1950's Japan

Dakko-chan was a fad from the mid-60s, though. I begged for one, but they were sold out.

TV program Kaze Kozou the child ninja program, if u know what I'm talking about.

Had juggling faded out by then? I know it was a popular activity for little girls in the 1940s, but I don't know if it remained popular in the 50s...

I remember as a child going to the village near Mitsumi-Daiand seeing men going into the pachinko parlors. I also recall throwing "cherry bombs" (small paper wrapped firecrackers) at tires on N Avenue. The guy on his three-wheel bicycles riding through the compound selling "ice-a-cream-u". Gekko Comin (as we heard it as kids) was on tv..he rode a Yamaha (or Honda) and fought against his arch-nemesis Skull-Head (again, what we called him.) We watched the shows in Japanese. And Menko, always Menko. I still have some, but not my special ones. Those were left somewhere years ago.

There were so many kid's movies/TV series for justice, Japanese version of Robinhood.
Gekko Kamen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrLa1CpMK6w&feature=related
Kaiketsu Harimao
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAVypT-G2QE&feature=related
Akado Suzunosuke, Tetsujin 28-go, etc.
You can find many more clips of that era, if you spend some time.
Ramune is coming back in the original glass bottle or today's plastic bottle but still with the glass ball inside to make it difficult to drink all at once. I have one in my frig. now.

a video of kamishibai
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MahEbmc4CE&p=6EB4E20BE58B5305&playnext...

the same downloader has other videos from the 1950's. they might be helpful.

I was 10 years old and spent two years at the most norther tip of Honshu and the island to the north Hokaido. I have a few photos that I don't have scanned yet. You're welcome to use them. My rememberances will probably be very different than others that weren't Army Brats during that era, only six years after the atom bomb. The thing I remember most of all, you don't go to school unless you have skis. We couldn't eat or drink anything off base, but our maid used to smuggle us a a candy wrapped with rice paper and you ate the paper along with the candy. OH, the Japanese in 1952 had not seen very many people with blonde hair and blue eyes. My six year old brother was an instant star. The Japanese, old and young, wanted his autograph. I told him recently I was always jealous of him but I've gotten even with him over the years. My hair is brown with a bit of gray, but he's almost bald.