Re: [sumo] [tangent on English announcements] April 10th Osaka-Exhibition tournament

[Quinlan <sumo@plusq.net>]

Josh,

I have to say that's ridiculous. Maybe I could visualize that  in some 
conservative area of Kansai, which is xenophobic compared to Tokyo and 
Tohoku, but the bullet train tickets are always selling out whenever we 
want to go anywhere. We have to reserve our seats a month in advance as 
soon as they become available for sale during holiday vacation times, 
and even then we're too late sometimes. I don't buy this "japanese 
staying off bullet trains in droves since they started doing English 
announcements". That doesn't match my experience at all. If you lived in 
Kansai when you were in Japan you might have a unbalanced perspective of 
Japanese attitudes toward foreigners.

Sure, people would like Japanese rikishi to take back the reigns of 
sumo, but that doesn't mean that announcements on shinkansen bug them. 
Even in the kokugikan, I don't thing anyone but the occasional geezer 
would be bothered. I've never been to a basho outside of Tokyo, and I 
know people are perhaps more rude in eastern Japan (by Tokyo standards), 
but I've only encountered friendly people in the kokugikan. Almost every 
time I sit in masu-seki I am given food and beer/sake by old people 
sitting around me who are happy to see an enthusiastic foreigner. I'm 
not exaggerating. It's happened the last three Tokyo basho without fail.

Don't judge the Japanese crowd in the kokugikan too quickly.

Q
http://www.quinlanfaris.com/php-cgi/gallery/sumo

Joshua A. Reyer wrote:

> Lawrence Rogers wrote:
>
> > From: Katrina <katrina@shoin.ac.jp>
> >
> >  
> >
> > > In addition to Moti's information about this tournament, may I add 
> > > that there will be stadium announcements in English.  This is due to 
> > > the decline in the number of Japanese audience members and an 
> > > increase in the number of foreign ones.     
> >
> >
> > Good news, I suppose, for English speakers, but I wonder if it's a 
> > wise move by the sumo association. My spies tell me one of the 
> > reasons for the decline in Japanese attendance is dissatisfaction at 
> > the increase in the number of foreign rikishi.  I suspect further 
> > 'internationalization' will keep more Jpnse away. An alternative: 
> > give all the gaikoku types who look puzzled a radio for the in-house 
> > English broadcasting.  
>
> Larry has a good point.  Japanese people have been staying off the 
> bullet-trains in droves since they started doing English announcements 
> at stops.
> [EndPost by "Joshua A. Reyer" <circlejar@comcast.net>]
[EndPost by Quinlan <sumo@plusq.net>]