Look at this, ahh Cute! It's a photo of a prunus tree(Ume) and two Mejiros. The Mejiro is called the Japanese white-eye and they love Prunus tree. they love Prunus tree. I can't wait spring.
Today's crazy news from the U.S: Idaho man sees 666 is the number of the beast ( I have never watched Omen, impossible for me). In Japan, people don't like "4", because 4 is read "shi" (or yon ) and "shi" sounds like "death" in other Kanji. We think the number 8 is a lucky number, because 8 is written 八 in Kanji. The shape of this kanji broadens toward the end. It means we can have a good result, end, future for us. Chinese people love 8 too and I heard the car license 8888 is traded at an incredible expensive price.
I checked chaku wiki today. I love the site, I like to read each local legend or native masochistic information. For example, on the Tokyo page, someone writes about Tokyo castes. In Tokyo there are 23 wards and some cities but Tokyo people don't think those cities belong to Tokyo. For example, Machida is a city of Tokyo but since Machida is surrounded by Kanagawa pref, people don't admit it's Tokyo. And also even in 23 wards, there is a rank. The ward which is next to Saitama or Chiba pref can't be thought of as Tokyo.
But on the other hand, it is fun to read about Japan in other languages, because I can know foreign people's image and misunderstandings about Japan. Here is the English Japan page. Hmm, foreign people seem to have an image of Ninjya so far.
This is the Texas page in English and checked native people image for that area. Ha ha ha, it's Jesus Land! (Don't ask me why I picked Texas, he he. I just wanted to find a funny page :-), and maybe it will be...Then I checked Texas in Japanese, so that you may see the Japanese image and misunderstandings for that place.
-75% of Texas people can't understand NY English because it's so fast. -Big is great.
-Texas people ask Japanese people "how long it will take to Japan by car?"
-The language which babies in Texas learn first is " Attention! K-Mart shoppers!"
-When Texas people are asked to show their ID, they show their belt.
-Under 16 years old boys go to school by tractor.
There are more and more but I will stop. What do you think? Do they tell the right image of Texas? I think the Japanese who live in Texas or Texas people who can write Japanese wrote them. So real and funny. I may pick other cities and other countries next week sometimes.
Michelangelo,
the reason you didn't see any ninjas is because they were hiding :-D
Posted by: Chris Kuan | Wednesday, January 16, 2008 at 12:32 AM
hah yeah some of those things about Texas aren't too far from the truth honestly. America is very different across the board though.
I didn't notice that many ninja's in Japan, tho. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places...
Posted by: Michelangelo | Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 01:40 PM
hah yeah some of those things about Texas aren't too far from the truth honestly. America is very different across the board though.
I didn't notice that many ninja's in Japan, tho. Maybe I'm just looking in the wrong places...
Posted by: | Tuesday, January 15, 2008 at 01:38 PM
今晩は!
I think that site with "information about Texas" probably has the same intentions as encyclopedia dramatica's page on Japan.
It's not misundertanding, it's trolling, based on the percieved cultural misconceptions, intentionally created for mocking;they are not "honest"(本当) misconceptions, they're jokes(嘘), like these:
http://www.encyclopediadramatica.com/Japanese
Obviously we don't think that the "typical Japanese" is some guy in his underwear wielding two swords (or that Japan keeps getting destroyed by Godzilla or that your National sports are Kancho and panty pulling.), it's playing on stereotypes portrayed in movies and television for years. Some even view this cultural satire as racism. I'd like to think of it as playful antagonization of those who would be too easily offended.
Posted by: elmar | Sunday, January 13, 2008 at 04:18 PM
Mari-san wa kakimashita: "What do yo u think? They tell the right image of Texas? I think Japanese who live in Texas or Texas people who can write Japanese write them. So real and funny. I may pick other cities and other countries next week sometimes."
I think this a great topic! I tried to find Minnesota on Chaku wiki but there was no entry.
I am curious about others' images of Japan! People from many different countries post here - what was your first image/impression of Japan?
My first image of Japan was from Japanese traditional artwork I saw as a child. I thought everyone wore kimonos and geta and lived in houses that looked like temples! I also thought that all the people and nature in Japan were extremely beautiful.
When I finally got to go to Japan (April, 2005), it was as beautiful as I expected! (people and nature - the sakura were blooming!). Narita airport was HUGE but clean and extremely efficient! I was afraid of densha, chikatetsu and shinkansen at first (there are no commuter trains where I live). The only such public transportation I have seen in America is the L's in Chicago (lots of crime!) I was also afraid that Tokyo would be very dirty (like Chicago or NYC, or even Minneapolis!) but I was shocked at how clean everything was, and how extremely polite and friendly the people are - even in the world's third largest city!
I am dying to get back to Japan - it was more wonderful than I ever imagined. I even saw and heard a white-eye singing in a wild sakura tree near Kusatsu!
Japanese fashion is very intimidating to me. It's so expensive to keep up with all the beautiful people wearing designer labels! I live in Lake Wobegone (Mari-san, please google this:)) and wear flannel shirts, polar fleece, sweats and jeans - I am no fashionista!
And there is so much more to eat than sushi! I don't like nori, so I don't really care for sushi rolls. I was surprised at the variety of food in Japan and how excellent everything was! Even combini no tabemono was like gourmet food! Here in Lake Wobegone, the Super America grub ain't exactly so appetizing - even if yer half starved! :(-
I was very surprised to see all the flavors of Kit-Kats and "American Dogs" at the combini. We call 'em corn dogs ;) The last place on earth I expected to see a corn dog -7-11 de Yoshikawa Saitama-ken! ;)
Lastly, and the most peculiar to me, why aren't there Slurpees at the 7-11's in Japan??? Corn dogs, oacha and ichigo Kit-Kats, but no Slurpees! (@-@) wakarimasen!
Posted by: Heidi | Saturday, January 12, 2008 at 10:02 AM