Japan SAQ

I just found this, and I am certainly the smarter for it.

Q. Is there some superstition in Japan to the effect that you should cover your navel when thunder rumbles? Question submitted by Pelayo
A. Yes, the expression you are asking about is “Kaminari ga heso o toru”, which means “Lightning bolts will take your navel”. Parents often say it to children when thunder rumbles, and originally it was a warning that children (who often ran around scantily clothed) should put on their kimonos. Traditional Japanese belief has it that cold weather can cause problems such as diarrhea, cramps, or stomach pains, so people wore haramaki (long pieces of cloth wrapped around their stomach) and were very concerned about keeping their stomachs warm. Lightning is often accompanied by a sudden drop in temperature, so they were telling their kids to put on something warm, but since children aren’t likely to listen to that sort of warning, they told them that lightning could steal their belly-buttons instead.

Q. My Japanese wife and friend both insist that Japanese babies have a blue spot on their butt when they're born. Is this true? - Question submitted by Glen.
A. Most Asian babies have blue marks on their rear-ends and lower backs called moukohan. Known as Mongolian Spots in English, they are a dense collection of Melanin-containing cells called Melanocytes. Melanin is the chemical which gives our skin its colour, and if the melanocytes are deep under the skin, they appear blue. The spots generally fade within a few years and almost always disappear by puberty. These spots have given rise to an interesting Japanese idiom, "shiri ga aoi". It means "his butt is blue" and is used to describe a person that is childish or inexperienced.