Stan I have a question.........

[Usagi]

Its not about Usagi Yojimbo ,but about Japanese culture and lifestyle for the most part.

My best friend and her folks are from Tokyo, and I learnd a lot about her culture and the role of men and wemon.

Fumkio told me her Parints were in an Arragnged marrage., and I find that so Facinating.

I love the way japanese Wemon are, they are so helpful and cute and shy, And I notece , when Fumikos mother comes to my door, she walks back and away from the steps and stands there either waiting for me or Fumiko to come out. She rarely talks (although I try to talk to her all thetime but I speek such rotten Japanese)

Wel anyway to my point. Do Familys let there "Dateing teens" date if the familys hate one another?

I m asking this because I have a girl come up to me, she looks "NOTHING" japanese at all not a lick and she tells me her story about how she came to be and her whol, life stroy gig thing. Im LadyUne51 and shes RadicalEdward415.

Lady Une51: Ogange Deska?

RadicalEdward415: my neck hurts and buh

Lady Une51: no no C'mon talk japanese to me

RadicalEdward415: aishitaru une-kun no baka

Lady Une51: I know Im not Stuped and Im not a guy ,.......what dose aishitaru mean?

RadicalEdward415: i love you,and i'm just being goofy

RadicalEdward415: hai hai aishitaru une-chan

Lady Une51: Aishitaru to you too, Shelby chan

Lady Une51: Why are you hear?

RadicalEdward415: good question i been wonderin that for 16 years

Lady Une51: and thats your age right?

RadicalEdward415: yep

Lady Une51: why not ask your folks?

RadicalEdward415: i'm adpoted,my mother and father both died when i was very very young

Lady Une51: If you know Japanese and clame your from there you should know Exacly what happend and why your hear and such.

Lady Une51: So Why are you in America and not in Japan?

RadicalEdward415: you wanna know it all

Lady Une51: yep

RadicalEdward415: my mother was 14 and father 21, both family hated each other when i was 2 days old he shoot her then himself,his suisde note said he wanted me to have a life he knew he could not provide for me,my aunts and grandmother put me in plasement for a couple who wanted a girl,iwas brought here at three months only when i was about 8 did i know who i realy was,i learned the lanugage very quickly and got to know my mothers family,they say i look alot like her so they call me chibi-nao after my grandmother died there were only us for yoshino's left we scatered but stay in touch were kinda like a mini gang we love each other and watch out for one another.my fathers family dose not like me very much b/c i look like mama,they say i shame my father,but in truth i love them both,my life wouldn't be what it was without them,yes i love and miss my mother dearly,i was only in her arms for a short time and i do love my father his intertions were just but his actions were false,still i thank the goddess i have my roots in my land of the riseinf sun

Lady Une51: was your mom in a Go- Between?

RadicalEdward415: no

Lady Une51: Why not?

RadicalEdward415: dunno

Lady Une51: And Familys work togeather to find there doughter/sons perfect mate, and guys are not that crule to their wifes and familys who hated one another would not let their children marrie

Lady Une51: Japanese do not rely on hateing,

RadicalEdward415: they never married

Lady Une51: they never should have met in the first place, so your mom had a one night stand with "the enime" and got pregnet with you

RadicalEdward415: they were seeing each other secretly,he was a
teacher in her school

Lady Une51: Like I said, if the Familys hated one another, the lovers would not meet and move on, Love is not in there Dictionary as Americans see it

RadicalEdward415: i know

Lady Une51: So, Like I said, they would not see one another on acount of shaming their own Familys and causeing a ster, and if such was going on the Doughter would be band form seeing him and the family and Immediately be put going threw a go between and finding a right man, and right inlaws, Wemon do not have that much privlages and see things compleatly different then we do. They have a place, and no matter that is to please whoever she is marred too, and whoever treats her bad her father would take care of it, And they are imvreadibly shy around men anyhow.....

And thats it. What do you think of her story and is she right to a point about her folks really? Would japanese let that happen?

