Famous People: Morita Akio:

Sony is possibly the most recoginisable brand name in electronics in the world and the co-founder and former chairman of the company is this issue's famous person.

Moritawas expected to take over the family business - a sake-brewing company in Nagoya, when he was younger but decided to branch out on his own. He set up Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Inc. shortly after the end of WWII in the rubble of postwar Japan with a marketing concept based on brand-name identification - the name would instantly communicate a high product quality which remains to this day.

Japan was a focus for technological advancement in the 50's and 60's and products that Sony developed played a part in this. Morita's co-founder, Masaru Ibuka, was the engineering and product-design force behind many of Sony's inventions. One of Sony's first products was a transistor radio, produced in 1955. and Sony was the first company to use the technology in a small pocket radio, creating a new market at the same time.

This led to more firsts in transistorized products, such as an 8-in. television and a videotape recorder which gave Japan a reputation as the creator of all things small and portable. It wasn't long before was branching out beyond Japan's shores and the first target was the US. Morita moved his entire family to New York in 1963 and built a solid and valuable network by continually socializing and giving parties.

One product which will forever be remembered as a Sony product is the Walkman which Morita himself had the idea for. Morita noticed people listening to music in their cars and carrying large stereos to the beach and the park and insisted on a product being made that sounded like a high-quality car stereo yet was portable and allowed the user to listen while doing something else.

Sony America considered Walkman to be bad English and changed it to Soundabout for the U.S., Freestyle for Sweden and Stowaway for Britain. Morita was not happy about using a different name for each country, and when sales were less than rewarding, he changed the name universally to Sony Walkman. Not content to be a dominator in electronics, the Sony Corp. purchased CBS Records in January 1988 to form Sony Music Entertainment and acquired Columbia Pictures in 1989 to form Sony Pictures Entertainment, however this investment in the Hollywood studio never fulfilled its promise.

In 1993, Morita was asked by Gaishi Hiraiwa, then chairman of Keidanren, to be his successor. (Keidanren is the most prestigious business association in Japan). Until this time, Morita had never really been accepted by the Japanese establishment as Sony was a relatively small company (small is relative in the second biggest economy in the world). In the Japanese economic circle, becoming chairman of Keidanren is likened to the succession of the Emperor. As it turned out, the day that Morita suffered a severe stroke, Nov. 30, 1993, was the day the succession announcement was to have taken place.

This left him in a weelchair and he retired as the chairman of Sony in 1994, although he stayed on as honorary chairman. He spent most of his retirement in Hawaii, but he returned to Japan in August 1999 and had been staying in a Tokyo hospital, where he died a few months later. Morita will be remembered as a pioneer and innovator that helped to put Japan firmly on the technological map.

Information taken from:
http://www.time.com/time/time100/builder/profile/morita.html http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/people_of_century/sci_biz/morita.html

Superstitions: Things that are unlucky

Many superstitions are so old that it's not know where or how they originated. Here is a brief description of some superstitions that are considered unlucky, or bad luck in Japan.

Black cat: This classis superstition exists around the world in differing versions, and has actually been 'imported' into Japanese culture. If you see a black cat crossing the street in front of you, you will have bad luck.

Sleeping towards the North: You shouldn't sleep with your body pointing towards the north because this is how bodies are laid down.

Tatami: Don't step on the cloth border of tatami floor mats as this is considered unlucky.

Breaking certain objects: You will have bad luck if you break a comb, strap of gata, zori, or wooden shoe. Also, if you eat melon and fried eel at the same meal!

Plants & beggers: It's bad luck not to bring a potted plant to a sick person or not to throw salt on your door step after a beggar comes to your house.

Photos: If you are the middle person in a picture with two others in it, you will soon die or suffer tragedy.

Japanese Customs: How to eat

As with drinking there are a number of customs, or unwritten rules, regarding eating in Japan that you should be aware of.

Rice: Take the rice bowl into one hand and the chopsticks into the other. Do not pour soya sauce over cooked rice!!

Sushi: You'll need to have some soya sauce (mixed with wasabi, depending on how you like it) in a small dish. The correct way of dipping nigiri sushi is to dip it upside-down with the fish part into the sauce. In general, you eat a sushi piece in one bite, but this can be difficult in some cases. Hands or chopsticks can be used to eat sushi.

Sashimi: Again, you'll need to have some soya sauce (mixed with wasabi, depending on how you like it) in a small dish. Use the sauce for dipping the sashimi pieces. Some types of sashimi are eaten with ground ginger instead of wasabi.

Soup: Drink the soup out of the bowl as if it were a cup and fish out the more solid stuff with your chopsticks. That is also true for eating noodle soups (e.g. Udon, Ramen). Sometimes a ceramic spoon will be provided for eating soups.

Noodles: Lead them with the chopsticks step by step into your mouth. Keep the distance between the bowl and your mouth small, and don't worry about making slurping noises as you eat it.

Big pieces of food: (e.g. tempura prawn, futo maki, tofu) Generally, you either separate the piece with your chopsticks, or you just bite a piece off and put the rest back onto your plate. If you're not confident using chopsticks then the latter option is probably safer.

Information taken from:
http://www.japan-guide.com

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