Ask our reporter in Japan!
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Voice Actors
There are a lot of schools for people who want to be voice actors. One of the big ones is CHK Seiyu Centre. They don't care about your experience or education. First you have an audition, then if you get in they teach you everything you need to know, give you a manager who goes and gets auditions for you, make you a profile and demo tape and take photo's etc... I'm sure they take forigners, if they speak good Japanese and have a visa.
A woman who works with my wife went to one of these schools and used to do the voice for one of the supporting cast in OjaMajo Doremi.
Also, people can join an actors group that is run by a talent agency. When my wife was a kid she was in one of these- she was in a MacDonalds TV advert, a samurai drama, a detective series, and loads of other things. One of the other people who was is the agency did the voice for the main character in an anime series- I can't remember the name but it was similar to "Creamy Mami-", but she died of some illness a long time ago.
A lot of universities also run degree courses in becoming a VA.
I hope this has helped.
Manga
Manga is written in normal Japanese (a mixture of Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana). Manga that is aimed at a lower age group has what is called "furigana" which is hiragana or katakana written very small above the kanji so that you know how to read it. Adult targeted manga doesn't use furigana except when a hard to read kanji is used.
Only books for babies/infants are written in only hiragana.
Delinquents
Yes of course there are delinquents. Some of them end up as Bousouzoku, or Chinpira's (thugs who do the dirty work- i.e. beating people up etc... for the Yakuza). The collective name for them would be "furyou" (means something along the lines of "no -good") or "Yanki-" (no relation to the New York baseball team), I have no idea where the name came from.
There are a lot of schools for people who want to be voice actors. One of the big ones is CHK Seiyu Centre. They don't care about your experience or education. First you have an audition, then if you get in they teach you everything you need to know, give you a manager who goes and gets auditions for you, make you a profile and demo tape and take photo's etc... I'm sure they take forigners, if they speak good Japanese and have a visa.
A woman who works with my wife went to one of these schools and used to do the voice for one of the supporting cast in OjaMajo Doremi.
Also, people can join an actors group that is run by a talent agency. When my wife was a kid she was in one of these- she was in a MacDonalds TV advert, a samurai drama, a detective series, and loads of other things. One of the other people who was is the agency did the voice for the main character in an anime series- I can't remember the name but it was similar to "Creamy Mami-", but she died of some illness a long time ago.
A lot of universities also run degree courses in becoming a VA.
I hope this has helped.
Manga
Manga is written in normal Japanese (a mixture of Kanji/Hiragana/Katakana). Manga that is aimed at a lower age group has what is called "furigana" which is hiragana or katakana written very small above the kanji so that you know how to read it. Adult targeted manga doesn't use furigana except when a hard to read kanji is used.
Only books for babies/infants are written in only hiragana.
Delinquents
Yes of course there are delinquents. Some of them end up as Bousouzoku, or Chinpira's (thugs who do the dirty work- i.e. beating people up etc... for the Yakuza). The collective name for them would be "furyou" (means something along the lines of "no -good") or "Yanki-" (no relation to the New York baseball team), I have no idea where the name came from.
Miaka-chan
Stand User
Thanks Chris! as always, you're a mine of information 
Charter_Mage
Pokémon Master
Yes very interesting as always, really interesting actually, now my new aim is to learn Japanese and become a voice actor in Japan, yayMiaka-chan said:Thanks Chris! as always, you're a mine of information
:lol:Miaka-chan
Stand User
Hi! Chris ^_^
Here's a simple question and it's something that's been bugging me for a while now. When does the sun set in Japan? I know it sounds weird, but I've noticed in anime that it doesn't seem to matter whether it's winter or summer, the sun seems to set at around 5-6 O'Clock! and I was wondering if that's real or if it's just something in anime?
Here's a simple question and it's something that's been bugging me for a while now. When does the sun set in Japan? I know it sounds weird, but I've noticed in anime that it doesn't seem to matter whether it's winter or summer, the sun seems to set at around 5-6 O'Clock! and I was wondering if that's real or if it's just something in anime?
