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why are the japanese so awesome and superior to we crummy americanos

cant_sleep

By cant_sleep
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cant_sleep

cant_sleep

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i mean come on man, they make the best denim in the world by far, no one would argue with that, they even kick the italians in the acorn satchel at it. why arent their any american companies imitating their process so we dont have to pay 8 trillion dollars for a pair of jeans?

also, why are the japanese so awesome at everything. their women are hot and submissive and mannerly like all good women should be. their brains are huge. they have all kinds of awesome customs and traditions and noodles. they are the best. i think im turning japanese. i need a hot japanese girlfriend.

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turbozed

turbozed

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Few points. Looks are subjective. I completely dig J-girls but I don't think anyone can say what type of girl is superior. Personally, I wouldn't want a submissive girl. I find challenging girls more fun (not bitchy, but challenging). When I was in Japan, I really did enjoy the way they dressed. Wonder when skirts and leg warmers are gonna come back in the US. When it comes to fashion though, there's another explanation. One of the major reasons why Japanese are very into fashion is because of the consumer society and excess of disposable income. I don't know if you live in a bit city, but even in America there are financial-social reasons why people in the city dress better. People in suburbia are interested in buying Plasma TVs, houses, cars, etc. These type of people are happy to buy their clothes at J.Crew and Express. Conveying status is done when they drive you in their cheap clothes to their mansion in their SL500. Now you take a city like NY or SF where you walk to work and rent. You don't want to pay for and maintain an expensive car, so you go out and buy a pair of Jap raw selvage and the latest sought-after shoes and you rock em while walking on the street. People notice your shoes a lot more in NY than in Pleasantville, USA. Now take "city living" to the extreme. Imagine a society where it's socially okay to live at home with your parents and have them support you at the family house (remember real estate is hard to come by when you're packed in like sardines in Tokyo). Some OL (office ladies) live at home and spend ALL of their money on expensive designer clothing shopping at Ginza. You don't need a car because you can take the train everywhere, and you're not gonna buy any property due to the pricing. The society is so much more consumer-oriented than the US it's ludicrous.

Another factor to consider is the need for Japanese youth to "differentiate" themselves. Now, I'm asian and don't want to seem racist. But when everyone else has black hair, brown eyes, yellow skin, slanted eyes...then when you want to stand out, you're going to have to do some CRAZY stuff. This includes buying very loud clothing, getting crazy hairstyles, basically "creating" an image (this also takes $$). Thus you get groups like the gothic chicks in harajuku or those overly tan-scary girls. Factor in the homogenous society and you have the formula for craziness. I'm sure there are other factors I'm missing, but I've done a lot of reading on Japanese society (watched a few BBC documentaries too), and I've been able to corroborate a lot of the social observations firsthand. I will be back in Tokyo for the summer as well. It's something you just gotta see. Life is very different over there, fashion is just a small subset.

There's a lot of cool things about Japanese culture and it's great from the outside looking in. Still, when I was in the middle of it, I noticed some bad points too. People seem a lot more stressed out there and although everyone there is respectful and polite, it seems a little inauthentic. Just my observation.

PS If you want the best ramen, there's this stand in Shibuya that's awesome.

Edited by turbozed on Apr 4, 2006 at 02:49 AM

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keska

keska

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^^

googled it! :D

In Japanese, a Yamamba is a ghost or an evil spirit. This is the name that most Japanese people use when they refer to a certain type of girl. First of all, these girls are EVERYWHERE, especially in major cities like Tokyo and Osaka. In all my travels, I have never seen anything like them. When I first got to Japan I was shocked to see so many young highschool and university girls wearing very short miniskirts, huge boots, and painted with makeup. But when I began asking my students at the senior highschool where I teach what all the fuss was about, they explained the secret of the Japanese Yamamba to me. It was really fascinating. First of all, about ninety percent of the girls who are classified as Yamamba are covered in sparkles and have bleached blond hair. They also frequent the tanning salons up to four times a week!in order to have very dark skin. Now, from what I understand, there are different types of Yamambas, usually classified by the amount of makeup they paint on. For instance, a high school girl called a 'Garu' usually does not wear so much makeup; however, a Yamamba would paint her WHOLE face with white makeup and flashy lip stick. The girls in the first picture would be considered 'Garu' whereas the bottom picture would be more Yamamba.

