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During my time studying Japanese and teaching in Japan, I've met many different types of Japanese people: hardworking salarymen and not-so-hardworking ones, serious students and not-so-serious ones, young people who love the literary works of Osamu Dazai (author of the powerful novel "No Longer Human") and others who read nothing but manga. I've always enjoyed observing the various types of people I've been able to meet during my time here, and teaching ESL was one of the best jobs I could have asked for -- it allowed me to come into contact with hundreds of people, from small
children to young individuals trying to determine what path they want to take in life to older Japanese who could tell me about their past experiences.
One archetype of Japanese female I've been fascinated with over the years are the "burikko" (boo-RI-ko), girls who are extremely concerned with appearing "cute" and girlish in front of others. Coming from the words "buru" (to pretend) and "ko" (child), the term refers to girls who act coy and childish as a way of getting attention. The hallmark of a burikko is referring to herself in the third person instead using the word "I" (usually "atashi" for females). Girl children do this when speaking, and it's a staple of cute anime characters too, such as the character Michiru in the Air TV anime, who introduces herself by saying "Michiru wa, Michiru to iu" (lit. "Michiru is called Michiru"). This kind of cute behavior is also quite common on TV, especially in the adorable swimsuit idols like Yuko Ogura, who has cultivated the art of appearing cute as a way of turning her fans into melted butter. It's okay, up to a point, but when you see a young woman in her early 20s acting like a 13 year old girl, it can also be annoying.
In Japan, there's a fun custom called "753" which is pronounced shichi, go, san in Japanese. It's basically an excuse for parents to get extremely beautiful photographs of their sons (at age 5) and their daughters (at ages 3 and 7) taken. J-List's own Yasu has a daughter who is three now, and they got some really cute pictures taken of her, complete with pink kimono with little bunnies sewn into it (picture on the J-List main page). Kawaii!
J-List loves to bring you unique products from Japan, items that let you bring a little piece of the country into your home. In Japan, they sell high-quality acrylic blankets, so soft to the touch you find yourself stroking them like a
cat. My mother is a big fan of these soft Japanese blankets, and regularly has me bring her back some when I go home to visit. This year we're happy to announce that we've got large-size Hello Kitty soft blankets in stock, a real
treat for fans of Sanrio's flagship character. The blankets are full-sized, measuring 140x200cm (55x79 inches), suitable for any use, and boy, are they warm.
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