Tag Archives: japanese

My obsession with the Maneki Neko, the Japanese Good Luck Cat

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Rufus, our black and white mutt cat, when he was younger

a triple Maneki Neko, for triple the good fortune On our recent trip to LA, and a previous trip to San Francisco, I’ve been obsessed with buying various versions of the Maneki Neko, the iconic Japanese cat statues with upraised paw, holding on to a gold coin with the other paw.

“Maneki Neko” translates literally to “welcoming cat,” and its paw beckons to people in the Asian style, palm out and fingers moving down to say “yo! come here!”

I grew up seeing these cat statuettes everywhere in Japan, so they’re a part of my childhood memories. I always liked seeing them in Japaneses businesses here in the U.S. But in recent years, the Maneki Neko, which is supposed to bring good fortune, wealth (if the right paw’s raised) or more customers (if the left paw’s raised), has become a familiar site at all sorts of Asian businesses from Korean restaurants to Asian gift stores and souvenir shops. There are a dizzying array of neko styles, shaoes and sizes.

I keep buying tiny porcelain ones, but this time in LA, I had to have a silly plastic one that’s solar-powered with three cats — one large one and two kittens — whose heads bob back and forth. Some solar powered ones wave their paws, but something about the bobbing heads makes me smile, so I have it on my cube wall at the office.


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It’s offical: H1N1 is a National Emergency, so should we wear face masks like the Japanese?

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In Japan, people wear face masks as matter of courtesy when theyWhen President Obama officially declared the 2009 H1N1 outbreak a national emergency over the weekend, I thought, “good. Now it’ll force Americans to wear masks when they’re sick, or if they don’t want to get sick, like in Japan.

The Japanese (and other people throughout Asia) have always worn face masks to prevent the spread of illness. It’s partly out of personal interest — so they won’t have to breath in allergens, pollutants or other peoples’ yucky germs. But it’s also out of plain politeness and consideration — to keep your own damn germs to yourself.

H1N1, or as lots of people still call it, Swine Flu, is the first time in my memory in the U.S. that everyone is being reminded of simple ways to stay healthy with hygiene (wash your hands often) and even told how to sneeze or cough (into your elbow). At my office building, hand sanitizer dispensers have magically appeared everywhere from the lobby to the bathrooms. And, there are signs and poster everywhere, including on the door to the bathroom and on the paper towel dispenser in the bathroom, with diagrams showing people how to sneeze into their elbows, and to wash their hands.

I always thought it was gross when someone sneezed or coughed into their hands, which was what our parents taught us when we were told to “cover your mouth,” but then extended their hand in greeting. Continue reading →

Denver gets a backstage look at kabuki, traditional Japanese theater

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Kabuki is one of the most dynamic and interesting theatrical forms in Japan.Like any school kid, I loved going on field trips when I was young, But, since we lived in Japan until 3rd grade, my earliest memories of field trips weren’t the typical ones that American kids remember. I remember looking out of a school bus and seeing steaming lumps of sticky rice being pounded into mochi for New Year’s celebrations, for example (I think we were on the way to a shrine where we learned about Oshogatsu, or Japanese New Year, traditions).

And, I have a distinct memory of going from Green Park Elementary School, on a U.S. Army base in Tokyo (it’s no longer there), to a grand old theater in the heart of Tokyo to see a form of traditional Japanese theater, kabuki.

A lot of Americans probably know the word “kabuki” because it’s been used for restaurants and hotels and other products. Like “Sukiyaki,” “Mikado” and other words, they’ve become shorthand for “something Japanese.” But many Americans who’ve heard the word probably don’t know that kabuki is a cultural treasure in Japan, an artform dating back to the early 1600s that’s a bit like a mix of stylized Chinese opera and melodramatic Western-style opera.

The Japanese government is hoping to change that, and make more Americans aware of the traditions of kabuki. They’re sponsoring a U.S. tour of a lecture/performance called “Backstage to Hanamichi,” starring two of Japan’s kabuki masters, Kyozo Nakamura and Matanosuke Nakamura (no relation) from the world-renowned Shochiku Company. Denver gets its introduction to kabuki this Saturday, Oct. 24, at the June Swaner Gates Concert Hall at Denver University, 2344 East Iliff Ave. (303-871-7720 for the box office). The performance costs $25.

I have vivid memories from my childhood field trip: Continue reading →

Coke with green tea? In Japan? Say it ain’t so!

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Coca Cola just introduced Coke with Green Tea in Japan.Consumer culture in Japan is where you’ll see the collision of Asian and American tastes. More than in the U.S., Japan is where East mashes West. You can get shrimp Filet-o-Fish sandwiches at McDonald’s, or pizza with seaweed or squid, and spaghetti with salty plum sauce.

So I supposes I shouldn’t be dismayed at the new Coca-Cola flavor, Green Tea Coke. After all, here in the states there seems to be a growiing market for almost anything with green tea added, from soap and shampoos to Lipton Ice Tea and Starbucks’ Matcha Latte.

But Coke with green tea?

I’m not much of a Coke fan (Pepsi’s the choice if I have a cola at all), so I don’t care that much about the purity of the soft drink. But it seems heresy to put green tea into the syrupy sweetness. Can you even taste the subtle bitterness?

This fits right in with conversations I’ve had recently with (non-Asian) co-workers about Lipton’s green tea flavored ice tea. I pointed out that Asians don’t sweeten their tea. Continue reading →

Turning Japanese (again): A question of identity

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The Asakawa family circa 1960 in Hokkaido, Japan: (from left) George, Gary, Gil and Junko (stranger in front).

I was born in Japan, so I can say this with a straight face: I’m becoming a born-again Japanese, and it’s kinda fun.

For years now, Erin and I have thought of ourselves as Asian American first, and Japanese American second. Mostly, it’s because we’re interested in and feel a kinship with other Asian Americans, whether their heritage is Chinese, Vietnamese, Korean, Thai, Hmong, Indian, Filipino, whatever. We certainly have immersed ourselves in the local Asian American Pacific Islander community, through being involved in events such as the Colorado Dragon Boat Festival, the AAPI Heritage Month Community celebration, the (now defunct) Aurora Asian Film Festival, Miss Asian American Colorado Leadership Program, Asian American Journalists Association and others. Erin spent six months last year serving as editor of the feisty little local pan-Asian magazine, Asian Avenue.

It’s wonderful to feel a part of a larger community within which we share lots of cultural values and appreciate the various cuisines. We’ve become friends with and learned about Asians across many borders, and generations from immigrant gens to very Americanized.

It’s also partly because the Japanese community in Denver is small, and insular, and tribal, and … well, small. It’s not like LA or San Francisco or Seattle or New York, where there are lots and lots of JAs to hang with, as well as tons more AAPIs in general. We just felt too constricted sometimes by the local community.

But lately, I’ve found myself being among Japanese, and enjoying it. Continue reading →