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guest_
· 5 years ago
· FIRST
Humorously enough, there’s an element of cultural blindness to the argument, as Japanese culture doesn’t quite have racism in a western sense. Historically Japan has tended to be culturally and racially homogenous, and cohabitation with other cultures somewhat rare, with most exchanges being those of “conquered” or “conqueror” and not equal coexistence in the same space. Traditional Japanese culture doesn’t so much differentiate by group but more so by what is Japanese, and what isn’t. That isn’t to say they aren’t certain biases in individuals towards certain groups over others.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
That said- while Japan doesn’t have the history to have developed “cultural sensitivity” as a core to its own culture in the same way we have, that’s not to say Japanese culture lacks any sensitivity. There also isn’t really an element in cultural appropriation to enjoying and participating in Japanese culture, like tea ceremonies, provided its done respectfully, and without fetishizing or commoditizing the culture.
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interesting
· 5 years ago
Yeah, with respect I've spent a lot of time in Japan and there's a very common theme of "Japanese Only" shops, restaurants, etc. You can be black, jewish, Hispanic--doesnt matter--if you're not Japanese there is actually quite a lot of stigma in many, many places about you. Not to say all places in Japan or all of Japan is like that, but I think a lot of people who dont actually travel yet cry "Racism! Racism!" left and right would be shocked at the pronouncement for homogenous preferences in many, many other countries.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
Yes. That’s quite literally what I said above. Japanese culture tends to view things more as “us and them” than on a case by case basis. That which is foreign of different is often traditionally judged simply on that basis. Not having had to interact and cohabitate much with diverse groups and views, the Japanese just don’t have the same issues or history. In short: they don’t have to try to get along with other people in their country because largely they are the default cultural and ethnic majority and expect others to conform to their ways more or less.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
You can see this on the profound impact that exposure to foreign powers of superior military might had on the nation, and it isn’t just that they were in a period of isolationism- direct and observable impacts from the immediate post war period through the 1980’s are still easily observable on the culture and nation.
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interesting
· 5 years ago
Yep, wasnt disagreeing with you--was driving the point home and also responding to the post. You made a solid point.
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guest_
· 5 years ago
Apologies. I’m used to seeing the phrase “with respect” as a preface to disagreement. But your information is sound, and so is your experience regardless of wether we agreed or not, so I didn’t mean disrespect either, I was a little confused but figured it was a good opportunity to go into a bit of history for anyone who might come across the thread. I thank you for adding your experience.
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awake_ash
· 5 years ago
It is widely known that Japanese people are xenophobic to the core
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xvarnah
· 5 years ago
Don't let children learn about or explore other cultures because it offends someone.
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creativedragonbaby
· 5 years ago
We are going to have some major segregation issues in the future even though we’re pushing for “equality.” Tumblrites need to stfu
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anjelica237
· 5 years ago
We like what we like. Live and let live.
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mistoffelees
· 5 years ago
I think what's more concerning is that they've dressed a child as a geisha
purplepumpkin
· 5 years ago
No one's stopping me from discovering and embracing a cuture if I want to. Back when I was living in Cameroon, some people told my parents "the child (yeah saying "the" is a weird way of referring to someone's kid) is curious about trees and magic, she's a white Cameroonian" and no one was offended by that, I was indeed white, and what they taught me about trees and their use in traditional medicine/magic was worth discovering. It was a long time ago so I've forgotten almost everything, except the feeling of another layer to reality as we accept it and the wonderful sensation of diving into a new world view. I wish everyone was like these men who taught me about their culture.
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Edited 5 years ago
