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JAPAN SAQ (SELDOM ASKED QUESTIONS)
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Q. What does the name of the famous hamburger chain, 'MOS Burger' mean?
A. The 'MOS' in 'MOS burger stands for 'Mountain, Ocean, Sun'. According to the official MOS Burger web site, the mountain, ocean, and sun in the name symbolise the company's "infinite love" of both humankind and nature. MOS Burger's love of people and nature is "Grand and noble like a mountain", "Possessed of a spirit as deep and wide as the ocean", and filled with a "passion that, like the heat of the sun, never burns out."And you thought you were just getting a hamburger. If you can read Japanese, check out the MOS Burger Home Page at: http://www.mos.co.jp/united/index.htm

Q. How come Japanese people slurp Japanese and Chinese noodles but not spaghetti?
A. Jens Jenson was kind enough to write and inform us that:
1) Noodles (SOBA and RAMEN) should be eaten while VERY hot in order to get the full flavour. When slurping, Japanese
people take in a lot of air to cool the noodles just before swallowing them. This makes the famous"slurping sound".
2) Soba noodles in cold broth and nothing else, is considered to be such a simple taste, that in order to get the full experience,
one should use all ones senses while eating them. Hence the slurping sound will "activate" your hearing and make the
flavour come out. (Tasting, smelling, watching, feeling should be obvious..)

Q. Who are the people on Japanese money?
A. Unlike most countries, Japan does not put its emperors and politicians on its currency. The woman on the 5000 yen note is a famous author named Ichiyo Higuchi (1872-1896), who is considered to be Japan's first professional female writer. The man on the 1000 yen note is Hideyo Noguchi (1876-1928), a scientist who did important research on snake venom, smallpox and yellow-fever, and also isolated the bacteria that causes syphillis. The woman on the 5000 yen note is a famous author named Ichiyo Higuchi (1872-1896), who is considered to be Japan's first professional female writer. Professor Yukichi Fukuzawa, the founder of Keio University, one of Japan's top schools, is on the 10 000.

underwear3.jpg (15924 bytes) underwear.jpg (16781 bytes) Q. What do Japanese People wear underneath their Kimonos?
A. Most people don't wear western style underwear because its lines show through the fabric. Instead, they wear an undergarment called a hadajuban next to their skin, which is usually just plain white, and a nagajuban, which is more colorful, but not visible. Click here for photos: http://www.kekkonshiki.org/bride.asp

Q. Why do the five and fifty yen coins have holes in the middle?
A. A long time ago, in the days before paper money, people used to string them together like beads on a necklace to make them easier to carry. Although people no longer string the coins together, the holes, along with serrated edges on some coins, help visually impaired people to distinguish between the various denominations.

Q. What's my sign according to the Oriental Zodiac?
A. Find your year of birth in the chart below:

Ne (rat)	1900	1912	1924	1936	1948	1960	1972	1984	1996
Ushi (cow)	1901	1913	1925	1937	1949	1961	1973	1985	1997
Tora (tiger	1902	1914	1926	1938	1950	1962	1974	1986	1998
U (rabbit)	1903	1915	1927	1939	1951	1963	1975	1987	1999
Tatsu (dragon)	1904	1916	1928	1940	1952	1964	1976	1988	2000
Mi (snake)	1905	1917	1929	1941	1953	1965	1977	1989	2001
Uma (horse)	1906	1918	1930	1942	1954	1966	1978	1990	2002
Hitsuji (sheep)	1907	1919	1931	1943	1955	1967	1979	1991	2003
Saru (monkey)	1908	1920	1932	1944	1956	1968	1980	1992	2004
Tori (rooster)	1909	1921	1933	1945	1957	1969	1981	1993	2005
Inu (dog)	1910	1922	1934	1946	1958	1970	1982	1994	2006
I (boar)	1911	1923	1935	1947	1959	1971	1983	1995	2007

Q. How do the JR and Subway workers get home at night after the last train has left?
A. They don't! They sleep in little dormitories at the station.

Q. Why don't Japanese high school boys raise the seats on their bicycles to a level that would make pedalling easier? All their bikes have the seats at the lowest level possible and their knees come up practically to their chins.--Submitted by Michael Cash
A. In elementary school, children are taught that for safety, one should be able to put their feet flat on the ground while seated on their bicycle.

Q. Why do all the Jizo statues in Japan wear "bibs"?
A. Jizo statues can be found all over Japan, but especially around graveyards because it is believed that Jizo saves the souls of those in hell, especially aborted, miscarried and stillborn babies. According to Japanese belief, children who die prematurely are sent to Hell because they have brought so much sadness to their parents. In Hell, they are sent to Sai no Kawara, a dried up river, where they are made to build monuments made of small pebbles to Buddha in order attract his compassion and be freed from Hell. Their work is hampered however, by a terrible demon who scatters the rocks with an iron club. When the demon comes, it is Jizo that protects the children by hiding them in his sleeves and drives the demon away, making him one of the most beloved of the Bosatsu.

You will often see little piles of rocks around the statues, which were put there by parents who want to help ease the time the spirits of the children they never had will spend in hell. Most Jizo also wear red bibs or hats made by mothers who hope that by offering them to Jizo, they can encourage him to take special care of their children's spirits. Occasionally, clothes are presented in thanks for illnesses believed to have been healed through the intervention of Jizo. Temples like the Hase Kannon in Kamakura often have thousands of tiny, red-bibbed Jizo statues, put there as offerings for the souls of dead children.
Sometimes you will see Jizo by the side of the road because Jizo are also said to protect travellers and pilgrims. He is also important to firemen because it is said that Jizo descended into hell to relieve the suffering of those there by reducing the heat there.

Thanks to Rachel Kopek for helping with this answer.

Q. What year was I born according to the Japanese calendar?
A. Japan uses two calendars: the western one, and another based on the reign of Emperors. My birthday, in 1970, fell in the 45th year of the reign of the Showa Emperor (Hirohito), so my birth date is written Showa 45-08-14 (August 14th, 1970). Click here for a site to help you calculate your birth date.

Q. How can you tell if the Buddhist priests begging on the street corner are real or not?
A1. Very few Buddhist sects practice begging nowadays and the great majority of priests you see begging on the street are actually just pan-handlers. If you really want to know if they are legitimate priests or not, you can ask to see their begging licence, which they always carry. In addition, if the priest is wearing running shoes, doesn't have any temple insignia on his robes, or if his robes look cheap, he is probably not the real thing.

Q. What do the hand positions on the Buddha statues mean?
A. Japan Inside Out, the best guidebook I've ever found for Japan, provides the answer.

Q. I have long wondered why Japan is called 'Japan' in English. I know why Korea is called Korea, despite it being Hanguk in Korean, can you enlighten me about the etymology of 'Japan'--why not 'Nihon'?--Question submitted by Seth Kleinman
A. The word Japan probably comes from Portuguese or Dutch. Sailors, traders and missionaries from Portugal were the first westerners to visit Japan and they were already calling the country 'Zipangu' or "Jipangu" because they had heard the country called 'Jihpenkuo' in northern China. Another theory is that the word comes from the Dutch word "Japan", which is taken from "Yatpun", the name for Japan which is used in southern China. Because the name was given before the days of political correctness, the Portuguese and Dutch had little interest in using the Japanese words, "Nippon" or "Nihon".

Q. What is the difference between Japan's two names, "Nippon" and "Nihon"?
A. "Nihon" and "Nippon" are just different pronunciations of the same word, which means "the place from which the sun rises". The name was given to the country by the famous Prince Shotoku in the early seventh century. The characters were originally pronounced as "Yamato", which is why you often hear phrases like Yamato damashii (Japanese spirit) today. The characters began to be pronounced as "Nippon" and "Nihon" in the Nara period (709-795 AD). "Nihon" seems to be the more common of the two, but "Nippon" is favoured for postage stamps and at international sporting events.

Q. Why is the Parliament in Japan called a "DIET"?--Question submitted by Yvette Yamamoto
A. "Diet" is the old Prussian word for a meeting or gathering, and was used to describe political assemblies such as the famous Diet of Worms in which Martin Luther was persecuted. During the period immediately following the Meiji Restoration, Japan brought in many Western experts to modernise Japan's antiquated legal, political, educational and military institutions. This was done primarily as a means to later renegotiate the "unequal treaties" Japan had previously signed with various Western powers that gave those power extraterritorial rights in Japan.
Generally speaking, the British helped modernise Japan's navy, shipbuilding, and technical infrastructure; French legal experts were brought in to modernise the civil and criminal codes; Americans and French were first involved with modernising the educational system; Prussians helped modernise the army and, later, the Prussian educational model was also adopted. The government structure itself was of mixed influences, primarily British (because of the monarchy) and Prussian. As Japan's parliament more closely mirrored that of Prussia's, the Prussian word was adopted for use."--This answer was kindly submitted by Steve Sundberg

Q. What is the origin to the "kaimyo" ( heavenly name given to a deceased Buddhist person) in Japan. I understand that the cost of making one can go up to fantastic amounts.--Question submitted by Yvette Yamamoto
A. Although most people think that a kaimyo is a name taken by a Buddhist after he or she dies, that is not entirely true. Originally, it was a sacred Buddhist name that one took on when one joined a Buddhist sect. Therefore there are two varieties of Kaimyo, the one given to a practitioner before while he or she is still alive being called a seizen kaimyo (seizen means before death). The word kaimyo comes from the characters kai (a commandment) and myo (name) because it is a name taken when one swears to obey five important Buddhist commandments.
As for the cost, the average price is said to be 100 000 yen (about US$900) per character, and prices range from 300 000 yen to over ten million. Many people believe that names with more Chinese characters are more prestigious and expensive, but this is not always true. According to the book "Tokyo Confidential: Titillating Tales from Japan's Weeklies", there are three titles attached to names: Shinshi, or "True believers", Koji, people who were rich and important, and "Ingo", which is the most prestigious and is for people who contributed to Buddhism and society. Shinshi titles start at 200 000 yen and Ingo titles start at 500 000.
< The Japanese Buddhist association has recently been trying to regulate the kaimyo "industry" and curb the ever-increasing prices. Like funeral parlours in the west, who pressure bereaved mourners to buy expensive coffins and funerals, some temples are said to pressure people into buying expensive kaimyo for their departed loved ones. There is also a certain snob value to having an expensive kaimyo and some people purchase them for the same reason that they buy designer handbags or sports cars. he most ironic thing about people buying expensive kaimyo in order to "keep up with the Joneses" is that most people cannot even read the kanji written on gravestones because they are no longer in common use.

Q. What is the symbol of the racoon dog (tanuki) outside a Japanese noodle (soba) shop?--Question submitted by Yvette Yamamoto.
A1. The reason you often see tanuki outside noodle shops is that there is a popular variety of soba called tanuki soba. As for the name tanuki soba, there are two explanations of its origin. The first is that it comes from a famous noodle shop in Tokyo during the late 19th century. Tanuki soba, which is Japanese noodles served with tempura batter, was first served in a small noodle shop on the Shibuya river. The shop's name has been lost to history, but its nickname was tanuki soba because it was located near the Tanuki Bashi, or Racoon Dog Bridge. When tanuki soba became popular and spread all over Japan, it retained the name of the shop where it had been invented. This information comes from the Soba Jiten (Dictionary of Soba), written by Niijima Shigeru, founder of the Laboratory for Historical Research Into the Eating of Soba.

Q. I believe this question to be stupid, obscure, and quite possibly difficult, and therefore possibly well fit for your column. I have heard many answers to this question over the years, all of which seem quite reasonable to me. So, why do the porcelain Tanuki in front of stores, and people’s front doors have such outrageously large testicles?--Question submitted by Jonathan Gregory
A. Tanuki are very common in Japanese folklore, and are regarded as tricksters which can change their shape and have supernatural powers. They often change their shape to play tricks on travellers. Tanuki are said to love sake, and often change into human form, paying for their drink with money that turns out to be tree leaves.
Their large testicles are a representation of fertility and good fortune, and are said to be the source of their magical powers. The tanuki's large testicles are associated with wealth because the Japanese colloquial word for testicle is kindama, which means golden ball. In Japanese mythology, the Tanuki's scrotum can be enlarged to as much as eight tatami mats (one tatami is about 6'x3') and they play them like a drum.
By the way, tanuki are not racoons, and are actually a member of the dog family. They are properly known as racoon dogs (Nyctereutes Procyonoides).

Q. If you visit any ward office, city office, or TO-CHO, you will hear electronic chimes going off with annoying regularity? Why do all government offices seem to feel that these chimes are necessary?--Question submitted by Paul Gilbert
A. They are to help blind people find the exit.--Answer submitted by M. Yoshida

Q. Why is it still legal to openly discriminate, such as putting a sign on the front door of your shop saying, "Japanese Only"?--Question submitted by Gary Abrahamsen
A. Japanese lawmakers are reluctant to pass such a law because they claim it would be impossible to enforce. The United Nations is constantly criticising Japan for its being "unwilling to make any fundamental changes" despite being a signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Q. On the news why are the handcuffs fogged out when they show someone being arrested? Everyone knows that the person is arrested and wearing handcuffs but they won't show the cuffs - they are fogged out like a licence plate number or pubic hair. Why is that? I have asked Japanese friends and no one seems to know.--Question submitted by Brian J. Collins
A. Japanese news programs fog out the face to protect the accused person's identity if he or she has not yet been proven guilty, but putting a mosaic over the handcuffs actually draws more attention than the handcuffs themselves would, so it seems illogical. Many people will tell you that the fog is to protect the accused person's rights because they have not been convicted yet, but again this doesn't make sense because it is obvious that the person has handcuffs on.
The real reason is that several years ago, an accused person sued because they were made to appear guilty before they were given a trial. Although the mosaic makes the person look even more guilty, one can never be 100% sure that there are handcuffs underneath it so it would be much harder for someone to sue the TV stations and police.
Thanks to Danielle Rocheleau whose email helped to solve this most puzzling mystery.

Q. Why all the cherry trees and no cherries?--Question submitted by an anonymous visitor.
A. There are two types of "cherry" trees. One type is bred for its beautiful blossoms (sakura) and the other for its fruit (sakuranbo). If you look closely, you will notice that the cherry trees with beautiful blossoms do have tiny cherries.

