The end of Japan month

May is at an end and so is Japan month here on RatCat and Friends. I thought it'd be pretty awesome to see a compilation of all the drawings I've made this month. So here it is (notice that Daruma RatCat now has two eyes):

Not until tomorrow! (but soon) =^o,,o^=

Japanese horror movies

Japanese cinema knows many great and not so great horror movies. Some have seen an American re-makes (the ring, the grudge, to name a few). Somehow when I think about Japanese horror one of the things that comes to mind is long black creepy hair on a creepy ghost or whatever. RatCat is trying out the look.


Tomorrow is the last day of May which means Japan Month is coming to an end. So, until the end! =^o,,~^=

Japanese school uniforms

In Japan it's quite common to have a school uniform. The best known school uniform (for girls anyway) is the sailor uniform. An example:

Apparently one of the reasons the sailor-look was chosen for girls school uniforms, was because it's easy to sew.

Here we have a kogal way of wearing the uniform. Kogal is a youth subculture and the term comes from the Japanese for high school (which starts with ko) and the word gal (as in, she's such a swell gal). Mini skirts and loose socks are one way of kogalling your school uniform.

Finally, here are a few other type of school uniforms.

Until tomorrow! =^o,,o^=

The islands of Japan

Japan is made up of a whole lot of islands (around 7,000 but only 470 are inhabited). The four main islands (from North to South, sort of) are Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu. Of these four Honshu is the biggest. Here are a bunch of RatCats in the shape of Japan (because, why not?):

Until tomorrow again! =^o,,o^=

Karaoke

Karaoke is a compound of the Japanese Kara, meaning empty (same as in Karate, remember), and the abbreviation of okesutora or orchestra. In Japan Karaoke isn't usually done in a bar where you sing in front of everybody who happens to be in the bar, but in a "karaoke box". It's a smaller room that you sing karaoke in either with your friends or alone (if you want) without any other people. Sometimes you get small musical instrument such as tambourines and maracas.

I wonder what song RatCat's singing...or what he sounds like. He usually doesn't talk.

Fairy Princess Mammoth is a little too shy to sing, but he likes to play the tambourine.

Lucy is also a little shy, but she's happy to hold the microphone for Count Slugula.





Do you like Karaoke? Until tomorrow! =^o,,o^=