Japanese Culture

[FateAnomaly]

Maybe the women are just more blood thirsty than the guys.

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by Vexx

Could have put this under "silly news" ... but actually I think its a great idea and culturally centered:

http://women.timesonline.co.uk/tol/l...cle7128300.ece

Wielding swords in samurai camp is the new aerobics for Japanese women


The sad part is that it is open to both genders but the men often drop out because they can't keep up.

Now this...
This I will check out and if I find a sports centre nearby with a class, I will go.
(hope the prices aren't too expensive per class)

I think you've just handed this shounen fanatic fangirl a wet dream Vexx <3

Edit: Okay... that was easy to find one example
Website

Never ceases to scare amaze me at how much Japanese men are almost androgynous...

[Marcus H.]

o.o

One look at that class is: YANDERE training camp. D:

[Sparvid]

Mmm, sword-wielding women...




Although I am kinda curious of how often people get hit in an average class
If I was there, I'd probably go stand in a corner, far away from anyone else's reach...

[TinyRedLeaf]

Originally Posted by Sparvid

Although I am kinda curious of how often people get hit in an average class
If I was there, I'd probably go stand in a corner, far away from anyone else's reach...

The story was filed by AFP and was first released on France24 TV on May 12. And, yes, the instructor, Mr Takafuji Ukon, has thought about the obvious safety concerns.

To avoid turning the health workout into a bloodbath, the swords are made of wood and urethane foam, but the determination of the participants is steely: the goal is to shed 5kg (11 pounds) in about a month.

The Times also reported the fact, pointing out that the swords were made of plastic.

Originally Posted by Mystique

Never ceases to scare amaze me at how much Japanese men are almost androgynous...

The androgyny may not be as surprising if you consider how Mr Ukon is apparently one of the most famous traditional dancers in Japan.

[Vexx]

After seeing the video Mystique posted, hell *I'd* like to find classes like this. I *loathe* "disco aerobic" crap classes. Tai chi is part way there, but lacks the 'oomph'.

(shrug) I still do swordwork for exercise in the backyard (2handed weave and dual shortsword forms), but its just more productive and fun/uplifting to do it as a group. You tend to put more energy into it.

[Kudryavka]

After watching Mitsudomoe's OP and reading up on Japanese school pools, it got me wondering.

-Is it true that almost all Japanese schools have pools, and use them for gym, teaching to swim, teaching how not to drown with heavy wet clothes on and whatnot?

-Is anime's constant depiction of high school kids having little else to do than hang out with friends and pretty girls and have fun in clubs completely wrong? I'm reading up on "exam hell" in Japan and related topics now, and it seems that come middle and high school, the majority of students have minimal freetime. Just read that when an American high school student went to a Japanese high school and talked about how he would drive to the mall, date, hang with friends, and talk on the phone for hours, all after school each day, the Japanese kids went green with envy.

[sergho]

1. Is there discrimination against darker skinned Japanese by lighter skinned Japanese. Sometimes in the US lighter skinned blacks discriminate against darker skinned blacks and lighter skinned Mexicans discriminate against darker skinned Mexicans.

2. Do younger sisters fall romantically in love with their older brothers?

3. Is a girl's tripping and falling onto a boy a popular way of flirting?

4. How bad is the population implosion?

[Theowne]

Originally Posted by sergho

1. Is there discrimination against darker skinned Japanese by lighter skinned Japanese.

I think discrimination is the wrong word to use here, especially if you're comparing it to historic "discrimination" in the United States. It's true that generally, light skin is valued in Japanese culture, as historically speaking, lighter skin was associated with aristocrats or people of high status who did not have to perform manual labour out in the sun (and get tanned). You can see where the connections come in. But this does not mean that Japanese people with darker skin experience discrimination or anything like that.

[0utf0xZer0]

Originally Posted by sergho

2. Do younger sisters fall romantically in love with their older brothers?

This reminds me a lot of Sasahara's response to being asked about little sister characters in Genshiken after the other club members learn he has a little sister, which goes something like this:

"I can safely say it's a fantasy created up by those who never had a real little sister."

Anyway, I'm going to guess it's relatively uncommon.

[Terrestrial Dream]

Originally Posted by 0utf0xZer0

This reminds me a lot of Sasahara's response to being asked about little sister characters in Genshiken after the other club members learn he has a little sister, which goes something like this:

"I can safely say it's a fantasy created up by those who never had a real little sister."

Anyway, I'm going to guess it's relatively uncommon.

I would agree with that statement. My sister and I fight all the time and romantic relationship between us is rather disgusting and something that I would not want to think about.

Now excuse me while I throw up for few minutes.

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by Komari

After watching Mitsudomoe's OP and reading up on Japanese school pools, it got me wondering.

-Is it true that almost all Japanese schools have pools, and use them for gym, teaching to swim, teaching how not to drown with heavy wet clothes on and whatnot?

Yeah, this is a new cultural aspect that I'm currently engaging as well (the swimming season), it began in June and now the kids are currently having lessons or can have 'free time' after school is out.
As for the learning how to not drown with heavy wet clothes, yeah it's a custom that a native also explained to me about a month ago, lol.
The term is 着衣泳 (chaku i ei) "swimming fully clothed" and apparently an important part of a kids swimming education as they begin learning from a young age.
The drill for that though apparently is done over the summer holidays (coming two weeks time), so it's not a regular thing, and perhaps not even practiced in most schools, but yes, this concept exists.