Q. How did the Post Office come up with the "T with a bar over it" symbol? As far as I know, it is only used in Japan. Does it descend from a kanji?--Submitted by Steven McFarlane
A. The mark, which represents the post offices of Japan, was originally created in Meiji period, when postal services were first started. At first, the post offices were under the jurisdiction of the ‘Teishinsho.’ Although the first letter of it, ‘T,’ was intended to be used for the mark, it had been already used as a mark of insufficient postage. Therefore, one of the Katakana letters, which is pronounced ‘te,’ the first sound of ‘Teishinsho,’ was designed for the present postal mark.--Answer kindly submitted by M. Yoshida

Q. What is the sound of one hand clapping?
A. This is a famous Zen Koan, a riddle which cannot be solved by logic and leads the Zen practitioner towards enlightenment. In the book, The Sound of the One Hand, a translation of the controversial Gendai Sojizen Hyoron, answers to 281 Koan are given. The original is supposedly very rare in Japan, and supposedly led to a lot of "cheating" in the monasteries. Click here for the answer. Warning: possible 'spoiler'.

Q. Why do Yakuza put pearls in their penises?--Submitted by an anonymous visitor
A. When Yakuza are sentenced to jail, they often insert a pearl into their penis!!! They cut into the skin and insert a small pearl, creating a heavy lump in the end of their member. This incredibly painful sounding procedure is said to give women more pleasure during intercourse, making up for the time they spent away from their wives or lovers! Some add an extra pearl for every year they are away. And you thought cutting off your pinkie sounded unpleasant!

Q. Every serviceman and woman ever stationed in Japan has heard of the yoghurt drink "Calpis" AND how it got its name. What is the real story??--Question submitted by Steve Booth
A. Steve is referring to the fact that 'Calpis' sounds a lot like a synonym for "bovine urine". The 'real story' is that Calpis is a compound of "Cal", short for calcium, (because milk is one of the main ingredients) and pis, short for 'sarupisu', a word describing one of the "five tastes" in Buddhism. It was chosen by the company's president, Kaiun Mishima, a music professor, and a Sanskrit expert. Apparently, 'pisu' was chosen over the 'piru' of 'sarupirumanda, the best of Buddhism's five tastes, because the music professor thought it sounded better. Unfortunately, no speakers of English were invited to the meeting. If you can read Japanese, you may be interested in visiting the Calpis homepage's FAQ to get the full story. The URL is http://www.calpis.co.jp/corporate/history/ayumi/sougyo/history3.html.

Q. Why do Japanese people say that women deliver their babies in the TENTH month?
A. No, Japanese babies don't take longer to mature. Japanese do not count calendar months, but instead think in terms of lunar months of exactly 28 days. Those few days at the end of each of the 9 months count together for one extra month, hence ten months. (pregnancy is 40 weeks = 10 * 4 weeks = '10 months)". Answer kindly submitted by Annemarie Hogenbirk

Q. In your homepage (see the above question), you write that Japanese people say a pregnancy lasts for 10 months, but one of my Japanese friends told me that in Japan they say "Totsuki Toka" or "Ten months and ten days". Why is this?--Question submitted by Andreas Zak

A. Many Japanese people misunderstand the meaning of this expression. It does not mean "Ten months and ten days". It means that the last month of a pregnancy only has ten days, that is, there are nine 30 day months, and then the last month is just ten days (9*30+10=280 days, a regular pregnancy). This expression is not referring to lunar months, but regular months using the Gregorian calendar.

Q. What is the difference between Sushi and Sashimi?
A. Sashimi is raw meat, plain and simple. It is usually fish, but not always. Horse sashimi is eaten in some parts of Japan. Sushi is rice that has been prepared with vinegar, sugar and salt, and does not necessarily have to be served with raw fish. That's why you can have sushi made with eggs, and even in some very modern sushi shops, sushi made with corn and mayonnaise. By the way, onigiri (rice balls wrapped in seaweed) are not sushi, but futomaki (a thick, cylinder-shaped food made of rice and wrapped in seaweed, usually with something in the centre) is. --Thanks to Rob Satterwhite for pointing out to me that the 'su' in sushi is not the same as the word 'su', which means vinegar.

Q. Is it true that Peyote and Magic Mushrooms are legal in Japan?
A. The loophole in the law that allowed peyote and magic mushrooms to be sold was closed in June 2002.

Q. What is the origin of the samurai hairstyle?--Submitted by an anonymous visitor
A. The topknot, or chonmage was worn by Japan's warrior class before the Meiji restoration of 1867, when it was made illegal. Topknots are now generally only worn by sumo wrestlers. According to "The Japan Page" the topknot was designed to be worn under a warrior's helmet. For some interesting information about Japanese hairstyles, check out: http://www.thejapanesepage.com/hair.htm.

kannon.gif (22758 bytes) Q. How come the Thousand-armed Kannon statues (Senju Kannon) only have 42 arms?
A. Kannon, the bodhisattva of Compassion is one of the most popular Buddhas. It is unique because it is one of the few Buddhas which is usually portrayed as a female, although Bosatsu and Nyorai are actually genderless. Although the word Senju Kannon means thousand-armed Kannon, most sculptures have just 42 arms (although there are a few images made by very ambitious carvers that actually have a thousand). The reason for this is that Buddhists believe there are 25 worlds. The Senju Kannon has two regular arms and 40 other arms, each of which saves creatures in one world. The 24 counterparts of each visible arm are in the other worlds. 40 times 25 equals 1000, so the Buddha is called the Thousand-armed Kannon.

Q. Why don't the prices of imported books change when the yen rises or falls?
A. Although the yen's value greatly increased in the 1980's and 1990's, prices of imported books changed very little. The reason is that the savings were eaten up by an extremely inefficient distribution system, in which there are an unbelievable number of middlemen increasing the costs of books before they get to the retailer and consumer. Even when the dollar fell to 100 yen in the 1990's, Japanese bookstores were still using the old 175 yen to the dollar rate. Retailers claim that because books sometimes sit on the shelves for months or even years, it would be too difficult to have all the books in their stores reflecting the current yen to dollar rate. To read more about Japan's inefficient distribution system, visit Rob Murphy's excellent essay, "Why Are Prices in Japan So Damn High? at < http://www.geocities.com/japanfaq/FAQ-Prices.html. Thanks to Victor J. Yang for helping with this answer.

Q. "[How do you explain] the frequency of Japanese people (usually women) running or jogging for no apparent reason. In the travel agency, "let me get you a copy" and she runs away. In my office a woman runs to the bathroom (can be explained) and then runs back to her desk (huh?). Most of the teachers I work with wait for the bell in the teacher's room, and then practically sprint to their classes. Do you know why all this running is going on? Fitness? Service? An Edo-era leftover?"--Question submitted by Ben Schwartz
A. I once teasingly asked a female with whom I worked why she always did a sort of feigned jog to and from the copier, especially since her jog was slower than her walk. The humour wasn't lost on her, but she explained that many Japanese do this at work because the appearance of urgency is important in more traditional office environments. You don't have to truly run around frantically, but just offer the gesture.--Answer kindly submitted by Lou C.

Q. "Why do Japanese people say that they have blue traffic lights when they are really green?"--Question submitted by John Sypal
A. According to the book, Japan From A to Z: Mysteries of Everyday Life Explained by James and Michiko Vardaman, the first traffic signals in Japan were blue instead of green, but the blue lights were difficult to see from a long distance away so they were replaced with green ones. Vardaman says that the custom of referring to traffic lights is a holdover from those days.
This sounds like a good explanation, but the problem with it is that you will hear Japanese people refer to other green things (like cucumbers, spinach, and sometimes grass) as being blue as well. This is because historically, Japanese people considered green to be a shade of blue. For example, the Chinese character for blue, pronounced ao is made up of two characters, iki (life) and i (well) and refers to the colour of plants which grow around a well, a colour between green and blue. When Chinese people see the character, they say it means green, but Japanese people say it means blue. Japanese books on colours tell us that there are four tertiary colours: red, blue, white and black, and that all others are shades of those four main ones. Ao, therefore, is a sort of ideal blue, halfway between green and blue. The sky is said to be blue, but it is a different shade of ao than a traffic light is. Tree leaves are said to be green, but green is a shade of ao, like crimson is a shade of red. In another interesting cultural difference relating to colour, Japanese children always colour the sun red instead of yellow.

Q. When I was in Japan, many people asked me what my blood type was because they believed it would reveal my character. What is the origin of this belief?
A. In the 1920's and 30's, blood type became a major issue in Japan because Western scientists were claiming that they proved the inferiority of the Asian race. In the west, there are very few people of blood type 'B', which is very common among Asians. When scientists began testing the blood of animals, they discovered that 'B' was the most common blood type among animals and took that to be evidence of Asian inferiority. Then, in 1927 Furukawa Takeji, a psychologist studied blood types in an attempt to relate them to people's personality types and published a series of articles on his findings. The blood type obsession however, did not take off until 1971 when the hugely popular book, "What Blood Types Reveal About Compatibility" was published. The book argued that just as different blood types are incompatible, so too are people with different blood types. Apparently there have been cases of companies making hiring and promotion decisions based on blood types, and relationships have been broken off because of blood type incompatibility. People with type AB are said to be particularly discriminated against.
The four blood types are A (Farmers), B (Hunters), O (Warriors), and AB (Humanists). Farmers are said to be careful people who like planning and are hard-working and loyal. They are said to be conservative and uncompromising. Hunters are independent, outgoing, and liberal. They tend to have varied hobbies and interests, and are very changeable. Warriors are leaders and organisers. Although they are popular and outgoing, they can also be selfish or arrogant. Humanists are efficient and rational but also said to be stand-offish or shy.
For more information about blood types, visit the following sites:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_blood_type_theory_of_personality
http://www.japanvisitor.com/index.php?cID=359&pID=329

Q. Do I have to pay the NHK man?
A. The NHK man is a representative of Japan's state-run television station who goes door to door trying to collect NHK fees, a bi-monthly tax of about 2000 yen that everyone who owns a colour television in Japan is required by law to pay. They are generally very aggressive and threatening, usually sticking their foot in the door so that you can't close it on them, and somehow giving you the impression that dire consequences will ensue if you do not pay promptly. The truth is that although there really is a law, a lot of people in Japan completely ignore it and you can too if you want to. Telling them that you do not watch Japanese TV is not an acceptable excuse, because the law says that everyone who owns a TV has to pay so the best way to get rid of them is to just refuse outright. They are not going to have you arrested and they cannot garnishee your wages so if you don't watch NHK, so you don't have to be intimidated by them. Nor do they have any right to enter your apartment, so if you tell them that you do not have a TV there is no way for them to charge you (be careful if you have a satellite dish though).

Q. Have you ever noticed that on an escalator in the Kanto and Tokai all people are standing immobile on the left side, while in the Kansai it is on the right side. Why is that ?
A. According to one apocryphal theory, the answer lies in the different histories of the two areas. During the Edo period, Kanto (Tokyo area) had more samurai whereas Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe) had more merchants. When they went up and down stairs, samurai wanted to be on the left side so that they could draw their swords more easily. Merchants wanted to protect their wallets from thieves, so they stayed on the right. The more widely accepted origin, however, is that the custom of standing on the right started during the World Exposition in Osaka in 1970. At that time, the Hankyu Railway made announcements asking passengers to stand on the right when they used escalators. The idea was to make it easy for the large number of foreign visitors who came to the Expo. The practice is said to be a holdover from those days.

Q. I sometimes see traffic lights on red, but with filter arrows for all possible directions set on green (well actually blue I suppose), what is the red light for?
A. The red signal does not mean that you are supposed to stop. It means that traffic coming in the opposite direction has a red light so you can make right and left turns (or go straight through) without having to worry about oncoming traffic. This system is also used in some Canadian cities. Answer kindly submitted by Raymond J. Smith and Mike Kuma

Q. I have a question concerning the treatment of that ever-popular figure, Osama Bin Laden on Japanese TV news. Knowing a bit of Japanese, I am aware that the suspect in an investigation is usually referred to as yougisha (crime suspect), however Bin Laden is always referred to as shi (a respectful title) which always strikes me as being rather overly-polite. Surely, a simple san would be sufficient in his case?
A1. "Famous people, especially musicians, manga artists, authors, actors, et cetera, are typically not spoken about with "san". Unless you know them personally, that is. News networks are only too ready to omit politeness when speaking about modern musicians, who many of them think are a pox on Japanese society. However, being a military commander does demand some level of respect among the Japanese (remember that in Japan, you bow to your opponent before you fight ). Either way, in Japan they recognise that it is the job of news networks to remain impartial and as such they must treat leaders with respect. Since it is incorrect to use "san" for Osama, as he is a famous figure, they use "shi" because it is respectful without being venerable or exalted."--Answer kindly submitted by Jonas Rastro
A2. As Bin Laden has yet to go through a proper trial (wherever that might be) he is still technically innocent despite evidence to the contrary, thus deserving the respect of any other man of power.--Answer kindly submitted by Joseph Magly

Q. What's the origin or purpose of the curtains hanging at the top of the doorway from many Japanese restaurants and sometimes shops?--Question submitted by Robin Riddle.
A. The split curtains you are asking about are called noren. They were first used in Zen temples to cover gaps in the bamboo blinds at temple entrances. During the twelfth century they began to be used by shops because they made it easier for customers to enter and exit, and helped to keep out the sun and wind. Nowadays they indicate whether the shop is open or not. Although at first they were just plain fabric, in the late 1500's, shop owners began to dye them with the shop's name or symbol of the shop. There are several different types of noren as well: heyanoren (indoor noren), sotonoren (outdoor noren), mizuhikinoren (wide curtains with no slits), yokonoren (curtains extending along the whole width of the shop front), nannoren (curtains that hang halfway down the doorway) and naganoren (very long curtains that hang down to the ground). Click here for a photo of a noren: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fabric_shop_in_Nara.jpg

Q. Why do some Shinto shrines (eg, Meiji Shrine and one of the temples on top of Mt. Takao) have stacks of empty sake containers on their
grounds or just outside the main hall?--Question submitted by Robin Riddle
A. They are offerings to the two different aspects of Shinto gods Nigimitama and Aramitama. According to Shinto doctrine, Aramitama is a wild energy which causes human suffering and is somewhat similar to the Chinese concept of yang. Nigimitama is a peaceful energy similar to the Chinese concept of yin. Sacred sake, known as omiki, is offered in order to appease Aramitama and thank Nigimitama in one of many rituals which are designed to balance the two forces.

Q. I've never understood how JR could legally charge the families of those that commit suicide by train with the costs they have incurred by the delay in service. How is this possible? Question submitted by Alex Offerman.