[Stan Sakai]

I don't know how common that is in contemporary society, but I did hear similar stories while growing up--either of double suicides because of loving someone outside your class, or because of family objections.

A friend of mine had an arranged marriage. Sharon's maternal grandmother was a picture bride. I don't know how common these are now.

[Stan Sakai]

I don't know how common that is in contemporary society, but I did hear similar stories while growing up--either of double suicides because of loving someone outside your class, or because of family objections.

A friend of mine had an arranged marriage. Sharon's maternal grandmother was a picture bride. I don't know how common these are now.

I think go-betweens are not uncommon, though.

[Usagi]

Oh, my Firend, Fumiko's Parints were in an Arrange marrage, and her mom (and girl family line) All went threw go-btwn. I dont know if they will let Fumiko go free to date ho ever she wanted, but Ithink they would because Fumiko talks of going to America and going to college and starting her own li' new life there, whitch I think is very nice too.

I can date whoever I want, but im still very limmited on guys, whitch is ok, I guss so, I really havea life bok so Im not worried about getting a guy right now, but go to college.

Could you tell me more about the classes of Japanese and how the double suicides ...and the Loveing of another class type? I thought things like this was like befor the Heisei and some Showa Era ....bit not now.

[Stan Sakai]

Could you tell me more about the classes of Japanese and how the double suicides ...and the Loveing of another class type? I thought things like this was like befor the Heisei and some Showa Era ....bit not now.

Lovers' Suicide is called "shinju". It still occurs occassionally, even today. I had read of one a few years ago between a girl and a burakunin (sp?). The burakunin were formerly the eta class, the lowest social order.

My maternal grandfather was against my parents getting married. It wasn't because he was and American (nisei) or in the US military occupation forces. It was because he was descended from the peasant class, and she from samurai. So, even in the 20th century, there was a class structure.

[Usagi]

My maternal grandfather was against my parents getting married. It wasn't because he was and American (nisei) or in the US military occupation forces. It was because he was descended from the peasant class, and she from samurai. So, even in the 20th century, there was a class structure.

Wow- really? Thats interesting, I did not know gradfolks were that objective like that, but I giss they just want whats best for there children, but in your parints case, it was ment to be ^^

I have another question, have you ever seen the Anime "The Grave of the Fire Flyes"? its about WW2- and my Dad was shocked to see about the mistrteatment this one Aunt char gave to her nece and nephue- My dad told me my therey of the mive and war was wrong and that I needed to know more about the Jaapnese culture back then.

Do you know anything about the culture back during the WW2?

[Stan Sakai]

I have never seen Grave of the Fireflies, though I have heard that it is a very good anime.

I'm not too familiar with Japan's WW2 culture. My impression is that it was the ending of the samurai era.

[takematsu]

I'm putting my beak into this thread only on the strength of having seem Grave of the Fireflies... brrr. Hard to imagine it was released theatrically as a double-bill with Tonari no Totoro. ANYWAY, I have the feeling that the Aunt's treatment of the central kids is less of a cultural thing, and more founded on wartime austerity and possibly some facets of her own personality. My Dad has similar stories from his childhood in Nazi-occupied Holland, and he was in an undamaged family in a place that wasn't getting firebombed regularly.

I suspect Auntie was also resentful of the kids because she percieved them as a dead weight in her house-- they weren't contributing much, but really, there wasn't much they COULD contribute. Again, there might be some Japan-specific "collective responsibility" issues behind this, but it could as easily just be the way that one woman was responding to the stress of living under siege and threat of invasion.

On the arranged-marriage front; there's a cartoon about it in a What's Michael collection, so it may still be functional

[Usagi]

Stan, Grave of the Fire Flyes is such a great movie, it makes you thnink about how Civilian life was like, inside Japan, reather then just war war nazi and Jews and Pearl Harber. I think you would really like it. The Ending of the Samurai era I think was closer to the turning of the centry then WW2-from the looks of it.Nut you really should take a look its such a tear Jurker ,But really really good.

