The ex-Yakuza fellow turned Buddhist-with-a-U.S.-liver, and main subject of the book, Tokyo Vice, has written his own book. Tokyo Subculture has just posted an interview of the kindly old man. As is not unusual for the possibly right-leaning (certainly not left) fellows of his type, he is also somewhat concerned with the lack of patriotism and national pride among Japan's young.
I was pleased to see that he admired Shigeru Yoshida and Nobusuke Kishi for hanging tough when thousands opposed the 1960 U.S.-Japan Security Treaty. I believe that there were some folks of his profession who assisted with crowd control during those troubled times. Unfortunately, despite everyone's best efforts, "I like Ike" was not an especially popular slogan among the trouble-making demonstrators, and then-President Eisenhower's trip to Japan was canceled. The treaty is still around though.
I was even happier to see that not only has Mr. Goto found religion and written a book, but that he also shown a taste for fine literature by mentioning the classic by Masahiko Fujiwara, The Dignity of the Nation.
August 25: Thanks to Durf for pointing me toward The Dignity of the British Nation. I somehow missed it back when Fujiwara's tome came out, but it seems that Britain is in many ways similar to Fujiwara's Japan. Masahiko even hinted at that in his book.
Showing posts with label The Dignity of the Nation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Dignity of the Nation. Show all posts
Monday, August 23, 2010
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Murdering Cars. Oops. Gomen ne.
I was stunned this morning while watching ABC World News Tonight. First, there was a story in which ABC did not have David Muir or any other reporter mugging for the camera and obscuring the person being interviewed. Then, having barely recovered from that unprecedented event, I saw the head of Toyota---Toyoda Akio---come out of hiding and apologize (sorta) for the now worldwide Toyota recall.
In the report, ABC cruelly showed a clip from a few days ago in which the ABC crew visited Toyota's Japan HQ. After the Guard Man(s) failed at throwing them off of the property,* some fellow in a suit and a mask came out and sorta apologized sincerely for the recall trouble.
After a rude, sarcastic remark about that incident, ABC showed interviews with several experts on corporate screw-ups. Toyota was criticized for not having top executives go public immediately with an explanation on what happened and what was being done; for being disengaged; and for not understanding "the emotional nature of the US market."
"The emotional nature of the US market!?" Good lord, Fujiwara Masahiko's dignified brain must be rolling in its grave! Aren't folks in the US Mr. Spock-like logical, while in Japan folks are all warm, fuzzy, "wet," and basically operating in a society in which human relations are all based on emotion without logic? Doesn't Toyota have some sort of international culture class in which management can study how the Japanese are different? How could they misunderstand their largest market?
Or couldn't Toyoda-shacho have learned from what happened in unique Japan a few years ago to a foreign company that did not understand the (emotional?) Japanese market and failed to take appropriate action quickly?:
Japanese culture and its scapegoat-seeking media often make bad times far worse for companies compromised by events. But for foreign firms less familiar with the country's societal norms, such problems can easily spiral completely out of control...
...They had no clue that their products would soon be referred to as "murdering elevators" on the streets, online and in the Japanese media. And they could perhaps never have expected that — despite being the world's No. 2 elevator maker — their sales in Japan would come to a sudden halt...
...along with the public's desire to know why the tragedy occurred at all, another key question was whether Schindler's elevators might be inherently dangerous. Japan Times
Will we see raids by teams of 321,002 police officers on Toyota's headquarters carrying out boxes of documents (and girly magazines?) for show? Will we see Toyoda-shacho fly to the US and other countries in person like the head of Schindler did?
Or has Mr. Toyoda become Western?:
"I would say that our reaction was typically Western, especially an Anglo-Saxon type of reaction," said Schindler..."
Or could the unthinkable be true:
..."Japan's famed quality- control is a myth, but like any good myth, many people believe it. When the myth is shattered, scandal results." [Mark D. West][Same JT article]
I could paste that entire article here and substitute Toyota for Schindler and the US for Japan and it would in many ways match Toyota's actions.
This is the sort of stuff that can cause one to become all befuddled. I can only assume that Toyota is operating on the well-known in Japan fact that folks/companies in the US don't apologize or accept any responsibility for anything because they will be sued. This is known because US auto insurance policies warn against such statements, and as we all know, the coldly logical "dry" Americans run their lives according to insurance policies.
Unfortunately, I cannot find the ABC report at their site. A video (in Japanese) and story (in English) of Toyoda's apology is here.
*The ABC crew was thrown out of a dealership in Tokyo in that earlier report---broadcast a day or two ago.
Edited at 1130
In the report, ABC cruelly showed a clip from a few days ago in which the ABC crew visited Toyota's Japan HQ. After the Guard Man(s) failed at throwing them off of the property,* some fellow in a suit and a mask came out and sorta apologized sincerely for the recall trouble.
After a rude, sarcastic remark about that incident, ABC showed interviews with several experts on corporate screw-ups. Toyota was criticized for not having top executives go public immediately with an explanation on what happened and what was being done; for being disengaged; and for not understanding "the emotional nature of the US market."
"The emotional nature of the US market!?" Good lord, Fujiwara Masahiko's dignified brain must be rolling in its grave! Aren't folks in the US Mr. Spock-like logical, while in Japan folks are all warm, fuzzy, "wet," and basically operating in a society in which human relations are all based on emotion without logic? Doesn't Toyota have some sort of international culture class in which management can study how the Japanese are different? How could they misunderstand their largest market?
Or couldn't Toyoda-shacho have learned from what happened in unique Japan a few years ago to a foreign company that did not understand the (emotional?) Japanese market and failed to take appropriate action quickly?:
Japanese culture and its scapegoat-seeking media often make bad times far worse for companies compromised by events. But for foreign firms less familiar with the country's societal norms, such problems can easily spiral completely out of control...
...They had no clue that their products would soon be referred to as "murdering elevators" on the streets, online and in the Japanese media. And they could perhaps never have expected that — despite being the world's No. 2 elevator maker — their sales in Japan would come to a sudden halt...
...along with the public's desire to know why the tragedy occurred at all, another key question was whether Schindler's elevators might be inherently dangerous. Japan Times
Will we see raids by teams of 321,002 police officers on Toyota's headquarters carrying out boxes of documents (and girly magazines?) for show? Will we see Toyoda-shacho fly to the US and other countries in person like the head of Schindler did?
Or has Mr. Toyoda become Western?:
"I would say that our reaction was typically Western, especially an Anglo-Saxon type of reaction," said Schindler..."
Or could the unthinkable be true:
..."Japan's famed quality- control is a myth, but like any good myth, many people believe it. When the myth is shattered, scandal results." [Mark D. West][Same JT article]
I could paste that entire article here and substitute Toyota for Schindler and the US for Japan and it would in many ways match Toyota's actions.
This is the sort of stuff that can cause one to become all befuddled. I can only assume that Toyota is operating on the well-known in Japan fact that folks/companies in the US don't apologize or accept any responsibility for anything because they will be sued. This is known because US auto insurance policies warn against such statements, and as we all know, the coldly logical "dry" Americans run their lives according to insurance policies.
