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Kenji's Japan Page
Hi there! On this page I wish to provide you with some background information on several aspects of modern Japanese culture and living.
       This information is as of 2000. If I have time I'll add more recent stuff.
                                                                                               
Kunitachi is the city I grew up in. Click here for information on this great city.
ARIGATO!!
Cartoons:
Japan is well known for it's anime and cartoon characters.I personally prefer the funny cartoons to the typically more serious anime. Here, I have brief descriptions and pictures of my favorite cartoon characters.
Sazaesan:
An older cartoon about a typical Japanese family. The main character Sazaesan, is a housewife who lives with her husband's parents. It is an interesting cartoon because it is popular with older people as well as the young. I think this is because the cartoon is about everyday life in general, almost like a drama. The Characters all are named after fish.
Doraemon:
He is a robot-cat from the 25th century assigned to take care and watch over Nobita, a fifth-grade boy who is not very smart or popular. Doraemon has a Yojigenpokketto, or interdimentional pocket which holds thousands of tools and gadgets. He is afraid of mice because at one point a mouse bit off his ears.
Pokemon:
The Pokemon cartoon, based on the popular GameBoy game, has become very popular not only in Japan, but also in the U.S. The pokemon, or Pocket Monsters are creatures that are cought by trainers using pokeballs.
Crayon Shinchan:
Shinchan is a kindergardener
who is always disrespectful to adults (esp. his mom)
Though he is only about five, he
is very intelligent and knows too much for a  kid his age. His hero is BuriBurizaemon (the pig above) and he has a dog named Shiro  (running around below).
Music:
Japan has the 2nd largest music market in the world after the U.S. Because of this, there is a huge variety of music ranging from traditional to modern Jpop and Jrock. Japanese music is also extremely popular all over Asia, particularly in Hong Kong and Singapore. Personally, I like all types of Jmusic. Here are some of my favorites.
Glay:
Japan's most popular and sucessful jrock band. During the Summer, they performed at a concert at which 200,000 people attended.
Speed:
A Jpop quartet, Speed is the most popular female group in Japan. They have released 11 singles, all hits, and 6 albums.However, they broke up on March 31, 2000. On that same day, they released two "best" albums, entitled, "Dear Friends1" and "Dear Friends2".
Hamasaki Ayumi:
Hamasaki has released numerous hit singles over the past two years. She has 4 albums so far, all of which have sold well. Hamasaki is famous for her many remix albums as well.
L'Arc'en~ciel:
They are a Jrock band that has been extremely successful. They have been churning out one hit single after another.Their newest single is "Love Flies". During the summer they released two albums together"Ark", and "Ray"
Video Games/Characters:
Because Video games and the technology behind them began in Japan, they are a hue part of everyday life of Japanese people. The famous characters of these games can be seen almost anywhere. Here are some of the original and less known characters.
Gundam:
Originally a cartoon, Gundam are huge robotic machines controlled by human pilots. The original idea of these machines have been copied over the years by many companies. (eg. Mechwarriors, Earthsiege etc.)
Be With You: GLAY
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