The Image of Japan

Mon, Oct 5, 2009

Recently, never having been to Japan, I have been questioning how I perceive it. I mentioned in my last article what I really like about Japan and what initially drew me to study the culture and language. It is fairly easy to see I care quite a bit about what Japan looks like to me.

Over the past few months I started reading “Japanese News” and watching Japanese television (not anime). I also stumbled across a few articles that made Japan seem pretty scary. What I gathered from these recent encounters with new medias was an image that scared me a little bit. Over the past few months I have built an unrealistic view of Japan. I would like to delve into more detail about my personal view but there is a bigger issue at hand.

In the United States (I only speak for the Silicon Valley, California as I have not lived much anywhere else) Japan and the related media is only anime otaku. Especially in this technology driven society (Silicon Valley super amplifies this aspect) my peers can only see the anime/manga culture. I have done my part to look through that culture (and also not embarrass myself in Japanese class by speaking like Naruto all the time). I think it is safe to say (despite my credibility) that most Americans have a skewed view of Japanese culture (well at least the people in my American niche). To exemplify I have a few cases of this misconception of culture:

1. My roomate and I are going to Japan in December. He expects to get laid every night just because he is white.

2. A close friend of mine completely rejects the existence of the Kanto region claiming that it is note the “real Japan” (though I’m pretty sure all of Japan is the real Japan how more real can you get?)

3. 70% of my Japanese language class learned their pronunciation from anime. Thus, they speak in the most obnoxious manner…kind of like a cartoon.

4. Another friend of mine only buys electronics from Japan despite the fact they are actually more expensive there.

5. I made the assumption that Japan was slightly racist but I now know that is wrong (oh thank god!)

In conclusion…I (and my friends) need to be educated more about Japan…any suggestions?

Thanks for reading!!!

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This post was written by:

kuroshirohaiiro - who has written 63 posts on Creeply.

An aspiring cyberpunk with fake glasses who is writing a romance novel he hopes to see in 24-hour convenience stores one day.

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Japanese Words

Kuroshirohaiiro, great article. I think the best way to visit Japan, especially for the first time, is to try and go without any expectations at all. Like you mentioned, Japan will be different than it is perceived from the outside, and will also be a little different if you are visiting than if you are living here. Learn as much as you can (watching Japanese television is a great start), but when you visit, try to keep an open mind. That will make your visit to Japan much more fun!

kuroshirohaiiro

Thank you very much! I really enjoy hearing from you guys....advice and good words is everything I want to hear. I am visiting for new years this winter!...I am mega super excited

poop

word, not saying that its necessarily a bad place but you gotta know what you are getting into. here is a situation that frustrates me nearly everytime i do anything

if i go to a store with an asian friend (they dont even have to be japanese) and i ask questions in perfect japanese, the staff will answer my friend. even if they cant speak a word of japanese. this frustrates the hell out of me.

i will have to disagree with aka gaijin (btw, gaijin is a term that i hate as well as it implies that we will never ever be able to assimilate into japanese culture)

point 1, i agree

point 2, i agree

point 3, i know a guy that does the same thing and i dont think he realizes how gay he sounds lol.

point 4 have you noticed the excessive difference in the cost of tvs here? jesus christ.

point 5 japan isnt racist, its xenophobic. if you dont believe me, look up the word 野蛮人 (やばんじん) in your japanese to japanese dictionary (it means barbarian BTW). you will find that it lists 外国人 (がいこくじん） as one of the definitions. not only is that insulting, it puts the mindset into perspective. there are times when this island seems like they are pushing for national isolation again and there are times when its not.

to some degree you cant be too upset at the people, because they are very impressionable and they believe basically everything they see on tv. for example, everyone i have met in japan that hasnt been to america thinks its dangerous because they think everyone has a gun. thats not a joke.

also, i currently attend university here, at my school there are only 2 (including me) foreigners who are not of asian descent. i get asked nearly every class if i speak japanese. fyi, my uni required me to take an entrance exam (in japanese of course) and do an interview (again in japanese of course) so why in the world would anyone ask me that question.

japan is a wacky place, you will find what you like and what you dont. you cant really compare it to cali at all, but i will say this, if you "love" japan and you have never been here, you may be severely disappointed when you get here. if you want to learn more about how we get treated at times, read the (albeit slanted) debito blog.

kuroshirohaiiro

I have read that blog.....and what i meant by "love" was that I love to study japanese culture etc... i dont think i'll disappointed when i go there....its just a place....I really have no expectations

Aka Gaijin

Reply to #3) I've told my friend something along those lines, but he doesn't care. It makes his wife happy, and taking care of his wife and kid is his first priority. I can't fault him for that, but I still cringe and make fun of him sometimes.

