my japanese culture club needs help!
 

is there anyone that knows how to write "Japan is For Otakus?" in kanji? this is the only phrase that was approved by the teachers, so excuse the corniness. we're wanting to put this on the shirts our club are going to get. help!

It's amazing that your teachers approved a statement which is not only false and misleading, but also very degrading. Tell me since when is my country for otakus?

There are a few ways you can try to say it. EDIT: I don't want to make suggestions until I know Masaegu and other Japanese aren't offended.

That didn't occur to me, but now that I think about it, you are right.

How would you feel seeing an American wearing that on his shirt?

I hope you reconsider that slogan. No one would think much of it in the US, but wearing something like that on your shirt in Japan would be pretty disrespectful. "Otaku" doesn't have the same connotation in Japan as it does in Western countries. Just because anime comes from Japan doesn't mean its some sort of haven for anime-lovers and self-professed "otaku".

Let me introduce a quote from an outside source in hopes of bringing in some objectivity into the matter.

"Otaku is derived from an honorific Japanese term for another's house or family (お宅,　御宅 otaku) that is also used as an honorific second-person pronoun (roughly equivalent to usted in Spanish). The modern slang form, which is distinguished from the older usage by being written only in hiragana (おたく) or katakana (オタク), or rarely in rōmaji, appeared in the 1980s. It appears to have been coined by the humorist and essayist Akio Nakamori in his 1983 series An Investigation of "Otaku" (『おたく』の研究, "Otaku" no Kenkyū?), printed in the lolicon magazine Manga Burikko,[1] who observed that this form of address was unusually common among geeks and nerds. It was apparently a reference to someone who communicates with their equals using (unnecessarily) the distant and formal pronoun, and spends most of their time at home.[1]

The term entered general use in Japan around 1989, and may have been popularized by Nakamori's publication in that year of The Generation of M – We and Mr.Miyazaki (Mの世代－ぼくらとミヤザキ君, M no Sedai – Bokura to Miyazaki-kun?). It applied the term to the (then) recently caught serial killer Tsutomu Miyazaki, who turned out to be a recluse obsessed with pornographic anime and manga and who lived out his rape fantasies on young girls, thus attaching a huge taboo to a formerly innocuous term."*

* Wikipedia

I'm not going to tell you what kind of a T-shirt you should or shouldn't wear. All I want to say is that I personally don't like that particular message. It's different from saying "I'm a proud Otaku" as you actually seem to be one.

Very nicely addressed, Masaegu.

Although intentions are nothing but pure, it is important to consider all angles.

I hope LawlietsGirl can take this back to her teachers and find a more appropriate slogan, as I am sure the last thing the group wants to do it to offend Japanese people.

Lighten up
 

Not to stir the pot, and definitely not trying to be a troll, but I think this whole thread could have been handled better.

LawlietsGirl and her school club are obviously fans of Japanese culture, even though it might be a narrow segment (anime).

Instead of a "slap-down" people like her should be gently encouraged in other directions. For example:

...
LawlietsGirl,
I understand "otaku" is used quite a bit in America and has a very innocent meaning there, but there are still many people in Japan who have negative feelings about the word (explain case). How about something like:

Nihon ha anime tengoku
(Japan is Anime Heaven)
...

I mean, after her reception, what are the chances that LawlietsGirl will want to come back to this forum to learn more about the "real" Japan?

I just think the attitude was a little cold, especially considering that LawlietsGirl approached the forum for help, obviously carrying no malicious intent.

Just my $0.02. And by the way, I won't respond to any replies to this post because I have no intention of starting/ participating in/ escalating a flame war.

As a group of people who obviously are interested in/ care about Japan--and we want to spread that enthusiasm to as many people as possible, right?--we should do a little collective "hansei" (反省) about this episode.

Learn, 99% of the threads on this forum could be handled better, and I am not going to lambaste Masaegu for taking offense at the request.

His reaction didn't occur to me when I first responded, but after reading it, I am forced to concede.

Now LawlietsGirl did say it wasn't the slogan they were hoping for, but was something her teachers said they must use. I think it's only fair to let her and her teachers know that this statement is probably more offensive than the statements the group wanted to make.

I do hope LawlietsGirl isn't scared away, as I know that wasn't masaegu's or anyone's intention. We all, you included, are trying to bring some maturity and correct information to JF, and I know many of the members appreciate it.

At the same time, this is a forum, not a daycare center, and Masaegu, me and everyone has the right to voice their opinion about a potentially offensive statement printed in Japanese on a t-shirt. On these forums I have found if you don't say what you mean clearly and succinctly the message will be lost in the shuffle. Whether she comes back again or not (and I sure hope she does) I bet that LawlietsGirl understood the message Masaegu tried to send.

Anime and Japan culture clubs are great. Every school should have them. And I think JF is a good source for information and guidance. Was the guidance this time a little direct? Sure, it was. But if it was too much, than maybe JF wasn't the place to ask.

I'm very sorry that we've offended you with the saying- we didn't realize that it was offensive. (This is the prez of the club speaking, if you didn't know.) We will definitely reconsider the choice of wording to something that you hopefully find less offensive. Please forgive and excuse us.