Japanese 'lap pillow' offers solace to lonely men - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

Coppertop · 12-16-2004, 11:32 AM

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6717610/?GT1=5936

Quote:

TOKYO - Single or lonely Japanese men may get lucky this Christmas.

One popular item for holiday shoppers is the “lap pillow,” with skin-coloured polyurethene calves folded under soft thighs -- a comfy cushion for napping, reading or watching television.

The 9,429 yen ($90) pillow, which comes with one red and one black skirt, went on sale in late November and maker Trane Co Ltd says shipments have reached 3,000 in just a few weeks.

“We created this item to help tired people relax,” said Makoto Igarashi, Trane’s managing director.

Care was taken with details such as the softness of the thighs, panty lines on the pillow’s “backside” and wrinkles in the lap of the skirt so as to make the pillow look and feel as real as possible.

“We thought our main customers would be men in their 20s, but even men in their 60s are buying it,” Igarashi said.

At stores, lap pillows gather crowds where people poke and pry at the foam legs.

“I think this may be good for single men, but it could cause trouble for someone who is married,” said Shingo Shibata, a 27-year-old company employee browsing at a toy store which sells the pillow.

This is just kinda sad. I wonder if they have a hole in the bottom?

FngKestrel · 12-16-2004, 11:34 AM

Hahahah...those crazy Japanese. What kind of wackiness will they come up with next?

maleficent · 12-16-2004, 11:40 AM

This the same company that makes the boyfriend pillow?

Bill O'Rights · 12-16-2004, 11:55 AM

The...what?

maleficent · 12-16-2004, 11:57 AM

The BoyFriend Pillow

TOKYO - A new product on the Japanese market has been designed for the single girl in need of some manly comfort while she sleeps.

The “Boyfriend Arm’s Pillow” is shaped like a giant arm which will hold you all night without the need for the real thing.

The almost life-size boyfriend pillow is the product of the Japanese bed linen maker, Kameo Corp., located in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. The company already sold more than 1,000 pillows since its launch last year. It costs $80 dollars (8,500 yen) and is currently only sold in Japan on the Internet.

Kameo is now planning to upgrade the pillow by producing different models, including a muscular one. And the company is also working on the prototype for a fake female lap shaped pillow targeting male users.

The company says the shape of the pillow does not just provide the illusion of having someone sleeping next to you. Tomoki Kakehashi of Kameo says the unique structure keeps the human body balanced by supporting the sleeper from both sides.

“My grandmother used to say that there is nothing more comfortable pillow than human,” says Kakehashi. “I always thought someone’s lap is the best pillow for me. So, I thought that maybe women want to sleep on the arm shaped pillow. As a fact, my kids always like to sleep on my arm. Human pillow seems to be warm and healing. This is why I made this arm shaped pillow.”

flamingdog · 12-16-2004, 11:58 AM

Mal, you put my explanation to shame.

maleficent · 12-16-2004, 11:58 AM

Now... why do women get a fake looking stuffed shirt, and then men get a realisticer looking lower body, complete with panty lines and wrinkles?

Hmmm.. discriminiation? I think so....!

Bill O'Rights · 12-16-2004, 12:24 PM

Maybe...but who do suppose is going to shell out more dollars...oh, sorry...yen? A man, who gets to go nighty night on a nice set of legs, in a short skirt? Or a woman that gets to slumber on an arm?

Dostoevsky · 12-16-2004, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FngKestrel

Hahahah...those crazy Japanese. What kind of wackiness will they come up with next?

My sentiments exactly... I would like to visit Japan sometime, it seems like they have a VERY different culture.

typhus · 12-16-2004, 02:41 PM

Maybe you don't realize it's fake when you're sleeping.

tommylee02 · 12-16-2004, 04:48 PM

Now they won't fall asleep on the REAL people next to them on the train!

sadistikdreams · 12-16-2004, 04:54 PM

Aw... As a lonely folk, I think this is a sweet idea.

See, in american culture, we have vast outlets for our bloodlust. Violence in sports/movies/etc are supposed to help prevent us from being violent. We don't have many outlets for sexual lust. In Japan, they have a very good amount. It's stuff like this I think we should have more of in the US. Maybe then people wouldn't be so uptight and such. /end cultural musing.

flat5 · 12-16-2004, 08:27 PM

I think they are both great ideas.
Grownup teddybears.
Expect copykat items to follow.

or enhanced versions that snore.

maleficent · 12-16-2004, 08:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flat5

or enhanced versions that snore.

