Well, last weekend was the start of Daylight Savings Time for much of the world, but not here in Japan. The Japanese have never really gotten behind the basic concept. During the Reconstruction, it was imposed upon them by the American forces, but they got rid of it as soon as possible once sovereignty was restored.

I once had it explained to me in terms of work ethic. For many foreigners, a job is something you do quickly, do well, and then get over with. If you finish early, then that's great. For Japanese, the work ethic is all about showing dedication to one's work. I've seen some good, dedicated offices in Japan, and everyone worked together like a well-oiled machine. I've seen far more not-so-well organized offices in Japan, and in those, the work ethic of dedication has turned more into a game of one-upsmanship. A friend of mine, for example, works at a local school, and is technically supposed to leave at 5:00. I say technically, because no one ever actually leaves the school at that time. It's not because there's still work to do (though that is sometimes true). It's because no one wants to be the first person to walk out the door, and thus appear less dedicated to the job.

In the worst scenarios I've heard tell of, very little actual work gets done in the office, but everyone's there for 10 hours a day just to give the appearance of being busy. Anyone who actually does the work quickly and tries to go home early is socially reprimanded by his or her co-workers for being "selfish." JET participants sometimes get the short end of the stick here as well, since their program mandates how long they have to stay at work every day, but they often don't have enough work to justify being there. The end result is that they get to sit in an office for a few hours a day playing solitaire on the computer. Another friend of mine was infamous for his hour-and-a-half "trips to the post office."

The Japanese insistence on absolute dedication to the job has had other social side-effects. Women are still strongly discouraged from advancing in some companies, because it's expected that they'll have children, and thus not be able to devote all their energy to their work. Salaryman husbands may only see their children for a few hours a week, which puts more pressure on the wives and strains the marriage overall.

But, getting back to the topic of Daylight Savings, here's where it ties in: Japanese salarymen may see coming home before sunset as a lack of dedication. Many wouldn't know what to do with free time even if they had any. If a salaryman leaves the office early, then it's not uncommon for him to be found lying back in his car, listening to the radio with the engine running and the A/C on full-blast. And really, doesn't that just miss the point?

It's not so strange to see art books given as special gifts for game reservations these days. Muramasa - The Demon Blade, strangely-styled game that it is, has decided to put its own spin on this. The word for today is emaki, or picture-scroll. This isn't a scroll you roll up, but rather a long, folded series of illustrations that was a common form of artistic medium in the Edo Period. Muramasa's emaki contains concept art and game illustrations for various characters and enemies throughout the game, and measures in at 1m 70cm in length. That's just under 5 foot 7 inches long, for the non-metric folks in the audience.

Marvelous Entertainment has certainly made the most of its Harvest Moon franchise in the past, bringing the series to as many platforms and media as possible. This time around, they're putting a new spin on things with Harvest Moon Presents: Little Shop on the Farm, a spin-off title produced exclusively for Wii-Ware.

Little Shop maintains some staples of the series, such as crop management and social interaction, but the focus of the game is Clover Town's newest smoothie and ice cream shop, run by the player. Every day, the player must navigate the picture-book town environs, making social contacts and gathering the ingredients necessary to keep the sweets coming.

The big draw in this title is the mini-games. Every item comes with its own special activity or game, all of which look to require the wii-mote in one way or another. For those who like to show off, the shop can be decorated in a variety of ways, then photographed and uploaded for others to see.

Okay, so it's even less of an RPG than the usual Harvest Moon title, but it's cute, don't you think?

It's been a while since we saw anything of Chronicles of Dungeon Maker -- Nanatama. The story as it is: the isolated northern village of Kreta has of late been plagued by monsters coming from ruins in the nearby forest. This, coupled with a number of mysterious disappearances, has brought the Hero in to investigate. Gifted with the power to alter the underground labyrinth in any way he desires, he must delve its secrets and free those held captive in mysterious orbs.

I don't think this has been mentioned, but the word "nanatama" can have two meanings: "seven gems" or "seven souls." Not coincidentally, the latest scans show seven characters including the Hero. Fyr, Leo, and Rose have already been mentioned in the column, and I apparently missed Bernhardt the Dwarf's first appearance some time back. The new ally this time around is Aoi the Kunoichi, and a shadowy teaser for someone named Ruki brings the cast to seven. I'm still not sure what to make of the graphics style, except to say that it's... interesting. Not necessarily to my taste, but interesting.

Yesterday, Atelier Annie, the newest in the Atelier game series, was out in stores. Being the Gust fanboy that I am, I picked up a copy of my own. To refresh your memory, here are a few screen shots.

I've also started a game blog for this one, so keep an eye on that if you're interested.

Well, I've got a massive headache today, but school is almost out for the month. The new school year starts in April (remember your Persona 3, people!), so things should get more interesting then.

And that's the news from Hi-no-Kuni,

Your man in Japan,

Gaijin Monogatari