Recently, I have stumbled upon a video on Youtube which has piqued my interest:
In Japan, the term “Yamato Nadeshiko ( 大和撫子 )” symbolizes the image of the perfect woman. Besides a feminine personality, it means a slim, fair skinned body with beautiful hair that women aim for. Asian Boss brings to light this issue through interviewing people, but a problem doesn’t get fixed until enough people are aware of it.
As mentioned in previous blogposts, Japanese diets have changed to become way more westernized and this has affected the bodies of Japanese people. Most interviewees in the video have stated that their ideal weight would be under 50kg which is unhealthy for many people. However, it is apparent that many Japanese aren’t aware of this issue, which has prompted me to think about how I could contribute to help alleviate this problem of Japanese’s obsession with weight loss and dieting.
I have lived a different life and have had different experiences to a Japanese. Our bone structures are different, we grew up eating different foods and as they said, “the cultures are different”. I believe if universities had more culture exchange programs, this problem could be circumvented. This sort of issue requires international engagement because without that the Japanese society stays as an echo chamber constantly reinforcing the idea of ‘Yamato Nadeshiko’.
For example, a good approach would be to setup a platform to exchange meal plans between students in Japan and Australian universities. It would obviously be a huge endeavor technologically with setting up a platform, making a network with language barriers. But I believe encouraging this melting-pot of cultures is the most important part to solve this issue and would broaden the horizons of both Japan and the recipient cultures.
External Sources Used:
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/life/2013/09/15/language/nadeshiko-adorable-till-they-die/
https://www.lingopressbooks.com/blog/how-find-language-partner/
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/community/2016/09/21/issues/body-image-foreign-female-japan-survey-shows-frustration-one-size-fits-thinking/
Japan through the Food Lens 