,FujiSantaro:Japan'sbelovedsalarymancelebrates30year JAPANESE POP CULTURE & LANGUAGE LEARNING US $5.50 I CAN $7.75 MANGAJINNo. 65 Tarnagotchi Vitfual pgt Toilet technology trend-seHers MiyabeMiyuki' s prizewinningmystery 6 S> BRANDNEWS =IE Hana-Hana Meiwaku Flower-Nose Annoyance Finally, spring has arrived. For some of us, there's a heavy price to pay for nature's orgy of pollen, but Kanro's Hana-Hana Meiwaku the "super-herb candy," offers relief from themisery of hay fever. The name Hana-Hana Meiwaku combines the kanjifor "flower" (hana- ;{t) and "nose" with the word meiwa/..ru (lli )>Jl; - "an-noyance/inconvenience"). :(t suggests aphrase meaning "Are flowers and your nose bothering you?" ("Hana-hana,meiwaku?") The word playarisesfrom the fact that Hana-Hana Meiwaku soundslikethephrase hanahadg meiwaku ( t!. .11; !R':-"a great bother/an incrediblenuisance"). Hanahadameans "exceedingly/ex-tremely/immensely," so hanahada meiwaku indicates a pretty high level of annoyance. Another dimension to thispunis that if youtry tosay hanahada meiwaku wi th a stuffy nose, dabe-comes anasal sounding na, and you come out with thename of Kanro's herbaJcandy.

. ...,. :J ;. tJ ..... , ., e 771Jt Hana-HanaMeiwaku works itsmagicwith a combination of natura] ingredients. These include aheavy dose of mentholand seven so-called super-herbs: tencha extract (tencha no ekisu,tencha being a Chi nese herb tea madefrom a plant in the rose fam-il y), shiso extract (shiso is an herb commonly usedin Japanese cooking), bitter orange (dai dai), jujube (natsume), striped bamboo grass (kuma-zasa),hawthorn (sanzashi), and licorice (kanzlf). Thanks to Moteki-san and the folks at Sekai Shuppan for this one. Send us your examples of creative product names or slogans (with some kind of documentation and ade-cent product picture). If we publish your example, we'll send you aMangajin T-shirt.In case of duplicate entries, earliest postmark gets the shirt. BRAND NEWS,P.O.Box 77188, Atlanta. GA 30357-1188 7J.:r.-171 ';t,A T 'l"" :;L.. iTofill00L. -cG i:> 1ltitt.: t!t.: t-g. l;t,F.P C7) v'n 1: T :/"" ':1 .131JL.;! T o';iBRAND NEWS, P.O. Box 77188, Atlanta, GA30357-1188,U.S.A. Mangajin9 12Mangajin Tamagotchi: Afadishatched Thislovablenuisance ispeepingits way into t he hearts of (mostly)youngpeople across Japan. Toy makers hopeit-and otherkey-chaintoys-willfindItswayIntoyour life,too. by RichardSadowsky Imaginesmuggl ing apetintoschool or bringing ababytowork.Several times duringthe dayitaudibly demandsattention and couldbein danger if neglected fortoolong.In fact,livingwithitisanendless cycle of altruistictending- burp,feed,and change;burp, feed,and change. Measureitsweight,giveitmedicine whenit's sick,marvel at itstransfor-mations.So whatif youcan't sleepat night worryingoveritshealth? But thisisanelectronic toy. The crying (or peeping in thiscase)is persistent,butno milk formulais needed and the mess doesn't require nappies-just the press of afew buttons.It's called Tamagotchi(t.:.:::..-=>"I:> ), and it's apudgy little chick that hatches fromavirtualegg.It exists"inside" aflat,egg-shaped device withatiny LCDscreen. The birdgrows daybyday,each day becoming a"year"older.Withgood care,afirst-timecaretaker cankeep thepet"alive" to theage of15or so. Once apersonaccepts themission tocarefor aTamagotchi,it becomesa labor of love:the longer thechick survives,the more bleary-eyed one gets.To stay alive,itsvariousneeds must betendedtoin atimely fashion. Toomany accumulatedvirtualpoops, for example,and it diesof toxicity. Neglected,thebirdbecomes demand-ing and develops an attitude, but with proper feedingandfirmdiscipline it becomes well-behaved. How does Tamagotchi actually work? Simple screenanimation shows thechick inits differentphases of life and emotionalstates-when it's sulky, sleeping,or happy and fanningits feathers.It peepswhenit wantssome-thing.A,B, and Cbuttonsserve such basicfunctions as"mode," "cancel," and"action."To findout whyitis peeping,one hastopressthebuttons andcheckvarious gauges representing different vital functions. If thefood gaugehaswaned andthe chickis hungry,pressing the "feed"button replenishesthechick andisreflected in thegauge.If it pestersyouforno apparent reason,thereistheoption of givingit avirtualspank or two. One of thethingstheTamagotchi likes to do isgetyoutoplayagame inwhichthree outoffivevictories determine the winner.On the count of three,onehastoguessthesideto whichitisgoingto run.Whenthe Tamagotchi isyoung,thegameiseasy towin,but thechickgetssmarter with ageandusesfeintsandtrickymaneu-vers.