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Tendou Souji
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Posted: Fri Sep 14, 2007 11:57 am Post subject: |
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I've always been fascinated with Japan and it's culture, even before I went there on my past holiday. There's just this feeling that attracts me to it, and I hope I could go there again someday. |
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Amyral
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:19 pm Post subject: |
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They have had an interesting history, but most every country has an interesting history if you really want to look. The only difference with Japan was that they tend to have not had a major cultural affect on western countries until relatively late, so they look exotic. However, China and other east Asian countries are also rather exotic, they're just not as "sexy" as Japan is. I think, from a purely historical perspective, that China and the Middle East intrigue me more than Japan.
However, I do find it interesting to look to see how things really were there as opposed to the stereotypes people peg with it. A lot of people, even people who have studied it some, have a lot of misconceptions about how things really were, ranging from minor misconceptions about their contact with the rest of the world (they didn't become isolationalist until the mid-1600's) to a over-estimation of what the katana really was used for (samurai actually commonly used spears and bows, even integrating the matchlock rifles fairly rapidly when they were introduced to Japan. The katana as solely a dueling weapon or weapon of last resort.) Also, Japan embraced firearms fully when they gained access to them in the mid-1500's) Part of me finds it intriguing to measure up reality versus the common perceptions.
I must say that I think they had the second coolest looking clothing in their "medieval" history. Some of the more elaborate Japanese outfits looked incredibly cool, even better than the Chinese clothing. However, I would say that I think the Middle East possessed the most awesome looking outfits in history. |
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Splendid Monkey
Monkey`s Mad Marauders
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Posted: Sun Sep 16, 2007 11:48 pm Post subject: |
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Amyral wrote: |
However, I do find it interesting to look to see how things really were there as opposed to the stereotypes people peg with it. |
Exactly. Japan has become something of a utopia in the minds of many people. It's embarrassing how much bullshit has been going around and seeing how many people actually buy that crap. Think about the '80s ninja craze for example: bullshit from A to Z but still we get conmen making a fortune by setting up 'ninja dojos' and dishing people crap. Let's not even mention all the myths about katana and nunchaku. _________________ So long! I gotta go do wrong! |
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Tron Bonne
The party members you never use
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:10 am Post subject: |
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I'm fascinated by their culture, though i have not been there yet. I'm going there Next June for two weeks though a program at my school. Its supposed to take care of some of my language credits. I might even become an exchange student later on that school year. the thought of that kind of scares me, but I definitely want to do it. _________________
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SwissStopwatch
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:29 am Post subject: |
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The martial arts fraud peddlers are hardly just a Japanese thing, though... although the form that takes differs depending on whatever popular reputation the art may have. Ninja scammers pretend to teach you ubercool assassin tricks, Kung fu scammers pretend to teach you to kill a man with one touch, and so on, but sometimes it's just a matter of a guy who barely knows what he's doing buying a nice uniform and belt and arriving in another country with them.
At any rate, I kind of think Japan is really strange... which does give it some appeal, because it's strange in a goofy way, and some of the less-strange things can still be interesting. Like the martial arts, if you look past the myths... I particularly like Judo. Some of the cuisine is also quite good, and, like I said, some of the bizarre/goofy pop culture is good. It does veer over to being a bit scary creepy sometimes, though.
I like Korea a bit more, for whatever reason. Although a lot of things are really quite similar about the two. |
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Splendid Monkey
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 12:37 am Post subject: |
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The badguy from Tron wrote: |
I'm fascinated by their culture, though i have not been there yet. I'm going there Next June for two weeks though a program at my school. Its supposed to take care of some of my language credits. I might even become an exchange student later on that school year. the thought of that kind of scares me, but I definitely want to do it. |
DO IT!!! Do it NOW! Perhaps the best way to experience Japan is as an exchange student: You get to there for an extended period of time, have tons of opportunities for making friends and don't have the hassle of work. God, I wish I could do it all over again!
Go! Just.....go! _________________ So long! I gotta go do wrong! |
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Amyral
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:05 am Post subject: |
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SwissStopwatch wrote: |
The martial arts fraud peddlers are hardly just a Japanese thing, though... although the form that takes differs depending on whatever popular reputation the art may have. Ninja scammers pretend to teach you ubercool assassin tricks, Kung fu scammers pretend to teach you to kill a man with one touch, and so on, but sometimes it's just a matter of a guy who barely knows what he's doing buying a nice uniform and belt and arriving in another country with them. |
And even when they don't, they could still be scam. Martial arts aren't a regulated thing, and there are a lot of schools where the instructor can just buy the belt and open up a school. If you want to avoid them, in addition to looking out for things like that, it's best to shy away from schools that do things like promise a black belt in a year or have lengthy contracts to sign.
It also doesn't help that most schools will teach the sport aspect rather than actual martial arts. Things like Jiu Jitsu and Tae Kwon Do have that problem quite a bit. It's hard to find a good school for that.
But yeah, any school promising to teach you how to be a ninja should be a red flag from the start. The most common depiction of ninja is purely Hollywood. |
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Watari
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 1:54 am Post subject: |
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I would really like to go there just say that I have been there. _________________ Sti?rth?ir le Machaire B?iteach
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Dragonstar13
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:21 am Post subject: |
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I've never been to Japan before, but I've studied the language in highschool, and read about it's history in college.
I think it's an interesting country, and from what I've heard, it's very clean and technological. So it sounds like my kind of place to visit. I'd love to visit Japan some time.
