Wikipedia talk:Japan-related topics notice board/Oct05

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Contents

Page move

Someone moved Kutchan, Abuta, Hokkaido to Kucchan, Hokkaido. Anyone want to try to move it back? Fg2 04:10, July 15, 2005 (UTC)

Burakumin Article

Hi everyone. I'm pretty new to Wikipedia so please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong place. Anyway I noticed that there is a request to work on the Burakumin article and have added two sections on religious persecution - I hope that they are O.K. - ASB July 26, 2005

I have made a number of copyedits and organizational changes to this article, but it is still in need of considerable attention. If anyone can contribute to its improvement, please do so. MC MasterChef 09:20, 28 September 2005 (UTC)

Sumo!

Is there anyone interested in helping me come up with a standard for the Sumo wrestler's individual pages? I am really interested in getting the sumo pages up to date, being an avid fan, and generally thinking the world could use more sumo information.

I want to try to come up with a standardized format of listing height, weight, win-loss records, bouts in makuuchi, etc. to create a standardized format for sumo wrestlers on wikipedia for years to come. Since there are plenty of English language sources for sumo information (at least the basics) you wouldn't necessarily need to be able to speak any Japanese, and just help me input the blasted things.

Preferrably someone who has a clue as to how to make a good-looking info box, so that we can get started on standardizing the list of active sumo wrestlers page individuals, and possibly tidying up that main page to give a little more information (specifically the kanji for their names).

Since sumo is on TV in Japan bilingually (at least for makuuchi bouts), it would be nice to have easy resources for English speakers in Japan to be able to decipher the slew of kanji that fly across the screen, as it makes sumo viewing infinitely more enjoyable. Anyway, I hope that someone else shares my enthusiasm to expand a part of the Japan-related info on wikipedia.

-Joshua Maciel 01:00, 28 July 2005 (UTC)

Hello!

Hello everybody! I was invited here by fg2, and I will do my best to edit articles. My concentration is on Japanese history as well as historical figures of noble, court, and military families. My concentration is on the Hojo, Fujiwara, Taira, and Tokugawa families.

I recently edited the article which needed to be improved on Emperor Daigo.

I will be heavily adding, renovating, and editing pages on the Hojo clan. I believe that the Hojo sections here on Wikipedia heavily needs to be improved. Af the same time I will be working on the Tokugawa clan. I need feedback. So far, I have edited the first eight TOkugawa shoguns and have ended edits at Tokugawa Yoshimune. Let me know how I have done so far. I will start work on the Hojo soon, and if you like my work, I will start work on the Fujiwara.

Email me at Hiroshi66@aol.com or IM me at Hiroshi66.

WHAT I'M DOING NOW: Just finished Hojo Tokimasa and Hojo Masako. Now working on Hojo Yoshitoki.

Wikipedia:2004 Encyclopedia topics

Have you seen the page Wikipedia:2004 Encyclopedia topics? It links to nearly 30 additional pages, each having about 1000 article titles, mostly red links. Great ideas for new articles. I went through those pages and identified several that seem to be pertinent to Japan: Names of people and places, mountain ranges, performing arts, ceramic styles etc. I'm sure I missed some, and got some that won't turn out to be related to Japan, so I encourage anyone who's interested to look through the original list. My condensed list of Japan-related topics is here.

Merge proposal of Sado, Niigata and Sado Island

One is a city article and the other is an island article. However, history, geography etc. overlap since the city consists of the entire island. Sado City, by the way, is a new city formed by merging of local cities and towns. I would like some feedback on the articles' merger idea at Talk:Sado, Niigata. —Tokek 05:19, 31 July 2005 (UTC)

Template:Japanese tfd

I have filed a Wikipedia:Templates for deletion entry for Template:Japanese and it needs votes. The entry is similar to a previously discussed template but this one is slimmer and less obtrusive than the previous one. —Tokek 05:19, 31 July 2005 (UTC)

Requested move: Seppuku → Hara-kiri

There has been a request by User:Hottentot to move the Seppuku article to Hara-kiri (see Wikipedia:Requested moves#30 July 2005). I oppose this move. Even though a quick Google test shows that hara-kiri (plus harakiri) are more common than seppuku, as the article says, hara-kiri is considered "a colloquial and somewhat vulgar term". Thus seppuku is certainly the more appropriate title for an encyclopedia article. BlankVerse ∅ 11:40, 31 July 2005 (UTC)

Proposed for deletion

Let's make this a regular section of JaWNB. If you see any article connected with Japan on Wikipedia:Votes for Deletion (VfD for short), please notify the community here.

