mt masking tapes
Posted by: kirin on 
Oct 30th, 2011 | 
Filed under: My KawaiiDo you know mt masking tape? It’s a kawaii masking tape brand by the company named “Kamoi” and is from Okayama, Japan.
First of all, what is masking tape? Masking tapes are usually used at a place like construction site, especially to cover certain area from dirt, stain or damage. This masking tape production company Kamoi used to be just an ordinary masking tape factory as that produced single colored plain masking tapes only to be used at construction sites.
However, one day, 3 women who like something kawaii asked the company if they could have a study trip to their factory. Then the president of Kamoi kind of unwillingly accepted their visit. These 3 women were fascinated with how the masking tapes are made, and they mentioned that they would love to use colorful kawaii masking tapes if the company can create such things. These women noticed that masking tapes can be so useful for paper decorations because they’re not too sticky like all the other kind of tapes. The president of Kamoi did not listen to this opinion for a while, but finally he accepted it and bang! It went a big hit among young women! I think he was so lucky! 
Why I know this? My husband happened to record the secret story of the creation of mt magic tapes some time ago on TV, by accident. I’ve seen these tapes here and there these days, so I watched it intriguingly. :p
It’s convincing how some women can be obsessive with these tapes. With cute stickers, letter pads, papers, colorful pens, and these masking tapes, I could get fully into making kawaii letters to my friends or anything to decorate inside my own room…well, if only I have enough time to indulge myself with. ^ ^;;
This one was interesting. Comparing its English translation and what’s written there in Japanese shows the difference of culture. If I translate the Japanese literally into English, “This must be delicious.” (in Japanese “Okuchi ni aimasu ka douka ãŠãã¡ã«ã‚ã„ã¾ã™ã‹ã©ã†ã‹”) will be “I wonder if you like it or not.”
Another one, “Lovely one for you.” (in Japanese “Tsumaranai mono desuga ã¤ã¾ã‚‰ãªã„ã‚‚ã®ã§ã™ãŒ”) will be “It’s a boring thing though.”
You may wonder who would choose something boring as a gift. If the person thinks it’s boring, why does he give it? He should choose something nice. Haha! That’s our culture. This person expresses modesty by saying this. It’s normal in our society, and saying “Tsumaranai mono” (=boring stuff) does not mean anything as it sounds! On the contrary, the gift usually is very nice. There are many expressions to show modesty, but personally I really wonder if such is understandable outside Japan. I think it’s our own culture. What do you think? :S
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October 30th, 2011 at 12:08 pm
I LOVE MT TAPES!! I use them for scrapbooking, and they're REALLY AWESOME. They remove really easily, without breaking the paper, or my materials, unless you're rough! They produce really awesome results! Really awesome to work with! My workplace sells them! I'm so glad they did! Love them so much!! Awesomeeee!! :3
Thanks for the post! *v*
October 30th, 2011 at 1:45 pm
These tapes are very very very nice!!!
I really like them! It helps me very much in my craft work!!!
October 30th, 2011 at 10:33 pm
Haha… Thank for your husband for the mistake! n_n I like this blog, esp. the translation explanation. I think Chinese have similar attitude when it comes to gift giving but we don't have proper phrases for it. So if a person is not good with words, he/she may have just said, "I just chose it randomly." =.="
One of the reasons why I love the Japanese culture is because of these phrases… It allows me to express my sincerity without sounding mushy. Perhaps, to a Japanese they have become cliche?
October 30th, 2011 at 11:55 pm
Glad to hear that! ^_^
I thought these tapes are quite useful to your work!
October 31st, 2011 at 12:03 am
Haha, you understand our culture even better than I do! I wish to say things honestly so these expressions seem to be twisted to me.
But I suppose you might dislike other words and phrases with unnecessary modesty, for example "stupid wife" (gusai 愚妻) for his own wife, when he refers to her in public. However young people no longer say this today, only the elders I guess. Another one is humble house (settaku 拙宅) when one refers to "my house" even if it's gorgeous and nice.
To me, when it's gorgeous and nice but one calls it humble, it sounds like sarcasm. -_-
October 31st, 2011 at 12:05 am
Oh, you already enjoy those! ^ ^
I think they are also popular overseas. I want more and more Japanese companies to do business abroad, because most of them tend to be less international, only focusing on domestic sales and services.
October 31st, 2011 at 12:27 am
Interesting post! I like these tapes too! When I was into writing letters and sending parcels, I often bought nice tapes like these.
Thanks for sharing the story behind them! 
Anyway, I find that there are similar Chinese phrases to Japanese ones. Like, for example, when Chinese people gives a gift to someone else, he might say, "It's nothing. Just a small token from my heart." But usually, it's not 'nothing'. HAHAHA!
