AAP -> Information -> Japanese Culture

Well.. As for culture, I guess I'm really not too sure what to put up here. More or less I'll put up a few cultural notes as they relate to anime, and some helpful anime terms, and Japanese vocabulary. Don't worry, this page won't be that long. I really don't want to spend the rest of my life elaborating on Japanese culture... not to mention I don't know a whole lot about Japanese culture myself. Besides which, I'm sure there are much more informative, and well organized sites elsewhere on the internet on this subject.

One thing I would like to point out is that the Japanese use collective nouns; that is, there is no singular or plural form. Thus saying things like "my favorite animes are.." is WRONG. So keep in mind that words like anime, manga, and otaku are collective nouns (like moose). Then again "anime" isn't a standard word in the English language so I suppose there isn't really any rule governing it. So if you like go ahead and use "animes"... and while your at it, go chaise some mooses.

Some terms that are good to know

otaku

- anime fan (male or female) This means something like "crazy about anime", which isn't an overly bad thing in America, but in Japan is more like a geek.

Some Helpful Japanese Vocabulary

School Uniforms

One of the very striking things you see in anime are the school uniforms. School uniforms have been used in Japan since the late 1800's. Before World War II, all students wore uniforms. Currently this isn't mandatory, but it seems that the majority of schools still require them. Some say the uniforms originate from uniforms in the Meji era, others believe them to be a take on school uniforms worn in Victorian England. In addition to wearing the sailor style outfits (or suit type outfits for males), students are also required to wear bloomer style uniforms for exercises. Schools that require uniforms span a wide range of age groups, from young, to junior high and high school being the most common ages to wear them, although some 2 year colleges still use them too!

Blood types

If you've ever seen any character profiles (that origonated from Japan), chances are you've seen that the characters blood type is listed. In Japan, blood type is thought to have an influence on what sort of personality you have. They of course don't take this TOO serieously. Think of it like how hair color is reguarded in the west - like blonds are less intelligent, red heads have a short temper. Personally I don't think of myself as fitting the template (I'm O positive), but I don't think I fit into the Zodiak scheme either. I do seem to to fit my description in the Chinese Zodiak.. but ANYWAY....

Type A

Good

Bad

Type B

Good

Bad

Type AB

Good

Bad

Type O

Good

Bad

High pitched voices

One of the things which is sort of difficult to get used to is the high pitched voices that Japanese girls tend to use. In Japan, higher pitched voices are considered to be more attractive and feminine. In essence, high pitch = cute. As my Japanese teacher once told me. "High pitch is cute, higher pitch is even cuter, and then there is the Tokyo girl who is so cute, that her voice can almost shatter glass." In fact some companies instruct female receptionists to use a higher voice when dealing with customers. It is probably also noteworthy that image is very important in Japan for certain occupations. For some occupations, it is THE most important factor, such as more classy department stores who pay attractive women to work the elevator and announce the floor. Most interesting of the "paid to look good" jobs is probably in the Tokyo car show. While in the U.S. car manufacturers present new ridiculous looking concept cars to a slew of bored onlookers, in Japan car manufacturers pay gorgeous models to stand by their vehicles. In fact these women draw so much attention that many people don't even PRETEND to be taking pictures of the cars, and simply go there to gawk at the girls!

The Kimono & Some History

One of the things which differentiates one culture from another is the clothing. In the present day the Japanese wear pretty much the same attire that Americans and Europeans do (exempting fashion quirks such as obscenely tall shoes fashionable women wear, and large socks that school girls wear on occasion). In the past, and for special, or formal occasions today, the Japanese wear a type of robe known as a kimono. The term kimono in Japanese refers to clothing in general, although now the term tends to refer to the special traditional Japanese clothing. Since "kimono" technically means clothing, the Japanese have been wearing kimono since around 300BC. One misconception is that only women wear kimonos. In fact all traditional Japanese clothing is referred to as a kimono (or a specific part thereof). The kimono has undergone many transformations as Japanese society advanced and changed, but probably the design we are most familiar with are those from the Edo Period (1601-1867 A.D.), after which the transition into westernization occurred. There are still times when the Japanese wear kimonos, although they tend to be reserved for special occasions. Probably the most common place to see them is during the festivals that occur during the summer. The other place kimonos are seen most often is during traditional Japanese weddings, where the bride wears a pure white kimono known as a shiromuku. Western weddings (and attire) are probably more common, but traditional weddings commonplace. Some couples opt for both, provided they have the money.

Japan has a very long history, with many topics that I could go on and on about. Japanese history is to me a very fascinating subject, but for the sake of being brief, I would simply like to discuss for a short time certain aspects of Japanese history - mainly that relating to the samurai, to which references are commonly made in anime. The Samurai arose during the 9th century, basically out of a struggle for land ownership; specifically, for farm land as only 20% of Japan was fit for farming. As Japan developed through the centuries, so too did the Samurai. Initially the samurai was simply identified as a warrior, but later on, more was expected of the samurai. One of the determining events in Japanese history was the introduction of the caste system. Before this system, a person could do as they choose and change their occupation at any time. Once the caste system came into being, you were expected to do as your parents had done, be it merchant, farmer, or samurai. For some this was an advantage - mainly the rich who could maintain their power. For others it proved to be a problem - for those such as rounin (wandering samurai) who had no place to work, but were forced to retain their position as a warrior. Samurai were disciplined in many forms of combat, although the most revered of samurai weapons was the katana, or long sword. Samurai were very religious about their swords, and were expected to have it close at all times. For the era when the samurai were at the height of their power, the katana were some of the most advanced weapons in the world. Sadly, these masterpieces were lost by the thousands during World War II when many were melted down for metal to help the war effort. Samurai also carried a short sword, which was reserved for "seppuku" or ritual Japanese suicide. Should a samurai disgrace himself or his master, he was expected to kill himself to "save face". Throughout his life, the samurai had the expectation of dieing, as it was his duty to fight on the battlefield fighting with courage and honor; where death was an accepted reality. The samurai followed the code known as bushido - the way of the warrior. One famous samurai is Jubei Yagyu, of whom has been mentioned in more than a few anime and video games. Jubei's most famous attribute is his black eye-patch. He was trained as a samurai by his father, but was also trained as a ninja, and was considered the best swordsman of his day.

Well that's all I have to say about Japanese culture. Hopefully you learned something new. If you didn't, then I'm not sure why your reading this section on my page in the first place. If you want to learn more about Japanese culture, and want a really good read. I HIGHLY recommend the book Shogun by James Clavell. It's an awesome book. Even has some gorgeous poetry in it.