(This isaversionof the Japanese children's game "Atchi Muite Hoi"or "Look Over ... There.") When the chick wins,it jumpsup and downwith joy. Sadly,allgoodthingsmust come toanend, and eventuallythe little tykes die.The good newsis that unlikeareal pet,the Tamagotchi can beresurrectedby pressing the reset buttononitsback. Tamagotchi was invented by a youngwoman named MaitaAki of BandaiCo.and was introduced to the Japanesemarket last autumn, selling forI ,980 (around $16) each. Itsname is acutesy combina-tionofthewordstamago"egg") andthe Englishword " watch."( Becausenearlyallconsonantsoundsinthe Japanesesyllabaryrequire avowelattachment,the "tcb"of "watch"becomes tchi in Japanese. Such alternative romaji ren-derings as"Tamagocchi"and"Tamagotcb"havealsobeen observed.) Thetoys aremadeinavarietyof colorsand pat-ternsand areattached to akey chain sothat they maybe car-riedaroundandtendedthroughout the day. So whowould want totake care of such a demanding virtual pet?Atleast750,000peopleinJapan,that'swho-and possiblymillionsmoreworldwide. Bandai can' tkeepup with the current demand.Just38daysafter the product's Novem-ber 23 launch, all 350,000 Tamagotchis had sold out. The stores were quicklyrestocked,but bymid-February supplies across thecountrydriedup andablackmarket developed.Onthe InternetTamagotchiswerebeing sold for 10,000-50,000-that' sfiveto 25timesthelistprice.Amint-condi-fiscatinghis egg. How a yakuza gangster ordered 50 unitsfrom aretailer andbeathimupwhenthey didn' tcomein.How middle-aged men buy them to give to high-school girls as favors in exchangefortheir company-the so-called "enjokosai." Or howafriendisnumber 220 onthewai tinglisttobuya Tamagotchi at alocal department store for her fifth-grade boy. TheInternetlendsitself wellto propagating Tamagotchi mania.Aswith most home pagesthat border on the obsessive-compulsive, the wealth of trivia available on Tamagotcbi makes onemarvel at thetimesome people have on their hands. Little informationisyetavailableinEnglish,but inJapaneseit' s easytogetlostintheflood. Via theInternet, onecanfindout which stores are expect-ingnewshipments,findafoster parent,read memoirs or an autopsyreport,purchase via auctionor trade,view the char-acterat everystageof development,download Tamagotchi iconsfor Windows, get info on web sites that are gi vi ngthem tion,ori ginalwhiteTamagotchi- acollector's item- goesfor 1 20,000. Schoolkidsand theyoung crowd in Japan are no strangerstos mallelectronicdevices .Hand-held key-chaingameswereahitproductof 1996,a resurgence madepossibleby therelicensingof the rotate-and-dropblock gameTetri s.On anytrainon agivendayinJapanthereare boundtobeafew childrenorteenssittinghunchedovertheirminia-ture computer games, thumbsplyingtiny buttons too smallfor someadult fingers.These games,sell ing at980-1 , 180($6-$10),runontwo" button" batteries that last for months and are saidto be selling atI 00,000unitsamonthinJapan. Diary of a TamagotchiParent TetrisJr.,fromHiroCompany,Ltd.,wasthe firstkey-chain gameto appear. The samecompany hasrecently licensed the1978 game SpaceInvad-ers,andBandaihaslicensedPacMantocreate Pac-Junior.Anotherbutton-batterytoykidsgeta kickoutofisas implemicrophone/playback device thatallowsafewsecondsof voi ce record-ingandendlessplayback. But none of these toyshasswept the nation quite likeTamagotchi.In Japan,not aday goes by with-outhearingsomenewsor rumorsregardingthis product.' TAMAGOTCH'BLAMED FORTWO-CARCRASH, announcedtheDailyYomiurionMarch8,1997: " Accordingtopolice ,a25-year-oldwoman rear-endeda