Unfortunately, I cannot find the ABC report at their site. A video (in Japanese) and story (in English) of Toyoda's apology is here.
*The ABC crew was thrown out of a dealership in Tokyo in that earlier report---broadcast a day or two ago.
Edited at 1130
Monday, February 25, 2008
Thinking of getting drunk in Roppongi? Justice in Unique Japan
Hatoyama: As the Japanese place so much importance on the value of life, it is thought that one should pay with one's own life for taking the life of another, whereas Europe is a civilization of "chikara to tousou" ("force and strife"). So, conversely, things are moving against the death penalty. This is an important point to understand. The so-called civilizations of "chikara to tousou" are the opposite of us. From incipient stages, their conception of the value of life is weaker than the Japanese. Therefore, they are moving toward abolition of the death penalty. It is important that this discourse on civilizations be understood.
...the philosophy here espoused by Hatoyama and other senior Liberal Democratic Party conservatives, including former Education Minister Ibuki Bunmei (now LDP secretary general), is heavily influenced by the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, and affiliated scholars like environmental archaeologist Yasuda Yoshinori and comparative economic historian Kawakatsu Heita. “Yasuda is the most prolific proponent of the environmental determinist school of thought, according to which Japan is a "civilization of beauty and compassion," in contrast with Judeo-Christian and Islamic states, and even China,” writes Wetherall. “His books are standard reading for romantic nationalists.”
Well, then folks in Texas must place more importance on life than most others on earth if you consider the number of executions. So must China. An old quote from someone whom many non-Japanese consider an idiot, but I suspect is not an especially uncommon belief in Japan.
Those UN [from the UN Committee on Torture] comments echo earlier reports by the Japan Bar Association, Human Rights Watch, the International Bar Association and other UN panels that say Japan’s treatment of criminal suspects is unfair and leads to coerced confessions. In about 99% of criminal trials, defendants are found guilty, and in the bulk of cases, the defendant has confessed to charges. Lawyers are not allowed to be present during interrogations, either before or after indictment. Suspects often allege psychological and sometimes physical abuse.
You don't want to be arrested in Japan. You want no trouble with the police. There ain't no innocent until proven guilty. You are screwed as soon as you are arrested. So is your lawyer it seems:
....lawyers – the last line of defense in this potholed legal landscape – are not immune from harassment. Tokyo lawyer Yasuda Yoshihiro was arrested in 1998 and held for 300 days...
but the judges will make sure justice is upheld:
...Takano Takashi, a lawyer and professor at Waseda University’s school of law. “I’ve seen many judges sleep during trial.”.... after 25 years practicing law, just five of his clients have been completely exonerated. “Some lawyers go their whole lives without winning a case,” he explains.
If you get arrested, guilty or not, just bend over and kiss your own ass goodbye. Now you know one reason Japanese crime is relatively low. You also know why people are so reluctant to involve the police or other authorities in matters, even relatively serious ones. Now do you really want to take any chances here?
All quotes from Certain Justice. Japan’s Detention System and the Rights of the Accused by David McNeill. Japan Focus.
...the philosophy here espoused by Hatoyama and other senior Liberal Democratic Party conservatives, including former Education Minister Ibuki Bunmei (now LDP secretary general), is heavily influenced by the International Research Center for Japanese Studies in Kyoto, and affiliated scholars like environmental archaeologist Yasuda Yoshinori and comparative economic historian Kawakatsu Heita. “Yasuda is the most prolific proponent of the environmental determinist school of thought, according to which Japan is a "civilization of beauty and compassion," in contrast with Judeo-Christian and Islamic states, and even China,” writes Wetherall. “His books are standard reading for romantic nationalists.”
Well, then folks in Texas must place more importance on life than most others on earth if you consider the number of executions. So must China. An old quote from someone whom many non-Japanese consider an idiot, but I suspect is not an especially uncommon belief in Japan.
Those UN [from the UN Committee on Torture] comments echo earlier reports by the Japan Bar Association, Human Rights Watch, the International Bar Association and other UN panels that say Japan’s treatment of criminal suspects is unfair and leads to coerced confessions. In about 99% of criminal trials, defendants are found guilty, and in the bulk of cases, the defendant has confessed to charges. Lawyers are not allowed to be present during interrogations, either before or after indictment. Suspects often allege psychological and sometimes physical abuse.
You don't want to be arrested in Japan. You want no trouble with the police. There ain't no innocent until proven guilty. You are screwed as soon as you are arrested. So is your lawyer it seems:
....lawyers – the last line of defense in this potholed legal landscape – are not immune from harassment. Tokyo lawyer Yasuda Yoshihiro was arrested in 1998 and held for 300 days...
but the judges will make sure justice is upheld:
...Takano Takashi, a lawyer and professor at Waseda University’s school of law. “I’ve seen many judges sleep during trial.”.... after 25 years practicing law, just five of his clients have been completely exonerated. “Some lawyers go their whole lives without winning a case,” he explains.
If you get arrested, guilty or not, just bend over and kiss your own ass goodbye. Now you know one reason Japanese crime is relatively low. You also know why people are so reluctant to involve the police or other authorities in matters, even relatively serious ones. Now do you really want to take any chances here?
All quotes from Certain Justice. Japan’s Detention System and the Rights of the Accused by David McNeill. Japan Focus.
Tuesday, January 08, 2008
“Tokyo has two faces. One is the one everyone knows: the economic power, the bright, shining place where all the political power gathers and all the people of strength come together,”....
....“But there’s another face, the place where ordinary people live. They can’t take part in the beautiful Tokyo – it’s kind of scary to them– but this is the Tokyo I write about.” Novelist Miyuke Miyabe: thestar.com
I almost never read fiction, but this actual sounds interesting. A view of Tokyo/Japan that is not the normal Western fantasy land or neo-bushidoist delusion.
Her new novel, The Devil’s Whisper, will be her fifth translated into English. I suspect it will be more interesting and certainly more valuable than wasting one's time and money on Fujiwara Masahiko's nonsensical rant.
....“But there’s another face, the place where ordinary people live. They can’t take part in the beautiful Tokyo – it’s kind of scary to them– but this is the Tokyo I write about.” Novelist Miyuke Miyabe: thestar.com
I almost never read fiction, but this actual sounds interesting. A view of Tokyo/Japan that is not the normal Western fantasy land or neo-bushidoist delusion.
Her new novel, The Devil’s Whisper, will be her fifth translated into English. I suspect it will be more interesting and certainly more valuable than wasting one's time and money on Fujiwara Masahiko's nonsensical rant.
Monday, January 07, 2008
Japanese Cuisine, 2007
Japanese cuisine is some of the most delicious food in the world. I need not prove that, I just follow the neo-Bushidoist Fujiwara's brilliant theory of logic (or Japanese non-logic according to ol' Barcode head): It is because it is.
However, in 2007 there were numerous scandals related to food in Japan. The Japan Times in Tokyo Confidential has an interesting article by Michael Hoffman on that:
From "a certain chicken farmer," Asahi Geino hears this: "Of all the chicken on the Japanese market" — we're talking roughly 1.69 million tons of poultry per year — "at most 1 or 2 percent are genuine jidori. The rest that go by that name are fake." Read more.
