Do you have a good sense of humor? Like to play? Always up for a challenge? Calm in the face of adversity?
If you answered yes to all of these questions, then you may have just found your perfect match!
Chigo, the handsome gent in the picture, has energy and shiba-tude to spare. This little smarty pants is originally from the U.S., but is currently residing in Ontario. Ideally, he'll find his new home in/near Ontario, so that Shiba Rescue of the Greater Toronto Area can provide his new minions owners with any support they may need.
I've taken a special interest in Chigo, because he reminds me of wild-man Yoshi. It is not possible to overstate what an energetic and mischievous little character Yoshi was as a young man, but with lots of patience, love, good humor, and positive training, he has turned into the most loving and mellow dog (even if he is still a smarty pants). So, I have a soft spot in my heart for wild and crazy shibas, because even though you sometimes can't see the light at the end of the tunnel with them, there can be a sweet, wonderful dog waiting on the other side.
If you can, please spread the word about Chigo, maybe even consider posting a link to his PetFinder page on your blog.
[Edited on February 17, 2008: Once again, we are so grateful to Blue for providing the translations and cultural background information for these commercials. Thank you so much!]
Part 12
***At a busy street corner***
Aya is waiting for someone.
She calls but hears only the artificial voice of the voice mail.
The street has been deserted and Aya tries to call again.
She turnes around and finds the guy for whom she has been waiting.
They run toward each other.
Dad (Cream Shiba): That's enough for today!
Mother nods
Male voiceover: Merry Christmas, SoftBank.
Japanese started to enjoy (not celebrate) Christmas even before the War. Now, Japan has a huge and 100% commercial Christmas. It provides them with a reason to party and a very romantic night for lovers.
Contrary to popular belief, Japanese are very, very agnostic. Yes, they do have many temples and shrines but they are more like cultural heritages and do not have much religious meanings to them anymore.
Part 13
***At a busy street corner***
Aya is waiting for someone.
She gets a call and turns around, there he is.
They run toward each other.
Dad: Ahhhh...
They hug.
Dad: Maybe, it is okay for today.
Mother and son smile.
Male voiceover: Merry Christmas, SoftBank.
Part 14
***In the bathroom***
Son is giving a bath to his dad.
Dad (Cream Shiba): What is "Tada-Tomo"?
("Tada" means free and "Tomo" is the abbreviation of "Tomodachi" which means a friend.)
Son: It is the "White" (calling) plan to cost 980 yen for one month, until 9pm (from 1pm) free domestic calling between SoftBank members.
Dad: Ouch, that's hot!
Son: I'm sorry, dad.
***At the dining table***
Aya: Where is dad?
Mother: He's bathing.
Male voiceover: Spreading the circle of "Tada-Tomo."
As usual, the shiba has an attitude of a very traditional Japanese dad, very stubborn and tyrant-like. And the son is very obedient.
You may wonder why the shiba is washed outside of the tub. Japanese bath tubs are very deep and filled with hot water, and are strictly for enjoying being in hot water, like a hot tub. Therefore, they wash themselves outside of the bathtub. And, Japanese kids used to wash their dads' back. I guess some of them still do.
Part 15
Silent Night is the most popular Christmas song in Japan. Every kindergarten student learns this with the translated lyrics.
Part 16
Part 17 (this one is pure genius)
***In the classroom***
Taller boy: It is not a lie.
Shorter boy: That's not believable.
Girl: Stop that!
Shorter boy: He says SoftBank will start the (unthinkably) super student discount.
Taller boy: It is not a lie.
Cream shiba enters the classroom.
Girl: Sensei (means a teacher).
Dad: Stop arguing!
Shorter boy: Why do we have to listen to what that dog says?
Girl: What are you saying to our teacher?
Shorter boy: But the dog is a dog.
Dad: Do not judge by what it looks like.
Shorter boy: Then what should we judge with?
Dad: With the eyes of your mind.
