#tatemae

[mental-food]

The first face, you show to the world. The second face, you show to your close friends, and your family. The third face, you never show anyone.

-Japanese Proverb

[japanesewords]

建前｜たてまえ｜Face, official stance

[study-to-rule-the-world]

Japanese culture (本音 and 建前)

WHAT ARE HONNE AND TATEMAE?

The first word, honne (本音), refers to what we really think in our hearts: opinions, thoughts, desires... The first kanji character of the word can have a meaning of "authentic", while the second means "sound". Clearly, honne is the "real voice" of an individual.

Tatemae (建前), meanwhile, refers to the behavior that we adopt in public, according to what is socially accepted or not by Japanese society. It could be translated as the "public facade".

WHY THIS DUALITY?

In Japan, the group and, by extension, society, take precedence over the individual. Let's remember first of all that the population density in Japan is nearly 350 inhabitants per km² (almost 9,000 for Tokyo!). It's therefore very important for the Japanese that society "works well", and that everything goes smoothly. They therefore prefer more formal responses or behavior, rather than saying what they really think and risking offence or inconveniencing those around them.

[hachikuji-study]

本音と建前

Honne and Tatemae I feel like talking a bit about this cultural aspect of Japanese. I feel that it explains a lot of things that people from western countries might not understand, and it applies to a few other Asian countries as well, although the Japanese have convenient words for explaining it. 

本音（ほんね）Honne is your true feelings that you have inside. It’s like what your heart truly feels, and deep emotions that you’d like to keep inside. Or, maybe you do want to say out loud, but you can’t.

建前（たてまえ）Tatemae is like your public face. There are rules to how society wants you to act, and you are saying/doing what is best for everyone/the group. 

Now, I know this happens everywhere, people usually don’t go saying every single thing that’s on their mind. But in Japan and some other Asian countries, this is a huge deal. To the point where people can be socially ostracized for going against it. Japan is a high context culture, and on to of that it is a collectivist culture. Meaning, what’s best for the group is all that matters, not your individual quarrels. So it’s very ingrained in the culture. Idk it’s just interesting to me, and it can be used to start a dialogue as to why certain things are a certain way. Why school uniforms are such a big deal, why people seem so polite, why are you not allowed to say “no”, ect. Like I said, this phenomenon is seen everywhere, but it’s especially important in Japanese culture, and I think it’s very interesting. 

[visual-musickal-blog]

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler, long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth; Then took the other, as just as fair, And having perhaps the better claim, Because it was grassy and wanted wear; Though as for that the passing there Had worn them really about the same, And both that morning equally lay In leaves no step had trodden black. Oh, I kept the first for another day! Yet knowing how way leads on to way, I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference.

- “The Road Not Taken” by Robert Frost - 

[sunmaylight]

Crossover Idea

An idea I made up when listening to some Kotonoha Project songs. Anything mentioned are things from my view and interpretations. (Note: this was first created before ‘G NEXT’, things will be edited later)

Disclaimer: item - owner

Kotonoha Project - Rerulili

Cardfight Vanguard series and franchise - Bushiroad

Idea for this crossover - sunmaylight

What if there was a crossover between Cardfight Vanguard G and Kotonoha project. It wouldn’t mess up the main plot at first, but it would add something else to character growth with the G characters. 

For example, Tokoha is like Ritsu Kanokawa from ‘Word Karma’. They both have a set view of the world around them that needs to be removed like a fog lifted from their eyes. For Tokoha’s case, it would be the view of being overshadowed by Mamoru. Growing an inferior complex to her brother when he does amazing feats in the Vanguard world doesn’t help as well. The time of the ‘Tatemae’s appearance would be before the fight between Tokoha and Chrono (the one outside in that clearing).

Shion would be like Ai Kutani from ‘Brainwash’. They are both in a slump in their lives that needs to be overcome. Shion’s slump is obviously during season 2 after ‘Ace’ made Shion lose the company. He needs the will to fight against his mistake and take back the Kiba Corporation. I sometimes find it hard to believe that Shion got a new determination/resolve after fighting Kai multiple times, then with the whole dream-estique experience. So I think of putting the Tatemae’s appearance around the thunderstorm scene after a few fights between Kai and Shion would work out well. Symolism of rain is gloomy and has a chance of bringing out the gloomy side of people sometimes.

