Strange Japanese Beliefs

[made of stone]

Do you cover with a blanket?

Yes!!

I point the fan directly toward my face in the summer heat (which seems to be just getting started now in Shizuoka).
Also, like another poster mentioned earlier, the sound of the fan is very relaxing.

Lol, that's exactly what gives me a head chill...

 

[Sennin_Xam]

Leaving a window open while you sleep will give you a stomach ache.

well it might not make you ill but it will keep you warm in winter and keep out burglers lol.

Leaving a fan on while you sleep will make you sick and may kill you.

Turnin the fan off at night probably wont save you from illness but it will save you on electricity.

Drinking soda (especially dark ones) will melt your bones.

This is a good superstition as well, might not melt your bones but will stop your teeth from rottin and from getting fat.

Leaving a bottle of water outside your home will keep cats away.

I dont know how common it is in the UK but i have seen some neighbours here in Scotland keep bottles of water in their gardens to keep cats out.

You won't be able to be present at your parents' death if you clip your nails at night.
Snakes will come out if you whistle at night.
Stepping on the threshold is a bad luck.

Interesting, my parents are Turkish and they think its unlucky to clip your fingernails and your toenails at night, also whistling at night is thought to bring out spirits and ghosts instead of snakes. Are snakes considered related to the otherside in Japan?
Can you explain what you mean by stepping on the threshold please?

Its also bad to look in mirrors at night among Turks too.

 

[leonmarino]

Interesting, my parents are Turkish and they think its unlucky to clip your fingernails and your toenails at night, also whistling at night is thought to bring out spirits and ghosts instead of snakes. Are snakes considered related to the otherside in Japan?
Can you explain what you mean by stepping on the threshold please?
Its also bad to look in mirrors at night among Turks too.

Wow!! This is another argument to support the thinking that Turks and Japanese are related not only by language, but also culturally. I read about it somewhere and it kind of fascinates me..

Anyway, this thread might be interesting too.

 

[Sennin_Xam]

Wow!! This is another argument to support the thinking that Turks and Japanese are related not only by language, but also culturally. I read about it somewhere and it kind of fascinates me..
Anyway, this thread might be interesting too.

Thanks for the link.
Turks are also very superstitious. I would imagine some superstitions are native to Anatolia, others to the region (Balkans through the Middle East), and others are traditional Turkic folk beliefs.
Its these Turkic folk beliefs that reach all the way into Inner Asia, the traditionally historic homelands of Turkic peoples, that i would think may be related to Japanese folk beliefs as well as other Asian peoples.
I dont know the ancient history of Japanese people but i think there is a theory that they also originated in the same general area as Turks and Mongols, so maybe the superstitions which are similar have a really ancient origin.
All speculative however, although nontheless still interesting.

 

[leonmarino]

Thanks for your reply. It's a subject I would like to know more about, but do not have the time for to research it properly at the moment. But who knows, maybe in the future..

By the way, welcome to the forum!!

 

[Sennin_Xam]

Thanks for the welcome leonmarino.
I asked my dad why they thought it was bad luck to cut ur nails at night and he said that you will have a short life. I dont know if not being present at your parents death is related (i.e. dying before your parents). Kinda spooky lol.

 

[Goldiegirl]

The nail thing is strange...we grew up with the belief that if you cut a babies nails with a clipper before they are a year old they will grow up to be a thief! So what's so important about finger/toe nails????

 

[包龙星]

Eating peanuts will make your nose bleed.
Leaving a window open while you sleep will give you a stomach ache.
Leaving a fan on while you sleep will make you sick and may kill you.
Drinking soda (especially dark ones) will melt your bones.
Leaving a bottle of water outside your home will keep cats away.

Can anyone think of others? I'm not sure how many people believe these, but I've heard and seen all of these in Japan (some several times). The fan one is really strange. I remember a few times in the summer when I spent the night with my girlfriend and she would turn the fan off in the middle of the night because she was concerned. I nearly died from heat stroke! Anyone who knows how miserable a Japanese summer is can attest to that.

I think old people mostly believe these,younger generations won't completely do that...
But it is interesting that many old chinese more or less believe these Strange Beliefs,such as my grandmother,she always told me not drink too much soda or there'll something wrong with my bones...she also told me not to eat too much peanut or I will get"ﾂ湘｣窶ｰﾃ? and nose bleed..
I don't know how do these strang beliefs come
:?:?

