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Oh, yeah, this might not be cool, but white groupies in LA who were into the whole bowl of wax were called "eggs." Figure it out. I found those with an exaggerated penchant for Japanese culture were often odd.
Wapanese, Weeabo, and cosplaya-san are the other words to describe such people
*How Uncyclopedia defines a Wapanese:
Quote:
Operates under the belief that every aspect of American culture is vastly inferior to that of Japan’s — even though 99% of Wapanese have never had firsthand experience of any sort with their preferred culture (in other words, they’ve never set so much as one foot upon the island(s) of Japan).
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I've noticed this to. People are 'into' Japan like a hobby, like they're into sports or something. I think it's because Japan has been, for awhile, one of the biggest exporters of pop culture in the world through video games, anime/manga cartoons/comic books, pop music.etc. Many video and arcade games are very much influenced by Japanese culture/traditional/folklore, although as kids we may not know it. Even the Super Mario Bros series has a lot of Japanese things about it. Japan was, for a long time, the only truly first world country in Asia (Singapore might also be one but it is a tiny city state) which was able to export it's culture far and wide. Plus, Japan is so unique, it's like a world unto itself, there are so many Japanese things that have become 'chic' or have become associated with Japan, like samurais, ninjas, origami, sushi.etc.
I've noticed this to. People are 'into' Japan like a hobby, like they're into sports or something. I think it's because Japan has been, for awhile, one of the biggest exporters of pop culture in the world through video games, anime/manga cartoons/comic books, pop music.etc. Many video and arcade games are very much influenced by Japanese culture/traditional/folklore, although as kids we may not know it. Even the Super Mario Bros series has a lot of Japanese things about it. Japan was, for a long time, the only truly first world country in Asia (Singapore might also be one but it is a tiny city state) which was able to export it's culture far and wide. Plus, Japan is so unique, it's like a world unto itself, there are so many Japanese things that have become 'chic' or have become associated with Japan, like samurais, ninjas, origami, sushi.etc.
I think that the Japanese obsession is starting to wane. It seems like Korean pop culture is the du jour Asian obsession these days amongst the non-anime fans with the former Wapanese now being obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas.
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Originally Posted by theunbrainwashed
I think that the Japanese obsession is starting to wane. It seems like Korean pop culture is the du jour Asian obsession these days amongst the non-anime fans with the former Wapanese now being obsessed with K-pop and K-dramas.
I don't think the obsession with Korean culture is as enduring, although Korean culture has really come up. 20 years ago hardly anyone would have been interested in Korean culture or learning Korean but it seems many are today. I think Japanese culture will always be interesting, since it's still such a fascinating place.
I wonder if there's much of a rivalry between fans of Korea vs Japan. K-Pop isn't really original, it's mostly just like Western pop music or J-pop.
I don't think the obsession with Korean culture is as enduring, although Korean culture has really come up. 20 years ago hardly anyone would have been interested in Korean culture or learning Korean but it seems many are today. I think Japanese culture will always be interesting, since it's still such a fascinating place.
I wonder if there's much of a rivalry between fans of Korea vs Japan. K-Pop isn't really original, it's mostly just like Western pop music or J-pop.
I lived in Korea off and on since 1996.
I'm routinely amazed that the culture has become somewhat romanticized by some people. I would admit that I do like Korean films though. But never found the culture all that interesting.
Japan culture is very interesting. However, the odd thing about Japan is, it seems VERY insightful. It is, it has a strong record of that. However, it's hard to see it in the people. They are very reserved and really lacking opinions on topics. It's in there somewhere, I suppose.
The Japanese people just have their own style of "simplicity" like no other nationalities of any country!
I know exactly what you mean, although it's equally difficult to describe. But there is a sense of beauty in the smallest things. There is a real minimalist quality here to everything.
The servings of food, is definitely minimalism. Yet, a Japanese looking at the small food in their plate, will be absolutely delighted at the presentation of it, rather than imagning the taste of it. The subtle presentation will have a lot of meaning. They won't care that there doesn't appear to be much substance for actual eating there.
Houses are definitely minimalist. Extremely small, and simple. Heating and AC is really lacking. If its too cold, you buy a kerosene heater to heat it up. They don't create better heating systems in the houses, they rely on simplistic very old-fashioned methods of heating. (Which is downright bizarre as you see technology for absolutely everything BUT that).
Tons of other examples, but those are the first two that quickly popped in my head.
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Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
I lived in Korea off and on since 1996.
I'm routinely amazed that the culture has become somewhat romanticized by some people. I would admit that I do like Korean films though. But never found the culture all that interesting.
Japan culture is very interesting. However, the odd thing about Japan is, it seems VERY insightful. It is, it has a strong record of that. However, it's hard to see it in the people. They are very reserved and really lacking opinions on topics. It's in there somewhere, I suppose.
What do you mean insightful?