Let's hope it isn't really true, but Japan is also the country in which more Blue Mountain coffee is sold than is imported. So, would it really be a surprise if the story is true?
However, in 2007 there were numerous scandals related to food in Japan. The Japan Times in Tokyo Confidential has an interesting article by Michael Hoffman on that:
From "a certain chicken farmer," Asahi Geino hears this: "Of all the chicken on the Japanese market" — we're talking roughly 1.69 million tons of poultry per year — "at most 1 or 2 percent are genuine jidori. The rest that go by that name are fake." Read more.
Let's hope it isn't really true, but Japan is also the country in which more Blue Mountain coffee is sold than is imported. So, would it really be a surprise if the story is true?
Saturday, December 22, 2007
Fujiwara Masahiko
who wrote an absurdly illogical book in which he, among other things, used logic to show that an illogical statement was illogical and then claimed that this use of logic showed that logic doesn't work---especially in uniquely unique Japan must be soiling his panties.
Japan has reportedly been forced to suspend its humpback whale hunt due to pressure from the dastardly US as well as the sneaky Australian plan to use its military to track Japan's whalers. (I thought the latter was especially good, but wondered what some of the Abe/Aso/Fujiwara band of merry nutjobs would say).
What will likely cause Barcode head Fujiwara to have a tissy-fit is that Japan is claiming logic is on its side and its them thar furriners who are all emotional. I guess its just another sign that Japan is becoming a foreign country.
''Given that in a sense this seems to be a problem of differences in national sentiment between Japanese and Australian culture, it's not a matter that can be solved by appealing to one another through logic,'' Komura told reporters. ''I hope to discuss possible measures with the Australian foreign minister soon.'' (OK, Fujiwara-chan would like this part as Japan can avoid logic. It can pout instead like it did to start the humpback hunt.)
Japan argues that the IWC [International Whaling Commission] has become a place for emotional fights rather the setting for calm discussion, and has called for ''normalizing'' reforms that would return it to that function. From the AP on the NYT site here. Link won't last long.
Japan has reportedly been forced to suspend its humpback whale hunt due to pressure from the dastardly US as well as the sneaky Australian plan to use its military to track Japan's whalers. (I thought the latter was especially good, but wondered what some of the Abe/Aso/Fujiwara band of merry nutjobs would say).
What will likely cause Barcode head Fujiwara to have a tissy-fit is that Japan is claiming logic is on its side and its them thar furriners who are all emotional. I guess its just another sign that Japan is becoming a foreign country.
''Given that in a sense this seems to be a problem of differences in national sentiment between Japanese and Australian culture, it's not a matter that can be solved by appealing to one another through logic,'' Komura told reporters. ''I hope to discuss possible measures with the Australian foreign minister soon.'' (OK, Fujiwara-chan would like this part as Japan can avoid logic. It can pout instead like it did to start the humpback hunt.)
Japan argues that the IWC [International Whaling Commission] has become a place for emotional fights rather the setting for calm discussion, and has called for ''normalizing'' reforms that would return it to that function. From the AP on the NYT site here. Link won't last long.
Friday, October 19, 2007
Recycled garbage sold as food again
Akafuku, which got caught last week faking use-by dates, has now admitted that they recycled old, unsold food and sold it as new. (This was on Tokyo channel 6 this evening.) Again, and again, and again. There seems to be no end to it. I wonder if any Japanese food products company produces food that is safe to eat. The Japanese government has very strict checks on Chinese imports---which is effective enough that the US is interested in Japanese inspection methods for Chinese food---but seemingly does little to ensure any safety in Japanese food. (Interestingly, although the US FDA is interested in Japan’s inspection process of Chinese food of which the Japanese government is boasting to the US is very good, the Japanese media reporting leads one to believe all Chinese food is suspect of dangerous. How can the inspection be so good if it lets such dangerous food into Japan?)
The Japanese government seems to take a much more laid-back, hands-off approach to crooks in the Japanese food industry who fraudulently sell old garbage as food fit for humans. Ironically, just after the channel 6 news, the next program on that station focused on the dangers of foreign food. Many Japanese interviewed said that they don't buy foreign food products, only Japanese. These folks must enjoy the taste of rotted food. But, as Fujiwara Masahiko-chan says, logic doesn't work here.
***According to the 9pm news, the local (Mie prefecture) government did order Akafuka to cease business until it passes inspection. The company had been retrieving unsold products, removed bean paste from the mochi (rice cake) center and reusing some of the bean paste in "new" products; also reusing the mochi and selling the rest of the old bean paste to the president's son's company. The president apologized last week for the first incident---which had been a 30 year long activity---and lied about any further problems. Tonight he "apologized" for his incorrect information (lies) last week.
How many companies have been caught in this type of behavior this year? I can think of 3-4. And those are only the ones which have been caught. Obviously, it has put no fear into companies trying to sell shit for food. This company was over 300 years old. Their reputation is, for now at least, as filthy as their food.
20 October: Japan Times article on the garbage recycler, Akafukyu,---misspelled, I meant Akafuku---is here.
Well Oda-san, at least it isn't evil foreign food!
The Japanese government seems to take a much more laid-back, hands-off approach to crooks in the Japanese food industry who fraudulently sell old garbage as food fit for humans. Ironically, just after the channel 6 news, the next program on that station focused on the dangers of foreign food. Many Japanese interviewed said that they don't buy foreign food products, only Japanese. These folks must enjoy the taste of rotted food. But, as Fujiwara Masahiko-chan says, logic doesn't work here.
***According to the 9pm news, the local (Mie prefecture) government did order Akafuka to cease business until it passes inspection. The company had been retrieving unsold products, removed bean paste from the mochi (rice cake) center and reusing some of the bean paste in "new" products; also reusing the mochi and selling the rest of the old bean paste to the president's son's company. The president apologized last week for the first incident---which had been a 30 year long activity---and lied about any further problems. Tonight he "apologized" for his incorrect information (lies) last week.
How many companies have been caught in this type of behavior this year? I can think of 3-4. And those are only the ones which have been caught. Obviously, it has put no fear into companies trying to sell shit for food. This company was over 300 years old. Their reputation is, for now at least, as filthy as their food.
20 October: Japan Times article on the garbage recycler, Akafukyu,---misspelled, I meant Akafuku---is here.
At a news conference Thursday night, Akafuku chief Hamada apologized, saying, "I am sorry for our consumers and related people that this has happened."
Hamada acknowledged that there was systemic falsification, saying, "Reusing of withdrawn products has been habitually conducted."...(Does he mean that he personally is a flat-out liar?)
...Tourists visiting Ise Shrine expressed anger.
"We absolutely can't count on the company just because it's a major, long-established firm," said Noboru Oda, 65, from Chiba Prefecture.
Hamada acknowledged that there was systemic falsification, saying, "Reusing of withdrawn products has been habitually conducted."...(Does he mean that he personally is a flat-out liar?)
...Tourists visiting Ise Shrine expressed anger.
"We absolutely can't count on the company just because it's a major, long-established firm," said Noboru Oda, 65, from Chiba Prefecture.
