I taught English in Japan for an English conversation school. I have always worn a beard and the branch manager hated it and kept trying to force me to shave it. I refused. She eventually got the head office involved and got into trouble herself for badgering me about it.
Did you interview with your beard for the job or were you clean shaven then? I'm asking because I'm studying to be language teacher, and knowing the cultural nuances would help.
I live in Japan with a beard. The main advice I can give is people WILL notice it. But keep it nice and people shouldn’t give you too much grief. At least if you’re a foreigner. I can’t speak for native Japanese people.
When I worked at a large multi-national Japanese corporation, they required men be clean shaven, and even the office workers like myself had to change into uniforms: blue for men and pink for women. Now I work for a small startup company with a young CEO. No restrictions, no uniforms, etc. Only criteria is how well we can perform our jobs and increase sales. The facial hair issue really comes down to corporate culture, type of industry, and of course personal hygiene/tidiness. Nowadays I wear neatly trimmed beard and mustache.
Even in the US, beards were frowned upon for many years in business and its only recently started to reverse. I have noticed this trend to be most prominent in engineering, where in my graduating class, there were more men with beards than without. You will still be frowned upon if it is unkempt. Uniforms/dress code is exceptionally common, but it is never down gender lines as that is illegal here. Basically as your last line said, it comes down to who you are working for, the industry and how nice you keep it. And the rule of thumb is, if you can't grow it, don't wear it.
I’m from rural west Texas. Growing up we where taught to have clean shaven faces. Some of the reasons are the same, but the main reason was in the oil fields we had to have shaved faces for safety. We had to use SCBA air equipment and with a beard the mask would not make a proper seal. Now oil field safety standards have changed and also beards have become socially acceptable within the last decade.
I grew up in West Texas also, no one had beards. They were thought of as something a dirty hippy would have, so why would a proud fella with a straight backbone want one.
I’m also from rural West Texas. And a clean shave and short hair had zero to do with the oil fields back in the day. I also lived a few years in rural western Japan, and the reason for a neat kept appearance was exactly the same as the panhandle. It’s in group and out group dynamics. Scruffy beards and ugly - mostly meaningless - tattoos are a declaration of rejection of social norms.
@@avenuex3731 maybe you could have got away with scruff on a Rocker A or a Unical lease, but we had to carry razors on the trucks as did my dad back in the day. Amoco, Chevron, Oxy etc. didn’t mess around with safety. Just until a few years ago they stopped mandating shaving.
@@jakenicholson926 understood. But again, not the primary focus of the custom. Long hair and beards were the stuff of hippies and white trash….. and frankly, my last time or two through my hometown confirmed this as a fact. The only folks that still maintained a kept appearance were driving F350’s with Mexican plates. Just…uh….say’in.
I like Shogo-san's consistent delivery template he uses in almost all of his videos: Tell us what you're going to say, say it, tell us what you said. I learned it as a training method when I was in the military.
His format reminds of a textbook, and since I'm always learning something from the videos I have taken to thinking of them together as an 'interactive textbooks'. Which I suppose is the point, but it was still a minor revelation for me!
In Thailand, I don't think this would be our critical issue, many Thais (including me) grow beard for fashion only and I love it a lot. This is a japanese culture shock for me
I lived in Japan for 30 years. I didn't have a beard, but had a fairly substantial moustach. Other foreigners told me that it would be a problem and that I should shave it off. Japanese people never had a problem with it.
A few Japanese women in Japan in their 20s/30s told me they associated beards with homelessness.The Japanese men that I saw with prominent facial hair tended to be self employed or worked for niche small businesses that had a retail front (hiking shops, clothes shops, skate shops, bike shops, music shops, coffee shops).
I fell like the rule of not having a beard is less stricter in the creative industry. I have heard and watch videos before where Japanese guys grow a beard because of freedom of expression and freedom of stylizing themselves. Even some of the co workers I work with, I have seen them have one before. So, for me, it really depends on the industry that you are going to and what type of rule your company sets when it comes to cleanliness.
It's really no different then the West 20 years ago, or even today. Young people with too much facial hair was definitely not accepted in main society until very recently. In the 70's only hippies grew out their facial hair beyond a mustashe. And even today you're probably not gonna get an entry level job at a bank or something with a bushy beard. And if you look at US presidents, honest Abe started a bread trend but we had no bearded president since 1893 and zero facial hair on all our presidents since 1913.
It feels like beards in Japan can be likened to colored hair/piercings in the West in this respect. While it's still a detriment to ~employability~ in a lot of industries, certain industries and companies encourage self-expression so you'll find a lot more people with those things in those places
I honestly believe that it is the patchy and thin nature of Asian beards compared to European beards that has discouraged beards in Japan. It is extremely rare that a Japanese man can grow a full thick beard.
