Blackening the teeth dates from ancient times in Japan. However, the stratum of society who performed this practice changed with the age. From the 17th century women blackened their teeth upon marriage, sort of a rite of passage to adulthood.

Hi Frugal Fans - it's been way too long. A month-long vacation in September took me out of the country, and spotty Internet access while I was away made it difficult to publish. But I thank you for your patience, and am proud to present the (slightly belated) first edition of Frugal Watch for October.

The Gist: Pioneer is letting lose several new models of their "HDD Raku Navi" series of in-car navigation systems. All five models have a 234 x 480 dot 7" widescreen LCD and 30GB hard drive.

Hay fever. It's the wrong time of year for it, hay fever usually hits in spring, but given that the next issue of Japan Inc. magazine carries details of a new invention to help control it, we thought we'd give some advance notice on the subject here at Terrie's Take.