Posts Tagged ‘samurai’

Bathing like a samurai

SMAP member Tsuyoshi Kusanagi reenacts how Japanese people in the Sengoku period would have taken baths and brushed their teeth:

In those days, people didn’t use large bathtubs. Instead, they stood inside shallow buckets and dumped water over their bodies. Teeth were cleaned with salt instead of toothpaste.

Kusanagi acted very embarrassed by having to wear a fundoshi, perhaps as a way to show viewers that he usually does not like to be naked in public.

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Samurai Maid Cafe

Japanese TV news constantly tells me that there is a “Sengoku Boom” going on in Japan right now, so I guess I’m not too surprised that somebody decided to start a Sengoku maid cafe:

Sengoku Style Cafe & Bar Mononopu is staffed by cute girls who wear a combination of maid costumes and samurai armor. It’s located about 5 minutes from Akihabara station (see this map for details).

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

Samurai vs. Baseball

A Japanese swordsman takes down a 130km/h fastball:

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• Akihabara News – Gadgetry from Japan (Subscribe)
• dannychoo.com – Your portal to Japan (Subscribe)
• Kirainet.com – A geek in Japan (Subscribe)

UK Samurai Sword Ban

The U.K’s ban on the sale, production, and importation of samurai swords has gone into effect:

Those breaking the law face six months in jail and a £5,000 fine. Carrying a sword in public is already illegal.

Exemptions will cover swords which are used for re-enactments or antique weapons kept on display by collectors.

Eight years ago a councillor was killed by a man wielding a samurai sword in the office of Cheltenham Liberal Democrat MP Nigel Jones.

Anyone found guilty of importing samurai swords will face up to seven years in prison and an unlimited fine.

Chocolate Fukuoka Castle

A very cool way to celebrate Valentine’s Day:

The Hawks Town Mall shopping center in Fukuoka has put up on display models of Fukuoka Castle and the Nagasaki Kaido road made out of sweets.

A total of 287 students at Nakamura Culinary School in Fukuoka spent four months creating the models. They crafted them using eggs and marzipan with sugar and almonds to reproduce the finest details, such as roof tiles and stone walls of the castle, whose 400th anniversary is being celebrated.

Kendo Master Chimpanzee Pan-kun

There haven’t been many new episodes of the Pan-kun segment on Shimura Zoo recently, but he does make some mini appearances on the show. Here he is giving a hint about a guest who practices kendo (Japanese fencing):