Japanese Culture

[Urzu 7]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

Well, youkai is evil, while it's depend on the situation with oni.

So that is according to Japanese mythology? What about in anime and manga? I swear I've seen some youkai characters that aren't evil. If I recall correctly, some are just mischievous, while some are rather good.

[Fireminer]

What I say is according to the myth. And in Anime... You know, if they could made Magical Loli into hideous witch, then what could stop them from making youkai good?

[Cosmic Eagle]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

What I say is according to the myth. And in Anime... You know, if they could made Magical Loli into hideous witch, then what could stop them from making youkai good?

what are you talking about...do you know how large an encompassing term "youkai" is?

[JINNSK]

Originally Posted by Urzu 7

I see oni and youkai in anime and manga. What is the difference between oni and youkai? Oni are malicious spirits, right? Are all oni malicious?

Youkai means monster and Oni is a sort of Youkai.Generally Oni is described as horned human.

[Chaos2Frozen]

Yōkai (妖怪) - strange creature

Oni (鬼) - Ghost

Yūrei (幽霊) - Spirit

These are the literal translations of the kanji. There are all manners of Youkai, from Mischievous to Malicious. Oni are those creatures you see in the Hell paintings tormenting human souls.

[aohige]

Originally Posted by Fireminer

What I say is according to the myth. And in Anime... You know, if they could made Magical Loli into hideous witch, then what could stop them from making youkai good?

You might want to actually research it first.
Youkai are both feared and worshiped by the locals traditionally.
They are not evil, they are harmful to humans, but also revered as apparitions of supernatural phenomenons.

We do not view them as evil demons, but rather, closer to how shamanism view how unreasonable manifestation of nature itself can be.
In some tales, heroic figures will slay a youkai, in other tales, the youkai will teach a valuable lesson to humble the humanity.

Oni is a more specific type of monster, more often violent and terrifying.
They are closer to the image of demons, but not necessarily evil.

Originally Posted by Chaos2Frozen

Yōkai (妖怪) - strange creature

Oni (鬼) - Ghost

Yūrei (幽霊) - Spirit

These are the literal translations of the kanji. There are all manners of Youkai, from Mischievous to Malicious. Oni are those creatures you see in the Hell paintings tormenting human souls.

No, those are Chinese definitions.
Oni does not mean ghosts, Yurei does.
Just "rei" itself is spirits, and Oni is a more specific creature than generic "ghost".
The letters were adapted from Chinese characters, but applied to Japanese folklore, and therefore the meanings changed.
(Which is natural, considering the writing form is a lend-word)

Also, Oni isn't technically a youkai - it's a much higher form of demi-gods. Violent, and vengeful, some gods are called "Kishin" - literally Oni-gods.
Powerful, judgmental, and violent gods are called these - for example, India's Kali would be considered a Kishin - oni-god (dess).

[Vexx]

Right, youkai aren't "evil" or "good" in any Western sense. They simply have their own agenda which may or may not parallel with any human agenda. Oni are punishing demi-gods, more like angry god of wrath types.

Japanese religious faiths include Shinto and Buddhism, the latter separated into several major "schools of thought". The two belief systems (I find it hard to call them "religions" since that invokes too much Western misinterpretation). have intertwined and tossed different pieces back and forth enough that Japanese Buddhism has its very own flavor compared to Indonesian or Tibetan flavors.

Shinto is the indigenous animist folk religion (though the Japanese Imperial state has repeatedly tried to co-opt/hijack it for nationalistic reasons over the centuries). At its simplest, it's a respect for nature with innumerable little forces or spirits to be placated or respected. I also avoid the term "worship" and "gods" ... again because that invites Western misinterpretation.

Google has truckloads of information on Shinto and Japanese Buddhism, much of it poorly worded but so it goes --
http://www.world-religions-professor...tobeliefs.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2056.html
http://www.tsubakishrine.org/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shinto_shrine

[Sumeragi]

[Xefi]

^ the wasabi's tip is nice. breath through the nose, huh? i'm going to try that
tip with jalapeno as well and see if it works. not really a fan of hot spicy stuffs,
but often time i accidentally eat them anyways.

