Forum - View topic[Off-Topic] Are you a Wapanese?
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Amasa
 Posts: 340 Location: Japan |
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Yeah I understand that completely, but saying it at an anime forum isn't too radical. In fact I've been very interested by the different responses this thread has received. Most people have admitted to loving Japanese culture and everything Japanese but have denied the terms that I suggested.
That's a very fair statement. The word Japanophile and even Wapanese don't sound very nice. In all situations where lots of different people like one thing and are collectivised under one term - most of them will reject it and most likely take offense to be being labeled. I completely understand that even if it does make matters a little more complex than they have to be. What bothers me is that a lot of people in this thread have been so quick to judge all Wapanese people. Lots of people have decided that anyone who admits to having a bizarre love for Japan is automatically stupid, ignorant and that they know nothing about anything important to do with Japan.
Now this made me laugh! I don't want to create any hostility here but I'd imagine that anyone who has a lot of interest in one thing would tend to know a fair amount of that thing. I'm not saying that there aren't people out there who are obsessed with Hello Kitty and think that Japan is a field of cute kittens (to be honest I'm not actually sure what Hello Kitty is about). I'm sure there's lots of ignorant Japanophiles, but for someone to be so intensely amazed by another culture is an indication that they're probably not that close-minded - especially in the case of Japan since it is vastly different from America, Australia and Europe.
Please allow me some privacy. I think it's quite obvious that moving countries is a very complex matter and I just can't really be bothered explaining to you every reason and explanation of my decision to experience a place outside of my home town. Clearly there are other factors involved, not only that I love cartoons. To be honest I think that your statement is fairly ignorant, sure you made it sound okay because you're "just simply generalizing here" but still - could you please retain at least some reason in your argument.
Hehe, I'm quite aware that these cultures exist and there isn't a doubt in my mind that they're just as fascinating as Japan or anywhere else. I would never say that "this culture is better than that one" and by the term "rich" I meant the intensity of it all in such a small country on the side of the world (please don't over-analyze that  ). Just because I am a lot more interested in Japan doesn't mean that I think that all other ancient cultures are inferior. It's just my personal preference and it doesn't really have anything to do with my education, or how well I know the details of the lives of the Ancient Greeks and Romans. I think that
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Please don't get the wrong impressions and think that I'm some sort of Wapanese Ambassador or anything, I'm fairly weak on the Japanometer anyway since my love for everything Japanese was only recently discovered - quite a while after my introduction to anime. At this point I can't decide whether the term Wapanese has caused more discussion or my mistake of using the word "rich", but I hope that none of this is taken personally by anyone since I think my opening post is quite innocent and I still fully support what I've said in this thread  .
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Iwatch2muchanime
 Posts: 1291 |
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So, what you're trying to tell me is, that Japan isn't a field of kittens? BULL |
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Amasa
Posts: 340 Location: Japan |
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Demonic kittens that have managed to transform into items of clothing and are now appearing in mainstream shops all over the world! We need the elite Japanese samurai to sail across the Pacific Ocean on their heavily engineered bullet-proof jet propeller laze beam suits. Only then can we be freed from the brain wash that has overtaken our dilapidated planet.
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Iwatch2muchanime
Posts: 1291 |
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Again. Japan isn't a field of kittens? BULL!!
 Ya i'm pretty sure these last 3 posts will be gone.........but i'm going to bed now, no worries of spam/trolling from ME!!
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Viga_of_stars
 Posts: 1240 Location: Washington D.C. in the Anime Atelier |
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this topic took a weird turn plus everyone knows japan is filled with magical girls and kung fu goku people. |
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Keonyn
 Subscriber Posts: 5567 Location: Coon Rapids, MN |
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Yes, yes it did, and let's turn it back on course because I'd hate to have to lock it. So as a quick reminder:
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Azathrael
 Posts: 745 |
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I never said anything about close-mindedness. Nor is it correct to use the word "ignorant" in my context, as that implies no understanding, as compared to misunderstanding. Simply put, in the perspective of someone who's studying Japanese culture or someone who's living in Japan and know what the culture is like, those who claim to know that they have "a general idea" of what Japanese society is like from only anime, is pretty ridiculous. What kind of significance is in that observation? One great example is the word "otaku", where the meaning and connotation has been completely changed from the Japanese meaning, which could be used as something like "nature otaku", to now imply nerd/geek/loser. In fact, someone could probably come up with a great thesis that Americans are adapting Japanese words as slang more than any other language due to the influence of Japanese media. /PS: "tansu" means "chest (of drawers)" |
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B-chan
 Posts: 2 Location: Charleston, SC |
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Depends on your idea of wapanese.