car waiting at atrafficlight after being di stractedbythesound of heregg-shaped toy." SECONDHANDUNITSSELLING FOR 15TIMESNORMAL PRICE CAUSINGTROUBLE,readtheAsahi Shinbwt on February26,I 997.Thearticledetai Ishowsome hopefulbuyersaresendinginthei rmoneybut gettingnothinginreturn.TheMainichiShinbun, anothermajor dailynewspaper,hasevenset upa Tamagotchicornero nitsJapanese-language homepage. Thentherearetherumors:How ajunior high school boy slugged histeacher (a woman) for con-A largepart oftheTamagotchiboominvolves theWor1dWide Web, where fansbuy and selleggs, tradeinformationonproper petcare, or just show off their loved ones.Shown below is the daily diary kept by one owner forhis third pet- aGenjlrotchl-typeTamagotchi. Thisone, his third, lasted17 days(inthe worldof Tamagotchl,one day equals one year, so he indicates thepersage at thebeginning ofeach entrywiththekanji::tsai, whichmeans "years of age). Atthebeginning ofeach entry isthepet'sLCD appearance for that day. WJl.Bi!T._.., .. ._..... ....... ..r. .. . I U ill " CX&It """"' ' CIJS c. :>Ill ., .. ... -n 0111t4 &. I Iii.... ....,,. 4 / 4+a J ?A.t t H. -cc. Mf1 c.. t... "' ..O' Jil&.lt OOIIttl : a A. t :r. t.0111

t3:09JE"t: 12@1Sirl tt:4 / 4.U:F1f(,:S@l * ::; _,Here's the entry forthe finalday ofhissecondpet:11:00 KishO 13:09 Shlbl5 ("awoke at11AM, diedat 1:09PM");Gohan (rice/meals):12kal (12times);GiJmu (games): 0 kai;Toire (toilet):1kat,Shitsuke (discipline): 4/4;Okashl (snacks): 12 kai;Chusha(shots):0kai; Taf/U(weight): 99g; Yobidashi (calledout):6kai;Sono ta (other):Mats baikintchi no mama deshita ("Stillinfected").Inthe end the chick isreplacedbyaJapanese-styleghost withnofeetand apointedhat. Mangajin13 Lifeof the Tamagotchi The Tamagotchi's appearancechanges as it grows older.Here's a possible lifeline for apet of thetaragotchi variety. I 1 -Prenatal pet....... Marutchi-justhatched. ........... . . .... -.. -: ... :-ooMaturetaragotchi. .. .. ....... . ...Trouble!A germ, resembling the cartoon characterBaikinman("GermMan"), takesover.Thepetmayormaynot recover. . ........ : . . ... .. ..... Oyajitchi-the senior citizen. . .::.. :. .:..:. Death, indicated by a Japanese-style ghost (withapointed hat andno feet). away, play a simulated game, view one by live camera, learn the "laws" that govern Tamagotchi, or learn "cheat-ing"techniquesknownasura-waza. Ura-wazan literally,"back[doorjtricks") techniquesincludelearninghowtoputthe chickinto "hibernation," findhiddenscreens,putthechickona di et, keep it alive to 99 "years" of age, win at Atchi Muite Hoi, evenhow to takeitapart or decorateit.There are eveninstructionsonhowtokillthethi ngasquickly aspossible. Howhassuchafasci nationwi ththi svirtualpet developed,andisithealthy? Some speculatethatthe popularity of Tamagotchi among young Japanese women whohave yet to have children is due to their strong nur-turinginstinct:thevirtual chick fillsanemotionalneed bybecoming asurrogatechild. This does not, however, explai nthephenomenalinterestinthechickbyboth genders. Others consider thevirtual pet fadto be a result of notbeing allowed to have petsinthecrowded living conditi ons of Japan. Whatever the psychological significance, the romance withvirtualpetsisstillinitsinfancy.Inaddition to Bandai 's Tamagotchi,virtualpets of allsortsare being produced by variouscompanies-andnot onlyinJapan. Theseinclude: The Fish Club Aquariumby the Japanese electron-ics makerNEC Corp.,whichhas fish swimmingin fJ_nwHlingto allow japan's mysteries to elude her, newcomer Betty Reynolds puzzles over the odd entities and happenings around her-whether in a sushi shop or traditional inn,temple or toilet-and presents the fruits of her inquiries in brilliant watercolors with hand-lettered captions. The resulting sketchbook is ahighly useful and amusing primer for anyone contem-plating Japanese language study or travel to Japan. 48 pages, softcover Original watercolorsketches Handlettered text 0-8348-0386-0 S14.95 place on order. 