Tuesday, November 30, 2010

"Sometimes saying 'yes' or 'no' isn't beautiful"


I came across this on youTube while looking for "inspirado" in our forthcoming コロテル extravaganza.
Don't be fooled by the game show style stage (or the American guy's bad suit), this is actually a pretty deep discussion on Japanese culture and the rest of the world.  I was watching it on my own to begin with, and could tell they were talking about something pretty interesting, like what はいand いいえ really end up meaning and the comparison of Natto to Bleu Cheese.  Eventually it led to a big discussion with my wife, about  the importance of having meaning behind one's sentences and how Japanese politcal debate or CNN "Crossfire"-type shows in Japan don't follow the same routine of choosing sides and bickering the way the west does. Instead there is a "negotiation without speaking" and an emphasis in taking time to formulate one's own decision.
Maybe we いちねんせい won't be able to understand it completely, but anybody with good Japanese skills should check it out!

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