Is anime's constant depiction of high school kids having little else to do than hang out with friends and pretty girls and have fun in clubs completely wrong? I'm reading up on "exam hell" in Japan and related topics now, and it seems that come middle and high school, the majority of students have minimal freetime. Just read that when an American high school student went to a Japanese high school and talked about how he would drive to the mall, date, hang with friends, and talk on the phone for hours, all after school each day, the Japanese kids went green with envy.

Is life imitating art?
Or is art imitating life?

It's kinda a mix for both, but for most part I do think that art is imitating life but with a little cultural liberties for entertainment's sake.
JH seems to be the time when kids are 'encouraged' to join some kinda after school club and so all the time that they should be using for rest and study goes into the clubs. They usually stay until 6pm in the summer.
And then on top, there are those who also attend cram school, until maybe about 9pm or so.
So more than often half the kids are asleep in class or use school class time as 'nap time' while dealing with club activities and cram school outside of school.
To me, seeing the way these 12-15 year olds are breaking down physically is kinda saddening.
On one hand, some of the natives I talked to said that some of their best memories came from club time, rather than class time or otherwise, even though they were completely shattered and often stressed.
Most see the summer holiday as 'study time' or winter holidays as well, there is no distinct 'break time' or 'tune out time' for them it seems.
This is also due to the culture of prefecture competitions, the sports clubs of each school compete for real, so that aspect kinda enforces this 'duty' to train hard and do well in order to become #1.

The UK doesn't have this, if someone wants to take up a sport, they'd attend a class outside of school in their spare time, but we don't have borough-wide competitions (nothings serious or set as it is in Japan) in London.
Home time, is just that: Home time.

Club President
Japanese schools' extra-curricular activities are centered around "club activities" organized by the students themselves. Each club will generally be assigned its own room or other facilities, will have an advisor (who doesn't always appear on screen), and will have a powerful president (kaicho) who'll be a significant character of some sort. For series that revolve around a specific club, the Club President frequently replaces the Student Council president in importance.

The three most commonly portrayed clubs are the student council, the school newspaper, and the Kendo team. For the student council, see Absurdly Powerful Student Council and Student Council President. For the newspaper, see School Newspaper Newshound. For the Kendo team, see Kendo Team Captain.

It's rare for a student to be a member of more than one club — club activities are generally too time-consuming to allow for it, and characters who do are generally the driven overachiever. The Ordinary High School Student who isn't a member of any club is said to be a member of the "Go Home Club". (Usagi does this in Sailor Moon when she gets to High School, as does Watanuki from XXX Holic and Kagura from Azumanga Daioh accuses the rest of the girls of this.)

The 'kitaku-bu' (going home club) was also a concept that I've only learnt in the last month, actually makes me smile, lol. I can't help but wonder if there's some kinda negative connection to it however (it's not only HS but in JHS as well)

[Vexx]

There's the occasional implication that members of the "go home" club grow up to become members of the NEET faction, or what we might call "slackers". (Not in Employment, Education or Training)

[sergho]

Do Japanese people typically have locks on their bathroom doors?

[Kudryavka]

To Mystique: Yeah, when I first read about jumping into pools with clothes on, I was like, What?? Then I realized that that's really a vital skill, since it's allegedly much harder to swim in full clothing than in a skin tight one piece, harder than one would think. I was also reading about how the kids were being taught not to take off their clothes in the water (apparently that's hard to do in water too), and to put any stray recyclable bottles and such in the ocean under their shirt, or tuck their shirt to make a big bubble to help them float. Now I'm thinking I should learn that, too, since I live ~10 miles from the Pacific. But where would I practice?

Originally Posted by sergho

Do Japanese people typically have locks on their bathroom doors?

I assume so, they are very picky on privacy in Japan. I know public bathroom doors have a very short space between the floor and the bottom of the door, much shorter than here in America.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Komari

I'm thinking I should learn that, too, since I live ~10 miles from the Pacific. But where would I practice?

Just make sure to bring a friend along! Wouldn't want to lose you to the surf.

[Kudryavka]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

Just make sure to bring a friend along! Wouldn't want to lose you to the surf.

Woah man, wouldnt try that in the big blue. I'd get the banhammer for false alarms or something. I think I'll try the pool at the Y, but how can I get clearance to do that there??

[ChainLegacy]

Wait, what exactly is useful about knowing how to swim with clothes on? Even with someone drowning I think I'd have time to rip my shirt and pants off.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by ChainLegacy

Wait, what exactly is useful about knowing how to swim with clothes on? Even with someone drowning I think I'd have time to rip my shirt and pants off.

Let's say you fall off a ferry... or the ferry sinks. Wow... you have your clothes on. You may not get a chance to strip before having to swim for a while. We used to train the "with clothes" scenario in the US Boy Scouts, I suppose they still do for the Swim merit badge.

[ChainLegacy]

Ah, that makes sense. Guess I wasn't thinking of all the possibilities.