What made you like Japan/Japanese things?

[Tomii515]

hello people!

I don't know if this is in the correct forum, so feel free to move this thread!

Umm, anyways...

I just wanted to know what got people likeing Japan, Japanese language, Japanese culture, etc.

I think most people got into Japan from anime and/or manga.


How about me?:

I personally don't really like anime or manga.

Music got me into Japan!

I'm sure a lot of you have heard of Utada Hikaru. Well, the song "Passion" got me into Japanese stuff.

The game Kingdom Hearts, I was searches for the song "simple and clean" on youtube over a year ago, and i found it and stuff. Then, I found out there was Kingdom Hearts 2, but the English version of "Passion" ("Sanctuary") wasn't out yet. I found the Japanese version and I wa slike "woahhh"

So, yeah~

How about everyone elsE? =D

-Tommy

 

[frostyg02uk]

hey Tommy hisashiburi...not really that long haha but anyway.
My girlfriend got me into Japan. I met her while she studied in my city and lived with her for 3 years. after the 1st i visited her parents who treated me good and i made a few friends over there and actually liked being there. japanese language, music and other stuff came later probably due to exposure to them while i was there.

 

[Goldiegirl]

My husband....before I met him, Japan was probably the one country I didn't even consider visiting. I don't watch Japanese tv, movies, anime and don't listen to any Japanese music (of any kind) . Now though, having been to Japan, I do appreciate the culture, people and food. Knowing Japan helps me know my husband. I understand him now, more than when we first met.

 

[Kinsao]

It was the music for me, too.
When I started going on forums, I noticed that there seems to be quite a big crossover between people liking Japanese music and also anime and manga, but like Tomii I'm not a big anime/manga enthusiast (not that I dislike it, I just have never got into it in a big way) - I do like to see a really good manga (from the visual arts side of things) but I don't seek them out and collect.

The music led me to an interest in the Japanese language, and from there I learned a bit about different cultural things (also having a Japanese boyfriend for a few months, so obviously I learnt a few things about culture although on a very individual basis)... it is interesting but still music is my primary interest.

:music:

 

[Grandpa Frank]

Blame the navy !

In navy school, they said the top 3 people could go to Japan , and made it sound like the best duty station you could get. I worked hard and came out number two in class ranking, so off to Japan I went for 2 years. I was stationed near Fukuoka at Hakata base. At 57 years old, I still class it as the best 2 years of my life. The Japanese people were what I enjoyed best; treated me like a king.

Uncle Frank

 

[Davey]

To be honest... a girl with big ... made me start my interest in Japan.

That's the first time I got interested in Japan.

 

[Half-n-Half]

It's part of my heritage so naturally I was interested in it. Plus, a few visits to Japan didn't hurt ;-).

 

[maushan3]

Y'all are gonna hate me, but believe it or not, Fast and Furious: Tokyo Drift made me curious about the country, and then I came to realize that Japan isn't even like that and still got in love with the culture. Now I will to experience it firsthand and will see what Japan is all about.

Mauricio

 

[yukio_michael]

I think there is another thread like this called "What's your interest in Japan", but this one is fresh, and that's good...

My interest in Japan started a while ago w/ magazines like Mangajin which taught Japanese through classic serialized manga... not much like the manga of today, it was written in 1993 or so... I also picked up the still-in-publication magazine Tokion... back then, Tokion was very different, it was written half in English, Half in Japanese, and sometimes, in French... It focussed very much on Japanese popular culture, and isn't like the magazine is today. By Japanese culture, I mean, underground music, BAPE (okay, yes, sorry Pharell, Hova, Li'l Wayne, you are about 11 years late to this trend)...

Before I met Japanese people, I guessed everyone liked anime, even though I didn't really care for it myself... I learned a lot about Japan before moving there by having Japanese friends & room-mates.

The language fascinated me... though some people do not like it, I found it amazing, the nuances of expression, how much you could say with so little, how little you could say with so much... I love speaking Japanese, it's the one language I truly love... It's not a perfect language by any means, and I think many Japanese scholars know this, but... for me, it is my favorite language...

It's not Mandarin, whose tonality seems beautiful to me, Japanese has sharp edges, and in correct pronunciation, smooth curves that are hard to master. It's fun because of it's difficulty, in the way sometimes romantic languages are not.

I never got too much into the visual scene, or any scene, keep in mind there wasn't much of an internet going on when I began my Japanese fascination, and there wasn't a lot of available information... But being around real Japanese people was the best experience I could gain before moving there for a while... Truth be told, I'm an addict of sappy Japanese pop.

I find that the Japanese people can be enthusiastic about almost any thing, as compared to the lethargy and apathy of people in the United States, surely there is a dread in Japan that afflicts it's shut ins, but the love I found in the beauty of things by Japanese friends made a lasting impression on me.

I may never master the Japanese language, but I will always plod slowly forward, and I may never live in Japan again, and I may never, as the gaijin dreams, marry that perfect Japanese girl that people think exists... but that's okay... I love Japan nonetheless, just as much as I hate things about it I think should change, when you love something you need to hate the parts of it that are onerous and in need of change.

 

[Half-n-Half]

Awww that last paragraph was so touching and sad . Nice bit of catharsis at the end though . I know this is off topic, and I might be getting personal, but how old were you when you first moved? Also, what job did you hold and how long did you stay?

 

[yukio_michael]

Without going into too much detail, I did my own private consultation & support for a company in England for whom I had worked at a previous programming job... Things didn't work as well as I had hoped with them, and slowly everyone I knew who worked there left out of being screwed around for this that or the other... I had problems getting paid by them, and all manner of things.

Really, I miss my neighborhood, I miss walking a block and seeing a small bamboo forest... I miss the smell of yakiniku in the streets, the tatami mats that I slept on... I miss hearing tadaima..., and I miss responding with okaeri...... I miss the food even at Lawsons... I miss the matsuri and the adventure of being in a place totally foreign to me.

I went there so that I could have the chance to talk about a country that I had always been interested in, with just a little bit more authority, and I'll stress, just a little bit... I went there and it changed my perspective on things , and my life, in good ways and bad, in many ways, forever.