Forum - View topicAnswerman - Is There A "Tooth Fairy" In Japan?
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svines85
 Posts: 42 |
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Heh, bravo, Thomas, I enjoyed your question quite a bit more than most.....those funny little differences, eh?
Thanks, Justin, a great article 
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leafy sea dragon
 Posts: 7163 Location: Another Kingdom |
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I remember those weird traditions about throwing teeth from my parents and their home country, though only most hazily as neither of them really taught me to do it. We had no ritual, really. When my baby teeth fell out, they just threw it in the trash (and not vigorously like these Asian rituals do).
I do wonder why they exist though. Is it to encourage kids to eventually remove them from their mouths and not keep them for as long as they can? |
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yuna49
 Posts: 3804 |
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I still don't know why Erika hadn't learned these traditions years before. It seemed a little silly for her mother to be telling her what to do with her tooth when nineteen of them or so had already fallen out. It makes me think the scene was inserted for Western audiences. Surely Japanese viewers of Sakura Quest would not have needed the mother to inform them of these practices either.
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Mr Who Cares
 Posts: 3 |
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Didn't think my question would get answered! Interesting to see all the big and small differences with how different countries handle teeth. Didn't realise Japan was more specific with what you do with the tooth depending on where it was in your mouth. Where I live it's just "stick it under the pillow and that's it!"
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Agent355
 Posts: 5113 Location: Crackberry in hand, thumbs at the ready... |
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I think it's because losing baby teeth can be traumatic for kids--it can be painful and cause bleeding. So the idea is to attach it to a ritual to give kids something to be excited about. Even if they don't get presents or money in exchange for the tooth, making a big deal about a cultural ritual that marks growing up is in itself exciting. And the idea of disposing teeth in a way that would ensure the next set grows in straight makes superstitious sense from the days before orthodontists and braces. |
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Kadmos1
 Posts: 13626 Location: In Phoenix but has an 85308 ZIP |
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(Sarcasm): Coming soon to anime/manga: a monster girl version of a Tooth Fairy.
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GunnerVee
 Posts: 1 |
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I come from some where in Africa and what we did was throw the tooth as far as we can as we say a rhyme. It went like this (I think) "I'm a cub no longer. take this donkey's tooth and give me a lions fang".
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