So it's be appropriate for the boyfriend pillow to snore or at least make rumbling noises.. but I'd be completely disgusted if the girlfriend pillow -- ummm - -what's it gonna do - -fart?

/me is going to stand int he corner for being gross...

Homey_V · 12-16-2004, 09:29 PM

Quote:

So it's be appropriate for the boyfriend pillow to snore or at least make rumbling noises.. but I'd be completely disgusted if the girlfriend pillow -- ummm - -what's it gonna do - -fart?

Nah, it'd keep stealing the covers

omega2K4 · 12-16-2004, 10:17 PM

They need a pair of boobs pillow now.

ElwoodBlues · 12-16-2004, 10:34 PM

from the title of the thread I started getting this picture of a pillow for a dude to put in his lap, which would put an end to his lonely nights.

Sounds more like a sex toy than a comfort device

MacGuyver · 12-17-2004, 12:22 AM

OOH OOH! I've seen these before! But I think when I saw them before they were called something else...

i think it was...

STUPID.

macmanmike6100 · 12-17-2004, 12:49 AM

I think this is a great idea :-) I love resting in my girlfriend's lap, but she's not always around. I wonder if it's shipping to the US?

tropple · 12-17-2004, 03:52 AM

I want to go to Japan, too.

http://www.jbox.com/SHRT/

carrot glace · 12-17-2004, 11:29 AM

i know what i want for christmas!

AquaFox · 12-17-2004, 02:09 PM

i wonder how popular love dolls and sex toys like that are popular over there

Stiltzkin · 12-18-2004, 12:32 AM

I'll take one of each.

thingstodo · 12-18-2004, 06:45 AM

Man, I wish I had thought of this stuff!!

12-16-2004, 11:40 AM	#3 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	This the same company that makes the boyfriend pillow? __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

12-16-2004, 11:55 AM	#4 (permalink)
Bill O'Rights will always be an Alyson Hanniganite Location: In the dust of the archives	The...what? __________________ "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony "Hedonism with rules isn't hedonism at all, it's the Republican party." - JumpinJesus It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.

12-16-2004, 11:57 AM	#5 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	The BoyFriend Pillow TOKYO - A new product on the Japanese market has been designed for the single girl in need of some manly comfort while she sleeps. The “Boyfriend Arm’s Pillow” is shaped like a giant arm which will hold you all night without the need for the real thing. The almost life-size boyfriend pillow is the product of the Japanese bed linen maker, Kameo Corp., located in the Japanese city of Fukuoka. The company already sold more than 1,000 pillows since its launch last year. It costs $80 dollars (8,500 yen) and is currently only sold in Japan on the Internet. Kameo is now planning to upgrade the pillow by producing different models, including a muscular one. And the company is also working on the prototype for a fake female lap shaped pillow targeting male users. The company says the shape of the pillow does not just provide the illusion of having someone sleeping next to you. Tomoki Kakehashi of Kameo says the unique structure keeps the human body balanced by supporting the sleeper from both sides. “My grandmother used to say that there is nothing more comfortable pillow than human,” says Kakehashi. “I always thought someone’s lap is the best pillow for me. So, I thought that maybe women want to sleep on the arm shaped pillow. As a fact, my kids always like to sleep on my arm. Human pillow seems to be warm and healing. This is why I made this arm shaped pillow.” __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

12-16-2004, 11:58 AM	#7 (permalink)
maleficent Junkie Moderator Emeritus Location: Chicago	Now... why do women get a fake looking stuffed shirt, and then men get a realisticer looking lower body, complete with panty lines and wrinkles? Hmmm.. discriminiation? I think so....! __________________ Free your heart from hatred. Free your mind from worries. Live simply. Give more. Expect less.

