Japanese Culture

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by SeijiSensei

I'm guessing that the young lady's opinion about the lack of "manly men" in modern Japan will only be strengthened by this announcement.

She probably won't be visiting one of these cafes anytime soon either.

well.... I'll give them a dozen karma points in that most of them actually look like they tried (i.e. look cute) as opposed to most of the cross-dressing I see in US cons ( :P).

[Langknow]

Something I've noticed alot in Detective and Police Jdramas, is that once the criminal or suspect is caught, and the main character who happens to be a detective/police/scientist/reporter, explains to the criminal how they exactly did the crime, what usually happens is the following:

1. The criminal agrees with the main character, and then confesses to the crime
2. The criminal agrees with the main character, but then commits suicide

What they never do is try to run away or fight it in court.

Is this something that is only Japanese ?? Is the Japanese court system really that harsh ? That it's better to confess than fight the crime in court ??

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by Langknow

Something I've noticed alot in Detective and Police Jdramas, is that once the criminal or suspect is caught, and the main character who happens to be a detective/police/scientist/reporter, explains to the criminal how they exactly did the crime, what usually happens is the following:

1. The criminal agrees with the main character, and then confesses to the crime
2. The criminal agrees with the main character, but then commits suicide

What they never do is try to run away or fight it in court.

Is this something that is only Japanese ?? Is the Japanese court system really that harsh ? That it's better to confess than fight the crime in court ??

The court system in Japan has an almost 100% conviction rate. Some possibilities:
1) The police do their work thoroughly and only arrest people with a lot of evidence, leaving the court system mostly to decide the punishment. This means many people get away with crime due to lack of evidence though.
2) The system is corrupt. Evidence of forced confessions abound, it would be loss of face to have a defendant declared innocent.
3) Confessing to a crime and apologizing counts for a great deal in Japan in terms of the eventual punishment. Committing suicide is an ultimate form of apology.

Probably a bit of all.

[Cryonosis]

Originally Posted by Langknow

Something I've noticed alot in Detective and Police Jdramas, is that once the criminal or suspect is caught, and the main character who happens to be a detective/police/scientist/reporter, explains to the criminal how they exactly did the crime, what usually happens is the following:

1. The criminal agrees with the main character, and then confesses to the crime
2. The criminal agrees with the main character, but then commits suicide

What they never do is try to run away or fight it in court.

Is this something that is only Japanese ?? Is the Japanese court system really that harsh ? That it's better to confess than fight the crime in court ??

I would say that is a trope related to the Detective Genre worldwide, it is the same in American detective stories as well. The goal in those stories is to create a logical puzzle with missing pieces that the reader works towards putting together with the help of the protagonist whom eventually gives the answer at the end of the story. And well, there's no point in continuing the story after the puzzle's solution is given, because the puzzle was the whole point of the story.

[FateAnomaly]

Originally Posted by Vexx

The court system in Japan has an almost 100% conviction rate. Some possibilities:
1) The police do their work thoroughly and only arrest people with a lot of evidence, leaving the court system mostly to decide the punishment. This means many people get away with crime due to lack of evidence though.
2) The system is corrupt. Evidence of forced confessions abound, it would be loss of face to have a defendant declared innocent.
3) Confessing to a crime and apologizing counts for a great deal in Japan in terms of the eventual punishment. Committing suicide is an ultimate form of apology.

Probably a bit of all.

I always had the impression that it is because prosecuters there only press charges when they are certain that it will succeed. Failure means a blemish on their record.

[ZephyrLeanne]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

I always had the impression that it is because prosecuters there only press charges when they are certain that it will succeed. Failure means a blemish on their record.

Yes, it's more likely that this is the case.

[Vexx]

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

I always had the impression that it is because prosecuters there only press charges when they are certain that it will succeed. Failure means a blemish on their record.

Um, yeah, that would be item 1 on my list (see above post)

[Guernsey]

Is there a Japanese equivalent of a surfer dude/girl accent? do they go surfing in that country or do they go Hawaii and do that?

[Traece]

Originally Posted by Vexx

The court system in Japan has an almost 100% conviction rate. Some possibilities:
1) The police do their work thoroughly and only arrest people with a lot of evidence, leaving the court system mostly to decide the punishment. This means many people get away with crime due to lack of evidence though.
2) The system is corrupt. Evidence of forced confessions abound, it would be loss of face to have a defendant declared innocent.
3) Confessing to a crime and apologizing counts for a great deal in Japan in terms of the eventual punishment. Committing suicide is an ultimate form of apology.

Probably a bit of all.

Originally Posted by FateAnomaly

I always had the impression that it is because prosecuters there only press charges when they are certain that it will succeed. Failure means a blemish on their record.

The motto of the United States Judiciary Branch: "Innocent until proven guilty."

The motto of the Japanese Judiciary Branch (if it can be called that?): "Make it or break it."

Have I summed that up right?

[bhl88]

Type A

A person who simply enjoys “anime.”

Is proud of Japan’s anime.

Evaluates anime based on direction, voice acting, art, etc.

Hates shallow anime with no real content.

Story emphasis >>>>> Moe anime.

A recent example would Higashi no Eden. Fans of anime like Lain or Ghost in the Shell would probably be this kind.