A. Articles in magazines and newspapers about suicide in Japan often mention that victims’ families are ‘charged’ amounts as high as 100 million yen (almost one million dollars) for clean up costs and lost revenues, but this is somewhat misleading. Saying ‘charged’ conjures up images of a JR official coming and telling a grieving family that they will have to pay, out of their own pockets, for a crime committed by their family member. What really happens, however, is that is if there is an inheritance or insurance policy from the suicide victim, the train companies have a legal right to sue the person’s estate in order to get compensation for their loss. They do not have an actual right to demand money from the family if there is no inheritance or insurance. This right to sue the person's estate is based on article 709 of Japan's civil code, which states that "A person who infringes on others' rights by intention or due to negligence takes the responsibility of compensation for the loss." Although the practice of suing the victim’s estate sounds heartless, railways defend the practice by arguing that they need a deterrent against suicides and claim that they rarely ask for the full amount of damages that they have incurred, especially when the family is not well off. - Thanks to Yuko Shimada and Takeshi Karasawa for important hints that helped in the solving of this most puzzling mystery, and Michio Matsuzaki of Matsuzaki General Counsel Office (http://www8.ocn.ne.jp/~risk21/index.html) for confirming the answer.

Q. I read an article that said there is a Japanese society that sues every comic company that brings comic characters with four fingers to Japan, unless high amounts of money are being paid. The article said that four fingers once was the sign for stupid butcher's apprentices or something like that and that it is still very rude to show someone four fingers. It also said that Disney pays millions per year, to make sure Mickey Mouse doesn't need a fifth finger. Is that true? I think it's strange but after reading your site I don't think it's impossible.--Question submitted by Max Stoehr
A. It is true that there are very four-fingered cartoon characters in Japan. There are two reasons. The first is that Yakuza often cut off their little fingers, so four-fingered characters would look like gangsters. The other is that there is a caste of people in Japan called Burakumin who have traditionally been discriminated against. They were the Japanese equivalent of the India's untouchables and often performed undesirable jobs like butchery of animals and leather work. Holding up four fingers is a way to indicate Burakumin, because the four fingers look like a four legged animal. This is probably the group that Max is referring to in his question. As far as I can tell however, the Disney story is a myth, but it is true that when the British children's program Bob the Builder came to Japan, he was given a fifth finger because they did not want him to look like a Yakuza. To read the full Bob the Builder story, click here.

Q. Why is it in anime and manga, when a boy acts like a pervert they are pictured with blood gushing from their nose? Is this derived from a legend of some sort?--Question submitted by Octavian
A. In anime, a nosebleed means that a male character is sexually aroused. It's kind of funny if you think about it--he is so aroused that blood not only fills up his sex organs, it starts coming out his nose too.

Q. Many Japanese buildings have red upside-down triangles on the windows. What are they there for?--Question submitted by Richard Lauria.
A. The triangles indicate places for fire fighters to enter the building. The windows they are placed on are made of special thin glass that is easier to break, and the people in the buildings are supposed to keep routes to them clear of furniture, etc. Buildings of more than 3 storeys or 31 metres tall are required to have them.

Q. Trains: When riding the trains, I have noticed the driver of the train making a hand gesture resembling a salute and then pointing out toward the tracks. At first, I thought he might be controlling the crosswalk gates with some remote control, but there was nothing in his hands. He seemed to be signaling something to someone, but there was no other train passing or anything he appeared to be accomplishing with this movement. Any clues?-- Question submitted by Richard Lauria.
A1. If you notice, there is generally someone who steps off the train. He signals down the tracks to a guy often on the platform in the center, who signals down to the driver at the other end. They are all signaling to each other that the doors are clear to be closed, and the tracks are clear of any "jumpers". Sometimes the guy who actually drives the train shouts out "Yoshi, Ikou!" (OK, let's go!) as the train starts off.--Answer kindly submitted by Michael Bland
A2. One explanation I have come across was on a UK TV program about the Bullet Train. It showed the driver making these gestures and said it was an indication that the driver was aware of something in that section of the route, such as a signal or crossing and that by making a visible movement, it proved he was paying attention to his duties.--Answer kindly submitted by Ric Lamb
For more visitor comments about hand signals, click here.

Q. Have you ever noticed that Japanese TV shows start at odd times? One show starts at 6:58, another at 7:00, and another at 7:05. Why is that?
A. Until several years ago, most Japanese TV shows did start exactly on the hour, but because of the TV ratings war, some stations decided to get the jump on their competitors and start their programs a little earlier. The networks realised that because most programs ended a little before the hour, people would often start channel surfing, but they would be more likely to start watching a station that wasn't airing commercials at that time. Similarly, if a program runs until a little past the hour, viewers are more likely to watch the next program because they have missed the beginning of programs that have already started on other stations. Now that every station (except NHK) does it, there is nothing to be gained from starting programs earlier or later, and the stations have become trapped in a vicious circle where starting times are getting earlier and earlier. Thanks to all the people (too numerous to list here) who sent in answers to this question.

Q. Who chose the "Three Great Festivals of Japan", the "Three Most Beautiful Views in Japan", the "Three Most Beautiful Gardens" etc.? A lot of them are really disappointing.
A. The three most beautiful views in Japan were chosen by a Confucian scholar named Shunsai Hayashi who was travelling around Japan circa 1643. He apparantly had a prediliction for coastal views as all of his choices were seascapes. The three most beautiful gardens were likely chosen within the last 150 years and although no one knows for sure, the most likely theory is that it all started after an imperial visit to the three gardens. You can find more information about "The Top Three _______ In Japan" at: http://www3.ocn.ne.jp/~gourmet/nihonsandai.htm and the three most beautiful gardens at: http://web3.incl.ne.jp/matsuura/kenrokuen01.htm (both pages in Japanese only). --Answer kindly submitted by Mike Chachich

Q. What's the difference between a ryokan and a minshuku?
A. The words ryokan and minshuku can both be translated as "traditional Japanese inn", and though it can be very difficult to tell the difference between a high-end minshuku and a lower-end ryokan, the two are very different. In general, minshuku are cheaper, have simpler accomodation, and are smaller. Many people think this is the most important distinction between the two but the real difference lies in their origins. The word ryokan comes from two kanji, ryo, meaning travel, and kan, meaning hall. Minshuku is derived from min, meaning people or citizen and shuku, meaning lodging. Ryokan have always been inns, whereas minshuku are private homes that have been converted into inns.

Q. Why do Japanese school girls wear sailor suits?
A. Of course the obvious answer is that it is to fuel the multi-billion dollar school girl pornography industry and drive salary men wild with desire, but the sailor uniform actually originated in Europe. It is based on the British navy uniform which originated in the 17th century and became popular in Europe after Prince Edward (later Edward the fifth of England) was photographed wearing one when he was five years old. They became enormously popular for both boys and girls and were adopted as school uniforms. During the early part of the 20th century when Japan was westernising, it looked to Europe as a model for its education system, and borrowed black military style uniforms for boys, and sailor suits for girls.

< Q. Many Japanese people have told me that instead of seeing a "man in the moon" in the moon's craters, they see a rabbit. Where exactly is the rabbit?

A. Can you see a rabbit making mochi in the image at left? Both Japanese and Chinese people see a rabbit in the moon instead of a smiling face. Not only do they see a rabbit, but they believe it is making mochi (rice cakes). The origin of this idea comes from a play on words. The word mochizuki has a double meaning in Japanese. Although it is written with different kanji, it can sound like either "making ricecakes" or "full moon". Click here to see exactly where the rabbit is.

To read some interesting Japanese stories and legends about rabbits on the moon, visit these homepages: < http://www.yamasa.org/acjs/english/link_september.html, http://www.virtue.nu/salvia/sm_rabbit.html, http://members.tripod.com/~svmoon/rab.htm.

Q. Everyone knows that Japanese people refer to apartments as "mansions" but I hear the word "apaato" very often as well. What is the difference between a "Mansion" and an "Apaato"?
A. Contrary to popular belief, the word mansion does not necessarily refer to a condominium. The difference is in the building materials: a "mansion" is in a concrete building of three or more stories, whereas an "apaato" is in a wooden one of two stories or less. Many people refer to very tall concrete buildings as apaato however, and the word has the nuance of something slightly luxurious, Western and modern.--Thanks to Mike Chachich who helped with this answer.

Q. Red Stage Blue Stage One Stage Two Stage: Why are Nissan's car dealerships divided into "Red Stages" and "Blue Stages"?--Question submitted by Stephen Stuecklin
A. In 1999, Nissan decided to streamline its operations by combining the official Nissan dealers with another division called "Motor Channel" to form the "Blue Stage" and combined "Satio" dealers with "Prince" dealers to form the "Red Stage". The Blue Stage Dealers generally sell family cars and SUV's such as the Bluebird and Safari, and the Red Stage Dealers sell sports cars such as the Skyline and Primera.

Q. Why do many cars in Japan have the side rear-view mirrors forward of the A-pillars? Is it a safety requirement or just a preferred style?--Question submitted by Stephen Carter
A. This dates back to the early fashion for 'wing mirrors' on cars (the 'wings' are the front guards or fenders - depending on your country of origin). They were placed there for a number of reasons...less change in focal distance when using them and no need to move the head. It was also easier to mount them there as you can get your hand onto the nut underneath whereas a door mount would involve removing trim and trying to get your hand into a very tight space (especially on little British cars). Globally the trend to door mounted mirrors was to reduce damage to pedestrians in an accident and make it easier to adjust them from the drivers seat. For some reason, like many Japanese habits, this remains on some cars, especially Crown taxi's. Some 4x4's have a small convex mirror on the left front 'wing' to allow the driver to place the vehicles wheels accurately when in an off-road situation (not that there is a lot of that in Japan).--Answer kindly submitted by Neal Daniel

Q) Talent? or Talented? On Japanese TV, why do they use the noun 'talent' to describe a person, who is clearly not 'talented'?--Question submitted by Andrew Woolock
A. Referring to anyone who appears on camera as “the talent” is show-business slang in most English-speaking countries. It differentiates between them and the other people standing around ? the crew. In the West it has a vaguely derogatory flavour, e.g. <said with a bored whinge> “We can’t go to lunch yet ? the talent have to eat first.” The Japanese have probably picked up on the word and use it as a simple descriptor. It has nothing to do with whether a person “has” talent. Just that they “are” talent. Answer kindly submitted by Ben Sheppard

Q. Foreign loanwords in Japanese are written in katakana, except for one notable exception: tobacco. Why is tobacco written in hiragana when all other foreign words are in katakana?
A. Katakana was not used for foreign loan words until the country opened up to the West in the late 19th century. Before that, it was believed that words for which there was no Japanese equivilent should be written using Kanji. Tobacco, as the name of a plant, kept its pronunciation and kanji were assigned to it. Tempura is another example of a word that was taken from Portugeuse and given a Kanji. For more information about foreign loan words, see the excellent sci.lan.japan alternative FAQ at: < http://www.csse.monash.edu.au/~jwb/afaq/afaq.html. You'll learn about the origin of "Godzilla", why America is called "Beikoku" (rice country) and why Japanese people say "en" not "yen".

Q. Why do Buddhist statues (Butsuzo) have such funny shaped ears?

A. You will notice that Buddhist statues have a lot of strange features. These originated in Hindu tradition and all statues of Buddhas have them. There are 32 in all, and some of the most easily identifiable are the strange ears, curly hair, a bump on the top of their head, webbed-fingers and a third-eye·in their forehead. The third eye and elongated ears are said to represent the Buddha's all-seeing and all-hearing nature. There are two explanations for the bump on the top of their heads. One is that it is an imprint from the crown that Buddha wore when he was an earthly king, and others say that it represents his all-knowingness. The webbed-fingers apparently originate in sculptors trying to make their statues more durable and are not symbolic of anything.

nanpo.gif (34470 bytes) Q. If Buddhism is such a peaceful religion, how come so many of the statues look so frightening?

A. Very few of the Buddhas themselves are depicted as frightening. The scary looking statues are usually the Kongo Rikishi (the muscular creatures often found at temple gates), the Shitenno (Four Heavenly Kings, the tall deities with the fiery halos behind their heads who guard the four directions), Fuujin Raijin (the Gods of wind and thunder) and the Myo-o (the Five Great Kings, terrifying, fiery gods who always carry vicious weapons).

Most of these more frightening-looking gods are Hindu deities who have been imported and transformed. The Myo-o, for example, are the messengers of a Buddha called the Dainichi Nyorai, and represent his anger at the evil in the world. They are usually engulfed in fire to represent the burning off·of sin and their weapons all have symbolic value as well. Fudo Myo-o's sword represents wisdom cutting·through ignorance. If you look carefully at his ferocious face, you will see that one of his teeth is pointing up to Heaven and the other pointing down to the world and that half of his mouth is smiling and the other half frowning, representing the Buddhas·displeasure with the sins of the material world.

The Kongo Rikishi are protectors whose fierce appearance scares away evil from the temples and the Shitenno are usually depicted standing on a demon of some sort, representing the vanquishing of evil. In his book, The Arts of Japan, Hugo Munsterberg notes that, "All of these guardians were represented not only as fierce warriors but also as foreign barbarians, with large bulging eyes, wild expressions, and long curly hair, all of which were a sign of their Western origin."

Q. A lot of the Buddhist statues I see have the word Nyorai·or Bosatsu·after their name (eg. Shaka Nyorai, Kannon Bosatsu). What's the difference between a Nyorai and a Bosatsu?

A. A Nyorai is a fully enlightened being, one that has already entered Nirvana, whereas a Bosatsu is an enlightened being that could enter Nirvana, but has vowed to wait until all humankind is saved from suffering because it wants to help humankind. An easy way to tell the difference between Nyorai and Bosastu is by their clothing. Nyorai nearly always wear simple monk's robes, whereas the clothes of Bosatsu are more elaborate. Bosatsu usually wear jewellery as well.

Q. I keep hearing all kinds of different names for love hotels: eg. Fashion hotel, Boutique Hotel, Leisure Hotel, City Hotel, Motel, etc. What is the difference between them all?

A. Love hotels have been around since the Edo period (1603 ? 1867) so they've had a lot of names. They started out as tea houses where lovers went for a tryst or met prostitutes and were called deai chaya (deai means an encounter or a meeting) and a chaya is a tea house. After WWII, they became known as tsurekomi yado, which means "rendevous hotel" and were more like brothels than the love hotels we know today.

