What is in all those little BOTTLES that people buy at kiosks and drugstores?
So-called health drinks often come in bottles made of brown glass and range from ¥120 for Vitamin C mixed with caffeine, to much more princely sums for royal jelly ginseng root, or tincture of snake (parts of a snake in solution).
Why are plastic BOTTLES filled with water and set up against walls, telephone poles, and flower beds?
Some people insist that the reflections from the water bottles are disturbing to area alley cats, who see their faces distorted as they walk by. As a result, these nuisances will stay away, and avoid doing their business on people's property. This practice seems to have no practical effect, but people continue to do so nonetheless.
NHK reports that the rumor of the bottles' effectiveness may have come from Australia as early as 1987, but the rapid spread of the bottles in the spring and summer of 1994 apparently resulted from the fact that one of the groundskeepers at Tokyo Electric put bottles all around a certain facility. Local residents who witnessed the practice became convinced that it must offer some benefit. The cat-repelling bottles made the national news when a bottle filled with water caused a fire by focusing sunlight on discarded lumber. Now that would scare a cat away.
When meeting someone on Business, how and when should you BOW?
At the very outset, one makes a perfunctory bow, which carries you through until you know who the person is. Only after exchanging business cards and determining the status relationship between you and the other person do you make the formal bow at an appropriate angle, along with the accompanying greeting. However democratic one might wish to be, it is a faux pas to bow equally low to the president of a company and a clerk. It is awkward for the other person when you over- or underdo a bow.
When were the first "station BOX LUNCHES" introduced?
Eki-ben is a shortened amalgamation of eki, or "station," and bentō, or "box lunch." In its very first incarnation, the eki-ben was a rather spartan affair first sold at Utsunomiya Station in 1885. It consisted simply of two rice balls with pickled plum inside, all wrapped up in a bamboo leaf. The maku-no-uchi type of box lunch which is common today dates from 1888 and was first sold at Himeji Station in the Kansai area. It consisted of white rice, fried egg, boiled fish paste, fried fish, and pickled daikon.
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What are those knobbed metal BRACELETS that some Japanese men wear?
These bracelets are originally from Spain, where they are believed to effectively reduce tension. In Japan they sell for around ¥20,000 and have enjoyed a boom among golfers who believe that it helps with putting. Even after the burst of the bubble and consequent plunge in sales of golf clubs, these bracelets, sold in the golf equipment section, have continued to sell well. Some purchasers claim that the bracelets have even lowered their blood pressure, but stores are careful to refer to them merely as fashion accessories.
How do Japanese make black BREAD?
Researchers in Aomori Prefecture have found that the ink of squid has certain anti-cancer properties, and this scholarship has found its way to an unlikely group of beneficiaries: bakers in search of a new product. As a result, ink-black French bread has appeared at the forefront of the squid-ink cuisine boom of 1993. Black butter anyone?
Why do BRIDES wear a white head dressing?
This part of the traditional wedding attire is called tsuno-kakushi, or "horn hider." Japanese have traditionally believed that a woman might grow mad from jealousy, sprout horns, and turn into a demon; this head dressing was originally a talisman to prevent such a thing from occurring.
Why do BRIDES change clothing during the wedding reception?
I ro-naoshi, literally "color changing," when the bride is escorted out of the hall to change clothes and then reenters, occurs at least once, and often several times during the wedding reception.
The origins of the custom date from the Nara period, when the new bride wore white for the first three days after marriage, then on the fourth day changed into clothing dyed in the color of her husband's household. At the beginning of the modern era the bride wore attire with the crest of her own family to the ceremony and there changed into clothing with the crest of her husband's family. Today's multiple changes, in which even the groom may change clothes, is little more than a pageant with little to do with tradition.
Why is the BUDDHA depicted the way he is?
The Buddha is depicted in so many scrolls and statues in Japan that one tends to forget that for almost five centuries after his death no one—even in his homeland—sculpted or painted likenesses of him. It was only in the first century A.D. that images of the founder of Buddhism came to be produced. These depictions, which would set the tone for virtually all images of the Buddha thereafter, reflected the Indian view of the characteristics of superior human beings. An "excellent" being was held to have large feet, a tiny curl of white hair in the center of the forehead, and specially curled hair.
Where is the biggest statue of the BUDDHA in Japan?
Completed in 752, the 15-meter-tall Daibutsu (literally, "big Buddha") at Todaiji Temple in Nara could hold seventeen smallish people in its left hand. It is enclosed in what is believed to be the largest wooden edifice in existence. The construction of Todaiji, its outer buildings, and the statues it houses are said to have required the labor of over 2 million workers.
Why do Japanese pour sweet tea on statues of the BUDDHA?
On April 8, the birthday of the Buddha, worshippers sprinkle a figure of the infant Buddha with sweet tea, or ama-cha, as a rite of bathing the Buddha called kanbutsue. The tea is symbolic of the scented water which nine dragons are said to have poured over the infant when he was born.
Are Japanese BUDDHISTS or Shintoists?
According to the "Religion Yearbook" issued by the Agency for Cultural Affairs, most Japanese are a little of both. The data supplied by various religious organizations indicates that the number of members in Shinto-related groups is close to 120 million, and that of Buddhist groups is close to 90 million. Add Christian and various other organizations, and the total becomes 220 million members—about twice the population of Japan. This apparent contradiction can be explained easily. Japanese tend to follow Shinto observances for celebratory and auspicious events and Buddhist observances for inauspicious events such as funerals and memorials. They share neither the monotheistic, nor the one-religion-per-customer proclivities of Westerners.
What is the meaning of the figurines of a CAT with its paw raised?
Often made of pottery or papier-māché, these manekineko, or "beckoning cats," are displayed in front of eating and drinking establishments. They appear to be using the japanese gesture for beckoning and are posed so as to invite customers into their masters' shops.
Traditionally, a maneki-neko's left paw was raised above its ear, and sometimes the right paw held a small gold coin. One possible source for the origin of this figure is a ninth-century Chinese work which says that when a cat washes its face even to the point of cleaning behind its ear, a guest is going to appear.
A more recent Japanese story tells of a fishmonger who became ill and unable to work and subsequently fell into dire straits. A stray cat whom he had befriended and to whom he had often given leftovers appeared on his doorstep bearing a gold coin in its mouth, thus momentarily solving his financial needs.
Even a brief look at the maneki-neko in restaurant and tavern windows will reveal that not all have their left paws raised. The modern understanding of this is that the right paw beckons "good fortune," and the left paw beckons "customers." From the point of view of the shop, of course, the end result is the same.