 

[SouthernBelle82]

Very interesting. I haven't heard some of these and I agree that the fan thing is weird. Right now here where I am in the world it's stuffy in the mornings when I go to bed but the thing that sucks is sometimes that air does get cold. I went on a cruise a couple of years ago and the air was on pretty cold with the room my family and I were staying in and I woke up feeling bad and had to take a warm bath to feel better. I've never heard of the dark soda one. That's interesting and the same with the bottle of water. Does that one work?? We used to have stray cats come around here a lot but they haven't in a while but I'll have to remember that one if it works.

Eating peanuts will make your nose bleed.
Leaving a window open while you sleep will give you a stomach ache.
Leaving a fan on while you sleep will make you sick and may kill you.
Drinking soda (especially dark ones) will melt your bones.
Leaving a bottle of water outside your home will keep cats away.

Can anyone think of others? I'm not sure how many people believe these, but I've heard and seen all of these in Japan (some several times). The fan one is really strange. I remember a few times in the summer when I spent the night with my girlfriend and she would turn the fan off in the middle of the night because she was concerned. I nearly died from heat stroke! Anyone who knows how miserable a Japanese summer is can attest to that.

 

[SouthernBelle82]

Doesn't seem to work for me. I've been having trouble sleeping lately and I always leave my fan on. I guess my mind is too busy thinking of stuff or something. That's how I do with my driving on the car but only because I'm short and can't see totally well over the seat head like I can with a mirror but if I'm parking out of a parking space I'll turn halfway backwards.

I slept with a fan on all summer, I couldn't survive without it. Good thing my girlfriend was American. I've read articles that say the 'white noise' of the fan is pleasant to the subconcious mind and helps you sleep beause it mimics the background noise of the womb. Maybe more Japanese would sleep better if they tried the fan hehe.
Also, thanks for explaining the bottles of water thing, I just DIDN'T understand it while I was there. I had assumed they were markers or something to help them park their cars because I often saw them in driveway entrances, and I notice the Japanese sometimes don't fully turn around in their seats the way Westerners drive when reversing, they use their mirrors and back up physically facing forward in the car.

 

[SouthernBelle82]

My bed is faced north (pillow) and I have my fan on but it doesn't seem to work for me. I slept alright last night once I fell asleep but it's falling asleep that's the problem.

No, because a mirror is flat - but a mirror ball would work very well
Its not the reflection of the cat, but the reflection/refraction of light that does it. You are supposed to half fill a bottle, and lie it down so it can move about a bit, but not having gardens, and having half full bottles would be dangerous, the idea still appears to work.
You are aware that cats carry various parasites and diseases that can have negative effects on humans, as well as on pet cats. I wouldn't get near a stray cat if I were you, and I always thing people are stupid to pet them.
No no no, you should have your head pointing north - ie. your bed lined up so the pillow is at the northern end. Its very important

 

[Arabic Boy]

that finger nails thing ☝

it's in USA , Japan But don't ask me how my mother do belive it too !

( Cutting you nails at night will make your life shorter )

as for the fan thing ... I don't know ... I use a A\C all the time

without it I will die becuse the temperture some time reachs 50 !!

 

[FrustratedDave]

You are not suppossed to sleep with your head pointing north b/c that is the postion they lay people when they die and it is not that you will die if you do it, but it is suppossed to be bad luck.

The fan and the window one are related and it is b/c if you cool your waist region it can give you the runs. So no it won't kill you. Also drinking cold drinks are thought of in the same fashion, as it will give you the runs too. Or so goes the superstition.

 

[Livia_Drusilla]

Eating peanuts will make your nose bleed.
Leaving a window open while you sleep will give you a stomach ache.
Leaving a fan on while you sleep will make you sick and may kill you.
Drinking soda (especially dark ones) will melt your bones.
Leaving a bottle of water outside your home will keep cats away.

I must say I have never heard about this before, but then again I haven't been to Japan yet. How many people believe in these things?
I actually kind of wish, that we had strange beliefs like this in Denmark. I love these quirky little things in different cultures!

 

[Goldiegirl]

I was told that sprits/ghosts live underneath the branches of weeping willow trees in Japan.

 

[bakaKanadajin]

I was told that sprits/ghosts live underneath the branches of weeping willow trees in Japan.