In the 1960? the moteru came to Japan, and they had the same sleazy associations that they can have in North America. For a long time, love hotels were known as motels. Because motels were along highways, love hotels in the cities needed a different name. They became known as abeku hoteru. ·"Avec" is the French word for 'with' and the name was chosen because it sounded western and romantic.

The word rabu hoteru was coined in the 1970? in Osaka where the institution took its modern form. Apparently there was a hotel called the Hotel Love. It had a neon sign whose letters moved around in a circle and people often read it as 'Love Hotel'.

In the 1980's love hotels were getting a bad name because of highly publisised grisly murders that occurred on their premises and because of the associations with prostitution. The industry started looking around for a new name and in Osaka they came up with fasshon hoteru (fashion hotel). The word fashion is often associated with sex in Japan, as in fashion health (a type of sex club). Tokyoites refer to love hotels as kappuruzu hoteru (couples’ hotels) or butikku hoteru (boutique hotels). Interestingly, the word boutique hotel was coined by Yasuo Tanaka the famous writer and off and on governor of Nagano we've been reading about in the papers recently.

Another name that you sometimes hear is reja- hoteru (leisure hotel). It was coined in the 1990? and is the latest attempt to improve the image of the love hotel. Love hotels that refer to themselves as leisure hotels often, but not always, have more of an emphasis on karaoke machines, tanning beds, giant screen TV's, etc.

The most common word in use today is rabuho, an abbreviation for love hotel.

Q. Why are there so many Love Hotels near temples and shrines?

A. Temples and shrines, as centres of culture and destinations for pilgrimages, have always had hotels, theatres and sex businesses around them. In the past, visiting a temple was as much a social obligation and a form of entertainment as it was a religious experience. Pilgrimages offered rare opportunities to get away from one? hometown or farm, and people made the most of their chances to travel, spending a lot of money, drinking, and looking for sex. Shintoism and Buddhism do not have the taboos against sex that Western religions do, and it was only natural that sex-related businesses would spring up around places of worship. In the Edo period, the precursors of love hotels were called deai chaya and in modern times became known at tsurekomi yado (see below). When Japan introduced laws against prostitution, many of these former brothels started renting out their rooms to couples in order to survive. They became immensely popular, and many famous red light districts like Kabukicho, and Love Hotel Hill were born as other sex-related businesses moved into the areas.

Q. Why do Yakuza cut off their little fingers?
A. Yakuza cut off the top joint of their little finger when they make a serious mistake, do something that embarrasses the gang, costs the gang money, or causes dissent within the ranks. It is also a way to apologise when you can't pay a debt, to end a feud, or to settle a dispute. The practice is called yubizume and is actually an old samurai tradition. When a Japanese sword is held properly, most of the grip's strength is applied by the little finger, so a person who had cut his off could not hold his sword properly. Samurai who could not hold their swords properly were far less effective in battle, and thus, more dependent on their lord. The yakuza adapted the practice, because many of them consider themselves to be following the old samurai traditions.

If you don't want to hear the gory detail of how yubizume is performed, stop reading here. The process is designed to be as unpleasant as possible, helping the yakuza show how sorry they are. They always do it themselves. First they take a string and wrap it tightly around their finger so that it cuts off the circulation. This both numbs the finger and lessens the amount of blood they lose. Originally yubizume was performed with a knife but now it is usually done with a square shaped, very sharp chisel called a nomi. They put the chisel above the first joint, and give it a good whack with a heavy hammer. The finger usually flies 20 or 30 centimetres, which gave rise to the expression, ·Yubi o tobasu·(make your finger fly).

What do you do with your finger when you've cut it off? You present it to the person you offended or to the kumicho (leader of the gang). In his book, Uyoku, Yakuza, Sokaiya: Honto no Sugata, former police officer Ishigumi Takao relates the story of how he visited a yakuza headquarters and went to get a drink. One of the yakuza told him, "Please don't look in the fridge." When he asked, "Are everyone’s fingers in there?",·the man gave him an embarrassed nod.

The stupidest finger-cutting story you will ever hear was told by Inagawa-kai president Kakuji Inagawa. He relates how he tried to stop the practice of yubizume but some of his lieutenants just didn’t get the message. When one of them demanded that one of his low-ranking gang members cut off his finger for some serious infraction, the oyabun got angry and berated the boss. The boss, comprehending, but yet not comprehending, cut off his finger and sent it to Inagawa by way of apology.

The practice of yubizume is gradually dying out, both because yakuza do not want to be easily recognisable and because the samurai values that were once so important to them are fading out. Nowadays a yakuza is as likely to offer money to end a dispute as he is his finger.

Q. Why is Saitama written in hiragana when it's the name of the city, but written in Kanji for the prefecture?
A. The city of Saitama only came into being very recently and was formed through the merger of Omiya, Urawa and Yono cities in 2001. The name was chosen as a compromise so that it wouldn't seem like one of the cities was swallowing the others. In order to avoid confusion with the prefecture, it was decided that the city's name would be written with hiragana.

Q. If there is a waiting list in a restaurant, Japanese people write their names on it not in kanji or hiragana (how they would usually write their name if you asked them to), but in katakana. Why is this? I've heard that it is considered less personal to use katakana, but I do not understand why. [I can understand that kana is less personal than kanji, but why katakana not hiragana?]--Question submitted by Tim Gershon
A. The reason that people don't use kanji is that they can be very difficult to pronounce. One character can have multiple pronunciations, and reading people's names can be very difficult. The reason for writing in katakana rather than hiragana is that it's more legible. Katakana, being stark and angular, is easier to read than hiragana. Hiragana, being curvy and loopy is easily distorted and a lot of people have idiosyncratic ways of writing it. When they write characters using straight lines, it makes word much more legible. It's the same reason that people are asked to print rather than write when filling out forms using English.

Q. Why do foreign films take so long to get to Japan? I know they have to be translated and subtitled, but sometimes the Japanese release date is a year or more behind the American one.--Question submitted by Carter Witt
A1. I think the answer may well be similar to the situation in England (where films are always several months behind the states). I don't think translation time has anything to do with it as films dubbed/subtitled into French in France often appear a few weeks before they do in the UK. A major major cost in film production is the reels of film that are used to shoot the 'movie' as well as those that are sent off to cinemas (often several reels make up just one film). As a result, film companies tend to wait until America has seen a film at the cinema before sending the same prints off to Europe and, I assume, Japan. This is also part of the reason for DVD region coding - so that people in Europe cannot buy DVD films in the states that have yet to appear in domestic cinemas. Note that Japan and Europe are both region 2. This will all probably change over the next few years as digital projectors become more widespread. --This answer was kindly submitted by Nick.
A2. It also has a lot to do with the number of available screens. A big Hollywood blockbuster needs to open on a huge number of screens to make a profit and waits for enough available theatres also cause delays.

Q. Peaches. Why are Japanese peaches depicted 'upside down'? Have they found a new way to grow them?--Question submitted by Andrew Woolock
A. Upside down peaches came from China. In China, peaches were always drawn upside down, because that's always how they are presented on plates, especially when they are offered religiously. In Chinese culture, peaches represent longevity. --This answer was kindly submitted by Ling Qi.

Q. At night I see many trucks showing one or more green lights above the front windshield. Do these lights have a meaning? If so, is there a difference between trucks showing 1, 2 or 3 lights?--Question submitted by Jeroen
A. The lights are to indicate the truck's speed. One light means the truck is going under 40 kilometres per hour. Two lights means 40 to 60 and three means over 60.

Q. I live in Osaka, and sometimes the area is referred to as 'the Kinki district' and sometimes it's called 'Kansai'. What's the difference?
A. 'Kinki' is a clearly defined geographical region with boundaries that can be drawn on a map. It is made up of Osaka, Hyogo, Kyoto, Shiga, Mie, Wakayama and Nara prefectures. Kansai, on the other hand, is a historical and cultural term which usually refers to Osaka, Kyoto, and Kobe. It can also sometimes include Shikoku and the Chugoku district.

Q. What is the difference between hara-kiri and seppuku?
A. Some people will tell you that seppuku is only used to describe the act of disemboweling oneself when it is committed by a samurai, and that hara-kiri is the term applied to disembowelment by commoners, but this is not true. They are two different words for exactly the same thing. The word hara-kiri is less formal than the word seppuku, but there is no other difference and the words are written with the same two kanji. Seppuku is a contraction of the kanji setsu (cut) and fuku (abdomen) which are pronounced differently when they are reversed in the word hara-kiri.

Q. Why is the Chuo Line in Tokyo so popular for suicides?<
A. In a six month period during the year 2000, 22 out of 37 suicides involving JR trains in eastern Japan occurred on the Chuo Line. There are so many suicides, in fact, that it has become known as the Chuo-cide line. There are no definite answers to the question of why it is so popular though, and the high number of suicides is probably caused by a combination of factors. The most important has to do with the physical layout of the line itself. The Chuo is long and straight, allowing the trains to travel much faster than other lines. Some people also say that it is popular because the straightness of the tracks gives potential suicides an unobstructed view of approaching trains, allowing them to work up their courage and time their jumps. Another important reason is that the Chuo is one of the longest commuter lines and runs through one of the most heavily populated areas in Japan. Finally, JR lines tend to be more popular with people who want to kill themselves because JR charges the families of jumpers much less than the private railways do. Once the Chuo Line started getting more suicides than other lines, people started noticing it, the phenomenon got reported in the media, and a vicious circle was begun.

Q. Why do Japanese people remove their shoes when they commit suicide?

Q. I've heard that there is a Japanese superstition which says that you should cover your thumb if a hearse passes by. What is the origin of this practice?

Q. Why do hinged doors in Japanese houses usually open outwards instead of inwards?
A. Because doors that open inwards would hit the shoes left in the front entrance.

Q. Why do so many Japanese people turn red when they drink alcohol?

Before it is acted upon by acetaldehyde dehydrogenase, alcohol is turned into a substance known as acetaldehyde. It is this substance (and not alcohol) that turns many Asians’ faces red. In people with the slow-acting enzyme, acetaldehyde is broken down at only about half the regular rate. Acetaldehyde also causes nausea, malaise, and headaches in many people. People with the slow-acting enzyme do not however, get drunk more quickly, because the alcohol itself not broken down any more slowly.
Acetaldehyde is also a probable reason for the relatively low alcoholism rates in Asia. Their strong reactions to it cause many people to stop drinking before they get too drunk.

< Q. Question for you or your website audience - the solid plastic 'curtains' that you see around the entrance of a lift in Japan - what do they do? Why are they there? They drop down about half a meter from the ceiling immediately in front of an elevator - I honestly don't known what they're there for... Question submitted by Tony Crooks.
A. They are smoke partitions, which help control the spread of smoke in case of fire in the building. Building regulations require that, for spaces above 3m in height, each 200 sq.m. or so of ceiling must be partitioned off and have its own smoke exhaust window or ceiling opening. This is also required in elevator areas.--This answer was kindly submitted by Ari Tamat

Q. Why do so many Japanese women walk pigeon-toed? Does this have anything to do with Japan's low birth-rate? ;-)
-Question submitted by Ole Jenson
A. Walking pigeon-toed is considered feminine in Japan, and is an affectation rather than a physical characteristic. Some people have suggested that it is because their legs are deformed from sitting in seiza (on your shins with your legs folded under you) but this is simply untrue. The real answer is that it is a holdover from the days when people still wore kimono. If you walk normally while wearing one, the kimono tends to comes open so for modesty people began walking pigeon-toed. Even though people no longer wear kimono, a shuffling walk with one's feet turned inward is still considered modest, feminine, and even cute.--Thanks to Emily Wood for helping with this answer.
This question, and my answer, has sparked quite a debate. Read more visitors' comments on the great pigeon-toed walking debate here.

Q. Why do anime characters have such big eyes?
A. The practice of drawing anime characters with unusually large eyes dates back to the art form's founder, Osamu Tezuka. When he started drawing his most famous creation, Astroboy, he was inspired by the famous cartoon character Betty Boop and her enormous eyes. After the success of Tetsuwan Atom (Astro Boy), other manga and anime artists began to copy Tezuka, and a trend was born.

Q. I've heard that Japanese people have a superstition against whistling at night. What is the origin of this belief? - Question submitted by Chris Pruett
A. According to Japanese superstition, whistling at night attracts snakes. The saying goes, 'Yoru ni kuchibiru o fuku to hebi ga kuru'. It means, "If you whistle at night, a snake will come (into your house)." It dates back to the Edo period (1603-1867). In those days the whistle was a sign used by burglars to communicate with or warn each other and a whistle in the night therefore became associated with thieves entering one's house. Whistling at night became associated inviting thieves/bad luck/misfortune into one's home and the snake, as one of the most famous symbols of evil and misfortune came to included in the taboo.

Q. What is the origin of the Japanese superstition which says that if you cut your nails at night, you will die young? - Question submitted by Chris Pruett
A. This superstition has two versions. One says that if you cut your nails at night, you will die young (Yoru ni tsume o kiru to hayaji ni suru) and another that you won't be with your parents when they die (Yoru ni tsume o kiru to oya no shi ni me ni aenai), i.e. you will die before them. There are two reasons for these superstitions. One is that during the Edo period, cutting one's nails at night was dangerous because of the lack of light. The second reason is that the Japanese word 'Yotsume' (cutting your nails at night) sounds like 'Yo o tsumeru' which means to cut short a life.

Q. Why do Japanese movie theaters advertise with hand-painted film posters? Wouldn't it be cheaper to just have the posters printed? - Question submitted by Chris Pruett
A. When Japanese film was first taking off as a popular form of entertainment, huge, elaborate hand-painted posters for domestic films were a key way of advertising a new form of entertainment while referring to a more familiar one. I watched a documentary about the artists who create these posters a long time ago (maybe on NHK). If you dig a little bit into the history of theater in Japan, you'll find out that many of the lovely old woodblock prints that we have from the medieval period are small versions of huge, gaudy posters showing famous actors. These posters have always plastered the outside of Kabuki theaters.

When film started trying to make a market for itself in Japan, an ordinary printed poster would have seemed, well, inadequate next to the flashy advertisements people were used to seeing. Painting these posters became an art form all its own, with individual theaters commissioning unique posters.

