There is a lot you can learn about the world from reading a book or watching something on television. That’s why I created a series called Learning About Culture in order to discuss or learn about the things I may see or read. Switched is a 2018 Japanese drama based on the manga Sora Wo Kakeru Yodaka. The following are some cultural things that I wondered about while watching the series.
Rock, Paper, Scissors (Janken)
The appearance of Rock, paper, scissors occurs in Switched during a flashback in the first episode. Rock, paper, scissors is a game that I have played forever, but I have never once wondered about the origins of the game.
Rock, paper, scissors is a hand game with its origins in China dating back to possibly the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD). The game was imported from China to Japan. In Japan, the most popular variant is called Kitsune-Ken.
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How to play Janken
Kappa
While preparing for the school’s festival Ayumi (in Umine’s body) and Kaga worked together to build a board with a picture of a kappa. A kappa is a mythical Japanese creature. They are human-like with webbed feet and hands and a turtle-like shell on their back. They are known for assaulting humans in the water and for removing a mythical organ called shirikodama from the victim’s anus. The Kappa have at least 80 other names around Japan.
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First Names
While Ayumi was in Umine’s body, she tried to talk to her old friends. They told her that they aren’t that close, so she shouldn’t be using their given names. But later on, they tell her it’s okay. Family names are typically used in Japan. Given names are restricted to informal situations and where the speaker is older than, superior than , or very familiar with the individual.
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Pachinko
Ayumi (while in Umine’s body) realizes that Umine is really lonely. On one occasion when she arrived home, her mom was leaving to play pachinko. Pachinko is a mechanical game originating in Japan. It is comparable to a slot machine. While gambling for money is illegal in Japan, some places have created loopholes.
The game is based on the American Corinthian bagatelle and it looks similar to pinball. It was first built as a children’s game in the 1920s, but soon became an adult past time in the 1930s. To learn more, watch the video below.
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Persecution Complex
While Umine was in Ayumi’s body, she realized that she is still the same person. They end up in a confrontation where Kaga tells her that she has a persecution complex.
Persecution Complex is a type of delusion. It involves irrational and obsessive feelings or fear that one is the object of collective hostility or ill-treatment. The person who has it may believe that others are plotting against them and/or following them.