the art of ORR MARSHALL

Rūzu Ō-uridashi… % ofu: “Big sale of loose (socks)… % off.” High-school girls wear a sailor-suit uniform with a skirt and high white socks. But the daring fashion is to let the socks sag below the knees. In this position they are call rūzu (“loose” à la Japanese), as seen on the skateboarder above. The socks are even sold with a tube of glue, so the wrinkles can be kept in just the right places. Hauru: “Howl,” from the Miyazaki film Hauru no Ugoku Shiro (Howl’s Moving Castle). Bullet train on the horizon. Suraimu: “Slime,” character in the Dragon Quest game (minus pupils of eyes and little red smile). Sign invented by the artist: San-Nō, Anmoku no Okite – 1) Nō-bura, 2) Nō-pan, 3) Nō-fēsu (“Secret Rules of the Three Noes – 1) No bra, 2) No pants, 3) No face”). MK5: Gyaru-slang, “Maji de Kireru 5-byō mae”: (“Gonna break off with you in 5 seconds”). MT5: Gyaru-slang, “Maji de Toire suru 5-byō mae”: (“Gotta go to the toilet in 5 seconds”). Nichevo: “Nothing” in Russian. Tawareko: Short for Tawā-Rekōdo (“Tower Records”). Enkō: Short for Enjo kōsai, “assisted fraternization,” i.e. “compensated dating,” in which an older man pays a younger woman (usually a high-school student) to go on a date with him. In a visual pun on the sign, the character en (assistance) is changed to ¥ (yen, the currency symbol). Smaller print says "Everyone's Enkō Center." Samushingu: English “Something” written phonetically in hiragana. Geki-ben: Word-play on obentō (boxed lunch) served between acts in a theatre (gekijō). It is actually called Maku-no-uchi bentō (“between-the-acts lunch”), never geki-ben, an indecent-sounding pun by the artist. At the bottom on stripes the colors of the Kabuki theatre curtain: “small lunch, medium lunch, large lunch,” in terms which would not be used in Japanese because the words sound scatological. Mise-pan Matsuri: (peeping between two other signs) “Festival of Show-off Pants” (underpants good enough to show beneath super-short mini-skirt). Miruku Tī: “Milk Tea.” Eki-ben: Obentō sold on train station (eki) platforms. Hadaka no Ranchi: “Naked Lunch.” Bafarō-Dōtā: “Buffalo Daughter,” a band. Kao-nashi: “No-Face," the hungry ghost from Miyazaki’s film Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi (Spirited Away). Miyazaki Hayao, master of Japanese anime, is famous for many films including Mononoke Hime and Tonari no Totoro (Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro). Makku: Short for Makkudonarudo (“McDonald’s”). Sunakku: “Snack.” Yakimeshi, Yakimochi: “Fried rice, Fried rice-cake” (but the second word is a pun on yakimochi, “jealousy”). Yano Akiko: Another very original singer-songwriter. Chūko: “Second-hand.” Chūka: “Chinese,” as applied to a restaurant. Sushi-Tokoro: “Sushi-Place.” Minekawa Takako: The name of this singer and inventor of intriguing electronica is written below the circle, in which the numeral 9 refers to her CD Fun 9. Nine in Japanese is ku, so the album title is pronounced Funku (Funk).