Hi Chris, first off thanks a lot for all the info in this post, it is ridiculously useful!
I was hoping you might be able to tell me a few things about academic philsophy in Japan, if you can? I'm currently studying for a degree in philosophy but hope to move to either New York or Japan to teach it once I've finished. Are the Japanese open or in anyway interested in Western philsophy and are they particulary interested in their own philosophy, academically? Is is taught in schools / colleges? Is getting a job in education a hard thing to do in Japan, especially for foriegners?
Also, are the Japanese particularly hostile to White/Caucasian/Western people? (I'm assuming that you are such, I apologise if not.) Do you ever feel unwelcome because of your foreign nationality?
Sorry to ask to many questions, it is just really fortunate to have somebody with first hand experience and advice that can help toward my career choice. Thanks!
I was hoping you might be able to tell me a few things about academic philsophy in Japan, if you can? I'm currently studying for a degree in philosophy but hope to move to either New York or Japan to teach it once I've finished. Are the Japanese open or in anyway interested in Western philsophy and are they particulary interested in their own philosophy, academically? Is is taught in schools / colleges? Is getting a job in education a hard thing to do in Japan, especially for foriegners?
Also, are the Japanese particularly hostile to White/Caucasian/Western people? (I'm assuming that you are such, I apologise if not.) Do you ever feel unwelcome because of your foreign nationality?
Sorry to ask to many questions, it is just really fortunate to have somebody with first hand experience and advice that can help toward my career choice. Thanks!
Moon
It's probably just an anime thing. The moon does have a rather romantic image here. Parted lovers often look up at the moon and think about their partner doing the same thing, sharing the moon so to speak. Actually, the "Tsukimi" ("moon viewing") period has just ended (or maybe it's still going on, I'm not so sure). It's similar to the cherry blossom viewing but on a lot smaller scale. This time of year the moon is said to be at it's most beautiful, although it looks just the same to me, maybe its a Japanese thing :roll: It is a tradition brought over from China.
Incedentaly, in the city where I live, Ichikawa, they don't celebrate Tsukimi. In the days of feudal Japan, a Shogun (maybe?) and his army got slaughtered in a suprise attack during Tsukimi. Since then they haven't celebrated it officially.
The western ledgend of "the man in the moon" is different in Japan. The Japanese ledgend is of "the rabbits in the moon" who appparently make mocchi (rice cakes).
Every day on the morning news they give you the times for sunrise and sunset. I think it rises at about 4 or 5am and sets around 6 or 7pm. Even though I'm always awake until 5am and watch the news, I can't remember. I'll watch it tomorrow (well, tonight) and post it up.
In winter time, I've got a feeling that it's still dark at 6am and rather dark at 4pm-ish. Also, they don't have Daylight Saving here. Maybe thats because they have a chime that goes off at 5pm to tell kids to go back home (you might have heard it in some anime)- it's run by the city council and you can hear it in the suburbs, but not in the cities- Tokyo is so noisey it would be impossible to hear anyway. There is also a different chime at 12-noon.
Philosophy
I'm not all that sure about philosophy here. I know The Jean-Paul Sartre is rather popular. I did a search for "Testugaku"(Philosophy) on Yahoo Japan and I got this list of folks:
Wittgenstein, Kant, kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Hegel, Russel, Marks, Confucious, Edward Said, Hugo, Weil, Steiner, Hannah Arendt, Husserl, Antonio Gramsci, Spinoza, Merleau Ponty, Levinas, Jacques Lacan, Gadamer, Hume, Alain, Plato, Sartre, Fichte, Schopenhauer.
Th Japanese philosophers were: Miura Baien, Nishida Kitaro, Takizawa Katsumi.
I'm not sure if they're ALL philosophers, there might be a few Sociologists in there too somewhere.
I know that all the big universities do courses on it, and there are a few programs on NHK. But other than that you don't hear much. I think some schools do a bit of it.