@@fedorkochemasov4533 and Aaron, i am sure that you are both aware, that Asia stretches from Palestine to Japan, that most of Russia is in Asia, for example, and that you find all typologies of men, from the thickest beards to totally hairless in the very large and diverse Asian continent. And the same happens in Europe and Africa. And even if you meant east Asia, you would still not be accurate. A lots of Japanese men could grow a nice beard, but they simply choose not to, for some of the reasons Shogu explained, or for some other reasons. We all have access to maps of the whole world in our pockets: being ignorant or casual in geography is no longer excusable.
@@musamusashi I'd feel embarrassed writing this long reply to your much shorter reply but you did the same thing so... East Asian, South Asian and SE Asian could be referred to as "Asian" because the ethnic groups have "Asian" in their names, not because they are in Asia. All these other groups in Asia do not have "Asian" in their names. For example, Slavic . It is not "casual geography" as it has nothing to do with Geography. Saying "Asian" as short-hand for East Asian is like saying "pardon?" when you don't hear someone even though what you mean is " pardon me for not hearing what you have just said could you repeat it again?". The word pardon has come to mean this due to repeated use and a common understanding of the person's intent. This is language and criticising someone for using a word to have a different meaning that both you and them understand is silly as if we followed that logic for the rest of the English language it would be littered with intentional mistakes. How about we criticise the word "English", or do you mean Anglo-Saxon? Even then, they call them Anglo-Saxons, but what they actually mean is the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. But England was actually made up of the Romano-Britons as well. We have access to the history of the whole world in our pockets: being ignorant or casual in the history of the language you're speaking is no longer excusable That's the snobby high horse you're on.
Beards are like fashion for men. Trendy in periods of time and serve as different status symbols. Shaved beards symbolize feminine, subordinate, clean (professionalism in workforce) in my opinion. And a full beard as mentioned can be a symbol of strength and masculinity and a status symbol. It also can be a sign of rebellion or outcast of society/system.
I think it's not just an opinion, but fact. You can just see in Japan that people who have beards are usually CEOs or people who have artistic or self-employed jobs. Japanese men with beards tend to be more individualists and that makes sense considering how Japan has a collectivistic culture.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hardly any man in the top levels of U.S. government has a beard or any type of facial hair. Name the last U.S. president with even a mustache? Also, Beards are not allowed in the U.S. military, even for officers. Bring up a picture of Fortune 500 CEOs. Hardly any of them have any sort of facial hair. You think they symbolize "feminine and subordinate"?? 🤣🤣🤣
Here's more: Look up a picture of the EU leaders. How many beards do you see? Even mustaches? Athletes like Michael Jordan, Christiano Rinaldo, Klyian Mbappe don't have beards. Mike Tyson in his prime didn't have a beard. I dare you to go tell him that he looked "feminine and subordinate" in his prime 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I can go on and on and on.
I don't know if this has been pointed out to you, yet, but for some perception correction: "Beards" are grown on or around the Chin; it's the "Mustache" that grows under your nose. I noticed you had it reversed there when you described your own adventure in facial hair. 😊
Just to let you know. In English will call the hair above the mouth a moustache and the hair on the chin is a beard. We also have different names for different shapes of moustache and beards. When you have a small vertical stripe of hair down your chin we call that a goatee.
How do I keep myself from offending anyone simply by complimenting them? I live in the Midwest of the USA and have always been taught that compliments and kindness are respectful. So I do it a lot.
Well in the US people tend to take things how they wants so it's not really possible. Something like "have nice day!" Can be seen as mean simply cause that person was in fact having a bad day.
@@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115 yeah. I'm still confused why people think Americans are friendly like most every thing and we say is either sarcasm or just us lying.
A side note not related to this very informative and enjoyable video...Shogo, your traditional clothing is STUNNING! Absoluty gorgeous! I enjoy just viewing such beautiful traditional clothing!
thank you for your insight on beards. When I was in Japan in the mid 60's, I saw no one with a beard. What a change in concept there has been in Japan on something as insignificant as facial hair. But it's not for me to judge what people want.
It seems interesting to me that a similar thing seemed to happen in ancient Rome and Greece, in which in the earlier periods, beards were considered manly and associated with a strong warrior or a man of authority, but later on, being clean shaven was seen as more civilized, compared to the barbaric Gauls who kept long moustaches on their lips and Germans who grew their beards long.
I also heard one of the main reasons greek and roman armies abandoned beards, is because on the thick of battle the beard (if long) could be grabbed and pulled by the enemy, making the soldier vulnerable.