The thing that I can't figure out is why the hand-painted copies of Hollywood movie posters often look, um, grotesque. The facial proportions are all wrong. Maybe it's a dying art form. I think I remember the documentary referring to the fact that the companies that make these posters now often print a giant version of the original, and the painters trace directly on that copy.--This answer was kindly submitted by Rebecca Allen

Q. Why are Chrysanthemums important in Japan? - Question submitted by Pam Kujala
A. The chrysanthemum is the symbol of the emperor. It became associated with the royal family because of its resemblance to the sun. In Japanese mythology the sun goddess Amaterasu gave birth to the first emperor, Jimmu. The Chinese associations with longevity and perfection were also imported to Japan. The imperial crest shows a golden chrysanthemum with sixteen petals known as an "Ichimonjiginu" and the flower also appears on crests of important families, and police stations. Contrary to popular to belief, the chrysanthemum is not the national flower. The cherry blossom is considered Japan's unofficial national flower, but it has never been formally recognized as such. To read more about the Chrysanthemum and it's connections with Japan, visit: < http://www.ruralvermont.com/vermontweathervane/issues/fall/96010/chrysanthemum.html. Thanks to Ellen Tamura for helping with this answer.

Q. My friend and I are having a bet right now and I can't seem to find any proof to make my point. I told him that sumo wrestlers used to insert their testicles into their body cavity to protect themselves, he completely doesn't believe this to be possible. Have I been misinformed? - Question submitted by Irina De Baghy
A. Yes, you have. This popular myth comes from the old James Bond movie, You Only Live Twice. In the film, James watches some men training by kicking each other where the feathers are thin and is told by Tiger Tanaka that sumos train by 'massaging' there testicles so that they become capable of retracting up into the inguinal canal. The movie's creator's probably got the idea from old stories about kung fu masters who were capable of the same thing, but it seems about as likely as 'death touch' techniques and catching bullets in your teeth.

A dissenting opinion:

I read your answer to the answer with interest. When I was at medical school we had a lecture from an eminent professor regarding the cremaster reflex. There is an area of the inner thigh which when stimulated causes the testicles to retract upwards into the body. This is usually a mild response but with training the testicles can retract completely into the body for protection. We were also told that this was used by samurai to protect themselves in battle. Whether the latter part is true I do not know but the cremaster reflex is certainly true.

Does anyone else know about the cremaster reflex? If you do, please write me at: edjacob@quirkyjapan.or.tv

Q. How come there are always so many cats around Buddhist temples?

A. Cats have always been kept at Buddhist temples. They were originally used to keep rats away from the temple and the precious Buddhist manuscripts inside.

Q. Why is it that every cat I've seen in Japan, regardless of the breed, so it seems, has only half a tail or only a little stumpy tail? I've seen very few cats with a whole tail, and once I patted a cat and felt a bony knob on the end! Do they dock their tails or something?
A. The cats you are talking about are known as the Japanese Bobtail and they are all the same breed. The tails are not cut and are a naturally occurring genetic phenomenon. Bobtails have had their short tails (usually less than three inches in length) for hundreds of years and no one knows for sure why. The first theory is that the breed is an extremely ancient one known as the Malay cat that was imported to Japan and died out in its original home. These cats once existed in parts of what is know Thailand and Myanmar and their descriptions match the Japanese Bobtail almost exactly. Cats are said to have been first brought to Japan in the sixth century by the emperor Jinmu but it is not known whether these were Bobtails or not, and the first pictures and descriptions of the breed come from the 17th century.
Another theory revolves around long-tailed cats being regarded as being dangerous or causing bad luck. There is a famous story about a cat that lay too close to a hearth one night and caught it's tail on fire, causing it to run through the streets and burning down an entire city and there is also an ancient tradition which says that long-tailed cats are actually shape-changers that are capable of taking on human form. Because of these beliefs, it is possible that long-tailed cats were killed or not allowed to breed, giving rise to the short-tailed breed so common today. To read more about the Japanese Bobtail, visit: http://www.petpublishing.com/catkit/breeds/japbobtail.shtml.

Q. Why do so many Japanese shops have those ceramic cats with one paw raised in their windows?

A. The ceramic cats you are asking about are called Maneki-neko, which means 'beckoning cat'. They are thought to bring good luck or attract customers to the shop. There is a famous story about an extremely poor temple whose cat beckoned to a traveller who was sitting under a tree outside its gates. He decided to come in and just as he moved away from the tree, it was struck by lightning. The stranger turned out to be extremely rich and he became the temple's patron, making it extremely wealthy. There are several different varieties of Maneki-neko and they all have different meanings. Cats with the right paw raised are beckoning in money or good fortune and cats with the left paw raised are beckoning in customers. Most Maneki-neko are white, but if you see a black one, it is warding off evil, and the even rarer red ones are to prevent sickness.

Q. What is the difference between a typhoon and a hurricane?

A. Typhoons and hurricanes are just two different words for the same thing. If it's in the Western Hemisphere (East of the International Date Line) it's called a hurricane. If it's in the Eastern Hemisphere, it's called a typhoon. Because of differences in climate, typhoons tend to be stronger, and occur more often than hurricanes.

Q. Why does Hiroshima have the character for 'island' in it, when it's on the mainland.

A. The word Hiroshima means 'wide island'. Although it is not an island per se, the city is built on a river delta, and is made up of many small islands (none of which are particularly large). It was known as Gokamura (Five Villages) until Motonari Terutomo built a castle there in the late 1400's.

Q. I have long wondered how Japanese people look words up in the dictionary. They can't alphabetize their words, so how do they find them? I assume they must have dictionaries, but I can't imagine how they are organized.--Question submitted by Whitney Martin
A. Japanese has two kinds of dictionaries, regular ones, where the words are organized by sound, based on the hiragana phonetic writing system, and kanji dictionaries. To look up a word in a kanji dictionary, you have to count how many strokes the character has. Kanji are not written smoothly, the way the English alphabet is. Instead, they are written with a series of brush (or pen) strokes. Kanji can have anywhere from one to 30 strokes. Also, kanji are made up of smaller kanji called radicals. Kanji are first arranged by how many strokes they contain, and are further subdivided by the radicals that they are made up of.

Q. I often see people throwing water on the pavement in front of their houses and shops during the summertime. Can you explain this practice?
A. Throwing water on the street in front of your house is called 'uchimizu' (literally 'throwing water'). The idea behind it is to cool down the concrete and keep the dust down. Traditionally people used old bath water, but now it is usually done with a hose. For more information about uchimizu, visit < http://www.uchimizu.jp/.

Q. I have several Japanese friends who swear up and down that the name of McDonald’s mascot is ‘Donald’, rather than ‘Ronald’. Why did they change his name here.
A. When McDonald’s came to Japan in 1971, they were worried that people would have trouble pronouncing the initial ‘R’ in Ronald’s name so they changed it to Donald.

Q. What’s with toilet slippers? I can understand slippers inside the house, but why do they need to change into a different pair when they use the bathroom? – Question submitted by Doug Jardine
A. Toilet slippers are a holdover from the past, when houses did not have modern plumbing facilities. Before flush toilets became available, toilets were just a hole in the floor that people squatted over, and were not exactly the most hygienic places in the world. Wearing slippers that had been in the toilet in would might bring flies, maggots or excrement into the house, so people always changed their footwear. Although toilets are much cleaner now, toilets are still considered to be dirty, and the custom of separate house and restroom slippers continues. This fecal-phobia is also the reason that so many people dislike having to take a bath in the same room that the toilet is located in.

Q. How come Japanese people usually peel their fruit before eating it?
A. Like toilet slippers, peeling fruit is a holdover from the days when maintaining basic sanitation was far more difficult than it is today. Until the 20th century, the biggest source of fertilizer in Japan was ‘night soil’, a euphemism for human excrement. Eating the skin of a fruit was about as good for your health as snacking on a hot, steaming turd. Although human waste is no longer used as a fertilizer, people are still reluctant to eat fruit that hasn’t been peeled. With all the fertilizers and pesticides in use today, it’s probably not such a bad idea.

Q. My Japanese wife and friend both insist that Japanese babies have a blue spot on their butt when they're born. Is this true? - Question submitted by Glen.

A. Most Asian babies have blue marks on their rear-ends and lower backs called moukohan. Known as Mongolian Spots in English, they are a dense collection of Melanin-containing cells called Melanocytes. Melanin is the chemical which gives our skin its colour, and if the melanocytes are deep under the skin, they appear blue. The spots generally fade within a few years and almost always disappear by puberty. These spots have given rise to an interesting Japanese idiom, "shiri ga aoi". It means "his butt is blue" and is used to describe a person that is childish or inexperienced.

Q. Why is 'tentacle porn' so popular in Japanese anime? - Question submitted by Seth.
Q. Why is 'tentacle porn' so popular in Japanese anime? - Question submitted by Seth.
A. Tentacle sex is a bizarre genre of anime and manga in which women are attacked and penetrated by strange creatures with tentacles. Although most people think that tentacle sex is something that could only have come from the mind of a 20th century illustrator, there have been sexual images involving octopi in Japan for almost 200 years. It all goes back to the famous Ukiyo-e artist, Katsushika Hokusai, the same person who gave the world famous paintings such as “36 Views of Mt. Fuji” and “The Wave”. Hokusai, like most ukiyo-e artists, supplemented his income by painting pictures called shunga, ‘pictures of spring’ which were popular as pornography or used in instruction manuals given to newly-weds. His famous book, Kinoe no Komatsu (Young Pine Shoots) featured a print called ‘The Amorous Octopus’, which featured a giant octopus pleasuring a young pearl diver.
Hokusai’s Octopus paintings are said to be the inspiration for modern tentacle sex, but his works were not violent, and the women in the Amorous Octopus seems to be quite enjoying herself, unlike the girls in modern hentai anime. According to Toshio Maeda, the inventor of the modern genre, he did it to skirt Japan's strict censorship laws. Showing intercourse was illegal, and illustrators were always looking for ways to get around the law. Maeda claims that he was just looking for something he could use represent a penis, and came up with the idea of a young girl being attacked by a grotesque monster with tentacles. The genre became popular because it was as close to showing intercourse as anime could get.
Although it is now possible to show scenes that are a lot more graphic, tentacle sex has a strong following today and in the anime world, Maeda’s ‘pioneering’ work, Urotsuki Doji (Legend of the Overfiend) is considered a classic of sorts. This six hour gore-fest concerns an invasion of the planet Earth by demons from another dimension who have come to prevent an ancient prophecy from coming true, and have tentacle sex with as many humans as they can.
To learn everything you ever wanted to know about tentacle porn, visit: http://www.bigempire.com/sake/manga1.html. If you’d like to see the full version of Hokusai’s octopus picture that I can’t show you here, and read an interesting essay on the genre, see: < http://www.the-emperor.org/wiki/tentacle_porn/.

Q. Why are tatami mats different sizes in Tokyo and Kansai?
A. Tatami, the straw mats that are used to cover floors in traditional Japanese rooms, are bigger in Kansai (Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe, etc.) than in Tokyo. There are actually three sizes of tatami in use in Japan today. Tatami in Kansai are known as Kyoma (the ‘Kyo’ comes from ‘Kyoto’), mats in Tokyo are called Edoma (derived from ‘Edo’, the old name for Tokyo) or Kantoma (derived from ‘Kanto’, the region around Tokyo), and mats in central Japan are often called Chukyoma.
The reason for the different sizes is that houses were built differently in Kyoto and Tokyo. In Kyoto, the tatami were apparently laid down first, and then the house was constructed around them. In Tokyo, because of all the fires and natural disasters, a quicker, easier building method was needed, and so the walls and beams were built first and then tatami were added later. For this reason, although room measurements were the same in both areas, in Kyoto, they included only the mats themselves, whereas in Tokyo they included mats, beams and walls, so the mats had to be smaller. The Tokyo system is called hashiwari and the Kyoto system is called tatamiwari.
One mat in Tokyo is about 1.76 meters and one mat in Kansai is about 1.91 meters. One Chukyoma is about 1.82 meters. Because the ratio of length and width is about two to one, tatami are also of different widths, depending on the region. Kyoma (191x95cm) are used in Kansai, Shikoku, Kyushu and Chugoku, Kantoma (176x88cm) everywhere north of Shizuoka, and Chukyoma (182x91cm) in Aichi, Gifu and Mie prefectures.

Q. Why do people line up for hours in front of new pachinko parlours? I even see them camped out overnight sometimes.
A. The reason is that when pachinko parlours open up, they often set the machines to pay out more often in hopes of attracting more customers and creating a favourable buzz in the pachinko community. Serious players, or 'pachipro' also have systems for determing which machines are more likely to pay out. In order to get into the parlour quickly and have first choice of the machines, people have to line up hours in advance of the opening.

Q. Why is it that in the mid 1970's people stopped adding the suffix 'ko' to women's names? There are millions of women who were born in the 40's, 50's, and 60's with names like Keiko, Akiko, and Yoko, and then suddenly, the suffixes change to sounds like 'ka', 'ri', and 'e'.
A. ‘Ko’ was originally used as an honorific in the names of many important people and scholars in ancient China, and came to Japan in the Nara period (710-794) and was used in the names of both boys and girls who came from important families. It gradually became used more and more in girl’s names, and by the start of the Edo period, no boy’s names used it anymore. It was also used by members of the Emperor’s family, and meant ‘noble woman’ but in the early part of the 20th century, it became popular to add it to ordinary girl’s names in order to make them sound more impressive and it took on the meaning of ‘child’. For more than half a century, a majority of Japanese women had ‘ko’ in their names, until it suddenly decreased in popularity during the 1980’s. No one knows for sure why it fell out of favour, but since the trend coincides with a growing consciousness of the equality of women, it seems likely that mothers didn’t want to give their daughter a name that might make them sound childish and weak. Whatever the reason, names with ‘ko’ in them sound quite old fashioned and are a very good way to tell which side of 30 a woman is on. Today there are just four names containing 子 in the top 100.

Q. Why does the Japanese school year start in April?
A. North Americans and Europeans go back to school in September, and Australians return at the end of January, a practice which dates back to the time when they were agricultural societies and children would start school when the harvest was in. Japan, however, is different because before it came into contact with the West, it had a very different educational system. The beginning of the school year was not standardized, and students simply enrolled in classes after their birthdays.
In the Meiji period, the education system was standardized, and schools began to start their academic years in April. High schools standardized in 1887, and elementary and junior high schools followed a few years later. The reason was that for budgetary reasons, it was more convenient to have the school year match the government’s fiscal year, which ran from April to March. Also, spring is the beginning of nature’s year, and starting new things when everything is fresh in April just plain makes sense.

