Why the peace sign in every photo?

[Rahmie]

I have been looking at some photo of a friend's who is in Japan and in every photo with a Japanese person the person is flashing the peace sign. Why do Japanese people (especially the girls) flash the peace sign. I mean what is the meaning of it or is there one? :?

[Mike Cash]

By now it is just a long standing tradition. People do it reflexively.

1. Camera pointed toward Japanese
2. Peace sign(s) go up

What is really odd, I find, is that most Japanese I have talked to about it quite unconscious of doing it and furthermore don't even notice the peace signs in pictures. I remember looking at a group photo of a school trip shown to me my a high school student. Out of about 50 kids in the photo, we counted something like 78 peace signs. None of the people looking at the photo thought it odd or noticed them at all until I brought it up.

I did get some chuckles when I showed some Japanese friends a photo I recently took of a frog and said that it was very obviously a Japanese frog. They wanted to know why, and I told them it was because he was making a peace sign.

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1116/1401174753_60e7c407aa.jpg

[Pachipro]

A simple use of the search engine using the word "peace sign" will bring up many threads like this one (http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24036)from a while back. Whereas people in the US usually say "cheese" during a snapshot, people in Japan will usually say "peace" (peesu). Hope this helps.

[bakaKanadajin]

I've heard it also signifies 'V' for victory.

It is a very long tradition as far as pop culture goes though, I remember seeing characters in Street Fighter II doing this back in the early 90's when that game came out.

[Mike Cash]

I've heard it also signifies 'V' for victory.


Now that you mention it....that frog does bear a slight resemblance to Churchill....

[bakaKanadajin]

gahahaha

http://www.ourwardfamily.com/winston_churchill/Winston_Churchill_1943_The_famous_Victory_Salute.J PG
http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1116/1401174753_60e7c407aa.jpg
Separated at birth?

[Tokis-Phoenix]

A simple use of the search engine using the word "peace sign" will bring up many threads like this one (http://www.jref.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24036)from a while back. Whereas people in the US usually say "cheese" during a snapshot, people in Japan will usually say "peace" (peesu). Hope this helps.


Actually that raises another question- why do we say "cheese"? I can understand japanese people doing the v for victory or peace sign, but us doing the cheese thing??

[Geostigma]

Actually that raises another question- why do we say "cheese"? I can understand japanese people doing the v for victory or peace sign, but us doing the cheese thing??

I think it's because saying the word cheese naturally makes people look like they're smiling.

[Pachipro]

"peesu" or cheese I guess it makes one smile. Really though it started back in the late 60's/early 70's when many Japanese thought it cool to use the peace sign and say "peesu" as they had seen it said and done in overseas pics and photos of that era. It stuck and became a custom to this day.

Some say "cheezu" while flashing the "V".

Maybe they should say "peesu cheezu pleezu" LOL

[Murs]

So when we say chesese we should throw up a "C" with our fingers right? Though we'd look like west-coast gangsters.

[MadamePapillon]

:v: :v: :v: :v:


It could also be a modified version of the 'bunny ears', you know when you would put the V over someones head in a photo. How many of us have done that without even thinking about it. XD

[diceke]

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1116/1401174753_60e7c407aa.jpg
:cute::cute::D:D:lol::lol::giggle::giggle:

[Tokis-Phoenix]

So when we say chesese we should throw up a "C" with our fingers right? Though we'd look like west-coast gangsters.



LOL, thats too funny :D :cool: !

[scorpion da black]

well the japs have this war-peace-fobia
ever since they were attacked by nuclear weapons they addopted this " we want peace coz we might get our ass kicked by the U.S again " syndrom

and now it is just unvoluntary to have that peace sign......like we metalheads have the rock on sign, hiphopers have westside ,eastside what ever their record company is sign...
so it is just a gesture

[Mike Cash]

well the japs have this war-peace-fobia
ever since they were attacked by nuclear weapons they addopted this " we want peace coz we might get our ass kicked by the U.S again " syndrom
and now it is just unvoluntary to have that peace sign

My goodness, what profundity.

[scorpion da black]

My goodness, what profundity.

thank you :blush: :blush:
i make my explanations seriouse but is a completely humorouse way so it wouldnt be boring to read :p

and i know you were making fun of that but its cool :cool:

[Rahmie]

Thanks for all your help guys. :wave: I was thinking that maybe they wanted an action shot so they did the peace sign because it is easy and quick. :cool:

[Mike Cash]

Nope. Just awkwardness about what to do with their hands while being photographed. It is a common phenomenon among most humans. People in Japan tend to deal with it by posing with a peace sign.

[Kirie_Maiden]

From looking at Japanese people doing the peace sign, I have now adopted it myself. There are a few pictures of me doing this, and I have come to stop noticing it. Would I fit in if I went to Japan?