Requesting help from the Japanese wikipedia community

Hello all, I'm here because of a (I assume) mutual acquaintance of ours, Flowerofchivalry. While I'm not sure what he does at the jp wikipedia, his actions here at the en wikipedia has generated a lot of ill will.

He is active in a series of disputes in articles regarding the Nanjing Massacre, where he claims, among other things that the Nanjing Massacre never happened, and that this theory is believed by the majority of the Japanese people. Well, I'm here to hear your opinions about that.

Additionally, he also accused me of trying to bring ethnic Chinese editors into the dispute, while there is nothing wrong with that, I thought I should reciprocate by alerting the Japanese wikipedia community to this dispute.

A few links to this debacle: Wikipedia:Requests for comment/Flowerofchivalry (a list of what we summarised to be FoC's main points is listed at the bottom), Talk:Nanjing Massacre, Talk:Nanjing Safety Zone, Talk:Iris Chang.

I'd like to request your help in this matter by confirming just how much is a majority. ;) Thanks. -Hmib 19:48, 3 August 2005 (UTC)

Nothing? Hm, not very active, this noticeboard is...
Saying things like that is unlikely to endear you to people.--DannyWilde 00:47, August 18, 2005 (UTC)

Hello,

Hmib is a POV pusher, and he is trying to vanish the idea which he does not favor. His assertions are very similar to those from the Chinise Communists. Needless to say, Wikipedia is not a place for communist's political acts.

I would like to ask you to help me and Wikipedia.

--Flowerofchivalry 19:05, 17 August 2005 (UTC)

The issue is debated in Japan. Flowerofchivalry is correct in saying that many Japanese people believe that the Nanjing massacre and other such atrocities never took place. For example, the governor of Tokyo, Shintarou Ishihara, has repeatedly stated this view point. Try checking out the archives of the Sankei Shimbun newspaper, where Ishihara has a column. The Sankei Shimbun, Japan's most right-wing newspaper, has also printed several articles alleging that such atrocity stories are false, for example saying that the atrocity photographs are fakes, and so on.
Whether this non-believing group is a majority or not would be hard to prove. I'm acquainted with members of the current Japanese military forces (so-called "Self Defence Force") who believe that the war in China was a war of liberation against Western colonialism. (Note that the Sankei Shimbun is compulsory reading for the SDF). On the other hand I'm also acquainted with Japanese people who take the opposite view. I know one Japanese man whose father fought in the war and (apparently) brought back photographs of atrocities.
It might be worth pointing out that very few of the younger Japanese people have much knowledge of any facts about the second world war, and the "majority opinion" about the events of the second world war is unlikely to hold much value. I'm afraid I also don't know enough history to be able to comment authoritatively on the matter myself either.--DannyWilde 00:47, August 18, 2005 (UTC)
Still, I was asking for what the majority opinion is, which FOC has stated to be, that it did not happen. Majority means, 50% or more. Since FOC has to have a source for this statement, there must have been a study of it somewhere, so I think that would be a good place to start? FOC, where did you get that gem? -Hmib 06:01, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Thank you for your valuable comment.

--Flowerofchivalry 07:48, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Majority does not means 50% or more. Talk to your math teacher.--Flowerofchivalry 06:35, 21 August 2005 (UTC)

Iriya Yoshiaki

Author with three works in Aozora Bunko. I added a list of his works and a link to Aozora Bunko. If anyone knows anything about him, please add to the article; if anyone has an opinion, please express it and vote at Wikipedia:Votes for deletion/Iriya Yoshiaki. Fg2 08:16, August 13, 2005 (UTC)

  • Aozora bunko does not host his works. In fact, all of his works are offline and never printed, it seems. When I googled, I could not find any comments about the contents of his works. —Tokek 23:06, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Surrender of Japan

I've done some expanding of this article to distinguish it from Victory over Japan Day. It can still use more information, especially internal politics, and the events of August 10 -- 14. Also, there are some constructive suggestions on the VfD page. Fg2 12:08, August 13, 2005 (UTC)

It now appears safe from deletion. Wwoods did a "major expansion" which as an edit is about as radical as the MacArthur constitution is as an amendment to the Meiji document. An impressive exploration of the subject! Fg2 22:17, August 13, 2005 (UTC)
Thanks for what you did, Fg2. Certainly, I could have clarified the scope of the article when I created the article. -- Taku 03:13, August 14, 2005 (UTC)

Zeni

A user has nominated the article Zeni for deletion. Presently, the article is about a fictional currency in Dragon Ball Z but it should be about coinage in Japan, with a section on "Zeni in popular culture." Anyone interested? Fg2 21:09, August 8, 2005 (UTC)

Why don't we have simply coinage in Japan? That can cover historical and cultural topics broadly. -- Taku 01:22, August 9, 2005 (UTC)
Sounds like a good idea. I won't press too hard for keeping the existing article. Fg2 08:12, August 9, 2005 (UTC)

Regarding Japanese name footnotes

I've got a nice idea from WhisperToMe, which we might want to consider.