Q. Why are there so many people named Suzuki in Japan?
A. The name Suzuki first appeared during Japan’s feudal period, and was originally pronounced Susuki. It comes from the name of a stick that was stuck upright in the top of piles of harvested rice plants to attract the favour and protection of the gods. A priest at a famous shrine called Kumano Jinja which had branches all over Japan, named himself after the Susuki, and many farmers copied the idea in hopes of ensuring an abundant harvest. Since good harvests were such an important part of the lives of ordinary people the name spread quickly all over the country.

Q. Why are there so many bicycles with squealing brakes in Japan?
A. There is actually a very good reason for the squealing brakes. Since 90% of the bells on Japanese bicycles are broken, the noise serves as an effective warning to pedestrians that they have to get out of the way.

Submit a obscure/stupid/difficult question here and I'll try to find the answer:

Q. What in the world is 'sauce face'? I am a big Nicholas Cage fan but my girlfriend (and a surprising number of other Japanese women I have talked to) don't like him at all. They say it's because he has a 'So-su gao' (literally 'sauce face'). I've asked them what it means but they can't explain it. - Question Submitted by Matthew Thomas
A. Some years ago, there was a fad about ‘so-su gao’ and ‘shoyu gao’ in Japan. The ‘sauce’ in ‘so-su gao’ refers to Worcester sauce and ‘shoyu’ means soy, which is much lighter. A person with a ‘sauce face’ has a large nose, mouth, and eyes, a strong jaw and a darker complexion. A person with a ‘soy face’ has a smaller, more delicately featured face, with narrower eyes and lighter skin. Some famous examples of ‘sauce faces’ include Arnold Schwarzenegger, Robert Deniro, Takenaka Naoto. James Dean, Keanu Reeves, and Kimura Takuya have ‘soy faces’.
The fad came into being because people were claiming that ‘sauce faces’ were becoming less common due to changes in lifestyle. According to the theory, In the past, people ate chewier foods, giving them better-developed jaw muscles. This in turn affected the growth of their facial bones and the shape of their faces, making them larger and more powerful looking. Because today’s men eat softer foods, their jaw muscles are smaller, and their features finer. <
Women’s faces, by the way, are divided into tanuki gao (raccoon dog face) and kitsune gao (fox face). A woman with a ‘racoon dog face’ has wide-set eyes, a wide forehead, full lips and a round shape. A ‘fox face’ means that a woman’s face is narrow and has close-set eyes, thin eyebrows, and high cheekbones. - Thanks to the many people (too many to list) who wrote in and helped with this question.

Q. Why don’t Japanese ghosts have legs?
A. Japanese ghosts lost their legs in the early 1800’s. Illustrations of Noh dramas such as the famous play, Funabenkei, show plenty of walking ghosts and it was not until a kabuki actor named Onoe Shoroku came along that they began to lose their legs. While starring in a famous play called the Yotsuya Kaidan (Yotsuya Ghost Story), the tale of a murderer who was tormented by the ghost of a man he had killed, Onoe began to feel that the performance was not scary enough and decided that something was needed to make the ghost more unearthly. To give it the impression of being disembodied, he decided to hide the legs, and the audience apparently found it terrifying. His performance created such a sensation that others began to copy it, and today you will see very few ghosts with legs in Japan. Interestingly, many Japanese people who claim to have seen ghosts report that they had no legs.

HELP! UNSOLVED MYSTERY!Q. I recently visited the Hama-rikyu Gardens near Shimbashi Stn (well worth it btw, they are very beautiful). Within the gardens, they have a 300 year old pine named, funnily enough, the 300-year old pine. My question is...when it was a 200 year old pine was it thusly named, and furthermore, when it is a 400 year old pine, will the name be changed. Answers on the back of a post card. - Question submitted by "Camille Broomhead".
A. I have no idea. If you know the answer, please email me at edjacob@quirkyjapan.or.tv.

Q. What are those pieces of paper on the pillars and ceilings of the gates at temples and shrines?
A. They’re called senja fuda, and are stuck there by visitors to the temple. Senja fuda means “one thousand shrine card” and they first appeared in the Heian (794-1192) period. In those days, members of the nobility often went on ‘one thousand shrine pilgrimages’ (senja moude) to bring peace, good fortune, money and good health and they would offer ‘sensha fuda’ (the original pronunciation of senja fuda) to the gods.
The first record of sensha fuda is a poem written by the Emperor Kazan at Kokawa temple in 998 CE. In those days, however, paper was extremely expensive, so most were made from metal or wood.
In the Edo period, the pilgrimages became known as senja mairi, and became popular with ordinary people, who began pasting their name cards on the torii (shrine gates) or fudajo (special boards for people to paste their senja fuda on). They became very artistic, and were even produced by famous artists like Hiroshige, so much so, in fact, that people began collecting and trading them like baseball cards.
Today, senja fuda are often put on the gates of both temples and shrines, and sometimes you will even find them on the main buildings. People put them as high up as possible, so that the gods will be more likely to see them, and recognize their piety. Putting them anywhere except the torii or fudajo, however, is said to be sacrilegious, and many places of worship ban them because they are unsightly and people put them in the wrong places.

Q. What is the longest Japanese kanji?
A. Just as the question, ‘What is the longest English word’ has many different answers depending on whether you include scientific or medical terms and place names, there are a lot of different answers to the question “What is the longest Japanese kanji?”, depending on how inclusive you want to be.
First of all, we need to understand what is meant by ‘longest’. Kanji are written using strokes. The character for 人 (person) is written with two strokes, 木 (tree) is written with four, and 愛 (love) is written with thirteen. Therefore, when we say ‘longest’, we mean the kanji with the most strokes. The question, “What is the shortest kanji?”, by the way, is very easy to answer. It’s 一 (one), which has just one stroke.
First answer: If we look at only the Joyo kanji, the 1945 kanji which were approved for daily use by the Ministry of Education in 1981, then the answer is 鑑 (kan/ken), which is written with 23 strokes. It means ‘example’, ‘paragon’ or ‘model’ and appears in the word 印鑑 (inkan), which means personal seal.
Second answer: The Joyo kanji are the standard characters that you need to know to be able to read a newspaper or function in daily life, but they certainly aren’t the only kanji you see on a regular basis in Japan. If we include kanji which are approved for use in names, the longest kanji is 廳 (chou), the archaic form of 庁 (chou), which means ‘government office’.
Third answer: JIS stands for ‘Japan Industrial Standard’ and refers to the kanji which your word processor can produce. The longest kanji that your computer or electronic dictionary can handle are 鸞 (ran), a mythical bird which is most often seen in the name of a famous Japanese monk named 親鸞 (Shinran) and 驫 (hyou), which means many horses. Both of these kanji have 30 strokes.
Fourth answer: If we start looking through kanji dictionaries, we find some really long kanji. Shougakkan’s Shinsen Kanwa Jiten has nou (first on the left) a monstrous 36 stroker that means ‘stuffy nose’. Koudansha’s Shin Dai Jiten includes the very impressive tou (second on the left), which means ‘the dragon goes’. The two absolute longest kanji that you’ll find in a dictionary, however, are tetsu/techi (third from the left) which means ‘verbose’ and, sei (on the right), whose meaning is unknown. Both these kanji’s have 64 strokes each. These are probably the best answer to the “longest kanji” question even though they’re not used in Japan.
Fifth answer: There is an apocryphal story circulating on the internet about a kanji with 84 strokes. It’s otodo/taito/daito, and is said to be a family name. Since the only evidence for it is a business card that was presented at a financial services company some twenty years ago and there are no records of the person, it seems highly suspicious, however. To read more about the longest kanji, visit: http://f7.aaacafe.ne.jp/~kanji/strokes.html.

Q. I’m not a big natto fan, and when I moved to Osaka, I was surprised (and happy) to find out that most people there don’t like natto either. Why is it so popular in Tokyo when people in Osaka and Kyoto seem to dislike it so much. – Question submitted by an anonymous natto hater.
A. To answer this question, we need to do some digging into the history of natto and how it’s produced. Natto is a made by fermenting soy beans and has been eaten in Japan for hundreds of years. Famous for its bad smell and stickiness, it is very much an acquired taste.
No one knows exactly where natto came from, but the most popular story about its origin involves a famous general named Minamoto no Yoshiie, who lived from 1041-1108. While camping in northern Japan, probably in Miyagi prefecture, Yoshiie’s army was attacked, and hurriedly packed the beans they were cooking for their horses into straw sacks called tawara. Straw contains large amounts of the bacterium that ferments beans, bacillus subtilis, and when the tawara were opened several days later, they found that the beans had fermented. The soldiers apparently tasted the beans and enjoyed them, and a culinary tradition was born. There are other stories about natto originating in China or during the Yayoi Period (300 BCE to 300 CE), but the Minamoto theory is the most appealing for two reasons. One, there is more evidence for it, and two, it give foreigners a chance to inform natto lovers that the food they are eating originates in rotten horse feed.
The horse connection is also the answer to the question of why people in western Japan don’t like natto. There is an almost perfect correspondence between the main type of livestock raised in a prefecture and whether or not its people eat natto. Basically, in prefectures where horses were raised in the past, people eat a lot of natto, and in places that raised more cows, they don’t. This is because prefectures that raised horses produced a lot more soy beans (the dregs of which were used for horse feed) than places that raised cows. Hokkaido, Tohoku (northern Japan), and the area around Tokyo were horse raising areas and people, but as soon as you hit Osaka, consumption falls off rapidly until you get to Kyushu were, once again, people used to raise horses and people can’t seem to get enough natto.

Being a teacher in Japan, I have long known that school teachers (at least in public schools) in Japan are obligated to change schools after working at one school for a certain number of years. But I have never known why. I always thought that was strange, but found it even stranger when I found out that my friend's wife, works for the city government where they live, also has to change positions every few years, a situation that results in a lot of people not knowing how to do their jobs. Finally, I just talked to a grocery store clerk I have chatted with for the last couple of years who says that she also has to move because she can only work at one branch of the store for three years. Any reason for all of this? - Question submitted by "Deep Blue"
A. There are several different reasons for this practice. In the case of teachers and civil servants, it is apparently to prevent corruption and keep people on their toes. Moving people around every few years is thought to help prevent them from becoming complacent or establishing long-term relationships with individuals which may lead to favouratism or corruption. In addition, it also helps to stop people from getting bored and bringing down the morale of others, becoming lazy, or organizing to fight against management or the administration. In the case of company employees, the reason for frequent transfers is to give them a grasp of how every department in the company operates, helping them to create contacts and learn how to deal with different departments. When workers become managers, it is very useful for them to have worked in different sections of the company. Thanks to Sarah Cardenas, Naoyuki Maruya, Terry V., Mark Elsley, Mark Baldwin, and Dylan for helping with this question.

I have a question that has bugged me for years and no friends in Japan have been able to quite explain it. Why is it that with products like LPs, when you look at the price it often says 2,200 yen. But how come a record released in 1970 is 2,200 yen?? Were records incredibly expensive then, or what? How come the price for records has remained generally the same for the last 30+ years? - Question submitted by Jim O'Rourke
A. The answer is that even though the people who created the records over 30 years ago may or may not be collecting royalties from their sales, the record companies still need to make money. Record prices in Japan have maintained a steady relationship with inflation and so has the Japanese Yen. The value of today's Japanese Yen compared with that of the almighty American Dollar is greater than that of the Yen in 1970. - This answer was kindly submitted by Danny G.

Last summer I was looking around Tokyo for an apartment with my girlfriend. Outside one of the rental offices there was a placard advertising REALLY nice places for super cheap rent. Then my g.f. warned me that they were `bad luck` apartments. I looked and they all had the same apartment number. I can`t for the life of me remember what the number was. It was a three digit number like 691 or something. Anyway, she told me that it was Japanese police code for homicide...I THINK. Akin to Western apartments having a 666 or a 13th floor in an office building. Have you heard anything about this? I`ve since questioned other Japanese people about it. They`ve confirmed it but they can never remember the number.
A. The answer is 964. This is quite unlucky because 9 (ku) sounds like "suffering" (kurushimu), 96 (kuro) sounds like "troubles" kuro-suru, and 4 (shi) sounds like death (shinu). – This answer was kindly submitted by Dave Thane

Q. Why are urinals in the men's public restrooms visible form the outside? - Question Submitted by Lawrence Bottome
A. Architects leave the interiors of bathrooms slightly visible to stop people from vandalizing, smoking, or causing trouble in them.

Q. Here's a small query upon which I'd greatly desire some light to be shed. Despite visiting, studying, and drawing Buddhist temples in Nagoya for most of the last 10 years, I've yet to read/hear a clear explanation of the following phenomenon: Some temples are called "ji" (Koshoji, Kannonji, Jokoji, etc etc) while others (far fewer) are called "in" (Kosho-in, Higashi Betsu-in, Senzo-in, etc). Why this difference? What does it signify? How did it begin? - Question Submitted by James Goater

A. There are three different suffixes that are attached to temples - 'ji', 'dera', and 'in'. The first two both mean temple and are just different pronunciations. 'Dera' is the Japanese pronunciation (it's usually pronounced 'tera' but when it's a suffix the sound changes to 'dera'), and 'in' comes from the Chinese reading of the kanji. If your browser supports Japanese, the kanji is 寺 (if it doesn't, you can see it here). 'Tera' and 'ji' always refer to a Buddhist temple, but the third suffix, 'in', can be used in many ways.

The original meaning of 'in' is a building enclosed to a fence. It is often used for hospitals (byo-in) and beauty parlours (biyo-in). When used for temples, it usually refers to a sub-temple within a major temple complex. The famous Byodo-in, which would seem to be an exception to this rule, was once a sub-temple of Enryaku-ji.
There also seems to be some evidence that 'tera' and 'ji' are used for temples established by powerful families and that temples established by members of the imperial court. Does anyone out there have information about this? Also, if anyone knows why some are called 'ji' and others 'dera', please write in.

For more information about naming conventions, visit Mark Schumacher's 'Japan Buddhist Corner' homepage at < http://www.onmarkproductions.com/html/temples1.shtml.

HELP! UNSOLVED MYSTERY! Q. I have always been told that it is rude to point at someone with your finger in Japan, so why is the Japanese word for index finger "hitosashiyubi" (literally the 'person pointing finger)?

