Strange Japanese Beliefs

basuotoko · 17 May 2007

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.

nice gaijin · 17 May 2007

The only one of those I've ever heard of was the water bottle ones, and from what I've seen it works pretty well....

so I guess I'm turning the fan off tonight

bakaKanadajin · 17 May 2007

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.

misa.j · 18 May 2007

I've heard most of them except the one with the windows open.
Here are three more that I know. Some older Japanese people can be very superstitious, and I remember being warned about many things by the old ladies when I was growing up.

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.

SushiShin · 18 May 2007

So now i know who puts off the fan at night! My japanese girlfriend do this
wait i've heard from a guy but im not sure he said one time that some of his girlsfriends sometime eat ginseng roots it enlarges your breast is this possible?? owh and about the water thing that drives cats away it didn't work a dog came instead of a cat

bakaKanadajin · 18 May 2007

Come to think of it, I remember in Hiroshima my uncle did something rather strange when a funeral procession went by. He either avoided looking at it directly, or said some small prayer or something, I can't remember exactly. His reasoning was that if you do not do this the next funeral is your own? Or something along those lines. I have no idea if this was his own superstition or a Kansai thing or what.

Ewok85 · 18 May 2007

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

Thats not Japanese - they do that in Australia and the UK as well

basuotoko · 18 May 2007

Ewok85 said:
Thats not Japanese - they do that in Australia and the UK as well

Yes! I was surprised when I heard about this recently. I've never been able to check it out myself, but I wonder how widespread it is. I don't really understand the whole thing in the first place.
First of all, I think the whole belief is that the cat will see itself reflected in the bottle and run away. Wouldn't a mirror work better?
Also, what's so bad about stray cats anyway? I've heard the downright bone chilling meows they make at night, but it doesn't matter if they're right in front of your house or a block away, you'll still hear it! ☝

misa.j said:
I've heard most of them except the one with the windows open.
Here are three more that I know. Some older Japanese people can be very superstitious, and I remember being warned about many things by the old ladies when I was growing up.

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.

I've heard something about nail clipping, too. But as I recall, my girlfriend said that clipping your nails at night will bring bad luck, possibly death. Similar to what you heard, but more direct.
Also, one of my friends told me not to sleep with my head pointed north because it might kill me. (A lot of small things cause death, it seems.)

SushiShin · 18 May 2007

Herbalﾂ≫┐ said:
So now i know who puts off the fan at night! My japanese girlfriend do this
wait i've heard from a guy but im not sure he said one time that some of his girlsfriends sometime eat ginseng roots it enlarges your breast is this possible?? owh and about the water thing that drives cats away it didn't work a dog came instead of a cat

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

Ewok85 · 18 May 2007

basuotoko said:
First of all, I think the whole belief is that the cat will see itself reflected in the bottle and run away. Wouldn't a mirror work better?

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.

Also, what's so bad about stray cats anyway?

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.

Also, one of my friends told me not to sleep with my head pointed north because it might kill me. (A lot of small things cause death, it seems.)

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

made of stone · 18 May 2007

Ewok85 said:
Thats not Japanese - they do that in Australia and the UK as well

Well i've never yet seen that in England, I must say!

Ewok85 · 18 May 2007

made of stone said:
Well i've never yet seen that in England, I must say!

My Granddad did it all the time, and when I did a search to read some more about it I found lots of .co.uk sites with the exact same stuff

DoctorP · 18 May 2007

basuotoko said:
Yes! I was surprised when I heard about this recently. I've never been able to check it out myself, but I wonder how widespread it is. I don't really understand the whole thing in the first place.
First of all, I think the whole belief is that the cat will see itself reflected in the bottle and run away. Wouldn't a mirror work better?
Also, what's so bad about stray cats anyway? I've heard the downright bone chilling meows they make at night, but it doesn't matter if they're right in front of your house or a block away, you'll still hear it! ☝

Yes, you will hear it, but the bottles seem to keep the cats from marking their territory (pissing) in my garage!

Dogen Z · 18 May 2007

>Eating peanuts will make your nose bleed.
>Drinking soda (especially dark ones) will melt your bones.

If they really believed this, it would be hard to explain all the bags of peanuts and cans of soda that are sold in convenience stores as snacks; why Coke is one of the best selling beverages in Japan, and; why peanuts are sold in a such variety as shelled, unshelled, and mixed with those rice cracker things.

>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.

Maybe your gf was just trying to test your mettle. I've heard that in some karate classes you are forced to train Tokyo in the middle of summer in a room with the windows and doors closed and no a/c. And in Hokkaido during the winter in a room without heating.

Did you pass the test?

gaijinalways · 18 May 2007

I remember reading on a cat website that the bottle trick was something originally discovered in Norway (or Finland). I have found it doesn't work on most cats, and I have never seen anyone with bottles in their garden in England. Here you see them in a lot of driveways withe stray cats knocking them over.

