“What Kind of Culture Could Produce These?” Appeal of the Exotic as Entry into Japanese Culture

Abstract

Broadcast and print media, in all forms, remain the central avenue for attracting interest in other cultures. This paper presents a series of observations of and interviews with American university students studying Japanese as a foreign language in the United States. Though the qualitative nature of this research project precludes any broad generalizations, the study suggests that Japanese media products, particularly anime1 and manga, have been added to triggers for interest in Japan and studying Japanese. However, though new media products have been added to the triggers for initial interest in Japan, this has not shifted the perception of Japan as an exotic “other.” In short, to the previous views of Japan as both traditional and modern, a post-modern view of Japanese culture has been added.