Shaka Shisa

Our little group of friends met every week this summer at one bon dance or another, in constant search of the yummiest BBQ sticks, the liveliest rendition of the Fukushima Ondo, and of course, our favorite Okinawan dancing. I started calling them the “bon dance posse” and we tossed around ideas about giving ourselves a name and printing t-shirts just for fun. Today, Shari spent the better part of the day with me in my computer room brainstorming. I found a cute shisa graphic from a clipart book I bought from Okinawa back in 1999. However, always leery of nasty things like copyright infringement lawsuits and such, I decided to draw something on my Wacom tablet instead. I took some graphical ideas from the clipart and added my own elements to it and this is the end result. I hope he meets with the approval of the bon dance posse.

If you think he’s cute, Shaka Shisa gear is also on sale on my Zazzle page.

Let me know what you think and if you have any suggestions to make him better, please send them along. (I don’t claim to be an artist, so go easy on me.)

I’ve been having fun with Zazzle, creating some t-shirts that you’ll probably find me wearing around town. They are mostly Okinawan or Japanese-themed. Of course, I do this mostly for my own amusement. But if you find them cool, even better! I’m still working on additional designs, but the initial batch is available now.

Before people get all up in arms over the “Japride” design, let me give you the background. And, just for the record, Hubby is Japanese — and this was his idea! It’s all in the name of good fun and, of course, not meant to be derogatory or racist in the least bit.

So, here’s the story…

You don’t have to drive very far on the H-1 freeway before you see a large vinyl-cut sticker declaring the ethnicity of the driver emblazoned across rear windows of cars and trucks. Hawaiian, Samoan, Chamorro, etc. I remarked that Asians are sorely under-represented in this new trend. Where is the love? Where is the pride?

This sparked a lively discussion with my (Japanese) husband. Then, he exclaimed: “Japride!”

If you spell it “Japride,” it can be taken to read: “Jap Pride” or “Jap Ride.” Either of which is pretty appropriate. Think: Japanese rice rockets (suped-up Hondas and Toyotas with loud mufflers and dropped suspensions)

Could this be the beginning of a new phenomenon? Japanese from all over proclaiming their Japanese pride! Come on, you know you want one.