# How different is Japanese culture and psychology, really, from the "West"? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 24, 2011, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782 "2011-03-24T00:30:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/61 "2011-03-29T01:21:48Z")
> [@Lamia](#): > > **Jragon** ’s comments are a lot closer to what I saw in Japan than what you’ve been saying. I’d heard for years in the US that in Japan animation isn’t just for kids, there’s no stigma about adults watching animation, etc., but what I heard from actual Japanese people in Japan was pretty much the opposite. In Japan most mainstream animation is geared at either children or a family audience. Anything else seems to be generally regarded as made for pathetic losers and/or real sickos. > > All I can say is that according to the middle school students I taught in Japan, animated shows were for children. I taught 14 year old girls who had _Sailor Moon_ characters on their keychains, but when I asked about them they said they had really liked _Sailor Moon_…when they were little. I also had Japanese friends in college who thought it was HILARIOUS that American college students openly watched anime that was considered fare for elementary school children or even preschoolers (_Pokemon_) in Japan. > > This is not to say that there is no such thing as anime aimed at teenagers and young adults, but the one time the subject came up at work my coworker dismissed such programs as made for “14 year old boys who don’t have girlfriends…and will never have girlfriends.” I get what you guys were saying. And admittedly I’ve never been to Japan so I don’t know first-hand what Japanese people think about animation. But it just seems like there’s too much anime with adult (or at least non-child-focused) themes and content for it to be strictly some weird fringe thing. If only a small, disreputable segment of people over the age of 12 watch anime, then why does adult-oriented anime keep getting made? Do they make it just for the otaku in the States? For the record, I think anime fans in the States are a bad barometer for what’s actually popular in Japan. U.S. anime fans will embrace anything and everything from Japan but it’s more of subculture thing and has no basis in people watching shows aimed at their specific age groups. So you’ll get groups of college kids getting together to watch _Pokemon_ or _Naruto_ or other “kiddie” fare, even though they’re supposed to be well beyond that stuff age-wise. OTOH you have young people like my niece (who is also 14) who will play Pokemon video games but doesn’t watch the cartoon and hasn’t in years. Now, when I say “adult-oriented anime”, I don’t mean stuff like _Sailor Moon_ and _Dragonball_ and whatnot. I recognize that shows like that have mostly kiddie appeal. But who watches grittier shows like _Cowboy Bebop_? What about _Spice and Wolf_, which features a shape-shifting character but has a lot of quiet, deliberately-paced political intrigue? I hesitate to think that it was aimed at young audiences; I do know that it was based on a popular novel/manga series, though. Then you have a whole slew of anime films that have adult content - _Princess Mononoke_ has decapitation, dismemberment, lepers, (former) prostitutes, flesh-eating demon curses, and tons of other fun things, and it became the top-grossing film in Japan at the time. And one of my favorite Japanese film anecdotes is about how _My Neighbor Totoro_ (a through-and-through family/kids film) was financed in large part due to a deal whereby the animated adaptation of _Grave of the Fireflies_ (an extremely somber and serious war film) was financed as well - it was the war movie that got the kids movie the funding, essentially. Again, I don’t really believe that everyone in Japan likes every type of anime. Obviously, there’s a whole lot made explicitly for kids (it seems there are many anime adaptations of video games as well). But there’s also a whole lot that has more adult appeal - even if it’s not considered universally acceptable to _watch_ it, it’s still being made. Compared to what U.S. studios produce, there seems to be more mature animation coming out of Japan than the U.S., no matter who’s watching it. And, like I said before, there seem to be whole genres that American animators won’t even touch (drama, especially). ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/62 "2011-03-29T01:56:39Z")
Anime has a very convoluted history, and it’s not something everyone can agree on. Going back to Fushigina Melmo - a story about a girl who can physically change from a baby to an adult at whim, complete with panty shots, ripped clothing, sexual tension and lots of other weird stuff, the show was thought, by many adults, to be educational for kids. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/63 "2011-03-29T02:30:17Z")