And when we receive the gift, we might say something like, "Nono! You don't have to (give me such a valueable gift. I can't accept this!" Something like that. So…yea, I can understand Japanese culture if I compare it like that. ^^ There are actually lots of similarities between Chinese and Japanese cultures…just that I think perhaps, many Chinese lost that politeness as time goes by…Haha! Like, for example, Singapore Chinese are more of a mixed American-Chinese lot. We may not be so humble most of the time…haha!
October 31st, 2011 at 1:21 am
I wish we had these here in California. They are very hard to find and rather expensive. Only one I've seen more of is a pink roll of Hello Kitty.
I like the modesty thing. I wish more cultures were into that even a little bit. I spent the evening at a local Japanese hotel and restaurant (actually one of the Gonpachi restaurants here) and it was quite enjoyable because of the different Japanese people who were visiting or working there. That is one of the things that makes me miss Japan. A little humility never hurts.
October 31st, 2011 at 10:37 am
Haha, nice tapes.
The woman in the video made me laugh. She looks so happy after completing the decoration
About the tape, at my city, we don't have tapes in such colorful fashions. The only available is a yellowish one used mainly by laborers when painting walls or just to stick something to the wall, ceiling or floor.
It is quite ugly. Right now i'm painting a room in my house, so i bought such tape to stick to the windows and wares borders to avoid paiting them. I took a photo of some of the tape after using and removing it. Check it out here: http://i.imgur.com/0iEEk.jpg (no, it's not night, it is in the morning, but the weather here is pretty cloudy and rainy)
About the Japanese culture, I find it that you think respect is extremely important. I know a Chinese girl and she always bows instead of shake the hands. Here, that means something like submission or like the person you are bowing to is much more powerful than you. (For example, you bow when saluting a king or emperor, maybe when some strict protocol requires it). So don't forget, when coming to Spain, don't bow. It's better to shake the hands, and if you are very confident with the other person, kiss him. Guys here shake our hands or embrace the other. And a guy kisses or embraces a friend girl, rarely shake her hands. Shaking hands is more for guys, or for women in an enterprise or something.
In the other hand, we usually don't show modesty. Simply, we show nothing, not modestly not pride. Showing pride at all times looks bad.
When giving a present we just say "Espero que te guste" (in english, "I hope you like it"). I can't say for sure, but i think that it's because we only give a present to someone we know much, and thus, it is spected that we know that person enough to know what he likes and what not. But it would be crazy here to say "Te regalo esto, que es aburrido" (in english, "i give this to you, that is boring"). If you say that, you are meaning "hey, i give you this, because it's boring and i want you get bored too". The presented person will for sure slap your face haha. In conclusion: here when giving something, we desire the other to enjoy the present.
Another expression used here is "Es un pequeño regalo que espero que te guste" (in english, "this is a little thing and I hope you like it"). Little thing not because is small, but it's just a souvenir or something, not necessarily little or invaluable.
Well, that's all.
Really sorry for this wall of text @_@
And don't forget to bring me some typical Japanese souvenir, not masking tapes, if you come to Spain. We are REALLY offended otherwise. (it's a joke ^_^)
Cya.
October 31st, 2011 at 11:29 am
It's the same, we also say something like "Ohh…, you don't have to give me such a valuable gift. I can't accept this!". I didn't know Chinese people have similar culture like this because I thought Chinese women are much stronger and assertive than Japanese women. hahahaha! ^ ^;;
October 31st, 2011 at 11:30 am
Ohh…I thought such attitude is confusing to Americans and most of the non-Japanese people. ^ ^;;
October 31st, 2011 at 11:42 am
It's kind of a fresh experience to see how TKE blog is shown in your computer. From your picture I felt that it's browsed from your house in Spain. It made me feel happy, I don't know how to explain it but I felt that it's really read outside Japan. ^ ^;;; I know already there are TKE readers from around the world but I somehow felt like I saw the evidence.
Because it's internet and communication is through text most of the time, the number of subscribers and readers are given but I see almost none of them in person (only a few I do) so…it's so nice to see something that makes me feel them.
Over here, of course we desire the others to enjoy the present but we say something humble to show modesty. So please don't get confused. Tsumaranai mono = boring things…literally means this but no one would take it as it is. We understand the person show modesty by saying that and at the same time, we also know the present will be something nice. Not boring at all. ^ ^;;
October 31st, 2011 at 5:56 pm
Cute tapes! The story of how it came about is pretty interesting. What luck that your husband happened to record it by accident. I agree the tapes are so good for decoration.
