The other day we went out for one of my favorite Japanese foods, katsu, or fried cutlet of pork or chicken, which is of course made so much better by that heavenly Bull-Dog sauce they have here. As we were paying at the cash register, I noticed a framed piece of cardboard displayed on the wall with a handwritten message by the president of the company, declaring in flowing characters his company’s dedication to quality ingredients and to greeting customers in a genki (cheerful, energetic) manner when they come in the door. The practice of putting a hand-penned message where customers can see it is quite common in Japan, and I think it helps communicate the passion of the business owners while providing a source of motivation for the employees. In the classic baseball anime Touch, there’s a similar handwritten sign hung on the wall in which Minami declares her support for Kazuya’s dream of taking his team to Koshien, the national high school baseball championship near Osaka. When Kazuya is killed in an accident, his twin brother Tatsuya must take Kat-chan’s place, and the sign on the wall becomes a focal point for this goal. Japanese brush calligraphy, called shodo or “the way of writing,” is quite a popular art form in Japan, and the ability to write beautifully formed characters is considered an important trait for a person to have. Incidentally, we stock plenty of cool Japanese calligraphy items on the site, and we’re also happy to announce the return of our Custom Kanji Board service, where we’ll write any character, phrase or other message, including your name in kanji, and send it to you.
“Kazuya, aim for Koshien! by Minami Asakura” from Touch.