> [@Sakuma\_Drops](#): > > If only a small, disreputable segment of people over the age of 12 watch anime, then why does adult-oriented anime keep getting made? Do they make it just for the otaku in the States? I have no idea. There is non-mainstream entertainment produced in the US though, so I see no reason why there shouldn’t be media produced for niche markets in Japan. > [@](#): > > Then you have a whole slew of anime films that have adult content - _Princess Mononoke_ has decapitation, dismemberment, lepers, (former) prostitutes, flesh-eating demon curses, and tons of other fun things, and it became the top-grossing film in Japan at the time. And one of my favorite Japanese film anecdotes is about how _My Neighbor Totoro_ (a through-and-through family/kids film) was financed in large part due to a deal whereby the animated adaptation of _Grave of the Fireflies_ (an extremely somber and serious war film) was financed as well - it was the war movie that got the kids movie the funding, essentially. Aren’t these all Studio Ghibli films? I believe those have already been mentioned as some of the only Japanese animated films taken seriously by mainstream audiences. (Disney and Pixar films are also popular with people of all ages – _Finding Nemo_ was big when I was in Japan.) And while there was certainly stuff in _Princess Monokoke_ that might disturb young children, it wasn’t considered an “adult” movie in Japan or in the US. It was rated PG-13 here, and PG-12 in Japan. I really do not know enough about Japanese animation to answer your questions about who watches what or what’s considered suitable for whom, all I can do is repeat what people told me when I lived there: middle school kids said animated stuff was for younger children, and my coworker mentioned some anime as being targeted at loser teen boys. There were also shows that were considered fine for the whole family to watch and not strictly for kiddies. That’s really it as far as animated TV series that I heard about while living in Japan. I do want to add, for the sake of anyone who might be in danger of doing so, that Japanese entertainment should not be taken as a guide to ordinary Japanese life. This isn’t to say that Japanese art does not in any way reflect Japanese life, just that the entertainment industry (in Japan and elsewhere) doesn’t deal primarily in gritty realism and that if one isn’t already familiar with the culture then it’s easy to misinterpret things. This goes both ways, of course. When I was in college I remember a Japanese friend saying she knew all about American high schools because she’d watched _Beverly Hills 90210_. I don’t know if _Glee_ or _Two and a Half Men_ are broadcast in Japan, but if they are then some viewers may be drawing pretty strange conclusions about typical American life. But as silly as that may seem, I’m fairly certain that all of these shows are at least more realistic than _Sailor Moon_. Well, maybe not _Glee_. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/64 "2011-03-29T02:57:27Z")
Thanks for your insight, Lamia. I guess the point I was trying to make was that Japanese animators seem to take more chances on what they decide to adapt than American ones. Even if most of it is perceived as being “for kids” (or families), there’s still a lot more edgy content in Japanese animation than in American. Maybe that says more about the difference between Japanese and American youth and what’s acceptable for each group to be exposed to. In America it is very rare to see an animated film receive higher than a G rating; Disney’s _The Hunchback of Notre Dame_ had to be toned down to avoid a PG rating because the producers were terrified that it wouldn’t succeed if it were perceived as anything but a “family” film. _Princess Mononoke_ was indeed rated PG-12 in Japan, but there was some controversy before its initial Stateside release: the U.S. distributors wanted to cut out the most violent parts of the film (Studio Ghibli wouldn’t allow it, however.) It still fascinates me when a very adult film like _[Perfect Blue](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Perfect_Blue)_ (which is similar in theme and adult content to _[Black Swan](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Swan_%28film%29)_) is adapted via animation. If you grow up in a pop culture society dominated by Disney-type animated family films, then movies like that may be a shock to the system. However, animation is actually a very good medium for telling a story about subjective and dream-like realities. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/65 "2011-03-29T02:58:18Z")
> [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > Yes, Japan is insular to a high degree, and the press tends to be lapdogs, but nothing holds back the daily and weekly tabloids. > > I’ve done business with pretty much all the big electronic companies in Japan. Matsushita, Sony, JVC, Toshiba, you name them, as well as mom and pop shops, and I never get a Glory to Japan. People are in business for business. There is far more tolerance for individualism than what your wing nut source is claiming. > > As for countries claiming to be the best in the world, you don’t have to look very far to find Americans who feel exactly this. “Nazi” stands for “National Socialism” – i.e. a nationalist group for the everyman. Given that most people are an “everyman” sort and most people are relatively patriotic/nationalist, of course you’ll find Americans who feel exactly like this. I’d venture to guess that a near majority of Americans could be classified as modern or “light” fascists. The idea of simple, down-home governance, tightly knit communities, and a focus on America’s problems over the worlds’ is fairly popular. Leaving off the requirement for a single, authoritarian leader, nothing else about Fascism necessitates that the word be held as all that negative a thing. People were congratulating the Japanese for not having any looting, following the earthquake. They say that this is a good thing and shows how respectable and well-mannered the Japanese people are compared to Americans. Lots of Americans would prefer that the US were like that. Personally, I think of it as the price of individualism and libertarianism – people are more concerned with their own welfare than about acting with propriety – and so here we would have looting and vandalism. Personally, I prefer an individualist society, but I don’t fault people for disagreeing on that point. I don’t think that people who want order and simplicity are secretly Nazis. I’m simply pointing out that Fascism is not a product of an era which only lasted for a decade or two, nor did it rise in a vacuum. There are reasons for its success among the masses, and so far as I can tell many modern countries effectively still practice it – just minus the aspect of authoritarianism. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/66 "2011-03-29T04:04:31Z")
