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Japan and the other side
So I was listening to the podcast about Kitaro (good job as always guys) and it got me to thinking about Japanese people and "things from the other side."(Including ghosts and yokai) I have been living in Japan for about 5 and a half years now (not really long enough yet maybe) and I have never thought about it before, but there is definitely something there. Let me give some quick examples.
As an American, when I think of horror movies I think of crazy people with knives or other sharp implements (sure there are some supernaturally powered evil people but that is traditionally a small percentage) and not a ghost, but in Japan "horror movie" means "ghost movie." Some great examples are "Ring," "Chakushin Ari," "Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara," and so on.
It is not just movies and TV shows in which ghosts constantly make appearances though. There are still some people in Japan that believe that some ailements are caused by poession by ghost foxes or other types of monsters. It is not seem much any more but it is still seen. Every year around the middle of August (because of Obon...the Japanese halloween of types) you can see TV shows about this.
Possession is a major thing, but even every day things are sometimes blamed on ghosts and other monsters. An example of this is the salt that is left in dishes outside of some shops. It is to purafy the place and keep the bad critters out so they can't cause any harm.
Any way there are a lot of other examples out there, but I dont wnat to make this a long post (my first post...yay(!?)). Just want to get back to the point. Even though most of the Japanese might not actually believe in these ghost and monsters that you see in anime like kitaro, it is so engrained into their culture that it is natural for them and it shows up in their pop-culture. This is also why shows like Kitaro have such a huge following.
What does everyone think of this? I am no social scientist (I am a normal scientist). Let me know.
(A little bit off topic but what you wanted to say was "Ome ha sude ni shindeiru" (ãŠå‰ã¯æ—¢ã«æ»ã‚“ã§ã„ã‚‹))
As an American, when I think of horror movies I think of crazy people with knives or other sharp implements (sure there are some supernaturally powered evil people but that is traditionally a small percentage) and not a ghost, but in Japan "horror movie" means "ghost movie." Some great examples are "Ring," "Chakushin Ari," "Honogurai Mizu no Soko Kara," and so on.
It is not just movies and TV shows in which ghosts constantly make appearances though. There are still some people in Japan that believe that some ailements are caused by poession by ghost foxes or other types of monsters. It is not seem much any more but it is still seen. Every year around the middle of August (because of Obon...the Japanese halloween of types) you can see TV shows about this.
Possession is a major thing, but even every day things are sometimes blamed on ghosts and other monsters. An example of this is the salt that is left in dishes outside of some shops. It is to purafy the place and keep the bad critters out so they can't cause any harm.
Any way there are a lot of other examples out there, but I dont wnat to make this a long post (my first post...yay(!?)). Just want to get back to the point. Even though most of the Japanese might not actually believe in these ghost and monsters that you see in anime like kitaro, it is so engrained into their culture that it is natural for them and it shows up in their pop-culture. This is also why shows like Kitaro have such a huge following.
What does everyone think of this? I am no social scientist (I am a normal scientist). Let me know.
(A little bit off topic but what you wanted to say was "Ome ha sude ni shindeiru" (ãŠå‰ã¯æ—¢ã«æ»ã‚“ã§ã„ã‚‹))
Comments
You are lucky! 5.5 years in Japan! I lived there twice and I really want to move back. Where abouts do you live?
Any way, from everything I have seen, Japanese people really love ghosts. You can start a hell of a conversation by just saying that you have seen a ghost. Every summer people go to haunted houses in their area (no, not everyone but a lot more people than you would think) and "test their guts"(kimo dameshi ->è‚試ã—). There is one that is near my house (well an hour away) that my Japanese friends have talked me into going to visit. I am going to see if I can talk other people into visiting it as well. It would be great to see a ghost like the one from the ring with the long hair in front of the face. ("great"? gah...) I guess I will have to bring some salt and juzu. Wish me luck!
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By the way, I'm glad you joined the forums. We need more people like you on here with all your wonderful Japanese knowledges.
Nagoya sounds like a nice place. I have never made it down that far south. It is on my list, but so is about 80% of Japan heh
As for casting off beliefs when moving to a big city... that seems to go on here big time with Tokyo. It's a waste because the old Japanese culture is very interesting. Just another example of the bright lights of the big city blinding people so they won't see either where they came from or where they are going. (That damn anti-tokyo streak in me is coming out again heh)
Geekhaus Japan? Sounds good to me. I live in a big (by Japanese standards) house by myself any way.
In some ways I am playing devils advocate, because I am also enthralled by traditional Japanese culture, but I might want to warn against romanticizing "tradition" too much. The ideas that "old ways are always better" are used by conservative factions in many countries to warn against change and in many cases prevent movement forward. In general, Urban areas tend to be more progressive in their social views, more cosmopolitan and open to change. I'm not saying that it's good for people to forget their past, but if everyone continued living through "tradition" then society would often stagnate and not change to be more accepting, more informed. I strongly agree that people should have interest in their heritage, their history, and the stories that are passed down by the tellers of their culture. It can be fascinating and also can provide insight into situations in the current day. "Tradition" is often used opposite the term "modern" and tends to be invoked when people feel threatened by changes in the present. Don't worry, though. Even in Tokyo, yukata will always come back into style for the summer fireworks and people will still write "picture horses" at the shrine before a big test. Japanese tradition will never truly die.
It'd be interesting if there were those in Japan who had similar things happen because of their interest in Americana leading them to come into contact with American Japanophiles.
Oh well, tis the way of the world. At least no one threw peanuts at me this year for setsubun ^^v