-
In Kyoto, “Hey, you’ve got a really nice watch” is NOT a compliment, Japanese businessman says
投稿日 2019年8月27日 14:00:51 (ニュース)
-
続・お知らせ。海外セレブゴシップ&ニュース
-
お知らせ
-
We spot the legendary dekotora Aki Kannon, dedicated to actress and singer Aki Yashiro
-
New Pokémon GU collaboration dresses all the family, including babies for the first time
-
How do European Cup Noodles taste to a Japanese palate?
-
We’ve been doing it wrong – Japanese genius shows us how we should all be making sandwiches【Pics】
-
The future is now with full face sunglasses
-
Natto-infused ramen is a thing — we tried it, we love it【Taste test】
-
Jellyfish and Halloween in perfect harmony at Sumida Aquarium event
-
Japanese toilet paper collection opens our minds as we open our butts
-
Aomori police on the lookout for man shouting unsolicited advice at kids about dating and ramen
-
Former Arashi members Sho Sakurai and Masaki Aiba get married… Wait, that didn’t come out right
-
Creator of Japan’s longest-running manga, Golgo 13, passes away, leaves fans one last gift
-
Crazy cheap cosplay at Daiso? How to transform into Dragon Ball’s Vegeta at the discount shop
-
7 Halloween-themed afternoon teas you won’t want to miss this year
-
Krispy Kreme Japan creates doughnut burgers that are a meal and two desserts all in one【Photos】
-
Get in the damn drift car, Shinji? Evangelion Tomika toy brings D1 machine home in miniature form
-
Demon Slayer Nichiren Blades ready for new duty: Slicing through your sweets as dessert knives
-
Man in Japan arrested for breaking into ex-girlfriend’s apartment to steal her Nintendo Switch
-
The Japanese Internet chooses the top too-sexy-for-their-own-good male voices in anime
-
First-ever Studio Ghibli x Russell Athletic range pays homage to My Neighbour Totoro
-
Super Nintendo World at Universal Studios Japan announces first expansion with new Donkey Kong area
-
Cup Noodle pouch satisfies our never-ending need for instant ramen
-
Retro Japanese train is our new favourite office space
-
How do Japanese fans feel about Netflix’s live-action Cowboy Bebop opening sequence?
-
We try Uniqlo coffee at first-ever cafe inside Ginza flagship store
-
The number of elderly people in Japan this year has yet again smashed multiple records
-
Mr. Sato broadens his home drinking horizons at Kaldi【Japan’s Best Home Senbero】
-
We try Japanese Twitter’s newest trend the Penguin Egg, end up hatching something very disturbing
-
Takoyaki makers surprisingly good at grilling meat for yakiniku too
Sponsored Link
That Kyoto resident might want you to notice something other than the fine craftsmanship.
Thanks to the city’s centuries-long connections to traditional art and culture, there’s a common perception that people from Kyoto have a keenly developed sense of aesthetics. So when Japanese Twitter user @da_masu was in Kyoto on a business trip and having a meeting with a potential client, he wasn’t startled when his counterpart mentioned “That’s a really nice watch you’ve got.”
京都の会社と商談していて、「良い時計してますなぁ」と言われ、時計のスペックを語ってしまった。実は本音が「話長えよ」という嫌味だったと気づいたときのおいらの気持ち。
—
だーます (@da_masu) August 22, 2019
Flattered, @da_masu started to give a run-down of the watch’s features, but in hindsight regrets doing so. Not because he thinks he came off as sounding boastful or materialistic, but because he later came to the conclusion that he wasn’t actually being complimented, and that this was instead another example of Kyoto’s notoriously complex communication style, because when the person said “Nice watch,” what they really meant was:
“This conversation has gone on too long.”
@da_masu doesn’t say how he came to that conclusion, but there’s definitely a sort of logic to the interpretation. If someone compliments your watch, maybe while gesturing at it, naturally you’re going to look at it. That glance should also tell you the time, and so the seemingly benign compliment functions as a way to force you to see what time it is and notice how much of the other person’s time you’ve taken up, indirectly pressuring you into wrapping things up/leaving them alone.
▼ “Yes, it truly is a lovely timepiece. I wonder if they sell ones like it at the store where I buy the files I use to organize all of the other work I have to do?”
Sponsored Link
While Japan has a reputation for indirect communication, especially when dealing with topic that could lead to a disagreement or conflict, this highly coded compliment/complaint goes beyond what even most Japanese people would ordinarily pick up on, and other Twitter users left comments such as:
“Kyoto is terrifying.”
“It’s like a completely different culture from the rest of Japan.”
“There’s nothing as obtuse as a Kyoto complaint.”
“Seriously. I used to live in Kyoto, and communicating there is a unique hassle.”
“I was walking around Kyoto, and since I was tired my steps were slow. As someone passed me up from behind, they snapped ‘You’re really enjoying the scenery, aren’t you?’”
Of course, the tricky thing, as some commenters pointed out, is that if someone from Kyoto genuinely wants to compliment you on your watch, they’ll also say “That’s a really nice watch you’ve got,” so it really is up to the watch-wearer, on a case-by-case basis, to try to figure out if they have to read between the lines, like when a Kyoto neighbor says they envy you your large group of friends or musical talent.
Source: Twitter/@da_masu via Jin
Top image: Pakutaso
Insert image: Pakutaso
● Want to hear about SoraNews24’s latest articles as soon as they’re published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!
Source: SORA NEWS24
Sponsored Link
最新情報