Sushi! gotta eat them all!

[Dhomochevsky]

Dunno, Wasabi is more the mustard/radish kind of spicy, which really burns in the nose just by breathing in some flavors.
I usually try to not get the nose involved at all, because that could backfire horribly.

[SummeryDreams]

Originally Posted by Xefi

^ the wasabi's tip is nice. breath through the nose, huh? i'm going to try that
tip with jalapeno as well and see if it works. not really a fan of hot spicy stuffs,
but often time i accidentally eat them anyways.

Sushi! gotta eat them all!

That tip is really effective, I call it my cheat to wasabi. My friends always praise me of my tolerance to wasabi's spicy power, and despite that, it seems that I'm making it like a toothpaste when I eat something worth for a wasabi deep. The technique to endure is that trick. You will not feel the hotness, really.

[Puddingman]

>_> I wish I knew that wasabi tip earlier..

One day at college, I got wasabi stuck in the corner of my mouth..in public...the only means to get it out was with my tongue. It was an adventure >_<

[Malkuth]

@Chaos: What Aohige wrote... though it's way more complicated, but should one oversimplify he is more or less right.

[Fireminer]

Could anyone tell me where to get information on basic Kendo terminology?

[AnimeFan188]

The gaijin gamer’s guide to Tokyo’s thriving arcades:

"In the United States, the once-proud pastime of hanging out at a seedy arcade has
largely fallen into the dustbin of history (despite a somewhat recent comeback). But
there is a land where the arcade never died but evolved and thrived over the last
20 years. It's a land where massive arcade complexes rise seven stories into the air
on consecutive street corners, where new mech games featuring giant Internet-
connect pods with wraparound projection screens are common, where rhythm
games are still as popular as ever.

I'm speaking, of course, of Japan, and I used the opportunity of my first Tokyo Game
Show to check out the famously vibrant arcade culture I had heard so much about
over the years. While many locations frowned on taking pictures (and the lighting
was generally atrocious in most places), I put together this visual guide to try and
capture the feeling of being in a land where the arcade never died."

See:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/0...iving-arcades/

[SummeryDreams]

Originally Posted by AnimeFan188

The gaijin gamer’s guide to Tokyo’s thriving arcades:

"In the United States, the once-proud pastime of hanging out at a seedy arcade has
largely fallen into the dustbin of history (despite a somewhat recent comeback). But
there is a land where the arcade never died but evolved and thrived over the last
20 years. It's a land where massive arcade complexes rise seven stories into the air
on consecutive street corners, where new mech games featuring giant Internet-
connect pods with wraparound projection screens are common, where rhythm
games are still as popular as ever.

I'm speaking, of course, of Japan, and I used the opportunity of my first Tokyo Game
Show to check out the famously vibrant arcade culture I had heard so much about
over the years. While many locations frowned on taking pictures (and the lighting
was generally atrocious in most places), I put together this visual guide to try and
capture the feeling of being in a land where the arcade never died."

See:

http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2013/0...iving-arcades/

I never thought that Japan allow people to smoke in some places airconditioned (assuming that this place is airconditioned).

[Malkuth]

Originally Posted by SummeryDreams

I never thought that Japan allow people to smoke in some places airconditioned (assuming that this place is airconditioned).

As long as there is proper ventilation and the air conditioners filters are inspected and changed regularly it not a problem.

[SeijiSensei]

Monday, October 13th was celebrated as "Sports Day" in Japan, and apparently it is an important enough holiday that the Stock Exchange was closed. How is Sports Day celebrated? Here in the US today we celebrate Columbus Day. Some Italian-Americans observe this event, but for most of us it is an excuse to have an October holiday. Here in New England where I live we observe Columbus Day by looking at autumn foliage.

If you want to know the real story behind Columbus I recommend listening to this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXmCIFKRrTY

[Sumeragi]

It's Health-Sports Day, promoting sports and physical and mental health.

[SeijiSensei]

Originally Posted by Sumeragi

It's Health-Sports Day, promoting sports and physical and mental health.

Please don't be offended. The first Google result is this page. For some reason the designer has chosen a very narrow box for the holiday information so it reads only "Sports Day."