo, literally meaning "eastern capital"

Collation (word ordering) in Japanese is based on the kana, which express the pronunciation of the words, rather than the kanji. The kana may be ordered using two common orderings, the prevalent gojūon (fifty-sound) ordering, or the old-fashioned iroha ordering. Kanji dictionaries are usually collated using the radical system, though other systems, such as SKIP, also exist.

[hide]

[edit] Usage of scripts

Most Japanese sentences (like "the cat sat on the mat") contain both kanji and hiragana. Kanji is used for nouns (words like "cat" or "mat") and the stems of verbs (words like "sat"), and hiragana for the endings of verbs and for grammatical particles (small, common words such as the Japanese equivalents of the English "on" and "to"). Foreign borrowings are normally spelled in katakana.

Kanji (漢字^?) are used to write most content words of native Japanese or (historically) Chinese origin, including:

most nouns, such as 川 (kawa, "river") and 学校 (gakkō, "school")
the stems of most verbs and adjectives, such as 見 in 見る (miru, "see") and 白 in 白い (shiroi, "white")
most Japanese personal names and place names, such as 田中 (Tanaka) and 東京 (Tōkyō). (Certain names may be written hiragana or katakana, or some combination of these and kanji.)

Some Japanese words are written with different kanji depending on the specific usage of the word—for instance, the word naosu (to fix, or to cure) is written 治す when it refers to curing a person, and 直す when it refers to fixing an object.

Hiragana (平仮名^?) are used to write the following:

okurigana (送り仮名^?)—inflectional endings for adjectives and verbs—such as る in 見る (miru, "see") and い in 白い (shiroi, "white").
joshi (助詞^?)—grammatical particles
words that lack a kanji, where the kanji is obscure, difficult to typeset, or is considered too difficult to understand (as in children's books).
furigana (振り仮名^?)—phonetic renderings of kanji placed above or beside the kanji character. Furigana may aid children or nonnative speakers or clarify nonstandard, rare, or ambiguous readings.

Some lexical items that are normally written using kanji have become grammaticalized in certain contexts, where they are instead written in hiragana. For example, the root of the verb 見る (miru, "see") is normally written with the kanji 見. However, when used as a suffix meaning "try out", the whole verb is written in hiragana as みる, as in 食べてみる (tabetemiru, "try eating [it] and see").

Katakana (片仮名^?) are used to write the following:

transliteration of foreign words and names, such as コンピュータ (konpyūta, "computer"). (Some foreign borrowings that have become naturalized may not be rendered in katakana.)
commonly used names of animals, plants or objects whose kanji are rare, such as トカゲ (tokage, "lizard"), バラ (bara, "rose") and ローソク (rōsoku, "candle")
onomatopoeia, such as ワンワン (wan-wan, "woof-woof")
emphasis, much like italicisation in European languages
technical and scientific terms, such as plant, animal, and mineral names.

The Latin alphabet, and its utilization in Japanese called rōmaji (ローマ字^?), is used to write the following:

Latin-alphabet acronyms and initialisms, such as NATO or UFO
Japanese personal names, corporate brands, and other words intended for international use (for example, on business cards, in passports, etc.)
foreign names, words, and phrases, often in scholarly contexts
foreign words deliberately rendered to impart a foreign flavour, for instance, in commercial contexts

Arabic numerals are commonly used to write numbers in horizontal text.

Hentaigana (変体仮名^?), a set of archaic kana obsoleted by the Meiji reformation, are sometimes used to impart an archaic flavour, such as in items of foods.

[edit] Direction of writing

Main article: Horizontal and vertical writing in East Asian scripts

Traditionally, Japanese is written in a format called tategaki (縦書き^?), which copies the traditional Chinese system. In this format, the characters are written in columns going from top to bottom, with columns ordered from right to left. After reaching the bottom of each column, the reader continues at the top of the column to the left of the current one.

Modern Japanese also uses another writing format, called yokogaki (横書き^?). This writing format is horizontal and reads from left to right, just like English.

A book printed in tategaki opens from what a Westerner would call the back, while a book printed in yokogaki opens from what traditionally in Japan would have been considered the back.

[edit] History of the Japanese script

[edit] Importation of kanji

Japanese alphabet, including Hiragana, Katakana and "Yamatogana". Denis Diderot, Encyclopédie, 18th century.

