{"id":6528,"date":"2020-11-18T07:44:24","date_gmt":"2020-11-18T07:44:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/?p=6528"},"modified":"2021-04-07T06:22:23","modified_gmt":"2021-04-07T06:22:23","slug":"where-are-anime-masks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/japanese\/where-are-anime-masks\/","title":{"rendered":"Where are Anime Masks?"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s 2020, so we need to talk about masks<\/u>(\u30de\u30b9\u30afmasuku) \u2013 masks that prevent<\/u>(\u9632\u3050fusegu) COVID-19 from spreading, masks that divide<\/u>d (\u5206\u5272\u3059\u308b\u00a0 bunkatusuru) the United States, and masks that are new fashion items.<\/p>\n

Before we were shifted to work at the home mode in early March, I had a group of Japanese college students visiting from Japan in February.\u00a0Their travel agent in Japan had a pre-departure orientation and talked about the masks not being culturally<\/u>(\u6587\u5316\u7684\u306bbunkatekini) familiar in the US.\u00a0 Of course<\/u>(\u3082\u3061\u308d\u3093mochiron), he could not tell them not to wear it.\u00a0 But he was well aware of an incident in NY, where a mask-wearing Asian had been attacked.<\/p>\n

They arrived in the US, and the airport concierge escorted them out of the arriving area of the airport.\u00a0 They were maskless.<\/p>\n

I can only talk about Japan, but wearing a mask has been a way of life in the flu and allergy seasons in Japan for a long time.\u00a0 The main reason is not to pass germs to other people as well as not catching them.\u00a0 It is due to the social pressure<\/u>(\u793e\u4f1a\u7684\u5727\u529bshakaiteki atsuryoku) that the Japanese are surrounded by 24\/7 \u2013 the fear of what people would say if you are doing something different from a group.<\/p>\n

With the rise of the COVID-19 cases, the American scene has drastically<\/u>(\u5927\u5e45\u306bouhabani) changed. Many people started wearing a mask.\u00a0\u00a0As disposable masks had never been a staple in the US market, people were wearing a mask made of clothes.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, in Japan, the shortage of disposable mask was as bad as the toilet paper shortage.\u00a0 So they started to wear masks made of clothes.\u00a0 YouTube was full of videos on how to sew a mask and how to make a mask without sewing.<\/p>\n

But I found one huge difference between the Americans and Japanese wearing the clothes masks.<\/p>\n

\"\"

Image by Innviertlerin<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

While Americans have started to wear hand-sewn masks that were very colorful or showed something that they like such as a breed of dogs or a band, the Japanese continued to wear black or white masks.\u00a0 It was not that masks with designs were unavailable.\u00a0\u00a0Even swimsuits makers and lingerie makers shifted their production lines to make colorful and beautiful masks.\u00a0But you do not see Japanese wearing them.\u00a0 Then I saw one of my Japanese friends\u2019 Facebook posts.\u00a0 He showed a mask that he had got from some special place or event.\u00a0But he did say that he would not wear it to work.<\/p>\n

So that is it.\u00a0 No need to be self-assertive<\/u>(\u81ea\u5df1\u4e3b\u5f35\u3059\u308bjiko shuchousuru) or no need to stand out<\/u>(\u76ee\u7acb\u3064medatsu).<\/p>\n

Taro Kono is a member of the House of Representatives<\/u>(\u8846\u8b70\u9662\u8b70\u54e1shuugiin giin) in Japan.\u00a0 He has been very popular among young people or Japanese who have lived\/educated overseas because of his rather maverick<\/u>(\u72ec\u81ea\u8def\u7dda\u306edokujirosenno) character even though he belongs to the conservative<\/u>(\u4fdd\u5b88\u7684\u306ahoshutekina) Liberal Democratic Party <\/u>(\u81ea\u6c11\u515aJimintou).\u00a0 He has been wearing colorful masks in press conferences \u2013 a soccer team of his region, his hometown, etc.<\/p>\n

Back in May, he came out in his camo mask when he was the Secretary of Defense<\/u>(\u9632\u885b\u5927\u81e3bouei daijin).\u00a0 A member of the press asked if it was OK to wear masks other than <\/u>(\u301c\u4ee5\u5916\u306eigaino) white ones.\u00a0 He answered that it was perfectly fine when people took a mask as a fashion item.<\/p>\n

Now you see many politicians wearing masks that promote\u00a0<\/u>(\u5ba3\u4f1d\u3059\u308bsendensuru) their regions.<\/p>\n

However, the Japanese business community is more conservative as evidenced in this photo below. But there are many colorful masks available.\u00a0 Where are they??<\/p>\n

\"\"

Image by djedj<\/a> from Pixabay<\/a><\/p><\/div>\n

There was no discussion of individual rights<\/u>(\u500b\u4eba\u306e\u6a29\u5229kojin no kenri) and wearing a mask in Japan. The Japanese government cannot enforce people to wear a mask or lockdown the country.\u00a0 They can only recommend<\/u>(\u63a8\u5968\u3059\u308bsuishousuru). Because of civil rights<\/u>(\u516c\u6c11\u6a29kouminken)abuse<\/u>(\u4e71\u7528ranyou) during World War II, Japan has very strict laws protecting civil rights. So the government relies on social pressure.<\/p>\n

So many dreams and plans have been destroyed by the pandemic.\u00a0But we have learned to appreciate what we had for granted.<\/p>\n

Happy Thanksgiving<\/u>(\u611f\u8b1d\u796dkanshasai)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\"\"

It\u2019s 2020, so we need to talk about masks(\u30de\u30b9\u30afmasuku) \u2013 masks that prevent(\u9632\u3050fusegu) COVID-19 from spreading, masks that divided (\u5206\u5272\u3059\u308b\u00a0 bunkatusuru) the United States, and masks that are new fashion items. Before we were shifted to work at the home mode in early March, I had a group of Japanese college students visiting from Japan…<\/p>\n

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