Well Oda-san, at least it isn't evil foreign food!
Friday, October 12, 2007
Former Ambassador wants Fukuda to visit Yasukuni
Hisahiko Okazaki, the former ambassador to Saudi Arabia, thinks Fukuda could resolve the Yasukuni shrine problem with China by visiting. No, it is not April 1. Yes, he seems to be serious. No, he has not found work as a clown. (Oops...sorry cheap shots.)
Since Fukuda is not a right wing nut ball like I'm-tired-so-I-quit Abe, Okazaki thinks it would be Nixon-like (referring to Nixon, a conservative being able to go to China, Fukuda by not being a right winger, pull a similar trick. Apparently, Okazaki's standard of judging the diplomatic success of such a visit would be based on whether or not there were violent, wide-scale protests in China. Simple as that.
You can check out Okazaki's "logic" (but remember, the neo-bushidoist Fujiwara Masahiko suggests logic is pretty unreliable anyway since he himself has none) in an opinion piece in The Japan Times here.
A quick Google search will display many results for Okazaki. His is a right winger who has been after Yasukuni visits for years. In fact, he designed some of the displays there. (Read more here.) I thought I recognized his name. Another revisionist. They're baaaackkk! The nutjobs aren't and never, ever will be done until they get Japan into another disaster.
Since Fukuda is not a right wing nut ball like I'm-tired-so-I-quit Abe, Okazaki thinks it would be Nixon-like (referring to Nixon, a conservative being able to go to China, Fukuda by not being a right winger, pull a similar trick. Apparently, Okazaki's standard of judging the diplomatic success of such a visit would be based on whether or not there were violent, wide-scale protests in China. Simple as that.
You can check out Okazaki's "logic" (but remember, the neo-bushidoist Fujiwara Masahiko suggests logic is pretty unreliable anyway since he himself has none) in an opinion piece in The Japan Times here.
A quick Google search will display many results for Okazaki. His is a right winger who has been after Yasukuni visits for years. In fact, he designed some of the displays there. (Read more here.) I thought I recognized his name. Another revisionist. They're baaaackkk! The nutjobs aren't and never, ever will be done until they get Japan into another disaster.
Friday, September 14, 2007
Shift the future
Japan is following the old Nissan ad---moving boldly forward into the future. Koizumi trashed a lot of the old-boy factions, the protectionism, the closed club of politics and business in Japan to some degree. Abe moved forward by ignoring the economy and allowing the old gummers to move back in: thus the return to cross-share holding of equity in Japanese companies and so on. He also decided that Japan did nothing really wrong in WW2 so he moved boldly into the future with hallucinations of a "beautiful country" based on revisionist/denial nonsense.
Will the next PM be the old school elitist (this alone would give Fujiwara Masahiko a boner) bigot Aso or the youthful 71-year old Yasuo Fukuda. As Japan's economy appears to be slowing and returning to the past, this old guy is sure to put things back on track. With either as PM, the old-boy club is sure to be gone as Japan rushes forward into the 1980s. Warning: sarcasm. (At least Fukuda appears not to be a member of the Yasukuni worshiper nutjob crowd.)
A Reuters article is at the NYT temporarily here.
Also see: The battle to become the next Prime Minister of Japan has narrowed into a confrontation between an unpredictable right-winger with a penchant for comic books and a colourless and austere moderate who admits the contest has left him “flustered”. From Times Online.
Will the next PM be the old school elitist (this alone would give Fujiwara Masahiko a boner) bigot Aso or the youthful 71-year old Yasuo Fukuda. As Japan's economy appears to be slowing and returning to the past, this old guy is sure to put things back on track. With either as PM, the old-boy club is sure to be gone as Japan rushes forward into the 1980s. Warning: sarcasm. (At least Fukuda appears not to be a member of the Yasukuni worshiper nutjob crowd.)
A Reuters article is at the NYT temporarily here.
Also see: The battle to become the next Prime Minister of Japan has narrowed into a confrontation between an unpredictable right-winger with a penchant for comic books and a colourless and austere moderate who admits the contest has left him “flustered”. From Times Online.
Thursday, August 23, 2007
The Japan Times, the only newspaper in Japan meant primarily for a foreign readership, and therefore freer to be bluntly critical of the establishment, has printed a few good articles recently. (It would be a mistake to believe that the news in the JT is reported in the same way, or has the same contents, as news meant for Japanese readers.)
One, which discusses the real results of blind "bushidoism" (like ol' Barcode Fujiwara goes orgasmic over" is When the way of the samurai was pointless self-anniliation. by Philip Brasor.
He discusses a few instances---of which there are many more---of this wonderful disregard of the value of life (which Fujiwara considers beautiful thing) during WW2 and how the government would exaggerate incidents for propaganda purposes.
Another, which would not be a big surprise to find in a normal Japanese newspaper concerns Akira Kimura's theory---based on research and evidence, unlike a lot of the nihonjinron nonsense---that the US obstructed Japan's surrender in WW2 to enable it to use nuclear bombs before the war ended as a way to put the USSR on notice. Kimura is not some sort of "Japan was an innocent victim" nut either, as he acknowledges that Japan was trying to develop a nuclear bomb during the war and would likely have used it had they been successful. (Few I have spoken to know, or believe that fact. I doubt many non-Japanese know it either. I read a book by one of the Japanese scientists involved over 15 years ago, but can no longer find the book in print.) You can read this article at The U.S. obstructed Japan's surrender to test nukes: claim by Michael Hoffman.
One, which discusses the real results of blind "bushidoism" (like ol' Barcode Fujiwara goes orgasmic over" is When the way of the samurai was pointless self-anniliation. by Philip Brasor.
Another, which would not be a big surprise to find in a normal Japanese newspaper concerns Akira Kimura's theory---based on research and evidence, unlike a lot of the nihonjinron nonsense---that the US obstructed Japan's surrender in WW2 to enable it to use nuclear bombs before the war ended as a way to put the USSR on notice. Kimura is not some sort of "Japan was an innocent victim" nut either, as he acknowledges that Japan was trying to develop a nuclear bomb during the war and would likely have used it had they been successful. (Few I have spoken to know, or believe that fact. I doubt many non-Japanese know it either. I read a book by one of the Japanese scientists involved over 15 years ago, but can no longer find the book in print.) You can read this article at The U.S. obstructed Japan's surrender to test nukes: claim by Michael Hoffman.
Saturday, August 04, 2007
Japan's support for child abductions by Japanese parents
Japan is a haven for Japanese parents who kidnap children from non-Japanese spouses in defiance of court orders and child custody laws in foreign countries. (Abduction of a child by a parent is said not to be illegal here.)
Japan is the only first-world country which refuses to sign the Hague Treaty meant to protect children from international abduction. A short documentary film on this is on YouTube: Face the Truth. (Can't post it directly here as I cannot get my login to YouTube to work.)
Quote from the film: "Japan, the country of Japan stood up and stomped their feet and screamed 'North Koreans are bad.' They filed international Interpol arrest warrants against the abductors from North Korea. But what they neglected to tell anybody is that every year American children are abducted to Japan and protected by the Japanese government."
Most Japanese are likely not aware of this. One suspects few would support it.
