more japan questions

[aimeekitty]

(1)- does anyone know how the bouffant (elvis on crack) hairdos started being used by yakuza in Japan...? what is the significance of the hair, how did it get started?? Is the actual term for these guys yankee? Or is there a different or more specific term? Some people say Yankee somehow refers to american yankees... but I wonder about that rumor, is it true?
ie... (modified school uniforms with long jackets and poofy pants and boufant hair)

(2) those of you who are into manga and fan-comics, etc... but CAN'T read Japanese, can you talk about your reasons for enjoying places like Comiket and Mandarake? (ie you can't read them, but perhaps you like the pictures of your favorite characters?) Other than the gashapon, I found Mandarake (Nakano Broadway) rather boring, but lots of people swear by it, so I want to understand. :)

(3) anyone have favorite places in Sunshine City (and tell me WHY) Other than Sakura Taisen Cafe and Animate.

(4) What weird cafes have you seen? I've heard of the vampire, alice, butler and maid cafes... what else?

Comments

[twotone]

I haven't been to one personally, but there are "little sister" cafes, where all the waitresses call you big brother/big sister.

Regarding the yankee hair, that's generally called a "regent" in Japan.

http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%AA%E3%83%BC%E3%82%BC%E3%83%B3%E3%83%88

Apparently it started with a rock band in the 70s.

Apparently the term "yankee" itself OFFICIALLY originated in reference to a specific kansai dialect that the "yankees" used (ending sentences in -yanke)... but the wiki entry notes that it likely was influenced by American yankee culture as well.

[positivespace.livejournal.com]

Bosozoku is the other term used for yankees:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bosozoku

There's a pretty good explanation of their style and culture in that link. :)

[ajmeow.livejournal.com]

Don't forget that galaxy cafe thing we always go to! The fogging drinks are yay!

[fatwetdog.livejournal.com]

Re: Yankees. The term definitely stems from Yankee as a slang term for American. When were they singing Yankee Doodle? Anyway. The odd thing is that most young Japanese now seem completely oblivious to that. It just means something else now and for most of them the origin of the term is totally lost and it just means thug or tough. In my experience, that confuses the heck out of American grad students. We're hanging out with our friends and they're all talking about the sketchy yankees across the street and the Americans started looking at eachother like "OMG, I can't believe they're throwing around that language in front of us! WTF?" And after some discussion it was figured out that they seriously just don't parse it as "American" at all anymore. (It came about because one of the yanks was a giant guy with spiky bleached hair, sunglasses, massive tattoos, and a fluffy white toy poodle wearing a pink yukata and a hair bow. The dog was wearing the yukata, not the guy.)

2. I adore Nakano. I can read Japanese OK, but even when I couldn't it was fun. The artbooks and magazines are great, and I adore the toys. Also, I'm completely in love with the cosplay shop on the top floor. (but cosmode sucks and cosmagic *really* sucks.)

3. Squid ice cream at Sunshine Nanja Town. In the general vicinity but not in the Sunshine mall is a Toranoana, which is awesome. My friend collects vintage video game music and redone versions of them. (I don't know why.) He squealed like a girl when he found the 1st edition Nintendo soundtrack for Mario, but re-recorded to sound like it would have had the game been on a Super Nintendo. (Like I said, I really don't know why.) But then I found a Marimite fighting game for ps1, and he had no idea why that was awesome.

[aimeekitty.livejournal.com]

omg marimete fighting game. wtf. win.