(no subject)

[pensnest]

I'm trying to put together my plan for next year's production of 'The Mikado', and I need your help, gentle readers.

What are the clichés about modern Japan? I'm looking for the instant stereotypes—the Japanese tourists wielding cameras in large groups, the office workers in identical suits, the Hello Kitty schoolgirls in short skirts and long socks. What other images can you think of? Anything?

Comments

[dine]

vending machines selling *everything* one might need - food, drink, sex toys, etc.

fashion subcultures such as loligoth

obsession with unusual sexual practices - hentai, anyone?

[letterboys]

Otaku, aka extreme manga fanboys.

Host clubs and maid cafes. And you definitely cannot forget about cosplay

Jonathan Ross's series Japanorama is a good introduction if you can catch a bit of it on youtube.

These are knee-jerk reactions to your post whilst trying to wind down after a late shift at work. Feel free to email me if you need elaboration. :)

[ninjetti75.livejournal.com]

Neon. Looooooooots of neon in the background decor (which is of course a TOKYO cliche, not Japanese society at large, but that's where the cliche comes from, so...)

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The food...not just sushi, but the presentation of all their meals is basically phenomenal when compared to the rest of the world. Even schoolchildren and 9-5ers lunches are beautiful arrangements of color, proportion, clean lines, etc.

Baseball as a "national" pastime and other "embracing Western culture" motifs, since these are all elements of modern, post WWII Japan

Pokemon. Its popularity has faded here in America (and in the UK, I imagine, though I'm not sure if it was ever as popular there as it was here), but it still has a retail presence and has become a recognizable part of popular culture for over a decade...I expect that's all the more true in Japan itself, though I don't know if that qualifies it as a "recognizable stereotype"

I'm not familiar with "The Mikado", but if it contains a dark or criminal element, the well-muscled gangster with tattoo sleeves (implication: Yakuza) is certainly well known.