Japanese Culture

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by Vexx

This is why its a "good thing" that all those people hand out advertising toilet tissue packs on the street... and why one should accept them

I never use those for cleaning myself, for some reason

[NoemiChan]

Do what we see in ANIME reflects what JAPANESE CULTURE is like?????

Ex. Girls sent more love letters compared to boys.
Girls make lunches to the person they like.
Girls confess their feelings more often than boys.
It's normal to be called an "Idiot" by a friend. ( Its not unusually in ours' though).
Do girls really that concern in their weight especially during PE.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by genjichan

Do what we see in ANIME reflects what JAPANESE CULTURE is like?????

Ex. Girls sent more love letters compared to boys.
Girls make lunches to the person they like.
Girls confess their feelings more often than boys.
It's normal to be called an "Idiot" by a friend. ( Its not unusually in ours' though).
Do girls really that concern in their weight especially during PE.

..... Not sure why you get culture here, but.....

1) Yes
2) Yes (mainly because boys can't make their own)
3) Uhm.... not sure (I went to a Girls' High School, and Junior High was in Korea).
4) Probably not. Baka isn't as harsh a word as idiot (to me, at least).
5) Don't all girls do? I still freak out when I get past 49kg/105 lb (Height: 165 cm, 5'5").

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

5) Don't all girls do? I still freak out when I get past 49kg/105 lb (Height: 165 cm, 5'5").

49kg is actually 107.8 lbs.
For reference, the Canadian Red Cross doesn't allow anyone under 50KG to donate blood if I remember right. I imagine the standards for that are less stringent in Japan.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

49kg is actually 107.8 lbs.

Probably because I keep thinking of my old weight, which was below 48kg.

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

For reference, the Canadian Red Cross doesn't allow anyone under 50KG to donate blood if I remember right. I imagine the standards for that are less stringent in Japan.

Probably because height isn't included.

[Leo Keichi]

Originally Posted by genjichan

Do what we see in ANIME reflects what JAPANESE CULTURE is like?????

Ex. Girls sent more love letters compared to boys.
Girls make lunches to the person they like.
Girls confess their feelings more often than boys.
It's normal to be called an "Idiot" by a friend. ( Its not unusually in ours' though).
Do girls really that concern in their weight especially during PE.

Fiction is never exactly like reality, but here is my guess:

1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) From what I've been told, yes.
4) Well, at least between young guys, I guess it's normal. I surely called my friends and was called things like that by them all the time.
5) Girls are concerned about their weight, in pretty much every culture.

[Tsuyoshi]

Originally Posted by Leo Keichi

Fiction is never exactly like reality, but here is my guess:

1) Yes.
2) Yes.
3) From what I've been told, yes.
4) Well, at least between young guys, I guess it's normal. I surely called my friends and was called things like that by them all the time.
5) Girls are concerned about their weight, in pretty much every culture.

We can thus conclude anime is at least 75% accurate in depicting Japanese culture

One thing I've been wondering is if people still practice (not live at least) ancient samurai customs. I imagine that they do but I'm wondering if there are actual clubs there that do this sort of thing and how popular the practice of ancient customs in general (not just samurai) is there.

[Vexx]

It depends on which ancient customs you're thinking of. Many traditions in Japan descend from 'ancient customs'. Not infrequently the people don't even know why they do what they do (e.g. many Shinto practices).

The powerful family clan structure still influences who runs what in Japan and those descend from the old Shogunate factions of days gone by.

And... anyone who think they grok Japanese culture from anime (much less the language) is going to be considered rude and ill-mannered in real Japan - if not just crazy. Imagine learning your "American customs" from watching American cartoons.... O.o. Yeah, you can pick up some memes but you'll be poorly served trying to act out that stuff with the locals.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by Vexx

The powerful family clan structure still influences who runs what in Japan and those descend from the old Shogunate factions of days gone by.

As can be seen by the past 10 Prime Ministers until Kan came to power. Almost all of them were sons/grandons/sons-in-law of former Prime Ministers.

[tabito]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

As can be seen by the past 10 Prime Ministers until Kan came to power. Almost all of them were sons/grandons/sons-in-law of former Prime Ministers.

No offense, but what you say might be an exaggeration.

List of past 10 PMs (*:son/grandson/son-in-law of former PM)

-52nd Tomiichi Murayama
-53rd Ryutaro Hashimoto
-54th Keizo Obuchi
-55th Yoshiro Mori
-56th Jun-ichiro Koizumi
*57th Shinzo Abe
*58th Yasuo Fukuda
*59th Taro Aso
*60th Yukio Hatoyama
-61st Naoto Kan

I totally agree hereditary is strongly dominant in Japan, '4 out of 10’ is massive number, but not 'almost all'.　

[Vexx]

Well... to be honest I was more focused on the corporations of Japan than the government bureaucracy dynasties. The corporations have names and controlling interests that stretch "long ways back" to powerful clans of the old days. But yeah, that's one reason Tokyo U. is the "utopian destination" in many anime stories. Acceptance to that is a chance to enter the powerful and affluent government bureaucracy classes.

