Like ganguro, Gothic Lolita ("GothLoli") is a popular fashion statement made by young Japanese women. However, GothLoli is the antithesis of the tanned, bleached ganguro craze. Unlike many goth fashions in the West, GothLoli embraces femininity and grace. It idealizes modest Victorian elegance, and GothLoli girls try to look as much ...
Junichiro Koizumi was elected Prime Minister of Japan in April 2001. Nicknamed "Lionheart", he was chosen for his dynamism and ambition. An outspoken campaigner for economic reform, it was hoped he would drag Japan out of its economic slump. After this honeymoon period, Koizumi's popularity waned. Rather than delivering the painful ...
Cosplay allows grown men and women to explore different identities by donning elaborate costumes. Costumes are often based on popular anime characters, or visual-kei musicians. Usually, this has no sexual focus, but the tight outfits and element of fantasy have made cosplay a significant part of modern Japanese sexuality. The idea of ...
The word burakumin ("People of the Hamlet") refers to Japan's traditional "unclean" caste, also known as "Eta" ("abundant pollution") and "Hinin" ("non-human"). During the Tokugawa Period, they were forced to live in separate villages and perform society's dirty jobs, including grave digging, butchery, executions, and making tatami floor mats. 2% of Japanese ...
Almost all Japanese plums are pickled to make umeboshi. They were introduced from China in the 8th century, and are smaller and more tart than their Western cousins. Every June, the green, unripe plums are cured in salt, before being packed in shiso (beefsteak plant) and marinated. This gives them a ...
Mochi is finely ground cooked rice pressed into shapes, which can be used in sweet and savory foods. If kept, they form hard blocks, which can be stored until they are needed. Mochi is also combined with roasted soy bean flour (kinako) or sweet bean paste (anko) to make traditional ...
In most countries, rotten fish is thrown out. In Japan, they spend 3 or 4 years making it, and consider it an expensive luxury. Funazushi, the speciality of Shiga prefecture, is fermented buna (crucian carp). The raw fish is packed tightly in salt for a year, then dried and mixed with ...
Red bean jam ("anko" or "an") is a common ingredient in traditional Japanese sweets. Sweet red beans (azuki) are cooked and kneaded with a lot of sugar to make a thick paste. There are 2 varieties: koshian (smooth) and tsubuan (some whole beans in it). Traditionally, anko has been mainly used ...
Eating whale is a thorn in Japan's increasingly groovy relationship with the rest of the world. Currently, Japan is limited to "scientific whaling", which yields very little meat for consumption - making whale an expensive delicacy. Whale meat became a staple of the Japanese diet in the food shortages after WWII. ...
Manzai is the Japanese version of the classic double act, in which a straight man ("tsukkomi") feeds punchlines to a funny man ("boke"). The difference between manzai and Western double acts is the frenzied pace. The emphasis is less on material (which rarely strays far from the toilet or childish puns), ...
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