A. I have no idea. If you know the answer, please email me at < edjacob@tky3.3web.ne.jp

Q. Why is America called Beikoku in Japanese? Doesn’t that mean ‘Rice country’? <
A. The kanji that make up Beikoku, 米and 国, do indeed mean ‘rice’ and ‘country’, but Japanese people certainly don’t think of America as ‘Riceland”. These kanji are called ateji, characters that are used for their sound rather than their meaning. Beikoku is an abbreviation of an older word, Amerika Gasshuu Koku, which was written as “亜米利加合衆国”. The first part, 亜米利加(Amerika), is made up of ateji which mean “Asia”, “rice”, “profit” and “addition”, and can be read as “a”, “me”, “ri” and “ka” respectively. The second part, Gasshuu Koku means “Country of the United People”.
Amerika Gasshuu Koku is rather a mouthful, however, and it was eventually shortened to ‘Beikoku’. Instead of using the first character, ‘a’ the second one, ‘me’ was chosen because it would be rather confusing to call America the “Asia Country”. (If you can't read the kanji, in this question, visit http://greggman.com/japan/xp-ime/xp-ime.htm for Windows or http://redcocoon.org/cab/mysoft.html for Macs.
Similarly, 仏蘭西 (Furansu) does not mean “Buddhist Country”, 加奈陀 (Kanada) isn’t ‘Addition Nara Steep” and英吉利 (usually shortened to英国) is not “Superb Country”.

Q. I often see Japanese police cars (especially the parking enforcement vehicles) running with the roof lights flashing and no siren, even though they don't seem to be in the slightest hurry. What's with the lights?
A. The lights are simply an indication that it is on traffic patrol and that everyone should drive safely and be on their best behavior. Japan’s police have long emphasized crime prevention as being the most effective way to ensure public safety, and making themselves more visible is thought to reduce crime, particularly traffic offences. If a police car has its lights flashing but is not using its siren, you don’t have to pull over. - Thanks to all the people (too numerous to mention) who submitted answers to this question.

Q. Why don't Japanese houses have basements?
A. Japanese houses don't have basements because of the country's warm climate and the danger of flooding. Mold is a serious problem in Japan, and would grow out of control in a damp, dark, underground basement. Add to that the problem of flooding and earthquake dangers, and basements just don't make sense. Because of the numerous problems associated with them, basements are prohibited by law in private homes. - Thanks to Justin for helping out with this answer.

Q. I work at a senior high school and every year at the graduation ceremony, the school sings the Japanese national anthem and the school song (in our case - Fushiki Koko WA GA BOKO! - Fushiki Our Home School!). But then they always sing a Japanese version of the classic song of brotherhood, Auld Lang Syne, by Robert Burns. As I am also from Scotland just like Mr Rabbie Burns, I am especially intrigued by this. I have asked teachers from other schools and they have confirmed that this is a common feature of Japanese high school graduation ceremonies. So firstly, who on earth introduced the song to Japan and then how did it happen to be adopted by schools? And who made up the new words (which have similarities to the original in theme but are also all about fireflies! The title too is something about fireflies burning brightly!)? And on top of all this is the fact that when I question Japanese people, nearly all of them seem surprised to learn that the song is not originally from Japan. How did all this occur? - Question submitted by David Keddie
A. Auld Lang Syne was introduced to Japan by an educator named Inagaki Chikai in 1881. Although the melody is the same, the lyrics are completely different and the Japanese title is "Hotaru no Hikari", or "The Light of the Fireflies". Unlike the original Scottish song by Robert Burns, which is about the reunion of old friends, Hotaru no Hikari is a song of farewell. Based on a Chinese story about a boy who studies by the light of fireflies, the song is very patriotic, and tells about someone who, having studied by the light of fireflies in the summer and the reflection of snow outside the window in winter. The person is now leaving the place where he or she lives to go on to bigger and better things in the service of his or her country, so it is often played at high school graduations. Inagaki's original song had only two verses but in the pre-World War II period, two more, very militaristic verses (which are no longer sung) were added. It has been around in Japan for long that many people believe it to be a Japanese song, and it was even selected as one of the "Top 100 Japanese Songs of All Time" on an NHK special. - Thanks to Daisuke Mitoh for helping out with this answer.

< Q. Why do most schools and many other places in Japan use the Big Ben chime? Why that chime in particular? (Do they pay royalties to the Queen?) - Question submitted by Ian
A. Use of the Big Ben chime dates back to the period just after the end of World War II. Until that time, most schools in Japan used a very loud bell that was apparently as abrasive as a loud alarm clock at 6am. There was a teacher at a junior high school in Tokyo who got sick of the annoying bells, and went looking for something more pleasant. A friend suggested the Westminster Quarters, which had been used on the radio during the war at the start of important news bulletins and the school adopted it. It gradually spread across the country, and is now used at almost all schools in Japan.

Q. Why do haiku have to have exactly 17 syllables?
A. In order to understand the structure of haiku, it’s important to know a little bit about linguistic differences between the Japanese and English languages because they have had a profound influence on the types of poetry they produced. Two of the most important characteristics of English poetry, rhyme and meter, are almost unheard of in Japanese poetry, and it relies on rhythm instead.
The reason for the lack of rhymes is that Japanese has a very limited number of sounds, almost all words end with vowels, so rhyming words do not have the same impact that they do in English. Meter is not possible because Japanese people put the same stress on all the syllables in a word. Instead of using rhyming words and meter in their poetry, people focused instead on the number of morae (phonetic units which are roughly equivalent to an English syllable) to produce rhythmic effects.
The oldest Japanese poems on record, known as tanka, first appeared in the eighth century, and have 31 syllables, with each line divided into lengths of five or seven morae (5-7-5-7-7). Line lengths of five and seven morae are thought to have a mnemonic quality which makes them easy to remember, and produce an effect that is pleasing to the Japanese ear.
Haiku originated as abbreviated versions of tanka, and therefore adopted the five and seven morae lines. There are exceptions to the 17 syllable rule, however, as it is sometimes okay to add an extra syllable into one line if you are really stuck.

Q. I have heard that it is technically incorrect to refer to Matsuo Basho’s poems as haiku. Is this true and if so, what are they really called? – Question submitted by Angela Marshall

A. The poems that Matsuo Basho wrote were called hokku, rather than haiku. Hokku were the starting verses of longer poems called haikai, series of linked verses that would be composed by a group of three or more poets who each contributed a stanza. Each poet would use the previous person’s verse as a starting point, so it was very important that the first verse be well done, and although most poetry teachers taught their students how to link their poems, they generally emphasized the hokku as being the most important.

Basho composed poems in the haikai tradition, and it was not until 1892 that a critic and poet named Shiki Masaoka (1867-1902) conceived of these poems as the stand-alone verses that we know as haiku. Although it is almost impossible to tell a hokku from a haiku when you hear only one verse, they are technically different and nitpickers are correct when they point out that Basho did not write haiku.

Q. What in the world is a sukebe isu? I went to a love hotel with my girlfriend, and there was a little stool in the bathroom that looked like the regular ones you see in the public bathhouses, but this one had a U-shaped hole in the seat. My girlfriend said it’s called a sukebe isu, but she didn’t know what it’s for. – Question submitted by an anonymous reader.
A. The sukebe isu is one invention that you’ll never see in those “Genuis of Japanese Design” books. The name literally means ‘perverted chair’ and it is very common in Japan’s love hotels and red light districts. Originally developed in nursing homes, it was used for giving sponge baths to invalid patients. It did not take long, however, before the sukebe isu was adopted by Japan’s soaplands (sex parlours where women wash men by soaping down their bodies and rubbing themselves all over the customer), and came to be used for far less wholesome purposes. The customer sits on a sukebe isu just like a regular bath school, but the U-shaped hole allows the soap girl to “access all areas”. It is generally only for washing, and using one for sex would probably be quite dangerous. The sukebe isu was so popular in soaplands that many love hotels started putting them in their rooms as well.

Q. I've just started driving in Japan, and I've noticed that many people turn off their headlights, or at least dim them down to parking lights when stopped at traffic signals. Is there some reason for this? - Question submitted by Michael Haley

A. It's just manners. A lot of people, especially taxi drivers, think that you should turn off your headlights at an intersection so that you don't blind people in front of and behind you with the glare of the beams. It even used to be taught in driving school. The practice is, of course, extremely dangerous, and countless pedestrians have been hit by people who forgot to turn their lights back on.

Q. Why do so many people in Japan go to eat ramen after a night of drinking? Why not soba, sushi, curry or fast food?

A. The reason for ramen's popularity is partly its low price and convenience, but there is also a scientific reason why people want to eat it when they've been drinking. Consuming alcohol makes a person both hungry and thirsty, and actually has a dehydrating effect (think about all those trips to the the bathroom you made over the course of the night). Of course, it would be possible to re-hydrate yourself with juice or other beverages, but ramen has one other thing going for it. The body loses salt when you drink, and ramen is one of the saltiest foods in existence, making it just what your body craves as you finish off a night at the local bar.

Q. What on earth are those green plastic leaves they put in bento boxes for?

A. Many bento boxes, especially sushi, have an inedible green plastic leaf in them. Surprisingly, it even has a name: it's called a baran (though knowing this word is a bit like knowing that the plastic tip of a shoelace is called an aglet). Some people will tell you that the leaf is supposed to be bamboo, but baran actually comes from the name of a member of the lily family called Aspidastra. Originally from China, in the past, this plant's leaves were used to wrap vegetables and other perishable foods because they were odor resistant and helped to prevent food poisoning. The modern plastic baran is partly decorative, but also serves the traditional function of separating foods and keeping the flavor or smell of one from seeping into another, as well as preventing the growth of bacteria and spoilage.

Q. If I watch NHK on the TV in my car, do I have to pay NHK fees?

A. By law, anyone who owns a television in Japan is legally obligated to pay a bi-monthly tax of about 2000 yen to support the state broadcaster, NHK. But does it apply to TVs on wheels? Well, it depends. NHK fees are levied on huseholds, not televisions, so as long as you have a TV in your home and are paying your fees, there is no obligation to pay for your car's TV. However, if you only have the latter, technically, you should be paying the NHK fee.

Q. Why are there vending machines on the JR train platforms and all the private railways, but almost none on subway platforms?

A. Because it's illegal! Basically, it's against the law to put a vending machine on a public road in Japan - which makes sense, as they would be a huge nuisance to drivers and people trying to park their cars. However, some overzealous bureaucrats seem to have decided that because subway lines run under a street, the no-vending machine law should apply there as well. You can occasionally find drink machines in subways, but they are probably not under the street itself.

Q. Why do Japanese people make that ‘karate chop’ gesture when they step in front of someone or want to sit down on the train?

A. The ‘Karate chop’ gesture is called a ‘tegatana o kiru’ and means ‘sword hand’. The gesture may look rather aggressive to non-Japanese, but it is actually considered extremely polite to do it when you’re walking in front of someone. It's not so much a 'get out of my way' thing as it is a demonstration of your peaceful intentions and respect for someone's personal space. By showing the person that your hand is empty, you are indicating that you have no weapons and mean him or her no harm. The tegatana is a polite indication that you mean to walk in front of someone, and indicates the direction you are going so that he or she will be able to move out of the way or not be surprised when you suddenly plonk yourself down in the seat beside them. Uniquely Japanese, the tegatana gesture is not found in any other Asian countries.

Q. Why are kanji written up and down instead of left to right?

A. There are two reasons for the Japanese tategaki (vertical writing) style. The first is that when kanji were invented in China during the Shang Dynasty (about 1700-1100 BCE), they were usually written on tortoise shell or bones. Because tortoise shells are spherical, it’s very difficult to write horizontally on them, so people started writing from top to bottom because it was easier both for writing and for reading.
The second reason is that kanji were easier to read when written vertically. Because they were originally pictures, which usually contained a complete thought or idea, it was better to have them one above the other so that they didn’t all run together. When writing English, on the other hand, where you want all the sounds to run together to form a word, it is better to have them written horizontally.

Q. Is there some superstition in Japan to the effect that you should cover your navel when thunder rumbles? Question submitted by Pelayo

A. Yes, the expression you are asking about is “Kaminari ga heso o toru”, which means “Lightning bolts will take your navel”. Parents often say it to children when thunder rumbles, and originally it was a warning that children (who often ran around scantily clothed) should put on their kimonos. Traditional Japanese belief has it that cold weather can cause problems such as diarrhea, cramps, or stomach pains, so people wore haramaki (long pieces of cloth wrapped around their stomach) and were very concerned about keeping their stomachs warm. Lightning is often accompanied by a sudden drop in temperature, so they were telling their kids to put on something warm, but since children aren’t likely to listen to that sort of warning, they told them that lightning could steal their belly-buttons instead.

Q. Why do Japanese ships almost always have the suffix maru (e.g. Taiseimaru, Nipponmaru) attached to them?

A. No one knows for sure why ships always have maru in their names, but the most commonly accepted explanation is that it just means something that is precious or beloved. It derives from maro, which was a common suffix in people's names hundreds of years ago (e.g. Nakamaro Abe). As time passed, the pronunciation changed to maru and it began to be used in ships names as well.

Another theory is that maru, which means circle, comes from the defensive perimeters that surround Japanese castles. Each level of a castle's walls is called a maru (e.g. ichinomaru [first circle], ninomaru [second circle]) and since ships were considered to be floating castles, maru got added to their names.

Others say that 'maru' comes from the idea that a circle represents completion or perfection, and is used because a ship is like a small, unique world.
The first ship to have maru in its name was probably the Nippon Maru, the flagship of the warlord Toyotomi Hideyoshi's (1537-1598) fleet in the 16th century.

HELP! UNSOLVED MYSTERY! Q. What Japanese word has the greatest number of meanings. I have heard in English it is "set", which has 56 different meanings.--Question submitted by Ashley Smart.A. I have no idea. If you know the answer please send me an email at edjacob@quirkyjapan.or.tv.

HELP! UNSOLVED MYSTERY! Q. Why do trucks and buses have their exhaust pipes coming out the from under the vehicle? It means that pedestrians, cyclists
and bikers have to regularly put up with a blast of diesel fumes in their face. Large vehicles in Australia for example have their exhaust pipes pointing straight up
in the air. --Question submitted by Andrew Haverd
A. I have no idea. If you know the answer please send me an email at edjacob@quirkyjapan.or.tv<.

Q. Why do lots of houses in Japan have clear plastic bottles of water outside them, sometimes in the garden, sometimes in the driveway?--Question submitted by Heather Jolly
A. They are put there in the belief that cats and other animals will be scared away when they see their reflections in the water. There is, however, no hard evidence to support this belief.