I’m by no means an expert, and have never been to Japan. But I can at least recommend some books that are not actually about hentai or bonzai or whatever. I am really interested in Japan because to my western eyes, Japanese society strikes me as profoundly introverted. Speaking very broadly, its aesthetic is refined, slight, poignant, and understated. I marvel how even the mundanities of everyday life can be transformed by ritual into art that is both lofty yet demands humility at the same time. Knowing a little about Japan also helps me understand my in-laws better. These books are very short and were intended for a western audience. [The Book of Tea](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Tea) is one of my favorite books in any language. Of course it’s about far more than tea, since you can’t have a tea ceremony without proper architecture, art, and flowers. And you can’t have any of these unless you develop an appreciation for how Japanese perceive nature and the passing of seasons and the impermanence of all things. [Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zen_Mind,_Beginner%27s_Mind) is a little dip into Japanese spirituality. It can be followed up with Zen and the Art of the Sword, a discussion of how Buddhism was packaged for the benefit of the samurai warrior class. I have a little book of poems translated by Rexroth, but damn, someone must have borrowed it and I cannot recall the title. Perhaps for next time. Oh, **Stoid** , married women of a certain class cover their front teeth in a sort of black paste, thereby indicating that she was married. When she laughed,she would not want anyone to see the metallic crap she wore in her mouth, so she covered it up. Covering up one’s face while laughing suggests coyness and cutesy to a western man, but not to a contemporary Asian man, ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/67 "2011-03-29T04:06:15Z")
> [@Isamu](#): > > Going back to Fushigina Melmo - a story about a girl who can physically change from a baby to an adult at whim, complete with panty shots, ripped clothing, sexual tension and lots of other weird stuff, the show was thought, by many adults, to be educational for kids. OK, this fact alone would indicate there are some vast differences in attitudes towards education between Japan and America. What, exactly, is the root of this difference in thought - the idea that something like that could be educational for kids? ---
**Author:** ![Jragon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e19b73/32.png) [@Jragon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jragon)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/68 "2011-03-29T04:11:26Z")
> [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > Your professor got this wrong. What happened was fairly common, companies will try to get people to quit, but it’s not because of disgrace, it’s because of the Japanese laws which pretty much prohibit firing people. You really have to jump through tremendous hoops to fire people, even when the employee is clearly incompetent. > > At a previous company, I had a senior(!) tech who should never have been hired and was insanely lacking in any redeeming value to the company. Here’s just one of many examples of his fuck ups. The company imported products from the States, and we had orders for three systems, each several hundred thousand dollars. After the systems came in, the US manufacturer announced some sort of change in parts, and I asked the tech to check the systems to make sure they were fine. He reported that he had, and they were OK. Later when we went to deliver the systems, it was discovered that the parts were old. I called the tech in for an explanation and his excuse was that he thought they would be OK, so he didn’t actually check, but it was his boss’s fault for believing him. > > I went to the VP to have his sorry ass out of the company, and found out we couldn’t fire him. Legally, it was _our_ fault for hiring an incompetent lying son of bitch. (Can you tell I’m still pissed?), but we could hint about him leaving, document every little thing and try to make his life miserable. > > So when we moved office, I didn’t assign him a desk, chair or computer, saying they were for “useful” employees and the empty ones were for ones who we could hire if only the worthless people would only leave. Of course, he knew he would never get another job, so he ignored my hints. I finally got him transferred to the warehouse and three months of lifting boxes finally had enough. All of us in management would have loved to deep six him (and all the rest were Japanese) but we had the legal constraints which didn’t permit it. > > This does show how the reality of Japan is not as pretty as what Western impressions are. Ah, thanks for clarifying. > [@](#): > > Yes, but you quickly get used to that. Oh, certainly, I was just giving an example. I know America has similar overstatements and idiosyncrasies, though. > [@](#): > > My vote would be with _mushukyo_ as having a different connotation in Japan than in the West, especially America. I’m running out of time tonight, and religion is a lot to tackle so I’ll have