General Japanese Culture Thread

Bad grammar included?

No. It is just as good as any ordinary English speaker. Then again, it is the reply from a rather high position in the preparation committee (forgot the details). I sent the same email for an inquiry regarding COMITIA. Hopefully I'll get a reply so that I can properly plan a trip to Japan.

It's often been said here that, when you get to Japan, you better learn the rules of treatment, respect, face-saving and all that, in order to get some respect/acknowledgement.

So, what happens when Japanese people go to other countries? How well do they adapt to different cultures and customs?

edited 9th Oct '14 10:29:02 AM by Quag15

Not very well. Their awkward and aimless sense of deference and their smiles-of-discomfort tend to come off as weird and buffoonish, especially in combination with their accents.

Thought so. Some island nations' people tend to be something similar like that.

edited 9th Oct '14 12:50:41 PM by Quag15

It's what happens when you have a very complex, elaborate and exhaustive system that tells you what to do and how to carry yourself in any situation, and then you're transplanted in a setting where pretty much all of it useless.

By the way, I don't know how it happened, but I "caught" the Japanese habit of bowing when apologizing and when saying thanks, and now I do it reflexively, especially when I'm being profuse. It actually seems to enhance my conveyed sincerity, but damn it's weird that it ended up that way.

I too have that habit sometimes (though not too much, in terms of angle, as that would indicate an attitude of subservience), mostly towards women and a couple of people in higher ranks in the workplace.

Agreed. Japan will have to loosen up a bit.

edited 9th Oct '14 1:18:14 PM by Quag15

I finally got a reply from the COMITIA organizing committee, but it was entirely in Japanse (with an apology saying that he do not understand anything but Japanese). I could barely understand it, but at least the event allows foreigners with the entry ticket being the event's catalogue.

This leads to another question: Why these fan events do this? To cover event organizing costs? A means to filter visitors so that only genuinely interested individuals attend the event? Then why Comiket doesn't do this?

Have you heard of Paris Syndrome?

I picked up the habit of bowing as a sign of deference (like briefly towards a car that gives me right-of-way when i'm trying to cross the road, and in a few other situations where i'm further away from the person i'm addressing).

A more deliberate nod to my time in Japan is stating, under my breath, "Shitsure-shimasu" when i barge in somewhere. Usually when i'm sure nobody's on the other side (usually).

I get slightly depressed that I don't have an equivalent for "tadaima"/"okaeri". It's such a nice exchange to have...

I've heard of it. But not every place is Paris, so I doubt they all suffer like that.

edited 10th Oct '14 9:20:01 AM by Quag15

I just found out that tadaima is actually an abbreviation of tadaimakaerimashita — which, when broken down, is comprised of the components "only, simply", "now", "(to) return", and a polite/formal suffix in the past tense (masu —> mashita).

Boring Japanese, as i said before.

That's a really cool fact, though.

Incidentally, American military veterans can find themselves in a similar situation after leaving the military, especially if they joined soon after reaching adulthood, meaning they may have never had to learn how to function in normal civilian adult society until they are in their late 20s or 30s or later.

That actually explains a lot but could also go both ways? Culture Shock is a thing when you return to own culture and realize things that you didn't notice before.

Stranger in a Familiar Land?

Is it true that walking in someone's house while you still are wearing your shoes is seen as an act of arrogance in Japan?

edited 11th Oct '14 10:40:39 AM by SaintDeltora

Don't know, but when I was there we always had to remove our shoes before going inside, and had to put on uwabaki.

TBH, shoe-removing has always been one of the biggest cultural minefields out there. I generally remove my shoes, but I'm told in some parts of the world this is seen as presumptuous.

edited 11th Oct '14 11:25:06 AM by Achaemenid

Some people flip out about it. Despite my ex-landlord's refusal to pay to have the carpet properly cleaned (he balked when they told him shampooing cost extra), the only time he yelled at me, even when we were lobbing small-claims threats left and right, was when i would neglect to take off my shoes.

He was of Persian extraction, if that helps.

edited 11th Oct '14 12:56:30 PM by Ogodei

I learned something from the Turtles 2012 about "ninniku seishin" or the ability the ability to endure insults with patience and humility. Can anyone tell me more about his? I try not to insult someone but I am not any better than anyone in that regard. How is this really helpful? What if someone who already has a low opinion of themselves got broken down thoroughly?

@Ogodei: That makes sense. There are a lot of cultural taboos (or not even taboos, maybe, but cultural things) associated with shoes and feet in the Middle East. It's also very improper to show someone the bottom of your foot (by, say, crossing your legs in a chair) because it's dirty.

In Japan, it's just more polite to take your shoes off, really. I hear that tatami are easily damaged by shoes made for outside wear, but the custom's definitely carried over to more modern flooring, too.

Anyone know if Japanese culture has anything to say about the symbology of facial moles, particularly with respect to their location on the face?

I didn't know there was any symbology around facial moles at all, actually.

It's a mystery.

In China, however, they are codified by Feng-Shui