Japanese master to take?

[LinkEmperor]

Japanese was masters to take culter from others, and make it to be Japanese culter:

"It has been clamed that the Japanese is just a copi of china, and to much buildt on other culters."

OK who started the fire... me sorry.
This really didn't come as a suprise for me,
but I have begunn to read chines and Japanese history, to see what it means...
And what a ocean it is ppl. I have to go deep into the culter of each country, and read the history of each thing. Yes know I am reading about Japanese poetry.

I won't post so much yet, need more time to read and learn, and I would like what you think about this.

"Many ppl say that Japanese culter is unic, and is a great way to live by"

But is it the Japanese way we are looking at?

LinkEmperor

------------------
The members of the chain clan will unite all of the land.

[Idaho]

Well all culture comes from africa...

I don't think that cultures are really that different all over the world. I think that humans are so deeply conservative that they pounce on anything remotely different and use it as a way of defining their own identity.

My theory is that there are two basic cultural movements.

1 - Our culture is the best and everyone should be like us.

This is common to countries in their acendancy. The British during the Imperial phase, The US currently, The japanese after the Meiji period and before the Edo.

2 - Our culture is special and no-one can truely understand it.

This is found in the opposite situation. Japan and Britain have moved from idea 1 to idea 2. We no longer have the power to control or direct global culture so we become introverted - perhaps it's sour grapes because we got rejected.


Tjis is a theory I often bore people with.. opinions?

[Kanji]

Did Britain shift to idea 2?
I hear that Britain is still proud of a past glory.

The Japanese thinks the culture of the home country to be only a seed of the talk.
The Japanese only thinks their histories to be a process.
It is learnt that the pacifism of Edo is autism.
The Japanese graduates from the school before learning the Meiji era.

Japan was influenced by China so much.
However, it is not the copy.
The Japanese took only the character from China.
The Japanese did not take the language from China.
Therefore, Chinese cannot read the old document which the Japanese wrote.
However, the Japanese was able to read the old document which Chinese had written.
The highbrow in Japan read the old book of China for a long time.
However, the purpose of it is for them to learn from other great cultures.
All the European culture was called a copy of something if Latin was spoken there.

China took the culture of Japan a little since the Meiji era.
A formal name of China is 'The People Republic China'.
'People' and 'Republic' were translated into the character of China by the Japanese.

The Japanese loves other cultures.
Japanese like ancient China more than the Middle Ages of the home country.
The Japanese likes Europe in the Middle Ages more than the Meiji era.
The world like Middle Age Europe is drawn in Final Fantasy IX (Consumer RPG).
The Northern Europe myth is as famous as a Greek myth in Japan.

[Ieyasu]

Link, if you speak of what it is you are looking at through present-day's eyeglass, for any nation or culture, I would have to say, yes... it is distinctly theirs.

If you want to look toward the past, and see where the influences or ideas came from, that is a different story.

Did Kanji say this in his post as much? If so, please forgive me... I may have gotten a bit mixed up.

In looking at present-day Japan, it has obvious constructs and cultural facets that have been influenced by the world. But even take something that has been originated in another country, say, like the US... and when you see it there (in Japan), it is distinctly their own version... different... distinctly "Japanese".

Look at America... a polyglot of the world...and yet, in several areas, rather distinctly "American".

My views on it, anyway. More thoughts?

[Draksen]

Kanji san,
Totemo omoshiroi to omoimasu ga ...
IMO, the behaviour (I mean the "new" behaviour) of the japanese people,
was designed just after WW2.

For young japaneses, western culture come in opposition with the "old" culture, may be too
strict, too "heavy" and that remain them the past (the traditions).

These words are not really from me, but from a friend of mine (Takayama, Gifuken, Japan).
But I agree with this idea.

May be western lands seem to bring to
Japan a kind of "freedom feeling".
(I hope you understand what I mean)

hijoo ni muzukashii koto desu ne.

PS : Kanji san
sumimasen ga, nihongo ga sukoshi dake dekimasu.



------------------

[Draksen]

"The Northern Europe myth is as famous as a Greek myth in Japan."
Thank you ! I'm from Northern Europe, and I think that's great.



------------------

[Idaho]

Draksen san - anata no nihongo jozu da yo! Watashi naraimashita desu ke do wasuremashta!

I heard some Japanese tourist on the Subway today and I couldn't recognize a word! all in 4 months! Let that be a lesson for everyone - if you learn a language, don't stop!