If your definition of wapanese is "American that likes Japanese culture" than yes, I would be one. But, if you're definition is "American that has a total illusion of Japanese culture" than I'm not one. I always though that a wapanese was someone who used kanji on forums o__o. |
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10円
Posts: 605 |
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It takes a lot of hard work to be successful in another country outside of where you were raised, especially in a relatively closed society like Japan. I only know a handful of people who have lived there, but most of them found it more stressful and less rewarding than they had originally hoped. In fact the only one I can think of that really enjoyed it worked in the armed forces and lived on a US base, which is hardly the same thing as living and working in Japan. In all honesty, you probably won't get much relevant discussion on this thread, it's mostly wannabes on here*, but if you look around there are other forums where people talk far more intelligently about moving to Japan and what it meant to them and their families. Take what you hear on anime forums with a grain of salt; they tend to have too much fluff and not enough substance when it comes to discussing complex topics like expatriating.
*Yes, even including me. Last edited by 10円 on Sat Jan 27, 2007 4:44 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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hentai4me
 Posts: 1313 Location: England. Robin is so Cute! |
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And of course physics, chemistry and biology are all in the 'fiction' section |
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NGE1113
 Posts: 1081 Location: Alexandria, VA. |
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I'll admit that anime itself introduced me to facets of Japanese culture that I found interesting. Later on, because of that, I did a bit of studying to clarify some things that puzzled me. But at the end of the day, such things weren't enough to make me consider that the culture I grew up in wasn't inherently flawed compared to Japanese culture; all cultures have their flaws. At the end of the day, even though parts of the Japanese culture fascinate me, I wouldn't make myself out to be a Japanophile.
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Shii
 Posts: 110 |
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You're right, I think this is a very serious subject. After all anyone who objects to someone liking Japan is being racist and cannot accept people's hobbies and tastes. Terms such as "Wapanese" and "Japanophile" must be turned around and used against these evildoers and haters of freedom. Personally when I came out of the closet and told my parents I was a chibi neko-chan they looked at me as if I was no longer of their sperm and ova. But that's okay, I am happy together boyfriend (who is a kawaii bishie!). We have a lot of friends in and outside of the fandom and I am pretty kakkoii and good looking. |
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mistress_reebi
Posts: 735 Location: Canada |
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Wow, this topic is turning into a debate. I'm not a Wapanese because I don't say random Japanese words and I don't live and breathe anime; I have a life. I do like the Japanese culture and their history, than again I love history and I like a lot of different cultures. I'm a culture fanattic that would eat anything from anywhere. I'd love to learn a bunch of languages too. Some Wapanese scare me, especially at conventions when you can see a huge crowd of them.
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Masanova
Posts: 2 |
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Oh my..
Someone showed me this thread, and I basically felt the need to put in my .02. Japan is exactly like any other country, with its ups and downs. Certainly for foreigners like us, there's bound to be more downs than ups, so unless you can deal with the fact that people will be staring at you on trains (the more foreign you look, the more you get stared at), if you're a girl, there's a possibility of being groped on trains (it's happened to a friend of mine), and overall just segregated. Japan, for being such a "high tech" country, is still pretty backwards in the fact that it's really Xenophobic. Despite this, Japan projects an image of itself to the outside world of everything that's pleasant about Japan. It's the same as what Japan sees of us. They get their ideas from America based off of our movies, MTV, and our music. How unfair, wouldn't you say? It's unfair for say, an american woman because she'll be compared to someone like Britney Spears. Going back to what I was saying, this largely xenophobic culture believes in two kinds of people. People that belong "in" the group, and everyone else who is in the "out" group. You as a foreigner, will never be "in", no matter how hard you try. As often as you make REAL friends, you'll also make friends who just have you as the "token gaijin" and carry you around, much like they carry around their Louis Vitton purses. It's kind of the same though, here. People have Japanese friends just because they're "Japanese", instead of actually appreciating the individual. I've read up on this thread and I noticed some people mention, "Well I've eaten the food, and I like it.." kind of insinuating that they know the culture because they've eaten the food. Can you eat Mexican food and then pretend to know its culture? That's a load of baloney. I am Mexican, and I know for a fact that our culture isn't something you can understand just by eating our food. Same with eating Hamburgers. It's not like you have a new point of view on American culture. I never said appreciating Japanese food was bad, because I eat it too (I happen to like the texture of Japanese styled rice, and I'm partial to Amaebi, even if it is farkin' expensive), but no one has a REAL understanding of Japan unless someone whom has experienced it firsthand tells you all about it, or you go and experience it yourself. Not all experiences in Japan are bad mind you, but it's not all sunshine and roses. For the record, I like anime. I've cosplayed before, it's great, but I certainly don't obsess over it. |
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10円
Posts: 605 |
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Thanks for joining up; we could really use a lot more down-to-earth posts like this. I'm assuming (hoping?) that most people who read this and other anime related forums are moderate types who can readily understand and appreciate both the positive and negative aspects of Japanese culture and indeed their own culture. The people who actually post, however, seem to often come from one of two hard-line camps. Either they are overly fond of Japan or overly protectionist of their own culture. |
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