Shorter boy: With the eyes of my mind?
Taller boy: Sensei.
Girl: Sensei.
All kids: Sensei.
***In the livingroom***
Aya: What a nice thing you said to the kids, Sensei!
Dad: Do not call me "Sensei" at home.
Male voiceover: Finally, "White (calling plan)" student discount has started.
Part 17 (Alternate Ending)
***In the classroom***
Taller boy: It is not a lie.
Shorter boy: That's not believable.
Girl: Stop that!
Shorter boy: He says SoftBank will start the (unthinkably) super student discount.
Taller boy: It is not a lie.
Cream shiba enters the classroom.
Girl: Sensei (means a teacher).
Dad: Stop arguing!
Shorter boy: Why do we have to listen to what that dog says?
Girl: What are you saying to our teacher?
Shorter boy: But the dog is a dog.
Dad: Do not judge by what it looks like.
Shorter boy: Then what should we judge with?
Dad: With the eyes of your mind.
Shorter boy: With the eyes of my mind?
Taller boy: Sensei.
Girl: Sensei.
All kids: Sensei.
Shiba barks or more like howls.
***In the livingroom***
Aya: So you barked again?
Dad: I did (in a kind of embarrassed way).
Part 18
***At the SoftBank store counter***
High School Kid: "White" student discount?
Aya: Yes, for students who join the White plan there is no basic charge for three years and unlimited usage of the package starts from 0 yen.
High School Kid: If you do that much for me,...
Aya: If we do that much,...(what?)
High School Kid: I feel almost sorry.
Dad: Do not be so reserved!
High School Kid: Sensei.
Aya: Dad.
Dad: This is Emoto from my class.
High School Kid: Nice to see you, and sensei has been very kind to me always.
Aya: You have been very nice to my dad.
Dad: Can I say something to you?
High School Kid: What is it, sensei?
Dad: Boys, be ambitious!
Dad: Why are you looking at me like that?
Male voiceover: "White" student discount. For three years, there is no basic charge.
"Boys, be ambitious" are the famous words from Doctor William Clark who came to Hokkaido, the northern part of Japan, from the U.S. to be the first principal of Hokkaido University in 1876. When he left, he said to his students, "Boys, be ambitious (at that time, the university had only male students)!" Since then, these have become such precious words for the Japanese educators' community and for boys. However, it probably sounds too old fashioned for young kids now. And, by using these words, this dad reveals how old fashioned he is, and it just does not fit with discussion about cellphone calling plans. I guess the dad meant that boys should be ambitious with this discount plan.
If you like shiba blogs, boy, have I got something to share with you.
I was looking at one of my absolute favorite shiba blogs, which belongs to Hikari & Strawberry, and noticed a little button that they had on their site. The button allowed you to vote for their blog, and, since I LOVE their blog, I clicked it. To my surprise, it took me to the most enormous collection of shiba blogs known to mankind (or dogkind)! One-hundred and eighty-three (183) shiba blogs, to be exact!
And, after much struggling with the Japanese registration system, Yoshi & Tsuki's blog is now listed on the site. Currently, they are at #144 in the ranking, but that seems to change pretty frequently.
Even though the site and blogs are in Japanese, I've found that you can get by pretty well using Google Language Tools.
So, if you enjoy following Yoshi & Tsuki's adventures, please take a second to click the button below and vote for their blog.
A happy ending to the tale of Sato, a 2-year-old shiba who left his owner with nothing more than an empty collar and some memories more than a week ago. But yesterday afternoon, they were reunited in the same spot where life went wrong.
Most of you have probably already seen this, since I think I've gotten about 7,328,254 Pottery Barn catalogs since October, but here it is for posterity.
If you click here, you'll be taken to the product on Pottery Barn's web site.
I went slightly insane purchasing shiba stuff in Japan, so have decided to sell sold some of it on eBay (I guess we should call it shiBay). There are only so many stuffed shibas a person needs, after all.
