A day late, but oh well:

Yesterday was not only Cinco de Mayo, it was also Children's Day in Japan.

For well over a thousand years it used to be called Boys Day, but shortly after the end of WWII, the Japanese government decided to have a single holiday celebrating children, so they chose May 5th.

The most visible representation of Boys Day is koinobori. Traditionally when flown, the top large black koinobori was supposed to represent the father; then under that was a large red koinobori representing the mother; and finally the smaller koinobori representing the sons. I guess nowadays the smaller koinobori represent both the sons and daughters.


http://blogs.transparent.com/japanese/japanese-childrens-day-kodomono-hi/

I guess this qualifies as culture. Yesterday on NHK's "Begin Japanology" they showed about Japanese vending machines. Fortunately it's been put on You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bPqczLAZCQM

No, they didn't show any vending machines that sell women's underwear.

This site is a virtual treasure trove of Japanese mythology. You could spend days here: https://japanesemythology.wordpress.com/2565-2/

This is more a legal question than a culture question. Been watching "Innocent Days" and in the second episode two middle school girls are in a bookstore and one of the girls gets caught trying to take money out of the cash register. The old lady running the store catches her but she knocks down the old lady and beats her unconscious. While they're standing there the other girl that didn't do anything tells the girl that did to run away and she will take the heat because she's only 13, the other girl is 14 and as a 13 year old she won't get punished as much.

Is that really a law in Japan? Or did they just make it up for the drama.