the “Yasuke was a retainer so he wasn’t a samurai” argument makes me roll my eyes so much

I’m descended from Fujikake Nagakatsu, who was a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, aka absolutely a samurai

why are people like this it’s still my goal to go to this museum and stand next to the wax figure and quote Emperor’s New Groove photoguide.jp/pix/displayima…

Anyway, here is a thread of my personal favorite chains here in Japan. Keep in mind that I’m living in Osaka, so if you’re visiting/living in Tokyo and you can’t find them easily… sorry?

(These two photos I nabbed from my IG, but the rest will be from Google, sorry)

First up is Fugetsu. They advertise themselves as an okonomiyaki restaurant but tbh I go there mainly for their yakisoba and tonpeiyaki (in my defense, my Japanese family comes from Hiroshima lol so I don’t eat Osaka style okonomiyaki often)

They’re super yummy!

this unhinged thread highlights two things

1) equating EVERYTHING that comes out of Japan to be p3dophilic is in fact kinda racist

2) the death of genuine media literacy + purity culture continues to be a major problem and it’s only going to get worse

https://twitter.com/ricekrisquep/status/1726807868668866732

This constant association by (primarily) Westerners of pretty much everything to come out ofJapanese culture to loli/shotac0n is something that’s genuinely concerning

I’ve touched on it before

https://twitter.com/FujikakeRin/status/1722747630546231364

congratulations on your astute observation! well done!

it doesn’t change the fact that

1) I’m still mixed Japanese
2) I still grew up with Japanese culture alongside American
3) I still live in Japan as a returnee

https://twitter.com/whorribella/status/1665577857244864512

Metro Detroit has a large Japanese population and a lot of the Japanese who live there are either 1) from Japan living in the US temporarily or 2) Nikkei like myself

https://twitter.com/fujikakerin/status/1665210124661833728

honestly whenever I get weird right wing weeb haters it’s hilarious to me because they want to say I’m wrong about Japan

but meanwhile, most of the people I genuinely interact with here on bird site are people who also live in Japan

but the weebs only attract other weebs like their image of what they believe Japan to be is so fucking bizarre

and then meanwhile the circle of people I’ve met here on Twitter who are also Actually in Japan are like THANKS FOR SPEAKING UP because they honestly can’t be bothered (and I don’t blame them! It’s hell 😂)

YES!

Especially in Novi and Canton!

Because of the automobile industry, there is quite a large Japanese presence there, including the Japanese school (for Nihonjin and Nikkeijin kids)

https://twitter.com/ultimaheart/status/1665208938650824705

I’m now going to turn this into a thread of Metro Detroit resources for Japanese things.

First, the grocery store (this was my baito in high school!)

oneworldmarket.us

and now for something completely different

feel free to mute the thread 1) Explain my Twitter handle

I’m descended from Fujikake Nagakatsu, a retainer of Oda Nobunaga, on my father’s side of the family

I go by “Rin” online, but my actual Japanese name is different

I really need people to understand that just because you’re from another Asian country doesn’t mean you can speak on behalf of other individual Asian countries like this

https://twitter.com/nenhunter1/status/1665017777105649665

the poor arguments aside (I don’t talk about being bisexual or my own sex life publicly either, which doesn’t erase my bisexuality)

while there is some overlap in East Asian countries thanks to influences of things like Confucianism, I don’t get to suddenly speak with authority

something something Kabuki is 400 years old something something Takarazuka revue originated in 1913 something something Yamato Takeru cross-dressing in the Kojiki

https://twitter.com/politicalawake/status/1664384657113112577

“the fight to preserve Japanese freedom”

lmao how is this person real

honestly I can’t believe that stupid drama about me pointing out that in kimono dressing, we eliminate curves and use special padding to make the body as flat as possible and therefore drawing kimono with boobs hanging out is inaccurate… is STILL being quoted. from LAST YEAR I offended a bunch of artists (like I do with weebs evidently) because I see Western artists draw characters in kimono like they’re drawing bodies with Western clothing where they don’t have such padding to make the body a cylinder shape

the angry weebs in my replies who can’t handle the fact that most Japanese people aren’t super into anime remind me of the same weebs who try to move to Japan and end up leaving after only 2 or 3 months

they figure out average Japanese people aren’t as otaku as they are and go back when I worked at bigger eikaiwa chains (think NOVA or Gaba), that was where I met weebs the most

They were always SO excited to be in Japan because it was “JUST LIKE ANIME”

but after 30-60 days in Japan, if they couldn’t accept Japan for what it was, they got so UPSET

