Japanese bemused by the often bizarre choice of text many barbarians select (knowingly or unknowingly) for their trendy Japanese language T-shirts provide what they consider 23 of the worst examples.
The shirts:
“Watashi hentai” – “I, hentai.”
“Kyokon” – “huge dick,” perhaps unintentionally accurate.
Literally meaning “huge root,” it is at least genuine slang.
“Super Top” – this is actually an advert for a brand of washing powder…
“Tokyo-na” – sufficiently meaningless as to elicit amusement from any Japanese speaker.
“Kono yarou, shiharae!” – “Pay up you bastard!”
“Aji no Moto” – Ajinomoto (“origin of taste”) is the brand and company name of the world’s first and leading producer of monosodium glutamate, actually invented in Japan in 1907.
“Kichiku Beihei” – “Brutal American soldier,” topping the list of what not to wear on a trip to Okinawa.
“Kichiku Beiei” – “Vicious Anglo-American brute.”
“Mainichi ga jigoku desu♥” – “Everyday is hell♥”
“Kyokudo kansou shinasai” – “Dry as much as possible!”
“… wa hentai de aru” – “… is a pervert.”
“Hentai” – “Pervert.”
“Otaku” – “Virgin.”
“Hakkaa” – “Poseur.”
“Jiko Ken’o” – “Self loathing.”
“Nihonjin kanojo boshuuchuu” – the famous “Seeking Japanese girlfriend” T-shirt.
“Fuhounyuukokusha” – “Illegal alien,” probably not a good choice for actual wear inside Japan.
“Watashi wa nihonjin desu” – “I am a Japanese person.”
“Ji” – “Haemorrhoids.”
Those looking to emulate these examples need look no further than J-List’s disturbingly extensive selection.
Whether any of this is actually worse than the notorious Engrish phrases plastered all over Japanese clothing is a matter of some debate – behold Aya Hirano’s own contribution to the discussion:
stumbled on this post years after… aya hirano revealed her true self 🙂
pic 20 top right… hover hand… a sign of virgin
SERIOUSLY???? Otaku means vergin??? I find that hard to believe. Well of course hentai meaning pervert, yes. But really? I kinda doubt that what it really means otherwise anime otakus like us wont be calling ourselves like that.
The one with the “dry” on it is a real brand in Britain — SuperDry — their motto (in English) is “Do Superdry.” SuperDry in Japanese spelled the same way as it is in Asahi Superdry.
At least it makes sense. However, their stuff is really expensive!!
for a website about japan alot of people don’t speak japanese if they are worried about them not knowing what it means .-.