Yeah I always thought of Korea has somewhat between China and Japan, but of course it's got it's own culture. I do enjoy Korean BBQ, but other than that, it's a country that's never been much on my radar. I've always been interested in Japan, not so much anime or whatever although the few films I've seen were cool, really creative and trippy, ever since I learned Japanese in school. We were supposed to go to Japan for a university trip but unfortunately it was changed to Singapore/Malaysia for our year which I'd been to many times already.
Yeah I always thought of Korea has somewhat between China and Japan, but of course it's got it's own culture. I do enjoy Korean BBQ, but other than that, it's a country that's never been much on my radar. I've always been interested in Japan, not so much anime or whatever although the few films I've seen were cool, really creative and trippy, ever since I learned Japanese in school. We were supposed to go to Japan for a university trip but unfortunately it was changed to Singapore/Malaysia for our year which I'd been to many times already.
Before coming to Japan (or Northeast Asia for that matter). I always grew up with the stereotype/assumption that Japanese, Korean, Chinese...were just very very WISE. Like they held the wisdom of the ages, and these exotic things of manipulating Qi within martial arts, plus a gentle Buddhist nature, etc. They just seemed wise, insightful, and like a person could really learn A LOT from them.
When I moved to Korea, I found that to not be the case at all. It was very hectic, had a strong sense of extremely conservative confucianism thinking, heavy consumptionism, and a stronger interest in christianity than buddhism.
Japan still retains more buddhism, etc. More traditional values and such. However, the younger generation of Japanese people don't really have much to share about that. They just follow what has been taught for generations, without really having much insight at all into why, etc.
You can probably thank Anime and video games for the Japan obsession. I think a lot of people have some fantasy of being warped to some anime/Japanese video game themselves (I'm listening to the Final Fantasy X soundtrack as I type this)! Nothing wrong with that but I'm under the impression that most of the anime/manga/games exported out of Japan reflect the more open side of society there; my instinct tells me that Japan is probably a much more reserved country than the stuff in anime, LOL.
With that said, I think Japan is a rather unique society. It is both modern and medieval at the same time; their religious beliefs are a mix of their own local customs and Buddhism. They have robots alongside samurai warriors, the biggest city in the world (Tokyo), and a standard of living unmatched by anyone else...and I say this as someone in the USA. Of course, the Japanese could be thinking the same of the USA as well...
"Wow, they have cowboys and Native Americans alongside Corvettes and Mustangs, they have New York and Los Angeles, they have Coca-Cola, and you can make a ton of money if you are entrepeneurial enough!"
Just my $.02 (or 2 yen if I have my conversions right).
Location: The western periphery of Terra Australis
24,544 posts, read 56,037,872 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tiger Beer
Before coming to Japan (or Northeast Asia for that matter). I always grew up with the stereotype/assumption that Japanese, Korean, Chinese...were just very very WISE. Like they held the wisdom of the ages, and these exotic things of manipulating Qi within martial arts, plus a gentle Buddhist nature, etc. They just seemed wise, insightful, and like a person could really learn A LOT from them.
When I moved to Korea, I found that to not be the case at all. It was very hectic, had a strong sense of extremely conservative confucianism thinking, heavy consumptionism, and a stronger interest in christianity than buddhism.
Japan still retains more buddhism, etc. More traditional values and such. However, the younger generation of Japanese people don't really have much to share about that. They just follow what has been taught for generations, without really having much insight at all into why, etc.
Yes, the West presents the stereotype of the old, wise Oriental sage. Martial arts masters like Mr Miyagi are the epitome of that. George Lucas was very influenced by Asian folklore and this, and it's obvious that Yoda is based on some sort of Zen Buddhist sage/wise man. The 'Force' is very much reminiscent of 'Chi' and yin and yang, naturalistic cosmic forces.
Interesting when you say extremely conservative...I've heard Koreans are very traditional but I've seen a few Korean movies and TV shows and it seems things like relationships etc are the same as the West. I'm guessing Korea is becoming a lot more westernized - I mean it's actually one of the most westernized Asian countries, reflected in things like the popularity of baseball, Christianity, and the prevalence of circumcision. However I do believe Koreans are probably becoming less traditional, although probably cling on more to their culture than Chinese.etc since they've always kind of had to to survive. The Japanese tried to basically wipe out their culture/identity.
I've heard Japan has the highest percentage of non-religious people in the world - 70-80%. Most Japanese, like Chinese, seem in practice non-religious. They might not be staunch atheist materialists, but their observance of Buddhism-Confucianism-Taoism is more cultural, like a 'lapsed Catholic.' Some may vaguely believe in concepts such as Karma, and Chinese superstitions like Feng Shui or Ancestor worship (that applies to Chinese of course), but for the most part they don't strike me as a spiritual people. Korea seems unique in Asia in being a nation never colonized that has a lot of Christians, something like 1/3. The Eastern religious identity seems more nationalistic, as reflected on their flag, although of course there are many devout Buddhists in Korea, as well as their own native Shamanistic beliefs.
I've actually met quite a few young Japanese through my friend, but the language barrier means it's hard to really get to know them at a deep level. Koreans seem pretty friendly, though, more outgoing than Japanese in general.
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