General Japanese Culture Thread

I think she was trying to compliment you. Obon is "a Japanese Buddhist custom to honor the spirits of one's ancestors. This Buddhist-Confucian custom has evolved into a family reunion holiday during which people return to ancestral family places and visit and clean their ancestors' graves, and when the spirits of ancestors are supposed to revisit the household altars."

Basically, she's saying that she would like it if you visited her and her family after you die and become a ghostly kami, like Shintou says all people do (because "kami" is in one sense the generic word for any spirit, not just divine spirits).

"Kami" has some level of divinity. It has no real equivalent in other religions, like a combination of god, ascended-soul, and genius loci. It covers all of those.

So all this meaningless data about blood types and birth dates of anime/manga characters... Had to with japanese superstitions?

edited 29th Jun '15 5:09:15 PM by MeetTheNewBoss

Not even superstition (that is, traditional folkloric superstition). It's just one of the things the Imperial government's Propaganda Machine spread around and used as a way to justify Japanese superiority over non-Japanese, as well as why conquered non-Japanese would rebel against their "magnanimous and just rule".

edited 29th Jun '15 5:18:09 PM by MarqFJA

I know what Obon is. Tokyo is so empty during those, everyones gone to the countryside. It's great.

Birthdates and other auspicious/unfortunate days are in line with traditional Japanese folklore and mystical thought. Many of these ideas were imported from China with Buddhism, and ended up influencing Shinto. Onmyoudo and other systems of divination were also based on a combination of Shinto, Buddhism and Taoism. I-Ching and other texts got around.

Don't know about blood types though. I don't even know my own. Which came as a shocker to them.

edited 29th Jun '15 7:55:51 PM by TerminusEst

To be fair, not knowing your own blood type generally comes off in most developed countries as practical surprise, as the knowledge can become critical in the event of an emergency requiring that a blood transfusion be delivered to you. I'm sure every military worth their salt requires a record of each soldier's blood type for such reasons.

I'm a Type O for instance.

Over here, very few people do. Even our dog tags only have our ID numbers. Nothing else. They are in your medical records though, which get automatically transferred to the military when you step into service. Bizarrely, only peacekeepers have their blood types on their uniforms.

Basically, only those who go to regular visits to the hospital actually know theirs personally.

Japanese companies who get sued by former employees, simply bankrupt their opponents. You might win, but all your money goes into the proceedings. The house always wins.

One person dead after man sets himself alight on Japan bullet train: media

Huh. That's unusual. Maybe he chose this particular method so he would get attention.

Not even blood donors? I know because I had to have some tests done when I was younger, but I'm also a blood donor and it's right there on my ID card (no special privileges though, more like a library card that automates a lot of stuff when I go in for a visit)

More on topic, but I wonder if a lot of Japanese people know their actual blood type or are working backwards from Personality Blood Type and just assuming.

edited 30th Jun '15 12:46:14 AM by KnightofLsama

Sorry, definitely blood donors. They're running out of those though...your ID card can come with an optional chip that has your medical records on it.

In Japan blood type is listed on ID cards and damn near everything else. It's basically common knowledge. Including some job applications.

edited 30th Jun '15 12:53:29 AM by TerminusEst

It starts. One stupid person does something wrong, and we get our rights taken. The bullet train sounded like such a great idea. Too bad people are bound to overact and pass a law that limits the use of it now.

I don't really see what the train had to do with it.

Eh, they'll probably just tighten security and do more sweeps. Maybe restrict certain materials from being put on board. I doubt this incident will spell the end of public rail in Japan or anything like that.

I'm just stumped as to what this guy was trying to do.

There are a hell of a lot of easier, less painful ways to commit suicide than setting yourself on fire.

There are a hell of a lot of easier, less painful ways of killing a bunch of people on a train than setting yourself on fire.

Setting yourself on fire is possibly one of the least practical actions it's possible to take.

Yes, but where else does one get the Incendiary Exponent?

My guess is that mental illness and/or a political protest of sorts was involved.

edited 30th Jun '15 9:04:12 AM by Rationalinsanity

Japan (more specifically Tokyo) would literally grind to a halt if that were to happen. Japan's rail services are the busist on the planet.

They'll just keep calm and carry on.

Japanese women are flocking to a zoo to see a "handsome gorilla"

I am legitimately interested to know what this says about either them or the gorilla.

He's been on the News at least once in Britain, as well. The Gorilla apparently has honed the broody, Bad Boy look to a fine art.

It's not just Japanese women. I've seen this in the US, too.

Ridiculously Photogenic Gorilla.

The weirdest part is that I can sort of see what they mean...

"This is my GOOD side."

That gorilla is pretty handsome, I have to admit.