Wisdom from a 25-year learner:
New words, and new uses of old words, appearing on this site:
For lack of a better word, "culturology" is what I label a particular brand of fascination with, and practice of, "cross-cultural comparison". (Suggestions for a better name are welcome!)
Not cultural comparison as it can be in theory: an objective, even interesting, examination of different cultures. Rather, I use "culturology" to mean cultural comparison as it too often appears in practice: subjective and unscientific nonsense, with a good story taking precedence over facts.
Or, for a pithier definition: Culturology is the dogged effort to dig up and exhibit "cultural differences" whether they exist or not.
The uncritical practitioners of culturology, whether academics, writers, or just general fans of "cultural difference" tales not hampered by critical examination.
This has a general meaning of "the study of things Japanese"; here I use it to mean culturology as applied to Japan. It's closely tied to Nihonjinron, with all negative connotations intact.
The uncritical believers – Japanese or otherwise – of elements of Japanology.
With a friendly nod to Japander.com, which has long applied the word to the commercial appearances of Hollywood stars in Japan, I use the verb in a way closer to the original "pander": to Japander is to tell the Japanologists the silliness they love to hear. "I think Japanese developed as the world's most complex language, thanks to Japan's unique four seasons" – that's Japandering.
"Any exposition pointing out 'cultural contrasts' must contain at least one bit of unsupported silliness."
"Any statement beginning with 'the Japanese' (or 'the French', 'Ghanaians', 'Asians', 'Westerners', whatever) is 99% certain to be a dumb statement."
Words like "Westerner" and "the East" may appear in quotes to emphasize their inherent silliness. A claim that "the Japanese" are baffled by some "Western mindset" regarding a "cultural difference" that doesn't even exist, is deserving of all those mocking quotes.
Hello! Regarding tone of the article, I'm tempted to suggest that you're responding with a tad more sensitivity than...
Hello. I think we're probably quite in agreement: as I note at the start of the article, if speakers of English want...
You asked if any "anime fans" had a response for your efforts to clarify the words "anime" and "manga". I'm not a...
This was informative but I can't help but be offended at the tone. It was pretty condescending, like the reader...
Hey, nothing else than that you wrote some very interresting stuff, and also thanks for the various links. Take care...
I'll have to leave it to experts to chime in on whether cursive alphabets constitute additional character sets or...
Very well argued post. I wanted to point out a few character sets that you glaringly omitted from English: cursive...
Great job debunking this!I love the number comparison of Japan vs. the US. Very salient.
Yet, if you compare the Japanese mentality to the Western European one, there is a very obvious...
I am also not convinced to read much into proverbs in general, especially dated ones.Yet, if you compare the...
Hello! Regarding tone of the article, I'm tempted to suggest that you're responding with a tad more sensitivity than is ideal for travels on the Internet, where the norm is snark (even good-natured snark, which is actually the case here). Then again, I've found myself to be a tone-deaf dork on more than one occasion, so I'll take your message as a helpful reminder to be attentive to how things read.
At the same time, though, there really isn't anything in the article chastising the generic passer-by who doesn't know about the Japanese writing system one way or another, and who doesn't go around making claims about it. There's absolutely nothing wrong with not knowing about some random and remote topic (especially one somewhat esoteric like this)!
I think the target of any finger-shaking is made pretty clear: people who apparently don't know what a writing system is but make claims about the topic anyway. People who proclaim "Japanese has an unbelievable three different writing systems!" in articles and even books, because they don't understand the topic they're writing about, or because they're repeating something heard without asking whether it's true. Is some fine or other nasty punishment warranted for these souls? Nah, that'd be ridiculous. Well, how about just a moment of mild eye-rolling snark on an unknown backwater blog? Sure, why not!
Regarding Arabic numerals: I'll have to fully disagree there; there's nothing in the article suggesting Arabic numerals are unique to English. My first mention of Arabic numbers is to note that they're part of Japanese! From there, I use English as an example of another language, but make no claims about further languages; sentences like "We all use lots of character sets" are a reminder that I'm not claiming anything as unique to either Japanese or English.
Still, I'll take the comment as a reminder to carefully consider whether my intent is likely to come through clearly to new visitors. Thanks for the thoughts!
