The Ghosts of Sony
In contrast to the Nakayama store, which is almost a Sony graveyard, at the Sony Building, located in Ginza--once the most expensive and luxurious area in Tokyo-- the Sony Show…
The Town of Living Buddha Statues (仏像のまち) High School, Buddhist Iconography, Magic &Teen Love
It's the story of Sorato, a high school student who's deceased father was a sculptor of Buddhist images (仏師/busshi）and seems to have passed his unusual talent on to poor Sorato-kun.…
Everything I Ever Needed To Know In Life I Learned From the Yakuza or The Cops That Kick Their Ass in 7 Lessons
The enemy of my enemy is my friend. You can tell more about a man by his enemies than you can by his friends. A man with no enemies is…
Little Mermaids & Little Fingers: An illustrated yakuza tale
The next time I ran into Shira she told me I shouldn't expect to see Shin again. He probably wasn't coming back. "Not coming back?" I asked puzzled. "You don't…
Yakuza Comix #2: The Buck Stops With The Boss
In 2008 revisions were made to the Organized Crime Countermeasures Law (暴力団対策法) which made it possible to hold organized crime bosses responsible for the actions of their underlings in civil…
Yasukuni Shrine: The Nation’s Pacifying Shrine That Angers Other Nations
Yasukuni Shrine. 靖国神社. 靖 (Yasu) means "peaceful" "国" (Kuni) means "Nation". "神社" (Jinja) means "Shrine." The Shrine of The Peaceful Nation. And it's true, Japan is now a peaceful nation,…
NewsFLASH: Cop Dressed in School Girl Uniform Fired For Public Nudity; “Sailor Moon”!?
The Japanese police officer fired yesterday, was previously arrested in March, for dressing up in sailor girl outfit (school uniform) and exposing his genitals and buttocks to a 16 year…
Habanero Kimichi Potato Chips: Review
Tohato's latest culinary masterpiece is a delicate blend of habanero, garlic, powdered kimchi, ginger and some other things that I'm afraid to look up. Surprisingly, the taste is relatively mild…
Salt and Butter Caramel: Morinaga’s Masterpiece Raises The Japanese Caramel Bar Tenfold
The Morinaga Salt and Butter Caramel (森永塩バターキャラメル） was first released in a limited edition on March 6th 2012, and quickly became legendary amongst Japan’s obsessive caramel fans known as キャラメルマン*.…
日本の小顔コルセット使えば本当に３分で可愛くなれるの？ Small face, great beauty
これは、世界中でも有名になっている日本人女性の願望だ。しかしこの夢、どうやら「1日3分巻くだけ！絶対小顔コルセット―整形レベルのW巻き（主婦の友)」と付属本で叶えられるらしい。それには、1日3分、激痛を味わうだけでいいのだ。A wonderful translation of our review of this beautiful for human life beauty product.