Obsession with Japanese culture?

[Cerdivae Song]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Well, I don't consider myself obsessed with Japanese culture, but I do find it interesting, and I'd love to live there one day.
But, like Quetzal, the start to my interest was anime. I grew up watching Yu-Gi-Oh, Pokemon, Tokyo Mew Mew. They were unique, but similar in style. Different from other cartoons, though I didn't know the difference at that age. As I grew older, I found more anime online, and on a channel that I'd watch on saturday mornings. I learned that these were japanese cartoons brought over and dubbed into English. By that point, I was already mimicking the style of drawing. I love the aesthetics of anime! Each artist is different; everything is similar, but so different from show to show. It is fascinating to me. c: Little by little, I learned more about Japanese culture through classes and people who had lived there. I even know how to speak a little. You pick it up when watching countless episodes in Japanese with subs. (And later on, I took a very brief class).
Not only that, I find the landscape, religious culture, legends, and school systems very interesting. Not to mention, authentic Japanese food is delicious. I guess it clicks just right for some people??

[Shahaku]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

I love Japanese culture. I see beauty in it. I grew up with anime and ramen. I read Geisha, A Life early in college (it's a memoir) and was enamored with the culture and idea of it. I seriously considered getting a real kimono for my wedding because I find them beautiful. Now, I love a lot of the other cultures I've read about as well though.

I think part of it is that I feel we were lacking in tradition in my family, and I think that's pretty typical of Americans. Sure, we open gifts on Christmas and sit down to dinner on Thanksgiving, but it's not the same somehow. It's not like having kimonos that have been passed down for generations. Or statues made to represent your ancestors. Or ritualized activities that have been being done just so for generations. So I think that may be part of the reason so many people are looking at these countries and cultures. They are strong in tradition and that's something that we are kind of looking for.

[Rhaethe]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

I think part of it is that I feel we were lacking in tradition in my family, and I think that's pretty typical of Americans. Sure, we open gifts on Christmas and sit down to dinner on Thanksgiving, but it's not the same somehow. It's not like having kimonos that have been passed down for generations. Or statues made to represent your ancestors. Or ritualized activities that have been being done just so for generations. So I think that may be part of the reason so many people are looking at these countries and cultures. They are strong in tradition and that's something that we are kind of looking for.

I think Shahaku nailed it right there.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

I dunno, really...I think it's just something different. It's no different than being obsessed with French culture or German culture. I know lots of people in Canada who are obsessed with both, even when they don't have any roots from either. People who worship Weimar Berlin or are obsessed with French language, food, and customs.

I'm not really "obsessed" with Japanese culture, but I do enjoy anime, Japanese food, several Japanese authors, and Japanese art. Not any more than I enjoy their French, Irish, Italian, Russian, etc counterparts, though. I'm someone who likes to try new things and is constantly exploring influences and flavours from all over the world. If I stuck to Canadian/German, I'd find life far too dull. I think that may be the same case for people who focus on one single culture as well.

[Rowan Wulfram]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

From a very young age I had a big interest in other cultures and religions, which in retrospect may have laid some groundwork for my later desire to explore outside of Christianity. My mom mentioned that even as young as the age of two I had a natural curiosity about all things Asian. I'll admit that I began focusing more on Japan when I was introduced as Anime as a preteen. It's like any other type of show, there is so much variation and so many good stories if you bother to track them down. You have to realize, that in Japan for a long time anime WAS normal TV and movies. They just didn't have the entertainment budgets to do live action things like they make in in the U.S. and other countries until recently.

My interest extended into the culture and language and eventually I was able to study abroad and live in Japan for a while. It was wonderful, I loved living there as much as reading about it, and it is one of the only places I've traveled to that I could see myself living long-term. My exposure to Shinto was even what eventually led me into exploring paganism. As others have said, liking a particular culture not your own is not that unusual.

But this whole Otaku/weeabo/Japanophile culture? (The ones who fan-gasm over anime characters/ memorize opening songs and use random Japanese words but don't know a lick of the language / spend thousands of dollars on collectibles?) I don't really get it either. Anime conventions can be pretty fun, heck even making costumes can be a fun hobby, but I'm also constantly cringing at those kinds of people while I am there. I especially feel they've lost their sparkle after living in the country, but I still gather with scattered friends at this event so it's worth it just for rare quality time.

[Doc_Holliday]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

You have to realize, that in Japan for a long time anime WAS normal TV and movies.

Not to be nit-picky, but thats not quite true. Off memory I can think of Japanese hits from early times. 1950's saw the release of Godzilla. You got the seven samurai 1954. They released many films in the 1930's, still mostly silent. But a lot of their early, to even 1980's live action films are very well known and even really well reviewed. I think it'd be a bit of a far shot to say that normal every day adult tv was just anime because of low budgets.