Hello. I think we're probably quite in agreement: as I note at the start of the article, if speakers of English want to define some Japanese-derived word like Anime in a way not used in Japan, that's just fine. It's a new English word (or at least, a new English word used among some limited group of people). If I'm correcting anything, it's not this use of the new English word Anime (which isn't "wrong" any more than any other word is); I only correct a misconception that some people may have that the Japanese word anime means the same thing.
In shorter words: I only point out that Anime (new English word) and anime (older Japanese word) aren't quite the same thing. It's a bit of linguistic trivia, that's all.
So along those lines, I'd pick a quibble with the following:
Well, if speakers of Japanese define anime as inclusive of both Kimba and Popeye, then their use of anime for both is correct; no notion gets dispelled for them. At the same time, if you wish to define a new word English word Anime that includes one of those cartoons and excludes the other, that's fine too; if using that word, then yes, above notion gets dispelled for you.
But I think that's all clear in the article, and I'm repeating myself. Thanks for the insight into fans' acceptance of a new word.
(Incidentally, the first Japanese cartoon that I saw was also Star Blazers : ) And, yes, I clearly recognized that the style of art was something different from what I was used to seeing. I'm still happy calling it "cartoon" instead of "Anime", but I'm not going to jump on people who do the latter!)
You asked if any "anime fans" had a response for your efforts to clarify the words "anime" and "manga". I'm not a huge fan of either but I am familiar with them, having grown up in the age of Star Blazers (oh how I wanted a Wave-Motion Gun of my very own). Japanese-style comics and animation had a positive role on my growth as a young artist. They continue to influence me as a professional artist. Thank you for attempting to provide another viewpoint on the use of Japanese terms. While I understand the desire to correct people when they're working under false assumptions, I think I can provide some context for why Westerners use those terms the way they do.You said that, if you ever were to attend an "anime convention", you'd refer to the subject matter of the convention as "cartoons", regardless of how anyone felt, and you assumed you'd be recieved in a negative way. Fact is, people would probably ignore you. The Japanese may consider the terms "anime" and "manga" as generic lables. I don't think we're any different here, in the States, when we assume our definition of "freedom" is somehow universal. For the rest of the world "anime" and "manga" have become specific designations. Japanese animation and comics share similarities with their Western counterparts but have distinct differences in the style of art and of storytelling that sets them apart. Characters are handled differently, depicted according to cultural norms the rest of the world doesn't share. The Japanese may feel that Popeye the Sailor Man is an example of Anime. A quick comparison of a Fliescher cartoon and Kimba the White Lion is enough to dispell that notion. Your use of Superman as "manga" makes my point. The Japanese may consider him and his DC brethren "manga", but for the rest of the world he's emblematic of American-style comics, as different from Japanese comics as he is from European or Russian-style comic books.We all want to be heard clearly and represented accurately, at least in the sense of what we believe to be true (our views of ourselves not always jibing with reality). Once you put your work out into the world, however, it gets changed. That's part of the reality of being a professional artist but it's also a function of cultural interaction. That's why you'd probably be ignored at an anime convention. To you, you're correcting people's misunderstanding of a word. It's too late for that. "Anime", like "Manga", as been appropriated by the world and their meanings changed to suit. I'd just as soon not be treated like an escaped inmate from a zoo when I walk the streets of Tokyo (though it's probably closer to the bone than I'd like to admit). When I go tromping about in one of the most homogenous societies in the world, a 6'5" redheaded white boy, well, that's probably the way I'll be viewed, no matter how I feel about it.
This was informative but I can't help but be offended at the tone. It was pretty condescending, like the reader should just KNOW all this stuff and omg why do you have to explain it all out for us idiots, ugh. Also, you act like Arabic numerals are unique to English. They are not. Math is a universal language.Anyway, I'm off to find a more informative article about this that explains what the different sets are actually used for and doesn't treat me like I'm stupid.
Hey, nothing else than that you wrote some very interresting stuff, and also thanks for the various links. Take care.Rolf
I'll have to leave it to experts to chime in on whether cursive alphabets constitute additional character sets or additional styles of the same sets, but either way, your point is well-taken: Cursive represents yet more study that the well-rounded reader of English (etc.) will need to undertake. A dedicated calligrapher could probably toss in yet a few more twists. Without question, the more you look, the more complications appear in a written language!