Type B:

A person who simply enjoys “characters.”

Will watch an anime if it includes cute or beautiful characters.

Doesn’t care if story is awful, as long as the characters are of interest.

Evaluates anime based on which seiyuu are in it and what the characters look like.

Loves moe elements. Doesn’t like complex anime.

The otaku the media picks up on are usually this kind.

Doesn’t know that much about anime and so is often criticised as by Type A otaku.

However, they make much better customers than the more discerning Type A otaku.

Recently there has been a huge increase in anime targeted at Type B otaku.

People who like K-ON!, Queen’s Blade, Strike Witches and so on would be in this class.

Ref: Sankaku Complex or 2ch

Have the Type A shifted from Japan to US 10 years ago?

[Vexx]

You were doing fine til you chose your examples

[Guernsey]

Is there a Japanese equivalent of a surfer dude/girl accent? do they go surfing in that country or do they go Hawaii and do that?

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by Guernsey

Is there a Japanese equivalent of a surfer dude/girl accent? do they go surfing in that country or do they go Hawaii and do that?

Don't think so, as well as the fact that no one answered the same question before, methinks there is no such thing.
There are regional accents in all areas, so rather it'd be an accent for the townspeople at the beach, rather than a 'beach bum' per say developing their own kind of lingo.

If there is one, I'd not know about it. Maybe a native can help out.

As for my own question, someone mentioned this term a long time ago but I forgot it and want it back.
What's the term for the use of pictures to accompany text. By this I mean the Japanese using images for every, bloody thing in regards to signs, notices, warnings, instructions, recipes, 'how to' guides.

Pactically anything...

[LiberLibri]

Originally Posted by Mystique

As for my own question, someone mentioned this term a long time ago but I forgot it and want it back.
What's the term for the use of pictures to accompany text. By this I mean the Japanese using images for every, bloody thing in regards to signs, notices, warnings, instructions, recipes, 'how to' guides.

Pactically anything...

Do you mean Sashi-e (挿絵)? It is an illustration inserted into a blank space among texts.

[LiberLibri]

Originally Posted by Guernsey

Is there a Japanese equivalent of a surfer dude/girl accent? do they go surfing in that country or do they go Hawaii and do that?

Some Japanese people really love to surf. Shonan-Fujisawa is one of the most well-known surfing area in the country. There are sportsmen and -women with black surfing suites over tanned skin around the coast both in summer and even in winter.

The language... I don't believe surfers have a distinguishable and common dialect in their hobby. Of course they share some technical terms, though.

[Mystique]

Originally Posted by LiberLibri

Do you mean Sashi-e (挿絵)? It is an illustration inserted into a blank space among texts.

Sorry I should have made it clearer on my end.
An 'english' term, Libri.
However, sashi-e may be cultually related reason to the 'why' behind it though, so thanks. ^^

You may/may have not noticed the way your society accompanies factual information with pictures.
For example, there's this
(Although this seems to be a revised version of an old style design that also had a ciggerette with a pair of legs)
Or here too
http://www.japanforum.com/gallery/sh...ze=big&cat=508

There are a few more signs that I've taken around the city with interestng designs, I can upload a few later.

But it's the natural habit to visusally depict everything (and usually in some cute, animated style) that I'm looking for the officially english term for.
In a Western sense, I guess we'd consider the use of pictures primarilly for children in the same way a book would be heavy on illustration.

But then, this is the country of manga readers for all ages and genders too.

[TinyRedLeaf]

I stumbled upon this nearly four-year-old documentary while looking up videos on traditional Japanese instruments (as a follow-up to a news story I posted). It's pretty interesting, so do take a look if you're free: Demon drummers of Japan

[Vexx]

Japanese Buddhist Monk in Tokyo trying something new to reach out to the youth: rap.

http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/j...e-bars-and-rap

This is actually a bit clever -- he's doing the buddhist chants to rap beats. Its apparently catching hold.

[TinyRedLeaf]

Continuing my brief adventures in Japanese traditional music. If you've followed my earlier link to the "demon drummers" documentary, you'd already know about the Kodo (鼓童) taiko group, which was featured in that show. If you haven't watched it, you may reconsider after listening to these:

I've personally experienced the sound of Japanese taiko only once, more than 10 years ago, when the the Yamato troupe performed at the Warwick Arts Centre in Britain. At the time, I knew next to nothing about the culture and traditions behind taiko drums, but I do know that I enjoyed myself tremendously.

Anyone who knows more about these extraordinary drummers, please feel free to share.

Meanwhile, here are another couple of videos that amazed me:

They are the Yoshida Brothers, shamisen rockers who perform with a northern variant of the traditional string instrument.

Once again, anyone who knows more about this extraordinary pair of musicians, please share. I wouldn't mind importing their CDs, but I reckon that they may be a bit hard to find.

[Mushi]

Originally Posted by TinyRedLeaf

Once again, anyone who knows more about this extraordinary pair of musicians, please share. I wouldn't mind importing their CDs, but I reckon that they may be a bit hard to find.

Very cool music, thanks for sharing. As for CDs, try a "Yoshida Brothers" search at CD Japan.