X is for Xenophile… in case you haven’t noticed from a few of my posts already, I qualify as a xenophile of Japan. And xenophile was the only X word I could think of. 😛
Okay maybe attracted is the wrong word… sort of. Do anime/manga characters count? They are Japanese after all… sort of… partially. Some of them are… kind of. Just ignore the random hair colors and impossible cleavage on some of the female characters (kitty ears and tails too) and they could totally count as Japanese.
If I had to trace my fascination to a particular source in my past, it would have to be the years I spent on Kadena AB in Okinawa, Japan as a kid. I got introduced to Japanese culture during elementary school. It was really different from the elementary school I attended later in Texas. Really, REALLY different. I preferred the Japanese school.
Add to that all the anime and Japanese cartoons that got translated and imported to the US — some of it without me even realizing it had originated from Japan — in the 80’s and I was pretty much sold. I’m not talking Sailor Moon and Dragon Ball Z — besides that was 90’s. Before that. Grimm’s Fairy Tale Classics, Noozles, Voltron (no, I didn’t realize when I was watching it that it was from Japan. I figured that out later in life.), Maple Town, the butchered Warriors of the Wind (re-released in the 2000’s in its entirety under it’s real title Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind) and a few others I can’t think of right now.
X is a tough one; I kind of cheated for mine! I’m an Anime fan too; and I love the girls with the cat ears and tails – cute!
angelinetrevena.blogspot.co.uk
I totally love kitty girls. If the day comes when science can pull it out (without weird side effects), I’m signing up for a pair or kitty ears and a prehensile tail. Until then, I’ll make do with my Necomimi.
I’m glad someone picked the opposite of my word! Made me smile. It’s a better case and a better world.
What took you to Kadena AB as a kid? Your parents’ work?
John at The Bathroom Monologues
Yup. I was at Kadena Ab because my dad was stationed there. He’s former USAF. I went back to Japan as a study abroad student in college. That was an amazing year.
I always wanted to study abroad to be involved with a different culture. I’m so happy you got to study in Japan, if only for a wee bit 🙂
I highly recommend getting out your country, even if for a day or two. It’s a fun experience to go far out of your comfort zone to see how other people live. I loved Japan… once I got used to things like the rail system and the fact that the 100yen coin (little over a dollar) is about the size of a quarter.