It's a shame because I love it. I was reading Nietzsche by the age of 10 and fell in love with old Bertie Russel at 15. I used to read a lot of Sartre and Karl Popper too (although his stuff is filled with mathematics and quantum physics and I didn't understand a word of it). None of it rubbed off though :lol:
I loved the book Russel did on the origins of language, and would have loved to have gone to that school he made- the one where he thought that if kids weren't forced to learn they'd decide to learn and therefore learn more because they wanted to, but instead just ended up playing outside so the school closed :lol:
After you get your degree and get yourself sorted, send me a copy of your resume, I'll translate it and pass it on to a few Uni's etc. I've got a lot of friends in high places 8) If you want to know more, please feel free to ask me anything thats on your mind
Getting a job isn't all that hard. Especially if you have a degree- you need a degree to get a working visa (no degree and the company won't even considder you) unless you get married, then degrees don't matter.
I am white and I've never felt any hostility- except for a few times on trains with drunk old geezers starting to have a go. Once you raise yourself to your full hight and stare at them they soon shut up, especially if you give them a slightly evil grin :twisted:
Most of the time people make me feel really welcome. I've heard stories of bad experiences forigners have had, but it's just bad luck, stupidity or a complete lack of common sense.
One story I heard was a bloke who went into a pub in an England shirt, was watching some sport on the TV, got really drunk and started shouting about how crap Japan were at everything- in a bar half full of bousouzoku. Lets just say that he was the one going home in a Tokyo ambulance.
Thanks for asking questions. Please everyone- ask more!
It's probably just an anime thing. The moon does have a rather romantic image here. Parted lovers often look up at the moon and think about their partner doing the same thing, sharing the moon so to speak. Actually, the "Tsukimi" ("moon viewing") period has just ended (or maybe it's still going on, I'm not so sure). It's similar to the cherry blossom viewing but on a lot smaller scale. This time of year the moon is said to be at it's most beautiful, although it looks just the same to me, maybe its a Japanese thing :roll: It is a tradition brought over from China.
Incedentaly, in the city where I live, Ichikawa, they don't celebrate Tsukimi. In the days of feudal Japan, a Shogun (maybe?) and his army got slaughtered in a suprise attack during Tsukimi. Since then they haven't celebrated it officially.
The western ledgend of "the man in the moon" is different in Japan. The Japanese ledgend is of "the rabbits in the moon" who appparently make mocchi (rice cakes).
Every day on the morning news they give you the times for sunrise and sunset. I think it rises at about 4 or 5am and sets around 6 or 7pm. Even though I'm always awake until 5am and watch the news, I can't remember. I'll watch it tomorrow (well, tonight) and post it up.
In winter time, I've got a feeling that it's still dark at 6am and rather dark at 4pm-ish. Also, they don't have Daylight Saving here. Maybe thats because they have a chime that goes off at 5pm to tell kids to go back home (you might have heard it in some anime)- it's run by the city council and you can hear it in the suburbs, but not in the cities- Tokyo is so noisey it would be impossible to hear anyway. There is also a different chime at 12-noon.
Philosophy
I'm not all that sure about philosophy here. I know The Jean-Paul Sartre is rather popular. I did a search for "Testugaku"(Philosophy) on Yahoo Japan and I got this list of folks:
Wittgenstein, Kant, kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Hegel, Russel, Marks, Confucious, Edward Said, Hugo, Weil, Steiner, Hannah Arendt, Husserl, Antonio Gramsci, Spinoza, Merleau Ponty, Levinas, Jacques Lacan, Gadamer, Hume, Alain, Plato, Sartre, Fichte, Schopenhauer.
Th Japanese philosophers were: Miura Baien, Nishida Kitaro, Takizawa Katsumi.
I'm not sure if they're ALL philosophers, there might be a few Sociologists in there too somewhere.
I know that all the big universities do courses on it, and there are a few programs on NHK. But other than that you don't hear much. I think some schools do a bit of it.
