What, no aches?

OK I'm back again, back out of the winter cold to bring you more snippits of thought from the odd recesses of my brain. As some people may be aware, my posting as of late has been pretty sparse. But now that my strangely busy January is done, I hope to try to get back to normal.

Anyway, today I'd like to talk a bit about one particular stereotype I was reminded of the other day.

Sometimes in Japan the stereotypes you hear people say about foreigners are just weird. I was watching a stupid variety program on TV the other day and someone made one of the most asinine statements I've ever heard. A larger comedian mentioned how she never gets aches at all, not even shoulder pain (肩こり - katakori in Japanese)! Wow, her cohost exclaimed, you're just like a foreigner...

It took a second, but after my confusion passed I remembered hearing this one before.

There are a lot of oddball things some Japanese believe about foreigners - like we can't use chopsticks, don't take off shoes when we go inside, or (I've really heard this one) that white people like the color red because our blue eyes change how we perceive colors (don't even get me started on that one) - but IMO the strangest by far has to be this myth that non-Japanese don't suffer from shoulder aches.

Apparently at some point in time the idea started spreading that not only do non-Japanese not suffer from shoulder/upper back pain, but that in English there isn't even a word to describe it (ie it must not exist)...

Um, type it into google translate and it comes up in English as a stiff neck. I would also say depending on the person or condition you could use the terms shoulder ache, upper back pain, or neck ache, among others.

OK, now I don't have any data about frequency or anything like that, but I know I get it from time to time, as do people in my family back home, and I would guess just about everyone everywhere gets it, too. I'm sure people in good shape get katakori less often, and I would bet a healthy diet and some way of relieving stress must help out, too.

All right, yes, it does probably say something about me and the fact that I'm sitting here on a sunny Saturday afternoon pondering why someone would think a very minor affliction is unique to their race/culture. But... it also feels a lot like all the other ways certain people make statements to try to make their culture/race/religion/height/hair color/lack of a third arm/x-ray vision seem unique and by that fact, then special or better.

As for the picture? I like how the old Showa buildings looked, and having that construction worker there seemingly standing watch in front of the roadwork added a little more flavor.

Have a good weekend.

And if you're in the Tokyo area, get out of the house tomorrow. It's going to be wet but also really warm.

For more musings, click here or on the link at the top of the page.