Have a Break

The other day, my friend gave me a KAKUSAN face roller (beauty massager) as a birthday present.

When I used it the first time, my impression was painful. It was a feeling of being pulled while being pinched.
However, as I continued to use it, I got used to it and the pain disappeared.
Recently, I’ve been using it every night, so it doesn’t hurt as much as it did at the beginning, and I can easily roll around while watching TV.
“KAKUSAN” was registered as a trademark on February 26, 2016 (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 5829303), and the right holder is “深▲セン▼市カクサン有限会社(Shenzhen KKS Tech Co., Ltd.)” from China.

I rarely show my face now because of masks, but I would like to continue using it.
(Rabbit)

The other day, I went to Toshika Shrine in Toyokawa City to have my car purified.
After the prayer, I was given a set of Gohei mochi as a gift. It was a set of vacuum-packed Gohei mochi and Hatcho miso sauce.
The rice used is Mineasahi rice grown in the Senmaida rice field in Yotsuya, and the skewers are made of cedar wood from near Horaiji Mountain. In addition to a leaflet on how to eat it, three pamphlets were enclosed, showing the many particulars and thoughts of the producers.

According to J-PlatPat, the product name “Yotsuya Senmaida” branded on the skewers has been applied for as a Japanese trademark application. As the application is under examination, I read the argument in response to the notice of reasons for refusal and was able to catch a glimpse of the applicant’s contribution to regional revitalization through “Yotsuya Senmaida,” a regional and tourist resource.
I would like to enjoy the Gohei mochi while thinking about the Senmaida rice field in Yotsuya, which I have yet to visit. (Cacao)

I searched for trademarks on rice. I found a registered trademark on the packaging of “Koshihikari”.
It seems that Koshihikari rice from Niigata is milled in Aichi prefecture.

The character trademark of “パールライス(Pearl Rice)” was registered on June 10, 1976 as Japanese trademark registration No. 1204268 of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations.

The combined trademark of the letters and figurative elements of “Pearl Rice” was registered on August 11, 2020 as Japanese trademark registration No. 6278960 of the National Federation of Agricultural Cooperative Associations.

The “MOG” trademark was registered on May 22, 2009 as Japanese trademark registration No. 5231789 of the Aichi Prefectural Federation of Economic and Agricultural Cooperatives.

The trademark “日本全国よりすぐり。＼お米の国から(Highly selected from all over Japan, the country of rice)” was registered on February 25, 2020 as Japanese trademark registration No. 6229072 of the Aichi Prefectural Federation of Economic and Agricultural Cooperatives.

Even if the package design does not mention it as a registered trademark, I thought that many brands, graphics, and catchphrases were registered as trademarks.
(Raspberry)

It’s been hot days when the temperature doesn’t drop even in the evening.

It feels like the culture of watching the setting sun and enjoying the cool evening has been lost in Japan today and more like a world apart.

However, when it gets dark and night begins, Cygnus (or the Swan constellation) shows the unchanged appearance with its wings spread and flies from north to south along the Milky Way.

I found a sweet package with a cute summer night sky as a motif, so I will introduce it for eye candy.

”Natsuno Seiya” by Minokame Co., Ltd.

Minokame Co., Ltd.is a Okaki (Japanese rice cracker) maker in Nagoya, and the logo “Minokame” is registered as a trademark.

Japanese trademark registration number: No. 3107725
Registration date: December 26, 1995
(Time)

Hi, I’m Hiro.
My children often play with a toy called “MAGNA-TILES”.

Each side of the square or triangular plate has a magnet, and by attaching the sides together, you can make various shapes, flat or three-dimensional. The magnetism is not too strong and not too weak, but just the right strength so that even children with weak hands can easily attach and remove the magnets.

On the right side of “MAGNA-TILES” on the package, there is a mark (circled R) indicating a registered trademark.

Since “MAGNA-TILES” is a U.S. product, I checked the USPTO (U.S. Patent and Trademark Office) TESS (Trademark Electronic Search System) and found several registrations for the character trademark “MAGNA-TILES” (US Registration numbers: 2654320, 5622354, 6247284, 6323690).

Of these, the one with the registration number 2654320 was registered for “Manipulative toys, namely, blocks and puzzles” as Designated Goods and Services, with an application date of February 6, 2002 and a registration date of November 26, 2002. The current owner of the trademark is MVW HOLDINGS, INC.

“I checked J-PlatPat to see if “MAGNA-TILES” was registered as a trademark in Japan, and found that it was registered under Japanese Registration number 5816110. The designated goods or services here are “educational toys, block toys, building blocks (toys),” with the application date is July 2, 2015, the registration date is December 25, 2015, and the trademark holder is People Corporation (Tokyo, Chuo-ku).

Further research revealed that MAGNA-TILES is the U.S. version of an educational toy called Pythagoras, which People Corporation began selling in Japan in 1992 (MVW (formerly Valtech) began selling it in 1997) (People Corporation: ピタゴラスとは？)

The trademark “Pythagoras(ピタゴラス)” was applied for in Japan by People Corporation, Ltd. on December 25, 1991, and registered on May 31, 1995 (Japanese Registration number: No. 2707566).

When I was net-surfing the other day, I came across a recipe for spiced curry by a spice cooking expert named “Indo Curry-Ko”. (“Indo” is India in Japanese, “-Ko” is commonly used for a girl’s name in Japanese)

Her recipe basically uses only three spices: cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and turmeric (I like spicy food, so I add cayenne pepper). The other ingredients are　what you can easily find, such as onions, tomatoes, and yogurt. Just with these ingredients, you can make an authentic curry with the tasty scent of the spices. I love it so much that I keep making it again and again. I hope to eat a lot of spice curry this summer and get through it with energy.

“Indo Curry-Ko” is registered as a trademark for the designated product “Curry” (Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6176763, Japanese Trademark Registration No. 6393357). (Sakuramochi)

I found out that Hotel Sacher in Vienna was running a limited-time campaign to send sachertorte with free shipping worldwide, so I ordered it.

Sachertorte is a cake made by coating the entire chocolate-flavored sponge with chocolate, which was invented by the cook Franz Sacher in 1832. It was served at the restaurant and cafe of Hotel Sacher, which was later opened by his second son Eduard and that seems to be the beginning of sachertorte.
The recipe was kept secret from the public, but when the hotel fell into financial difficulties, Demel, a confectionery store that served the royal family of Vienna, obtained the right to sell it,
After that, the recipe became widely known, and Hotel Sacher filed a lawsuit against Demel seeking an injunction against the use and sale of trademark rights, but after seven years of trial, both sides were accepted to sell sachertorte.
As a result, Demel’s Sacher Torte is sold as “Demel’s Sachertorte ” and Hotel Sacher’s is sold as “Original Sacher Torte”.

The Original Sacher Torte I ordered arrived safely withstanding the heat. It fits perfectly in the wooden box and did not crumble.

The cake is intensely sweet and dense, but the sour apricot jam sandwiched in between the sponge accentuates the flavor. The sweetness of the cake can be softened a bit by serving it with sugar-free whipped cream, just like the one served at the hotel. In the coronavirus crisis, I was able to have a valuable overseas experience. (Syszo)

Sacher Torte(Wikipedia)