The current Japanese writing system traces its history back to the 4th century, when Chinese characters (kanji) were introduced to Japan through Baekje.^[1] No definitive evidence of any native Japanese writing system that predates the introduction of kanji exists. A variety of supposedly ancient scripts including jindai moji (神代文字^?, "scripts of the age of the gods"), also read as kamiyo moji, surfaced during the 1930s following the rise of Japanese nationalism—some pictographic, some runic in appearance, and some very close to hangul.

Initially Chinese characters were not used for writing Japanese, as literacy meant fluency in Classical Chinese, not the vernacular. Eventually a system called kanbun (漢文^?) developed, which, along with kanji and something very similar to Chinese grammar, employed diacritics to hint at the Japanese translation. The earliest written history of Japan, the Kojiki (古事記^?), compiled sometime before 712, was written in kanbun. Even today Japanese high schools and some junior high schools teach kanbun as part of the curriculum.

[edit] The development of man'yōgana

No full-fledged script for written Japanese existed until the development of man'yōgana (万葉仮名^?), which appropriated kanji for their phonetic value (derived from their Chinese readings) rather than their semantic value. Man'yōgana was initially used to record poetry, as in the Man'yōshū (万葉集^?), compiled sometime before 759, whence the writing system derives its name. The modern kana, namely hiragana and katakana, are simplifications and systemizations of man'yōgana.

Due to the large number of words and concepts entering Japan from China which had no native equivalent, many words entered Japanese directly, with a pronunciation similar to the original Chinese. This Chinese-derived reading is known as on'yomi (音読み^?), and this vocabulary as a whole is referred to as Sino-Japanese in English and kango (漢語^?) in Japanese. At the same time, native Japanese already had words corresponding to many borrowed kanji. Authors increasingly used kanji to represent these words. This Japanese-derived reading is known as kun'yomi (訓読み^?). A kanji may have none, one, or several on'yomi and kun'yomi. Okurigana are written after the initial kanji for verbs and adjectives to give inflection and to help disambiguate a particular kanji's reading. The same character may be read several different ways depending on the word. For example, the character 行 is read i as the first syllable of iku (行く^?, "to go"), okona as the first three syllables of okonau (行う^?, "to carry out"), gyō in the compound word gyōretsu (行列^?, "line" or "procession"), kō in the word ginkō (銀行^?, "bank"), and an in the word andon (行灯^?, "lantern").

Some linguists have compared the Japanese borrowing of Chinese-derived vocabulary as akin to the influx of Romance vocabulary into English during the Norman conquest of England. Like English, Japanese has many synonyms of differing origin, with words from both Chinese and native Japanese. Sino-Japanese is often considered more formal or literary, just as latinate words in English often mark a higher register.

[edit] Script reforms

Main article: Japanese script reform

[edit] Meiji period

The significant reforms of the 19th century Meiji era did not initially impact the Japanese writing system.^{[clarification needed]} However, the language itself was changing due to the increase in literacy resulting from education reforms, the massive influx of new words (both borrowed from other languages or newly coined), and the ultimate success of movements such as the influential genbun'itchi (言文一致^?) which resulted in Japanese being written in the colloquial form of the language instead of the wide range of historical and classical styles used previously. The difficulty of written Japanese was a topic of debate, with several proposals in the late 1800s that the number of kanji in use be limited. In addition, exposure to non-Japanese texts led to unsuccessful proposals that Japanese be written entirely in kana or rōmaji. This period saw Western-style punctuation marks introduced into Japanese writing (Twine, 1991).

In 1900, the Education Ministry introduced three reforms aimed at improving the education in Japanese writing:

standardization of hiragana, eliminating the range of hentaigana then in use;
restriction of the number of kanji taught in elementary schools to about 1,200;
reform of the irregular kana representation of the Sino-Japanese readings of kanji to make them conform with the pronunciation.

The first two of these were generally accepted, but the third was hotly contested, particularly by conservatives, to the extent that it was withdrawn in 1908 (Seeley, 1990).

[edit] pre–World War II

The partial failure of the 1900 reforms with the rise of nationalism in Japan effectively prevented further significant reform of the writing system. The period before World War II saw numerous proposals to restrict the number of kanji in use, and several newspapers voluntarily restricted their kanji usage and increased usage of furigana; however, there was no official endorsement of these, and indeed much opposition.

