Hello Japan! Hello Kitty!

Despite its stereotypical childish appearance and colorful design, this book is actually an extremely useful and entertaining  introduction to Japanese society and culture, almost worth introducing to 1^st year University students studying Japanese culture. According to the book’s editor, it was initially designed to be used, and read by Japanese people who travel abroad, so that they can practice easy conversation with foreigners and discuss Japan, its culture and society. That’s why you can find the book at Haneda Airport and Chitose Airport’s book shops in Hokkaido (Not at Narita). The striking thing about this book is that it features the world wide famous Japanese Sanrio character Hello Kitty, also known as Kitty White*, who introduces the reader to her family, to her friends and all the special events and particularities of her home country. Throughout the book, Hello Kitty speaks systematically in English and in Japanese, which also helps to sharpen the language skills of a non-Japanese reader, who hopefully has a small amount of knowledge about Japan and its language. Because you can constantly compare the words in Japanese characters and in English, the reader’s eye is continuously learning and registering from the reading. The second striking thing about this book, apart from the fact that it features Hello Kitty, is also the use of the romaji reading, to make it easier for the non-Japanese conversation partner to read the book too!

The book is divided into six parts and in each of these parts, Hello Kitty introduces 9 to 13 chapters for each topic such as:

1)   “Welcome to Japan”

2)   “Communication”

3)   “Sightseeing”

4)   “History and Culture”

5)   “Food and Cooking”

6)   “Japanese Lifestyle”

The illustrations are simple as Kitty, and very straightforward. While introducing actual places in Japan or Japanese typical meals, the book uses actual photos to make it more real. But it also illustrates using symbols for the most famous object or place on a map of Japan, so as to put a “face” to the city or the prefecture. For example, Niigata city is famous for its rice fields and sake.  Aomori prefecture is famous for its delicious apples. Apparently, Yamaguchi city is famous for its poisonous fugu fish and Nagasaki city for its castella cake. Fukushima is spelled “Hukushima” and it features a samurai warrior—not three melted down nuclear reactors.

In every chapter, you can find a “Did you know?” section, which explains something awkward or something unusual about Japanese life.

Under the chapter “Attending a funeral” Osoushiki (お葬式), you learn all the details and the steps you need to take when you attend a Buddhist funeral in Japan.

Kitty-sama feels your pain. Let her guide you through the tribulations of a Japanese funeral.

The opening illustration where Hello Kitty sheds a single tear is wonderfully Japanese in many senses. If Hello Kitty was introducing Korean culture or American Reality TV, she’d be shooting tears from her eyes like North Korea testing missiles after the death of the Supreme Leader. The funeral section is surprisingly concise and thorough. It covers everything from the protocol for burning incense to honor the dead to making a bow to the family members, and receiving the “return gift” after the sad feast. The “Did you know” for this section tells you: “that when you see a hearse on the street, we make a fist putting the thumb inside. This is to protect our parents, as thumb is referred to as “parents finger”, (oyayubi 親指) in Japanese.

From time to time, you also find a section called “for young people only” (wakamono dake若者だけ) where you can learn the slang used by Japan’s younger and ruder generations, such as “Are you serious?” マジで？ Maji-de? Or “You must be joking” うっそ〜 ussoo.

The book has some practical uses as well. Under the chapter “National Holidays”, you can find a calendar with Japan’s special days, such as the “Respect of the Aged Day” 敬老の日keiroo no hi, which is the third Monday of September, every year.

Just in time for 節分 (Setsubun)! Coming up in February!

This book is not childish at all, read it and you will learn much about Japan and its people, children, youth, adults and elderly people. And there are absolutely no pictures of green tea KitKats or high-tech toilets. We expected this book to be awful—it turns out to be awfully entertaining.

Hello Kitty’s Guide to Japan, English and Japanese/ハローティの英語で紹介する

Editor:　ナツメ社/Natsume Edition

Author:　桑原功次/Koji Kuwabara

Year of Publication: 2011

*According to some sources, although Hello Kitty aka Kitty White is a Japanese company created character, she is actually a British female national. Which is a bloody surprise, don’t you think, guv’nor?