The French Wikipedia made a footnote for Japanese names (http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikip%C3%A9dia:Nom_japonais) - Maybe we should try one for EN. The French link the footnote like this: ({{nom japonais inversé|純一郎 小泉}} WhisperToMe 23:06, 14 August 2005 (UTC)

Here is the English version so far: Wikipedia:Japanese_names (This page has a link to the "MoS") WhisperToMe 01:45, 15 August 2005 (UTC)

Portal for Japan?

If you're unfamiliar with Portals, you might be interested in Wikipedia:Wikiportal. We don't have a portal for Japan. If we did, it might look like Wikipedia:Wikiportal/United Kingdom or Wikipedia:Wikiportal/United States. It would make a nice project. Fg2 11:05, August 18, 2005 (UTC)

The portal is now live. It's at Portal:Japan. Fg2 11:08, September 6, 2005 (UTC)

Deletion list

Hello,

I just wanted to let you know about a list of Japan-related items on Votes for Deletion. It's part of WikiProject Deletion sorting, and you can find it here. I hope you can use it to track and contribute to Japan-related deletion debates. If you find the list useful, please also help keep it up to date.

By the way, new deletion sorters are welcome and needed. Join us!

Cheers,

-- Visviva 03:40, 18 August 2005 (UTC)

The Five Elements

I just completed a barebones version of an article on the Five elements (Japanese). I felt it needed doing, and I was quite curious/excited to see what I would learn in research. However, this topic has become quite new-agey, and inextricably tied into (1) new age Eastern Medicine and the like, (2) fanciful, mystical notions of the powers and abilities of ninja, and (3) fictional, fantasy concepts of eastern magic, particularly in anime and comicbooks. I found it quite difficult to find any reliable sources on the true historical/cultural origins and meanings of the elements. Thus, I think the article could use some help overall. In addition, there are a few specific items I wanted to add but could not find...

  • I know that, much like the Chinese elements, each Japanese element is associated with a direction, a color, and a gazillion other things; I could not, however, find reference to which element is associated with which thing. Also, I was particularly interested in the Japanese elemental associations of the Phoenix (Bird), Tortoise, Dragon, and Tiger. I am not positive which element belongs to which creature, what the names of the creatures are (I think the Phoenix is called Suzaru or Sezaru?), and what the myth/legend/story is behind these creatures, if any.
  • I was unable to find proper categories to add this article to. Admittedly, I didn't search too deeply, but none of the categories of Five elements (Chinese) have parent categories with Japanese-appropriate sub-categories. You follow that? Basically, while the concepts of the Japanese elements are strongly derived from Chinese philosophy, I don't think they belong in Chinese categories. If anyone knows of the proper categories to place this in, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for any help you can offer. I hope that with a team effort, we can push past all the acupuncture-newage-ninja-mysticmagic nonsense and produce an article that details the true religious/spiritual historical/cultural origins and meanings of the Japanese five elements. LordAmeth 01:37, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

The Five Elements

I just completed a barebones version of an article on the Five elements (Japanese). I felt it needed doing, and I was quite curious/excited to see what I would learn in research. However, this topic has become quite new-agey, and inextricably tied into (1) new age Eastern Medicine and the like, (2) fanciful, mystical notions of the powers and abilities of ninja, and (3) fictional, fantasy concepts of eastern magic, particularly in anime and comicbooks. I found it quite difficult to find any reliable sources on the true historical/cultural origins and meanings of the elements. Thus, I think the article could use some help overall. In addition, there are a few specific items I wanted to add but could not find...

