
The term "Far East" originates from European geopolitical discourse in the 12th century, which split Asia into three defined "easts": the Near East, which encompassed Western Asia and has generally been replaced by the modern definition of The Middle East, the Middle East, which encompassed Central Asia and northwestern South Asia, and the Far East, which encompassed countries along the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans. The term is also used in a cultural sense in addition to geographic, and thus Oceania is never included despite neighboring Southeast Asia and being even further east than it. Since the '60s, the term has been regarded as Eurocentric, dated, and racist. It is outright proscribed to be used in serious literature outside of certain academic circles like history, being replaced with neutral regional terms such as East Asia, North Asia, and Southeast Asia.
Please do not mistake all East Asians as looking the same or see them as sharing the same, vaguely Chinese/Japanese culture. While the inhabitants of the different countries may look similar to outsiders (which is something hypocritical to say, considering that Europeans and Africans each have the same "white" and "black" look to outsiders as well. It all bogs down to your experience mingling with them to be able to see the difference) and have some similar aspects in their cultures, Asia is an extremely diverse continent culturally and cannot be lumped into a single box, even regionally. To further complicate the issue, many countries in the region do not get along well with each other for historical reasons, to say the least.
For the trope, see Far East.
Countries and Territories
North Asia
Southeast Asia
- Christmas Island (administered by Australia)
- Cocos (Keeling) Islands (administered by Australia)
- Myanmar (Burma)
- Timor-Leste (East Timor)
East Asia
- Hong Kong (administered by China)
- Macau (administered by China)
- Taiwan (de facto independent country, claimed by China)
See also
- 1000 Origami Cranes
- The 47 Ronin
- Aikido
- All Asians Know Martial Arts
- All Asians Wear Conical Straw Hats
- All Chinese People Know Kung-Fu
- Altaic Mythology
- Anime & Manga (included since there's also Chinese and South Korean Manga)
- Anime Chinese Girl
- Anime Fan Speak
- Animesque
- Astro Clone
- Bara Genre
- Char Clone
- Ecchi
- Gaming and Sports Anime and Manga
- Gekiga
- Ghibli Hills
- Idol Genre
- Iyashikei
- Josei
- Kodomomuke
- Manga Effects
- Mangaka
- Manhua
- Manhwa
- Names to Know in Anime
- Overtook the Manga
- Rei Ayanami Expy
- Sailor Senshi Sendup
- Seinen
- Shōnen Demographic
- Shōjo Demographic
- Shrines and Temples
- Yonkoma
- Arrogant Kung-Fu Guy
- Asian Airhead
- Asian and Nerdy
- Asian Animation
- Asian Babymama
- Asian Buck Teeth
- Asian Cleaver Fever
- Asian Hooker Stereotype
- Asian Rune Chant
- Asian Speekee Engrish
- Asian Store-Owner
- Ba Gua
- Banned in China
- Bastard Boyfriend
- Beam of Enlightenment
- Big Brother Is Watching This Index
- Bishōnen
- Bishōnen Line
- Bishoujo Series
- Black Belt in Origami
- Boke and Tsukkomi Routine
- Born in the Saddle
- Bōsōzoku
- Brick Break
- Bruce Lee Clone
- Buddhism
- Cagayan Battles
- Cat Smile
- Child Soldiers
- China Takes Over the World
- Chinese Civil War
- Chinese Language
- Chinese Dialects and Accents
- Chinese Sibling Terminology
- Why Mao changed his name (transliteration)
- Chinese Launderer
- Chinese Media (also includes media from Hong Kong and Macau)
- Chinese Mythology
- Chinese Names
- Ching Chong
