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**Intiltern** · 12-09-2005, 08:00 AM

Well, I guess you can´t fully understand at a hundred percent anything outside your own culture just as if you were a native.

I live in Argentina, and even if I´ve been exposed a lot to American (read: US) culture, I still don´t understand many of their customs like the love for chicken wings (eww, we throw them away here), washed beer and coffee, etc.

I don´t think an American could understand tango as I do, having been born and always lived in a city that breathes tango and takes it into your person at the level of the cadence of your accent... I also think neither me or an American or a Japanese could really understand the Spanish customs of bull fighting, bull running in San Fermín or the giant city-sized tomato-throwing parties they have...

In this line of thought, I don´t think we gaijin can truly really fully understand and incorporate kendo (or any other cultural aspect inherent to Japan) in the same way a Japanese would.

Sure, we can love it, dedicate our entire lives to it, master it with true profficency and even do it better than some Japanese. But aside from judging "better/worse", I think that it´s different than the native perspective. As much as we may like it, it´s not our own cultural heritage.

Cheers!

12-09-2005, 08:00 AM	#4
Intiltern Join Date Nov 2005 Posts 674 Senior Member	Well, I guess you can´t fully understand at a hundred percent anything outside your own culture just as if you were a native. I live in Argentina, and even if I´ve been exposed a lot to American (read: US) culture, I still don´t understand many of their customs like the love for chicken wings (eww, we throw them away here), washed beer and coffee, etc. I don´t think an American could understand tango as I do, having been born and always lived in a city that breathes tango and takes it into your person at the level of the cadence of your accent... I also think neither me or an American or a Japanese could really understand the Spanish customs of bull fighting, bull running in San Fermín or the giant city-sized tomato-throwing parties they have... In this line of thought, I don´t think we gaijin can truly really fully understand and incorporate kendo (or any other cultural aspect inherent to Japan) in the same way a Japanese would. Sure, we can love it, dedicate our entire lives to it, master it with true profficency and even do it better than some Japanese. But aside from judging "better/worse", I think that it´s different than the native perspective. As much as we may like it, it´s not our own cultural heritage. Cheers!
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