  • I know that, much like the Chinese elements, each Japanese element is associated with a direction, a color, and a gazillion other things; I could not, however, find reference to which element is associated with which thing. Also, I was particularly interested in the Japanese elemental associations of the Phoenix (Bird), Tortoise, Dragon, and Tiger. I am not positive which element belongs to which creature, what the names of the creatures are (I think the Phoenix is called Suzaru or Sezaru?), and what the myth/legend/story is behind these creatures, if any.
You might be thinking of suzaku (ja:朱雀). Fg2 02:05, August 19, 2005 (UTC)
  • I was unable to find proper categories to add this article to. Admittedly, I didn't search too deeply, but none of the categories of Five elements (Chinese) have parent categories with Japanese-appropriate sub-categories. You follow that? Basically, while the concepts of the Japanese elements are strongly derived from Chinese philosophy, I don't think they belong in Chinese categories. If anyone knows of the proper categories to place this in, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks for any help you can offer. I hope that with a team effort, we can push past all the acupuncture-newage-ninja-mysticmagic nonsense and produce an article that details the true religious/spiritual historical/cultural origins and meanings of the Japanese five elements. LordAmeth 01:39, 19 August 2005 (UTC)

Taika Reforms

Some time ago, I created an article on the Taika Reforms. User:Arrigo has decided recently to move them to Taika Reform, and now to Taika Era Reform. I have continuously changed them back, and attempted to explain my logic to him. Now, I realize that changing them back doesn't make me any better (less unilateral or whatever) than him, but I am hoping that I can get some feedback here as to what the title of the article should be, and how to block people from continually changing things even after repeated explanations. Do I get any kind of special authority over the article being that I wrote it?

-I don't have enough sources to say for sure what the general consensus is among academia as to the name of the Reforms. Sir George Sansom calls them the 'Taikwa Reforms', using a 'kwa' sound that is not found in the standard romanization system. In any case, I have not seen them referred to as the Taika Era Reforms anywhere - that would be like calling the Taisho Democracy "Taisho Era Democracy" or the Meiji Constitution "Meiji Era Constitution". Just seems silly and unnecessary to me.

-As for Reforms vs Reform, Arrigo argues that WP policy states that article titles should be in the singular. Since the Taika Reforms were a set of reforms, involving multiple articles and multiple changes to the socio-political structure, I think the plural Reforms applies better. Though, again, I don't have many sources, they all use the plural. And I just think that his blanket assumption that all things should be singular ignores obvious examples like the United States of America and the Bill of Rights (not the United State and Bill of Right) - if the event is called the Taika Reforms, call it the Taika Reforms. I understand it's a bit tough, since there's no plural in Japanese, and so we don't know what connotation is intended, but I think a little common sense should be applied, not just automatic obedience to blanket WP policies.

So, anyone who would like to offer their opinion, I appreciate your input. Even if you disagree with me, I hope a consensus (or at least some informed discussion) can be reached, so this edit war between me and Arrigo can stop. Thanks. LordAmeth 01:49, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

I favor "Taika reforms." No "kwa," no "-era" and one "s." Fg2 07:09, August 22, 2005 (UTC)

This sort of article-specific discussion should be presented at Talk:Taika Reform. The discussion's influence will be nil here. 217.140.193.123 17:17, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

I agree with everyone here ... added my comments on the talk page for Taika Reform. CES 18:08, 22 August 2005 (UTC)

Name those bugs!

I uploaded some sound recordings of chirping insects but I don't know which insects they are. If anyone can identify them, please let me know here and/or on the image pages for the files.

The sound files are here:

The "image" pages are here:

Make Wikipedia's 700,000th article a Japan article

Wikipedia will probably reach 700,000 articles in a day or so. If you want to create the 700,000th article, you'll find some suggested topics here. Find a red link on a subject you know about, and click on it! Fg2 10:37, August 24, 2005 (UTC)

moves of emperor articles

user:Sjostrom has moved several of the emperor articles (for example, Kammu moved from Emperor Kammu of Japan to Kammu Emperor). Was this previously discussed in some forum I don't watch? I left a note suggesting Sjostrom look here for comments, although feel free to comment at user talk:Sjostrom as well. -- Rick Block (talk) 02:04, August 25, 2005 (UTC)

Rick, the discussion is at Wikipedia talk:Manual of Style (Japan-related articles)#Names of modern Japanese emperors. Please contribute your thoughts; I've always found your contributions valuable. LordAmeth 02:17, 25 August 2005 (UTC)
Discussed, but (to the best of my recollection) not decided (at least, not decided to move to the format "Kammu Emperor") so there's still an urgent need for comment from interested, knowledgeable Wikipedians. Fg2 03:13, August 25, 2005 (UTC)
The consensus is to move them all (except Hirohito and Akihito) to "Emperor X" without the "of Japan". I think there is only one person who opposes and prefers "X Emperor" and one person who (sort of) prefers to leave "of Japan". Anyway, the first 49 have already been moved, the rest to come shortly. -Jefu 09:08, August 26, 2005 (UTC)

Takashi Matsuoka / Nikkei writers

I came across an article about Takashi Matsuoka, an author I am unfamiliar with ... but the first two sentences of the article caught my attention because of an apparent contradiction:

Takashi Matsuoka is a American-born Japanese writer. He was born in Japan and raised in the United States.

which seems to indicate (to me at least) that he's actually a Japan/Japanese-born American writer. The user who created the article also put Matsuoka in the categories of "Japanese novelists" and "Japanese writers" as well as including him in the "Significant authors and works" section of the Japanese literature article (which seems a little bit of an over-enthusiastic endorsement in my opinion at least).

