Hi all!

My little sister is a big fan of Japanese culture. I'm a blacksmith and I'm making her a katana for her birthday. I want to engrave it with something meaningful. Im thinking of something along the lines of: "From your loving brother, I always be with you." I gladly take any recommendations, historical references, or some uniquely Japanese, that can be meaningful. It's more likely than not, (still hoping) that I will not survive until her next birthday, so I want it to be something she can look at and remember me.

Thanks all! If my post is not appropriate, I will remove it.

Hello, I am going to Japan soon for almost 3 months and would like some feedback on an idea of mine. I wanted to give a small gift from my homeland to the people I meet during that time (workshop leaders, Airbnb hosts, nice conversation partners). Since I am traveling for a long time, many things are ruled out due to size, weight, or shelf life. In the end, I thought about giving spices and teas from my homeland in small aluminum tins. I designed and had cards printed for each spice and tea. Now that everything is ready, however, doubts are coming to my mind whether the recipients might have hygiene concerns and also whether my selection of spices is good or if every Japanese household already has dill in their cupboard anyway. What do you think of this, can I take it with a clear conscience or should I rather leave it at home. Until now, I have only asked my German friends, and just shortly before my departure, it occurred to me that I should look at the idea through a different cultural lens.

So, I'm aware that Japan is not just "the anime country" and that people don't act and talk like an anime character. However, I did see that some women in anime (specifically more tomboyish/casual women) would say "boku". I've also seen the standard "watashi" and "atashi" for women, but I'm generally more tomboyish and was wondering if it was weird to introduce myself like 「僕はウェンディです。」(Boku wa Wendy desu).

Again, I know people don't talk like anime characters, but I still wanna make sure it's not weird to address myself as that just because I'm a tomboy. Or is it similar to someone in my language saying "Estoy contento" as a woman? (I'm happy/content in Spanish but masculine form, women say contenta.)

It was still big in the west, but not as much in Japan i think. Any reason as to why that is?

Hello everyone!

I am doing a work program this semester and have found out my roommate is on an international program from Japan.

I love Japan and Japanese culture (a lot of decor and products are form a recent Japan trip) but I’m barely a beginner in the language 😅

Besides the obvious “be a good roommate” rules (I’ve have many roommates before) is there anything I can do to be friendly / have a good relationship with my roommate?

(Extra: This program is in the U.S., they speak English but not fluently, we are sharing a room)

Thanks y’all!

Pardon me for the stupid question. I'm curious about Japan and the language and I know not every culture has an American equivalent and such. Well, I'm wanting to make a story, perhaps, where these 2 twin sisters speak Japanese but they're not Japanese.

If they were in the USA, I'd make the 2 twins English or something. Brazil, I'd make them from Portugal, etc.

But Japanese is only really spoken in Japan. I mean, I guess there are like large Japanese populations in other countries too, though. So I'm just wondering what might fit.

I’m really into physical media, but I keep reading online that it’s still the most common way people watch movies and TV shows in Japan. I don’t really buy into that. I find it hard to believe that most people would choose physical media over the convenience of streaming. This is coming from someone who’s a strong advocate for physical media. I think people mostly buy physical copies of video games these days, and even that is disappearing.

I recently watched a movie about a Japanese family, and it sparked a strong curiosity in me to learn more about what families in Japan are like—to see if they are truly like the ones shown in movies or if their way of life is actually different.

What is a Japanese family really like?

These are old family photos. Picture 1 is of the parents of my great grandparents on my dads side. Picture 4 is my dad’s, father’s, mother and father before he was born. Picture 5 is my great grandparents from my dad’s mother’s side. Picture 6 is also my great grandparents from my dad’s mother’s side. Picture 7 is my great grandfather from my dad’s mother’s side.

Apparently the man seated with the fan in the first and second picture (my great, great grandfather) was a skilled caligrapher. He would’ve been born around the 1860’s-1870’s. Was this a common profession? Also, what can you possibly tell me about all of their (the great, great grandparents) status/professions based on the clothing, etc? Im looking as deep as I can into my family history.

