2nd button

A japanese friend of mine mentioned to me that one their Graduation Day, the guy will give their 2nd button from their school uniform to the person they like. They use this to confess their feelings to that person.

Why the 2nd button?

Because it is closest to the heart. They say the 2nd button contains memories and feelings he kept throughout these years. Receiving a 2nd button means he wants you to remember him and understand his feelings. The girl can also ask for the 2nd button from the guy that she likes. 

I find this really cute! I can imagine how nerve racking it is on the day. I sometimes wish we did that over here in England. It would be interesting to see how many buttons I'd get, if any. I do find it really adorable! 

Why is Japan so cute?! 

My attempt to draw someone in Anime style

At the Japanese festival someone was drawing people in Anime/Manga style so I thought I'd give it a try myself. I attempted to draw my friend Jack and this is the outcome of my drawing. 

I'll be honest and say this doesn't really look like my friend at all. However it does look like an Anime character though which I guess is good enough for now. 

I might give it another go and draw other people. 

Kawaii cupcake!

I found him in one of those grabbing machines in the arcades! Thought he looked really cute and I just instantly knew I wanted him :) This is actually meant to be a cupcake. 

I couldn't help but look at this cupcake and think about how it is related to the Kawaii culture in Japan. 

Kawaii means cute in japanese so I guess you can guess what type of culture that is.

What makes it cute? 

The first thing I recognise when I look at this cupcake is the face. The face gives it a personality, not just because it has a face but also the expression of the face it shows. Its like a cupcake has come to life! The strawberry and the cookie added on top of the cupcake are very girlie and childish taste. I think this makes it a bit mischievous and fun along with the expression kind of winking at the customer tempting them to 'eat me', we all know too much cupcakes are bad for you, but you can't help your temptations when you see something pleasing to the eyes. Lastly, its a cupcake. Whats not to love about cupcakes? Kids especially love cupcakes as much as adults.  

Asian Disney?

Have you heard of Studio Ghibli before? They are a series of anime films by Hayao Miyasaki. Studio Ghibli was formed in 1985, although their first film they released was "Nausicaa of the valley of the wind"in 1984 before Studio Ghibli was founded it is still classed as one of the Studio Ghibli films. 

Studio Ghibli kind of reminds me of Disney a bit but in Asia, I'd say Studio Ghibli is their type of Disney although Disney itself is also big in Asia too. 

I was very young when I first watched these films. The first film I watched was "Grave of the Fireflies" I remember enjoying watching it but I was too young to understand any of it. I became more of a fan when Spirited away came out, absolutely loved it. Since then, I have became a massive fan of theirs. 

Its interesting how Studio Ghibli creates films that seems to be aimed at children because of their style of art, but then the story is a bit complicated for a child to understand. Japanese producers likes to create films with a deep meaning within their storyline. Each of these films has a deep meaning in them which I think shows an important lesson in life that people don't realise. 

This is my collection of the DVD's so far. I've not got many but I plan to collect them all one day hopefully. 

What is it that I like so much about Studio Ghibli?

• I love their art work 
• Their secret meanings in the story. You have to look and think deep to understand what they're trying to show to you. 
• The storyline. Unlike Disney where the princess finds their prince, Studio Ghibli films shows determination and courage, saving the planet, creating peace rather than a fairytale. 
• I am a massive fan of their music. My favourite music composer Joe Hisaishi composes music for Studio Ghibli films 
• Each film has its unique story 
• They use a lot of female heroins 
• I'm a big Japan fan so the language is also a plus for me 

"Hunger makes humans healthier"

I found a blog from a Japanese woman who talked about a book she found in Japan that caught her attention. It really interested me too. The book was along the lines of "Hunger makes humans healthier" in Japanese.

I thought it was very different to the english health view because we always say we must eat 3 meals a day to stay healthy and live longer. However this Doctor in Japan, Dr Nagumo aged 59 only has 1 meal a day and feels more energetic and looks 20 years younger. I couldn't believe how young he looked for his age!

I couldn't find an image of him other than from that post I saw. 

http://tokyokawaiietc.com/

I think this kind of explains why my brother who is 10 years older than me looks around my age! On most days, he has 1 or 2 meals because of his weird sleeping patterns. I always thought it was strange how young my brother looked but I guess this explains why. 

I'm not sure if I'd ever be able to live with 1 meal a day. I love food too much! But if it really does make you look a lot younger .. maybe its worth it? 

"A year in Japan"

I was told about this artist called Kate T Williamson who made a book of 30 postcards of Japan. I enjoyed looking through her work showing her experience and differences between our culture and the Japanese cultures. Her images tells us a lot about their tradition sharing her experience from the everyday life in Japan. She illustrates them really well.

http://www.katetwilliamson.com/japan.htm

Setsubun

I remember when I was working at Yama sushi on the 3rd February a Japanese customer came in and asked for a Futomaki without it being cut into pieces. I thought it was quite strange because its hard enough to eat a sushi in little pieces.

A Futomaki is a really big sushi roll that has cucumber, inari (tofu skin), radish, avocado etc.

Afterwards she explained to me that every year on the 3rd of February japanese people would order a what they call a Eho-maki in Japan similar to the Futomaki. With this you're meant to eat the whole sushi roll facing a specific direction. She explained that each year you face a different direction. It is said that if you do this without talking to anyone until you finish eating your sushi roll, they believe it will bring you good luck for the whole year.

I find stuff like this very interesting and I too was tempted to give it a try. I'll remember to do it next year.