I think this is just a well-intentioned mistake, but before I "remove" Matsuoka's status as a "Japanese writer" I wanted to see what other people think.

Also, I noticed that there appears to be almost nothing on Wikipedia about Nikkei writers or Nikkei literature ... that might be an interesting project for someone to work on. I've read some books by Nikkei authors but I don't know enough to feel comfortable starting an article. And of course, there's always the tricky aspect of whether someone is (for example) a "Japanese-American" writer or should just be categorized an "American" writer. CES 17:53, 27 August 2005 (UTC)

Transcribing English to Japanese

I have performed an extensive rewrite and expansion of transcribing English to Japanese. I do not, however, know much Japanese, and based much of what I have written on what I learned in phonology class, from friends who know some Japanese, and from Google searches for various possible katakana strings. I would appreciate if people who know more Japanese than I could take a look, correct any errors, and leave any comments on talk: transcribing English to Japanese. Thanks! Nohat 21:39, 28 August 2005 (UTC)

List of Metropolitan High Schools in Tokyo

I started a list of Metropolitan High Schools in Tokyo at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Board of Education article. It is adapted from this list in Japanese: [1] WhisperToMe 02:46, 30 August 2005 (UTC)

Photo volunteer

I'm living in Japan now and have a fairly nice camera on my hands. Nothing happens in Saga Prefecture, or so the song goes, but if there are more general aspects of Japan or Japanese culture not specific to my little corner (which I hope to flesh out over the course of my time here) that people are looking for photos of, please feel free to drop me a request and I'll see if I can't oblige. Some already existing photos are up on my flickr site [2], if there's something there you can find a use for please let me know and I'll upload and re-license it here on Wikipedia. Cheers, --10:03, 9 September 2005 (UTC)MC MasterChef

Nice shot of Karatsu Castle! The beach sunsets are wonderful too. Why not upload them and put them in the article on the city where you took them? Or to the article on the prefecture, etc. Prefecture articles can usually use more photos. Yours would make great additions to the Wikipedia. I took a few photos in Saga Prefecture, e.g. Yoshinogari Iseki, the remains of a Yayoi-period village (which deserves an article). Nearby are Arita, Saga and Imari, Saga; the articles have no photos. There are kilns, clay mines, shops, potters... Also in northern Kyushu, we can always use more photos of Fukuoka, Kokura, Dazaifu, Oita, Hirado, Nagasaki, Shimabara, etc. Rivers, mountains, bridges. And we can always use illustrations for articles of general interest such as city hall, landmarks, statues, shrines and temples, highways, you name it. If you post your photos on Wikimedia Commons, then all the Wikimedia projects can use them. It's a thrill to see the French Wikipedia select my photo of Yoshinogari, and the Japanese Wikipedia took it from the French. Commons has made it even easier for other Wikipedias to use your photos. It's a pleaure to look forward to learning more about Saga Prefecture from your pictures! Fg2 11:47, September 9, 2005 (UTC)
P.S. The Portal presently has no pictures from Kyushu, so if you take some that are of wide interest, please feel free to add them there! Fg2 11:50, September 9, 2005 (UTC)

Duplicate pages

Education in Japan needs your help

Mkill has been working hard adding information from the Library of Congress Country Studies about the Japanese education system, including pages on Elementary school in Japan, Secondary education in Japan, and Higher education in Japan. Unfortunately most of this information dates back to the late 1980s and is in sore need of updating. I've attempted to wikify some of the articles, but please consider making your own contributions for a more accurate portrayal of the contemporary education system. Thanks, MC MasterChef 09:13, 12 September 2005 (UTC)

I've decided take a two-step approach: Dump all the material on wikipedia first and then clean it up :) While some of the material is outdated, the material is written by academics who know their turf and it fills broad gaps: Wikipedia is strong on single items like companies and on geek-topics, but there are few general articles. So even the outdated stuff is better than having no article at all. Well, there is some 300 Articles to merge in and I almost finished half :) -- Mkill 09:43, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Proposal for a redesign of the notice board

