Quote:
Originally Posted by Chile
I have read this wikipedia entry about Hikikomori and find it very interesting.
This will not be the first time that I have heard about such things in Japan. Naturally, it is not the romantic place that anime fans idealize it to be. I am not afraid of living a life that is less cushioned than the one I have here in America - and indeed I think it would be good in its way.
However, I am frightened by the descriptions of intellectual pursuits in Japan.
In regards to the mind I am an inquisitive, difficult to please sort of person. I have read that many Eastern Asian societies focus greatly on the material, and deeper analysis is discounted. If I am disgusted by the superficiality of many Americans I have met, I will certainly be discouraged (if what I have heard is true) at social life in a country where a more extreme form is exhibited. I have had these concerns about Japan for years, and my suspicions about Eastern Asian cultures have been fueled not only by what I have read, but by a friends' experiences in Taiwan.
I am hoping my frame of reference is not quite correct.
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I can't quite understand what you are saying. What have you heard about intellectual pursuits in Japan?
You are an American, so you know not all Americans are superficial. What happened to your friend in Taiwan?