# "Japanese people have no souls"? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 21, 2009, 2:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735 "2009-07-21T14:25:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**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:** [July 22, 2009, 3:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/21 "2009-07-22T15:33:31Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > So translate precisely what it says into English. Knowing that it’s a cite for what I said, you know what it says, but sure. The third paragraph is: His son, Hikoma Ueno (1838-1904), opened a camera store in Nagasaki and became Japan’s first professional cameraman. At first, people said, “If you get your photo taken, it will suck out your soul.” And there was not very many people who would want their picture taken. But in 1874, Hikoma took Japan’s first picture of the night sky and pictures of the West-South War–letting people know how the war went–and continued to work towards gaining acceptance of the device. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/22 "2009-07-23T02:55:58Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Sure you would. No show could ever get away with blatant Jew-bashing like that if it wasn’t created by a Jew. If I ever hear a Jew joke cracked on any program, it’s a pretty sure bet the person who wrote it was Jewish. That’s true. One should always consider the source. A Jewish man telling Jewish jokes; that’s funny. But a Nazi telling the same jokes? Well, suddenly that’s not so funny anymore. ---
**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:** [July 23, 2009, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/23 "2009-07-23T03:19:55Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That’s true. One should always consider the source. A Jewish man telling Jewish jokes; that’s funny. But a Nazi telling the same jokes? Well, suddenly that’s not so funny anymore. Hitler: So ze Jewish Samurai, he slices ze air wiss hiz katana but ze fly eet is still zere! And zen ze lord looks at him unt he says, “Eet is still zere. Why did you not kill ze fly?” And ze Jew, he says, “Ahah, but look closely lord, you vill see zat he has lost his left nut.” Zem damn Jews. ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/24 "2009-07-23T04:10:09Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Perhaps its a commentary on Buddhism. Buddhism rejects the soul or atman. The only thing that one carries after death is one’s karma, which is not the same as the soul in other religions. So, Buddhists can be seen as not believing in having souls. But… isn’t the whole essence of the idea of reincarnation a belief in an immortal soul? > [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Hitler: So ze Jewish Samurai, he slices ze air wiss hiz katana but ze fly eet is still zere! And zen ze lord looks at him unt he says, “Eet is still zere. Why did you not kill ze fly?” And ze Jew, he says, “Ahah, but look closely lord, you vill see zat he has lost his left nut.” > > Zem damn Jews. Haha, yes. Still funny. ---
**Author:** ![HorseloverFat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/8e8cbc/32.png) [@HorseloverFat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HorseloverFat)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/25 "2009-07-23T04:59:18Z")
> [@](#): > > But… isn’t the whole essence of the idea of reincarnation a belief in an immortal soul? Reincarnation (hinduism) and rebirth (buddhism) are two different concepts. Its explained somewhat here: > **[Buddhism and Death](https://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/walshe/wheel261.html)** ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/26 "2009-07-23T15:22:46Z")
> [@Rigamarole](#): > > Sure you would. No show could ever get away with blatant Jew-bashing like that if it wasn’t created by a Jew. If I ever hear a Jew joke cracked on any program, it’s a pretty sure bet the person who wrote it was Jewish. You’re right. And OTTOMH, I can’t recall any instance of a South Park character insulting Japan or the Japanese prior to Trey’s marrying one. ---
**Author:** ![Isamu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/7c8e57/32.png) [@Isamu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Isamu)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/27 "2009-07-23T15:27:51Z")
> [@The\_Scrivener](#): > > You’re right. And OTTOMH, I can’t recall any instance of a South Park character insulting Japan or the Japanese prior to Trey’s marrying one. Was **Merry Fucking Christmas** prior to Trey’s marriage? Now I heard that in Japan Everyone just lives in sin They pray to several gods And put needles in their skin. On December 25th All they do is eat a cake And that is why I go to Japan And walk around and say… Hey there Mr. Shintoist Merry fucking Christmas God is going to kick your ass You infidelic pagan scum. ---
