The Otaku Encyclopedia!

I am finally emerging from under the mountain of moé* I have been buried under for the past six months, to tell you that finally The Otaku Encyclopedia is on sale in Japan! This photo of it on display at Kinokunia in Shinjuku was sent to me just now (thanks Haru!) proving that the book has gone on sale about a week earlier than I'd been told it would be! I guess I better hurry up with the website design... but until then you can see what Danny Choo (see previous posts) had to say about the book.

* moé is the latest otaku buzz word, and basically means to get all hot and sweaty over some budding 2D cutie. But you can buy the book for a better definition ;)

Fukubukuro

The first few days of the year are always sale time in Japan. Which I guess is the same in many of the world's big cities. What makes Japan a little different is the tradition stores have of selling "Fukubukuro" or "Lucky Bags". These are like a lucky dip because their contents are hidden until you've bought them, but the promise is they will always contain goods worth about double the price paid.

All kind of places, from department stores through to the big brand-name stores have them, and their price can reach exorbitant levels - resulting in some big savings. While the Ginza area attracts much of the attention during the Fukubukuro season the best place to see the modern nature of this tradition is in Tokyo's heart of girl's fashion - the 109 building in Shibuya.As thousands of girls flock to the store, eager to grab bags from their favourite boutiques, they are heldin check by rows of neatly dressed security guards, whose blue uniforms stand in drab contrast to the glitz of J-girl fashion. These men resemble somewhat bemused fathers as they control the crowds of girls young enough to be their daughters.

Eventually the girls re-emerge from the building clutching their booty, and many soon stop to open the bags on the street in front of the store, where the second stage of this Fukubukuro spectacle takes place. Within and around this seven storey cylinder of style the Fukubukuro sale has become much more than an annual sales event, and has evolved into a free-market trading ground resembling the stock exchanges of old. The proper thing to do during Fukubukuro season, is to accept what is inside the bag and take it home, but for the past few years, girls have set up an impromptu market on the sidewalk in front of 109 and swap or sell the unwanted items of clothing they find inside the bags. The frenzied action is fascinating to watch and probably one few places in Tokyo where you can actually haggle on the price of goods. These girls are going against the accepted norm by doing this and some Japanese people I have spoken to think the management of 109 may try to shut down the market next year. But personally I feel the entrepreneurial spirit shown by the girls who started this trend proves the 109 building in Shibuya continues to be the epicentre of change for Japanese women.

My photos can't really capture the mood so please watch the video below.

UT QT

There is somewhat of a T-shirt war going on in Tokyo at the moment. The fashion obsessed hordes that flock to Harajuku and Shibuya are a fussy lot, and if they can't wear something that inspires conversation or praise then they don't want it – hence the demand for curious, original and interesting T-shirts has reached new heights. As this demand has grown so has the competition between various T-shirt producers with everyone trying to supply consumers with groovy Tees at the lowest possible price. This summer's big players in the Battle of the T-tans were Graniph, Beams and Uniqlo's new UT brand. All of whom have enlisted the world's design elite to try and raise their cool quota.

The latest salvo in this war has been fired by Uniqlo from their new flagship UT store on Meiji-dori in Harajuku. Displayed in shelves resembling refrigerated vending machines - or possibly cryogenic storage units - each T-shirt is rolled up and packaged in plastic cylinders with barcodes and product numbers identifying which shirt is inside. The effect is very impressive, very cool and looks really expensive. But the twist is these shirts sell for only around ¥1500 each. Which is ridiculously cheap in my books.

Uniqlo are being really smart here. They have been around for awhile now and are established as as global brand with stores in New York, the UK, China, Korea and Hong Kong. As a cheap store with fairly generic designs and colours that are easy to mix and match the "Uniqlo look" has become a standard in Japanese fashion these days. But perhaps because of that it has become a little bit unstylish. The brand desperately needed to be updated, and that is exactly what the new UT range has done. No expense has been spared to ensure that people notice – with uber-trendy photographer Terry Richardson shooting the ad campaign.

The shirts themselves are are all serialised and constantly updated. Current series include one devoted to the art of Keith Haring, another is an Ozamu Tezuka Tribute and another focuses on Japanese Pop Culture. Various graphic designers get the chance to show their stuff in the World Typographer series and there is an annual competition held with the winner and runners up showcased in the Creative Award series. There is even a collaboration with the colour standards company PANTONE® for their colour series.

It will be interesting to see how both Beams and Graniph counter attack but with summer drawing to a close it may have to wait until next year. My advice to them is to begin by following Uniqlo and make their T-shirts in XL so I can actually wear them.