The United States though says Japan deserves a seat on the UN Security Council.
Japan is the only first-world country which refuses to sign the Hague Treaty meant to protect children from international abduction. A short documentary film on this is on YouTube: Face the Truth. (Can't post it directly here as I cannot get my login to YouTube to work.)
Quote from the film: "Japan, the country of Japan stood up and stomped their feet and screamed 'North Koreans are bad.' They filed international Interpol arrest warrants against the abductors from North Korea. But what they neglected to tell anybody is that every year American children are abducted to Japan and protected by the Japanese government."
Most Japanese are likely not aware of this. One suspects few would support it.
The United States though says Japan deserves a seat on the UN Security Council.
Thursday, August 02, 2007
Only Japan
has four seasons. I had to endure that---shall we say "horseshit"---again this evening when talking to a man and woman. Having had it with such Fujiwarian idiocy, I said, "But other countries have four seasons too."
Man: "Haha, yes but Japan's are very distinct."
Me: "They are very distinct where I come from too. In fact, much, much more distinct than in the Tokyo area."
Gal: "We have many seasonal foods."
Me, the non-Japanese idiot: "Ah, but so do many other countries." Even in the US if you eat traditional food. (Not restaurant or packaged processed stuff.)
Gal "Mmmmm. But we have many different types of scenery in the seasons."
Baka Gaijin me: Oh, you mean like leaves that change colors, snow, mountains, beaches.."
Gal: "Yes."
Troublesome, evil foreigner who studied typing in English class instead of spelling: Doesn't the US have that?"
Gal: "Haha." Starts thinking of more nonsense. Refuses to give up as it is a known fact that Japan's seasons are different and better than anywhere else on earth.
I guess Fujiwara Masahiko-chan would say that the problem is that logic does not work, especially in Japan. One could make many arguments and provide tons of facts and evidence showing that Japan does not have unique seasons, but to do so would simply prove that logic is invalid. Japan has the world's most unique and distinct four seasons because it does. It's that simple.
I cannot resist digging at these nihonjinron myths anymore. I won't win any arguments as I am arguing a religious belief. Don't ever say that the Japanese are not religious. They are some of the most religious fundamentalists on earth. The religion is Japan, Japaneseness: Nihonjinron.
われわれ 日本人！ We are Japanese! (and you ain't so don't ever forget it!)
(I suppose US myths are just as irritating to immigrants in the US. All countries have their own and most folks believe them. Even people from other countries believe them too. Regardless, they are all myths. The USA is the freest country on earth specially blessed and chosen to lead by God. Canadians are all polite. Japanese is the world's safest country.)
Man: "Haha, yes but Japan's are very distinct."
Me: "They are very distinct where I come from too. In fact, much, much more distinct than in the Tokyo area."
Gal: "We have many seasonal foods."
Me, the non-Japanese idiot: "Ah, but so do many other countries." Even in the US if you eat traditional food. (Not restaurant or packaged processed stuff.)
Gal "Mmmmm. But we have many different types of scenery in the seasons."
Baka Gaijin me: Oh, you mean like leaves that change colors, snow, mountains, beaches.."
Gal: "Yes."
Troublesome, evil foreigner who studied typing in English class instead of spelling: Doesn't the US have that?"
Gal: "Haha." Starts thinking of more nonsense. Refuses to give up as it is a known fact that Japan's seasons are different and better than anywhere else on earth.
I guess Fujiwara Masahiko-chan would say that the problem is that logic does not work, especially in Japan. One could make many arguments and provide tons of facts and evidence showing that Japan does not have unique seasons, but to do so would simply prove that logic is invalid. Japan has the world's most unique and distinct four seasons because it does. It's that simple.
I cannot resist digging at these nihonjinron myths anymore. I won't win any arguments as I am arguing a religious belief. Don't ever say that the Japanese are not religious. They are some of the most religious fundamentalists on earth. The religion is Japan, Japaneseness: Nihonjinron.
われわれ 日本人！ We are Japanese! (and you ain't so don't ever forget it!)
(I suppose US myths are just as irritating to immigrants in the US. All countries have their own and most folks believe them. Even people from other countries believe them too. Regardless, they are all myths. The USA is the freest country on earth specially blessed and chosen to lead by God. Canadians are all polite. Japanese is the world's safest country.)
Friday, July 27, 2007
Wildlife books
I mentioned earlier that I had been having trouble finding wildlife-related books and magazines at bookstores here. I did finally find several types of field guides----just what I was looking for---at Kinokuniya in Takashimaya Dept store in Futakotamagawa. I guess they are not sold so widely because Japanese have such a close connection with nature that they have the knowledge available in their DNA. Or, perhaps it is like my wife said "They're not needed. Nobody cares." She was only half joking. Poor barcode head Fujiwara Masahiko-chan would have peed his undies had he heard that. But then again, he did write in his book that many Japanese who speak English well should shut up because they ruin the impression that Japanese are deep. He did not, however, follow his own advice.
Monday, July 16, 2007
Fujiwara and the unique love of bug sounds
in Japan. As I mentioned, in his comic book Masahiko-kun claimed that the Japanese are uniquely unique because they notice and enjoy insect sounds and can connect those sounds with such things as a change of seasons, which except for a few "obscure poets" (Emily Dickinson for example?) non-Japanese cannot do. Even the Koreans and Chinese don't notice bugs in the superior, more cultured and more beautiful way that the Japanese do.
Now being a stupid, semi-evolved, primitive non-Japanese, I was a bit confused when I read that because I recall things differently. When I was in the US---and even now---I notice things like that and can associate those things with seasons or nostalgia or other things. Now ol' Barcode head did admit that it could be possible for us robot-like foreigners to notice insect sounds and perhaps even enjoy them, but he implied it would be in a sort of inferior sub-Japanese way.
I googled "poems about insect sounds" and got 1.5 million hits. The first several pages---I went no further---had numerous references to such in the west, and mainly in the USA. (Because I used US Google. Wouldn't be surprised if Fujiwara's less logical, humor-filled British had a few too, as well as the Chinese, Koreans, and all other folks on the planet).
Oh drat! Oh fiddle! Now I am more confused! I am sure the quality of the western stuff is poor compared to that of Fujiwara-chan's neo-bushidoist Japan. It has to be, because he said it was. To use his logic: It is because it just is!
Now being a stupid, semi-evolved, primitive non-Japanese, I was a bit confused when I read that because I recall things differently. When I was in the US---and even now---I notice things like that and can associate those things with seasons or nostalgia or other things. Now ol' Barcode head did admit that it could be possible for us robot-like foreigners to notice insect sounds and perhaps even enjoy them, but he implied it would be in a sort of inferior sub-Japanese way.
I googled "poems about insect sounds" and got 1.5 million hits. The first several pages---I went no further---had numerous references to such in the west, and mainly in the USA. (Because I used US Google. Wouldn't be surprised if Fujiwara's less logical, humor-filled British had a few too, as well as the Chinese, Koreans, and all other folks on the planet).
Oh drat! Oh fiddle! Now I am more confused! I am sure the quality of the western stuff is poor compared to that of Fujiwara-chan's neo-bushidoist Japan. It has to be, because he said it was. To use his logic: It is because it just is!
