TOKYOMANGO

Get your hand-printed limited edition TokyoMango t-shirt now (2 weeks only)

My friend Ben and I made a test run of TokyoMango t-shirts on Saturday. They're really nice, do you want one? If so, you can buy one here. Below are the details:

- All shirts are 100% cotton.
- Each t-shirt will be hand-silk screened by me and Ben on his Yudu machine. The shirt logo was custom-designed by Ben. Mango design courtesy of my web designer James.
- The Women's tees come in a t-shirt style (pistacio and white) and a spaghetti strap ribbed tank (yellow).
- The Men's tees come in orange and white. In the pic above, Ben is actually accidentally wearing a girl's tee, but you get the idea... the sleeves will be more manly on the one you get.
- You can choose a custom colored tee for $25. Just shoot me an email with your preference after you place the order.
- The sizes tend to run a little big (except for the tanktops). They might shrink in the wash.
- Some of you will receive a free surprise Japanese toy or gadget with your t-shirt! I'm just gonna randomly stick them into bags, so keep an eye out.
- We're taking orders over the next two weeks only, at least for this first printing. They'll ship at the end of those two weeks, when Ben & I will silkscreen them by hand.
- Last day to order is Monday, October 5th.

UPDATE: T-shirts are no longer for sale. Maybe we'll do another round sometime!

Pics of readers wearing TokyoMango Ts

Here are some pics of you good-looking TokyoMango readers wearing the t-shirts that Ben and I made... from top to bottom, Mat, Nami, Derek, and Ruby & Malcolm.

TokyoMango t-shirts shipped, and Reader Gallery

Dear readers who ordered a TokyoMango t-shirt,

I just went to the local post office and shipped off a boxful of t-shirts, which should get to you within a week or so. Please keep an eye out for yours, if you ordered one. And THANK YOU. It took Ben and me almost three full days to make them, but that's a good thing because we ended up selling a lot more than we expected — plus, it was fun.

Also, I'd love to do a gallery of photos on the site of TokyoMango readers wearing the t-shirts. Email me a pic to mango [at] tokyomango [dot] com by the end of the month to be a part of it.

Thanks, and have a good weekend!

Lisa

Major cosplay party in Roppongi 10/25

If you're in Tokyo later this month — or if you want an excuse to go there — you might check out what promises to be a huge otaku event held not in Akihabara but in trendy Roppongi. Special guests include girls from premium maid cafe @Home as well as LiveDoor founder Horiemon.

CharaPa!'s English web site (Thanks, Ben!

Lyrics Born to perform at fundraiser for lovely Japanese elderly facility

I often drive by Kimochi, a home for Japanese and Japanese-American elderlies, in San Francisco and think that I would like to live there one day if I'm old and alone. I bet they serve miso soup and rice for breakfast, and watch Japanese TV. That would be a nice comforting space to return to after years of living in the US eating bagels and watching HBO. Kimochi has actually been around since 1971, providing care and services Japanese-style, but they just got a devastating $100K budget cut this summer.

To help out, Bay area rappers of Japanese ancestry are getting together at a fundraiser on October 17th to give a kick-ass performance that will benefit Kimochi. Ok, I have to admit that I have been a fan of Lyrics Born's music for a little while now, but I had no idea he's Japanese.

Did you know his real name is Tom Shimura, and that he was born and raised in Tokyo? Apparently he started his career in hip hop at the college radio station at UC Davis. Music video above just hints at how awesome his music is.

Tix are $75 but if you feel inclined to help out a worthy and important cause + attend an awesome hip hop concert... this is going to be well worth your time.

Buy tickets & get more info here.

Last day to order a TokyoMango T-shirt

Today's your last chance for ordering a limited edition hand-printed TokyoMango t-shirt. Tomorrow morning, I'm going to round up everyone's orders, buy the shirts, print them, and mail them out hopefully by early next week.

Get yours here.