One of my favorites is one I have heard in Chinese communities and in Japan, 'Don't mix lemon with milk' (I like it in my tea). Supposed to be poisonous or something, strangely enough I have survived 47 years of the stuff.

basuotoko · 18 May 2007

Ocean Dude said:
>Eating peanuts will make your nose bleed.
>Drinking soda (especially dark ones) will melt your bones.
If they really believed this, it would be hard to explain all the bags of peanuts and cans of soda that are sold in convenience stores as snacks; why Coke is one of the best selling beverages in Japan, and; why peanuts are sold in a such variety as shelled, unshelled, and mixed with those rice cracker things.
>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.
Maybe your gf was just trying to test your mettle. I've heard that in some karate classes you are forced to train Tokyo in the middle of summer in a room with the windows and doors closed and no a/c. And in Hokkaido during the winter in a room without heating.
Did you pass the test?

Well, I don't think they believe that simply eating peanuts will make your nose bleed or drinking dark cola will make your bones melt, but rather that eating or drinking in excess can lead to such things. It's more like, if somebody's nose bleeds, they'll try to trace back the last time they ate peanuts and attribute it to that if possible. Kind of like how many people around the world try to blame junk food on acne when (as any dermatologist can tell you) there's not really a connection. But anyway, people still love junk food.
The fan thing isn't really exclusive to Japan. I've heard from friends that people in Korea also believe it, so it's probably East Asia in general. I know that a lot of people really believe this because I've been warned about it by several Japanese friends during the summer months.

Ewok85 · 19 May 2007

Ocean Dude said:
I've heard that in some karate classes you are forced to train Tokyo in the middle of summer in a room with the windows and doors closed and no a/c. And in Hokkaido during the winter in a room without heating.
Did you pass the test?

Most martial arts are done in school gyms - that means no a/c, no heating, and most of the time the best you can hope for is to leave a door open

basuotoko · 23 May 2007

As I often do for reading practice, I was looking at some blog entries on mixi.jp when I found a post from a guy who was worried about his health because of a recent nose bleed. In the comments section of his post, I happened to stumble upon the peanuts/nose bleed belief again.

A user commented:

突然なんてピーナッツ大量に食べすぎた時以来ないよ。

Translation:
Ever since a time that I ate a lot of peanuts, I haven't had a sudden [nose bleed].

So there it is again. While I doubt Japanese believe eating peanuts alone will cause nose bleeds, they obviously think eating a lot will. What I also found interesting is that the majority of people told him he should go to the hospital. I really don't think an isolated nose bleed or two cause to see a doctor, but the Japanese seem to go for really small things like this all the time. Hypochondriacs? Or is that part of the reason they live so long?

Anyway, that's another topic altogether...

gaijinalways · 23 May 2007

Doctors here tend to overprescribe, and a minority of patients live in clinics and hospitals (tend to be elderly or later middleaged). My wife will suggest to see a doctor over bruises, which I'm likely to ice and say 'ouch' about.

KirinMan · 23 May 2007

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

Actually I've heard that one used by American's as well, not quite that way and directed towards young athletes.

"Drinking carbonated soda's are detrimental to the growth of bones. "

Some of these "superstitions" evidently are based on old wives tales as I am sure that nearly every country in the world has.

For example here is one; "Dont each ocha-zukei in the morning"

Now at face value that sounds like a bunch of BS particularly in this day and age of "instant foods" but in the era of no refrigeration the left-over fish from the previous evenings meal was used in the preparation of the fresh "ocha-zukei", and if the fish wasn't fresh anymore it is easy to understand how or why someone might get sick from eating it the next morning. Easy to understand the reasoning behind that one.

How about this one; "Don't go directly home after attending a funeral."

Reason being that it is possible for a person to bring the dead or some dead spirits back home with them. So a person should go somewhere else before going home and once a person gets home have someone from inside the house throw a bit of salt at them to ward off any "dead" spirits that may have remained with them.

Tokyofan25 · 25 May 2007

these are quite intresting,IMO. Never heard of any of these

kiedistidus · 25 May 2007

well if that fan thing is true i should of been dead along time ago ill test it out on my dad tonite

Grammarsaurus · 25 May 2007

I keep a fan on 24/7 in my bedroom during the summer. I'm not dead yet!

made of stone · 27 May 2007

Grammarsaurus said:
I keep a fan on 24/7 in my bedroom during the summer. I'm not dead yet!

I find even when i'm really hot, and unable to relax, and thus to completely let go of my excess heat on a summer's night, that if I sleep until norning with a fan on me, I often wake up in the morning with a bit of a chill...

basuotoko · 27 May 2007

made of stone said:
I find even when i'm really hot, and unable to relax, and thus to completely let go of my excess heat on a summer's night, that if I sleep until norning with a fan on me, I often wake up in the morning with a bit of a chill...

Do you cover with a blanket? You gotta do that. 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.

Strange Japanese Beliefs

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