As noted by DannyWilde, the notice board is getting a little cluttered here. I thought I would attempt something of a reorganization, and my results thus far can be found here. Major proposed changes would include a retitling to avoid the impression that this board is targetted towards Japanese Wikipedians as opposed to Japan-related articles, the movement of discussions to talk pages, the calling of a template for newly added articles that could then be linked or watched remotely (though it's rather unwieldy looking at the moment), and a couple other things. I invite your comments. MC MasterChef

Yes please! Andycjp 14th Sept 2005

Vast improvement --- thank you! Fg2 07:25, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

It's online at Wikipedia:Japan-related topics notice board now. MC MasterChef 08:14, 14 September 2005 (UTC)

Requested moves

Noticed that Wikipedia:WikiProject_Deletion_sorting/Japan wouldn't cover Japan-related entries at Wikipedia:Requested moves so I am copying such entry(ies) here.

Historical people in popular culture

Many articles have sections on "X in popular culture" (or fiction etc.): Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, Takeda Shingen, Date Masamune, Miyamoto Musashi, Sasaki Kojiro, Yagyu Jubei, Hattori Hanzō, Honda Tadakatsu, Ninja, Ronin, Samurai. I wonder if we should collect all of these into one article, and remove them from the biographical/historical articles. That would give anime/manga/video game fans a central place for information on historical personages and focus the named articles on biography and history (with a "See also" link). Does anyone have opinions on whether that's a good idea, and what an appropriate name for such an article would be (I thought of "Japanese historical people in popular culture" but in addition to being improbably long --- and sure to attract a vote for deletion --- it breaks down when it comes to ninja, ronin, samurai)? What genres should go into it and what should not (e.g. anime, film, manga, radio --- do we have any articles on radio drama? --- television, video games)? Fg2 08:12, 20 September 2005 (UTC)

There seems to be a lot of enthusiasm for writing about manga/animation on Wikipedia. For an example I know, see the Office lady page. It's similar in other places, too - for example on the physics pages there is stuff by science fiction fans about "XXX in fiction". There seems to be a lot of information on the above pages - can it really fit into one page? How about splitting the bigger pages into "A-san" and "A-san in fiction"? --DannyWilde 03:21, 22 September 2005 (UTC)
That's a possibility. It would achieve the goal of separating information about the person from information about anima/manga/video games, without labeling one as important or encyclopedic and the other as not. But I suspect that if one substantial article invites a fight on VfD, a dozen short ones would probably invite a dozen. But, it is a possibility. Fg2 04:04, 22 September 2005 (UTC)
I don't see the problem with leaving it as is. As far as I've seen, most if not all of the "A-san in popular culture" sections are pretty short. Plus, there are plenty of non-Japan-related articles that follow that format and seem to stably remain that way. LordAmeth 22:25, 24 September 2005 (UTC)
I would just leave it, too. -- Mkill 16:42, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Anti-Japanese Sentiment

I would like to ask/suggest that we all add Anti-Japanese sentiment to our watchlists, and watch the changes made to it. I have been trying to keep it as NPOV as possible, pruning excessive or extraneous anti-Japanese content, and it just seems like one of those things that perhaps should be within the interests of all members of this discussion board to keep an eye on.

It is one thing to discuss anti-Japanese sentiment - its history, the reasons behind it; it is quite another thing to write an article that attacks the Japanese, and defends those who hold to these sentiments. If this were an article on anti-Semitism, or anti-Americanism, such content would not be tolerated. Thank you all for whatever help you may offer. LordAmeth 22:33, 24 September 2005 (UTC)

subdivisions for japan-geo-stub category

user:Nameneko is soliciting comments about splitting Category:Japan geography stubs at Wikipedia talk:Categorization#Category:Japan geography stubs. Please comment there. -- Rick Block (talk) 00:44, 29 September 2005 (UTC)

Japanese question on help desk

Can someone please respond to this question at the Help Desk? Domo (which is about the only Japanese word I know). -- Rick Block (talk) 14:41, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

The question asks what kinds of television programs are currently popular in Japan, from a high-school student's perspective. Being the originator of the Jidaigeki article, I can narrow it down: jidaigeki are not popular, especially among high-school students. Does anyone know which genres of shows are? Fg2 22:17, 1 October 2005 (UTC)

Government and politics of Japan

Government of Japan redirects to Politics of Japan, but of course they're very different topics, and deserve separate articles. The article contains some information on both. Anyone want to take out the scalpel and separate them?