to be really brief. > > There are Japanese who regularly attend religious services or are active in what are often called “new religions.” They are clearly in the minority, but it does show there are religious people. > > Shinto isn’t the really a religion per se. It was adapted by the government and armed forces starting with the Meiji Restoration (of the emperor) to give an political excuse for their brand of oligarchy. > > Important festivals, such as New Years are held at Shinto shrines, but 99% of the people who go are their for cultural reasons, not spiritual ones. Almost everyone will give a nominal donation (often five yen about 4 cents, and up to a dollar for most people) and will say a prayer, which is more like making a birthday wish before blowing out the candles. > > Most everyone has Buddhist funerals, but only a small minority ever attend religious instruction or seriously practice mediation. > > For what it’s worth, it’s popular to have a “Christian” wedding complete with a faux priest. I was simplifying a tad, and mushukyo having a different connotation is the best bet. I do know most of those facts, but I still think that honne and tatemae play at least a small role in the apparent discrepancy. Lamia/Sakuma – I can’t find my cite right now, but I hear that the head of Gainax actually offered a course about Anime/Otaku culture at Tokyo University for a while for no reason other than to increase awareness of Otaku culture and staunch the overreaction and stigma. I may be misremembering something though since I can’t find my cite. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/69 "2011-03-29T04:47:52Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > Covering up one’s face while laughing suggests coyness and cutesy to a western man, but not to a contemporary Asian man, I’d have to disagree. In Korea, covering your mouth when you laugh is considered to be well-mannered and feminine. When I’m in the presence of elders that I’m not very close to, I will cover my mouth when I laugh out of habit. A lot of women I know do it when they’re in the presence of anyone outside of their close female friends. Also, I’m pretty sure that blackening your teeth in Japan died out in the 1800s. I doubt it would affect the habits of contemporary Japanese. ---
**Author:** ![Sakuma\_Drops](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/50afbb/32.png) [@Sakuma\_Drops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sakuma_Drops)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 4:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/70 "2011-03-29T04:52:25Z")
> [@Jragon](#): > > Lamia/Sakuma – > > I can’t find my cite right now, but I hear that the head of Gainax actually offered a course about Anime/Otaku culture at Tokyo University for a while for no reason other than to increase awareness of Otaku culture and staunch the overreaction and stigma. I may be misremembering something though since I can’t find my cite. That would be a very interesting course. I think that a similar course on Japanese/Otaku culture was offered where I went to school. American otaku seem to encompass a general fondness for Japanese culture into their slate of interests (“Hey, everybody! I got some Pocky!” “YAAAAAAAY!”). Cosplay is also very popular in American otaku circles. It would be interesting to compare people considered to be “otaku” in Japan with their American counterparts, as well as with enthusiasts of other pop culture phenomena such as Star Trek (Trekkies also love cosplay and speaking foreign languages 🙂 ). ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/71 "2011-03-29T06:11:09Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > There are reasons for its success among the masses, and so far as I can tell many modern countries effectively still practice it – just minus the aspect of authoritarianism. Maybe you could help me understand this a little better, because I’m seeing wildly separate definitions of the word in your different points. Does patriotism equal fascism? Does a concern for others over oneself? Previously you defined fascism as the following “Japan is a near-Fascist country. Everything is very insular. **Everything you do** is for the people, as the best people on the Earth. Japanese businesses **work in the glory of the nation**. Japanese media **works for the glory** of the nation.” (my bolding) I’m specifically calling bullshit to your characterization of the Japanese and its society. I mentioned several specific counter examples. > [@](#): > > The whole “collectivist” thing is really just talking about item 2. I suspect that pre-WWII Germany was fairly similar in terms of an ideal of subjugating yourself to the good of the race/nation/region. Please list even a few ways how [furitaa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freeter) are examples of fascists, in any of the definitions you are proposing. > [@](#): > > Freeter (フリーター, furītā?) (other possible spellings are furītā, furiita, freeta, furiitaa, or furitaa) is a Japanese expression for people between the ages of 15 and 34 who lack full time employment or are unemployed, excluding housewives and students. The term originally included young people who deliberately chose not to become salary-men, even though jobs were available at the time. > [@Jragon](#): > > I was simplifying a tad, and mushukyo having a different connotation is the best bet. I do know most of those facts, but I still think that honne and tatemae play at least a small role in the apparent discrepancy. After thinking about this more, I’ll go with (d) none of the above. It’s an example of bad survey questions. If you ask a typical