Cheshire Cat Visits Japan

Himeji Castle, said to be one of the three best castles in Japan!

2 weeks ago I went away with a teacher from one of my school's and his family. They are lovely and have been so generous to me ever since I arrived. Their daughter, Maki, is studying english at university in Kyoto so we went to visit her. It was a typically gruelling Japanese itinerary but as a result I ended up seeing more Unesco World Heritage sights than you can shake a stick at and visited a lovely onsen town, nestled in the mountains north of Kobe.

However, when it came to choosing some photos to post it dawned on me that Japanese people just don't smile in photos unless it's a freak accident. So, guess who looks like the over zealous werido foreigner tourist who is being reluctantly tolerated by her Japanese hosts??!!

So, the ruthless investigative journalist inside me decided to carry out a little research...

Hannah: "Hey, why don't Japanese people smile in photos?"
Saki: "What?! Why do foreigners always show their teeth? "
Hannah: "Because the whole point of a photo is to create a happy memory. "
Saki: "You're right. We don't smile like this (pulls a cheesy/ moronic grin) but maybe it's because Japanese people don't have good teeth."

So there you have it, gound breaking research, from which I can conclude that Japanese people look miserable in photos, not because they are in fact miserable, but because they don't want to show their toothypegs, which on the whole do tend to be worse than the brits (shock horror). I think this may in part be true but I think it also has more to do with the culture of remaining composed at all times and the dissapproval of public displays of emotion and affection. It upsets me a little because on the whole, Japanese people are so kind-hearted yet in photos they look stern and serious which just seems to perpetuate our stereotype of Japanese people in the west. It comes as little surprise that "purikura" emerged from Japan- small photo booths where people take ridiculous photos and decorate them with kitsch graphics...so ridiculous that I've heard people even show a bit of incisor!