Done, see Government of Japan and Politics of Japan -- Mkill 22:00, 23 October 2005 (UTC)
Thanks! Fg2 07:26, 24 October 2005 (UTC)

Housing in Japan

Danny Wilde has posted a new article, washitsu. It occurs to me that this, together with shoji and tatami, would make good sections if merged into a larger article, with a title like "Housing in Japan." It could contain traditional and modern; free-standing, apartment, condominium, student lodgings and college and company dorms; city, country; building materials (tile roofs, concrete and wood, floor covering, ceilings); government statistics on floor space; rooms (e.g. washitsu, the bathroom complex --- including of course a link to Japanese toilet); appliances (refrigerators, gas stoves, fish broilers, lack of ovens, space heaters/air conditioners, intercoms); parents and barrier-free tendency; and much more. This has the scope to become a featured article. Fg2 02:37, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Sounds like a great topic to me. It would also afford an opportunity to compare pre- and post-war housing, and cover the state of the Japanese housing market itself -- lots of renting, key money, high land prices and the Bubble Economy (which is a suprisingly stubby article, I just noticed), parasite singles and similar living situations, among other issues. Pictures would be easy to come by. Hajimemashou! — MC MasterChef :: Leave a tip — 03:48, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
I'm not exactly sure how to begin on a topic so potentially large, but here are some links to start with:
— MC MasterChef :: Leave a tip —

Yagyu Shinkage-ryu and other martial arts

I just spent some time trying to clean up the article on Yagyu Shinkage-ryu, one of the most prominent schools of Japanese swordsmanship, but I think it could still use some attention.

The problem I found with this article, as I have found with many martial arts articles, is that they are written from the perspective of someone deep into the philosophy of the school, and not from an objective historical or cultural (anthropological) perspective. Names of the founders and masters of the school are given not as normal samurai names (by which they could be recognized and linked more easily) but as long, super-honorable kami-like names. For example, Yagyū Muneyoshi was given as "Yagyu Tajima no Kami Taira Muneyoshi," and Kamiizumi Nobutsuna was referred to repeatedly as "Ise-no-kami." While I certainly respect the idea of calling these founders by such honorable names within the context of the school, this is an encyclopedia, not the training dojo, and most if not all historical figures are named by their normal, proper name, not by lengthy epithets.

Secondly, while I again appreciate the philosophies of the various schools of martial arts, this is not the place for subtle, obscure, or profound slogans or quotations. Objective description of the schools is what is required - why was this school developed? how does it differ from other schools? How are these differences evident to a beginner, to an outside observer, or to an opponent? The philosophies of the school may be clear to the writer of the article, as an adherent to the school, but they come across as philosophical nonsense when put the way most of these articles put it. Take the section below as an example:

""Move with the mind, in order to move with the body"! If his sword does not stop the movement of the enemy; if he tries to fit to the rhythm of opponent; if he enters into the evolutionary mind of the adversary to find his weakness, then this sword is called: Katsujin-ken, the sword of the One who preserves Life, the Sword of the Victor."

What does this tell the casual reader of the article about the school? Does it make truly clear and evident what attitude or approach this school takes? All of these phrases may mean something to the writer, who has studied the subtle hidden meanings of the words, and who has practiced for hours and hours to 'move with his mind in order to move his body' or to anticipate the movements of his enemy, but for those who have not studied or practiced these things, these phrases are all but meaningless.

This post/comment has gone on for longer than I expected, and I do not intend it as a criticism of anyone in particular. I simply wanted to bring to the attention of the community that I believe this family of articles needs to be cleaned-up, and to ask for help in that endeavor.

Thank you. LordAmeth 08:12, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Votes for Deletion: Don Tacos, Kyabetsu Taro

Someone has nominated Japanese snack food articles Don Tacos and Kyabetsu Taro for deletion. You can express your opinions at

Fg2 11:00, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Hi, I was the one who nominated these for deletion. I propose that these, and other Japanese snack food stubs, if notable, should be moved to an article on Japanese snack food. In my opinion, having a lot of little stubs is less useful than a more comprehensive article. If you agree, please leave your opinion at the AFD links above. Thanks. Dforest 12:47, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
I agree wholeheartedly that Japanese snack food is an excellent idea for an article (and I'm going to add it as a collaboration candidate ... although I'm not sure if anyone's still watching that page) but it would've been nice if you'd posted your idea here first instead of nominating the stubs for deletion! CES 23:05, 10 October 2005 (UTC)
I might have posted it here had I been aware of this board before I made the AFD. But I also wanted to hear some others' opinions—those of us who live in Japan are likely to be biased toward inclusionism. The collaboration is a good idea. Where is a good place to discuss it? I have some ideas for organizing such an article. Dforest 10:44, 11 October 2005 (UTC)
Apparently, some people still watch that page. People nominate and second, but nobody declares a winner. It needs an opinion leader! Fg2 07:34, 11 October 2005 (UTC)

