Cute racism a la japonaise ?

[Maciamo]

Sigh. I haven't heard the four seasons thing once here, and anyway I can't believe anyone would seek to define the uniqueness of their country by having four seasons.

Did you ask people's opinion on the matter ? If you don't they are unlikely to mention it, except that week of the year when the cherry trees are in bloom, and only if you start discussing about it. I often discussed about it, as I wanted to know the "best places" for cherry blossom viewing. 2/3 of the people I talked to about this asked me whether "my country had 4 seasons", and all were surprised when I said "yes, of course, like most of Europe".

As for food - I daresay there are plenty of foods unpalatable to the Japanese from many other countries.

Of course ! That is the irony. I never miss to ask them if they "can' eat snails, frogs, rabbit, lamb, ostrich, kangaroo, crocodile, insects... Most of them make disgusted faces and say they wouldn't try.

I think you are drawing too many false conclusions from this limited data set. In all places I've lived or visited it is common to ask about things like weather, local food and other banalties of day to day life - especially as an ice breaker.

These were almost always with people I had known for months or years, and met in average once a meet for one-to-one lessons. They usually knew me very well when that topic came up - as it was during the blossom season (plum included) of the year that they all spoke about it, proudly thinking the 4 seasons were uniquely Japanese - or at least rare outside Japan. And guess when I wrote my article Common Japanese misconceptions regarding foreigners and foreign countries ? Just as the plum blossom season was starting and we were discussing it for the 4th year.

[Gaijin 06]

Of course ! That is the irony. I never miss to ask them if they "can' eat snails, frogs, rabbit, lamb, ostrich, kangaroo, crocodile, insects... Most of them make disgusted faces and say they wouldn't try.

So you admit to doing one of the exact same things you accuse the Japanese of doing?!

Do two "wrongs" might a "right" for you? Or just don't believe in practisicing what you preach?

[Maciamo]

So you admit to doing one of the exact same things you accuse the Japanese of doing?!

Do two "wrongs" might a "right" for you? Or just don't believe in practisicing what you preach?

I only do it when I am asked whether I can eat sushi, natto, umebosh, etc. especially if they tell me that "foreigners usually can't eat this or that", just to show them that it's the same everywhere. I also remind them that natto is not very popular in Western Japan, and that I have met some Japanese who didn't like sushi, and that sushi ranked as the most popular Japanese dish in the 2 polls about Japanese food on JREF (and indeed sushi restaurant are the most common Japanese restaurant in Western countries). Only after that do they seem to understand that it's futile to say such nonsense as "Japanese people can eat sushi, and foreigners can't".

[kkkktttt]

Maciamoさんの発言で大変おもしろいのは、日本人自ら� ｪ語る「日本人論」自体に対しては極めて否定的な見方� ｷる一方、� なた自身が数多くの独自の「日本人論」� 笘Iしていることなんですね。
しかも、� なたの「日本人論」は、日本人自身が語る日 本人論と同様に荒唐無稽なことが少なくないということ です。
例えば、海外の映画やテレビのバライティ番組などで描 かれる日本人像は、ほとんど例外なく滑稽なステレオタ イプで描かれているわけですが、この点を考えただけで も、「外国人をお笑いの対象にする」という風潮は決し て「日本的」ではなく、むしろ普遍的で� ることが分か りますね。

[jonathancameron]

I only do it when I am asked whether I can eat sushi, natto, umebosh, etc. especially if they tell me that "foreigners usually can't eat this or that", just to show them that it's the same everywhere. I also remind them that natto is not very popular in Western Japan, and that I have met some Japanese who didn't like sushi, and that sushi ranked as the most popular Japanese dish in the 2 polls about Japanese food on JREF (and indeed sushi restaurant are the most common Japanese restaurant in Western countries). Only after that do they seem to understand that it's futile to say such nonsense as "Japanese people can eat sushi, and foreigners can't".

私は、刺身は非常に嫌いなので、これは差別とゆう資格 は� るかどうか分かりません。