For our Dopers in Japan:
There is a gesture I’ve seen performed many, many, many times by young Japanese girls/women in photos and videos that involves making two fists and holding them side-by-side under the chin with the back of the hands facing outward. (See it at 1:36 in this video.) Sometimes there’s a downward “pulling” motion.
What does this gesture mean/represent, if anything?
Hmm… I’m not entirely sure, but I’ll take a stab at it.
I think there’s a few things it could be. I think in this situation it’s just a ‘look at how kawaii (cute) I am’ gesture. Secondly, I think it can be used as a sign of enthusiasm. Third, and here I’m totally guessing, maybe it can be used as a gesture of ‘yatta!’ (I did it hurray).
I think the idea is that you’re hugging something to your chest, like a stuffed animal or something. Certainly it’s meant as a “cute” thing.
As to the video itself…scary.
I am going to second the “look at how kawaii I am” gesture.
It’s like trying to read too much into the whole peace sign thing. It’s not so much of a gesture as it is a case of “Oh, crap, picture time, picture time? I don’t know how to pose! Uhhhhh, OH GOSH I JUST PUT MY HANDS UNDER MY CHIN THAT WAS CUTE! Crisis averted!”
I have an incredibly effeminate (read flamin’) male friend who often uses that pose when his picture is taken.
I’m at work at the moment, and the school has Youtube blocked, so I cannot view that video, so I admit I’m going without the OP’s provided context.
Hmm. I guess that’s kinda what I figured - it’s just one of those “cute” things.
Really? How so? Just a girl posing for a photographer …
Oh, and Mister Rik, between this and your reply in this CS thread , I must warn you that you are displaying some major signs of Japanophilia. As one who also suffers from intermittent bouts of this debilitating disease, allow me to offer my support. I’m only half-joking.
I wish I were a Japanophile. All the foreigners I know here have reasons (not necessarily good ones, but reasons all the same) for living here. Some have family here (mostly South Americans), some like anime/jpop/jgirls/jboys/etc, some have a profound and very specific interest in the culture and/or language (Japanophiles). Me? I dunno.
When people ask me why I learned Japanese and moved to Japan I can only say, “Well, it seemed more interesting than not learning Japanese and not moving to Japan?” :smack:
It says 18 year old schoolgirl, but I’m guessing she’s nearer to 30. Mid to late 20s, at least.
Oh, mercy, now I’m really glad I didn’t see the video.
That’s all fine and dandy, but that wasn’t really the nuance I was going for with the word ‘Japanophile.’ Perhaps the quasi-slur ‘weeaboo’ is more precise. I’m not saying Rik is one, just that it’s possible.
Ah, weeaboos. I like to pretend they don’t exist. “Fetishizing the other” makes me sad. 
Don’t tell me you’ve been here this long and these are the only two J-posts of mine you’ve seen! And actually, I made three Japan-related posts today (here’s the other). 
Actually, I was considering a fourth Japan-related post. I went shopping for professional kitchen knives today (seeing as how I’m a chef) and as I browsed the displays I found myself wondering, “What the hell is up with all these freakin’ santoku knives?” Seriously, the santoku knives outnumbered all the other kinds of knives combined. All I can figure is santoku knives must be currently trendy amongst Iron Chef viewers or something.
Wait, weeaboo? 
Honestly, my interest in Japan is mostly limited at this point to a handful of J-pop artists I enjoy, primarily aiko, ZONE, MARIA, and High & Mighty Color. I like those artists because they’re good. I’ve been accused in the past of liking aiko because she’s “cute” (though ironically I’ve never seen her — or any of the above-named artists — perform the gesture mentioned in my OP), but truthfully I fell in love with her music long before I ever saw a picture of her. I accidentally stumbled upon some guy’s personal web page and he had a few aiko MP3s posted, so I decided to check them out. I was hooked immediately and of course I tried to find more. Alas, it was very early in her career (this was in 2000) and so her Web presence was extremely sparse, at least as far as English-language sites. Of course, she’s easier to find now, and I happily discovered yesasia.com and I’ve been able to purchase several of her CDs from them. And now she’s all over YouTube.
I will readily confess, though, that my original interest in Japan was inspired by the Asian scan “industry” (you know, those expert scanners who scan photobooks and post the pics on Usenet). My interest in Japanese women was rooted in a couple things: I prefer smaller-breasted women in general and pictures of American women fitting that description just weren’t showing up on the Internet in any large numbers during my first few years online. The other thing that caught my attention was the fact that Japanese women smile when they’re getting their picture taken, instead of the Western tradition of looking grim and serious in an attempt to appear “sophisticated” or else looking like skanky ho’s with perpetual “I’m in heat” facial expressions. I find the Japanese fists-under-the-chin gesture more pleasant to look at that the American make-a-V-with-two-fingers-and-stick-your-tongue-between-them gesture. And I’m not even talking about porn - I’m referring to photos of attractive women in general. As it happens, Western women with the body types etc. that I prefer are much easier to find these days, and I can’t even remember the last time I browsed my collection of KuniScans. As for the video linked in my OP, hey c’mon - cute girl in a short skirt. Who doesn’t like that?
My best friend is a big anime fan, and I’ve enjoyed a couple series such as Death Note and The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya, but most of it is just “meh” to me. I’ve got no plans to learn the Japanese language, and from what I know of Japanese cuisine I don’t think I’d like that either (I don’t care for seafood at all). I do enjoy learning Japanese history, though. My favorite baseball player is Japanese (Ichiro), but that’s because he’s freakin’ good, and he plays for my team.