41Monroe Turnpike Trumbull, CT 06611Tel: (800) 437-7840 Fax: (800) 557-5601www. weatherhill.com 14Mangajin asmallaquariumonone's compute rmonitor; Super Wan-c hanbyNa Softwareof California,adesk-topdogthatrequiresaWindowscompute r; Compute rPetz,from PFMagicin SanFrancisco,inter-activeani malsthat"live"oncomputerdesktopsand matureovertime,developingpersonaliti esbasedon attention,trai ning,andinteracti onwiththei rowners; " Fin-Fin," ahybrid dolphin-bird that evol ves and adapts to li ght, sounds, and nurturinginput, stillunder develop-mentbyFujitsu. CurrentlyTamagotchiisbeingportedtothepopular Ni ntendoGameBoyplatformandto CD-ROMawell,but there'satwi st.Partoftheallureof Tamagotehiisthechick's unexpect.ed callsforatte ntion.SinceGameBoy usesmorebatterypower andmustbe turnedoff,theTamagotchigamewill havetobe "saved" eac htime,andits mainfoc uswillbedi ffe re nt.Inthe GameBoy ve rsion,thechic k competes againstcomputer-gene ratedrivalsin three typesof contests:sports,beauty, and academicknowledge.Itsabi lityto winineachcategorywi lldependon howitisraised( inregardtothe frequency of playingone gameoveran-othe r ).Therewillbethreemo re feeding options (vegetables, cake, or icc c reaminadditiontorice andasnack) andtheabilityto" praise"aswellas "punish." Whether the cartridge (priced at 4,286) catchesonwithkidswi llbe closelymonitoredafteritsreleasein Japanthi ssummer. Bandaiishoping thesecondver-sionoftheTamagotchiseries("New Species Discovered") will be equally as popular.Rumorhasitthattherewi ll be a choice between alish and abeetle-likeinsectto rai se.And if we're lucky, aTamagotchigamewi llbeanopti on buillintothenextgene rationof cellu-larphonesandpocke tpagers. Onecani magineinthefuturea merger of thiskind of guidedevolution of avirtual character,known as a "soft-wareagent"with onlinegaming.Once aperson's agent canbeatallcomputer ri valsatagame,he' llwanttoupthe stakesandhaveitcompeteagainst agentscreatedbyotherpeople.Enter securetransactionsandlegalbetting andyouhave" VirtualGladiators," racing,or anygamethatcanworkin anelectroni cmi lieu.Wha tha ppens whenthelinebeginstoblurbetween interactivegamingandrealli fe?Mili-tary training? GeLLing paid to playgames online? Themoresophisticated online "agents" become. and themoreu i q u i t o u ~ the Internet grows, the morein-fi nitethescenarios.Agents forgami ng,foreducation, forbus iness.Todaythere already exist trainablevirtual agentstocarryoutreal -life tasksintheInternetworld, suchasseeki ngoutinfor-Hiro Company's Tetris Jr. was the pioneer electronic key-chain game. Mangajin15 mation and relaying it back.What if the artificial intel-ligencedevelopsanagendaof itsown?Whatif the virtualbabyweraisesuddenlyfallsinlovewith another of itskindand elopes? For the moment, the cute chicks are safely contained in plasticunitsthatrun on batteries.Bandaihasbeen rushingtoincreasetheoutputof Tamagotchiatits productionfacilities inChinaandhopestohave7.5 millionunits in circulation bythe end of June. Further-more, Bandai(soon to beSega-Bandai due to arecent mergerwithSega,amajorplayerintheelectronic gaming market) is settingupfactories inSingapore and Malaysiatoproduce Tamagotchifor overseas markets. BandaiAmerica aimstorelease itsvirtualpetsinthe United Statesbysummer. Howlong this particular fad willlast nobody knows, but onething isfor sure: The digitalpet ishere to stay. RichardSadowsky(richard@awaji-is.or.jp)isa freelancewriter and translatorlivingon AwajiIsland inruralJapan. Seeour websiteforvirtualpetlinlROBLEf"\ WlTI-1 THE BLOODOUT OF OODY.)Will BEf'05TED lN Tt\E CAf ETE.RII\. 3 Dilben reprinted/translated by permission of United Media, NewYork. [!]JI.QII:"'Starting todaY the COOXHlllY will begin random drug testing. *B'/J't;,,t>t>tt"'r'litt.M .0t-7 7 r :At- iHOitjilnlkllra,WGgashadeWQmain,.; toisluvnuki-uchidoroggu0lrtljblten&. tbil dayfromoar c:o..aas for employees1arJebnaaapriselhatest(obj.)wiD ..., random drug testing l;tr7 7.AJ- L (-""-1't"' t.. tff-1.. . "C'It ?fAt. L.A."''