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Japan Times on Fujiwara
Andrew Rankin has reviewed Fujiwara's comic book The Dignity of the Nation for the Japan Times entitled: A question of dignity or a cause for embarrassment. He begins by stating the deliberate similarity of the title of Fujiwara's latest to a nationalist pamphlet issued by the WW2 era Japanese government in which asserted the superiority of Japanese culture. (Just like Fujiwara does in this hack job.)
He has the same worry I do:
"Rather worrisomely, "The Dignity of a Nation" was one of Japan's top sellers in 2006..."
and
"It is depressing to hear an intellectual who has spent several years in Europe and America regurgitate the old myth about Japan being the "only country to have four distinct seasons."
"You can listen to most of Fujiwara's other ideas for free at any noodle stand in Japan." All quotes from his review in today's Japan Times. Read the full review HERE.
I think Rankin was a bit soft on the silly old doofus, but obviously he didn't want nor need to waste much time on every idiotic thing Fujiwara wrote.
He has the same worry I do:
"Rather worrisomely, "The Dignity of a Nation" was one of Japan's top sellers in 2006..."
and
"It is depressing to hear an intellectual who has spent several years in Europe and America regurgitate the old myth about Japan being the "only country to have four distinct seasons."
"You can listen to most of Fujiwara's other ideas for free at any noodle stand in Japan." All quotes from his review in today's Japan Times. Read the full review HERE.
I think Rankin was a bit soft on the silly old doofus, but obviously he didn't want nor need to waste much time on every idiotic thing Fujiwara wrote.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Fujiwara's version of Logic.
Fujiwara spends a lot of time in his book, The Dignity of the Nation, explaining his stunning new revelation that "simple logic" can't solve all the world's problems. He claims that Mr. Spock-like westerners cannot understand this shocking new piece of Fuijawarian neo-bushidoism. (The English may get it to some degree---I assume. He does not say so, but he does imply that the British are less logical than Americans because of their use of humor over logic. They're more clownish than rational?)
Masahiko-sama claims that at a school graduation in Japan, a student asked why it was wrong to kill someone and none of the teachers could answer.
He then takes the universal statement, "It is wrong to kill a human being" then uses logic to show that the statement is logically flawed. He points out that there could be 50 reasons why it isn't wrong, and 50 more why it is, which in his mind shows that logic is useless here. And then he uses his razor-sharp mind to inform us that it is more than just a question of logic!!! Who would disagree? Naturally it is more, but that does not preclude the use of logic to attempt to explain it or to challenge it.
However, what he did was show that the initial statement itself is is an overly-broad universal statement. All one has to do to show the flaw in a universal statement is to show one instance in which it is not true, and Fujiwara-SAMA did so. He then makes an absurdly nonsensical leap to conclude that since he has shown that the initial statement might be debatable with logical arguments on both sides that logic doesn't work here!!!! According to him, you cannot provide a logical explanation for the above statement, so you just have to accept it as true: It is wrong to kill a human being because it just is. Fujiwara says so. Don't think, don't question, just shut up and believe the elites of Fujiwara's neo-bushido dream world in which the non-elites have no rights except the right to complain. (He contradicted his own argument in reaching this conclusion, but he is very good at contradicting himself throughout the book.)
Fujiwara does not seem to understand that the reason that it is difficult to logically explain the rationale for such a universal statement is because it is a universal statement and likely logically flawed right off the bat. Yes, it is hard to logically explain a logical fallacy.
However, as I mentioned, there are some who do believe that killing is always wrong and those with perhaps a bit more intellect and knowledge than Fujiwara could use logic to support their position. After all, a Quaker or a Buddhist, or simply someone who opposes any killing could come up with logic to support their position. Doesn't mean the logic is always perfect or that one could not logically argue the opposite. Again, Fujiwara seems to have little understanding of what logic is, or he assumes his audience has no clue. What does that say about Fujiwara and his opinion of the people of Japan?
His book is based on attacking logic and asserting that one must just accept what they are told. Forget using your brain. He comes up with dozens of strawman arguments (e.g. westerners, especially Americans, believe that logic can explain everything and solve all problems), hilariously absurd errors in facts about American society (Americans take typing in English class and don't study English and that's why none of them can spell as good as he can), selective amnesia about Japanese history, and more. He is inconsistent throughout the book, arguing one way on one page and the other on the next. But then again, since he has shown logic to be useless if it does not support his argument, there would be no need for him to do much more than just make assertions and claims based on his neo-bushidoist fantasies.
I could write another book---as could a reasonably intelligent American third-grader provided he or she isn't too busy shoplifting when folks aren't watching---on this thing. I will do some more posts, but then again, I don't think he is worth it. He does represent a current of thought in Japan, one that supports Abe and others of the nationalist right in many aspects. It is amazing to me that anyone except for the most ardent believer in the myths of Japan could take any of this even slightly seriously. Most of it is extraordinarily silly. I expected more, even from a nihonjinron writer.
Sorry for any spellling mistakes as I done never taked English in English class, I done taked typerighting. I remember different, but I cannot logically argue with Fujiwara. I taked typerighting in Enlish class cause he done said so.
Masahiko-sama claims that at a school graduation in Japan, a student asked why it was wrong to kill someone and none of the teachers could answer.
He then takes the universal statement, "It is wrong to kill a human being" then uses logic to show that the statement is logically flawed. He points out that there could be 50 reasons why it isn't wrong, and 50 more why it is, which in his mind shows that logic is useless here. And then he uses his razor-sharp mind to inform us that it is more than just a question of logic!!! Who would disagree? Naturally it is more, but that does not preclude the use of logic to attempt to explain it or to challenge it.
However, what he did was show that the initial statement itself is is an overly-broad universal statement. All one has to do to show the flaw in a universal statement is to show one instance in which it is not true, and Fujiwara-SAMA did so. He then makes an absurdly nonsensical leap to conclude that since he has shown that the initial statement might be debatable with logical arguments on both sides that logic doesn't work here!!!! According to him, you cannot provide a logical explanation for the above statement, so you just have to accept it as true: It is wrong to kill a human being because it just is. Fujiwara says so. Don't think, don't question, just shut up and believe the elites of Fujiwara's neo-bushido dream world in which the non-elites have no rights except the right to complain. (He contradicted his own argument in reaching this conclusion, but he is very good at contradicting himself throughout the book.)
Fujiwara does not seem to understand that the reason that it is difficult to logically explain the rationale for such a universal statement is because it is a universal statement and likely logically flawed right off the bat. Yes, it is hard to logically explain a logical fallacy.
However, as I mentioned, there are some who do believe that killing is always wrong and those with perhaps a bit more intellect and knowledge than Fujiwara could use logic to support their position. After all, a Quaker or a Buddhist, or simply someone who opposes any killing could come up with logic to support their position. Doesn't mean the logic is always perfect or that one could not logically argue the opposite. Again, Fujiwara seems to have little understanding of what logic is, or he assumes his audience has no clue. What does that say about Fujiwara and his opinion of the people of Japan?