They also wear massive fake eyelashes. They dress in very short skirts or revealing cloths (always showing their legs) and wear massive platform boots and shoes. They sometimes wear what I refer to as 'hooker' boots that lace up to the top of their knees and have huge heels. I read an article in Japan Times that the amount of ankle injuries has increased ten-fold since these shoes were introduced to the Japanese fashion world.

Their purpose, it seems, is to congregate in large groups and hang around train stations and video arcades. There are video arcades everywhere in Japan that sell what we call in English PRINT CLUBS. These are small digital picture stickers that these girls collect and trade with their friends.

As you can see by the pictures, their uniforms are all pretty much the same. Everything is brandname from Gucci, to handbags from Paris. They seem to be very colourful individuals. If they are not at the video arcades, they are ALWAYS shopping. They spend huge amounts of money on clothes and makeup to fit their appearance. Dress is of the utmost importance, because for them to be seen is what it is all about.

The most important media tool for these young women is in Japanese called a 'k-tie', or what we refer to as a cell phone. Every single girl has one and they always send text messages and use their phones to speak to their friends.

In terms of rights of passage, you need money to be a part of the Yamamba scene. It seems everything is centered around money. For instance, the Yamaba perform a kind of ritual dance called the para para. In Tokyo there are expensive nightclubs where these girls congregate and practice their para para. This type of dance uses hand movements and steps to Japanese j-pop songs. Each para para song has its own steps and movements, kind of like a mutated Macarana. When they are dancing, every one of the girls follows the steps together all at the same time. I'm telling you, it's a sight to behold!

Now, getting a little more serious, I would like to talk about the education system in Japan. I teach at a very high level highschool. Usually highschool kids in Japan wear uniforms to school. However, at my school they do not (which is quite rare). There are no Yamamba at my school, just a few Garu. It seems that most Yamamba attend lower level schools in terms of education. These are for students who will not be going to University. Some of my other English teaching friends work at these lower level schools. They tell me that Yamamba usually sleep in school and really don't care what is going on around them. If they are awake, they are usually disturbing the class by speaking very loudly. Some lower level schools actually allow cell phones in the school

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damnIam

damnIam

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USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everybody hates us like the rich kid next door with all the toys. What can I say...it's the USA, your FREE to move EAST anytime you wish. I hardly think better denim=more awesome country/culture. Especially since it's just a copy of what we used to do well before we moved on to more important things. I am tired of everybody hating on the US. Granted we are not perfect or anywhere close to it, but...I have been to alot of places that are worse. Places that could feed 10 kids for a year on what I spent on my Sugar Canes last month. Maybe I read too much into this post...but the title just set me off a bit, probably just too much caffeine this morning.

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denimdestroyedmylife

denimdestroyedmylife

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cantsleep: why arent their any american companies imitating their process so we dont have to pay 8 trillion dollars for a pair of jeans?

that's pretty deep. the US would be copying Japan copying the US. why not cut out the middleman?

i agree that it is a pretty sad state of affairs that americans are paying inflated prices for [superior] foreign copies of their own products.

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triniboy27

triniboy27

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Quote:

cantsleep: why arent their any american companies imitating their process so we dont have to pay 8 trillion dollars for a pair of jeans?

that's pretty deep. the US would be copying Japan copying the US. why not cut out the middleman?

i agree that it is a pretty sad state of affairs that americans are paying inflated prices for [superior] foreign copies of their own products.

--- Original message by denimdestroyedmylife on Apr 4, 2006 06:15 AM

Probably because not enough Americans are willing to pay the money for the superior product?

Yes, they'll spend $300+ on True Religion but that's because they're buying the name (mostly) and the fit (somewhat). Completely different value proposition when it comes to repro jeans.

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Geowu

Geowu

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They will look like 90 yrs old at 35!

About the topic, US'ers have smaller brains and Japanese have bigger brains. It all comes down to it. In Japan the number of people with an IQ of 130+ is 30%, while in the US it is 2%.