I wanted to stay out of this but since it’s a needed conversation then here we go

the anime avatar in and of itself isn’t a problem. it’s when Western VTubers pick Japanese names and use what they think are “kawaii Japanese voices/mannerisms” in an effort to APPEAR Japanese

https://twitter.com/mooooooon_man/status/1634349274606751745

that’s why it is considered a form a digital yellowface. These interpretations of what Japanese people, especially younger Japanese women, are usually based in hyper exaggerated ways of talking and speaking in anime that don’t reflect actual Japanese people IRL

so I lived in Poland for two years and four months total. I lived in Warsaw, but traveled briefly to Kraków, Gdańsk, and Sopot

my thoughts can be summarized as “very beautiful, but the government (PiS) is absolutely bonkers and it’s WAY too windy in Warsaw in the winter”

https://twitter.com/jackrucinsky/status/1634513020180111361

GOOD THINGS:

I do actually like Polish food! I REALLY miss Żurek, and even the simple, hearty dishes were fantastic. Polish bread is amazing and ofc I miss getting cheap pączki

(And yes it’s not technically Polish but my god I miss kebab! Amrit Kebab was my fave in Warsaw)

honestly if we are going to discuss real problems Japan has with sexual assault let’s start with the fact that there must be “undeniable” PROOF the victim was physically unable to resist here

so many victims haven’t seen justice because of this in 2019 there was an infamous case that even though the court recognized it wasn’t consensual, without proof the victim truly couldn’t physically resist, the entire case got thrown. zero justice.

how many times are Westerners going to repeat this line who do not live here in Japan and have zero understanding of the laws here whatsoever?

that law doesn’t exist for adults to have sex with minors. if you’re over the age of 18, you cannot sleep with a minor here in Japan

https://twitter.com/jii_en_/status/1634467024561922048

people keep repeating this BS as if it’s actually legal in Japan for a 13 year old to sleep with someone 18+. no. no it is not.

anyone who sleeps with someone aged 13 to 15 will be charged with statutory rape if the perpetrator is five or more years older

people in anglospheres often say things like "Twitter doesn't reflect real life"

but tbh when it comes to Japan, a lot of people are uncomfortable saying their real feelings IRL. they don't like discourse.

online anonymously with a fake name and an avatar is a different story this isn't to say that everyone in Japan is secretly YEARNING to have discourse; some people genuinely don't think about life that seriously. that's true everywhere.

but there will be opinions you'll read online that people won't tell you to your face, EVEN IF you ask

getting very tired of people saying that loli/shotacon is “normal” here in Japan and isn’t seen as weird

stop treating Japan like it’s a place where every anime sub niche is accepted and enjoyed by most people here in Japan when most people do not even take anime so seriously

https://twitter.com/szabo_kitti_/status/1634016266548592648

fun fact for you people who love to speak about Japan like you're an authority when you don't live here and you aren't Japanese:

70% of Japanese people don't consume anime on a regular basis, nor do they give a shit

the anime that DO make it into average Japanese lives are huge

a reminder to you all that not only do I have an account where I talk about kimono as a professional stylist, but if you are coming to the Kansai area on your Japan trip and wish to purchase a secondhand kimono for yourself, why not let me assist you?

https://twitter.com/mainichi_kimono/status/1597063925811408896

New kimono are extremely expensive, ranging from 200,000 yen to even 5 million yen (!!!)

My entire collection consists of 95% secondhand kimono, rescued by me to come to a new home!

On average, I spend about 3000-5000 yen on a new kimono コーデ (obi, kimono, and accessories)

acknowledging that feudal Japan was extremely brutal also requires acknowledging that samurai were assholes

doesn't matter what country or culture it is: ALL people in power with weapons and class advantage are assholes, and the samurai were no exception, "honor" or not

https://twitter.com/pallnandi/status/1626602239451332609

there are a LOT of people who have tried to e-skewer me for saying this because they want to deny that

a) the more modern version of bushido being touted was created for Westerners

b) the older concepts of bushido actually for Japanese was to TRY to keep said assholes in line

if we are defining love by the ability to give affection and comfort based out of pure selflessness with no amount of self-interest whatsoever, then a lot of humans don’t know how to love either so 🤷🏻‍♀️

https://twitter.com/PhadkeTai/status/1633410369287860225

if OP is arguing that pets can’t love because that affection is rooted in self-interest, then OP also needs to question whether or not a lot of forms of human love “qualify” as real love

this concept that all ideas are worthy of protection against criticism is absolutely ridiculous to me

if the idea someone is saying is racist, sexist, etc? and they write it on the internet for the world to see?

it can and will be criticized.

deal with it. no, you don’t get to make a sweeping generalization about marginalized groups and magically get protection from criticism and call outs.

“but it’s just an idea”

the idea does not deserve protection more than a marginalized group does, and is subject to criticism at any time