Summary of Joi and Lisa's session about Japanese obsessions at Foo Camp

On Saturday, August 29th, Joi Ito and I gave an impromptu talk at O'Reilly's Foo Camp about Japanese otaku culture and how it relates to hacking and Zen Buddhism. The talk wasn't recorded so we don't have an exact transcript, but here's the gist of it:

We started by showing several photos that portray otaku obsessions—rows of figurines on a store shelf, cat cafes, itasha, body pillow covers, a man with his body pillow girlfriend, and a maid cafe bento box with a bunny rabbit drawn on the lid. We also showed some non-otaku photos, like a perfectly designed plate of cooked vegetables at the restaurant Daigo and Yoichiro Kawaguchi's futuristic sea creatures lined up in front of a Yushima Seido temple. The obsessiveness of otaku culture, we said, can be seen even in more traditional and non-otaku Japanese aesthetic, from food presentation to religious display. And it's this obsessiveness—which clearly goes beyond economical or functional rationale—that enables the precision manufacturing, cleanliness, punctuality, and politeness that we think of as stereotypically Japanese.

Joi noted that the caste system of Japan probably plays a role in this obsessiveness. For generations, people have been taught to be happy perfecting their role in society, without necessarily viewing social or financial gain as a measurement of their success—it's the shokunin culture in which focusing on one job allows one to obsess with abandon until they reach perfection on a very local level. As examples, we mentioned waiters working for no tip and the guy at Narita airport whose only job is to tell people that their checked-in bags are on the revolving belt. As an example of obsession reaching a perfected end, Joi mentioned ukiyo-e, a type of woodblock printing that was popular during the Edo period. According to Professor Mitsuhiro Takemura, a media design scholar at Sapporo City University, the art form was essentially made more simple and abstract through rapid iterations until it reached obsessive perfection, and that was where innovation in this genre ended. (The actual end of ukiyo-e is attributed to the Meiji Restoration.)

Follow my live Apple event Tweets

Hey guys! I'm not here right now — I'm at Yerba Buena Center in downtown San Francisco live-tweeting the very important announcement by Apple for Boing Boing. Follow my Twitter feed to read my updates live.

BBG's Live-Tweeting the Apple Event Today

Photos from New People World, the new J-pop center in SF

I finally visited New People World, the new entertainment complex in San Francisco's Japantown. It's small, but really cool! The shop has tons of awesome design-y Japanese things that I actually wanted to own, the cafe has delicious — albeit overpriced ($10!) — pork cutlet sandwiches, the art exhibit by Yoshitaka Amano was stunning, and I really want to go back to see the Yayoi Kusama movie at the cinema.

This is the 6% Doki Doki store, where you can buy super cute hair accessories and colorful earrings that spell out Japanese words like "arigato."

This amazing piece of art by Yoshikata Amano was made specifically for the US showing of his exhibit, Deva Loka. It's created much like the way a car is painted — with automotive paint on aluminum. And if you look carefully, it actually spells out "America" in katakana. アメリカ. The photo does it no justice, but all his works are strikingly bold and amazing! This one's price tag was around $40-50K. Made me wish I had real money to spend on art.

New People World home page

New SF Japantown entertainment center opens Saturday

If you haven't already heard, this weekend is the grand opening of New People World, the new entertainment center in San Francisco's Japantown created by Viz Pictures. It will house a movie theater, clothing retailers straight from Harajuku, tea from Ito-en and food from the delicious Delica bento shop, and an art gallery.

New People World web site

Learn Samurai techniques and watch Zatoichi at the Asian Art Museum

The Asian Art Museum in San Francisco is having what promises to be a fun event on Thursday, August 27, in conjunction with their Samurai exhibit. It's the latest in their Matcha series, and they're going to have a famous samurai swordmaster teaching Iaido. Also, they're showing Zatoichi.

Way of the Sword at the Asian Art Museum

Panel to seriously discuss ramen later this month

For those of you in SF who love ramen, there are no awesome ramen joints in the area but there will be a panel discussion, For the Love of Ramen, at the Ferry building on June 24. It will feature a pretty interesting panel of academics and journalists who have given serious thought to the sociocultural and gastronomic significance of ramen.

