Who said Japanese people have no sense of humor?
The video series “The Japanese tradition” created by Namikibashi ((Junji Kojima, Kentaro Kobayashi) and the Japan Culture lab is just outstandingly hilarious. And its a mixture of very subtle and strait forward jokes and persiflages. With some of the videos we could not stop laughing - full of great ideas and no respect for anything - sorry Sensei…
Watch the “origami masters” do the Angkor Wat (difficulty level 191), learn how to bend properly (common mistake: 35 degree is a greeting) and the art of chop sticks and sushi mastery will open new windows into centuries of traditions. We loved the tea ceremony video but it is unfortunately not subtitled in English.
Click on the images below for the links (multimedia).
The info from the Berlin Film Festival where one of the videos was also in the competition this year reads rather dry:
“…THE JAPANESE TRADITION: SHAZAI
A brief introduction to the finer points of bowing and the fine art of apologising - that is sadly completely misunderstood. This is graphic artist Junji Kojima’s and well-known comic Kentaro Kobayoshi’s version of how an imaginary American travel company might prepare US tourists for the unknown customs prevalent in the land of cherry blossom…“
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