Some cool places via Keibunsha*, Kyoto.
More and more.

* Keibunsha on DokoDare

Yûgiri (Evening Mist)

All 54 Genji Mon

About Genji.mon, genji-kô, awase-kô

Genji crests (Genji-mon) are 54 different rectilinear emblems, each associated with one of the 54 chapters of the Genji monogatari ("Tale of Genji," early eleventh century, written by Murasaki Shikibu).

[...]

Genji crests (see Table of Genji-mon), also called Genji-kô ("Genji incense"), were apparently first derived from one of the traditional incense ceremonies in which participants burned combinations of 5 primary scents from 25 different packets, each marked with a unique symbol.

[...]


Eventually, these 25 symbols were expanded to 54, corresponding to the Genji chapters. Other influences on the particular forms of these crests may have been the tally markers or vent patterns of the incense burners used in the ancient game of incense guessing, called awase-kô ("fragrance game" or "incense contest"). The game challenged players to identify burning incense when small slivers of various fragrant tree resins were placed on pieces of mica and burned over charcoal in a kôrô (incense burner). Players had their guesses tallied and the one with the most correct guesses was the winner.

There are several sites where one can print Graph paper. But I am still looking for a better site than this to print Genkō yōshi.

Related:
Genkō yōshi (原稿用紙, literally manuscript paper, Genkō yōshi)
Washi (和紙, Washi or Wagami, literally, "Japanese paper")
kozogami (楮紙)

Akinori Oishi Mobile Watch

See also:
Mobile Art

Rent a house in Kyoto and Tokyo

Vivre Le Japon concilie la liberté d'un voyage individuel avec le sentiment de sécurité procuré par les voyages organisés.

En proposant un hébergement totalement indépendant dans une maison traditionnelle et la mise à disposition d'un 'travel angel', véritable ange gardien autochtone et francophone, Vivre Le Japon offre une immersion dans la vie quotidienne de Kyoto et Tokyo propice à une véritable rencontre des japonais et leur culture.

Via la rivière aux canards

Voir aussi:
Le (meilleur) gâteau chez Ghost

Edo-period monster paintings by Sawaki Suushi

In the sophisticated popular culture of the Edo period (1603-1868), much attention was devoted to Japan’s rich pantheon of traditional monsters and apparitions, known as youkai. Sometimes frightening, sometimes humorous, these compelling Japanese folk creatures were the subject of numerous artistic and literary works. One such work was Hyakkai Zukkan, a collection of picture scrolls completed in 1737 by Sawaki Suushi, a relatively unknown artist who studied under master painter Hanabusa Itchou (1702-1772). Hyakkai Zukkan’s colorful depictions of Japan’s most notorious creatures inspired (and were copied by) youkai artists for generations.

See also:
Non Non Ba (のんのんばあとオレ) by Mizuki Shigeru

WOW Book

※ WOW10 Website by w0w

In an interesting post from Marketing Japon, Nico Nico Douga is compared to YouTube. Nico Nico Douga made its market entry in january 2007 and surpassed YouTube Japan in less than a year. According to Marketing Japon there are two reasons:

• Niko Niko Douga lets you put comments inside the videos
• Niko Niko Douga is 100% japanese which means that everything is mobile, there is an access through NTTDoCoMo and QR Codes are everywhere.

There business model is also quite fascinating:

Nico Nico Nico Douga possède également un modèle économique assez innovant… L’accès est gratuit MAIS lorsqu’il y a trop d’utilisateurs on ne peut pas accéder au service SAUF si l’on souscrit au service « premium » : 525 yens/mois (3,20 euros) avec paiement par carte de crédit ou 1.680 yens pour 90 jours (10 euros) avec paiement par Docomo (paiement mobile).

And here is the QR Code (seems only to work for Japan):



See also:
SMILEVIDEO

Decoding the letter "W" in Japanese products and promotions

[...] in Japanese, "W" has become a shorthand way of expressing ideas like "double," "twice," or "two," and it's not unusual to see the letter used in brand names, advertising and promotional materials.