As I write often, one of the things the Japanese love more than anything is receiving recognition from the International community, and the popularity of musician Sakamoto Ryuichi, anime director Miyazaki Hayao or manga artist Shirow Masamune flows in part from the fact that they became famous internationally, raising Japan’s stature in the eyes of the West. Currently Japan is giddy with excitement about the prospect of athletes, journalists and fans visiting the country for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The last time the games were held in Tokyo was 1964, and it was a great opportunity for Japan to show that it had become a peaceful member of the international community after many years of war and reconstruction. Besides the Shinkansen bullet trains, which were more or less created to impress gaijin visitors, another interesting thing came from the 1964 Olympics: the pictograms we use to represent restrooms. As the first Olympics held in Asia, planners realized general symbols that everyone could understand were needed, so graphic designer Harada Tsunao and others stepped up to create them.
Today is the fifth anniversary of a very sad day, when the earth suddenly started shaking in a massive 9.0 magnitude convulsion. I was right where I am now, sitting at my desk and putting the final touches on a J-List post when it all started. While Japan is a country prone to quakes — you notice maybe one every 1-2 weeks — we all knew instantly that this was different, as everything in the room started sliding around, and outside my window, a concrete wall actually started dancing. The shaking “stopped” after maybe five minutes, but aftershocks continued almost constantly. In central Japan, where J-List is located, we only had some broken glass to sweep up, though for coastal Tohoku the horrors were just beginning. Many countries from Canada and New Zealand to China and South Korea were very helpful in the aftermath, and I’ll never forget the pride I felt as the U.S. military swooped in with supplies and blankets during “Operation Tomodachi.”
Spring is nearly here, and that means plenty of beautiful sakura themed products in stock for you. We’ve got a great selection of related products, from the fast-disappearing Sakura Pepsi to Sweet Sakura Tea and Sakura cookies. Browse them all now!
