Abstract
Japan is, and always has been, seen as a group of mysterious islands, of which people knew little about, due to its far location from Europe and America. Indeed, 250 years of almost complete isolation of the country, which started in the 18th Century (Tokugawa Era) did not help the world to increase its knowledge about this society. As a result, the Western vision of Japan stays inaccurate, even caricatured sometimes. This caricature is mostly applied to the Japanese people, who I will focus on in the first part. In the second part, I will deal with the Japanese culture, whose influence is growing in Europe and the United States. And in the third part, I will briefly talk about the image of Japanese organizations.
Extract
[...] In reality, the manga only corresponds to the paper version, whose origin goes back to the Nara period and was then popularised by the painter and drawer Hokusai in the XVIIIth and XIXth Centuries. in Japanese meaning 'drawing, painting' and 'Man' being 'involuntary, entertaining'. However, the word "anime" is the cartoon broadcast on TV, like the famous Dragon Ball Z And if the animation is that bad, it is because the concept dates from the 1980's where only 16 frames per second were created. Finally, the drama is mostly Korean and corresponds to the B TV-series. [...]
[...] Another thing which makes it hard to understand Japanese people is a question of physical appearance. How would a Westerner be able to differentiate a Chinese from Japanese? From a Westerner's point of view, their hair, skin and eye colors are all the same; which does not necessarily mean they are the same. Indeed, from an Easterner's point of view, Occidentals also all look the same, as they do not pay attention to the colors which make us different from one another, but the shapes of the face and body. [...]
[...] To what extent, if any, are Japanese people, culture and organizations transformed in overseas contexts? Japan is, and always been, seen as mysterious islands, from which people knew little about, not only due to its far location from Europe and America. Indeed, the 250 years of almost complete isolation of the country, which started in the XVIIth Century (Tokugawa Era) did not help the world to increase its knowledge about this society. As a result, the Western vision of Japan stays inaccurate, even caricatured sometimes. [...]
[...] [TV series] Directed by Daisuke Nishio. Canada, USA, Japan: FUNimation Entertainment, The Ocean Group, Toei Animation Company, Toei Company. Jack Herbert, 1999-2009. Pokemon: Cuddly death-monsters are cutting over. Japan Reference [internet]. [...]
[...] This vision has been enhanced by the book and movie Geisha, which did not particularly clarified this aspect. The hotchpotch probably comes from Europe's historical own Venetian courtesans, like Veronica Franco. Although some of these women were particularly intelligent, skilled for arts and very entertaining, they remained prostitutes. However, the Geisha is certainly not a prostitute, the word itself meaning 'artist'. These women's role, despite being entertaining and beautiful is moreover a role of facilitator between guests. The only man who can benefit from their sexual favors is the danna, their protector The second example is the Yakuza organization. [...]
