Obama on Hagoita › Japan Today: Japan News and Discussion

PHOTO BY TARO FUJIMOTO

Friday 05th December, 02:14 PM JST

An employee of traditional Japanese doll maker Kyugetsu Corp shows “Kawari Hagoita” which features U.S. President-elect Barack Obama. Hagoita is a Japanese traditional battledore believed to be good for the healthy growth of girls. Kyugetsu creates battledores featuring well-known figures every year-end. Other figures include Prime Minister Taro Aso, Beijing Olympic gold medalist Kosuke Kitajima (swimming), Beijing Olympic gold medalist Yukiko Ueno (softball), actress Aoi Miyazaki, celebrity Suzanne, Yomiuri Giants manager Tatsunori Hara, Yomiuri Giants baseball players Michihiro Ogasawara and Alex Ramirez, 2008 Nobel Prize winners for physics Makoto Kobayashi, Toshihide Masukawa, Yoichiro Nambu and chemistry winner Osamu Shimomura.

› Login to comment

13 Comments

Altria at 02:22 PM JST - 5th December

What are those things for? Do you give them a whack with the Obama stick when they're naughty?
pathat at 02:35 PM JST - 5th December

Obama looks a little too pale.

Maybe this is a "futuristic" thing, you know, after he gets into the White House and finds out that he can't keep a lot of his economic promises without further bankrupting the country.

Then he'll really feel sick.
thepro at 02:41 PM JST - 5th December

Creepy
meanmutha at 03:37 PM JST - 5th December

his alter ego? anyway I like the guy.
rjd_jr at 03:45 PM JST - 5th December

I like it, though could use better resemblance.
Maeno at 04:03 PM JST - 5th December

Doesn't look like Obama at all.
Sarge at 04:57 PM JST - 5th December

"Obama looks a little too pale"

He is half white.

There's a slew of Obama books in the bookstores these days. One of them is titled "The Audacity of Deceit." Looks interesting...
Dogdog at 05:25 PM JST - 5th December

He is half white.

He might well be, but the only time the real Obama is gonna look that white is at his own wake.

The picture conforms to the Japanese racist perspective of the world pecking order. Whites, followed by the Japanese, followed by Asians and with black people of any nationality at the bottom.

I find it quite offensive, just like Japanese might find pictures of their own heroes touched up with a good coloring of luminous yellow.

When will they learn?
M51T at 06:02 PM JST - 5th December

Too many pens in her pocket. In this economic climate, you'd think she'd be more prudent in pen usage. Disappointing.
Sarge at 09:09 PM JST - 5th December

"Too many pens in her pocket"

She's a female otaku.
Alphaape at 11:50 PM JST - 5th December

Dogdog, good points.
pathat at 12:37 AM JST - 6th December

Dogdog wrote:

"He might well be, but the only time the real Obama is gonna look that white is at his own wake.

The picture conforms to the Japanese racist perspective of the world pecking order. Whites, followed by the Japanese, followed by Asians and with black people of any nationality at the bottom."

That's what I was hinting at, so thanks for clarifying things for Sarge.
goodmeat at 12:15 AM JST - 8th December

Oh! I'm surprised to see this picture. I met her when I bought "Hagoita" for my daughters. She said "I am female otaku, female table tennis otaku". I think "Too many pens in her pocket" means "Too many pen-folder rackets in her house".

I lerned from her, "Hagoita" is used for the game looks like badminton. They hit a shuttlecock with "Hagoita". Winners of the game can paint the face of losers with "Sumi", Japanese black ink. At the time I played the game with her, I losed again and again. All of my face became blaaack..