It's a shame because I love it. I was reading Nietzsche by the age of 10 and fell in love with old Bertie Russel at 15. I used to read a lot of Sartre and Karl Popper too (although his stuff is filled with mathematics and quantum physics and I didn't understand a word of it). None of it rubbed off though :lol:
I loved the book Russel did on the origins of language, and would have loved to have gone to that school he made- the one where he thought that if kids weren't forced to learn they'd decide to learn and therefore learn more because they wanted to, but instead just ended up playing outside so the school closed :lol:
After you get your degree and get yourself sorted, send me a copy of your resume, I'll translate it and pass it on to a few Uni's etc. I've got a lot of friends in high places 8) If you want to know more, please feel free to ask me anything thats on your mind
Getting a job isn't all that hard. Especially if you have a degree- you need a degree to get a working visa (no degree and the company won't even considder you) unless you get married, then degrees don't matter.
I am white and I've never felt any hostility- except for a few times on trains with drunk old geezers starting to have a go. Once you raise yourself to your full hight and stare at them they soon shut up, especially if you give them a slightly evil grin :twisted:
Most of the time people make me feel really welcome. I've heard stories of bad experiences forigners have had, but it's just bad luck, stupidity or a complete lack of common sense.
One story I heard was a bloke who went into a pub in an England shirt, was watching some sport on the TV, got really drunk and started shouting about how crap Japan were at everything- in a bar half full of bousouzoku. Lets just say that he was the one going home in a Tokyo ambulance.
Thanks for asking questions. Please everyone- ask more!
Miaka-chan
Stand User
You never get a long summer evening then like in the UK? I always hate it when it's light until 11pm, I think I'd prefer the sun to set at 6 or 7 every night (it's stop those little gits making a noise at the side of my house every night! They stop when it gets dark :lol: ).
Charter_Mage
Pokémon Master
Oh yeah i heard that rabbit in the moon thing making rice cakes in an anime, possibly Gakuen Alice or Honey & Clover, i guessed they must have a different ledgend, but it does seem quite random, i wonder where it came from.
No Daylight Saving time, thats interesting, my dad would like to know that i think. I thought i didn't like the long summer evenings, always seems very weird still being light at 10 or 11 o'clock, but now they are getting pretty short again i remembered exactly why i hate the dark evenings, i can't help feeling claustrophobic being shut in the house with this big black wall around your house stopping you going outside, but i guess i'm just weird :lol:
No Daylight Saving time, thats interesting, my dad would like to know that i think. I thought i didn't like the long summer evenings, always seems very weird still being light at 10 or 11 o'clock, but now they are getting pretty short again i remembered exactly why i hate the dark evenings, i can't help feeling claustrophobic being shut in the house with this big black wall around your house stopping you going outside, but i guess i'm just weird :lol:
I read that and thought... "what? :?Chris said:
Anyone I have a question regarding general student pressure in Japan. It's not something that's depicted as much in anime that I've seen, but what I generally hear is that there is quite a significant and heavy amount of things like bullying, even from teachers and family for students to do well. The mounting pressure of which leads to some relatively high suicide rates amongst students, as well as increased depression, school violence and similar. I realise youth suicide rates have dropped significantly over the past decade or so (so I've been told anyway), but is it still seen as a major concern?
So I guess I was wondering how true this is. I mean I know that the schooling system in Japan is tough, but is there percieved to be a problem in Japan with the way the system works and whether reforms to it should be put in place (assuming that this is in fact the case).
Looking at it from an outsiders perspective, Japanese society seems to heavily pressure its students for success. It appears that everything stems from that in some ways, you must excel at school otherwise you won't get into a top grade university. You have to get into a top grade university otherwise you'll never get a good job and financial security. Without financial security you can't get married and support a family. At times that amount of pressure and emphasis seems kind of unhealthy, and is at least a partial explanation for the kind of suicide rates seen in Japan today. This is the way it sometimes looks to me, and I was just wondering, how it appears from the inside. Does it seem like that to Japanese culture, or is it not really like that at all? I realise the question might seem a little offensive in its implications. I don't mean to cause any offence here, it's just that I want to know the Japanese perspective on this.
Student pressure is still pretty bad. But, it has improved a lot from how it was in the early 80's. At that time Japan was in an economic bubble. Everyone was rich (well almost). During the bubble, if you completed college you could pick for any of the top companies. For each graduate there was like dozens of available companies.