- Christianity
- Christmas Is Bourgeois
- City People Eat Sushi
- Clamshell Currency
- Closed Cities
- Cold War
- Conjoined Twins
- COVID-19 Pandemic
- Cruel Elephant
- Cyrillic Alphabet
- Death March
- Digging to China
- Dinosaurs Are Dragons
- Dragon Lady
- Dragons Up the Yin Yang
- Drunken Boxing
- Dual Tonfas
- Dynasties from Shang to Qing
- Ear Cleaning
- Eastern Zodiac
- Eerie Arctic Research Station
- Elephant Graveyard
- Elixir of Life
- The Emperor
- Emojis
- Eskimo Land
- Every Japanese Sword Is a Katana
- Everybody Was Kung-Fu Fighting
- Far East
- Far East Asian Terrorists
- Fighting Series
- Fighting Spirit
- Fighting with Chucks
- First Sino-Japanese War
- Foo Fu
- Forces with Firepower
- Chinese with Chopper Support (The People's Liberation Army)
- The Dragon's Teeth (Chinese nuclear weapons)
- Filipinos with Firearms (Filipino military)
- Indonesians with Infantry (Indonesian military)
- Kaiju Defense Force (Japanese Self-Defense Force)
- Katanas of the Rising Sun (Imperial Japan)
- North Koreans with Nodongs (North Korean military)
- The Hooves of Chollima (North Korean nuclear weapons)
- The Other Chinese Army (Taiwanese military)
- Russians with Rusting Rockets (Modern Russian military)
- Reds with Rockets (Soviet military)
- Russians with Rifles (Tsarist Russian military and the White Guard)
- From Russia with Nukes (Soviet/Russian nuclear weapons)
- Singaporeans with Stealth Frigates (Singaporean military)
- South Koreans with Marines (South Korean military)
- Thai Fighters (Thai military)
- Vietnamese with Kalashnikovs (Vietnamese military)
- South Vietnamese with Skyraiders (Vietnam War-era South Vietnamese military)
- Chinese with Chopper Support (The People's Liberation Army)
- Four Is Death
- The Four Gods
- Friendly Local Chinatown
- Gag Series
- Ghost Leg Lottery
- Godzilla Threshold
- Gorgeous Gaijin
- Gratuitous Foreign Language
- Green Is Blue
- The Gulag
- Gun Fu
- Happy Ending Massage
- Harem Genre
- Henshin Hero
- Hentai
- Hikikomori
- History of the USSR
- Holiday in Cambodia
- Honorable Elephant
- The Horde
- Hordes from the East
- Horse Archer
- Hungry Jungle
- Husky Russkie
- Iaijutsu Practitioner
- Imperial China
- Imperial Japan
- Improbable Chopsticks Skill
- Inscrutable Oriental
- Interchangeable Asian Cultures
- Islam
- Japan Takes Over the World
- Japanese Architecture
- The Japanese Invasion (the boom of Japanese media worldwide from the 80s to Late 2000s, particularly Anime and Video Games)
- Japanese Language
- Alternate Character Reading
- Baka
- Gender and Japanese Language
- Goroawase Number
- Japanese Dialects
- Japanese Honorifics
- Japanese Pronouns
- Japanese Romanization
- Japanese Sibling Terminology
- Japanese Stock Phrases
- Japanese Writing System
- Kansai Regional Accent
- Keigo
- Kotobagari
- One, Two, Three, Four, Go!
- Seven Is Nana
- Tohoku Regional Accent
- Japanese Mythology
- Japanese Pop Music
- Japanese Ranguage
- Japanese Tourist
- Jidaigeki
- Judo
- Jungle Warfare
- Just Here for Godzilla
- Kabuki Theatre
- Kaiju
- Kamehame Hadoken
- Karaoke Box
- Karate
- Katanas Are Just Better
- Kawaisa
- Kendo
- Kenjutsu
- Ki Manipulation
- Kiai
- Kickboxing
- Kimono
- Kirin
- Korean Drama
- Korean Honorifics
- Korean Mythology
- Korean Sibling Terminology
- The Korean War
- Korean Wave
- Koreans in Japan
- I Know Karate
- Kung-Fu Wizard
- Light Novels
- The Mafiya
- Magical Asian
- Magical Girl
- Magical Girlfriend
- The Magnificent Seven Samurai
- Malaysian Mythology
- Malicious Monitor Lizard
- Make the Bear Angry Again
