Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Forty-seven Ronin

You may have already seen the latest trailers for Keanu Reeve's latest movie "47 Ronin", however what you may not know is that the movie has little resemblance to the legendary tale of the 47 Ronin. While the new movie must embellish the story to make it entertaining for the cinema going audience, it's a shame that at the same time, it loses any essence of the original story, with the only similarity being that there are 47 Ronin in both stories.

In the original tale, a group of 47 Ronin are left leaderless when their feudal lord was compelled to commit "seppuku" (this is a ritual suicide) when he attacked a court official. The 47 Ronin avenged their former leader by killing the court official after almost two years of planning. However, as these Ronin had now committed the crime of murder, they too, were compelled to commit "seppuku".

This tale obviously shows a lot of elements to the legendary Ronin, such as loyalty, persistence, honour, and of course, sacrifice. All of these I doubt will be conveyed in the upcoming Hollywood adaption, especially with Keanue Reeves' wooden acting.

If you would like to learn more about the story, please search for Chushingura which is the collective name given to the various media based on the historical incident.

Asano (the feudal lord of the Ronin) draws his sword on the court official, Kira.

Bradcat's Japanese Word of the Week... Sumimasen

Bradcat's Japanese phrase/word of the week is: "Sumimasen" (すみません) "Suu-mee-ma-sen" which means "Sorry" or in other contexts "Excuse me"

So if you were a part of a Japanese zombie apocalypse and you have to shoot your best friend in the face because they've become a part of the infected hordes, you could say...

"Honto ni sumimasen" which means "I'm REALLY sorry"

Bradcat's J-Music Focus... SCANDAL - Kimi to Mirai to Kanzen Douki

I've been watching the live stream of SCANDAL's première new song from Osaka. Unfortunately the weather hasn't been too kind to the crowd and the girls, as (ironically) during their second song "Taiyou Scandalous" ( 太陽スキャンダラス ) it began raining heavily, causing the girls to stop playing.

While the girls of SCANDAL were more than willing to carry on, with Haru-chan pointing out "At least it's not as wet as the Shoujo S music video" (A video in which the girls play their single from the anime Bleach in massive downpour) the event staff had to step in, and deem the stage unsafe for performing on. Luckily the rain stopped briefly enough for the girls to play their NEW track "Kimi to Mirai to Kanzen Douki", which was the reason for the event in the first place.

Regardless of the countless technical difficulties because of the rain, SCANDAL were able to put on a great show and sent the crowd home happy, where as most artists would've called the event off.

The event is a collaboration with ROBI, a robot designed by Tomotaka Takahashi, which you can see in the video here:

You will also be able to watch a replay of the live show here:

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UPDATE

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It seems the  full live show video stream has been removed temporarily, perhaps to cut out the technical difficulties. However you can check out the new track here thanks to one YouTube uploader:

Bradcat's Anime Focus... Gargantia on the Verdurous Planet

In the distant future, mankind has taken to the stars and formed the Galactic Alliance of Humankind (人類銀河同盟 Jinrui Ginga Dōmei). The Alliance is engaged in a perpetual war with a tentacled alien species known as the Hideauze (ヒディアーズ Hidiāzu). 16-year-old Ensign Ledo is a soldier in the Galactic Alliance, piloting a Machine Caliber (マシンキャリバー Mashin Kyaribā), an AI-automated, humanoid-shaped battle suit, which he refers to as 'Chamber'. After a failed attempt by the Alliance forces to destroy an enemy super-weapon, Ledo is knocked into a wormhole and loses consciousness. When he awakens, he learns from Chamber that he has been in cryo-stasis for 6 months while his wounds were healing. Ledo learns that he and Chamber have been 'found' by a rag-tag band of 'primitive' human scavengers. Ledo quickly discovers that he is on board a massive fleet of ships on an ocean-covered planet. Chamber tells him that local star charts reveal the planet is Earth, the birthplace of humanity, a place that members of the Alliance were only familiar with from stories and believed was a myth. - Source

I am currently on episode 6 of 13, and loving this anime. I'm a fan of the mech genre anyway, so it was to be expected that I'd enjoy this, however I'm more engaged in the relationship between Ledo and his mech "Chamber" and their integration into the "primitive" society. The writers of the show have put a lot of thought into how people would react to a futuristic mech and it's alien pilot, including language barriers, and social ceremonies. So watching the awkward interactions is highly amusing. I won't spoil any of the plot for you, but I highly recommend you check this show out for yourself. It's only 13 episodes in comparison to most anime which normally spans 25 episodes or so.

Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Akasaka’s Android Maid Cafe

Japan is well known for it's bizarre features. One of these you may be aware of is the "maid cafe", a cafe you can go to be served food and drink by Japanese maids in outfits, and also play games with.

One maid cafe in Akasaka, Tokyo, has taken a new twist on this type of establishment. While the concept is still the same, this maid cafe is ran by emotionless robot maids from the year 20-something, who you have to spend time with, to teach them the ways of human emotion.

"By becoming regular patrons, customers can “load” their Androidols with extra “options”, such as singing karaoke on the in-café stage. The girls are also “programmed” with a personality type (cheeky little sister, otaku, etc.) so you can pick the right one for you." - Japan Today

Androidol Caffe Website
Androidol Caffe on Facebook

Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Train Delays

Here's a heart warming story for you. On Monday at a train station in Japan’s Saitama Prefecture, a woman in her 30's slipped on and became pinned between the train and the platform. 

Fellow commuters then disembarked and pushed the 32 train carriage away from the platform with all their might, allowing the staff to free the trapped woman. What's even more remarkable, is even with all this commotion, the train was only 8 minutes late.