After the bubble burst, it all went to hell. Now, even if you graduate uni it's not a cretainty that you'll get a good job. So, a lot of people don't bother to go on to uni.
Still, it is still better to go to uni than not go, but this means you have to go through some of the hardest entrance exams in the world. Not to mention the tests they do in high schools that make GCSE's look like Ren and Stimpy cartoons.
You still hear stuff on the news about stressed students killing themselves or others quite regularly.
Living here you don't feel that pressure. There are a lot of people who don't have a full time job, they work part-time or on and off. It's probably the complete opposite to most peoples beliefs about Japan.
The last 10 years have changed Japanese society a great deal. The aging population, falling birth rates, the economy in recession, companies going bankrupt every year, there's no wonder more people are commiting suicide.
And it is true about most Japanese people not liking sex. It's quite a well-known fact.
I hope thats been a bit of help. If you want to know anything else, please feel free
After the bubble burst, it all went to hell. Now, even if you graduate uni it's not a cretainty that you'll get a good job. So, a lot of people don't bother to go on to uni.
Still, it is still better to go to uni than not go, but this means you have to go through some of the hardest entrance exams in the world. Not to mention the tests they do in high schools that make GCSE's look like Ren and Stimpy cartoons.
You still hear stuff on the news about stressed students killing themselves or others quite regularly.
Living here you don't feel that pressure. There are a lot of people who don't have a full time job, they work part-time or on and off. It's probably the complete opposite to most peoples beliefs about Japan.
The last 10 years have changed Japanese society a great deal. The aging population, falling birth rates, the economy in recession, companies going bankrupt every year, there's no wonder more people are commiting suicide.
And it is true about most Japanese people not liking sex. It's quite a well-known fact.
I hope thats been a bit of help. If you want to know anything else, please feel free
Charter_Mage
Pokémon Master
Just a little question. Do they celebrate Halloween in Japan, since i'm not sure if i've ever seen it in an anime before
Halloween
It is celebrated here but in a very low-key style. The 2 Disney parks do stuff and you'll usually see halloween-themed sweets around but thats about it. I think the main reason is that the time for ghosts/ghost stories in Japan is in summer.
Mobile phone jammers
To be honest I have no clue. I've never heard of one ever being used or hear of anyone buying one. Maybe a while ago, but I think they changed the way calls are transmitted- it's different to in the UK (e.g. if I was talking to you on a land-line and my mobile rung, you wouldn't get that "bip-bi-bip bip-bi-bip" sound that you get with UK phones, you don't get any interference).
It is celebrated here but in a very low-key style. The 2 Disney parks do stuff and you'll usually see halloween-themed sweets around but thats about it. I think the main reason is that the time for ghosts/ghost stories in Japan is in summer.
Mobile phone jammers
To be honest I have no clue. I've never heard of one ever being used or hear of anyone buying one. Maybe a while ago, but I think they changed the way calls are transmitted- it's different to in the UK (e.g. if I was talking to you on a land-line and my mobile rung, you wouldn't get that "bip-bi-bip bip-bi-bip" sound that you get with UK phones, you don't get any interference).
Masks
A lot of people wear masks when they have a cold, not really because of pollution as there isn't really that much, so it's quite a common thing. A lot of bank/conveniance store robbers were them because its a cheap and easy way to hide your identity- and it doesen't look all that inconspicuous (compared to a blaclava that is).
With gangs, I'm not too sure. I think more of them wear bandanas around their faces, but I have seen a few with masks on- I remember seening a group of thugs wearing them and thinking "Isn't it nice that they'll beat the hell out of someone but don't want to give them a cold... or maybe they take them off during the beatings and rub snot all over them... a kind of thug-style biological terrorism".
I've seen some on TV that have their gang's logo written on too.
A lot of people wear masks when they have a cold, not really because of pollution as there isn't really that much, so it's quite a common thing. A lot of bank/conveniance store robbers were them because its a cheap and easy way to hide your identity- and it doesen't look all that inconspicuous (compared to a blaclava that is).