One thing I have always wondered is how many jokes I might be missing in an anime or manga (given that they are made primarily for a Japanese audience and translated afterwards).

One common form of humor that I assume is pretty universal across cultures is puns or plays on words. So I often wonder what jokes or phrases get lost in translation.

Not just linguistically, but I'm sure there are jokes that have a cultural component which would be difficult to understand.

On a similar note, there are so many idioms and phrases in English which must be confusing when directly translated.

Do you have any examples of such jokes or phrases which have confused English speakers (or westerners in general)?

I've tried to list some examples of the reverse situation:

Phrases which might not make sense when directly translated:

"That might jog my memory" - That might make me remember

"Stuck between a rock and a hard place" - To be in a difficult circumstance

One word could mean multiple different things depending on context:

"Spicy meme" - a meme which could be controversial or possibly offensive

"They have a spicy personality" - They are very outgoing

"She is hot" - to describe an attractive woman

"The food is so hot" - the food is very spicy

"I'm red hot" - I'm angry

Anyways, if you have examples of some phrases that might confuse a foreigner, please share them! Or if you know a popular show that uses lots of cultural jokes which might be confusing, please let me know!

A few years ago, I was under the impression that Japanese families were very traditional and strict, with clearly defined values. However, families in the West have changed in recent years, and I would like to know if there has been a similar shift in Japan regarding what families were like in the past compared to how they are now.

I've lived in Japan for 10 years, but only been driving for two.

I recently drove a Japanese friend home, and he told me I should be more careful with what I keep in my car.

He said that specifically because I have a baseball bat in the back (it's a station wagon). My kids play baseball, and we keep a bat, a ball and a glove in the trunk for anytime we can stop by a park and have to throw.

He said forgotten baseball bats are one of the main reasons people get citations for weapons from police.

I searched about this a bit, and realized I have a few things in my car that might cause trouble.

Last year on a road trip one of my tail lights stopped working, I had to stop at Autobacs for a new bulb and a screwdriver. I've left the screwdriver in the glove box just in case I need it again, and I actually have needed it a couple of times since.

In the summer me and my family go fishing every weekend, there's a lake about 20 minutes from home full of bluegill. I tend to leave the fishing gear in the car through the week, because we have to get up at like 4:30 on Saturday to get to the fishing spot. I have a pretty big knife in my fishing bag to kill and gut the fish we catch.

Is it true that if police search my car, with this context, that I could get in a bit of trouble? Should I be more careful about this kind of thing?

Im not talking about the education necesarily. I do hope this question doesnt come off as stupid, its from a place of genuine curiosity. Im writing something and it involves two highschoolers in Japan. One of them is more of a rebel. So my questions are: how common is smoking culture in schools? Drinking, substances, parties, nepotism, school fights, things like that? Im thinking of coming here directly because i know if i search up a percentage online it wont help me much. Its the same as my country: these things are a lot more common than the news would ever cover. So if i wrote about these things as if they were normal, at least in that characters world, would it seem out of place?

Found this parody only recently. Since I rarely watch Japanese TV, I wonder whether he was already famous even before he started interpreting for 大谷.

Hi! I'll be in Japan, later this year. I like to try different foods. It looks like "horumon" means offal (organs, tongue), in general. I do like ankimo (monkfish liver) and chicken liver pâté. I've tried beef tongue before and it was OK, IMO. Tripe (stomach), so-so, not really. Sweetbreads (thymus gland), I did enjoy.

When Japanese people talk about eating horumon, which organ or animal part are they talking about? (In the US, you would specify: "liver," "gizzards," "tongue," etc. You wouldn't just say, "I'm eating offal.")

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I live in Europe and met a Japanese guy during an evening out a few weeks ago. We’ve been keeping in touch for about 2–3 weeks now.

In Europe, we’re used to texting fairly quickly throughout the day. However, our communication style is quite different: on average, we exchange about one message a day, but they are usually quite long (around 10 lines, covering several topics). Every single time, he makes a real effort to address every point thoughtfully.

