Floating Leaf
Wisdom Seeker
- 6 Oct 2008
- 9
- 1
- 13
Greetings.
It's my first time here in this forum.
I was googling for some information about how Japanese live in Japan, but unfortunately I couldn't really find what I was looking for. Then I came across this forum with the name "Japan Forum" and I thought, "Hey... It sounds like it has everything I need in there," so here I am in this forum requesting information I would otherwise never get to know through any other methods available to me for now.
This forum (and its entire main website and everything) is just wonderful. It's so, SO informative with many, MANY people discussing lots of things that I find really, REALLY helpful. It made me wonder why I didn't come across this place earlier.
Anyway, I'm still a student in the first year in university and one of my subjects currently is Intercultural Communication.
...But that's not my point (and it's not what brings me here).
You see, though I wouldn't call myself an anime otaku, I do watch anime at times, particularly slice-of-life anime. And there are lots.
Anime like Shinigami no Ballad, Toki o Kakeru Shōjo, AIR, Bottle Fairy, Ichigo Mashimaro, and so on, besides entertaining the audience, do show quite a lot of things about Japan. But what makes me not to post this thread in the Anime / Manga section is that I'm not going to talk about Anime, but the life of the people in Japan.
I've never been to Japan before, but am becoming more and more interested in this country called Japan. I must say it's one of the most interesting countries in Asia. Almost everything is interesting: its customs are interesting, its culture is interesting, its "kawaii-ness phenomenon" is interesting, its language is interesting (full of puns and all), its technology is interesting (oh yeah), its video games are interesting, its anime and manga are (definitely) interesting, its food is interesting, its people are interesting, and even its people's stereotypes about gaijin are interesting.
However , whatever that I know about Japan for now is mostly through anime, which I don't find totally reliable. Surely, I've searched the Internet, but I just couldn't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for. I've also browsed through Jref directory and explored quite a bit, but no luck, perhaps what I want is too specific. (Either I'm bad at searching for info, or the info is really that hard to get.)
Okay. I know I've talked a lot. :joyful:
What I want to know about Japan is exactly how the Japanese people themselves find their life there in Japan. I'm interested to know the life of the people in general, and the life of children and adolescent to be specific, and what kinds of problems (financial, environmental, educational, parenting, etc.) do Japanese people (both parents and children) face in Japan, all through the eyes of the Japanese themselves.
Because in Japanese shows, including anime, they have to consider the entertainment value of their work, so I wouldn't fully believe that's how Japanese live as shown in the shows. And browsing through directories and news websites can't really work either, so I thought it's best if I could get the chance to communicate directly with whoever that have exposed themselves to the life in Japan before.
In my opinion, some shows and anime (and manga) have depicted life in Japan as paradise-like. The people are so happy, the children are having fun, there doesn't seem to be any problem around, etc. That's not totally true, right?
So please let me know what you think about all the things mentioned.
Any information is highly appreciated. Really. :hum:
P.S.
Oh... And about their religion, is it that most of them are Buddhists? If they are, are they mostly Nichiren Buddhists or others (like Theravada, Mahayana, or Vajrayana)?
It's my first time here in this forum.
I was googling for some information about how Japanese live in Japan, but unfortunately I couldn't really find what I was looking for. Then I came across this forum with the name "Japan Forum" and I thought, "Hey... It sounds like it has everything I need in there," so here I am in this forum requesting information I would otherwise never get to know through any other methods available to me for now.
This forum (and its entire main website and everything) is just wonderful. It's so, SO informative with many, MANY people discussing lots of things that I find really, REALLY helpful. It made me wonder why I didn't come across this place earlier.
Anyway, I'm still a student in the first year in university and one of my subjects currently is Intercultural Communication.
...But that's not my point (and it's not what brings me here).
You see, though I wouldn't call myself an anime otaku, I do watch anime at times, particularly slice-of-life anime. And there are lots.
Anime like Shinigami no Ballad, Toki o Kakeru Shōjo, AIR, Bottle Fairy, Ichigo Mashimaro, and so on, besides entertaining the audience, do show quite a lot of things about Japan. But what makes me not to post this thread in the Anime / Manga section is that I'm not going to talk about Anime, but the life of the people in Japan.
I've never been to Japan before, but am becoming more and more interested in this country called Japan. I must say it's one of the most interesting countries in Asia. Almost everything is interesting: its customs are interesting, its culture is interesting, its "kawaii-ness phenomenon" is interesting, its language is interesting (full of puns and all), its technology is interesting (oh yeah), its video games are interesting, its anime and manga are (definitely) interesting, its food is interesting, its people are interesting, and even its people's stereotypes about gaijin are interesting.
However , whatever that I know about Japan for now is mostly through anime, which I don't find totally reliable. Surely, I've searched the Internet, but I just couldn't seem to find exactly what I'm looking for. I've also browsed through Jref directory and explored quite a bit, but no luck, perhaps what I want is too specific. (Either I'm bad at searching for info, or the info is really that hard to get.)
Okay. I know I've talked a lot. :joyful:
What I want to know about Japan is exactly how the Japanese people themselves find their life there in Japan. I'm interested to know the life of the people in general, and the life of children and adolescent to be specific, and what kinds of problems (financial, environmental, educational, parenting, etc.) do Japanese people (both parents and children) face in Japan, all through the eyes of the Japanese themselves.
Because in Japanese shows, including anime, they have to consider the entertainment value of their work, so I wouldn't fully believe that's how Japanese live as shown in the shows. And browsing through directories and news websites can't really work either, so I thought it's best if I could get the chance to communicate directly with whoever that have exposed themselves to the life in Japan before.
In my opinion, some shows and anime (and manga) have depicted life in Japan as paradise-like. The people are so happy, the children are having fun, there doesn't seem to be any problem around, etc. That's not totally true, right?
So please let me know what you think about all the things mentioned.
Any information is highly appreciated. Really. :hum:
P.S.
Oh... And about their religion, is it that most of them are Buddhists? If they are, are they mostly Nichiren Buddhists or others (like Theravada, Mahayana, or Vajrayana)?