Japanese “Are you Buddhist, Christian, Shintoist(?), Moslem, or _mushukyo_, you’ll get the answer _mushukyo_ which they are taking to mean “not a member of an organized religion.” If (generic) you then interpret that to mean “irreligious,” then that’s your problem, not Japanese giving _tatemae_ answers. If you want to know what Japanese feel about spirituality, then ask a question such as “Do you have a vague feeling that undefined “gods” or your ancestors somehow protect you, for which you are grateful, and you pray to them, but without a clearly defined creed?” Then my guess is that you will get a higher percentage who agree to that statement then the previous question. This is also not to say that Japanese are not masters of _honne_ and _tatemae_. Hearing how daughter-in-laws talk to their husbands’ mothers, you would never suspect they go back and write scathing comments on anonymous message boards. Oh wait, we do that one, too, except not nearly as well. This is an example of how hard it is to examine other cultures based on one’s own cultural biases. Another fallacy is to think that because “Action A” is an indication of “Attribute B” in ones own culture, people from another culture also have Attribute B if they are doing Action A. For example, I’m in Taiwan this week and it’s really nice how people give their seat on the subway or a bus which you’ve got a baby or toddler in tow. I took my daughter home from preschool yesterday, and she crashed in my arms. All the seats on the bus were occupied, including one of the priority seats by a young woman who was sleeping. In Japan, no one ever gives up seats for pregnant women, as my wife found out, or for parents of kids, but on the bus yesterday some middle aged lady woke the young woman up and told her to vacate the seat to me. Very much appreciated, and me 2 1/2 year old is getting heavier, and holding her on a moving bus is a job. Does this mean that Japanese are cold and uncaring and Taiwanese considerate and nice? Or does this mean that this is particularity of the two cultures in this specific example? ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 9:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/72 "2011-03-29T09:27:55Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > I’d have to disagree. In Korea, covering your mouth when you laugh is considered to be well-mannered and feminine. When I’m in the presence of elders that I’m not very close to, I will cover my mouth when I laugh out of habit. A lot of women I know do it when they’re in the presence of anyone outside of their close female friends. > > Also, I’m pretty sure that blackening your teeth in Japan died out in the 1800s. I doubt it would affect the habits of contemporary Japanese. It did. But at least from her and the women in her family’s point of view, the norm of covering one’s mouth endured even after the actual reason for it was no longer relevant. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/73 "2011-03-29T11:00:13Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > How? You aren’t wearing a dress code to fit in. You are doing it because someone in charge has mandated it. It’s not that, if you don’t wear it, you’ll be assumed to be bad at your job–it’s that you’ll be fired if you don’t. Do you prefer “dressing for an interview”, does it sound less imposed? Most of the companies I’ve worked for didn’t bother with written dressing codes, but one of the first things I do when I get to a new place is check out how everybody is dressed, and dress to fit. ---
**Author:** ![Khaki\_Campbell](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9de053/32.png) [@Khaki\_Campbell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khaki_Campbell)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/74 "2011-03-29T11:13:26Z")
> [@Gestalt](#): > > It seems like in general in Japan there seems to be more of an emphasis on youthfulness and naivete being attractive in women, as opposed to maturity and competence. Actually, all else being equal, it’s all about _boobs_. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 1:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/75 "2011-03-29T13:09:59Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > Japan and Asia as a whole is only a couple of generations removed from a feudalistic society. Pretty much since WW2. In simplistic terms, think samarai and peasants translated into modern corporate boss and cubicle slave terms. This is a lot different from the US experience. > [@Argent\_Towers](#): > > OK, this fact alone would indicate there are some vast differences in attitudes towards education between Japan and America. What, exactly, is the root of this difference in thought - the idea that something like that could be educational for kids? I think it was originally marketed as educational - teaching children about sexuality and reproduction, in a more direct way than had ever been done before. It was one of the few animes my wife was allowed, by her strict parents, to watch as a child. Here is the wikipedia to give you some background. > **[Marvelous Melmo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvelous_Melmo)** > > Marvelous Melmo (ふしぎなメルモ, Fushigi na Merumo) is a magical girl manga and anime by Osamu Tezuka. This series centered on Melmo, a nine-year-old girl whose mother is killed in an auto accident and has to then take care of her two younger brothers (Totoo and Touch). While in Heaven, the children's mother is given one wish. Her wish is that Melmo (the oldest out of her 3 children) will be allowed to grow up more quickly than usual, since their lives as children will be difficult without their parents... You can also find the old episodes on youtube by searching for “Marvelous Melmo”. Bear in mind that it was the 70’s. In terms of your original question “How different is Japanese culture and psychology” I would say that human psychology is pretty much the same everywhere, but culture is a different thing altogether. There are certainly many cultural differences in Japan, and they have been overly commented on by people from all walks of life and from many points in history, as I’m sure you know. As to the ‘why’ question - you have to resign yourself to the fact that no one will ever be able to answer that question to the satisfaction of everyone. We can speculate, but I, for one, don’t have any ideas that haven’t already been published. ---
