hyde asked:


I mean .when you see it in mangas/animes it seems some kind of a realistic paradise/fantasy…….they portray japan/japanese culture in such a way where they have the good sides of both the orient(values,norms) and the west(standardization/modernization)……….but japan itself is different…..I mean a busy life 9 to 9,technofreaked,strict cultures,rigid,disciplined lifestyles(things not portrayed in mangas/animes)………….no offense intended….!!!
I don’t know much………but it took me quite a while to understand that there is a vast difference between these two,so can you guys tell me why it is??what are the similarities then ??why are things portrayed in an unrealistic manner…….??it gives people like us(non japanese,I mean)…..a biased view ,you know
because I have seen lots of question asking……”I am a great fan of animes /mangas,I have fallen in love with the jpanese lifestyle(judging fom mangas) and I want to come there ,how can I go to japan??”……but when you guys answer you discourage them saying that their view is not correct……..so what are you really trying to say??
to tell you the truth..I first got fantasized about japan not from mangas/animes but from its ‘history’ and paintings……mangas and animes came later in the list……and to be honest I also learnt a lot from mangas and animes about japan….the interest started from there but for the info I depended on something realistic like books maybe,coz just like I said there are a lot of misinterpretations…..it’s better if you don’t believe all of it…… …….the mangas and animes I mean
good idea tempslip…..

anime fever asked:


I just cant help it and I dont know why I wanna learn to speak japanese (currently am) I want to take kendo classes I love samurai and anime I love their food tradition people culture god….I love it all and I dont know why and when people ask me so why do u like that stuff so much I dont really have a solid answer I just do…..does anyone else feel this way? (I have family members make me feel odd or even weird for liking Japan so much) am I the only one out there thats like this? or am I just weird? sometimes I wonder if god meant for me to be in a different body (by that I mean someone japanese)

Mari Laveau（^ω^）♥ asked:


I addicted to the arab, northern and eastern african costume and architecture……last june I visited yemen, I’m not a muslim but I like their clothing…..I don’t understand why my parents find I’m weir? I’m just interested in the coloring of the middle eastern costume, architecture and traveling places….. I wanted to wear the traditional berber cloth when I walking on the street. my mom say if I worn such a cloth I shouldn’t go anywhere with her…………..my sister married the japanese man and she got the baby with him, my parents like japanese culture very much, they like japanese traditional songs, people,language, country. they get annoyed when I playing the arab, turk or India songs. my mom like to tease me by making an ugly sound when she heard I listening to the arab songs…………
I been visited japan one time and I like nothing there, people are boring chinky, the country has the high technology and nothing look exotic and traditional. I also get very angry when I wear the eyeliner the same like egyptian or arabian women, my mom like to say I have got the fierce look. she wanted me to make up like the korean and japanese but i don’t like it. I personally don’t find korean or japanese pretty at all……I prefer arabs, I just don’t understand why everyone have to anti arabs?

Tony asked:


I am a white American male and I am a 17 year old male and a High School student planning on getting a job and saving enough money to go to Japan one day but I am just wondering if any of the Japanese in Japan will support an American if he/she knows about their Culture, History , etc.

I have been learning Japanese and I’ve been reading about the Culture that is in Japan and I’m living in America right now and I am just wondering if I will be welcomed in Japan if I know how to speak Japanese know about their Culture.

Sorry if anyone didn’t understand this question but what I’m trying to ask is, Will I be welcomed in Japan if I know about Japanese Culture and knowing how to speak Japanese?
And I really like Japanese Culture and the Language.
Sorry if I said to much.
And I would like to make allot of friends in Japan including girls and guys.
Just for the record Bruce P or what ever the heck your name is, Please leave your ********* comments to your self.

Yggdrasil asked:


Sorry to use anime as my examples…but anime helps me learn the language.