Reply to #4) I rarely watch TV, so I haven't even looked at prices. But I'm well aware of the pricing differences. At the current dollar-to-yen exchange rate, I feel like I'm getting raped every time I buy a 120 yen soda from a vending machine.

Reply to #5) I brought up the Compton example to illustrate my point. I'm a white boy from the DC area. I'm familiar with some pretty dangerous parts of the city, but I've never been to Compton. I've only heard about it from the news and rap CD's. If I ever go there, I'll be cautious and lock my doors because I've only heard that it's a dangerous area. The average Japanese citizen basically sees media clips of American car chases, armed psychotic nuts, and the occasional "stupid human trick". When they meet a foreigner after only hearing about their societies strange or dangerous aspects, I can't fault them for being cautious. ...just like I can't fault some of my American friends for thinking that every Japanese guy is obsessed with Anime, tentacle rape porn, and school girls.

P.S. About the "gaijin" part of my name, I chose not to sweat it years ago. I'm pretty sure the American equivalent is every nutjob that says English is the national language, and Christianity is the national religion. Assuming that the loudest part of a society represents everybody is a fallacy. I've met lots of Japanese who don't like the use of that word just like many Americans don't like the "N-word" for African descent, or some other racial epithet.

Aka Gaijin

Please don't think I'm trashing you in my response here. All of these are being typed with a smile :-)

1) No, women aren't mobbing foreigners. At the most, you'll get a slight advantage in some areas because you're considered exotic or unusual. Still, if you don't have a personality, they'll lose interest quickly. ...no matter how good you are at Nihongo. On the flip side, I've seen guys get laid without knowing a single shared word with the lady. Personality is key.

2) Ask your friend where "the real Japan" is. I'd like to know. I've had several Japanese friends ask me if Australian, British, or American English is "the real English". Sound familiar?

3) One of my friends learned Japanese from his wife. So any time he talks he shifts to a higher register to mimic her. He also uses the female form of various words, and she doesn't correct him because she thinks it's cute. Anime slang isn't so bad in comparison. I have to plug my ears when he orders food at a restaurant.

4) I probably order the same electronics from the states because they're cheaper and in English (still haven't gotten around to learning Kanji).

5) If locking your car doors while driving through Compton is racist, then Japan is racist. Given available information from Japanese media, I think the average Japanese citizen it's just being sensible when encountering a strange situation.

kuroshirohaiiro

THANK YOU!!! This is the kind of response i was looking for....not anything like that "poop"^^^^^ said....ew....awesome thanks!

Aka Gaijin

Not a problem :-D

About #1, there's also another slight advantage in not having to deal with extremely subtle flirtation. Because of the language barrier, I've had some pretty... um, open and honest conversations in clubs and bars.

And #2, keep in mind that there are various dialects in Japan. However, all news broadcasts use the Tokyo dialect because it's viewed as a kind of alpha dialect for the nation. For example, you wouldn't hire somebody with a think southern accent to do the news in America. Well, Japanese wouldn't hire somebody using the Osaka dialect because it's viewed as a working class town. Thanks to that alpha dialect I've found that many Japanese have a strange view of international dialects like the three primary forms of English. ...as I described earlier. It took me several tries to explain that very little media is shared between the three nations.

Good luck!

poop

japan is not racist, its the close close close cousin to racism, xenophobic.

i hate all anime/manga and the people who watch it and enjoy it back home. most of the people back home that wanted to study japanese seemed to think that japan consisted of 2 things, anime and manga. i wish those people a future full of fecal matter getting rained upon them.

getting laid every night just because you are white wont happen. although not being japanese in this mostly homogeneous society can work in your favor, dont expect to just bat eyes at a girl and take her home. you have to realize that the japanese view of sex is different because there is not the christian backbone to the society like there is in the west.

your friend rejecting the kanto region is an idiot.

your friend only buying electronics from japan is an idiot.

there are certainly many positive and negative things to japan. my suggestion is dont bother learning the language. i have been studying for over 10 years now and am fluent, yet i am still treated like a moron everywhere i go because i dont appear asian.

the end.

kuroshirohaiiro

As much as I'd love to chew you out on this one I have to somewhat agree. I find Japan might be xenophobic. Now as far as my friends...I just used them as an example to why Japanese culture gets misconstrued so often through the media...esp. to the West. I really appreciate the rant but I do truly love Japanese culture (see previous article for why) and such put downs do not discourage my studies in the language.

Crew

Best and only way is to come over and see for yourself! Japan is indeed many different things to many different people. They are a diverse people in denial!

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The Image of Japan

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