With gangs, I'm not too sure. I think more of them wear bandanas around their faces, but I have seen a few with masks on- I remember seening a group of thugs wearing them and thinking "Isn't it nice that they'll beat the hell out of someone but don't want to give them a cold... or maybe they take them off during the beatings and rub snot all over them... a kind of thug-style biological terrorism".
I've seen some on TV that have their gang's logo written on too.
Chris said:
I'd heard it the other way around, that Japanese women REALLY love sex. I was told this when I had just started dating a Japanese girl although we broke up before it got that far. From what I have seen of Jap porn (for educational purposes, of course), they always sound like they are in pain. Is this a normal thing or is it just the stuff I've seen?
Also, how would a Japanese person interpret the word Tachikoma (see thread below)?
Sex
No, its quite well known here that sex is unpopular. Sure, there are exceptions, one of my ex-firends' girlfriend is a right slut, there are people like that everywhere. But, on a general scale, if you were to say "yes" or "no" to whether Japanese people like sex, you'd have to say "no". Especially married couples who have kids. It seems to be that once a woman gets pregnant they loose all interest in it. (I have no kids by the way ) I've heard stories of wives taking money from their husbands in exchange for sex, then using the money on stuff they want or saving it for going on holiday. To say that any contries women REALLY love sex is hard, since its a generalisation made by people outside the country (usually prolifferated on those "Japan is the best country in the world and everything they have is the best" websites)
As for porn, I've never watched any, so I have no clue what it's like. I'm a bit of a "Farseer" you see- (I trained as a priest for a while after leaving school). The whole porno vids/mags stuff has never been of interest to me. I don't think its evil or anything like that, it's just not my thing.
Heres some statistics I found online:
From: http://marriage.about.com/cs/sexualstatistics/a/sexstatistics.htm
According to the Durex Survey (2001):
Americans appear to have the most sex at 132 times a year, with the Russians close behind at 122 times a year, the French at 121, and the Greeks at 115.
The countries with the lowest frequency of sex are Japan (37 times per), Malaysia (62) and China (69).
And a more interesting article from
UsaToday
"Nothing is happening with depressing regularity between Japanese men and women these days. Marriages, births and hanky-panky are all spiraling downward with troubling implications for the nation's future: A sagging birthrate means that fewer working-age people will be around to support a growing population of elderly; a social crisis looms."
The full artcile is quite interesting.
Tachikoma
Didn't I answer that in your thread about it?
No, its quite well known here that sex is unpopular. Sure, there are exceptions, one of my ex-firends' girlfriend is a right slut, there are people like that everywhere. But, on a general scale, if you were to say "yes" or "no" to whether Japanese people like sex, you'd have to say "no". Especially married couples who have kids. It seems to be that once a woman gets pregnant they loose all interest in it. (I have no kids by the way
) I've heard stories of wives taking money from their husbands in exchange for sex, then using the money on stuff they want or saving it for going on holiday. To say that any contries women REALLY love sex is hard, since its a generalisation made by people outside the country (usually prolifferated on those "Japan is the best country in the world and everything they have is the best" websites)As for porn, I've never watched any, so I have no clue what it's like. I'm a bit of a "Farseer" you see- (I trained as a priest for a while after leaving school). The whole porno vids/mags stuff has never been of interest to me. I don't think its evil or anything like that, it's just not my thing.
Heres some statistics I found online:
From: http://marriage.about.com/cs/sexualstatistics/a/sexstatistics.htm
According to the Durex Survey (2001):
Americans appear to have the most sex at 132 times a year, with the Russians close behind at 122 times a year, the French at 121, and the Greeks at 115.
The countries with the lowest frequency of sex are Japan (37 times per), Malaysia (62) and China (69).
And a more interesting article from
UsaToday
"Nothing is happening with depressing regularity between Japanese men and women these days. Marriages, births and hanky-panky are all spiraling downward with troubling implications for the nation's future: A sagging birthrate means that fewer working-age people will be around to support a growing population of elderly; a social crisis looms."
The full artcile is quite interesting.
Tachikoma
Didn't I answer that in your thread about it?
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