- Maneki Neko
- Martial Arts Belts
- Martial Arts and Crafts
- Martial Arts Movie
- Martial Arts for Mundane Purposes
- Mecha Show
- Mighty Whitey and Mellow Yellow
- Military Animals
- Monkey King Lite
- Mons Series
- Moon Rabbit
- Mother Russia Makes You Strong
- Muay Thai
- Muramasa and Masamune
- Naginatas Are Feminine
- Names in Japanese
- Netorare
- Ninja
- No More Emperors
- Non-Nazi Swastika
- Not Zilla
- Odango Hair
- Onmyōdō
- Opium Den
- Otaku
- Other Royal Families
- OtokonokoGenre
- Paper Talisman
- Pastel-Chalked Freeze Frame
- Peking Duck Christmas
- Peking Opera
- People's Republic of Tyranny
- Personal Seals
- Personality Blood Types
- Philippine Mythology
- Polar Madness
- Police Forces
- Priceless Ming Vase
- Public Bathhouse Scene
- Qipao
- Ramen as Dehydrated Noodles
- Rascally Raccoon
- Red Armband of Leadership
- Red Oni, Blue Oni
- Red String of Fate
- Reincarnation
- Renegade Russian
- Rent-a-Zilla
- Rival Dojos
- Rhino Rampage
- Romanovs and Revolutions
- Russia Takes Over the World
- Russian Guy Suffers Most
- Russian Humour
- Russian Language
- Russian Mythology and Tales
- Russo-Japanese War
- Ruthless Modern Pirates
- Sai Guy
- Sambo
- Samurai
- Samurai Cowboy
- Samurai Shinobi
- Sarashi
- School Systems
- Second Sino-Japanese War
- Sekaikei Genre
- Sentai
- Seppuku
- Shanghai Cooperation Organisation
- Shinto
- Sixth Ranger
- Snake People
- Sneeze Cut
- Socialist Realism
- Soviet Russia, Ukraine, and So On
- Stock Wushu Weapons
- Storming the Beaches
- Sumo Wrestling (included since there's also Mongolian sumos)
- Super-Deformed
- Supernatural Martial Arts
- Tabletop Games
- Taekwondo
- Tanabata
- Tanuki/Kitsune Contrast
- Taoism
- A Taste of the Lash
- Tea and Tea Culture
- Three Kingdoms Shu, Wei, Wu
- The Thirty-Six Stratagems
- Tibetan Mythology
- Toku
- The Triads and the Tongs
- Tropical Epilogue
- Tropical Island Adventure
- Tsarist Russia
- Tulpa
- Turkic Peoples
- Ultimate Life Form
- Video Games (post-Great Video Game Crash of 1983)
- The Anime of the Game
- Beat 'em Up
- Capcom Sequel Stagnation
- Console Wars
- Daddy System
- Dating Sim
- Ditto Fighter
- Dual-World Gameplay
- Eastern RPG
- Emergency Energy Tank
- Exergaming
- Fan Game
- Farm Life Sim
- Fighting Game
- Gaiden Game
- Goomba Stomp
- Green Boy Color
- Ground Pound
- H-Game
- Hack and Slash
- The Heartless
- Hero Shooter
- Hijacked by Ganon
- The History of Video Games
- Hurricane Kick
- Immortal Breaker
- Japanese Games
- King Koopa Copy
- Konami Code
- Licensed Game
- The Lifestream
- Marth Debuted in "Smash Bros."
- Mascot Racer
- Mascot with Attitude
- Match-Three Game
- Metroidvania
- Museum Game
- Nintendo Hard
- Noob Bridge
- One-Winged Angel
- Party Game
- Platform Game
- Poison Mushroom
- Product Facelift
- Professional Gaming
- Romance Game
- Russian Video Games
- Samus Is a Girl
- Sheathe Your Sword
- Shoot 'em Up
- Shoryuken
- Sidetracked by the Gold Saucer
- SNK Boss
- Stealth-Based Game
- Stylish Action
- Super Title 64 Advance
- Survival Horror
- Time Crash
- Ultra Super Happy Cute Baby Fest Farmer 3000
- Unlicensed Game
- Urban Legend of Zelda
- Utsuge
- Video Arcade
- Video Game 3D Leap
- Video Game Randomizer
- Visual Novel
- Waggle
- Wide Open Sandbox
- You Cannot Grasp the True Form
- The Vietnam War
- Vietnamese Mythology
- A Villain Named Khan
- Vodka Drunkenski
- Weird Currency
- What the Fu Are You Doing?
- White Hair, Black Heart
- Widget Series
- Wing Chun
- Wintry Auroral Sky
- Wok Fu
- World Tree
- Wutai
- Wuxia
- Yakuza
- Yellow Peril
- Yuri Genre