looking for help from Japan

[LeslieLevendale]

Dear Folks,

I appreciate this might be a long shot but well worth trying.

I'm working on a contemporary queer fiction depicting intercultural relationships (British - Japanese).

A big chunk is taking place in a rural community in Japan in the Nagano Prefecture.

I would like to honour the Japanese culture as much as possible by avoiding stereotypes. I would like my story to feel lived-in and not something one could pull out from travel guides, and whatnot.

I'm desperate for someone from Japan who'd be willing to help to shape the story.

If this were something that you consider doing as a collaborator, please do not hesitate to contact me.

 

[Bayleyrockstar]

Hey Leslie, not from Japan, but as someone who visited as a tourist before. (not specifically the Nagano prefecture.) I can suggest where you should start looking for things that would differ between their daily lives.

First of all, Japan has a much different eating etiquette from British culture. While modernly, this is becoming less and less of a difference in bigger cities due to tourism, I know rural areas keep traditions longer. I practice a few myself, but won't give any specifics, as I'm unsure if they apply to the specific area.

Another thing is ceremonies. In Japan, while they have big ceremonies just like other cultures, they also have household ceremonies that would be performed with friends or family present. One of these is the often-popular tea ceremony. Which can have many different meanings and intentions.

I'm not too familiar with how these ceremonies are performed in modernity, but I do know that due to Japan's increasingly modern lifestyle, many of the traditional ceremonies get simplified. I don't personally know any Japanese who still practice these ceremonies regularly. But they all live outside of rural areas or even Japan itself for all their lives. (this is like... 3 people)

These are the main things that I know differ traditionally. As I said, I don't want to give any specifics because I'm not familiar with specific cultural differences between prefectures, and also because I'm not Japanese. Hope this helped you at least have a research direction until someone from Japan gets interested.

 

[LeslieLevendale]

Hey Leslie, not from Japan, but as someone who visited as a tourist before. (not specifically the Nagano prefecture.) I can suggest where you should start looking for things that would differ between their daily lives.

First of all, Japan has a much different eating etiquette from British culture. While modernly, this is becoming less and less of a difference in bigger cities due to tourism, I know rural areas keep traditions longer. I practice a few myself, but won't give any specifics, as I'm unsure if they apply to the specific area.

Another thing is ceremonies. In Japan, while they have big ceremonies just like other cultures, they also have household ceremonies that would be performed with friends or family present. One of these is the often-popular tea ceremony. Which can have many different meanings and intentions.

I'm not too familiar with how these ceremonies are performed in modernity, but I do know that due to Japan's increasingly modern lifestyle, many of the traditional ceremonies get simplified. I don't personally know any Japanese who still practice these ceremonies regularly. But they all live outside of rural areas or even Japan itself for all their lives. (this is like... 3 people)

These are the main things that I know differ traditionally. As I said, I don't want to give any specifics because I'm not familiar with specific cultural differences between prefectures, and also because I'm not Japanese. Hope this helped you at least have a research direction until someone from Japan gets interested.

Hi Bayley,
This is already very helpful.
At the moment I'm working on a chapter and it features a ryokan/onsen. I try to get inspiration from watching youtube videos about this. They are useful.
What I'm struggling the most is the dialogues. At the moment I try to keep them minimalist when a Japanese person speaks but I might run into stereotypes here.
Let's see how it goes.
Anyway, thanks again, much appreciated.
L

 

[Akkizakura]

I'm from West Japan, but Nagano is Central Japan. Maybe @K_Nishi or @rest256 can help or know someone who can.

 

[LeslieLevendale]

I'm from West Japan, but Nagano is Central Japan. Maybe @K_Nishi or @rest256 can help or know someone who can.

Thank you. This is very helpful.
Local knowledge is a bonus.
But it is more important to have an insight into etiquettes and cultural nuances generic to the entire country. If you like a little window into the soul of Japan.

 

[K_Nishi]

I’m not very familiar with Nagano Prefecture.

 

[LeslieLevendale]

I’m not very familiar with Nagano Prefecture.

No worries. Thanks for the reply.

 

[CharlesEBrown]

Lost contact with the people I knew who could help you. Don't remember if the one taught in Nagano or if the other one married a woman from there (been THAT long since I lost contact) but one taught ESL in Japan for four years and the other married a woman who teaches in the US and spends her summers back in Japan - he goes with her for one month, then comes back home to the US. Guy was a wealth of information on the Sentai Rangers...
Only detail I recall - and this may no longer be true - the guy who taught ESL was very amused by the few Japanese history books that actually mentioned World War II in the 90s - they generally covered the war in two paragraphs, best summarized as: "We retook lands in China that were rightfully ours, and were talked by the German leader Hitler into attacking Pearl Harbor. This angered the Americans, who dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

 

[LeslieLevendale]

Lost contact with the people I knew who could help you. Don't remember if the one taught in Nagano or if the other one married a woman from there (been THAT long since I lost contact) but one taught ESL in Japan for four years and the other married a woman who teaches in the US and spends her summers back in Japan - he goes with her for one month, then comes back home to the US. Guy was a wealth of information on the Sentai Rangers...
Only detail I recall - and this may no longer be true - the guy who taught ESL was very amused by the few Japanese history books that actually mentioned World War II in the 90s - they generally covered the war in two paragraphs, best summarized as: "We retook lands in China that were rightfully ours, and were talked by the German leader Hitler into attacking Pearl Harbor. This angered the Americans, who dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki."

That's Japanese minimalism for you :-). That's what I want to mirror in my dialogues but I'm struggling with big time.

Anyway, thank you very much for giving it a thought. I guess there are fellow writers on SH from Japan but my genre might not sit well with them. Or at least not as much as to consider collaboration.
L