As others have said, liking a particular culture not your own is not that unusual.

I completely agree, I love Englands culture and do certain things from it almost ritualistically. But with me my Grandpa and Grandmother on my dads side came right from England. And my Mom is half English. So I'm pretty much an English man with some Metis' in there. Most people who have a love of Japanese culture, as it seemed to me, got it out of nowhere. So thats why I started this thread. I get it better now, but there was definitely a good reason for me to ask, just by the sheer amount of people that came in here and said "I love it because", there are a lot of people who like Japans culture. My extent of like for their culture goes as far as "The Samurai were cool." and then I lose interest.

[Quetzal]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Despite being English, I really don't give a sod about English or British culture. I'm in the culture, I'm part of the culture. I mean, some of our history is pretty cool, what with it going back so far, but culture? Bleh, boring.

I guess some people, myself included, don't give a fuck about their ancestry, and when you've lived your whole life in a country, there's nothing special about it to you. Thus, Japan and other places seem so interesting, because they're so different. Exotic.

[Doc_Holliday]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Despite being English, I really don't give a sod about English or British culture. I'm in the culture, I'm part of the culture. I mean, some of our history is pretty cool, what with it going back so far, but culture? Bleh, boring.

I guess some people, myself included, don't give a fuck about their ancestry, and when you've lived your whole life in a country, there's nothing special about it to you. Thus, Japan and other places seem so interesting, because they're so different. Exotic.

I know you know this because you probably learned a lot of it in school, but England has heaps of amazing history. Going back from the anglo saxon pagan kingdoms fighting with one another, then the last stand of Cyning Penda Pybbing, the last pagan king of England. The Viking invasions by Ragnar Lodbrok and his sons, ending in the Blood Eagle execution of King Aella of Northumbria. Then in the medieval period England constantly defied and beat the most powerful medieval nation, France. Losing some key wars however that left England without control in France. Then for countless years England was the undisputed most powerful nation on earth, heading the great commonwealth. Then in ww1 and 2 England was the key, AKA numero uno factor in winning both wars.

ALL of Englands history is cool, so just appreciate that. Because being Canadian we have much less of a well to draw on, being a colonial nation. Cool history still, just a lot less history. Anyways I agree that Japan has great history, but England is unrivalled for world-wide influence. Japan too the path of isolation instead, it worked great for them. It let them keep their religion and culture strong, but definitely stopped their culture from spreading or being really known about for a long time.

But yeah I'm in a very English part of Canada, so the culture is similar. I find it very interesting and was raised in it, I still haven't lost my interest. I guess it depends on the person.

[Denarius]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Another thing to keep in mind, is that Japan is obsessed with US culture as well. They like the US more than Canada and Britain.

Heck, a couple years ago they liked the US more than we liked ourselves.

That and the entire "engrish" scene in Japan. Plus they really like KFC and westerns.

Edit: Not to make this entirely about the us, but it is probably the biggest player in the Japan obsession scene.

[Quetzal]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Yeah, I hear that eating KFC at Christmas is a big tradition over there. Not sure if true.

Also, watch the anime Beck. That show faps over the US sooo much.

[Denarius]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Also, watch the anime Beck. That show faps over the US sooo much.

I actually have that series on my anime shelf, I just never got around to watching it. I'm still half way through Toriko, and I like to focus on one thing at a time if I can help it. It's next on the docket though.

[DanieMarie]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Not to be nit-picky, but thats not quite true. Off memory I can think of Japanese hits from early times. 1950's saw the release of Godzilla. You got the seven samurai 1954. They released many films in the 1930's, still mostly silent. But a lot of their early, to even 1980's live action films are very well known and even really well reviewed. I think it'd be a bit of a far shot to say that normal every day adult tv was just anime because of low budgets.

I completely agree, I love Englands culture and do certain things from it almost ritualistically. But with me my Grandpa and Grandmother on my dads side came right from England. And my Mom is half English. So I'm pretty much an English man with some Metis' in there. Most people who have a love of Japanese culture, as it seemed to me, got it out of nowhere. So thats why I started this thread. I get it better now, but there was definitely a good reason for me to ask, just by the sheer amount of people that came in here and said "I love it because", there are a lot of people who like Japans culture. My extent of like for their culture goes as far as "The Samurai were cool." and then I lose interest.

I meet people allllll the time here who have absolutely no connection to German culture but are fascinated with it. Not so much people who come here to live, but definitely people who visit. I also experience it quite a bit when I go back to Canada to visit my family. If I tell people I don't know that I live in Germany, there's usually someone who is just AMAZED and tells me all about how much they love German silent films, or whatever their German obsession is. A lot of people want to learn German as well. I know it's a practical language, but it's more than that. Germans are happy to speak English in a business context and if you learn German, you'll probably have trouble actually getting chances to speak it unless you live here. People still learn it though, even when they don't plan on moving here.

