From: masuda@fcs280b.ncifcrf.gov (Michiaki Masuda)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan
Subject: Souvenir from Japan [SUMMARY]
Date: 2 Jan 93 02:49:51 GMT
Organization: Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center


  Dear netters:

   Akemashite Omedetou Gozaimasu.

   I am planning to go to Japan and stay there for three weeks and 
thinking of getting some Japanese goods for my collegues and friends
here in the US as a gift. In order to make my shopping somewhat easier,
a few weeks ago, I asked on the net what would be appreciated by Americans 
as good "JAPANESE" souvenir.

   As of January 1, 1993, I have received totally 16 replies (13 e-mails
and 3 postings) from 15 netters. In this posting, I'd like to summarize those 
replies and express my sincere gratitude to those netters who kindly
took time to respond to my question.

   The following is the list of the goods that could make a nice and "Japanese"
gift/souvenir for Americans (and possibly other Westerners) in an alphabetical
order. Items with an asterisk (*) were picked up by more than one netter. 
{...} is my comment.

 1. Art prints - Inexpensive copies of traditional wood printings {Ukiyo-e}.

 2. Baseball caps (*) - Those of Japanese professional baseball teams.

 3. "Basukurin" - Scented powder for a hot bath tub. {You can reproduce
                  some of the famous Japanese hot springs at home, too.}

 4. Books (*) - Books on Japan written in English, "Manga" (comic book), 
                other magazines, and picture books showing scenaries in 
                Japan.
                (For those who are interested in Japanese language) books 
                written in plain Japanese and books on "kanji." 

 5. Calligraphy set - "Fude" (brush), "sumi" (a block of ink) and "suzuri"
                      (ink plate) for "shodo" (Japanese calligraphy).

 6. Ceramics (*) - Tea set, "sake" set, etc.

 7. Chopsticks - A nice pair of chopsticks. {Lacquered ones should be fine.}

 8. Crafts (*) - Paper crafts made of "washi" (traditional Japanese paper),
                 small ornaments that could be used for a Christmas tree,
                 origami, kites, a little statue of Buddha etc. One netter 
                 mentioned a book titled "Gateway to Japan" by June Kinoshita 
                 and Nicholas Palevsky (Kodan-sha) which contains a good 
                 description of Japanese crafts.

 9. Dolls (*) - Kokeshi, Daruma, Hakata doll, etc.

10. Fake food (*) - Food samples made of plastic or wax that you can see
                    in front of restaurants. {Probably, available at the
                    professional shops in Kappabashi, Tokyo.}

11. Footgear - "Zouri" (Japanese sandals), "tabi" (Japanese traditional
               socks), ets. {"Geta" might be good, too.}

12. "Go" (*) - Go stones in the bowl and the board.

13. "Hanko" - A sealing stamp (for Japanese-American friends). {If you can
              write other American's name in Kanji, it would be possible to
              order a custom made hanko, too.}

14. "Kabuki" program and other "kabuki" goods. 
              {kabuki = one of Japanese traditional theater plays.}
              
15. Liquors - Whisky and brandy of a Japanese maker in a miniature bottle.

16. Music - Japanese music CDs and cassettes.

17. "Noren" - A small curtain for an entrance of a restaurant or a doorway.

18. "Omamori" - A small lucky charm tag, especially the one for a car 
                {"Kou-tsuu Anzen" [Safe Driving]}.

19. "Sake" (*) - Preferably in a bottle of a "strange" shape (e.g., "Tokkuri",
                 bottle made of a dried squid, etc.) or traditionally wrapped.

20. Snacks (*) - Dried fish, rice crackers (e.g., senbei, kaki-no-tane), etc.

21. "Soroban" - Japanese traditional calculator. {It was probably invented
                in China, but the Japanese model seems to be different from
                the Chinese model.}

22. Stationaries (*) - Mechanical pencil + ball point pen (e.g., Sharbo),
                       stationaries with fancy patterns, etc.

23. Sweets (*) - Traditional "wagashi" (Japanese sweets), candies, cookies,
                 and other "okashi."

24. Toothpicks - Ones with unusual carvings.

25. Toys (*) - Electronic toys and traditional Japanese toys (e.g., kendama,
               Daruma otoshi).

26. Towels - Japanese "tenugui" towels with sumo wrestlers, "Kamikaze",
             "Ichi-ban," etc.

27. T-shirts (*) - Ones with a logo in "Japanglish." {Ones with "Ukiyo-e"
                   print might be fine, too.}

28. "Yukata" (*) - A casual "kimono" for summertime. Can be used as a bathrobe,
                   or a nightgown as well. 


   Most of them seem to me to be reasonable, but some of them such as
"Japanglish" T-shirts were rather unexpected. It suggests that the 
definition of good Japanese gifts by the Japanese standard and that by the 
non-Japanese standard may not be completely overlapping. If there are any 
further suggestions or comments regarding this list, I'd be more than happy
to hear them.

   Although I do not mention the individual names of those 15 netters who 
contributed to this list as some of them preferred to keep anonymity, I really 
thank them for their cooperation. I now have a better idea of what to get
as souvenir.

   Thanks.

--Michiaki
Newsgroups: soc.culture.japan