Another short session of Q&A.

Q: Have you eaten sushi yet? Do you like it?
A: I have yet to eat sushi on this side of the Pacific. There are at least two really good sushi places near my apartment, but I don't want to go in alone, and I have yet to find the right time to invite anyone. In general I do like sushi. I am actually quite the fan of Saba which is raw mackerel on sticky rice. Maybe tomorrow after my "super-secret-thing" I'll ask some of my classmates if they'll join me for some sushi.

Q: Have you read any graphic novels there yet?
A: Not as of yet. In Japan comics come in the form of "manga" which has a set of maybe 10 to 15 different comic books in one volume. Most manga are monthly publications. After a comic is run in a manga for long enough a compilation is usually published. That compilation is the graphic novel as it is know in the U.S.. Also, all the manga here is, well, in Japanese which makes it a little bit of a slow read. It is good practice, as it forces me to look up words I don't know.

Q: Okay, this "hip-bag", what on earth is it!?
A: Ta-da. It has a strap which can be used as a sort of belt, worn as a "man purse", or as seen here, looped through my belt loops. It also has a caribeener which you can use to attach it you a belt loop. Most people wear theirs on the back of their thigh, but I find that makes sitting problematic on the trains.

Q: Is it Kendo that uses a bokken, or just the shinai? If both, why each?
A: Good question. A bokken is a wooden training sword shaped and sized like a katana. A shinai is a round training sword made of strips of bamboo attached to one another by leather bands. In Kendo, the shinai is used for physical training and the bokken is used for form training. Because the bamboo of the shinai is flexible, so it produces less injury when striking an opponent. However, because a shinai is round it very hard to tell if you're correctly swinging it. Enter the bokken, with it's sword shape, you can tell which way the blade is facing when you swing. The shinai was developed to avoid the inherent injury striking an opponent with a hardwood sword caused in practice.