Re: Culture-fest! (and some stupidity) ^_^
to | ranma@usagi.jrd.dec.com
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from | Hitomi Ichinohei <Hitomi_Ichinohei@MBnet.MB.CA>
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subject | Re: Culture-fest! (and some stupidity) ^_^
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date | Thu, 31 Aug 1995 22:09:51 -0500 (CDT)
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On Thu, 31 Aug 1995, Kevin Lew -- 'The Lai-Lai Boy' wrote:
> Here's what I don't understand then. My Nihongo sensei is a true-blue
> Nihonjin and she says that she finds nudity to be no big deal. She still
Nudity is not a very big deal, in fact, nudity is an accepted part of our
culture. After all, we discuss sex, openly, honestly, and with feeling.
In what other culture is there a manga series dedicated to AIDS and how
it is caught, why it is caught, what you can do to prevent it etc.
> takes baths with her family at home. The concept of modesty implies that
> there's something "dirty" about nudity. I can understand this, but then,
It is not so much modesty, except in the cities, it is more a concept of
privacy. _You_ choose what you want to share with certain people. This
is privacy.
> WHY do they show so much of it in manga/anime? Basically, if nudity *is*
> a big deal, then why do cast members drop their clothes in even
> kid-oriented stuff?
Because it is something natural, not something to be reviled as in the West.
> Another culture question: I was told that you NEVER bring a rice bowl to
> your face to scoop rice into your mouth directly. Why does Ranma and the
> others do this all the time? Is it an inside joke, to show that Ranma
> and company are total slobs?
Actually, people in country settings do still eat by bringing a bowl up
to ones mouth. What you are talking about is a city culture vs. country
culture.
> -- In Chinese culture, it's totally normal to eat with a bowl shoved in
> your face (like how Ranma does). This is taboo in Japanese culture.
Only in cities.
> -- In Chinese culture, you eat soup with a soup spoon (we have a special
> utensil for this, in fact). If you drank soup straight from the bowl,
We actually eat soup with a pair of chopsticks. It is considered
polite. (And it is also practicle.)
> like the Japanese, you'd be considered insane. (The Japanese would find
> you insane for trying to eat soup with a spoon).
Ichinohei Hitomi
Hitomi_Ichinohei@MBnet.mb.ca
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