So the western US system encourages you to make cheap denim and sell it for a fortune, while in Japan they make a good product for themselves. The US'ers get money and the Japanese get decent denim. Then the US'ers pay their money to the Japanese to get their stuff.

____________________________________

Edited by Geowu on Apr 4, 2006 at 09:21 AM

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kapay

kapay

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Quote:

USA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Everybody hates us like the rich kid next door with all the toys. What can I say...it's the USA, your FREE to move EAST anytime you wish. I hardly think better denim=more awesome country/culture. Especially since it's just a copy of what we used to do well before we moved on to more important things. I am tired of everybody hating on the US. Granted we are not perfect or anywhere close to it, but...I have been to alot of places that are worse. Places that could feed 10 kids for a year on what I spent on my Sugar Canes last month. Maybe I read too much into this post...but the title just set me off a bit, probably just too much caffeine this morning.

--- Original message by damnIam on Apr 4, 2006 05:40 AM

Actually, I'm pretty sure American's aren't allowed to become Japanese citizens due to the population problem. Also about that para para thing... I've seen it. In America. Done by guys in an arcade. Scary.
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DJ_Flame

DJ_Flame

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I think Yamamba has fallen out of style. It was the shiznit back then though.

Japanese are obcessed with re-creating Americana. no wonder they make the best denim.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

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thomas_highstreet

thomas_highstreet

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Quote:

kogal = call girl

teens who prostitute themselves

--- Original message by asfberg on Apr 4, 2006 06:30 AM

nah your wrong..

kogal are just rich girls with daddy's credit cards..

some do porno n that.. but its only a few... its only [ill-educated] westerners that mistake them for prostitutes..

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rnrswitch

rnrswitch

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Doesn't the Japanese fixation with all things american go back to post WWII when we allowed US business/marketing to just run the country and write their constitution for them? While I do like the denim I am completely appalled by the level of consumerism in Japanese as well as in American culture. Freedom isn't in selvedge jeans, or Varvatos boots. We have become so reliant on Corporations to define freedom as the amount of crap you buy or own that I don't think we know what it means anymore.

Also, I hope the "submissive girl" thing was tongue in cheek. I think the submissive thing is from years of oppression/repression that male dominated culture, in general, has place on women and defined femininity as. Seeing as how they are trying to emulate american culture it would only seem as such that they would over do the submissive part and that is not to mention the extreme repression of women in Japan pre-WWII.

I am bracing for all the responses now.icon_smile_blackeye.gif

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Paul T

Paul T

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Numero Uno poster was tongue in cheek.

Very intellectual contributions, azninvsn. At one time during WWII the Brits were sending condoms to the USSR - to be used on the barrels of the T-34s' guns to keep out dirt and debris. Once Winston Churchill heard that the London Rubber Company was making extra large condoms, 76mm in diameter, for that purpose he instructed that they be stamped with the label "Size: medium". Just to show Stalin who were the biggest swinging dicks...

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giantreptile

giantreptile

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to take the original post on a more serious note, there is something to be said about why the Japanese excel so well at making jeans. i think a part of it goes back to ancient Japanese culture in that an artist's merit was judged on how well they could duplicate a previous artist's sculpture, painting, etc. One example i can think of is those pottery tiger-dragon statue thingy's. whereas, Western artists are weighed more on how they break out or do something different. so, given that, they take great pride in trying their very best to make exact copies of the jeans--achieving that by using the same looms, as we all know-- that the US made back in the day when the US was focused on quality. it's more of a sad reminder, really, of how far the US has fallen in producing quality goods. thanks, wal-mart.

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asfberg

asfberg

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Quote:
Quote:

kogal = call girl

teens who prostitute themselves

--- Original message by asfberg on Apr 4, 2006 06:30 AM

nah your wrong..

kogal are just rich girls with daddy's credit cards..

some do porno n that.. but its only a few... its only [ill-educated] westerners that mistake them for prostitutes..

--- Original message by thomas_highstreet on Apr 4, 2006 11:53 AM

i stand corrected

now to figure out where i got that idea ...

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