Another week, another bubby bloggy break guest post. And boy, oh boy, am I excited about this one!
I am, of course, excited about all of my bloggy guest posts. Everyone has gone out of their way to help me out, and I’m so appreciative. But when I first emailed this next guest, I felt WAY out of my league. I’ve been following her blog since I first ventured into the blogging world, and she’s practically blogging royalty!
This week, please welcome the lovely Grace from With Some Grace. For anyone who’s ever flogged their blog on a Friday or shared some facebook lovin’ on a Sunday, she’ll need no introduction.
So I won’t write one! I’ll just leave her to it. Take it away, Grace.
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Of Exotic Eastern Conventions and Superstitions
For almost a decade, I lived in a land of quirky customs.
Those who have been to Japan, or who are at least familiar with the movie ‘Lost In Translation, will know what I’m talking about.
Nowhere else in the world will you be entertained with kooky game shows where half naked men are forced to test the strength of their willpower (or the levels of their stupidity) by sitting in a tub of ice cold water for as long as possible.
It is the country where I learnt how to throw all inhibitions to the wind and got naked and cosy with many a stranger in a hot springs bath. (Full wash down prior to dipping in being mandatory.)
Do you sense a consistent nudie theme?
Thanks to the extended stay in the land of sushi, sake and karaoke (not necessarily in that order), a range of cultural habits and superstitions have been instilled in me.
Japanese custom dictates that slippers rather than shoes are worn when stepping into one’s house. Then, there are different slippers for separate occasions. Even a trip to the toilet demands a special pair. To go from confusing to convoluted, when stepping into a tatami room, slippers are not to be worn whatsoever.
Naturally, in the early days, I made many a social faux pas by getting my slippers in a twist. There were countless occasions when Japanese hosts would look down in complete horror seeing that I had worn the bright green toilet slippers into the lounge room.
To this day, something still feels disjointed when walking into a house with shoes intact.
Along with many other Asian countries, Japan’s unlucky number is 4. This is namely due to the fact that the word “death” in Japanese holds the same pronounciation, “Shi” .
You can still step into the elevators of old buildings in Tokyo and find that, eerily there is no 4th floor button.
At special occasions, particularly weddings, money envelopes from well-wishers will usually carry either 10,000 yen or 30,000 yen (convert it to the current strong Aussie dollar and you’re looking at either 100 or 300 big ones). No one makes contributions in even numbers, least of all the number four. When you take into account that at least 300 guests attend a Japanese wedding, you can quickly calculate that that’s a very nice head start for newlyweds.
While the number 4 has really never done me wrong and there have been plenty of instances where it has precariously crossed my path, I still have a superstitious adverse reaction to it.
For instance, I refuse to send an email or hit publish on a post at 4:44pm. I prefer to wait.
If I need to buy some meat at the supermarket, I will pick up the pack that weighs “0.533 gms” instead of the one next to it that reads, “0.543”.
Here I am, well settled in this rugged sunburnt country of sweeping plains and Vegemite, distant from all the conventions of the Exotic East. But I’m adamant that I willl never fully escape them.
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Grace is a mum of twins, wife of an avid surfer, and reformed caffeine addict. She’s travelled the world and encountered countless adventures. Just when she feels she’s done it all, life still sends her little surprises. She writes about them here:
You’ll also find her on twitter and facebook.
Are you superstitious? What superstitions or traditions do you live by
Oooh Grace, 4 has always been one of my favourite numbers!, but I really enjoyed reading about the other cultural practices. I knew about the shoes, but not how many different pairs were needed.
I had known about the shoes thing before getting to Japan too, Enid. But then I got there and found out all these extra rules. That’s when I thought, “What the HELL have I got myself into??” 🙂
This was really interesting. Thanks for sharing. I actually really like the idea of slippers in the house and different slippers for different things!
Yes, I love my slippers in the house! And ugg boots in the winter is the most awesome 🙂
What an interesting read! I love learning about other cultures! Em x
Thanks for dropping by, Em! x
Interesting Grace- I also have a little thing about numbers, in that I prefer even numbers. The meat thing got to to me- I always look for meat in even numbers!
Haha! Isn’t that interesting? At least I know we’ll never fight over the same pack of meat 😉
I can’t believe you would wear your toilet slippers into the living room Grace, what were you thinking?! 😉 Interesting about the #4. I’ve been in buildings that have no 13th floor, probably for the same reason. I’m not overly superstitious though sometimes I do wonder…. x Aroha (#teamIBOT)
I know!!! Can you imagine the shock on all these Japanese people’s faces??! Like I had committed a major crime! 🙂
That is so interesting especially te different slippers!
It got *really*confusing, Deb!!!
I never realised about the Number 4, but I did know that shoes were not allowed inside houses…actually its a rule in our Motorhome so that dirt/sand/mud doesn’t come in!
But different slippers for the toilet would be really confusing 🙂
I could imagine you ‘d need a very strict no shoes rule for the Motorhome, Lisa. Does everybody properly abides by it?
I’ve never had any real drama with numbers at all. I don’t notice them. Isn’t it funny how the world is so different all over. I wonder what they would think of me having 4 kids!
Well, Jess…I think you’ll just have have another one… 🙂
It is funny how we are affected by our upbringing and culture. I didn’t realise that 4 was a bad number. 4 is the number that is broken on my keyboard.
Now, that’s a little more than coincidental, I think, Eleise *Cue Twilight Zone music* 🙂
So, tell me Grace, have you hung on to any nudist habits as well?? 😉 I remember learning Japanese at school that we always had to remember the two versions of number ‘4’ and ‘shi’ and ‘go’ and for six ‘shichi’ and ‘nana’ because of the death meaning. I’m not sure what the deal was with 6. I was on a need-to-know basis. My head was full of katakana and hiragana – I didn’t need to know!!!!!! Fascinating to have lived there – would love to hear more of your stories Grace. x
You have reminded me of this awesome story of one of the local baths I used to hang out at. After that incident, I was NEVER scared to show my bits ever again!
Stay tuned for a blog post, Kim! x
Oh I had to laugh at this post. I hate superstition but I so get it too. I cld just see u grace waiting at the butcher checking out the mince weight. I worry if I spill salt, I throw it over my left shoulder, I feel uncomfortable taking umbrellas inside, and I ,,, oh I can’t say it because I don’t want to … Oh I can’t say that either I case … I try to think overall that my life is controlled by me, I like the idea though of little things helping us on the way.
“Little things helping us on the way” – That’s such an accurate way of putting it, my dear!
I would’ve done the whole throw salt over the left shoulder thing if that’s what I was constantly exposed to!