Takematsu, thats what I mean abuot Grave of the fire flies,
My dad did not get why the Auntie was being so curl to her sisters childern, and Because "Nii-Chan (Sorry, I only got the Subtitles version)
is like Milliatry (note: the Aunt said something about Millitatry living in luctury) he got beifits no other civilion could really get, Nii Chan also thought because, his father was in the war, that they were ok, and that the war would be won, and he wouldent need to help anyone. His Anut know he could help more, and she asked him many times, and he had to much pride in beliveing they were all just fine. (and of cousre with the arguing about the White Rice after breakfest) Seachuco, his li, sister being his only real family, trusted him the most, and so, half the stuff, like, movieing into the one aria out away from the their Aunts house and doing things for themselfs, was fun and really neat, like any young child would.

I would Agree with the Aunt on a sent, but take the li' girl or something, but I do understastand that times werer scares and people only could think of their familys and loved ones, she thought that evin though, they had food, she dident want to wast on children who could help, well Nii - chan any way.

[/quote]On the arranged-marriage front; there's a cartoon about it in a What's Michael collection, so it may still be functional

What is Michael collection? iwill look into that fro sure.

[tru2gzus]

I don't know how common that is in contemporary society, but I did hear similar stories while growing up--either of double suicides because of loving someone outside your class, or because of family objections.

A friend of mine had an arranged marriage. Sharon's maternal grandmother was a picture bride. I don't know how common these are now.

I think go-betweens are not uncommon, though.

Sorry to bring up an old post, but, I saw a movie recently and I didn't want to ask Stan the same thing if someone else already covered it. After finding this post in a search I realized this movie might be of keen interest to Stan.

It's called 'Picture Bride'. It came out in 1994 & is PG-13. It was the last film appearance of the legendary Toshiro Mifune who it was revealed in the picture's extra material as having Parkinson's. He plays a benshi which was a narrator of movies. People often went to see movies based on who the narrator was back in the 2nd and 3rd decade of the last century.

It also has a couple other recognizable actors. One is Tamlyn Tomita (Joy Luck Club, Karate Kid 2) and the other is Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa (Rising Sun, Mortal Kombat, Memoirs of a Geisha just to name a few). If you haven't seen this movie, Stan, I highly recommend it!!
-Sean
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0114129/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Picture_bride

[tru2gzus]

Thanks for the PM reply Stan! You'd enjoy the movie if you saw it. The combining of Hawaiian and Japanese was very interesting.

[GrooTheW]

Sorry for posting this here, but the title looked apropriate.

It's totaly unrelated, but i was kinda hoping i'd get an answer.

Here goes..
I've been playing Go for quite some time now. I play on Kiseido's go server online mostly, and i've made some progress on ranks and the like.

I used to call myself Groo or SirSorrow online, and usualy went with images of Groo The Wanderer as an avatar. His brutal, nontinking, battletactics mirrored my own way of thinking back then.

However, now that i've learned some more about the game, and reached the rank of 6k (on kgs), i feel that i've not only gotten stronger, but also more compassionate/considerate, and i often sit and contemplate on my moves.
And to me, that sounds more like Usagi than Groo.


Which brings me to my question.
Would it be alright to use a picture of Usagi as an avatar on KGS?
And if so, should i link this website on my users info for referance?

Love your work, both in Groo and Usagi Yojimbo.
Thanks for all the great releases.

Best regards

[Stan Sakai]

Which brings me to my question.
Would it be alright to use a picture of Usagi as an avatar on KGS?
And if so, should i link this website on my users info for referance?

Love your work, both in Groo and Usagi Yojimbo.
Thanks for all the great releases.

Best regards

Sure, you can use a picture of Usagi, and linking to this site would be very nice.

[GrooTheW]

Wow, that was fast

Thanks a lot, I feel more at home with the noble ronin than the mindless barbarian right now

Will be sure to add a link to the info page, and i'll try my best not to dishonor his name ^^