[edit] post–World War II

The period immediately following World War II saw a rapid and significant reform of the writing system. This was in part due to influence of the Occupation authorities, but to a significant extent was due to the removal of conservatives from control of the educational system, which meant that previously stalled revisions could proceed. The major reforms were:

alignment of kana usage with modern pronunciation gendaikanazukai (現代仮名遣い^?), replacing the old historical kana usage (1946);
promulgation of various restricted sets of kanji:
- tōyō kanji (当用漢字^?) (1946), a collection of 1850 characters for use in schools, textbooks, etc.;
- kanji to be used in schools (1949);
- an additional collection of jinmeiyō kanji (人名用漢字^?), which, supplementing the tōyō kanji, could be used in personal names (1951);
simplifications of various complex kanji letter-forms shinjitai (新字体^?).

At one stage an advisor in the Occupation administration proposed a wholesale conversion to rōmaji; however it was not endorsed by other specialists and did not proceed. (Unger, 1996)

In addition, the practice of writing horizontally in a right-to-left direction was generally replaced by left-to-right writing. The right-to-left order was considered a special case of vertical writing, with columns one character high, rather than horizontal writing per se; it was used for single lines of text on signs, etc. (e.g. the station sign at Tokyo reads 駅京東).

The post-war reforms have mostly survived, although some of the restrictions have been relaxed. The replacement of the tōyō kanji in 1981 with the 1,945 jōyō kanji (常用漢字^?)—a modification of the tōyō kanji—was accompanied by a change from "restriction" to "recommendation", and in general the educational authorities have become less active in further script reform (Gottlieb, 1996).

In 2004, the jinmeiyō kanji (人名用漢字^?), maintained by the Ministry of Justice for use in personal names, was significantly enlarged.

[edit] Nuances

For more details on this topic, see furigana.

Kanji compounds can be given arbitrary readings for stylistic purposes. For example, in Natsume Sōseki's short story The Fifth Night, the author uses 接続って for tsunagatte, the gerundive -te form of the verb tsunagaru ("to connect"), which would usually be written as 繋がって or つながって. The word 接続, meaning "connection", is normally pronounced setsuzoku.

Signs sometimes drop the hiragana endings from the kanji for brevity.

The Japanese writing system allows for transmitting information that is usually communicated in other languages by using different words or by adding extra descriptive words. For example, writing a word in English may give it a modern or 'hip' flair. Some words are colloquially written in hiragana and writing them in kanji might give them a more formal tone.

[edit] Romanization

Main article: Romanization of Japanese

There are a number of methods of rendering Japanese in Roman letters. The Hepburn method of romanization, designed for English speakers, is a de facto standard widely used inside and outside Japan. The Kunrei-shiki system has a better correspondence with kana, making it easier for the Japanese themselves to learn; it is officially sanctioned by the Ministry of Education, and often used by non-native speakers who are learning Japanese as a second language.^{[citation needed]} Other systems of romanization include Nihon-shiki, JSL, and Wāpuro rōmaji.

[edit] Lettering styles

[edit] Variant writing systems

[edit] See also

Genkō yōshi (graph paper for writing Japanese)
Iteration mark (Japanese duplication marks)
Japanese typographic symbols (non-kana, non-kanji symbols)
Chinese writing system
Okinawan writing system
Kaidā glyphs (Yonaguni)
Ainu language#Writing
Siddhaṃ script (Indic alphabet used for Buddhist scriptures)
Jindai moji (Shinto divination script)

Kawaii Perception in Japan

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 16:49:33 +0100

Cuteness in Japanese culture

Since the 1970s, cuteness, in Japanese the noun^[1] kawaisa (可愛さ^?) (literally, "lovability", "cuteness" or "adorableness"), has become a prominent aspect of Japanese popular culture, entertainment, clothing, food, toys, personal appearance, behavior, and mannerisms.^[2] The adjective^[3] is kawaii (可愛い^?)^[4] (literally, "lovable", "cute",^[5] or "adorable"^[6]). The words "kawaisa" and "kawaii" have the root word "kawai" which is formed from the kanji "ka" (可), meaning "acceptable", and "ai" (愛), meaning "love". The term kawaii has taken on the secondary meanings of "cool,"^[7] "groovy,"^[7] "acceptable,"^[8] "desirable,"^[8] "charming"^[9] "non-threatening".^[9]

[hide]

[edit] Aesthetics

Sōichi Masubuchi 増渕聡一 (Masubuchi Sōichi^?) in his work, Kawaii Syndrome, claims "cute" and "neat" have taken precedence over the former Japanese aesthetics of "beautiful" and "refined".^[9]