Chrono would be like Sora Kuzunoha from ‘Blustering Behavior’. They both are trying to prove themselves to someone they look up to, but it backfires in their face. Who Chrono looks up to is actually going to be what he is. Who is Chrono and what was his purpose before he lost his memories and put in that orphanage. Because that whole thing of Stride Gate revealed some insight of Chrono’s past, but not enough where he could have sorted it out at the them. What I am thinking is that Chrono has dealt with ‘Tatemae’ minions for sometime, after finding his deck, all the way until ‘Gears’ Crisis’. Like his ‘Tatemae’s fights’ are activated during his actual Vangaurd fights. 

Chrono’s own Tatemae is revealed after he is kidnapped by little Myoujin. Like that whole situation of summoning the last of the Time Zodiac Beast into Earth and other stuff must have stressed Chrono to the MAX. Hence a strong ‘Tatemae’ comes out that Chrono tries to defeat, but can’t because he is too weak after his whole fight with Myoujin.

The real catch however, is that the ‘Tatemae’ is different with each character and doesn’t correlate to the characters themselves. They are actually going to be past evil units, i.e: “Яeverse” units, ‘Link Joker’ (void) units, ‘Deletors’, etc. Tokoha has a ‘Warrior of Void’ as her Tatemae as a warning of sorts of things that will come. Shion will have ‘Star-vader “Яeverse” Cradle’ to represent the next phase. Chrono will have ‘Daunting Deletor Oksizz’ because of the whole concept of ‘Deletors’ and Ibuki seeing a demon from the past he has to overcome before the final boss of this arc-thing’.

Honne are the character’s ‘Avatar’ unit. First stage is the ‘Grade 0 or 1′ that is shown in that specific point in canon. Second stage is the ‘Grade 3′ unit, the one that has much potential in them. Third stage is the ‘Stride Unit’, one that is shown to be a possible future of that character and unit. Third stage is a current ‘G-Unit’ that relates to that point in canon, much like first stage. 

Character’s Honne

Tokoha: ‘Spring-Heralding Maiden, Ozu’ - Asha - ‘Dream-spinning Ranunculus, Asha’

Shion: Sicilus - Altmile - ‘Transcending the Heavens, Altmile’

Chrono: Chrono Dran - ChronoJet Dragon - ‘ChronoJet Dragon Nextage’

The Last Boss:

This one is interesting. The last boss is Ryuzu Myoujin in his glory from the final battle of Company vs. TRY3 and friends in Stride Gate-hen. The song that is based off of this scenario is the latest song that got released for the Kotonoha Series, ‘Heaven and Hell’ (Tengoku to Jigoku). I can’t explain the mv in much words except, that it is a master piece. The whole concept for it in the CFV G-verse is that Myoujin doesn’t realize he has summoned his ‘Tatemae’ into the real world, so it’s a race against the clock to defeat Myoujin so that it will disappear. Everyone will go to there respective battles and everything will play out like canon, mostly. Ibuki will start fighting the Tatemae, after he loses to Myoujin, then punched like canon. Chrono encounters Ibuki like in canon. Then before his “death”, he gives Chrono a portion of his power to defeat Myoujin. It leads to ‘ChronoJet Dragon GG’ to form as Chrono’s new ‘honne’. During the fight against Chrono, I’m going to say Myoujin doesn’t have full control of his emotions being a child’s body with an adult mind. Because of that, Myoujin’s ‘Tatemae’ goes berserk because even though the ‘Tatemae’ doesn’t reflect on the person’s negative feelings, they are born from them. Que battle against Myoujin and when Myoujin ‘Strides’ to ‘Deus Ex Machina, Demiurge’, it is revealed to be his ‘Tatemae’. ‘Tatemae’ battle happens sometime near the end of the cardfight. After the Tatemae fight, everything happens like canon. But Chrono and Ibuki interact more inbetween ‘Stride Gate’ and ‘Next’ because they got that ‘Kotonoha Project’ power that ‘Tsukasa’ can use and Ibuki will be increasing that ability to the full extent as well as train Chrono.

Myoujin does not get a honne because of what happens at the end of ‘Stride Gate’ and because not all of the fighters who have seen or fought with the ‘Tatemae’ will birth a honne. Also, every honne Ibuki has used is because they are one of the main characters of the show. Or something, haven’t gotten to that part yet.

(I will go back to edit this and incorporate ‘G NEXT’ into it, but ‘G Z’ just started a few days ago and I finished ‘G NEXT’ not that long ago, so go Vanguard hype.)

If you want to use this concept you can, but credit me for the idea of creating this concept.

[audiovisual-dept]

[crnkl]