Toothpaste and are the Japanese 恥ずかし

Happy New Year! I'm a little late to the party, but here it is! I spent most of my Winter Vacation lazing around, watching Youtube videos and studying Japanese. New Year's was spent in Kobe, eating dinner with my host family's extended family. Other than that, nothing terribly exciting has happened. This week was the first week back to classes. There are new students and classes, both of which are exciting. I had studied a lot for the placement test but ended up in the same level, something that has really left me disappointed. I like the teacher and the class, but it makes me feel as though I have not made near the same amount of progress as I had when I was in France. My time in France was a lot more intensive; I rarely ever spoke English. The program here in Japan is a little different and follows a strict curriculum that I think is nearly impossible to jump ahead in. Each level seems to have very specific things that you learn. Either way, I have decided that it's time to stop goofing around and do Japanese. The language wasn't the only reason I came to Japan, but it is one of the major reasons other than learning the culture, meeting people, and tasting food.

I think I have decided on taking a Post-Imperial Japanese History class, a Japanese Culture and Society class, Kaiwa (oral class), and a Movie class specifically on the Miyazaki film Spirited Away. The only one not in Japanese is Post-Imperial Japanese History. I thought about not taking it since I want a more Japanese intensive experience, but the class seems very interesting to me and taught from a unique viewpoint that I'd rather not pass up. 

To end the first week of classes there was a Chinese New Year party. I forgot to take pictures of the food we made, but it was fun and I learned how to say "Happy New Year" in Chinese. 

So that is how events have been going, but the real thing I want to talk about today is toothpaste. I noticed it in France too, but after a while of using French/Japanese toothpaste, my teeth don't feel as clean when I run my tongue over them. They are also not as white as when I use American toothpaste. Someone suggested that maybe it had to do with the food, but when I used American toothpaste in my time between France and Japan my teeth returned to being white and clean feeling/tasting. I've heard other Americans in both countries complain about it too. There's not much I can gather from the situation except that it is strange and kind of irritating. I'd like my teeth to feel clean no matter what kind of toothpaste I get!

Second topic of the day is: Are the Japanese 恥ずかし (Shy)? I hear it a lot, even from the Japanese themselves. My first real experience with the Japanese was the Japan Club at UAF. Everyone was playing a game and I just remember how loud all of the Japanese were. It gave me the impression that they were kind of loud people, but any time I would mention this to someone they'd quickly snap back with, "my [insert relation here] went to Japan and said they are so quiet and shy!" Then when I first came to Japan, many people would say, "Oh, the Japanese are shy and it's hard to get them to talk with you!" and all this other nonsense that even other Japanese people would tell me. 

So, are the Japanese shy? 

A little bit of yes and no, I think. From what I have gathered about the Japanese culture and what it is like to be Japanese, it is hard among themselves to make friends (especially the younger generation). Though I think this is a growing problem worldwide and not just a Japanese one. On the other hand, in my experiences, the Japanese are not as shy as everyone says they are. I've met a lot more Japanese people than I did French people just because they wanted to meet me. In a group setting, they are surprisingly loud to me. When I've gone to events with my host mom, I've had people come up and ask me where I am from and blatantly tell me I am beautiful, which is something I kind of feel like shy people would not do. Almost every time I've gone to the big part of Osaka, someone comes up to me and says something, even if it is a little comment.

Of course, if you enter the trains with only a few people, everyone will be sitting as far away from each other as possible. 

Honestly, this is a difficult topic. It's probably as difficult as explaining that Alaskans are friendly and enjoy helping people but at the same time don't like outsiders and prefer to keep to themselves. Sometimes we are contradictory, so I think it is safe for me to say that the Japanese are maybe shy, but at the same time not really. 

Well, that's all for now, but instead of the usual five or ten facts, I'll give you one and then tell you about three folkloric beings of Japan

1. Evolution and Human-made Global Warming (Climate Change, whatever, same thing except Global Warming ended up with a bad stigma so they changed it) is not even really arguable in most of Europe and Japan. Also, no American scientist denies either of them, and Americans like to brag about how we supposedly have the "best" scientists ... yet, many Americans still argue both topics.

The folkloric beings of Japan are usually called Yokai or Obake/Bakemono or Yurei. There are slight differences between these terms, but for the most part they are ghostly or monster-like beings. Japanese folklore is full of these creatures.

1. Tsukumogami - an inanimate object that gains a soul after it becomes 100 years old. From thrown away straw-sandals to traditional Japanese instruments, they vary in appearance and abilities. Sources say that for the most part, they aren't malevolent, but a torn up umbrella with one eye, a long tongue, and one leg isn't terribly inviting in my opinion.

2. Akaname - a red creature with a long tongue that it uses to slurp up dirt and grim leftover in the bath. There isn't a lot of information on them, but I think it is mostly used as a boogeyman, "clean the bathroom" kind of ghost. Other than licking your bathroom clean and looking scary, it doesn't appear to do anything else.  

3. Bakeneko - Japan has some interesting folklore revolving around cats, and this creature is one of the more well-known Yokai. If you keep your cat until it turns ten, is a little fatty (over eight or nine pounds), or keeps a long tail, it will acquire supernatural abilities and maybe kill you in your sleep. It enjoys making creepy will-'o-the-wisps and walking on its hind-legs, wandering around at night and being a major creeper. It keeps growing and can get up to five feet in length. They are also shape-shifters, and have been known to take on the appearance of its human owner after killing them (and then marrying someone before living the blissful, happy life you didn't get to). Also, don't leave it in a room with a dead body since it can jump over it and turn your passed on family member into a zombie. Apparently they *can* be benevolent, but in my experience, folkloric beings that *can* be benevolent are best left alone. If they are allowed to keep a long tail they will become a Nekomata, our next creature.

4. Nekomata - If a Bakeneko keeps a long tail, it will split into two and become a Pokémon (just kidding, but seriously, Espeon). It does everything a Bakeneko does but there is no room for *possible* benevolence here. There are two different kinds, one that comes from the mountains, coming down every now and then to eat humans. Mm, delicious. But apparently it used to be said that people would catch the "Nekomata" disease, so scholars have come to think maybe it was just an animal that had rabies. The second one is of the domesticated kind that as you keep your cat it will eventually become one (*long tail). They cause a lot of poltergeist activity, along with abducting people and have the ability of necromancy. It is said they are much worse than a Bakeneko and in olden days it was recommended to not keep a cat for too long. The more you treat your cat like shit, the more powerful they'll become after they've gained their wicked powers to get some pretty badass revenge on you. Since they are little cat demon necromancers, they will bring the dead back to taunt you, moving their little paws around like an adorable cat music conductor (or maybe not so small, since Bakeneko are said to grow to be around five feet, so Nekomata probably aren't too different). Japanese superstitions used to be that killing a cat got you cursed for generations, so basically if your cat turned into a cat sorcerer you pretty much were out of luck. Many kittens would have their tails hacked off to prevent this situation from happening in the first place. An old painting showed a Nekomata playing Shamisen, which are often made of cat skin (I guess the one I play is made of dog-skin, but supposedly the sound isn't as good), so I'll let you make up your own assumptions about that.

5. Ittan-Momen - a creature from our first entry. A giant cotton sheet that flies around in the night, landing on you before smothering you or crushing your head to death (okay, apparently some are malevolent). Pictures of them are adorable, and if you "gain its trust" they will be your BFF and you will have the most fashionable ghost scarf ever. Nobody has elaborated on gaining their trust but waving around a sword probably isn't it (as an old story goes, the man ended up with blood on his hand).


Sources: Wikipedia. Some forums and books and talking to people in Japan.

~Until Next Time