**Author:** ![Lamia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Lamia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamia)\ **Post date:** [March 29, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/76 "2011-03-29T23:32:05Z")
> [@TokyoPlayer](#): > > This is an example of how hard it is to examine other cultures based on one’s own cultural biases. Another fallacy is to think that because “Action A” is an indication of “Attribute B” in ones own culture, people from another culture also have Attribute B if they are doing Action A. This is a great point, and I don’t think I’ve ever seen it stated this clearly before. > [@](#): > > In Japan, no one ever gives up seats for pregnant women, as my wife found out, or for parents of kids, but on the bus yesterday some middle aged lady woke the young woman up and told her to vacate the seat to me. I’m surprised to hear this because when I visited Kyoto I was asked (through gestures) to give up my seat on a crowded bus for a pregnant woman by an older woman I assume was the grandmother-to-be. But I guess she might have approached me instead of a Japanese passenger because she believed a foreigner would be more willing to give up a seat for a pregnant woman! She didn’t speak English so she wasn’t just using it as a chance to practice her English. ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 12:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/77 "2011-03-30T00:09:33Z")
I have a question for the Japan experts in this thread. What influence do you think ‘yamato nadeshiko’ or ‘yamato damashii’ have in current Japanese society? A link for the rest of us: [Yamato nadeshiko - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamato_nadeshiko) ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 1:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/78 "2011-03-30T01:37:57Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > It did. But at least from her and the women in her family’s point of view, the norm of covering one’s mouth endured even after the actual reason for it was no longer relevant. Are you sure it was only women? Wikipedia says it was done by aristocrats and even by the common folk for celebrations. Several sources I’ve read say it was considered aesthetically pleasing, which means women wouldn’t cover their mouths to hide it. Anyway, even if it is a leftover from those times, I doubt “contemporary Asian men” have reactions that are colored by obsolete customs. I’m pretty sure they would view it as Western men would - most find it cute and feminine, others find it annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Maeglin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8baadc/32.png) [@Maeglin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maeglin)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/79 "2011-03-30T02:03:52Z")
> [@HazelNutCoffee](#): > > Are you sure it was only women? Wikipedia says it was done by aristocrats and even by the common folk for celebrations. Several sources I’ve read say it was considered aesthetically pleasing, which means women wouldn’t cover their mouths to hide it. > > Anyway, even if it is a leftover from those times, I doubt “contemporary Asian men” have reactions that are colored by obsolete customs. I’m pretty sure they would view it as Western men would - most find it cute and feminine, others find it annoying. No, I’m not sure. My quick search of the tradition of ohaguro turns up that it was indeed mostly married women, though others did do it, too. Searching turns up some alternative explanations for mouth covering that seem to parallel the motivation for ohaguro. Contemporary people of all kinds have reactions colored by old customs that have lost their context. I don’t think this is such a revolutionary idea that it needs scare quotes. I have no prior beliefs about how Japanese men view covering one’s mouth, to be honest. I just don’t presume that they take it the same way as western men might. How Japanese society constructs masculinity and femininity seems like deep water to me and is not exactly covered in the Book of Tea. ---
**Author:** ![HazelNutCoffee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/ac91a4/32.png) [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)\ **Post date:** [March 30, 2011, 2:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782/80 "2011-03-30T02:53:09Z")
> [@Maeglin](#): > > I don’t think this is such a revolutionary idea that it needs scare quotes. Not sure what you mean by this. I was just quoting the specific phrase you used, and based on my experience as a Korean, objecting to the idea that > [@](#): > > Covering up one’s face while laughing suggests coyness and cutesy to a western man, but not to a contemporary Asian man. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-different-is-japanese-culture-and-psychology-really-from-the-west/575782.md?page=5)