12-16-2004, 12:24 PM	#8 (permalink)
Bill O'Rights will always be an Alyson Hanniganite Location: In the dust of the archives	Maybe...but who do suppose is going to shell out more dollars...oh, sorry...yen? A man, who gets to go nighty night on a nice set of legs, in a short skirt? Or a woman that gets to slumber on an arm? __________________ "I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do because I notice it always coincides with their own desires." - Susan B. Anthony "Hedonism with rules isn't hedonism at all, it's the Republican party." - JumpinJesus It is indisputable that true beauty lies within...but a nice rack sure doesn't hurt.

12-16-2004, 11:34 AM	#2 (permalink)
FngKestrel Junkie	Hahahah...those crazy Japanese. What kind of wackiness will they come up with next?

12-16-2004, 11:58 AM	#6 (permalink)
flamingdog Still fighting it.	Mal, you put my explanation to shame.

12-16-2004, 02:41 PM	#10 (permalink)
typhus Tilted Location: USA	Maybe you don't realize it's fake when you're sleeping.

12-16-2004, 04:48 PM	#11 (permalink)
tommylee02 Tilted	Now they won't fall asleep on the REAL people next to them on the train!

12-16-2004, 04:54 PM	#12 (permalink)
sadistikdreams lonely rolling star Location: Seattle.	Aw... As a lonely folk, I think this is a sweet idea. See, in american culture, we have vast outlets for our bloodlust. Violence in sports/movies/etc are supposed to help prevent us from being violent. We don't have many outlets for sexual lust. In Japan, they have a very good amount. It's stuff like this I think we should have more of in the US. Maybe then people wouldn't be so uptight and such. /end cultural musing. __________________ "Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials." -Lin Yutang hearts, by d.a. Last edited by sadistikdreams; 12-16-2004 at 04:57 PM..

12-16-2004, 08:27 PM	#13 (permalink)
flat5 Very Insignificant Pawn Location: Amsterdam, NL	I think they are both great ideas. Grownup teddybears. Expect copykat items to follow. or enhanced versions that snore.

12-16-2004, 10:17 PM	#16 (permalink)
omega2K4 Natalie Portman is sexy. Location: The Outer Rim	They need a pair of boobs pillow now. __________________ "While the State exists there can be no freedom. When there is freedom there will be no State." - Vladimir Ilyich Lenin "Reason has always existed, but not always in a reasonable form."- Karl Marx

12-16-2004, 10:34 PM	#17 (permalink)
ElwoodBlues Psycho Location: Massachusetts	from the title of the thread I started getting this picture of a pillow for a dude to put in his lap, which would put an end to his lonely nights. Sounds more like a sex toy than a comfort device __________________ I think Pringles initial intention was to make tennis balls. But on the day that the rubber was supposed to show up, a big truckload of potatoes arrived. But Pringles is a laid back company. They said "Fuck it. Cut em up." -Mitch Hedberg, '68-'05 Bauer's the man.

12-17-2004, 12:22 AM	#18 (permalink)
MacGuyver You're going to have to trust me! Location: Massachusetts	OOH OOH! I've seen these before! But I think when I saw them before they were called something else... i think it was... STUPID. __________________ We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit. ---Aristotle Deeds, not words, shall speak [for] me. ---John Fletcher

12-17-2004, 12:49 AM	#19 (permalink)
macmanmike6100 High Honorary Junkie Location: Tri-state.	I think this is a great idea :-) I love resting in my girlfriend's lap, but she's not always around. I wonder if it's shipping to the US?

12-18-2004, 12:32 AM	#23 (permalink)
Stiltzkin Junkie	I'll take one of each. __________________ The most important thing in this world is love.

12-18-2004, 06:45 AM	#24 (permalink)
thingstodo A Storm Is Coming Location: The Great White North	Man, I wish I had thought of this stuff!! __________________ If you're wringing your hands you can't roll up your shirt sleeves. Stangers have the best candy.

12-17-2004, 03:52 AM	#20 (permalink)
tropple Junkie	I want to go to Japan, too. http://www.jbox.com/SHRT/ __________________ +++++++++++Boom!

12-17-2004, 11:29 AM	#21 (permalink)
carrot glace Crazy Location: orange county	i know what i want for christmas! __________________ "blaine is a pain and that is the truth"

12-17-2004, 02:09 PM	#22 (permalink)
AquaFox WaterDog	i wonder how popular love dolls and sex toys like that are popular over there __________________ ...AquaFox...