-"*'' .Ool...f) t...,::.? t...t.:r7 7L.. "Cii,i11:,7'7 -1'I!l.."C'IiUt .o.t .,....t t -t.OJirt;EJmt-J)7f li)jzo:> :J "71:*'C< o kinjirarete iru Is fromkinjirareru, the passive form of kinjiru ("forbid"). r=:----[!1llgg:"We have found no ethical problem withsucking the blood out of your body. lltl(J)#'IJ>t:JJfn.a- IPlv'lll.O.: c li -faJ:!(!(JIUJIIf)f.: c'IJf sltobm no kllradaktJrochiosui-torukoloniwarinri-teki mortdaigaNJikotoft1..,_ you .u'sbodiesfromblood {obj.)suck uploutthinainas foredlicalproblem {subj.)110( eltislutallioa (lllbj.)....... Besulls will be posted jo the cafeteria." uM*li'}]7:L. T') 71:ft7FT .0 0 /CnuokeklwWGnilceiji suru. 1e11raultsas forcafeteriainwill post t, : 1'lt..,...A./!"' 4.... have found no ethical problemli, (,R.-?f)>; f.:.::.c .Ooproblem wlfi -..A.. f!J, Jvf!.t,\ o 38Mangajin WHYHIWEYOU REfUSEDTO5UB-I"\LTTOOUR EMPLOYE tDRUG ) 11'5f\VIOLATIONOF MYPIUV/\CY1\ND 1\N IN5ULT TOMYINTEGRrTY. 1DE.M/\N D TOBEJUDGE.Dr ONLYONMYPERFOI\r'\!\NCt.)j I ! II Dilben reprinted/translated by pennission of United Media, New York . BUTYOUR PE RFORMI'\N(E. STlNK5. ) ... ......._.,.to '""'toM.....drug tlilllqT LYu "'"'? ..t::l:t- I!Lt.:n? JaMir= .... - tl.,. i:clfotliyo/U 6ltltaII dfltte? ....,....- (CIIIj.).......... (CIIIj.).......(nplla.)(colloq.) PERFORI"\1\NCE AND!\TIEND-1\NCE. . LA.!,._...!laoC!Jf,A........ - at.:t ... ., ,"t-1tt.o t l: t-ft't.O. ..1- t-it.o.: tt-Mi --------[3]Dilbert:"It's a violation of my privacy and an insult to my integrity. l;l:f/.,(J)'1'711\';/- (J)"t:,f/.,(J) "t:To Kensawawatashi nopuraibashiinoshingaide,watashi no seijitsu sani tai surubujokudesu. testas formyprivacyofviolationandmyintegrityregardinginsultis I demand to be judged only on my performance." fr$(J) -zoL- "( t.!lt't"li"'Jli < -r .(.,1J'; of? .\!1,? / "';,...,.. iHt L. L. {'.1::"' -J i:'*l:-ft:btt-00 "(.,.,.:..=. tt,t,\Ji''""' pat patti .f.'t"ft< t.:t.:"'t.:IJ, ?>)> l..'t''ft-J o honto is shortened from hont/5 ("truth"). 40Mangajin Spurningthetraditionalsquattoilet,trendyJapanese homeownersareturningtoalavishlavatoryInnovation. Riseof the''washlet'' byLauraKriska Whenshouldatoilet domore thanflush?The questionmay soundlike anbizarreZenkoan,butit's not.It isaquestion millions of consumers in Japan have answered inthepast few years.Atoilet shoulddomorethanflushwhenitisahigh-techtoilet,otherwiseknownasa"washlet."Thisinnovative type of toilethasbeenrevolutionizingbathroomsthroughout Japan,wheremorethan10millionwashletshavebeensold sincetheirpopularitysoaredinthe1980s. Perhapshearingthewordshigh-techandtoilettogether makesyoualittlenervous,butdon'tworry.Althoughthe featuresonwashletsmayvary,theyarealldesignedforop-timumcomfort.AwashletdoeseverythingastandardWest-em toilet does, onlyitdoesmore andit doesitbetter-albeit forahigher installationprice. The "wash"inwashletiabidet-like spraywhich cleans theuser on demand.Aremotecontrolactivatestheduration andpressureof thewatersprayfromaretractablenozzle. Another functionfoundinwashletsisan odor-eliminatingfan systemthatisautomaticallyactivatedbysittingontheseat. Some washlets come with a warm-air drying function and most alsohaveaseat-warmingdevicetomakethewashieran exceptionally comfortable place to sit.Less common butmore specializedfeaturesarealsoavailable,includingbloodpres-suremeasurementandurinalysis. Toilets of old: Lackinga seatthe traditional Japanese toilet requiresno unhygenic bodily contactand ist herefore sti llpopul ar inpublic restrooms likethisone. 42Mangajin Washlet technology was origi nally developed in the Uni ted StatesbyArnoldCohen,founderandCEOofAmerican Bidet, andhasbeenusedtoassistpeoplewithmedicalprob-lems.Generalapplication of thewash letidea tookplace after thetechnology reached Japaninthe1960s andmanufacturers there sawthe potentialfor creating a viable consumer product. Because of the ease and comfort of use, washlets first became ahitwiththeelderly.Soon,however,consumersof allages recognizedthebenefitsof thewashlet,andtodaymorethan 20percentof allJapanesehomeshaveone. Theluxuriouswashletsmaysee.mliketheantithesisof traditional Japanese squat toilets, which are stillthe most preva-lenttypeof toiletinpublicplaces.Squattoiletsrequirethe usertoliterallysquatoveraceramicbas