[NoemiChan]

Guys, I have this next curiosity regarding addressing peoples name ( adding "kun, san, chan )"which I also always encounter in all anime that is:

My question is using those additives ( kun san, chan) in names,which would you add when calling that person example, a stranger, your classmate, friend, closefriend, best friend, boy/girlfriend and husband/wife.....?

Next, incest marriage are allowed between relatives in what level of degree, example, if l not mistaking, 2nd cousins are allowed to get married to their other 2nd cousin? How about in Japan????

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by tabito

I totally agree hereditary is strongly dominant in Japan, '4 out of 10’ is massive number, but not 'almost all'.　

I plead guilty to exaggeration. I counted political families, and also forgot the colorless prime ministers of the early 1990's. (when I was in the US).

Originally Posted by Vexx

Well... to be honest I was more focused on the corporations of Japan than the government bureaucracy dynasties. The corporations have names and controlling interests that stretch "long ways back" to powerful clans of the old days.

Not sure if current Japanese corporations compare to the zaibatsus of old and the chaebols.

Originally Posted by genjichan

Guys, I have this next curiosity regarding addressing peoples name ( adding "kun, san, chan )"which I also always encounter in all anime that is:

My question is using those additives ( kun san, chan) in names,which would you add when calling that person example, a stranger, your classmate, friend, closefriend, best friend, boy/girlfriend and husband/wife.....?

That's way complex an issue (since individual preferences take up a large portion as to what you call the other). However, for strangers it's usually safe to go with -san.

Originally Posted by genjichan

Next, incest marriage are allowed between relatives in what level of degree, example, if l not mistaking, 2nd cousins are allowed to get married to their other 2nd cousin? How about in Japan????

1st cousins. Example would be the current Prime Minister, Kan Naoto.

[Vexx]

Clarification... none of that (cousin marriage) is "incest" by legal definition in most places. "Incest" is a purely legal term that depends on where you are standing. It really has no scientific meaning (rather like "underage attraction" does not equal "pedophile" despite morons attempting to equate the two in their irrational zealotry ).

First cousin marriage is legal in over half the United States and in most of the world, btw. Any taboo exists purely because when the migration to the cities started in the Industrial Age, you came to be considered "hick/country" if you had married your cousin. In a rural area you were usually related in SOME way to virtually everyone.

[ChainLegacy]

So I finally tried umeboshi. I can see why the Japanese tend to think foreigners will misperceive its taste, I really didn't expect that flavor. Very difficult to describe, but quite delicious.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

So I finally tried umeboshi. I can see why the Japanese tend to think foreigners will misperceive its taste, I really didn't expect that flavor. Very difficult to describe, but quite delicious.

Advanced flavors for neophytes to try:
umeboshi
natto
daikon
sea urchin
kimchee (actually Korean but popular in Japan)
fermented tofu (often spicy)

About the only thing on that list I "gird my loins" before eating these days is sea urchin (because sometimes it tastes like it was soaked in rubbing alcohol and the texture o.O) and natto (a really unique taste... really).

Sake (the "rice wine") seems to put a lot of neophytes off as well because it is rather unrelated to the taste of other alcohol drinks.

[Sumeragi]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Advanced flavors for neophytes to try:
umeboshi
natto
daikon
sea urchin
kimchee (actually Korean but popular in Japan)
fermented tofu (often spicy)

About the only thing on that list I "gird my loins" before eating these days is sea urchin (because sometimes it tastes like it was soaked in rubbing alcohol and the texture o.O) and natto (a really unique taste... really).

Sake (the "rice wine") seems to put a lot of neophytes off as well because it is rather unrelated to the taste of other alcohol drinks.

About the only thing worse than natto is cheonggukjang, the Korean counterpart. At least natto doesn't smell that much. As for the rest.... I love all of them

How do you like your natto, Vexx?

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

About the only thing worse than natto is cheonggukjang, the Korean counterpart. At least natto doesn't smell that much. As for the rest.... I love all of them

How do you like your natto, Vexx?

I don't know that I'll ever "like" natto... I've just gotten to the point I won't refuse it for politeness sake. Any time I encounter a different kind, I'm willing to give it a try (but I'm like that about any food on the planet pretty much).

If you put natto on top of rice with other stuff, you get to the point you barely notice it. I actually like a kind of spicy fermented bean curd as a rice topping - for a long time my wife's family (japanese-texans) thought it was natto til I updated them. I'm guessing it was the only fermented soy-thing Grandpa could get back in the 50s in Texas so he just told them it was natto.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Advanced flavors for neophytes to try:
umeboshi
natto
daikon
sea urchin
kimchee (actually Korean but popular in Japan)
fermented tofu (often spicy)

About the only thing on that list I "gird my loins" before eating these days is sea urchin (because sometimes it tastes like it was soaked in rubbing alcohol and the texture o.O) and natto (a really unique taste... really).

Sake (the "rice wine") seems to put a lot of neophytes off as well because it is rather unrelated to the taste of other alcohol drinks.

All the above are fine for me EXCEPT natto. Sorry, inner Kansai-jin at work.

And I prefer my sake closer to sweet. Some say it's womanly, especially the Tokyoite One-cup Ozeki types.

[Vexx]

My wife prefers unfiltered sake... I'm more indiscriminate, any sake has some value in some situation