Majikku katto, Magic Cut, is a patented packaging technology whose trademark is registered by Asahi Kasei Pax. A bag with Magic Cut can be torn open from any point along its edge. The edge carries countless tiny holes, about 0.2 to 0.3 millimeters each.
Ridges on the Shampoo Bottle
In Japan, shampoo bottles carry small notches. They were added so that shampoo and conditioner bottles, which look alike, can be told apart by touch, for example by visually impaired people or by anyone washing their hair with eyes closed.
The notches were put into practical use in 1991. Other companies in the industry were then asked to adopt them.
The Raku-Raku Phone
Raku-raku hon, the easy phone, is a mobile phone series for older users sold by NTT Docomo. Fujitsu developed and made most of the models.
A Docomo manager dated the first product to 1999, but the same article traces the series to a 1998 model by Matsushita. The sources therefore differ on when the series began.
The Soy Sauce Bottle
In 1961, Kikkoman brought a small 150 ml bottle to market, so that soy sauce could be used easily at the table. It was designed by Ekuan Kenji. Kikkoman says its spout is easy to pour from and does not drip. The company also says the bottle is easy to hold and hard to tip over.
Pictograms for Tokyo 1964
The 1964 Tokyo Olympics were the first international event to use pictograms. Katsumi Masaru, art director of the Games, gave the designers two themes a day, such as toilet and telephone. He asked them: Gaikoku kara kita hito ni hitome de wakaru yō ni, shinborikku na mono ni shite kudasai. “Make them symbolic, so that people from abroad understand them at a glance.”
Katsumi also pushed for the copyright to be waived.
445 Words for Texture
In 2005, researchers at Japan’s National Food Research Institute, among them Hayakawa Fumiyo, published a collection of Japanese texture terms. Their list holds 445 words. Among them are sakusaku, light and crisp, mochimochi, soft and springy, shakishaki, crunchy and fresh, and paripari, crackling crisp.
The researchers also report that words for stickiness and springiness, such as nebaneba and mochimochi, are common in the vocabulary of consumers.
Umami
The chemist Ikeda Kikunae found that the taste of kombu broth comes from glutamic acid, an amino acid. He invented a way to make an umami seasoning from it and took out a patent. In May 1909, the seasoning went on sale under the name Ajinomoto.
Departure Melodies
In March 1989, departure melodies were introduced at JR Shinjuku and Shibuya stations in Tokyo. They replaced the loud bells that had rung before a train left.
A Great Success
When a customer enters a FamilyMart, a short chime plays. In January 2016, the news site Internet Watch reported that this chime had been given an official title: Daiseikyō, A Great Success.
Water Koto Cave
A suikinkutsu, water koto cave, is a jar with a hole in its base, buried upside down in a garden. Water drips into it, and the sound echoes inside the jar. Shinagawa City says its history is said to go back to the Edo period. Some sources credit its invention to the tea master and garden designer Kobori Enshū, but this too is only said.