ininthefloor. Althoughthesetoiletsmay beuncomfortabletouse,they are moresani tarythanothertypesof toiletsandforthisreason maintain their prominent position in Japanese bathroom culture. The reasonfor the success of wash letsin homes is that they provide usefulfunctionsthat consumersvalue:personalclean-linessandcomfort.Onewashletownersaysthatshefirst considered using one because it just made sense."lt's likewash-ingyour hands,"shesays.Another ownerclaimsthathehas become addictedto hiswashlet."I gotso usedto the comfon of mywashletthatI can' tusepublicrestroomsanymore." While few American manufacturers have pursued washlet technology,manyJapanesecompanies,includingPanasonic, Toto,andNAIS,continuetocompeteforthestill-growing market.Themostsuccessfulof thesecompanies,Toto,has capturedaround56percentofthewashletmarketinJapan andhasmade significant efforts inthe pasttwoyears to break intotheAmericanmarket. Toto'sfirstchallengewastodevelop awashlet thatmet thespecificneedsof theAmericanconsumer.Aftersome delicately acqui red market research, they discovered that many American consumers didnotlike the air drying featurewhich wasstandardonJapanesewashlets.Acomplexpanelof controlbuttons also had to be simplified. With the help of Turk-ish-bornproduct designer Ayse Birsel, Toto produced thezoe (written in chiclower-case letters), a streamlined washlet with smooth,sloping contours that has won design awards from the Chicago AthenaeumMuseumof ArchitectureandDesign and IndustrialDesignMagazine. Totofeltthatthe washletwoulddo wellinthe American market because of itsinnovativenature anditsfocuson good health and cleanliness. Toto also knew, however, that itswash-ing functionmightfallinto therealmof bathroomtaboo.To counter this obstacle, Totomarkets theAmerican wash let based largelyonitscomfort. Thezoe, like other washlets, isactually a toilet seatwhich can be attached to most existing Western-styletoilets. The cost isbetween$600-$800.USABidetandAmericanBideteach make a simple water-spray attachment which costs around $100 and canbe easily attached to an existing toilet seat. Panasonic offers afull-featured washJet called Inti-Mistwith water spray. seatwarmer,andairdrierfor$900-$ 1.000. SincetheirintroductionintheUnitedStates,washlets haveslowlybeenmakingtheirmark.Totoclaimsthatsales havesteadilyclimbedtoaroundI ,000unitspermonth.It's been reportedthatseverallarge hotelsthroughout the country have installed washJetsinresponse tocustomer requests.And theaward-winningzoemodelisevenondiplayatanart galleryinSoho. Cohen, however, predicts that American consumers will be slow to accept full-featured washlets because use of theproduct requiresbehaviormodification."Tushywashingisnoteasily discussedinAmerica," says Cohen. "We're asking consumers to changebehaviorthattheydon'tevenwanttotalkabout.'' Thekeyforwashletsucceamong Americanconsum-ersmaythereforebe education.Severalunsupectingusers havereportedconfusingfirstencounterswi thwa. hletsin Japan:Onemanusedthewaterspraytowashhi shands; anothercurioususer,unabletoreadthedirecti onsin r JifJ [ G The(omplele Bookstore forTeachersandStudents ofJapanese Om 1000 titlrs milable )almost rnry lllle publlshrd in hpanl Alull ringe of hilrdtoftnd & fuming millrriilfs-tassrnts, Yidro taprs,nmputrr soltwilre, maps, games Exdusivr ilgrnllor Bonjlnsha lure of Bonjinsha and JapanPublications fer afrrr catalog, plrm The Water Garden, Suite #160 East 2m West Olympit Boulevard Santil t.lonicil, (illilorniil IJ(W04.4QJ6 Telephone )310)4S31022 fmimile )310)4S38022 for wholmle orders, plem tillllfu: IPTRAOING,INL San frulisto, Cillifornia Telephone )41Sj 468017S fmimilt (415j46UIJJ8 Fretty potty: The washlet-a toiletseatthat washesand(i n Japan)air driesthe user -has ahandy remote controldevice. Picturedhere isToto's zoemodel wash let. Japanee.gotaweturprisewhenshestartedtestingthe consolebuttonsbeforesittingdown. Althoughtoilettechnologyhasn' tchangedmuchinthe past80 years,itmaynotbelong beforeWesterners agree, as many Japanese consumers have, that a toilet in the '90s should domorethan just tlush. lAuraKrisko 'sbook,AnAccidentalOfficeLady,willbe published thissummer byCharlesE.TuulePublishing. Sl'l'ourlorloild \\\\\\rn.rrrq.tjill.( orn 1970 !f.lirz:

