Anime doesn’t equal Japanese culture
I think we’ve heard this statement a lot. I mean, anime is just fiction and so it’s free to mend reality to fit the story it’s trying to tell. And some anime fans would be surprised to know that real Japanese people can act a lot differently than anime characters.
… at least personally, I think this statement simply isn’t true in some cases. Anime is indeed able to teach us something about the Japanese culture.
Chihayafuru introduced me to the world of Karuta, a traditional Japanese card game, which is something I didn’t even know existed. The anime (and manga) is featuring real shrines and places in order to make it feel as real as possible. It even made me watch a real queen match on YouTube because I fell in love with it. And not only that - it boosted the profile of competitive karuta in Japan and overseas.
Truly a masterful representation of Japanese culture.
This anime introduced me to koto - a traditional Japanese string instrument, which is something I, again, didn’t even know existed, making me and millions of other fans watch real koto performances. And if it wasn’t for this anime I’d completely missed it. Now, I can’t stop listening to it. Goddammit, anime!
Putting KyoAni drama of just-friendship between cute anime boys aside, Tsurune introduced me to Kyudo - Japanese archery. Now, I’m not stupid and I knew what archery was before but I certainly didn’t know that Japan developed its own traditions around a simple bow and arrow. And it certainly was fascinating seeing how competitions work and what goes into it and I’m thankful for that.
Barakamon isn’t even trying to introduce you to the world of Japanese calligraphy. The story focuses heavily on character development and not on the traditional art itself but seeing the main character desperately trying to find his own style or teaching children how to write beautifully in order to win a school competition still managed to leave an impact on me and taught me something new about the Japanese culture.
Noragami, Kamisama Hajimemashita and Natsume Yuujinchou introduced me to the world of Youkai, Ayakashi and Japanese gods and while I know that the authors made their stories unique and they aren’t 100% accurate to the real legends, they still count.
Kimi no Na wa shows a traditional shrine dance during which maidens make Kuchikamisake. Not to mention the hundreds of other anime which show a simple visit to a shrine like Hyouka.
Shougi - a Japanese strategic game similar to our chess is featured in a lot of anime - the most popular being Naruto.
And don’t even make me talk about the food.
What I’m trying to say is…
…anime did introduce us to Japanese culture and while it isn’t the best representation there is, we shouldn’t take away the credit it deserves and appreciate it.
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