Click an image to be taken to the shiBay auction for that item.
All of the items are now sold, so I've removed the shiBay links.
I'm not sure if there are any shibas in this book, as it was written by an Akita fancier, but I thought it might of interest to owners of Japanese breeds in general:
Well...I have no idea what I'm going to do with these things, but I *had* to have them:
The one of her in her little dusting hat is my favorite.
Here's the link where you can buy them, in case you find them as irresistable as I did. Also, if you can think of something good to do with them, let me know, because I'm at a loss.
I just got back from doing a research project on urban strays. Mostly, we saw a lot of feral cats, which I guess is typical of most large cities. We kept hearing rumors that there were packs of stray dogs, but were told that they didn't come out until after midnight, so we weren't really expecting to see any. We were following a lead on an active feral cat colony, when we made a wrong turn and had to drive down a side street to turn around. When we did, we found these guys...
There were 6 of them in total, even though they're not all in the picture.
For obvious reasons, this guy really broke my heart.
You know how we shiba owners always say that we could make a whole 'nother shiba out of all the fur that comes off our dogs when they blow their coats? Well, Koshi and Harlow's extremely creative and talented mom has done just that -- she has had shiba fur spun into yarn, and created the adorable crocheted shiba that you see above! I'm stunned at how cool this is!
Koshi and Harlow's mom is using all of the shiba fur yarn and the resultant projects to raise money for Shiba Rescue, which is also stunningly cool!
VIP Fibers created the shiba fur yarn, and you can have yarn created from your pet's fur, too! I almost can't wait for them to blow their coats again, and who in their right mind would ever wish for that?!
Shibas are featured on this month's cover of Dog World magazine. That can only mean that we're one step closer to world domination! I mean, it even has "world" in the title!
We put together a list of all of our favorite toys and treats, so that Santa won't have any trouble figuring out what to bring all of the good shibas this year. Click the picture, Santa!
Chairman Yoshi says "Humans should be modest and prudent, guard against arrogance and rashness, and serve the shiba inu heart and soul...and also, click the picture to bring our message to the world."
Since the holidays are approaching, I thought I'd share a few more links to some nice shiba stuff that I've come across over the years.
DOG JEWELRY Fine Arf makes extremely nice, high-quality, sterling silver jewelry. Dog breed and dog themed charms are one of their specialties. I've purchased a number of items from them, and all have been super high-quality. People constantly ask me where I got them, so now you're in on the secret. Click on any of the pictures to get more info.
Dog Breed Charms
Dog Theme Charms
Bracelets
Earrings
MORE DOG JEWELRY Tundra Designs also makes cute dog breed and dog themed jewelry. Ive never purchased anything from them, but the silver shiba pendant is on my Christmas list this year. Click the picture and it can be on your list, too.
SHIBA POTTERY
I haven't purchased any of this cute shiba pottery (yet!), so can't attest to the quality, but it looks nice. Click on either picture to visit the artist's site.
SHIBA SCULPTURE Black Cat Copper makes copper dog breed sculptures. I had originally thought they were lawn sculptures, but theyre only about 6 high, so I guess not. I can only go by whats on the web, as Ive never purchased anything from these artists, but the photos look quite nice. Click the picture to see more sculptures.
SHIBA NOTE CARDS Four Footed Friends makes some really cute shiba note cards. I bought a couple of boxes a few years ago, but thanks to the internet, I hardly have a chance to use them. They are super adorable, however, so if you use note cards, they are a definite must have. They used to have a Christmas version, where the shiba was wearing a little Santa hat, but I don't see it on the site anymore.
Okay, I found the Christmas version, but it's being sold by k9gifts.com.
OTHER SHIBA STUFF
This artist paints adorable pictures of shibas dressed in kimonos. Click the picture to see more designs, and detailed descriptions of what the shibas are wearing.
Here's something that the dogs are buying for Popi! Shhhhhh...don't tell him.