To live, I'm not really sure. I love the country I'm currently in, and wouldn't want to move unless there is a huge reason to. _________________
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Jia
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 2:43 am Post subject: |
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Anime is of course from Japan, so there is always that curiousness within Japanese culture. I do a lot of CG art, so I was interested in Anime for it's graphics value, as well as it's plots and whatnot :)
I am interested in Japanese language, as I am interested in other cultures.
I love learning about many cultures, and I want to visit India someday.
I want to master Japanese as a fourth language. After that, I would like to invest my time in learning some Danish, and Mandarin.
I'm just not a Japanophile. *Shudders* _________________
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Splendid Monkey
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 5:45 am Post subject: |
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Jia wrote: |
I'm just not a Japanophile. *Shudders* |
Funny isn't it: how Japanophiles (or otaku) have this image of antisocial geeks. :P I remember the time when studying Japanese and watching anime was actually seen as quite interesting and socially acceptable. Then Pokemon, Yugi-oh, Beyblade ect. hit Dutch tv, all these little kids started shouting Japanese phrases and.....well......*sighs*
(I purposely didn't mention Dragonball since I like it a lot.) _________________ So long! I gotta go do wrong! |
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Creepr
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 3:32 pm Post subject: |
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I like things that come from Japan, and thats about it. I don't know much about Japanese culture, but that's because I have never been all that interested in researching. All I know is because of a friend who is hooked on their culture. I'm like this because I think that it's ok to like another culture, but we should keep our own cultures.
But hey, I do love thei GAMES!!! XP _________________ A name is just a name, simply because it stands for you, it doesn't define who you are... |
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UCPesmerga
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:28 pm Post subject: |
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I took Japanese during College, as well as spent 2.5 years of being a Computer Science/East Asian Studies Double Major (dropped the EAS because 90% of the classes conflicted with my Computer Science classes).
The language is facinating to me, mainly because I see it as extremely complex and simple at the same time. Part of that most likely comes from being a native English speaker.
Their culture facinates me because of how little it has changed. (in the grand scheme of things that is. All things change over time. I'm generalizing in this case.) Life is still goverened by this sense of Giri versus Ninjou (man, I hope I spelled those correctly).
What ruins the reputation of people who like the culture are the people who try (and fail) to live the culture in the form of Otaku. I had two different girls in my Japanese class who so wanted to be Japanese that it was mentally painful to deal with them on a casual basis. These are same two girls who managed to confound my mild-temepered Japanese teacher so much that he once blurted out in how happy he was they were both absent.
I seemed to have gotten off on a tangent. To summarize:
I like Japan. I do not LOVE Japan. I do not want to be Japanese, I want to be me. The culture and language are both very interesting and engaging. And Michizane (Sugawara no Michizane) was a very fascinating fellow as well. |
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HarmonianHiccup
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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UCPesmerga wrote: |
What ruins the reputation of people who like the culture are the people who try (and fail) to live the culture in the form of Otaku. I had two different girls in my Japanese class who so wanted to be Japanese that it was mentally painful to deal with them on a casual basis. These are same two girls who managed to confound my mild-temepered Japanese teacher so much that he once blurted out in how happy he was they were both absent.
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O~h man oh man. XD We had a bunch of those at one point in my Japanses classes at University, and the sad thing is that, most of the time, they can't walk the walk. They drop out eventually because they find out that Japan is not really some Otaku wonderland, or they can't handle the language, or fish makes them sick.
And I agree about that I do not wish I were Japanese--I love being me and I love being an American, but I have to admit that my heart seems to be awfully Japanese in alot of ways (this is not a statement of my own thoughts, I have been told this by quite a few Japanese people O_o) though my outside may be a hopeless mix of European and other bloodlines. _________________
Proud Owner and Operator of The Hiccup's Speciality Grassland Atelier, the only place to find Electric Whiffle Bats! |
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Jia
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Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2007 4:46 pm Post subject: |
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Splendid Monkey wrote: |
Jia wrote: |
I'm just not a Japanophile. *Shudders* |
Funny isn't it: how Japanophiles (or otaku) have this image of antisocial geeks. :P I remember the time when studying Japanese and watching anime was actually seen as quite interesting and socially acceptable. Then Pokemon, Yugi-oh, Beyblade ect. hit Dutch tv, all these little kids started shouting Japanese phrases and.....well......*sighs*
(I purposely didn't mention Dragonball since I like it a lot.) |
Indeed.
It's unfortunate to see Japanophiles go to Japan and see that it isn't what the Anime community shows it to be. Even most Animes use different Japanese slang/ formalities and informalities than your garden variety Japanese teenager.
As HarmonianHiccup states, I, too, enjoy being American. As many other countries, we have our own racial conflicts. Unlike America, we don't have signs outside our shops, bath houses that say "No Foreigners", Some Japanese places, they are free to put those signs there.
Unlike America, we don't mind sitting next to foreigners or people who are American but different ethnic background. In Japan, it's sometimes a bit different. I had a couple of friends who felt like lepers going into trains because no one would sit with them because they were foreigners, they would simply stare.
Not saying the Japanese are bad people, it's just not as diverse as America. But Japan is becoming more and more Westernized, which is somewhat of a good thing, in that perspective.
Japan also has become somewhat embedded on the internet. Everywhere you go, there's always something Anime/Japanese related.
You even have half the world drooling over Japanese women! Lol
All in all, for me, it's a nice country. I'd like to visit it someday. _________________
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