Almost everyone has probably seen a Maneki Neko, even if they don’t know what it’s called or what it means. They’re those cats that are often seen in Asian stores, sitting with one paw raised. “Maneki Neko” literally means “beckoning cat”; in Japan, waving with your palm facing outwards is a beckoning motion.

As with most legends, the Maneki Neko’s has many versions, but all are basically the same. A cat appears before some figure, appearing to beckon, saving them from some unfortunate occurrence. The story first popped in the late Edo period (late 1800’s), and is accredited to various emperors and samurai depending on who tells it. The “original” story is that a nobleman saw the cat on the side of the road, beckoning, and went towards it. Doing this saved him from a trap that had been laid for him ahead, and cats became a sign of luck.

Maneki Neko is often seen in shops, partly because it is “beckoning” customers into the shop, but also because the cat is believed to bring in customers, and therefore wealth, because it is lucky. Thus, Maneki Neko can often be seen holding a coin, or as a piggy-bank.

The “Maneki Neko Cult” has even evolved into different colours of cats. The most popular is a white cat with brown spots, which is considered the most lucky, but there are also pure white cats for purity, black cats for dispelling evil, red for good health, gold for wealth, and green for academic achievements. There are even pink cats (though they are not traditional) which are associated with love.

The Maneki Neko are often seen in Anime, either in their actual form, or as a reference (one of the most known is Meowth from Pokemon).

For all of you writing University Exams soon, this Maneki Neko is for good luck!

Have you ever abbreviated Japanese into “Jap?” It’s more common in writing, but it is actually a very derogatory ethnic slur against the Japanese. Unfortunately, a large number of people use it without noticing. A High School Japanese program in my area calls its courses “JAP10”, “JAP20”, and “JAP30”, and the program at that school is not taught by people of Japanese ethnic origin. There are two other High School Japanese programs in my city, both taught by actual Japanese, and they are abbreviated “JPN.”

A Japanese man I know, who immigrated about 7 years ago now, learned English when he came. The teacher would call him a “Jap,” but not in a mean way because nothing was meant by it – it was just an easier way to say “Japanese”. Of course, my Japanese friend found it offensive, and went up to the teacher and said that calling him a “Jap” was almost as bad as calling a black man a “nigger”.

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All countries have a legal drinking age, and many drinking laws within. Underage drinking is frowned upon, and it often becomes a source of rebellion in teens. Drinking frequently, also, is sometimes frowned upon and these people can be seen as “drunks” by some in society.

Japan, though a very strict and rule-abiding society, is surprisingly loose when it comes to alcohol. Though there are underage drinking laws, this is more of a convention to follow Western societies rather than definite rules. And, though people under 20 – Japanese legal age – cannot buy liquor from stores, they can get it from vending machines, which don’t (yet) have the ability to check IDs. Parents often allow their children to drink sake, or Japanese rice wine, at celebrations (of which there are many) even in public. The interesting side-effect of this, however, is it becomes much less of a source of teenage rebellion than it is in other countries. If your parents have given you something, even if it is technically illegal, from a young age, how is it rebellious?

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If you ever have met a Japanese person who hasn’t spent a significant amount of time outside of Japan, you may have noticed that they have a problem giving definite answers to questions. This problem often translates into English, as well. It is not as much a difficulty with saying “yes,” but a very large problem when saying “no.” Instead of “no,” the Japanese will often say “not really” – which is about as negative an answer as you will get out of them. This becomes somewhat of an issue if you invite a Japanese person to something (this is more common actually in Japan). When you say “Will you come?” and they say “Well, maybe,” the Japanese know that this is practically a “no.” However, it can be a source of frustration if you are expecting someone to attend a function and they don’t.
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When you get to know Japanese a little, you may be surprised at how easy it is. Despite having a totally different alphabet and all those Kanji characters, it really is quite easy to speak and understand, and also very simple grammatically. There are some things, however, that even the Japanese themselves find hard about their language, and one of these is counters.

The Japanese make counting into a nightmare. While most other languages might have a couple ways of counting (ie. one, two, three versus first, second, third), it is generally not the hardest aspect of their language. Japan has a different way of counting almost every type of object conceivable, and a few special exceptions for important items besides. Not only that, but the counters are sometimes said differently depending on which number you are on (unlike most languages where you say “one ______”), and sometimes the old style of counting must be used instead of the modern style.

Here are some examples:
- Ba (場) – Counter for sections of a play (First act, second act, etc.). Uses old style of counting.
- Bun (文) – Counter for sentences in a piece of writing.
- Byou (秒) – Counter for seconds.
- Dou (堂) – Counter for Buddhist Temples.

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