His book is based on attacking logic and asserting that one must just accept what they are told. Forget using your brain. He comes up with dozens of strawman arguments (e.g. westerners, especially Americans, believe that logic can explain everything and solve all problems), hilariously absurd errors in facts about American society (Americans take typing in English class and don't study English and that's why none of them can spell as good as he can), selective amnesia about Japanese history, and more. He is inconsistent throughout the book, arguing one way on one page and the other on the next. But then again, since he has shown logic to be useless if it does not support his argument, there would be no need for him to do much more than just make assertions and claims based on his neo-bushidoist fantasies.
I could write another book---as could a reasonably intelligent American third-grader provided he or she isn't too busy shoplifting when folks aren't watching---on this thing. I will do some more posts, but then again, I don't think he is worth it. He does represent a current of thought in Japan, one that supports Abe and others of the nationalist right in many aspects. It is amazing to me that anyone except for the most ardent believer in the myths of Japan could take any of this even slightly seriously. Most of it is extraordinarily silly. I expected more, even from a nihonjinron writer.
Sorry for any spellling mistakes as I done never taked English in English class, I done taked typerighting. I remember different, but I cannot logically argue with Fujiwara. I taked typerighting in Enlish class cause he done said so.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Fujiwara, Masahiko
AKA Ol' barcode head (barcode is what Japanese call those guys who are bald on top but let their hair grow long on the side then comb it over the top in the belief that nobody will know) has had his intellectual masterpiece (AHAHAHAHAHA) translated into English. I just got a copy, and frankly I have given him too much credit in the past based on some partial translations of it. I am actually stunned that anyone could take it seriously. A third grade kid would know better I would assume.
I haven't read it all, but the first few chapters are spent with a unbelievably weak, shallow attempt to refute ration, reason, and logic. One way he attempts to do this is to set up a straw man argument that logic can explain everything and solve all problems, and then attacking it. The first question one would ask is "Who said this was true? Who believes this?" He doesn't say, but he implies that this is what the West believes. (From what I have read so far, it appears he truly believes this.) We are all like Mr. Spock.
In the forward, he humorously states that these are his beliefs, and he believes he is right and everyone else is wrong. OK, no problem there, at least he admits what the rest of us deny. The question I have is why did this book become so popular in Japan when in later sections he opposes any rights/freedoms at all except for the right to criticize leaders and rejects democracy in favor of a dictatorship of the elite. (Yes, dictatorship. If they make all decisions and tell everyone what to do, no matter how benevolent, is it not a dictatorship?)
He believes the elite---I have only skimmed the later chapters so far and haven't a clear definition of who he means by elite---should govern. And naturally, as before when he said something about saving the world through bushido, he believes that he has something here that the world can learn from.
I plan to read this over the next few days and check some of his facts, many of which are very, very questionable, if not obviously wrong on first glance.( There are no footnotes/references for his assertions/facts anywhere in this book which should tell us something, although this is not unusual in these types of books written in Japanese for Japanese.)
Please forgive any spelling or grammar errors. As Fujiwara said, Americans can't write English because in English classes we only learn typing. (I never knew that. My English teachers were all radical nuts who taught English grammar, spelling, composition and that kind of stuff. But this is Japan. If it is written in a book by a guy with a PhD in any subject, it has to be true. Cannot doubt nor debate it. Especially if he has a barcode on his bald head.)
We must once again be "Japan the proud, Japan the different," Masahiko Fujiwara.
Has it ever not been? Has it ever truly been "Japan the humble, the same as others"? In action and core beliefs as well as in tatemae (window dressing) words?
I haven't read it all, but the first few chapters are spent with a unbelievably weak, shallow attempt to refute ration, reason, and logic. One way he attempts to do this is to set up a straw man argument that logic can explain everything and solve all problems, and then attacking it. The first question one would ask is "Who said this was true? Who believes this?" He doesn't say, but he implies that this is what the West believes. (From what I have read so far, it appears he truly believes this.) We are all like Mr. Spock.
In the forward, he humorously states that these are his beliefs, and he believes he is right and everyone else is wrong. OK, no problem there, at least he admits what the rest of us deny. The question I have is why did this book become so popular in Japan when in later sections he opposes any rights/freedoms at all except for the right to criticize leaders and rejects democracy in favor of a dictatorship of the elite. (Yes, dictatorship. If they make all decisions and tell everyone what to do, no matter how benevolent, is it not a dictatorship?)
He believes the elite---I have only skimmed the later chapters so far and haven't a clear definition of who he means by elite---should govern. And naturally, as before when he said something about saving the world through bushido, he believes that he has something here that the world can learn from.
I plan to read this over the next few days and check some of his facts, many of which are very, very questionable, if not obviously wrong on first glance.( There are no footnotes/references for his assertions/facts anywhere in this book which should tell us something, although this is not unusual in these types of books written in Japanese for Japanese.)
Please forgive any spelling or grammar errors. As Fujiwara said, Americans can't write English because in English classes we only learn typing. (I never knew that. My English teachers were all radical nuts who taught English grammar, spelling, composition and that kind of stuff. But this is Japan. If it is written in a book by a guy with a PhD in any subject, it has to be true. Cannot doubt nor debate it. Especially if he has a barcode on his bald head.)
We must once again be "Japan the proud, Japan the different," Masahiko Fujiwara.
Has it ever not been? Has it ever truly been "Japan the humble, the same as others"? In action and core beliefs as well as in tatemae (window dressing) words?
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Princess Kiko has a new baby boy.
or, is he a god like some of the old rightwing retroーgrouches like to claim the emperor is. At any rate, any possibility of considering a woman as emperor is now gone forever---or at least a really long time. The media has started to go nuts---like the US media did when Princess Diana died.
This will be good for the emperor worshipers which are still more numerous in Japan than we were led to believe by folks like ol' Eddy O. Reischauer. One of the big concerns the bigoted fools who run the country have, is that if a woman became emperor, she could marry an evil, disgusting "blue-eyed foreigner" and their child ---with the polluted "mixed" blood could become emperor as former trade minister Takeo Hinamura stated:
Former trade minister Takeo Hiranuma said at a rally in February that ``if Aiko becomes the reigning empress, and gets involved with a blue-eyed foreigner while studying abroad and marries him, their child may be emperor,'' according to the Associated Press. ``We should never let that happen
Imagine what would happen if she married someone from another Asian country or someone with darker skin, say of African descent. Eeew, the pure Japanese blood would be polluted! (Oh, don't ever mention that Japanese blood is not pure anyway, since Ainu, Chinese, and Korean are in the Japanese gene pool.)
Ah, but there is no bigotry or racism in Japan.
Be aware that Hinamura is not really a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He is just a typical Japanese leader who like Fujiwara, is protecting the Dignity of a State. Banzai!!!