Japanese culture is so polite. I have many Japanese friends, so I understand what you meant when the tape said, "It's a boring thing". The Chinese have a similar culture like when my Mum cooks dinner for friends, she will say, "It's just a normal dinner with simple dishes", but in actual fact the dinner is sumptuous with many dishes that took the whole day to prepare haha
November 1st, 2011 at 12:09 am
We have talked about this before. The Japanese are great at taking a basic idea and improving it. I have not seen these tapes here in America but I do not often go into arts and crafts stores. I do think it is a great idea
I had learned the phrase, "Kore, tsumattanai mono desun ga, Dozo" in my Japanese lessons. And I always considered it a very Japanese thing to say. However. after reading some of the other comments I believe that this sort of false modesty is also common in America. If you compliment a woman on her dress she will always say something like "What? this old thing. I have had it for years." Or when talking about your house you would probably say, "It is not much, but it is home" No matter how nice it may be.
November 2nd, 2011 at 11:24 am
Hahaha. It makes me happy to make others happy with just such simple things.
I have an idea about photos and TKE **BUT** I can't say you anymore now, it's a surprise. B)
Just waiting for your next post.
Yeah, it's my laptop and my house in Spain. (My only house LoL) Oh, damn, it's 12:10 and looks like night ^_^
I think TKE is very lovable because it looks a friendly place where we can share information about our countries, and also know the day-to-day life in Tokio or Japan in general. It's not a discussion place, it's an exchange-opinon and culture place. And don't forget we all are in love with Japan <3
Yeah, I understand you well. What I mean is that here showing your modesty will sound like in middle ages, when a peasant talks to a king in a modest mood.
For example, bowing here means you are inferior to the other or the other has more politics, religious or military power (i.e. a emperor, a pope, a military sergeant, etc…). I read something about bowing in Japan, and here the meaning is pretty different. I think it is because of religion and politics evolution over the centuries.
Some examples:
Saying "please, accept this present", doesn't sounds like showing modesty. It sounds like you are offering something to a very high range person.
Saying "it's a pleasure for me to give you this present", sounds almost the same as before, but more exaggerated. Something like you are forced to give the present and please that person because he is better that you.
In our culture, we simply don't show modesty.
Cya.
November 2nd, 2011 at 1:12 pm
I'd welcome your suggestions to improve TKE. If you don't mind, please email me through the contact form.
Yes, TKE is a friendly place where we can exchange comments like friends. Of course many people will prefer twitter or facebook, but I want to make friends from this blog. Somehow I am not into twitter or facebook so much.
Oh, I forgot to reply to your prior comment about bowing. Haha, don't worry, I will not bow there. Cuando escucho y hablo ingles o espanol, tengo otra idea. Pienso diferente de japones. (I wonder if this makes sense. ^ ^)
Thank you for your interesting comments. ^__^
November 2nd, 2011 at 1:17 pm
Oh, you mean "Kore, tsumaranai mono desu ga, Dozo", did you learn it in your Japanese lessons? Wow! Your Japanese level sounds high. I'm surprised you already know such a phrase! @w@
My English made me confused if you mean "It is not much, but it is home" means like "It is not much, but it is homely." *w*??
November 3rd, 2011 at 1:35 am
It means like, "This is just my humble house (nothing grand about it), but well, it's comfortable, it's cozy, it's where I call my home."
November 4th, 2011 at 9:02 am
Ok that phrase, grammatically, is correct, you don't have any orthographic fault. I can understand what you want to mean, but some parts of the phrase are syntactically not correct. (this is, you used so words that are supposed not be used with such meaning).
You phrase is: "Cuando escucho y hablo ingles o espanol, tengo otra idea. Pienso diferente de japones."
Translated to english: "When I hear or talk English or Spanish, i got ANOTHER IDEA. I think different OF Japanese".
The words in capitals are not being used correctly.
The first part of the phrase ("Cuando escucho y hablo ingles o espanol, tengo otra idea.") If you say "…tengo otra idea.", you are sayng you have literally an idea. For example, when you got an idea on how to solve a maths problem or how to build an origami ^_^ I hope you understand. "Idea" is not synonym of "pensar" ("to think", in english) .
I can deduce that "When you speak Spanish or English, you think different". You can say "Cuando hablo o escucho español o inglés, pienso diferente." (in english, "When I talk or hear spanish or english, I think different."
And the second part of the phrase "Pienso diferente de japones." is pretty much the same. The wrong here is the prepossition "OF". That prepossition means "possession, belonging". For example "La manzana de Kirin" (in english, "The apple OF Kirin".) Another example "El tejado de la casa" (in english "The roof OF the house").
The correct phrase should be "Pienso diferente QUE en japonés" (in english, "I think different THAN in Japanese."
Or also, you can simply say "Pienso diferente EN japonés" (in english, "I think different IN Japanese").
Well, I hope you understand a bit the explanation. In either case, your Spanish looks pretty good. I suppose that you can speak it quite fluently.
Any other question, don't doubt to ask me. But i would prefer you ask me via e-mail.
Cya.