Nihonjinron

User:Hskf4 (Talk) - Contributions), a new user to Wikipedia, has recently deleted several sections of the Nihonjinron article, describing them as malicious-sounding "internet rumors". I think this should be approached delicately, given that the previous incarnation did tend to lack specific sources, which could give an impression of POV. Here are some links I found to what might be useful articles (if I recall correctly, Alex Kerr's Dogs and Demons contained a number of critical references to nihonjinron as well, though I don't have a copy on hand): [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8]. Can we improve this article through their incorporation? — MC MasterChef :: Leave a tip — 13:53, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

My edit was loosely based on Boye Lafayette de Mente: Japan's Cultural Code Words (ISBN 0-8048-3574-8), which has a section on Nihonjinron on p. 202. The author has done business in Japan for some 50 years and describes some of the Japanese business tactics, including the claim of Japanese being special to keep out foreign imports. -- Mkill 16:57, 9 October 2005 (UTC)
You are right that the article (the bottom half of which I mostly wrote) didn't have enough references, but the user actually removed a reference from the article which contained a source of several of the things I'd written. That the editor removed a reference from an article damages that editor's credibility very badly indeed. --DannyWilde 23:12, 9 October 2005 (UTC)

Wikipedia:Japanese Collaboration of the Week

I updated and pruned the COTW page, as it's fallen under neglect as of late. Hopefully I did it correctly and didn't step on any toes! The current COTW is Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the current nominees for next week are Japanese snack food and Housing in Japan. CES 01:14, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Japanese art and architecture.

I have added Japanese art and Japanese architecture to the "To Improve" list. I intend to put some more work into them myself, but I think it would be great if we could get a real team effort on this, maybe even polish them up to Featured Article status. Both have lots of content, they just need some cleaning up in terms of structure, grammar, style, and proper wiki-links (what does and does not need to be linked?). Any help you'd like to offer would be most appreciated. LordAmeth 01:30, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Ok, count me in. Let's meet on the discussion page of the articles, I'd like to hear your ideas. I'm thinking of moving some material in Japanese art to the ministry of Education article (the stuff on Government art sponsorship) -- Mkill 20:30, 17 October 2005 (UTC)

Nominated for Deletion: Human rights in Japan

The article Human rights in Japan has been nominated for deletion. Please see Wikipedia:Articles for deletion/Human rights in Japan and express your opinions. Fg2 10:50, 20 October 2005 (UTC)

Japanese asset price bubble

This article is just a stub, even though it's the major event in Japanese economy of the last decades. Is there nobody who feels like adding a some more information? -- Mkill 21:01, 26 October 2005 (UTC)

I'm kicking myself for leaving all my textbooks back at home.. this article is in really sad shape, especially for what is basically the defining event over the past two decades of the world's second largest economy. I don't know how much quality information I can dig up on the internet, but I would like to help out with its expansion; economics is not my speciality by any stretch so I'll only be able to offer a supporting role, most likely. It might very well be worth nominating to WP:COTW or WP:AID, to see if we can drum up interest from editors who might not normally focus on Japan (as the Japanese COTW seems kind of dead). — MC MasterChef :: Leave a tip — 11:45, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Yasukuni Shrine

Is it necessary, and is it properly neutral, to refer to Yasukuni Shrine as a "war shrine", as opposed to a Shinto shrine, in the lead sentence for this article? It seems to me the latter is more technically accurate, the link more informative, and the terminology less likely to be viewed as potentially inflammatory. The focus of the shrine on war and soldiers is quite clear as it is, from the first paragraph. It has been changed back and forth a number of times, so rather than altering it again, I'm hoping to get some input from editors on this matter. Thanks, — MC MasterChef :: Leave a tip — 11:38, 31 October 2005 (UTC)

Let's have a look at the facts: It holds the souls of 2,500,000 soldiers, it features its own war museum, and even has statues of an officers horse and an army messenger dog, and it is regularly visited by war veterans... well, yes, I think you can safely call it a war shrine. -- Mkill 13:01, 31 October 2005 (UTC)