I live in a rural town in Japan with a rich history and important connections to Japanese foundation mythology. People are working their asses off to keep their culture from disappearing because these rural towns are literally disappearing. They want tourists to come experience the traditional art, learn about the…

Yeah, people always look horrified when I say I don’t talk to my real father and that I don’t even know if he is alive. Believe me, I gave that POS plenty of chances—and what I learned again and again was that he only wanted a relationship with me to try and scam me in some new way.

True. People talk about how children deserve to have a relationship with both parents—but that’s hardly an unmitigated good. As a child, I was told it was important to have a good relationship with my father, but no one told me that he had to care about that for it to actually happen. Otherwise, I kept wondering why I…

It was actually commissioned by a Japanese pop artist, Takashi Murakami.

/waiting for all the ‘demisexuals’ to come piling in, lol

but much worse he talks bad about me to our four year old daughter.

I think as he learned and understood the Japanese culture the fetishness of it morphed into a deep respect and longing to learn more and live within it. Many times when things are fresh and new there is a risk of fetishizing things.

Bravo to you for knowing the great Lafcadio Hearn! 

Right!

What I find funny about that is that when people in japan were shown that issue, and afterwards they were asked if they were offended, Buzzfeed Japan going as far as to try and convince them they should be, but a poll taken by that very website shows that of the 11,000 that answered the question, 9% were offended and…

What if you really think you’re turning Japanese, though?

Wheaton’s Law: “Don’t be a dick”. The best rule.

You’re aware of the melt-down Korean Samsung had when American Samsung outdid them in Galaxy phone sales? They were pissed off that the phone did so well, because . . . hey, they should have known not to show up the boss. My host brother works for them in Suwon, and they’ve three or four times now sent him to Huston…

Excellent post. I would personally add people educating themselves as well.

What about when “home cultures” treat a cultural symbol with less respect than people from outside that cultural group are expected to give it? That has always been the...sticking point here for me. Like, sure, ceremonial headdress? Yeah let’s not. Kimono which people in Japan just treat like a fancy dress would be…

踊り犬病

Hey, I visited Saga once!

LOL. Yes, but only a Japanese child can say hello properly. I used to call it “dancing dog syndrome.” People weren’t amazed that I was doing something (supposedly exclusively Japanese) well, they were amazed that I was doing it at all.

But on the other hand... it’s a burrito.

One is supposed to listen to the reasoning on all sides, consider possible motivations, and listen to their own conscience, which is hopefully equipped with empathy.