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Here is a response to prejudice that many have over the Japanese. An article directly related to that one of Julien from North by South West.

We all have prejudices, conceived ideas, images about things we do not know. This is often the case for Japan. It is within this framework, with Julien’s from North by Southwest blog that we decided to write a series of two articles addressing these biases.

So here find my answers to the ideas conceived by Julien on Japan. You can read the ideas of Julien in the article entitled: Prejudice on the Japanese: the vision of Julien. Come on, here are my answers to the ideas of Julien:

• The rigidity of the Japanese:

 As Julien puts it, the Japanese are perceived as being strict and rigid. In my experience, I can tell you that this is more than just image. In Japan, a rule is a rule and if it was put in place is for the good of all. So the rules are followed as the group comes before the individual. By cons, despite this rigidity, sometimes extreme, effectiveness is present at the rendezvous. When they agree to something, it’s done in a timely manner.

• The pervasiveness of honor among the Japanese:

Julien talks about the presence, omnipresence of a code of honor in Japan. During the Second World War, it was exacerbated by a total devotion of the people (at least its largest majority) to his emperor.

In Japan, the image is important, we must not dishonor his person but also his family. Succeed in education is very important. If you do something that violates your honor, it also impacts your family.

It is for these reasons that mothers do not hesitate to invest large sums for private lessons so their children can integrate the best schools.

• The Japanese work hard:

Julien, like many people around the world, has this picture of Japanese who “die at work”.

Yes the Japanese work hard, at least for men because women are fairly preserved. It is not uncommon to see men (especially the salarymen) returned very late from work.

Several factors explain this:

• The need to impress: leaving on time is frowned upon and gives an image of laziness
• A financial need: to fund the education of children, the husband has to work, especially that in general the woman no longer works when she is pregnant
• The business before the family: it is not uncommon for men to devote themselves more to their company and for their families. I have also seen the case of a youth who has not seen his father for over 5 years because he worked incessantly.
• The man no longer feels at home: to force to stay at work constantly, man does feel more at home in his sweet home, he feels safer in the workplace with the people that he constantly rubs.

• The Japanese express their feelings with alcohol:

Yes, the Japanese never share their feelings. They never evidence of their expressions in public. It’s not a matter of shame or honor, but more because silence is golden. The only time that the Japanese are not the same, it is under the influence of alcohol.

How many times I happened to see the Japanese far more expressive and more liberated when they are drunk. This behavior is explained by the fact that they believe that all is forgotten when no longer drunk.

Bière – Beer

• The cult of cleanliness in Japan:

Japan and the Japanese are renowned for being clean. When walking the streets in Japan everything is so clean that you could sit in the street without fear of being too dirty.

However, some Japanese, privately, are not so clean as that. I lived in a shared flat and I can tell you that the Japanese know how to liberate their homes and live in a cluttered mess.

• The conditions of women and forced marriages in Japan:

It is known, women are not really equal to men. Yes in Japan women are expected to stay home if they are married and have children. But things change as Julien puts it.

Before, the process meant that a woman had to work until her marriage and then she had to stop working to care for her home. The husband, however, to be concerned with the provision of adequate income for the household.

As of today, there are many fewer forced marriages in Japan, but there are weddings by interests. I mean the people who get married because the partner brings some added value in terms of income or intellect. A kind of marriage on Résumé.

• The Japanese tourists traveling as a “herd”:

As Julien said, many feel that the Japanese are traveling together. And I want to say this is the case. Why? For the following reasons:

• The Japanese like to feel safe and therefore travel with the Japanese, where the Japanese will, make them feel safe.
• The Japanese travel agencies are very often owns sightseeing places abroad, such as hotels, restaurants and souvenir shops. They suggest bids on these places and attraction to Japanese
• The Japanese are doing what the crowd does. I mean, if something is popular, the majority of Japanese will. If you encounter any Japanese who went toFrance, ask them where they went and you will get a majority who will tell you: Paris and the Mont Saint Michel.

• The Japanese are closed to foreigners at home:

As I said in my article titled The Japanese and Gaijin Complex, the Japanese are generally closed to foreigners on their territory. However, this does not mean they are racist but nationalist. Many of them feel that their culture is pure, as well as their race, and they do not want to lose all this with the massive influx of foreigner on their territory. I suggest you read my article on the Japanese and Gaijin Complex to understand this a little better.

Attention, despite the closure, when you are a tourist in Japan, you do not really feel it and you are generally very well received.

• The paradox: new technology / respect for the culture in Japan:

Japan is definitely the land of paradoxes. If anyone is walking in the Japanese cities, especially in Tokyo, it is this mixture between modern and historical culture. It is not uncommon to see girls in Kimono in the streets with neon signs and a very striking contrast that makes the charm of this country.

I’ve always wondered how they could get to keep these two aspects together.Japan is a little mix of Japanese history with a touch of American lifestyle. You need to see it to believe it.

Kimono

• Sexual perversions in Japan:

Here’s a point that created problems. For many, Japanese girls are easy girls. Why? Because the Japanese have another vision of the sex. 

This is false. Japanese girls are not easy girls. But it’s true that the Japanese are very open sexually. Why? Simply because of their religious beliefs. Many Japanese have revered Shinto religion.

In the Shinto religion, the mind and body are separated, as in other major religions. But unlike the three major religions (Islam, Christianity and Judaism) the happiness of the body is as important as the happiness of the mind. As a result, have sexual pleasure is seen as a good thing, unlike the countries of the West.

This is one explanation among many others, and for my part, I think it’s a major.

To realize a little better than that, I invite you to read the following articles: an evening with bondage and Arisue Go an Kanamara Kamasaki Matsuri in Japan, the festival of the penis. 

Kanamara Matsuri

So here are my answers to the prejudices that Julien raised about the Japanese. These are answers from my experience and readings. I am not an expert but just someone who shares and exchange.

As you can see from the article on the prejudices of Julien about the Japanese and my answers, ideas received on this population are very often true. Like what we do is not ideas on any basis.

And you what are your prejudices about the Japanese and what do you think the answers I have made?