Then there's the constant obsession with French culture. People here get really into that. I got into that for a while, and I have no connections to France whatsoever. I'm still a bit of a closet francophile. I'm kind of excited to be moving closer to France (and just on the border to French-speaking Belgium).

It's not just limited Japanese culture.

I think Canada is hard to generalize as well in terms of history and influence. On the coast, we're a lot more international. I know far more people with Ukrainian or Polish roots than English. Almost everyone I know with British roots is Scottish, not English. In the cities, people come from absolutely everywhere and there are a ton of more recent immigrants. I think Toronto is similar as well. Their history is part of our history in a lot of ways. Their culture bleeds into our culture (I kind of feel like "culture" on the west coast is sort of a flexible term that always changes). I'm used to being in a melting pot, I guess. It doesn't seem weird to me to pick up an interest in a different culture.

[Rowan Wulfram]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

Not to be nit-picky, but thats not quite true. Off memory I can think of Japanese hits from early times. 1950's saw the release of Godzilla. You got the seven samurai 1954. They released many films in the 1930's, still mostly silent. But a lot of their early, to even 1980's live action films are very well known and even really well reviewed. I think it'd be a bit of a far shot to say that normal every day adult tv was just anime because of low budgets.

You have a good point here and I should have been more specific, my bad. (Seven Samurai was a great film, by the way.) I meant more that, in the US at least, cartoons were more commonly considered something for children, though that is changing lately. In Japan manga and anime was considered a media for all ages and became more prominent because of budget because there were cheaper to make than live things. They did have many great live movies and TV, but part of the reason animated media was more common there than is the west was the price of development.

I completely agree, I love Englands culture and do certain things from it almost ritualistically. But with me my Grandpa and Grandmother on my dads side came right from England. And my Mom is half English. So I'm pretty much an English man with some Metis' in there. Most people who have a love of Japanese culture, as it seemed to me, got it out of nowhere. So thats why I started this thread. I get it better now, but there was definitely a good reason for me to ask, just by the sheer amount of people that came in here and said "I love it because", there are a lot of people who like Japans culture. My extent of like for their culture goes as far as "The Samurai were cool." and then I lose interest.

Personally, my love of Japanese culture outside of anime started when I read about Shinto while learning about all different religions when I was younger. The concept of the kami, respect for nature, and the rituals I all found very different from what I was used to and was really interesting. So much of the culture is ingrained in the Shinto mindset, so my interest in the rest of the culture kind of spread out from there. I was even a bit perplexed at my interest in it, since I'm sure I have no heritage there myself, but such is life. After actually getting to live there and I think living there has given me a more realistic view of it. I'm currently getting a Masters in ESL and I'm kind of hoping that eventually I can go back and teach there for a couple years. Plus my Japanese is getting rusty.

[Heka]

I meet people allllll the time here who have absolutely no connection to German culture but are fascinated with it. Not so much people who come here to live, but definitely people who visit. I also experience it quite a bit when I go back to Canada to visit my family. If I tell people I don't know that I live in Germany, there's usually someone who is just AMAZED and tells me all about how much they love German silent films, or whatever their German obsession is. A lot of people want to learn German as well. I know it's a practical language, but it's more than that. Germans are happy to speak English in a business context and if you learn German, you'll probably have trouble actually getting chances to speak it unless you live here. People still learn it though, even when they don't plan on moving here.

Then there's the constant obsession with French culture. People here get really into that. I got into that for a while, and I have no connections to France whatsoever. I'm still a bit of a closet francophile. I'm kind of excited to be moving closer to France (and just on the border to French-speaking Belgium).

It's not just limited Japanese culture.

I think Canada is hard to generalize as well in terms of history and influence. On the coast, we're a lot more international. I know far more people with Ukrainian or Polish roots than English. Almost everyone I know with British roots is Scottish, not English. In the cities, people come from absolutely everywhere and there are a ton of more recent immigrants. I think Toronto is similar as well. Their history is part of our history in a lot of ways. Their culture bleeds into our culture (I kind of feel like "culture" on the west coast is sort of a flexible term that always changes). I'm used to being in a melting pot, I guess. It doesn't seem weird to me to pick up an interest in a different culture.

German = beer.

Nuf said.

[Amadi]

Re: Obsession with Japanese culture?

I love Japanese culture as something completely separate from western influence, something where everything from cuisine and architecture to humour is just different, something that I just like more than the west. Call it escapism if you will. For me it's not just anime but anime encompasses all of that^