Sometimes, he doesn't reply for a whole day. Recently, he didn't text for a few days, but he came back apologizing and explaining that work was overwhelming. Even without me asking, he apologized for the delay and still sent a detailed, thoughtful response to everything I had written previously.

I know texting habits in Japan, especially for working men born in the 90s, can be very different from Western standards. Is this kind of pacing normal? Should I be worried about a potential loss of interest, or is this just standard behavior when someone is busy with work? I really don't want to bother him or have him reply just out of politeness.

I tend to overthink things and definitely don't want to put any pressure on him, as he already has a very demanding schedule. I’d love to get some insights from locals or people familiar with Japanese texting culture!

Thanks in advance!

I live in Europe and about a month ago I’ve met a Japanese guy. We live in different cities (about 2 hours drive) and he has an unconventional job that takes up his whole weeks so we only met once. We had a great date and chemistry was there, even tho he was very reserved and didn’t make any move he kept making lots of plans for us to meet again soon.

After the date we kept texting everyday. Everyday we send a “good morning” text and often there’s a “good night text”. We don’t have any meaningful conversations, it’s just basic “how are you / how is your day?” Questions / answers. Sometimes we can have a burst of messages, back and forth for an hour, send photos etc. But most of the time we start a conversation and he answers only +7 hours later (I see that he is online on WhatsApp almost every hour, but doesn’t answer me…).

I’m a bit frustrated on how slow paced this is, so I try to initiate a bit, being flirty, saying that I want to see him, be with him & his answers are always “I want too” but he never tries to plan anything or else…

I start to feel a bit insecure about this because I feel like he’s just not interested and maybe he’s texting me out of politeness? & him being online almost every hour without answering me makes me think that he maybe has another girl that he’s more interested in… But some other times he’s very sweet and gives me lots of attention and says that he wants to see me etc.

I just don’t understand if that’s a cultural thing to be quite detached like this or if he’s just not into me…

I’ve been learning to cook various Asian foods (mostly from my Hawaiian grandma’s cookbook) and the one thing that seems to be a personal, sometimes closely guarded, secret is how everyone makes their package ramen in their own personal way. Whether it’s adding cheese or veggies or meat.

What’s the best way to make the average ramen delicious when I just want a quick and easy meal?

Alternatively: what should I cook for dinner?

I was pretty young when it was airing (200)-2004) and watching it from Singapore so I have no idea how popular it was in Japan when it was airing. Also would like to know how has its popularity fared through the years and how it is viewed today!

Hi, I’m from Portugal, and I’ll admit that I’m a republican. However, I have a lot of respect for the Japanese monarchy because it is one of the oldest monarchies in the world, and I think it’s fascinating how Japan has managed to preserve so much of its tradition.

But why doesn’t the Japanese government reform the law to allow women to ascend to the throne? Is there really not enough support for this among the Japanese population?

10 years ago, in 2016, Apple changed the gun emoji from a real gun to a water gun to reduce (American) gun violence. But this created another concern. If an Apple user sends the water gun emoji to another device (Samsung, Microsoft, Android), then it will appear as a real gun. 2 years later, other companies follow the same path, converting from a real gun to a water gun. The Japanese people created the emojis in 1999 for Japanese devices back then. The gun emoji (back then it was a real gun) was one of the original emojis.

(I'm not sure if this is considered culture or language, sorry)

Are there names in Japanese culture that are considered sort of like "joke names" or names you would give unserious or unflattering connotations to? The example I think of in English are the names "Bob" or "Joe," names that by all rights are normal, but are often used as a throwaway or punchline.

On the flip side of that, are there names that have more serious or formal connotations, thereby creating the irony of giving it to a very messy, weird, or demented person or even animal or object? Are there names considered "good pet names" like how dogs in English are stereotyped with the name "Rover" (despite the fact I've never met a dog named Rover)?

I suppose a more succinct question is: Are there names that have very funny, well-known, or otherwise strong connotations in Japanese culture?