I heard that one too!
A piece of folklore I found:

Trees hold importance in various world cultures. In Japan the Buddhist religion has many folklore attachments to trees where nature spirits feature strongly. One such 600 year old story is told of a young Samurai Warrior, Tomotada, who whilst sheltering from a storm in a small forest dwelling beside three willow trees meets a lovely young woman named Aoyagi who lived there with her elderly parents.
Tomatada fell in love with the beautiful young woman and with his Lord's blessing he married the lovely Aoyagi and took her on his travels throughout the land.
Five happy years had past when suddenly and without warning the young Aoyagi screamed in pain and collapsed upon the floor. She reached out her shaking hand to the young Samurai saying ﾂ"someone is cutting down my tree; I can no longer withhold the truth from you.
The soul of the willow tree is my soul,
The heart of the willow tree is my heart,
The sap of the willow tree is my lifeﾂ".
Within seconds the lovely Aoyagi disappeared into a mist leaving only a pile of clothes in the spot where she had fallen. The distraught young Samurai returned to the Willow Grove to tell her parents of their sad loss. When he arrived at the spot where the dwelling had once stood, there remained only three forlorn cut down willow tree stumps.
Tomatada later became a Buddhist monk.

 

[Goldiegirl]

Wow bakaKanadajin, thank-you for posting the story of the willow tree. What I didn't mention in my post is that I was told that they are always woman spirits! Now I understand why! Excellent.

 

[basuotoko]

You are not suppossed to sleep with your head pointing north b/c that is the postion they lay people when they die and it is not that you will die if you do it, but it is suppossed to be bad luck.
The fan and the window one are related and it is b/c if you cool your waist region it can give you the runs. So no it won't kill you. Also drinking cold drinks are thought of in the same fashion, as it will give you the runs too. Or so goes the superstition.

Interesting... but you do know that diarrhea can kill? It is actually one of the leading causes of death of children in developing countries. But anyway, my girlfriend is very adamant about keeping the fan off at night. She's told me before that it will make me very sick (possibly leading to death). She takes these things really seriously. So maybe the story varies a bit depending on the person.

 

[caster51]

how about Kotodama?

you should not say that the cake will be cut(kiru) when a couple cut the cake at their wedding.....

you should not say speaking(話す、hanasu) when you request someone a speech at wedding

 

[FrustratedDave]

Interesting... but you do know that diarrhea can kill? It is actually one of the leading causes of death of children in developing countries. But anyway, my girlfriend is very adamant about keeping the fan off at night. She's told me before that it will make me very sick (possibly leading to death). She takes these things really seriously. So maybe the story varies a bit depending on the person.

When was the last time Japan was called a developing country?
And yes peoples oppinions will vary, but the general consensus on this one is that you may get the runs or catch a cold, but not die. BTW, what does you girlfriend do in the middle of a Japanese summer? Does she lock all the windows, turns off the fan and does not use the air conditioner? Must be like sleeping in a sauna.

 

[a51ts4]

Coke for ex. has caffeine and caffeine uses up the calcium in the bones. I guess it can be true to some extent.

 

[basuotoko]

When was the last time Japan was called a developing country?
And yes peoples oppinions will vary, but the general consensus on this one is that you may get the runs or catch a cold, but not die. BTW, what does you girlfriend do in the middle of a Japanese summer? Does she lock all the windows, turns off the fan and does not use the air conditioner? Must be like sleeping in a sauna.

I don't know... when I see guys pissing on the street downtown I sometimes forget that I'm not in a backwoods village of some third world country. Anyway, I'm just saying that it can kill, but that's really beyond the point.

Yes, the summer is tough with my girlfriend. It basically becomes a battle of will between the two of us. I crack the window and turn on the fan, and she'll at some point close it and turn it off. But everyone has their weird hangups. I studied at a university in Japan with a German guy who insisted that we never ever turn the air conditioner on in the classroom because it's "bad for your health." Are these people just gluttons for punishment or is it something in the water here?

 

[elektrokitten]

well, im replying on my own quote for the next reason :
i called my friend and i asked him it again and this is what he told me:
Herbalﾂ≫┐, my girlfriend(s) chop the root into pieces and put it on a plate and they add some salt and after a day,.. REALLY they breast have enlarge a bit☝
But you can also just use a lotion to enlarge it

Wonders where you can find Ginseng root in Okinawa ....haha~


Also is it true that it's disrespectful to take pictures of tombs here?

 

[KirinMan]

Also is it true that it's disrespectful to take pictures of tombs here?

Yes and to point at them either, even if you are just pointing them out to someone. Evidently there is a belief that it is disrespectful of the spirits of the dead.

 

[KirinMan]

Wonders where you can find Ginseng root in Okinawa....haha~

朝鮮人参, ちょうせんにんじん, Chousen Ninjin, or Asian ginseng, can be found here in Okinawa at any number of herbal pharmacies, however, real or otherwise, it can cost quite a bit.