**Author:** ![Bisected8](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a4c791/32.png) [@Bisected8](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bisected8)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/28 "2009-07-23T15:39:25Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > That’s true. One should always consider the source. A Jewish man telling Jewish jokes; that’s funny. But a Nazi telling the same jokes? Well, suddenly that’s not so funny anymore. I’m quite sure that Germans in general telling jokes don’t tend to be particularly humerous in the first place. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![The\_Scrivener](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@The\_Scrivener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Scrivener)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2009, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/29 "2009-07-23T15:59:47Z")
For the record, “Merry Fucking Christmas” was aired in Season 3 (about 12 years ago), and Trey married Emma Sugiyama in January, 2006 – in a ceremony conducted by Norman Lear, of all people. [Link.](http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391792/index.htm) And Mr. Garrison is the biggest D-bag in all of South Park (John Edwards notwithstanding), which is saying something. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 3:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/30 "2009-07-24T03:26:20Z")
> [@Bisected8](#): > > I’m quite sure that Germans in general telling jokes don’t tend to be particularly humerous in the first place. 😉 But you VILL laugh … OR ELSE! ---
**Author:** ![Alex\_Dubinsky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dbc845/32.png) [@Alex\_Dubinsky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alex_Dubinsky)\ **Post date:** [July 24, 2009, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/31 "2009-07-24T04:16:09Z")
> [@HorseloverFat](#): > > Reincarnation (hinduism) and rebirth (buddhism) are two different concepts. Its explained somewhat here: > > [Buddhism and Death](http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/walshe/wheel261.html) It seems more of a quibble about the definition of “soul.” The article asserts a belief in a continuation of consciousness from life to life. It’s certainly different from what a Christian might believe (an energy-like being that uses a body as a shell), but it’s within the bounds of what a philosopher might think. In fact, I find myself agreeing with a lot of the Buddhist viewpoints, and at least I had always considered “soul” to really be what the article is explaining. (Btw, I think when someone claims that animals, blacks, rocks, etc don’t have souls they’re saying that they don’t even have consciousness – that they don’t experience anything, do not feel pain. This is used as justification for cruelty.) ---
**Author:** ![vpprof](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/46a35a/32.png) [@vpprof](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/vpprof)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2011, 10:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/32 "2011-03-01T22:58:38Z")
Sorry to necropost like this but actually one idea springs to my mind about the source of the joke that Japanese have no souls. Well, it is common knowledge (Richard Tames’s books amongst really many many others) that the christianisation of Japan back in the 16th cent. did not go as smoothly as it was meant to. Not delving into the details much further, let us note that the Japanese language has actually been called a Satan’s invention by the early missionaries, owing mostly to the fact that they found it extremely hard to learn… My knowledge of the history of the Catholic Church is unfortunately insufficient and I don’t know if any such idea (that Japanese have no souls) has arisen, so… anyone thinks it may be a good guess nevertheless? ---
**Author:** ![user\_hostile](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/user_hostile/32/474_2.png) [@user\_hostile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/user_hostile)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/33 "2011-03-02T04:53:48Z")
I went to the Japanese link and had Google “translate”. Boy, what a hoot! > [@](#): > > 'm Not even Japanese defeat. Edo (Edo), known as the inventor Gennai Hiraga era (1728 - 1779 hiragana not atomic), the glasses attached to the box, which is said to have caught on to the landscape view mirror experiment. > [@](#): > > European countries there is a pecking Ai just bought the camera came from the Netherlands, Nagasaki (Nagasaki), Susumu Toshiyuki Ueno (Ueno and Yunnojou) was a merchant clock. > [@](#): > > At that time, from the Edo period in Japan lasted longer, a new era of change milestone Japan. Samurai (bushi), at the end of the era of war or due to a variety of intense (bald), swing Shiku (Yu) had been working. Served as the leader of a new era (and quickly), some people were, “I do not know when to die” feeling that I was becoming. New era, the leaders had advanced the study of foreign countries, and I’ll die anyway if a picture, I’m going to take a picture now Ueno Hikoma away. I should turn this in as an example of post modern free-style writing the next time I show up to an English class. It deserves an A for originality. ---