[edit] Performativity

Japanese women who perform cute behaviors that could be viewed as forced or fake are called "burikko" and this is considered a gender performance.^[10] The term "burikko" (鰤子^?) is formed from the kanji "buri" 鰤, meaning Japanese amberjack, and "ko" 子, meaning "child".^[10] It was a neologism developed in the 1980s by singer Kuniko Yamada 山田邦子 (Yamada Kuniko^?).^[10]

[edit] Physical attractiveness

In Japan, cuteness is expected of men and women.^[11] There is a trend of men shaving their legs to mimic the "asexual" look.^[11] Many Japanese men are drawn to the owner of cute merchandise, because it is reminiscent of little girls,^[12] and Japanese women try to act cute to attract men.^[11] A study by Kanebo (カネボ^?), a cosmetic company, found that Japanese women in their 20s and 30s favored the "cute look" with a "childish round face".^[8]

[edit] History

[edit] Original definition

The original definition of kawaii came from Lady Murasaki's The Tale of Genji where it referred to pitiable qualities.^[9] During the Shogunate period under the ideology of neo-Confucianism, women came to be included under the term kawaii as the perception of women from being animalistic was replaced with the conception of women as docile.^[9]

[edit] Cute handwriting

The rise of cuteness in Japanese culture emerged in the 1970s as part of a new style of writing.^[13] Many teenage girls began to write laterally using mechanical pencils.^[13] These pencils produced very fine lines, as opposed to traditional Japanese writing that varied in thickness and was vertical.^[13] Also, the girls would write in big, round characters and they added little pictures to their writing, such as hearts, stars, smiley faces, and letters of the Latin alphabet.^[13] These pictures would be inserted randomly and made the writing very hard to read.^[13] As a result, this writing style caused a lot of controversy and was banned in many schools.^[13] During the 1980s, however, this new "cute" writing was adopted by magazines and comics and was put onto packaging and advertising.^[13] From 1984–1986, Kazuma Yamane 山根和麻 (Yamane Kazuma ^?) studied the development of cute handwriting, which he called Anomalous Female Teenage Handwriting, in depth.^[13] This type of cute Japanese handwriting has also been called: marui ji (丸い字^?), meaning "round writing," koneko ji (小猫字^?), meaning "kitten writing," manga ji (漫画字^?), meaning "comic writing," and burikko ji (鰤子字^?), meaning "fake-child writing"^[14] Although it was commonly thought that the writing style was something that teenagers had picked up from comics, he found that teenagers had come up with the style themselves, as part of an underground movement.^[13]

[edit] Cute fashion

Tomoyuki Sugiyama 杉山奉文 (Sugiyama Tomoyuki^?), author of Cool Japan, claims cute fashion in Japan can be traced back to the Edo Period with the popularity of netsuke. ^[8]

Because of this growing trend, companies such as Sanrio came out with merchandise like Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty was an immediate success and the obsession with cute continued to progress in other areas as well. The 1980s also saw the rise of cute idols, such as Seiko Matsuda, who is largely credited with popularizing the trend. Women began to emulate Seiko Matsuda and her cute fashion style and mannerisms, which emphasized the helplessness and innocence of young girls.^[15] The market for cute merchandise in Japan is driven by Japanese girls between 15 and 18 years old.^[16] No longer limited to teenagers, however, the spread of making things as cute as possible, even common household items, was embraced by people of all ages. Now there are airplanes painted with Pikachu on the side, and each of Japan’s 47 prefectures, the Tokyo police, and even the public broadcaster NHK all have their own cute mascots. Currently, Sanrio’s line of more than 50 characters takes in more than $1 billion a year and it remains the most successful company to capitalize on the cute trend.^[12]

[edit] Cute characters

An All Nippon Airways Boeing 747 with a Pokémon livery.

Cute elements can be found almost everywhere in Japan, from big business to corner markets and national government, ward, and town offices.^[12]^[11] Many companies, large and small, use cute mascots to present their wares and services to the public. For example:

Pikachu, a character from Pokémon, adorns the side of three ANA passenger jets.
Asahi Bank used Miffy (Nijntje), a character from a Dutch series of children's picture books, on some of its ATM and credit cards.
All 47 prefectures have cute mascot characters.^{[citation needed]}
The Japan Post "Yū-Pack" mascot is a stylized mailbox;^[17] they also use other cute mascot characters to promote their various services (among them the Postal Savings Bank) and have used many such on postage stamps.
Some police forces in Japan have their own moe mascots, which sometimes adorn the front of kōban (police boxes).
Sanrio, the company behind Hello Kitty and other similarly cute characters, runs the Sanrio Puroland theme park in Tokyo.

