Japan’s Largest Self Publication Market (Comiket In Tokyo)

Japan’s Largest Self Publication Market (Comiket In Tokyo)

 

Japan has a number of events at which people sell their own publications. The largest of these is Comic Market — Comiket for Short — a comic book fair held twice a year in Tokyo. The Comiket held this past August was the 82nd since it was first held in December 1975. The scale of the fair is enormous, with 35,000 exhibitor booths, which attract more than 550,000 visitors over the three-day event. One surprising aspect is the large number of female visitors. According to the organizer, some 70% of the exhibitors are women, who also make up about 60% of the visitors. The average age of the exhibitors is around 29, with the visitors averaging two to three years younger. Long lines of visitors can be seen snaking around some of the most popular booths, which may sell as many as several thousand comics over the period. The booth fee is 8,500 yen ($106). But the entrance fee is free.

投稿者:Ryoji 投稿日時:

Cycling in Saitama, Japan

Cycling in Saitama, Japan

Rent-a-cycles are commonly regarded as something to be used by tourists, but in June, an unmanned bicycle rental facility was opened adjacent to a rail station in Saitama City, located north of Tokyo. Once registered, people will receive a special IC card that permits them to borrow vacant bicycles at a cost of 100 yen (US$1) per six-hour period. Payment is automatically deducted from users’ credit cards. It is also possible to log on to the Internet and determine availability of bicycles at any given moment. As this station is used by many students who commute to Saitama University which is about three kilometers away from the station, it is certain that they have been targeted as the primary users.

投稿者:Ryoji 投稿日時:

Japan’s Graffiti-resistant Paint Treatment

Graffiti-resistant Paint Treatment

In order to eliminate unsightly graffiti on the walls of supports beneath train tracks, East Japan Railway Co. has begun utilizing a “special coating” material on the walls. While applying it entails costs, not only does it make it difficult for spray paint to adhere, but its sheen has the effect of brightening up the area. “By helping to prevent crime, it’s killing two birds with one stone,” the railway claims. Spray paint can also be easily removed with a special solvent, making cleanup easy.

投稿者:Ryoji 投稿日時:

What is Shinto and Shitoism?

People from abroad often ask me, “What is Japan’s original religion?” I answer Shinto, which means the “way of the gods.” From ancient times, the Japanese have lived worshipping multiple gods. The sacred buildings where these gods dwell are called jinja or shrines. 

Torii at Meiji Jingu, Shinto shrine

At the entrance of the shrine is a torii or archway. The torii is the gateway to the shrine as well as a symbol that clearly separates the outside and the inside of the shrine. Outside the torii is the place where human beings dwell (general secular world) and inside the torii is the sacred place where the gods dwell. Buddhism reached Japan in the 5th century, after traveling from India through China and Korea. The Japanese at that time built temples to worship the Buddha as a god. You can see the sculptures of the Buddha at the temples, but at shrines there are no such physical forms of gods. From long ago, the Japanese had worshipped unseen gods imagining them existing as powerful forces. Presently, there are about 80,000 shrines throughout Japan. I’ll introduce a brief history and types of these shrines here. To the ancient Japanese, growing rice was an important aspect of their lives. From planting of the rice shoots to harvesting, the people were grateful for the abundance of sunshine and rain, worshipped them as gods, and prayed to them. This is why Japanese Shinto is said to be a religion that worships nature. Shinto has worshipped mountains, rivers, ocean, trees, sky and even the universe itself as gods, and prayed to them. These practices became Japanese events which still continue to be held as festivals. Even today, at the Imperial Palace, the Emperor prays for an abundant harvest for the year (Kinensai or prayer festival held every February) and celebrates the year’s harvest (Niinamesai or harvest festival held every November). These events have continued to this day as important ceremonies entrusted only to the Emperor by his ancestor Amaterasu-omikami (the Sun Goddess). These are both annual events as well as ceremonies for gods. On the same days as these ceremonies at the Imperial Palace, festivals are held at shrines throughout Japan to pray for an abundant harvest of rice and other crops for the year or to celebrate the year’s harvest. It is said that Shinto began around 2600 BC during the period when rice cultivation started and people prayed for the blessings of heaven, earth and nature. When tracing the history of shrines, there were no such shrine buildings as those we see today in ancient times. Shrines started when Shinto priests or priestesses began calling gods onto large sakaki trees (large evergreen trees like laurels), natural stones or rocks.