HELP! UNSOLVED MYSTERY! Q. While other areas of Tokyo are referred to simply by their names, such as Akasaka, Shinjuku, etc., Ginza is often called The Ginza. Why is that? A. I have no idea. If you know the answer please send me an email atedjacob@quirkyjapan.or.tv. (Before you write in, please read this question carefully. The person is not asking what Ginza means in English. He is asking why it has the article "the" in front of it.

Q. Why do Japanese drivers almost always reverse into a space when parking their cars? --Question submitted by Heather Jolly
A. There are several reasons for this practice. First, it's possible to park in a smaller space using reverse parking, compared to driving in forward, since the front wheels (which are now at the back) can 'swing' the front of the car in at a larger angle. Another reason is that because you can steer with your rear wheels, it is easier to maneuver, decreasing the risk of scratching your car. Reversing into a parking space also makes it easier to get out. - Thanks to Claytonian, Stephan Stueklin, William Berg and Alastair Young for helping out with this answer.

Q. Why don't the news stations use computerised presentations instead of cardboard cut outs and models? Doesn't Japan have the second largest number of computers in the world? --Question submitted by Heather Jolly
A. It's because the host of the show insists on it. Top talent like Tamori don't want some director calling all the shots over what is being shown to the audience. The hosts believe that they are in charge of the show and want to have control over what is happening on stage. Besides, they probably use all their superimpose overlays on adding text of what the people are saying. - Thanks to "Dusty" for this answer.

Q. Why is it that Japan has vending machines almost everywhere you go, but there are hardly any that sell food and snacks?
A. Although the taboo seems to be gradually disappearing<, it is considered bad manners in Japan to eat while walking, so people are not accustomed to buying food from vending machines. Thanks to Sebastian Zurek, Jacob Pulliam, and Jamie Thomas for helping with this answer.

Q. Why are pearls the only jewelry allowed to be worn when attending a funeral? -- Question submitted by Willow
A. Japanese people wear pearls at funerals because they are more somber and elegant than other types of jewelry. The color white is strongly associated with death in the Buddhist religion, and a further reason for wearing pearls is that in Japanese folk belief, pearls represent tears of the oysters from which they were taken, making them appropriate for a sad occasion such as a funeral. Other types of jewelry are not allowed because wearing ornamental silver, gold or diamonds would be seen as ostentatious and disrespectful to the deceased. - Thanks to Sarah Lineker, "yukkyyy", K. Kawakami, David Levin, and Tsu for helping out with this answer.

Q. In most shrines I have seen white paper folded to resemble lightning (or something like that) hanging above the entrance to the shrine. What do they signify? – Question submitted by Jonas Werner.
A. These lightning bolt-shaped paper strips are called oshide, ogohei, or harai gushi, and have several different uses. The ones you see most often are oshide and when they are hanging from straw ropes called shimenawa, they are boundary markers, warning that the area inside is a sacred one. They are also hung around sacred trees to mark the presence of the kami (god or spirit) inside. Two pieces of paper folded into a zigzag pattern and attached to a stick are called ogohei and are quite different from oshide (although many people don’t know the difference). They are made by Shinto priests and represent the presence of the actual God in the shrine. Finally, harai gushi are made of multiple strips of paper attached to a stick and are used in Shinto purification rituals. The priest waves the harai gushi over the person or object to be purified, as if sweeping away the evil spirits. No one knows exactly how oshide, ogohei, and harai gushi originated, and despite their zigzag pattern, they are not believed to symbolize lightning bolts.

Q. I've been to Japan a number of times, and have grown curious; why is there censorship of genitals in adult entertainment? - Question submitted by Douglas Hardy

A. Japanese censorship has a long, strange history and even when you understand it, it still doesn't quite make sense. The infamous Japanese mosaic on Japanese porno movies and girlie magazines is a way to get around Japan's obscenity law, Article 175 or the Criminal Code. It dates back to 1907 and stipulates that "anyone found guilty of distributing, selling or displaying in public obscene literature, pictures, or other items" will be subject to a prison term of up to two years or a very stiff fine. Although it is very clear about the punishment, it is not so specific about the crime. As is the case with many obscenity statutes, there is no definition of what exactly constitutes 'obscene' and since the law was passed, Japanese pornography has gone through various stages. At times has been censored quite strictly, and sometimes not at all, depending on public attitudes and who was in power politically. During the 1950s, censorship was quite strict, but art books with shunga (literally 'pictures of spring; erotic prints painted by famous Japanese artists like Hokusai or Utagawa), were allowed if the genitalia were covered over. Allowing shunga to be published set a precedent of sorts, and pornography from the West began to be imported in the 1970s. The customs office in Yokohama set up a special department which was full of people busily blacking out genitalia. Since it was okay to sell Western porn, Japanese entrepreneurs realized that they could probably produce domestic pornography as well, as long as they censored it the same way that Western movies and magazines were.
The most recent developments in the censorship battle are "hair nude" photos and "thin mosaics". Hair nude photos are pictures which depict pubic hair without any mosaic or other covering. A magazine called Shukan Bunshun published a series of artistic nude photographs, and when it was ruled that pubic hair was okay as long as it had "highly artistic content", this opened the door pretty much anyone to print whatever they wanted and claim that it was art. Computer technology has led to smaller and small mosaics, because sophisticated software makes it less time-consuming to cover up the genitalia. Non-mosaic versions of Japanese pornographic films and photos that were smuggled out before being censored are now widely available on the internet, making Japan's censorship practices even more meaningless.

Q. Why do the lifeguards make everyone get out of public swimming pools once an hour? - Question submitted by Evelyn Davies

A. There are several reasons for this practice. The main reason is to give everyone a short rest in order to prevent accidents due to fatigue. The second reason is to check the pool for lost items and contamination (and some say dead bodies) because swimming pools can get very crowded. Finally, some pools use this opportunity to perform tests of chlorine levels in the water. - Thanks to Lee Faire, Anita Culp, and Evelyn Davies (who actually wrote in to answer her own question!) for helping out with this answer.

Q. Why are 'L's nonexistent in romaji, but instead converted to 'R's, when the Japanese cannot properly pronounce the 'R' sound? I would think that they would have a much easier time with 'L's. (la, li, lu, le, lo). - Question submitted by Lisa Maehata.
A. it's just because the sound is closer to an English 'R'. Although the Japanese 'ra' is formed with the mouth and tongue in basically the same position that English speakers use to make an 'L' sound, the actual voicing of the sound is more like the English 'R'.

Q. Why does Japan have an 'emperor' rather than a 'king'. Can you really call four tiny islands an empire?
A. Although Japan is now a unified country, in the distant past, until somewhere around the third century B.C., it was a collection of independent kingdoms and even after that, it took centuries until they were unified into the country we are familiar with today. The term 'emperor' is a holdover from the days when Japan truly was a collection of kingdoms.

Q. Why do people clap their hands or ring a bell before they pray at a shrine?

A. Although some people believe that Japanese hand claps are similar to the Western superstition of “knocking on wood” to scare away evil spirits, the Japanese practice of clapping and ringing bells is to attract the deity to your presence rather than to frighten something away. The practice originates in the Shinto creation myth of the sun goddess, Amaterasu.

According to the legend, Amaterasu hid herself in a cave because of the violent actions of her brother Susano-o no Mikoto, plunging the world into darkness. The other gods found her and tried to trick her into coming out by pretending that a festival was taking place outside the caves. They rang bells and beat drums while a goddess named Ama-no-Uzume performed an erotic dance, causing Amaterasu to come out of her cave. The sound is called the tenchi kabyaku no otodama, the “spirit-sound of the world’s creation.”

Q. Why do trees in temples and parks sometimes have straw wrapped around them in winter?

A. These straw wrappings are called komomaki and although they are only put on in the winter, they are obviously not there to keep the trees warm. Komomaki are actually a clever way to protect the tree from harmful insects. The idea is that the insects will be attracted to the warmth of the straw and lay their eggs there, instead of in the bark. It's a clever way of keeping the tree safe without resorting to the use of pesticides.

Q. How come there are no female performers in kabuki?<
A. Although there are no female performers in kabuki today, when the art form originated, all of the performers were women. Kabuki was started in 1603 by a woman named Izumo Taisha, and became an instant success. The performances were risqué and many of the performers were involved in prostitution, In 1629, females were banned from the stage, and men known as onnagata took over the female roles.

Q. Why are there so many white cars in Japan?<
A. Although there don’t seem to be any hard statistics, a little car counting in Tokyo suggests that about a third of cars are white, and apparently, there used to be even more. There are two reasons for Japan’s love of white cars.
The first is that white is said to represent Japan’s prudence and caution. White is a color that does not stand out, a safe choice that people know they won’t get tired of. That’s important when you’re spending a lot of money on a big purchase like an automobile.
The second reason is more practical. White is a favorite car color for the same reason that it is favored for refrigerators and stoves—it’s much better for hiding scratches and marks. Although dust and dirt may show up more than with a dark colored vehicle, Japan is a nation of religious car washers and the narrow streets mean that scratches are much more of a concern than dirt. Japan is also a very rainy country, and people like white cars because they don’t show rain marks the way that darker colors do.

NEW! Q. Why are there so few trash cans in public places? - Question submitted by James Hadfield
A. One important reason that there are so few trash cans in public places is that psychologists have found that people are more likely to litter when there are garbage cans around. It would seem logical that garbage cans reduce litter, but, actually, it has been found that they encourage people to throw garbage on the street because there is often litter around them that has been blown out by the wind or tossed in carelessly, making the area look unclean. When the area is already dirty, people feel that it is okay to throw more garbage on the street. When psychologists and urban planners did experiments where they put garbage cans in some areas, and did not put them in others, the areas which had garbage cans always had more litter on the streets.
Another reason is cultural. In Japan, it is considered bad manners to eat while walking, so people are less likely to throw food wrappers on the ground.
A third reason that there are few garbage cans is that people are worried about terrorism. After the sarin gas attacks by the Aum Shinrikyo cult in 1995, people became worried that terrorists might put bombs or other weapons in them, so the number was reduced.

NEW! Q. Why do Japanese construction workers wear those strange, baggy pants?
A. The baggy pants that some construction workers wear are called nikkapokka, which originally comes from the English word "knickerbockers." Knickerbockers were first worn by Dutch immigrants to America in the 1600s. They wore short pants that buckled just below the knee, and these came to be called knickerbockers after the famous American writer, Washington Irving used Knickerbocker as a penname in 1809.
The reason that construction workers wear them is that the loose fit allows them to stretch their legs out comfortably when climbing around on buildings. Some construction workers also consider them to make their jobs safer. The baggy pants tend to get caught on things, making them more careful when they are working in high places.

NEW! Q. Why do some temples such as Sensoji in Tokyo's Asakusa district, have giant straw sandals at the gates?
A. Straw sandals are the traditional footwear of pilgrims in Japan. One often sees them for sale around temples or hung up as decorations. The reason that some temples hang up giant straw sandals on the front gate is to protect the temple from evil.
The idea is that if a devil, monster, or evil spirit sees the giant straw sandals hung up on the gate, they will think that there is a giant inside the grounds of the temple and be afraid to go in.

NEW! Q. You always see ninja in movies wearing black, but they must have gone out sometimes during the day as well. What did they wear then?

A. Obviously, if ninja had gone around wearing black outfits and masks during the day, they would have been highly visible. When the sun was out, therefore, they would usually wear disguises. In order to blend in with ordinary people while on the move, they dressed as shop keepers, traveling performers or priests. Not only did they not wear black during the day, but they rarely wore it at night, either. Because black produces an outline if there is even a small amount of light, their clothes were a very dark shade of blue. If they were sneaking into a castle or encampment, they would disguise themselves as guards or soldiers, so ninja probably never wore black before they started appearing on stage and screen.

NEW! Q. Why do Japanese people spend so much money on omiyage (souvenirs)?

A. Why do Japanese people spend so much money on omiyage (souvenirs)?
A. According to a recent survey of airline passengers, the average Japanese tourist traveling domestically spends 7,908.2 yen on gifts for friends, family, and co-workers (and 6,488.8 yen on souvenirs for themselves). People traveling abroad were even more extravagant, spending 27,928 yen for gifts to acquaintances and family members, and an incredible 58,250.6 yen on themselves.
The roots of Japan’s love with souvenirs go back to the days of pilgrimages to Japan’s most sacred shrine, Ise Jingu in Mie prefecture. Omiyage (土産) is now written with the characters from 土地 (land or region) and 産物 (product), but in the past, it was written as宮笥. The first omiyage were boards purchased from the shrine for displaying ofuda (sacred strips of paper inscribed with messages to bring good fortune or ward off evil).
In those days, towns or villages would often choose one person to visit the shrine as a representative of the community, and he would be given money and asked to pray for everyone. The omiyage were purchased by the representative with this money and were given out to everyone after the trip.
As time went on, many shops sprang up around the Ise Jingu selling locally produced goods for pilgrims to take home with them. These mementos from the trip also became known as omiyage and the new meaning of ‘local goods’ gradually replaced the original one.
Trips to Ise were usually once in a lifetime events and souvenirs, because of their religious association, were very important, so people got in the habit of buying gifts for everyone and their uncle, creating a tradition that continues to this day.
This is not the only reason for the popularity of souvenirs, however. Japan is known for its group dynamics and guilt-based morality, and souvenirs have also become a way of apologizing for going away and leaving friends and family behind. When people take time off work, their co-workers have to cover for them, so people often buy gifts for everyone as a sort of apology for taking a vacation.

NEW! Q. Why is it, that when Japanese books are written vertically, the text flows from right to left; but when other texts are written horizontally, the text flows from left to right? --Question submitted by Tyson Blades
A. Writing horizontally is a relatively recent development and is influenced by the Western practice of writing from left to right. When kanji were first invented in China, however, they were written up and down and from right to left. Writing from horizontally from left to right and moving down the page is actually the same pattern as writing up and down from right (think of the page being rotated 90 degrees counter-clockwise).

The reason for writing them from right to left is that in ancient times, writing in vertical columns from right to left made it easier to hold write with a brush in the right hand while unrolling the paper or scroll with the left.

<HELP! UNSOLVED MYSTERY! Why are all the fiction titles in Japanese bookstores organized by publisher? Authors end up with their books spread among several different sections and no one ever goes to a bookstore looking for a book by a certain publisher, do they?
A. I have no idea. If you know the answer please send me an email at edjacob@quirkyjapan.or.tv<.

Do you have a question that's been bothering you? Send your stupid/obscure/difficult question to edjacob@quirkyjapan.or.tv and I'll do my best to find the answer for you.