Cute can be also used to describe a specific fashion sense^[18]^[7] of an individual, and generally includes clothing that appears to be made for young children, apart from the size, or clothing that accentuates the cuteness of the individual wearing the clothing. Ruffles and pastel colors are commonly (but not always) featured, and accessories often include toys or bags featuring anime characters.^[12]

[edit] Popular cute characters in Japan

These cute characters are popular in Japan: Tarepanda,^[12]Hello Kitty,^[12] Momo the Postpet,^[12] Felix the Cat,^[12] Pingu,^[12] Mickey Mouse,^[12] Teletubbies,^[12] Snoopy,^[11] Winnie-the-Pooh,^[11] Miffy,^[11] Rilakkuma,^[19] Mameshiba^[20] and Oswald the Lucky Rabbit^[21]

[edit] Cute in the USA but not Japan

Cabbage patch kids did not sell well in Japan, because Japanese people considered their facial features to be "wrong" and "grotesque" compared to the flatter and featureless face of Hello Kitty.^[9] Also, Barbie did not fare well in Japan compared to the Rika-chan doll who was modeled after a pre-pubescent girl.^[9]

[edit] Perception in Japan

Shinkansen E3 Series train with Pokémon decorations

As a cultural phenomenon, cuteness is increasingly accepted in Japan as a part of Japanese culture and national identity. Tomoyuki Sugiyama 杉山奉文 (Sugiyama Tomoyuki^?), author of "Cool Japan", believes that "cuteness" is rooted in Japan's harmony-loving culture, and Nobuyoshi Kurita 栗田経惟 (Kurita Nobuyoshi^?), a sociology professor at Musashi University in Tokyo, has stated that "cute" is a "magic term" that encompasses everything that's acceptable and desirable in Japan.^[22]

On the other hand, those skeptical of cuteness consider it a sign of an infantile mentality.^[22] In particular, Hiroto Murasawa 村澤大翔 (Murasawa Hiroto^?), professor of beauty and culture at Osaka Shoin Women’s University asserts that cuteness is "a mentality that breeds non-assertion ... Individuals who choose to stand out get beaten down."^[22]

[edit] Influence on other cultures

Cute merchandise and products are especially popular in some other parts of East Asia, such as China, Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan.^[12]^[23]

Japan's global image has shifted from being known for austere rock gardens to being known for "cute-worship".^[8]

kawaii-things-in-japan

Kawaii Culture of Japan

Culture of Japan

Contents

[edit] Japanese language

[edit] Literature

[edit] Visual arts

[edit] Painting

[edit] Calligraphy

[edit] Sculpture

[edit] Ukiyo-e

[edit] Ikebana

[edit] Performing arts

[edit] Architecture

[edit] Gardens

[edit] Traditional clothing

[edit] Cuisine

[edit] Sports

[edit] Popular culture

[edit] National character

[edit] See also

Kawaii Pikachu

Pikachu

Contents

Concept and creation

Design and characteristics

Appearances

In the video games

In the anime

In other Pokémon media

Legacy

Hello Kitty

Hello Kitty

Contents

[edit] Character design

[edit] Official character profile

[edit] Products

[edit] Financial products

[edit] High end products

[edit] Jewelry

[edit] Music

[edit] Video games

[edit] Partial list of Hello Kitty video games

[edit] Establishments

[edit] Reception

[edit] In popular culture

[edit] See also

Japanese Writing System

Japanese writing system

Contents

[edit] Usage of scripts

[edit] Direction of writing

[edit] History of the Japanese script

[edit] Importation of kanji

[edit] The development of man'yōgana

[edit] Script reforms

[edit] Meiji period

[edit] pre–World War II

[edit] post–World War II

[edit] Nuances

[edit] Romanization

[edit] Lettering styles

[edit] Variant writing systems

[edit] See also

Kawaii Perception in Japan

Cuteness in Japanese culture

Contents

[edit] Aesthetics

[edit] Performativity

[edit] Physical attractiveness

[edit] History

[edit] Original definition

[edit] Cute handwriting

[edit] Cute fashion

[edit] Cute characters

[edit] Popular cute characters in Japan

[edit] Cute in the USA but not Japan

[edit] Perception in Japan

[edit] Influence on other cultures