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Tel:(818) 449-4441 Fax:(818) 4493280 350 s. Lake Ave . Suire 200 Pasadena, CA 91101 Mangajin43 Maeda Tsukasa. All rights rcM:rved.First publishedin Japan in1988 by Kodansha. Tokyo. English translation rights arranged through Kodansha. 54Mangajin taiyaki is a traditional Japanese sweet- afish-shaped "griddle cake" filledwith an ("sweet bean paste"). The name is a combination of tai ("sea bream'') and yaki (the nounform of yaku, "roast/bake/toast"). [!)Sound FX:I! 117 Pika! Flash!(effect of sudden burst of light or, in this case, lightning) ::to 7 Goral Rumble!(sound of thunder) ..Y- ..Y-Zii1)1 (sound of pouring rain) 117 7117 7 Koral/carat (sharp, staccato sound of wooden geta striking pavement as be runs) Kosuke:b-Fii "Phew." FX:-+f-Zii (sound of pouring rain) Volc:e:l.,-:>lli"t' tJtA-:>"t"-0ShippofMtleankogayij. tailuntiVup tobean paste(subj.)is inside(emph.) "Filled with bean paste all the way to the taU!"(PL2) ;f. I}:L - A.Et!. -0 Boryiimudayij. volumefull_pointsis(emjlll.) ''Tbey're really ftlling!"(PL2) Sound FX:..Y-Zii (sound of pouring rain) anko is amore colloquial word for an, the sweet bean paste/jam that is a mainstay ingredient of traditional Japanese sweets. It's made from a wide variety of beans. most commonly from azuki. h/Jitte-(i)ru, from the verb hairu ("enter/go into"), means"is inside," or for food items, often "is ftlled with." boryiimu is akatakana rendering of the English word "volume," and when speaking of food refers to the size/bulk of the pieces/portions. manten is literally "full points"- i.e., a score of 1()()%..-so boryiimu manten means "the size is perfect/leaves nothing to be desired'' -- "is really big"- "really fills you up." ASee the complete Mangaj in catalog onl ine! 1 "MANGAJINhttp://www.mangajin.com Mangajin55 56Mangajin * Jl Jj{t:: ;.... ii5"':: .:1.7' Jt- Dai- TokyoBinbo SeikatsuManyuaru f.J.-{ 1J1 I_, "'fi" l;tf.J It_, 53:::t-'t f9v(J)

iJ';f. tt "r iJ'"/ ?t: 1: l;t OJSign-Left:Nadai Famous Sip-Center:f.: \1 Taiyaki Taiyaki Sign-Rigbt:Aoba (name) Lowersign: 70F9!! lppikinanajii-en one count70 yen 70 yeo each!! Vendor:.i>\1'L.\1'il\1' L.\1'71-\'o\'- li 0 Oishiioishiitaiyakiwa tastytastytaiyakias for "t"TfJ-? ikagadesukii? howis(?) ''How about a tasty, delicious taiyaki?!" (PL3) ippiki is a combination of ichi ("one") and -hiki, the counter for most small- to medium-sized animals, including fish; -hiki changes to -pilei for euphony. FX:liil?-Hoii (effect ofmouth-watering aroma wafting his way) \1' -::> 70F9!! lppikinanajii-en one count70 yen 70 yen each!! Narration:-i:(f)11\j ,;;f]/(f)So notoki,ore nopoke/to thattimemypocket 53F9L. iJ' tj: i.l' -::>t.:. 0 goj i'isan-enshika nakatta. 53 yenhad only At that timeI had onl pocket.(PL2) Sound FX:7'7' -Gu gi'i r: niwa inas for (sound of stomach growling) ore is an informaVabrupt masculineword for "1/me." shika nakattais the past form of shika nai ("have only/have nothing but/have no morethan"). Shika is always followed by a negative verb or adjective. (I]SoundFX:l!'b Pika Flash -!f-Zii (sound of pouring rain) ::tO'/ Goral Rumble! 0Voice: Hyii "Yikes!" Sound FX:; llR Kyodoshusshideippikikau joint/cooper. investment(means) one countbuy 0-c(/)1tc'--c"L.J:tteyiinowadO deshii? (quote)say(nom.) as forhow would it be "bow about we buy one by POOling our funds?"(PL3) Youngman: lt'lt'!! Niirulzodo!Soryaii!! I seeas for thatgood/fine "Aha! That's a great idea!!"(PL2) Sound FX:-If-Zii naruhodo. expresses new comprehension/understanding, as in "1 see/1 get it/Aha!" Both:It'-:>!! lppiki!! one count "One!!" Vendor:li v'.t !! Hai yo!f " Right!" hai yo is an infonna!/friendly hai ("yesiOK/sure/right"), with the yo inthis case having more of a softening effect than an emphatic one. Frequently usedby shopkeepers, it can be thought of as equivalent to the English phrase, "Comingright up!"