**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 2, 2011, 5:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/34 "2011-03-02T05:52:50Z")
It’s a common myth that the Japan have no soul, but [they do in reality](http://blogs.yahoo.co.jp/k_soulman/4114009.html). ---
**Author:** ![Autolycus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/22d042/32.png) [@Autolycus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Autolycus)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 9:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/35 "2011-03-02T09:28:34Z")
After a samurai, the next image that pops up on google search for “the soul of Japan” is [this](http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.adbusters.org/files/imagecache/splash_image/magazine/splash_image/soulofjapan_splash.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.adbusters.org/magazine/84/soul-japan.html&usg=__ke31gj1ofSGKRU2KPliBqjfivKw=&h=360&w=668&sz=57&hl=en&start=0&sig2=N34VmyHy4t7M0yfOCAjsUg&zoom=1&tbnid=4hjelSjHkCqFYM:&tbnh=112&tbnw=207&ei=HA1uTZLqMqfEcMOujdkM&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dthe%2Bsoul%2Bof%2Bjapan%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DX%26biw%3D1920%26bih%3D1079%26tbs%3Disch:1%26prmd%3Divns&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=351&vpy=118&dur=259&hovh=165&hovw=306&tx=151&ty=80&oei=HA1uTZLqMqfEcMOujdkM&page=1&ndsp=69&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0) :eek: ---
**Author:** ![JpnDude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/838e76/32.png) [@JpnDude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JpnDude)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/36 "2011-03-02T12:03:36Z")
Japan has no soul, SOUTH KOREA does. (Seoul) 😃 Yeah, yeah. I’ll keep my day job. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/37 "2011-03-02T14:30:12Z")
> [@Sage\_Rat](#): > > Hitler: So ze Jewish Samurai, he slices ze air wiss hiz katana but ze fly eet is still zere! And zen ze lord looks at him unt he says, “Eet is still zere. Why did you not kill ze fly?” And ze Jew, he says, “Ahah, but look closely lord, you vill see zat he has lost his left nut.” Funnier: “Ahah, but look closely lord, you vill see zat he iz now Jewish.” ---
**Author:** ![SmithCommaJohn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecd19e/32.png) [@SmithCommaJohn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SmithCommaJohn)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2011, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/38 "2011-03-02T17:43:11Z")
It was just a throwaway joke. In the South Park universe, God and Satan exist. The creators use this conceit for humor, having God or representatives of God make statements implying that most or all major religions are completely wrong. For example, in one episode (more than one, I believe) an angel informs everyone in Hell that the Mormons have got it right, and they’re the only people who go to heaven (and it turns out that Heaven is really boring and slightly annoying because it’s full of Mormons). Also, this is what God (who identifies himself as a Buddhist) looks like in the SP universe: [http://www.skierpage.com/images/southparkgod.jpg](http://www.skierpage.com/images/southparkgod.jpg) I think they just really like to make fun of religion. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [March 3, 2011, 1:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/39 "2011-03-03T01:51:01Z")
White men can’t jump. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [March 6, 2011, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735/40 "2011-03-06T01:41:31Z")
> [@SmithCommaJohn](#): > > It was just a throwaway joke. In the South Park universe, God and Satan exist. > > The creators use this conceit for humor, having God or representatives of God make statements implying that most or all major religions are completely wrong. > > For example, in one episode (more than one, I believe) an angel informs everyone in Hell that the Mormons have got it right, and they’re the only people who go to heaven (and it turns out that Heaven is really boring and slightly annoying because it’s full of Mormons). > > Also, this is what God (who identifies himself as a Buddhist) looks like in the SP universe: [http://www.skierpage.com/images/southparkgod.jpg](http://www.skierpage.com/images/southparkgod.jpg) > > I think they just really like to make fun of religion. I thought they liked to make fun of _everybody_. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/japanese-people-have-no-souls/503735.md?page=1)