Your First Experience with Japan

[Yarantoiken]

Iron Chef. Then I got interested in Japan and I would watch HEY! HEY! HEY! on the late night international TV channels. I would sneak out of bed every night to watch the television with the sound really low so I wouldn't get caught. Of course, anime was involved too but I never realised that they were Japanese until I was much older. Then I had the token year of "omg anime is the best and screw the dubs, subs are so much better." I now can't watch much anime because I want to put needles in my ear drums at the sound of screechy, whiny anime characters.

Every time we studied East Asia in school I was really into Chinese and Japanese history. I took more in focussed classes and started teaching myself baby Japanese and learning the history of kimono. A teacher recommended I read "Memoirs of a Geisha," and it's all spiralled out of control since then.

Studied it at university, and now I want to get back to Japan to become fluent (JLPT 1 level) and start a career involving Japan. I'd love to be a diplomat or a translator. Alas, I can but dream!

[Liz Okinawa PA]

Grr! Stupid forum, erasing my post!

Okay, try that again...

Mine was an American comic book: Shi: The Way of the Warrior by Billy Tucci. That turned me into a Japanese history nut with visions of romantic adventure in my head. My first big culture shock/letdown was realizing how much of that romantic image was BS (Fukuzawa Yukichi's autobiography was particularly enlightening).

Around the same time, junior high, came Robotech, then Sailor Moon. Then lots more anime, hee. Which was not remotely helpful dealing with reality in Japan once I got here, but after the culture crash let up I loved what I found here and am now in the process of learning all I can about all I can.

And I'm still a history nut.

[Liz Okinawa PA]

I wouldn't really call Robotech Japanese. It was produced by Harmony Gold and was very Americanised.

I'm terribly sorry my own personal early experience doesn't live up to your standards of purity. Nevertheless, it was a gateway for me, and I am forced to stand by it as such.

[Liz Okinawa PA]

*rofl* Sorry. I was just pointing out that I also watched the same show and until I read your post I never really viewed it as "Japanese". It just made me think about how that could possibly have influenced me.

*nod* I know what you mean; they tacked together three Macross series' didn't they? Sailor Moon fans have the same Americanization grip, with the Sailor "Scouts" who went by names like "Amy Anderson" and taught lessons at the end of each episode with "Sailor Says." Same for Saint Seiya fans. Still, it got a lot of fans to do their own research and find out about the Japanese version--a lot of the really early Americanized anime did. Which is what happened with me and Robotech.

I wonder if the Japan-ized Spider Man manga ever got any Japanese kids into American comics?

[BradaPeace]

Learned a little bit about the history of Japanese Atrs, (particularly the Japanese Tea Ceremony) at varsity. I was intrigued by the philosophy behind it, but that was not enough to make me wanna explore the culture.

A couple of years after graduating, found myself working for a "fashion based makeup house" (MAC Cosmetics),that continuously launched seasonal makeup products inspired by the look of that season. There was one particular season where the company launched Hallo Kitty , and FAFI inspired makeup products. After reaserching on the "looks" that we had to design, inspired by Japanese pop culture, i just wanted to see myself in Japan right away.

I then found out about JET while surfing the net, looking for makeup jobs in Japan. I was scheptical to apply cos i often read of a myth that JET only recruits recent graduates, but eventually i applied.