This will be good for the emperor worshipers which are still more numerous in Japan than we were led to believe by folks like ol' Eddy O. Reischauer. One of the big concerns the bigoted fools who run the country have, is that if a woman became emperor, she could marry an evil, disgusting "blue-eyed foreigner" and their child ---with the polluted "mixed" blood could become emperor as former trade minister Takeo Hinamura stated:
Former trade minister Takeo Hiranuma said at a rally in February that ``if Aiko becomes the reigning empress, and gets involved with a blue-eyed foreigner while studying abroad and marries him, their child may be emperor,'' according to the Associated Press. ``We should never let that happen
Imagine what would happen if she married someone from another Asian country or someone with darker skin, say of African descent. Eeew, the pure Japanese blood would be polluted! (Oh, don't ever mention that Japanese blood is not pure anyway, since Ainu, Chinese, and Korean are in the Japanese gene pool.)
Ah, but there is no bigotry or racism in Japan.
Be aware that Hinamura is not really a member of the Ku Klux Klan. He is just a typical Japanese leader who like Fujiwara, is protecting the Dignity of a State. Banzai!!!
Friday, May 19, 2006
Bushido Saves the World
A few months ago, I wrote about a Japanese writer who claimed that westerners could not understand the famous poem about the frog and pond written by a Japanese poet Basho(?) because we are unable to tell the difference between one frog and many. This was according to a Japanese guy who was reading the book and found parts of it ludicrous.
Well the name of the author is Masahiko Fujiwara, who is a mathematician who taught in the US for 3 years and, as do most Japanese who spend a few months in the USA (or with foreigners who spend a few months in Japan, or just visit) became and expert on the US and American culture.
He has written a book entitled Kokka no Kinkaku, most commonly translated as The Dignity of the State. According to what I have read, and what people have told me, he believes Japan should return to Bushido as capitalism has destroyed Japan. (As usual, the evil foreign devils and their filthy ideas have damaged the purity of the Japanese.) He also claims that the Japanese are an emotional people (others are coldly logical, like Mr. Spock perhaps) and that rational, logical thought does not fit well with Japanese (and brings up the straw man argument that logic cannot explain everything). Yes, he is a mathematical. Do not think logically about this contradiction. One person told me that he wrote that one cannot logically explain why we should not commit murder. Apparently, emotion and bushido can. This helps explain the behavior of Japanese troops in China and other places in World War 2, I suppose. To give him credit, he does say that the behavior of Japanese troops in the war was a "humiliating" failure of bushido.
He is also one of the brilliant experts of Japan whose expertise extends to every single subject on earth, not just his area. So he has become and expert, apparently, on language acquisition without bothering to check any research. (Oh, forgot, logic does not apply here.) He claims that Japanese children should not be taught English, or any other language, while young as it will take away from their Japanese ability. Language learning is a zero-sum game.
Fujiwara also includes the usual explanations of how America is responsible for Japan's troubles, as well as similar stuff about the Chinese. Again, it's those foreign bastards.
It is good to know that logic is not required in Japan. 2+2=22. I need not prove that logically, it is because it is tradition. I believe it. You must too.
This book has become a record top seller in Japan. I have a copy and am starting the laborious task of translating parts of it. I will try to avoid distortions or taking things out of context. I will have to have help from my Japanese teacher and friends too as my language skills aren't sufficient to accurately do it, especially when things are very nuanced. Or maybe I should not worry about accuracy, as that would be a logical argument and committing various logical fallacies in analyzing what he says would be acceptable. This is Japan, after all. And I am turning Japanese. You as an impure foreign devil could never understand anyway.
Well the name of the author is Masahiko Fujiwara, who is a mathematician who taught in the US for 3 years and, as do most Japanese who spend a few months in the USA (or with foreigners who spend a few months in Japan, or just visit) became and expert on the US and American culture.
He has written a book entitled Kokka no Kinkaku, most commonly translated as The Dignity of the State. According to what I have read, and what people have told me, he believes Japan should return to Bushido as capitalism has destroyed Japan. (As usual, the evil foreign devils and their filthy ideas have damaged the purity of the Japanese.) He also claims that the Japanese are an emotional people (others are coldly logical, like Mr. Spock perhaps) and that rational, logical thought does not fit well with Japanese (and brings up the straw man argument that logic cannot explain everything). Yes, he is a mathematical. Do not think logically about this contradiction. One person told me that he wrote that one cannot logically explain why we should not commit murder. Apparently, emotion and bushido can. This helps explain the behavior of Japanese troops in China and other places in World War 2, I suppose. To give him credit, he does say that the behavior of Japanese troops in the war was a "humiliating" failure of bushido.
He is also one of the brilliant experts of Japan whose expertise extends to every single subject on earth, not just his area. So he has become and expert, apparently, on language acquisition without bothering to check any research. (Oh, forgot, logic does not apply here.) He claims that Japanese children should not be taught English, or any other language, while young as it will take away from their Japanese ability. Language learning is a zero-sum game.
Fujiwara also includes the usual explanations of how America is responsible for Japan's troubles, as well as similar stuff about the Chinese. Again, it's those foreign bastards.
It is good to know that logic is not required in Japan. 2+2=22. I need not prove that logically, it is because it is tradition. I believe it. You must too.
This book has become a record top seller in Japan. I have a copy and am starting the laborious task of translating parts of it. I will try to avoid distortions or taking things out of context. I will have to have help from my Japanese teacher and friends too as my language skills aren't sufficient to accurately do it, especially when things are very nuanced. Or maybe I should not worry about accuracy, as that would be a logical argument and committing various logical fallacies in analyzing what he says would be acceptable. This is Japan, after all. And I am turning Japanese. You as an impure foreign devil could never understand anyway.
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Westerners Cannot Understand Haiku--Nihonjinron 2
(Note: This post has been self-censored.)
A student of mine was telling me about a book written by a Japanese math "scholar" in which claim was made that westerners cannot truly understand haiku. You see, we can't picture the image represented by the poems.
For example, Basho's famous poem of the frog goes something like:
An old pond.
A frog jumps in.
Splash!
Westerners cannot get this. We cannot discriminate between one frog and a number of frogs:
An old pond.
Frogs jump in,
Splash!
A student of mine was telling me about a book written by a Japanese math "scholar" in which claim was made that westerners cannot truly understand haiku. You see, we can't picture the image represented by the poems.
For example, Basho's famous poem of the frog goes something like:
An old pond.
A frog jumps in.
Splash!
Westerners cannot get this. We cannot discriminate between one frog and a number of frogs:
An old pond.
Frogs jump in,
Splash!
This fool posing as a scholar (note: I later learned that this was Fujiwara Masahiko) is a perfect example of the those who come up with this ninhonjinron (theory of the Japanese) garbage. And most is as idiotic as the above.
This kind of thing is wide-spread in Japan. You always hear the Japanese talking of "we Japanese" much more than one hears other nationalities talking about their own specialness, uniqueness, and implied superiority.
Usually the thinking behind it is as shallow as the ignorance of others required for someone to believe it is. Let's see, most places have ponds, most have frogs, probably most people have seen and heard a single frog jump into the pond, or could imagine it, so why couldn't foreigners understand this haiku? The real question is, what kind of mind could come up with this ? A scholar????? A borderline r--c-st?
It is something you must get used to in Japan. You generally have to ignore it because you aren't going to change many opinions. The fact that you as a foreigner don't accept or believe it, or that you can refute it, seems to reinforce the belief that the Japanese are uniquely unique among many Japanese.
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