More info here. (Thanks, Daniela!)

Video: My talk at Ignite SF

Here's a very nicely edited video of my 5-minute slideshow presentation at Ignite SF at the Mezzanine (a night club) on April 1st. There was a technical glitch, and you can see me give the slidemaster a dirty look when it starts getting screwy. It was fun though—I am grateful to have had the opportunity to face that kinda situation in front of hundreds of people. Next time I won't freak out, I promise.

Japanese gadgets and toys at Ignite SF
Download it from iTunes

Japantown Cherry Blossom Festival pics

Today was the last day of the Cherry Blossom Festival in San Francisco's Japantown, and I walked in the big parade with my friend's daughter and her elementary school friends. We wore yukata and got to borrow these cool orange umbrellas, which saved us from heatstroke. It was an unusually ridiculously hot day.

Famous Japan writer Donald Richie in Berkeley April 21

Donald Richie, one of the most respected living Japan writers of today, will be giving a talk about Japanese film at Berkeley's First Congregational Church on Tuesday, April 21. He is the author of books like Old Kyoto: The Updated Guide to Traditional Shops, Restaurants, and Inns and The Inland Sea. His newest book is A Tractate on Japanese Aesthetics, which is kind of entering into Richie's brain—it's written in a free form, random rambling thought type of way. Man, I wish I could gain enough cred so that I can get my random thoughts published one day.

More info about the event here.

Japanese toys and tools @ Ignite SF tonight

Just a quick reminder that I'll be doing a 5-minute presentation on Japanese toys tonight at the Mezzanine, a nightclub in SF. Hope you can make it!

Ignite SF event page

Come see my slideshow at Ignite SF next Wednesday

If you missed my talk on Japanese tech and toys at ETech because it was in San Jose (or because it was like $1500 to attend the conference) come check out the 5-minute, 20-slide version at Ignite SF, the kick-off event for the Web 2.0 Expo next Wednesday, April 1st, at 8:30-ish PM. Especially if you're my friend, you have to come, because I've never given a talk in front of 700 people so I need moral support. It's at the Mezzanine, which is a big nightclub. (Last time I went there was to see a band. I think it was CSS.) Also, I will be joined by several other super cool, good-looking tech-y men and women on stage.

Ignite SF at the Mezzanine + event page on FB

Japan Society NY's Krazy! exhibit on anime, manga, and video games

The Japan Society in New York is having what appears to be a pretty awesome exhibit on manga, anime, and video game culture called Krazy! It just started last Friday and goes through June, so if you're in NY you should definitely check it out.

Sneak peek: Shibuya cell phone video at ETech today

I'm down in San Jose today giving a presentation on Japanese gadgets and technology at ETech. For those of you who can't make it, here's a video clip that I'll be showing. My co-speaker Fumi and I interviewed these teenagers to find out how they use their cell phones.

Related posts:
Japanese culture at ETech
Boys' Shibuya fashion makes debut at ETech

Demystifying "Weird" Japanese Tech and Toys at ETech, next week

Hi guys! I'm going to be giving a 45-minute presentation at ETech, O'Reilly's flagship tech conference, next Wednesday @ 2:55PM. It's at the Fairmont Hotel in San Jose. The topic is "Japanese tech culture: Demystifying "weird" Japanese toys and tools" and I still haven't figured out exactly what I'm gonna say, but I've recruited my friend and colleague Fumi Yamazaki to co-present with me. She showed me her slides today, and they are awesome.

My speaker bio
Fumi's speaker bio

Music and subcultures at the Japan Society tomorrow

I'm moderating a panel discussion on Japanese contemporary society & subcultures & music tomorrow night at the Japan Society of Northern California. It's only $15 to attend, so come by if you can!

Japanese teens and pre-teens are helping to boost Japan’s sluggish economy as they devour popular culture, from electronics and fashion to books and music. Others are expressing themselves through less mainstream behaviors. How does today’s youth culture reflect deeper, more complex issues—such as race, gender and cultural politics—in Japan? Two experts on youth culture will discuss current trends in music and alternative subcultures as they forecast how these trends may shape future generations.