Source 

Bradcat's Japanese Word of the Week... Sekai

Bradcat's Japanese phrase/word of the week is: "Sekai" (世界) "Sek-ay-ee" which means "World"

So if you were a part of a Japanese zombie apocalypse and someone asked you "How many people are infected?!"

You could reply with "Sekai zentai!" Which means "The entire world!"

Bradcat's Personal Focus... Blog Beginnings

Last week I was able to be a part of the Katie Adler internet radio show, which broadcasts from Japan. On the show was Matthew Rowe who is an English teacher and writer from England, now living in Japan. Matthew is behind the blog Sakura Panda Tea Time and his own website Matt Can Not Write, so I took the opportunity to pick his brains and ask for advice getting my own blog off the ground.

It was suggested that I set up a WordPress or Blogger page, and just take it from there. I have recently had some success on Facebook with my blog, but that was merely aimed at my close family and friends which can be found here; Bradcat's Baka Blog on Facebook

I have taken their advice and set up this Blogger page, and transferred the majority of my posts from Facebook, which is why they all have the same posting date. (⌒_⌒;)

You can listen to the radio show by following the link below, and hear Matt talking about his writing work, his career in teaching, his experiences during the Tohoku earthquake and the following tsunami in 2011, amongst other things

English With Katie  ＼(ﾟｰﾟ＼)

Bradcat's J-Music Focus... Zone

This beautiful song was written by "Zone" and is the accompanying track to the anime Ano Hana (あの花). Released in 2001, it's a song about growing up, but remembering the special times you shared with your friends many years later. The group split in 2005, however this video was made in 2011, to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the hit single.

Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Ice Cream Baka!

Blunder! This 21-year-old, who is the son of a Lawson franchise convenience store owner, has just had his store closed down. The boy had a friend take a photo of him lying in the store’s ice-cream freezer on June 17 and then uploaded it onto Facebook.

Sure enough, the photo went viral and spread all over Japan causing some people to boycott Lawson stores. Lawson canceled its contract with the franchisee and closed the store on Monday.

Lawson said the photo was taken while the employee was off-duty, but added that mishandling of foodstuffs is strictly forbidden by company policy.

Bradcat's Personal Focus... Danny Choo

I had an email the other day from a big inspiration of mine, Danny Choo. Danny grew up in London in the early 90's and was a huge fan of Japanese culture, you can read about his story in the link here: 
"How discovering Japan changed my life"

He now runs Culture Japan and is the creator of Mirai Suenaga, who features in endorsements across the East, including aeroplane companies, car manufacturers, TV shows, and not to mention countless Japanese convention events.

I dropped him an email to let him know how inspirational his story was, and how I'm following a similar path, by applying to the JET Program...

Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Power Jacket MK3

Introducing Japan's Sagawa Electronics Power Jacket MK3 presented by Scarface Santaro. A performance enhancing mech suit, which will help your daily life in all aspects, from light jogging, to making an egg rice breakfast. Sagawa Electronics will be making five of these suits for worldwide sale for £83,000.

Don't worry, the only "serious" part of this video is the kissing scene...

Bradcat's Japanese Culture Focus... Hadoukening

Some of you may have already seen the "Japanese meme" of Hadoukening. If not, it's where a person gives the illusion of receiving a "Hadouken" (a fighting move from the popular Street Fighter games) by jumping backwards. In this photo, the girl has taken a slightly different twist as she receives a bullet from a movie poster! You can see more at this website: http://hadoukening.net/

Bradcat's J-Music Focus... Kyary Pamyu Pamyu

This is 20 year old Kyary Pamyu Pamyu with "Fashion Monster". Kyary is Japan's answer to Lady Gaga, Nicki Minaj, and Katy Perry with her bubblegum J-Pop. This song won "Best Pop Video" and "Best Karaoke! Song" at Japan's MTV Video Music Awards.

Which isn't hard to believe, as by the second chorus I found myself singing along!

Learn more about her here: Kyary Pamyu Pamyu on Wikipedia

Bradcat's Japanese Word of the Week... Damare

Bradcat's Japanese phrase/word of the week is: 


"Damare!" (黙れ!) (Dah-Mah-Rey) 
You can shout this at anyone who is being too loud, or annoying as it means "SHUT UP!"


For example, if you're a part of a Japanese group of zombie apocalypse survivors, and two people are having an argument over the last can of beans, while the zombies approach your safe-house? You can shout "DAMARE!"

Bradcat's Personal Focus... Wagamama Competition

In March 2013 I entered a competition ran by Japanese (western) restaurant chain Wagamama. The competition was simple; upload a photo of your Wagamama meal, and the photo with the most "likes" by March 31st would win an all expenses paid trip to Japan.

For the majority of the competition I was in first place by over 500 "likes". I had support from not just my friends and family on Facebook and Twitter, but also minor UK celebrities; including Big Brother contestants, wrestlers, and musicians. I had staggering support from other bloggers including a "shout-out" from Victor aka Gimmeaflakeman on YouTube who has over 65,000 followers.

Sadly the competition was spoilt by exploiting a glitch, allowing multiple likes from the same user (eventually reaching 27,000 likes in less than 48 hours). I ended up placing 3rd with over 3,500 likes from genuine friends, family, and strangers who had read my event page for the competition.

This image shows the staggering amount of support from various online sources including Tumblr, Facebook and Twitter. It was heartwarming to see people understand how badly I wanted the trip, and support me for an entire month. (Click the photo to enlarge)