November 4th, 2011 at 11:36 pm
I think to a lot of Americans it is confusing because many Americans tend to be rather loud and outgoing. Which is the opposite of many Japanese. There are some Europeans the same way too from what I remember from being in Japan.
For me it what was confusing was just not knowing how to act in certain situations. It's something one has to learn. So sometimes it may be just that, the person has not been taught what to do. It does feel good to know the right things to do and say.
Maybe that would be something good to video tape!
November 5th, 2011 at 3:00 am
Wow, thank you for correcting my mistakes! ^___^
So the whole sentence would be like this: Cuando escucho y hablo espanol o ingles, pienso diferente que en japones. Claro! Muchas gracias.
My Spanish is still a beginner level but I watch a telenovela everyday so I can hear Spanish everyday. I also try to write emails to Spanish speaking friends in Spanish so I can improve it more. But I don't spend time to memorize words one by one, like I did when I learned English because that way just didn't fit me. ^ ^;;
Gracias por tu ayuda! Si, voy a escribir a ti pronto. ^__^
November 5th, 2011 at 3:00 am
Arigato! ^ ^
November 5th, 2011 at 3:01 am
Exactly!! ^ ^
November 5th, 2011 at 3:08 am
Indeed. I think Americans are more open and easy-going, which I like. ^ ^
There's no wonder you will get confused with this kind of twisted attitude coming from modesty. I like simple way so I'm more in favor of American way myself.
Also, when we receive gifts, we do not open it in front of the person who gave it. But I follow the people's custom, which means in the U.S I would open it immediately, but over here in Japan, I may keep it and open it later. It depends on who and where. I was also surprised to see Singaporeans didn't open the gifts I gave in front of me. All of them opened it after I left. So I decided to do the same in front of them. ^ ^
November 5th, 2011 at 3:27 pm
Well, here in Portugal we don't call our gifts boring, but we show some degree of modesty, such as saying "Eu sei que não é grande coisa, mas espero que gostes à mesma" (I know it's not much, but I hope you like it anyway). Among youths this modesty thing is a bit weaker though, but for middle age and older people, that's standard protocol. In general, it's not very different from Spain here (what Alberto said applies here too).
For greetings, women always greet with a kiss in each cheek, no matter who is the recipient, and men greet other men with a handshake.
November 6th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
Hahaha… Your spanish is correct, but sounds funny
So, you say your spanish is still a beginner??? You talk almost like a native!!!! ^_^
My japanese is really beginner: i only know 30 Kanjis, the word "desu", "-chan", "-san", a, i,u,e,o, and that's all LOL.
The correct phrase in your last line you wrote is "Gracias por tu ayuda! Si, TE voy a escribir pronto" or "Gracias por tu ayuda! Si, voy a escribir TE pronto". Write "TE" instead of "A TI", in this frase.
I don't know if you already studied the "TE" pronoum. If not, then forget it until you study it.
Cya.
November 7th, 2011 at 3:02 am
Wow! Thank you soooo much for telling this. I really appreciate your correcting my mistakes in Spanish! I often get confused with "Me voy" "Nos vemos" "A mi no me gusta" etc. But I like this way I write whatever funny Spanish and have it corrected by native speakers like you. ^ ^;;
Of course I hear "Te" so many times everyday from the telenovela. "Te amo" "Sientate" "No te vayas" so it's familiar to me already!
I didn't know you were learning Japanese!! ^_^ I know kanji is very challenging, but let me know if you have any question. You helped me a lot. ^ ^
November 7th, 2011 at 3:06 am
Wow, I'm surprised how Portuguese sounds similar to Spanish! Esperar (=hope) is the same!! (I'm learning Spanish, so it'd be great if I can guess Portuguese too!) ^___^
November 7th, 2011 at 11:39 pm
Apple is exactly right about the meaning of "It is not much, but it is home" Sorry about the incorrect spelling of the Japanese phrase. I learned it from an audio lesson. So I have not learned proper spelling
November 8th, 2011 at 4:30 am
Thank you Steve. And please don't say sorry for your Japanese. I thought it's better to correct it than ignoring small mistakes. We're all learning in this way.
February 4th, 2012 at 4:05 pm
Hi, I chanced upon your post about MT tapes. Am wondering if you could tell me where to find so many MT tapes in Tokyo as shown in the above pictures. My friend told me to look at Tokyu Hands and another website says Itoya in Ginza.
Many thanks to you!
February 5th, 2012 at 12:07 pm
Tokyu Hands, Itoya, or LOFT are likely. But above picture was taken at Maruzen book store in Kawasaki Lazona. I can't guarantee you can expect the same result at every Maruzen book store, but it's possible.
As for Itoya, you'd better look for the one in Ginza, but not the one in Shibuya station. I was shocked how less variety of mt tape stocked there.
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