However, I left cursive script out of the discussion because 1) as above, I'm not quite sure where it fits in with things, and 2) it holds just as true for Japanese (and Chinese, etc.). Using the Japanese terms, there's the semi-cursive gyosho style, and the cursive (and truly different) sosho style. (Here's a quick overview.) These fall under the heading of calligraphy, and perhaps would normally be called artistic styles, not additional character sets – but I can say from everyday experience that some form of these cursive characters (both kanji and kana) form part of the flowing, essentially cursive script people often use in normal handwriting in Japan (especially when writing vertically).
(Incidentally, such handwriting is why I refute the occasional claim that "stroke order" in Japanese, Chinese, etc. is a meaningless exercise in rote memorization. Order may not matter to the end results when writing in clear kaisho "block" style, but in a more flowing style, wrong stroke order can create an illegible mess.)
So however cursive and artistic styles fit into things, I see them equally as issues for English, Japanese, and no doubt many other languages. My big-picture view remains this: The English and Japanese writing systems are essentially of the same complexity in terms of number of character sets and other general matters – with one huge difference: the added complexity of Chinese characters in Japanese. (All of which still makes for one writing system for each language, of course!)
In any case, your basic point is right: there's more to writing than initially meets the eye! Sometimes I'm amazed we learn it at all. : )
Very well argued post. I wanted to point out a few character sets that you glaringly omitted from English: cursive. Both in capital and lower case variants. And with cursive no longer mandatory in many school programs the "literacy" of many to read and write cursive has dwindled among young people.
Great job debunking this!I love the number comparison of Japan vs. the US. Very salient.
Possibly a perfectly sane statement, if followed up with specifics that make sense and are demonstrable.
However:
Setting aside the laughable absolutism of that claim, I'll address its conflict with real-life situations and actions (which are what interest me).
Would I do well in European business by joining a conservative company and then openly flouting its internal culture? Could I join the priesthood and announce my own "individualistic" interpretations of dogma, to the nodding approval of the Vatican? Would a European military enlist me as a soldier and then give me an "oh, you rascal" hair-tousle and a smile when I show up for duty in waist-length dreadlocks, purple Birkenstocks, and my hand-made, tie-dyed Nehru "uniform"?
No to all. Actions by individuals that differ from the actions of the surrounding group or majority are encouraged, accepted, and/or allowed up to some point, in any human society – including in Europe.
Nonsense. Whether "being a rebel" in Japan – or anywhere – is cool or not depends on what exactly that entails. Generally speaking, if "rebel" means acting like an ass and bothering people, it won't be cool. If it means pushing for change that people actually want, it may be cool (or even revered). And then there's plenty of gray area in between those.
In the mid 19th century, Ryoma Sakamoto was a young rebel. "Clothing and poses"? Well, yes, he did idiosyncratically combine samurai wear with "Western" garb (an oddity at the time) – but also decided to overthrow Japan's feudal Shogunate and create a modern nation, inspired in part by US democracy. (Rebel enough for you?)
Sakamoto left his clan (a huge social no-no), adopted foreign business practices to establish Japan's first modern company (and get the Imperial Navy started while he was at it), formed impossible-seeming alliances between warring clans, and created the plan that led to resignation of the Shogun and soon afterward the Meiji Restoration, arguably the most important event in Japan's history.
Visionary, leader, outspoken individual, and capital-R Rebel, this guy is one of Japan's most admired, quoted ("A hero should go his own way!"), "cool" historical figures (the focus of dozens of movies, novels, biographies, TV series, comic series, museums, and more).
Being a deep-down rebel in Japan can be uncool, or can be awesomely ultra-cool. That's how it works with humans!
I am also not convinced to read much into proverbs in general, especially dated ones.Yet, if you compare the Japanese mentality to the Western European one, there is a very obvious difference in the judgement and value of individualism. Europeans see individualism as an absolute positive with no bad connotations. People who fight for more extreme expressions of individualism are seen as some kind of cool, cultural elite, and are unanimously looked up to.Most Japanese see individualism as something that can be good, but should not be overdone in order to not disturb the harmony. Being a rebel in Japan is not cool when the rebellion reaches deeper than clothing and poses.
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