Details here.

Panel at Japan Society on underground music and youth, Feb 26

On February 26, I'll be moderating a panel at the Japan Society of Northern California on music and Japanese youth culture. The featured speakers are Jennifer Milioto Matsue and Marvin D. Sterling, both anthropologists and authors of books about the underground music scene in Japan. So very interesting! I am not an expert on the subject, but am honored to be sharing the stage with those who are. Come watch!

More info and registration here

ETech 2009: What will I talk about? Sign up and find out

ETech is an awesome annual conference held by O'Reilly Media. This year, it's in San Jose, the theme is Living, Reinvented: The technology of Abundance and Constraints, and speakers include Mary Lou Jepsen of One Laptop per Child, Nick Bilton of the NY Times, Alex Steffen of Worldchanging.org, and me. Yep. I'm going to be giving a talk titled Japanese Tech Culture: Demystifying "Weird" Japanese Toys and Tools.The details of my talk are still a big mystery, even to me, but it will come together, I think, by the time March rolls around. Any suggestions on what I should talk about? Email me. I'm all ears.

Exciting, right?
Here's the full schedule for ETech 2009.

TokyoMango readers get a special 10% off discount on already discounted early registration rates until next Monday. Just put promo code et09toma in the box for promo codes when you register.

I'm reading at Writers With Drinks on Saturday

This Saturday, I'm going to be reading from my book and/or some of my recent magazine articles at Writers With Drinks, an event hosted by my friend Charlie Jane Anders. Come by if you want!

Saturday, Jan. 10, 2009:

Ann Packer (The Dive From Clausen's Pier, Songs Without Words)
Yosefa Raz (ZYZZYVA, Glimmer Train)
Lan Tran (How To Unravel Your Family)
Lisa Katayama (Urazawa)
Scott Sigler (Contagious)
Steven Schwartz (69, Best Bisexual Erotica 2)

All proceeds benefit the Center for Sex and Culture.
At The Make-Out Room 3225 22nd. St., San Francisco CA, from 7:30 PM to 9:30 PM, doors open at 7 PM.

More event info

I'm speaking about Japanese tech culture at ETech

I was invited to speak at ETech, O'Reilly's annual flagship emerging technology conference. It will be held in March in San Jose, CA. My thingy will be on Wednesday, March 11 at 2:55PM, and I'll be talking about seemingly strange web apps and gadgets that actually give us great insight into the foundations of Japanese popular culture. The conference is kinda expensive, but there are some great speakers on the lineup—Joi Ito, Gary Wolf, Mary Lou Jepsen—well worth it if you want to hear some of the best idea people talk about what's up and coming. Details on my talk are here.

Me at the FCCJ, tired. Hungry.

That's me after my talk at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan on Monday. 30-40 people came, an interesting mix of journalists and my parents' friends and some others. I think it went well! I talked about the challenges of writing about Japan for a US audience. I didn't eat the chicken-and-avocado dinner that was served to me before the talk because I didn't want to be bloated while I talked.

Come to my Urawaza talk at the FCCJ in Tokyo next Monday

I've been asked to talk about my book, Urawaza, at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan's Book Break on Monday, October 20th in Tokyo. I am planning to talk about the book a little bit, but also about why writing for magazines is sometimes harder than publishing a book, and about blogging and writing about Japan and all kinds of other fun stuff. Since I'm pretty sure I will run out of things to talk about after a half hour or so, I'm hoping to turn it into a discussion on writing about Japan. So please show up if you can!

Get more info on the event and on how to sign up on the FCCJ Web site. 1850 yen includes dinner.

UPDATE: I just found out that you need to be on my "guest list" to sign up. So if you want to come, email me with the subject line "FCCJ Guest List" and include your name and phone # and commitment to pay 1850. I'll email back a confirmation. Thanks!

