BEGIN Japanology - Convenience Stores

In this fascinating exploration of Japan with British Peter Barakan as the honorable host, every episode of Begin Japanology and Japanology Plus offers fresh and deep insight about the arts, the colorful lifestyles, the customs and habits of a country brimming with culture and history. As we immerse ourselves into a plethora of diverse topics and aspects of both traditional and contemporary Japan, ranging from culinary delights to modern art and from Japan's stunningly beautiful nature to its astonishing technological achievements.

Japanese convenience store clerk stops robbery with wooden kendo sword and fighting pose

Noticing that the man was wearing a ski mask and carrying a crowbar, an attentive male clerk who was working at the time quickly anticipated the man’s needs, and helpfully got the ball rolling by asking “You here for our money?”

“That’s right,” the man said, continuing their pithy yet cordial line of dialogue.

Of course, even in Japan there’s a limit to how accommodating business can be, and handing out cash to every robbery who asks for it, politely or not, isn’t something Circle K is prepared to do. So instead the clerk picked up a bokuto, or wooden training sword, that he kept handy.

“I should tell you that I’m first dan in kendo,” the clerk said as he took a fighting stance, thoughtfully informing the robber that he had progressed to the first tier of the upper certification ranks in the traditional Japanese sword-fighting discipline. At the same time the clerk hit the alarm button, and the robber, not liking his odds against a trained martial artist with police backup on the way, instead chose to flee the scene without stealing so much as a single onigiri rice ball.