I have always wondered why the peace / victory sign seemed to be a Japanese sign. Do any other countries do it as often as Japan does?

[Rahmie]

I have always wondered why the peace / victory sign seemed to be a Japanese sign. Do any other countries do it as often as Japan does?

I haven't seen it being done by any other country not like the Japanese. :victory:

[Kirie_Maiden]

No, I haven't seen it either. It seems to happen a lot more in Japan than anywhere else, and I think if other countries do it, they are likely be copying Japan. Not necessarily all the time though. Celebrities do it to show they promote peace.

[mika_r]

lol, in my country it's becoming very common too!

I think it's a way to say hi or a new form to say cheese x)

[scorpion da black]

I haven't seen it being done by any other country not like the Japanese. :victory:

as i said before it is involuntary....people get used to do things they try out couple of times.

like i am used to show the "rock on" (devil horns) hand sign in every picture i am in ...it is involuntary for me i just poke my hand up :p

[Kirie_Maiden]

Haha. I agree with the rock horns thing. I do that quite a lot too. It becomes habit to do stuff like that, like whenever I am saying goodbye to my friend, we do this salute we got from the film "Moon Child" and I sometimes don't even realise I've done it until I see her doing it.

The question is, why do so many people do it? Is there a significance of the sign other than the usual "Peace" or "Victory" or is it just a cute thing to do, like another part of Kawaii culture?

[diceke]

http://img113.imageshack.us/img113/2778/02chikai1sh0.jpg

http://img20.imageshack.us/img20/1452/06ch6.jpg

[Sukotto]

Nope. Just awkwardness about what to do with their hands while being photographed. It is a common phenomenon among most humans. People in Japan tend to deal with it by posing with a peace sign.

hmm.
I hadn't thought of this one before.

I'd developed some idea about the peace sign in picures...
that having faced war and specifically the worst weapons to ever to blemish human kind - the atomic weapons - that Japanese people now believe in peace and in not war wanted to spread this idea of peace...
thus the peace symbol in pictures for all to see.


--------------
I've got to remember to take up the peace symbol once again.
I disagree with my sister on the invasion of Iraq, but I'll have to tell her if she
wants any pics of me at family gatherings...
hey, I was doing this after learning it from the peace-loving Japanese...
and that was before the war

[diceke]

An actor showed up in a Konica commercial, flashing the v-sign, that's why it became popular in Japanese photographs. Nothing to do with war and peace.:v::victory::win::smoke:

[Kirie_Maiden]

That's a good take on it. Those smileys do look like they are doing the OTHER V sign though...

[scorpion da black]

Haha. I agree with the rock horns thing. I do that quite a lot too. It becomes habit to do stuff like that, like whenever I am saying goodbye to my friend, we do this salute we got from the film "Moon Child" and I sometimes don't even realise I've done it until I see her doing it.
The question is, why do so many people do it? Is there a significance of the sign other than the usual "Peace" or "Victory" or is it just a cute thing to do, like another part of Kawaii culture?

hahaha i like that movie :wave:

ok i will be a little bit more scientific....when martial art athletes do moves they do that as something they have learned...but after many years of practice it becomes instinctual to do any move or block or evasion ....because the body, the subconscious got used to the move......and like wise in every thing....

just like walking, first a baby needs to know how to balance and put a foot in front of the other in continuous order all the time....but as you grow up like now...you just get up and walk....it is normal to do so now...involuntary

[Han Chan]

I heard that the peacesign became popular among young people in Japan during the Vietnam war. However, now there are hardly anyone who are concious of the meaning of this sign.

[LateNight~*]

So when we say chesese we should throw up a "C" with our fingers right? Though we'd look like west-coast gangsters.
Dude I'm from Cali and NO gangster flashes a "C". They will flash what looks like a "W" with the two middle fingers crossed which stands for 3 for Sureños (gang) or they will flash a 4 for Norteños (another gang). Technically the 3 stands for 13 as the 4 stands for 14; beyond that I have no idea what the numbers mean. They also really like to use Roman numerals (and probably the only ones they know) XIII or XIV.
Anyways back 2 the peace sign thing. I plan to flash anything other than the peace sign. I'm not against it or anything but I like variety in my pics:-)
I'll try and get my fellow japanese 2 do that 2. :blush:

[MadamePapillon]

My favorite gang sign...somebody went through a lot of effort to think this baby up :blush:

In case you can't figure it out, it says Blood.

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/street-gang-4-c.jpg

[LateNight~*]

That's 2 hard 4 a gang sign. I tried doing that but it hurts my hands. It's too unnatural a position. Anyways so that's the sign for Bloods? I wonder what Crips use?