Now, I have a [female] cousin who is into all things Japanese. She went so far as to take four years of Japanese language in high school and is now, I think, in her fourth year of studying it in college. She’s been to Japan 2-3 times, and is quite the origami artist (I never knew it was possible to fold a paper crane that’s less than 1/4" inch across …)
Wow. A simple ‘no’ would have sufficed 
But seriously, it’s nice talking to other people with interests in Japanese stuff. I guess I got a little grouchy because I come across as borderline weeaboo to some people at times. I’m like your cousin in that I’ve studied the language, traveled there, can do some Japanese art things, etc etc. I don’t like things purely because they are Japanese though. Not anymore at least!
Actually, I’ve been listening to a lot of Japanese music lately. For your trouble, here are some other bands that you might like even without knowing the words:
Bennie K (Dreamland), Keiko Matsui (Light above the Trees), Ikimono Gakari (Blue Bird), Aya Hirano (God Knows), Ayaka Hirahara (Reset), L’Arc en Ciel (Ready! Steady! Go), Asian Kung-Fu Generation (Rewrite), The Ulfuls (Ashita ga aru), Kyu Sakamoto (ue wo muite arukou).
Well, I could go on, but the above list of songs covers like eight different genres. Enjoy!
I don’t?
And don’t worry, nobody is calling you a weaboo… yet. 
Also, I don’t think you have ever seen Aiko performing that gesture because she’s probably already been coached on how to pose for cameras. The people who most often do these “quick-oh-gosh-need-a-pose” jobs aren’t in a professional photoshoot for the PR campaign connected with their latest album. Rather, we’re all just part of the unwashed masses, taking a pic to put on our Facebooks, Mixis, and cell phones. We don’t have professional photographers giving us any better ideas.
When was the last time you saw a major US pop/rock star taking a picture of himself with his Coolpix, arm stretched way up in the air with contrast and flash cranked up high to hide all his blemishes while he looks forlornly in the other direction as if he didn’t realize he’s taking his own picture?
It could also be that aiko was 24 years old when her first album came out - not 14-15 like most of the Japanese pop singers I’ve come across. So she was perhaps past all that. Of course, aiko is also one of the few female singers (of any ethnicity) I’ve seen who doesn’t play up her sexuality. From watching her live performances and music videos she seems to prefer to let her music stand on its own merits. (She also appears to have the figure of a malnourished 12-year-old boy, so maybe she realizes that trying to do “sexy” would do more harm than good )
I’ll bet if I could find dozens of pics of Morning Musume girls or their clones doing gestures like that, as well as truckloads of photos of gravure idols like Aki Hoshino doing it also. It’s not a question of being professional, it’s strictly one of image: Akiko is cute, but she’s not an air-head “girl”.
I’ll agree with this.
It’s a very ‘young girl’ gesture - something I’d expect to see from a teenager or young woman trying to emphasize her youth.
In the latter case, specifically, I’d be surprised to find it wasn’t a deliberate affectation - from a performer, particularly.
Ah, okay, I’ll buy this.
I guess I just don’t look at enough pictures of girls/idols/etc
Howdy, fellow Washingtonian. 
Yes, santoku are very trendy, and no, you probably don’t want one. They are excellent for extremely specific applications, but poor for general use. I don’t recommend them unless you’ve already acquired the five or six more-common knife types for the professional collection (eight inch chef’s, ten inch chef’s, paring, bread, boning, and maybe a slicer). A lot of people buy one and then find it uncomfortable/awkward to use, and wind up leaving it untouched in the block.
Oh, and speaking of slicers, since you mentioned it on your blog, the one you want is this. You can get it online, or at a better restaurant supply outfit.
Not to, uh, hijack your thread or anything. 
So maybe it’s the rough equivalent of the American gesture where the model, with an “innocent” look on her face, touches her index finger to her lower lip. Usually it’s a 20-something model in pigtails wearing a Catholic schoolgirl uniform. It’s a gesture I don’t think I’ve ever seen in “real life”, but for whatever reason it instantly conveys the message, “I’m young! And innocent!” I suspect it’s one of those stage-acting gestures developed in the era before movies that has worked its way into the American subconscious - similar to a woman covering her mouth with the back of her hand to indicate fear/horror. Big gestures that were mainly for the benefit of audience members sitting too far from the stage to read the actors’ facial expressions. And now that I think about it, I don’t recall ever seeing a Japanese model using the finger-to-lip gesture.
Actually, I already have a cheap one. I picked it up at the grocery store for $26 some months ago just because I needed a big sharp kitchen knife at home and the santoku was all the store had. I rarely do the kind of cooking at home that requires fancy knives (like most professional cooks I know, I get quite enough of cooking at work, so at home it’s ramen, frozen pizza, and microwave burritos, thank you) but once in a while I need to slice or chop something and all my roommate has are small, extremely dull, serrated knives.
Sweet! But out of stock, darn it. I was hoping to find one this week because I’ll be carving prime rib, roast turkey, and ham on the Thanksgiving buffet line on Thursday. I’ll just have to use the house knife this time. Which is okay - we have a nice sharp one that the Executive Chef keeps aside (i.e. not in the knife drawer) for those times when we need to carve on a buffet line.