Anyway, here goes. In Azumanga Daioh, one of the girls, Sakaki-san is not your “standard” stereotype of a Japanese girl…for two reasons…height (174cm and still growing at 16) and bust size (Osaka calls her “an American” while staring at her development. Sakaki-san is very ashamed of her height and bustiness. She feels she is not cute and that she “stands out.” She is also painfully shy. Is “standing out” taboo in Japanese culture? She feels that she is a freak (as she is likely to grow to about 6′ by the time she enters college). Chiyo-chan becomes pretty much her surrogate younger sister…but even Chiyo (10 years old and 4′4″ in the first year of HS) has trouble convincing her that she is cute and beautiful. I have known several very tall Japanese women who were absolutely stunning in physical appearance. Why does Sakaki-san feel so out of it?
I’ve met lots of teenagers…I was a professor, counselor, and psychologist. That doesn’t mean I know cross-cultural taboos and stigmas now, does it?
Thanks Colin, but it still doesn’t address prejudice against “tall” people. I mean, is she Ripley’s Believe It or Not tall? No. I know why she feels bad; I don’t know why she is being made to feel bad. Does that clarify it…or am I still being obtuse?
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: This is the character I am discussing…

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sakaki_(Azumanga_Daioh)
It is interesting to see the relative perceptions of women’s height and sexiness/girlness (I can’t think of a better way to put it.)

I mean, most models are tall…Elle McPherson is 6′ and Maria Sharapova is 6′2″. Both, in their time have been considered massively **** and desirable. So, why would Sakaki feel bad about being 5′9″ if there wasn’t a cultural stigma?

Pressure.Point asked:


I have had a HUGE interest in Japanese culture throughout my high school years, and I have taken the language for 4 years, been there twice (once on a homestay where I went to school), and I have started to primarily listen to J-Rock, love the art/architecture, and the list goes on and on. (Oddly, I really don’t read much manga and watch much anime, though that seems to be what everybody thinks when they hear about a kid that loves Japan). I try to study Japanese daily so I may become fluent someday.

I have enough appreciation and determination to learn about every facet of their society and adhere to it to the best of my ability. I know I will always be thought of as a gaijin while I am over there, but I almost like being the minority, for I am able to be part American and Japanese.

However, I am concerned, if I choose to pursue Japanese in college and in life, will I always be thought of as just a “wannabe?” I am a Caucasian kid with a little Italian heritage from the midwest…
I want to major in Japanese language and literature in college and eventually work in a field that involves interaction with the people and the culture.

I have really tried to educate myself as much as I can about Japanese culture so I can closely follow their age-old (and modern) traditions, but it is so difficult to break out of the stereotype of “all kids that love japanese are asian wannabes that watch anime all day.”

I guess whatever choices you make will make someone lose respect for you, but is there any way I can balance my American heritage and my Japanese interest so I am not simply a wannabe, but instead I am an American who is fascinated by Japan and its culture?
Sonny, thank you for your analysis, it really got me thinking and seriously considering backing down on what I had planned so far…however, it has just made me even more determined. I do not want to become Japanese, I want to enjoy Japan and its culture while still retaining my American heritage. I understand how I may not get respect from some, but no matter what you do, life is going to throw you some challenges, and this would be one I can endure, I’ll just take the initiative and show them that my love of Japanese culture is much more well-rounded and deep then most who only want to come there for one or two reasons. You are making it sound like they care little about you, but I humbly beg to differ, when I lived there I was well received and cared for by a large group of Japanese people, and I know they are much more warm and accepting than you are trying to make them seem.

If you don’t mind me asking, why do you still live there if you paint such a negative picture?
xdegrass, thank you for your advice.

I just have to disagree with your statement that i am not unique in my Japanese interest. While i do know many who like certain aspects of Japan, I realy find few that appreciate their culture as a whole like I do.

It almost seems that more than 1/2 with a big interest are obsessed with anime/video games/harajuku-esque clothing, and in the remaining half, some people just like the food, others just like the language, some want to go because they think the guys and girls are attractive….in my experience, its hard finding people who have a genuine interest in more than a few aspects of Japanese culture.

This is why I think I am (relatively) unique. We all have interests to accomplish different goals, and since I like so much about the country as a whole (I also know the darker side, but I will cope), its not like the “magic” will just “shake off.”

Snowcrane66 asked:


It was puzzle for me and still lingering in my mind for a long while that there were tons of little stone made Jiso statues along the track where I went hiking down in a very rural lonely villiage in the southern Osaka. As I know that most Japanese don’t have any religion at all, but back in the ancient time they did have one and most were Buddism. And I was told that in the past by my Japanese teacher that there were not much food at that time and a lot of poor family they usually got rid of the youngest baby and buried them alive in order to save the food for the remaining family members to survive. My mainpoint question was that under those little stone Jizo statues were buried dead baby at that time? If not, what does that mean? If anyone who penetrates into Japanese culture and do know what it meant, plz tell me. Ans Thanx so much for your helping.