General Japanese Culture Thread

It's more probably just a case of showing them to be foreign, because in both of those cases it's a foreigner who is (presumably) unfamiliar with the naming convention. In the case of Kelley in Nioh, it could actually be accurate to the time period.

As far as eyes go, Mitsuyoshi is the one who according to legend lost it in a sparring match with his father. Whether he actually had one eye is unknown.

Munenori himself had only started being outright demonised in later fiction. Before this he certainly had political enemies as the sword instructor of the Shogun. Takuan Soho also gives him some criticism, implying he may have taken bribes to settle some political matter or another.

raziel: It's not just Asia, there are a few cultures in the west who do that, too, like Hungary.

Bottom line, the survival of the group is considered more important than the happiness of the individual.

Who migrated into Europe from Asia.

Less happines and more avoid unpleseness in general.

Also about idal of warrior cultures and reallity, I will guess aprt of is that when you are a warrior and part of dominent class, you tend to create way to be fancy and show the power of your station, another is to show you to be more than a killer(because in a way you are, you now rule) and last but not less, is a way of survival: when you can express in something beyond killing is easy to talk to you.

I haven't done a lot of research on it myself, but I think you could make a convincing argument that the whole masters-of-martial-and-poetic-arts thing the samurai idealized was a way to legitimize themselves. Arts like poetry, tea ceremony, and so on, like unknowing said, marked them as being more than just killers and gave them ways to show each other up without involving weapons, and also tied them to the Emperor and the noble court (who at that point had been basically doing nothing but poetry for five hundred years).

The phrase "polishing turds" might come to mind, if you're in a more cynical mood.

It could, but I think that's a little unfair, honestly. Conditions were what they were at the time, after all.

It mainly happened after the samurai as a class were abolished, though. It wasn't a (direct) attempt to assert power, it was a way to incorporate a troublesome piece of history into a developing national myth at a time when Japan has a very complex relationship with nationalism.

Edited by Iaculus on Feb 12th 2019 at 1:30:17 PM

Taiji dolphin hunt: activists to launch unprecedented legal challenge

Activists want to halt the hunt on the grounds that it violates Japan's own laws by exceeding quotas and erroneously classifying dolphins as fish instead of mammals. That second one is important since the standards for what counts as animal cruelty are relaxed when it comes to fish instead of mammals.

Activision is resetting their business outlook and let go of 8% of their workforce.

... that doesn't sound like a lot until you realize Activision is one of the biggest game companies in the world, which puts 8% at roughly 750 whole people!

Sligthly off-topic, but this seems like a good place to ask: Amazon just recommended a book called "History of the Japanese People" by one Frank Brinkley.

Does anyone here knows if this book is worth it or not? I'm somewhat reluctant on buying history books without getting a second opinion first.

Not even a Japanese company.

A good primer would be History of Japan: From the Stone Age to Superpower by Kenneth Henshall. Very, very brief, but quite illuminating.

As for the book you mentioned, its also fairly good, if a little dry. It also ends around 1912, leaving out all the events of the Twentieth Century. And it has a bad habit of becoming blatant propaganda as it approaches the 1912 mark - which, given that it was written around that time, is hardly unsurprising.

Edited by TechPriest90 on Feb 13th 2019 at 7:14:24 AM

@Kyun: You may have gotten the wrong thread there.

About Brinkey, it seems he converted and converted hard; he moved to Japan permanently when he was 25 and never left again. Doing some quick skimming on the guy, I expect you'll find that particular book to be glowing in its outlook and probably outdated as hell, since Brinkley died in 1912. He was considered to be strongly biased toward the Japanese, though that was the view of contemporary Brits, who weren't exactly unbiased themselves.

Hmm, I think I have some good perspective, now.

I'll go with the book mentioned, and perhaps look for a few others before taking a look at Brinkley, as his seems like the kind of book it's better to read only after you got some of the basics down, so to speak.

I'm sure everyone here have busy schedules, so thanks for taking the time to answer my question .

In a rather poor showing, Carlos Ghosn criticises Japan's prosecution for presuming him guilty by default before even putting him to trial.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-47113189

..... oh shoot THIS is the thread I posted that in!! Damm it why do I keep doing this!? I meant to post it in the Things I Didn'T Know Until Very Recently thread (which I posted it in twice)!

<squints furiously> Dude's been living there on and off how long, now? Only now does he notice that that's standard procedure?

For crying out loud, he has no excuse! TAC (the Tokyo American Club) regularly puts general information and warning notices up in many of the general areas that all expats of all nationalities use concerning getting into legal trouble, and I know for a fact he's been in the place often enough to have seen them!

Nope: he's fishing. Dumbass.

Rule One of being an expat in Japan: don't fuck up — they have a lot of very heavy books they will throw at you. It doesn't matter how rich you are. You. Are. Never. Japanese. No loopholes for you.

Edited by Euodiachloris on Feb 13th 2019 at 2:59:38 PM

I was actually recently contacted by an old acquaintance who was looking for help for a friend of hers - said friend and his Japanese wife live in Hokkaido, and he was being barred from seeing her and their newborn child.

I shrugged and said 'sorry, he's shit out of luck', because as far as I know, legally, he is. That's a big part of the reason I have no intention of getting married here or living here permanently.

Its not even just limited to expats to be fair.... the law might as well be Guilty even if proven Innocent...

Once you hit court, that's it your done.

x3

He's not stupid, he knows how it goes. At least that's the impression I got from the various statements as this has gone on.

It should be noted there's a lot of suspicion that the case is an internal coup in Nissan. The case against Ghosn is apparently pretty weak, so as far as his comments go it seemed more like surprise that he did anything that could give the prosecutors any actual leverage.

Not that anybody on this thread would be surprised if they invented charges out of thin air.

Edited by TerminusEst on Feb 14th 2019 at 12:57:02 PM

Jesus, that's fucked up.

Its seen as a failure if the prosecution doesn't get a conviction, so like that breeds a whole cuture around it and messes up the legal system.... especialy when police can extract confessions in ways that would never pass any where else... and that's for natives.

for foreigners... well... ummm

yea.

The Japanese legal system is a fucking mess.

Edited by Imca on Feb 14th 2019 at 3:46:01 AM