'MANGAJIN Visit our new & improved web site! http://www .mangajin.com Mangajin59 ______ .:17' JL- Dai- TokyoBinbo Seikatsu Many_u_ar_u ____ __ 60Mangajin Vendor:'Ff(J)li L-::>11t.:lt 3'J(J) UciU nowashippolklkede moyoso no oursas fortailonlyeven withthe others' lijpt:Jt.l.-o ippiki-bunwaarukarane. one fish's worthas forhavebecause (colloq.) "Because ours, even with just the tails, have as much as other places' whole taiyaki." "Even Just the tails of our taiyald are as big as a whole taiyald at other places."(PL2) uciU (literally, "inside") is often used to referto one's own bouse/shop/company_. "we/us." bun means "portion," and when used as a suffix means "an amount sufficient for/equivalent to - "-+ "IS much - ." 0Narration: T'be merchant is obviously exaggerating about the size of his taiyaki. !F5L -1? (/) '1=' (/) r7 1 Jlic!:: "' -?lUl l: Yiidachinonakao"oyoide" kitaomonono"tai"waa-tro iu ma ni sudden shower ofmidst(obj.)came swimmingbig gamethat wasseabreamas forinstantly bt.:.(/)0l.:;ffh:: i;/1.. "t' L- i?f.:. o futarinokuchininomi-komarete shimaua. 2 people s mouthsbywas completely swallowed The big-game "sea bream"that came "swimming" through the sudden shower was swallowed up by our two mouths in an instant.(PL2) Sound FX:!::" 7J Pika Flash :fo ;; Goro! Rumble! -!f- -!f-Zli zii (pouring rain) oyoide is the -te formof oyogu ("swim"), and kira is the plain/abrupt pastform of kuru ("come") - "came swimming." a-tto iu ma ni is an expression meaning "instantly/ in no time at all."It literallymeans "in the time it taketo say ' Ah!"' nomi-komarete is from nomi-komareru, a passive form of nomi-komu ("swallow up"); a form of shimau after the -te form of a verb can mean the action is completely finished. http://www .mangajin.com Mangajin61 i f Okusama wa lnteria Dezaina

1- II' (;\ 62Mangajin fic::.~ v ~ iffl.ffPJi-to Clwnolconohennoshiryolcarimasu. a littlethisareainmaterialswill borrow "I'm aolnx to borrow these materials for a bit!' (PL3) Bucho:lvo N. yes/OK ''Sure."(PL2) kono hen means "this area/vicinity," so kono hen no shiryo is literally " materials in this area,"but in this case it's essentially just a roundabout way of saying "these materials." the particle o, tomarie shiryo as the object of karimosu (from lcariru, "borrow"), has been omitted. 0Okusama:lv- .. . N ... " Hmmm."(PL2) BuchO:~ - : > ll t) o Yappari. as expected "Just as I tbougbL"(PL2) FX:- t ~ ~ .. . Supipi .. . (effect of sleeping soundly) yappari is a colloquial yahari, which implies that a situation or out-come fits one's expectations: "sure enough/after aWjust as I thought." Mangajin63 (.., 64Mangajin Friend: ft#iRQ) t.:.v'o A,KaruiUIWaOUJrinobessoilcitai. (intelj.)(place name)vicinityofcoaagelcabinwant to go " Ahh, I'd like to eo to acottage in somewhere like Karuizawa."(PL2) Okusama:#i:i21 ;f-- 'l c!::L. \:v't.:.v'o UmibedebO-no shite itai. beacharionwant to be daydreaming " I ' dlike to be daydreaming on the beach/'(PL2) Karuizawa is a large summer reson area in the mountains near Tokyo. ni, to mark besso as the destination, has been omitted. Besso refers to a "vacation conage/cabin/viUa'' whether rented briefly or owned as a second home. bo-tto shite itai is the "want to"fonn of bo-tto shire iru ("be day-dreaming"), from bO-tto suru ("stare blankly into space/be in a daze/ daydream"). Friend:.!::' "? -!? 1: l.J:>Il"? \: Dotchi ni shironatsutte in any casesummer (quote) fl: J:shigoto suruki ni nannaiyone. do worknot feelthe motivation to(emph.)(colloq.) " In ancaseit's hard to feel motivated to work in the summer."(PL2) Okusama: dotchi ni shiro is equivalent to dotchi ni shite mo, "whichever you choose/whichever the case may be"- "inany case." the quotative tte here serves as a colloquial equi valent of wa ("as for"). nannai isacontractionof naranai, thenegative form of naru ("be-come"). Averbfollowedby ki ni naru isan expressionfor "getthe desire/feel themotivation to [do the action].'' FX:-t' bll'li'? o Aredawa,bessii.Kawaii! thatis(emph.)cabincute ''There' s tbe cottage. Isn't it Just darling!?''(PL2) Olrusama's line is inverted; normal order would be Besso wa aredawa. Okusama:!lj:JPt!. o-)it L. II' ! Honmono nodanroda.Ureshii! realfireplaceisam happy/glad "A real fireplace. Great!"(PL2) Husband:7"-t- o-?b,Geho.Uwa,sojishilUii to. (cough)(interj.)cleanmust do " (Cough) Ugh, we' ve got to clean."(PL2) sOji shinai to is a coUoquial "must/have to" form of soji suru ("clean"). Hnsband:-j-;::: nt.:-o A.,tsukllrera. (interj.)became tired ' 'Obb, I'm wom out."(PL2) FX: I?l