Urawaza: Me on Daytime TV Doing Tricks

I was on TV today, on a local ABC show called View from the Bay to promote my book, Urawaza. Lisa Quinn's the host—she's like a bad-ass Martha Stewart. I thought I'd feel like a monkey doing tricks in front of the camera, but it actually wasn't that bad.

You can watch the clip by clicking on the image above or by following this link.

Pics from my Book Signing at Double Punch

I had a book signing yesterday at Double Punch. It's this super cute toy store in North Beach with an art gallery upstairs (featuring Piximix, an art collective specializing in awesome characters like a deviled Pikachu saying "I hate you.") A few friends came, some fans, and one guy who came to yell at me about how some of the tricks advocated morally bad things. (I explained that it's not a moral book, but a fun book. He eventually left.) Pics after the jump.

Come to my Book Signing at Double Punch!

CBC Radio Show About Japanese Internet Culture

I was on a CBC radio show today talking about Japanese internet culture, 2-channel, and other random stuff.

You can download the podcast here.

Want to Attend Japan's First Public Lesbian Wedding?

Kanako Otsuji, the openly gay politican who is running for national elections this summer, announced that she will be having a public wedding ceremony with her partner so that everyone can attend and see that this is totally okay. Here are the details:

Place: Ikeda Park, Naka-ku, Nagoya
Date: June 3, 2007
Time: 4:30PM
Dress code: Not specified
Gifts: An open mind
RSVP: Not necessary.

If anyone actually makes it out to the wedding, will you email me with an update? And pics, if you get any. Thanks!

Bondage Event In SF Tonight

Dear Japanese bondage fetishists in the Bay Area,

You should check out this event, if you have $80 and a solid zoom lens:

please flag with care :  [miscategorized]    [prohibited]    [spam]    [discussion]    [best of]

email this posting to a friend

1/14: Live Japanese Bondage Event for Photographers (SOMA / south beach)

---

Reply to: event-261760571@craigslist.org
Date: 2007-01-12,  4:08PM PST

Have you dreamed of shooting pictures of beautiful women in challenging Japanese-style rope bondage?

Rope::Burn is a live Japanese rope bondage performance in the heart of the SOMA district.

$80 (advance purchase) gets you admission and a photo pass to shoot three professional bondage models tied and tormented on stage. Two acts, 30-50 minutes each, plus a special ~20 minute bonus intermission act.

No video please, still photos only.

Jan 14, 2007
7:00PM load in
8:00PM performance
SOMA District, SF CA

Contact this address for pass purchase information.

• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests

Posting ID: 261760571

Vagina Post-Party Report

James Lee had fun at the Vagina Party.

Vagina Dentata Party in Tokyo

A party dedicated to the Legend of the Toothed Vagina Woman. Who's coming with me?

LED Skate Shoes and Other Pretty Lit-Up Things

This winter, ice skating takes on an artistic flair with the Art Link special event at Yokohama's Red Brick Warehouse. It's a light show with different creative art mediums, like skate shoes with colored LED lights (shown above), giant illuminated sculptures, and thousands of candles lit by visitors. It goes on through Christmas til pretty much the end of the year. Pretty!

A very special Michael Jackson Christmas in Tokyo.

MJ fans better book their tickets to Tokyo soon. Apparently, Jack-o's celebrating Christmas there this year, at a fancy gala complete with a $3,400 dinner. Ever since he was accused of being a child molester, Superstar's been keeping a low profile--in fact, his debut public appearance after his June '05 acquittal was at MTV Japan's VMAs this year. In Japan, we still love Michael. Even if some people think he loves little boys just a little too much.

Full story here.

The biggest tea party in the world.

If you thought the Boston Tea Party was a big deal, you haven't been to Aichi Prefecture.  14, 718 people attended this traditional Japanese tea party last week, held on 1.5 kilometers of red carpet and attended by celebrities like Kato Cha, an old-time comedian of Drifters and Kato-chan-Ken-chan fame whose last name means "tea."

Some people want to set records that show off how many numbers they can memorize. Others want the world to know how fucking crazy a tea party can get.

I guess everyone needs something to be remembered by.