Really, you see a similar pattern repeat itself throughout Europe. You look at old photos and paintings etc, you'll see periods where prominent men are heavily bearded, then clean shaven, then carefully groomed and shaped. First they're seen as symbols of strength and fertility. Then they're seen as uncivilized. Then they're posh again. And some nations have had military cultures around beards and mustaches. You know why the Amish in the US have beards but no mustache? Because when they were immigrating to the new world, mustaches were associated with the military, and Amish are conscientious objectors. They basically don't believe in the validity of militaries, they don't join, they don't sign the draft, and to this day, they don't grow hair above the lip because of that old connotation
@@zednotzee that's interesting, I never knew all that about the Amish. Muslims keep beards and shave their mustaches, but for the opposite reason. During the wars, they had a hard time determining friend from foe since all the men were bearded, so an order was issued to shave their mustaches.
CDawgVA said in one video he went with someone in Japan who said he should shave. Only afterwards saying he looked better with a beard than without one
Then you told about barbarian beard, I immediately thought about Toshiro Mifufune role in 7 samurai. It would be cool if you made video about cultural historical references in classic Japanese movies!
If Shogo promises to grow a beard, he can reach that 2M milestone much sooner. Say you'll do it. Shogo, and we'll campaign for you like a raging motherbeast!
i grow my beard out seasonally and met my girlfriend during winter while i had a full beard. come spring i cut it down to a victorian style van dyke and again grew it out for the following winter. apparently she's become quite taken to stroking my beard. last spring when i suggested it may be time to shave as the weather was warming, i was met with several rapid slaps to the chest while being told i can't shave because she likes the beard. finally cashed in on the comprise of cutting down to the van dyke while keeping the beard long enough for her to run her fingers through. everyone's happy.
This video made me realize that I have no idea what I would look like without my beard, I've had it for just over a decade. I don't think I could ever shave it completely off at this point.
@@patrickmartin7692 I was about to say this same thing. I think I shaved ONCE back in my very early 20s and never again. It's been decades since I've seen my naked chin.
As a half Japanese I'd like to see more Japanese men with a beard. Because I don't think beards doesn't suit them. In the contrary, I find most of Japanese people look younger than what they really are. Even myself, and I think beards could make men look more manly. I remember I really loved seeing Japanese actors with beards in the old Japanese movies. But I think there's a lot to do with the taste of Japanese women who prefer young looking men 😐
I'd rather say japanese women prefer a business executive look on men. I think that's the image of success in Japan, the corpo, unlike in West, where even the Californians try to look like a dragon slayer or a lumberjack.
Shogo with facial hair actually looks REAL COOL. a very Mature and refined look. I actually feel bad I have to shave more often due to my more sensitive skin, because it popular for many men to not shave for a month out of solidarity for raising awareness for Men's Health Awareness Month in November or "No Shave November".
You got the words for "beard" and "moustache" mix up with one another at 6 minutes into the video. "Beard" is regarded as the either the hair on the chin or the entire facial hair as a whole, while "Moustache" ONLY refers to the hair growing on the upper lip.
I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the male Idol culture because those pretty boys are clean with no facial hair. I have facial hair that grows pretty quickly(about three days) after each shave so I have to pick and choose when to shave my facial hair which is usually for special occasions. I guess when I decide to visit Japan I'll just get my beard and mustache trimmed so I don't have to worry about it growing out of control while I'm over there.
@@eugeneoisten9409 I might just be Mediterranean and European cause the midnight shadow for mi is the shadow that appears midnight when I shave in the morning
Is it possible that also it could be about this Japanese cultural idea of avoiding to stand out? Since most Japanese man doesn't grow beards, one that grows one stands out too much. I was watching a video from a guy in my country and he said that the owner of the company he works for is Japanese and that his boss has never shown objection regarding his employees using beards, having tatoos or piercings. I believe it's because he realized that here companies have become more relaxed in terms of the appearance of their employees so sometimes you can encounter male cashiers at a bank that are wearing beards, have visible tatoos or have long hair, to name one example. Another thing, maybe this is a thing between Japanese themselves but what do Japanese think when a foreigner has a beard? I remember I saw a video from a guy that went to live to Japan and after a while he stopped shaving and started to grow a beard and his boss, instead of scolding him told him that the beard suited him and even he started to grow a beard himself.
The beard can easily be perceived as an attribute of self-willingness and power. Old Japanese movies show us that the beard is ok for an image of a bandit, or a lone samurai, but not for a man of a corporate structure. Also, well-grown beards were quite common among Japanese aristocracy, which can be seen in Meiji-era photos. Also, their Ainu neighbours (genetically very different), which were gradually driven to north through the ages, had magnificent beards. There's an assumprion that those Japanese men able to grow thick beard have a prominent DNA track from Ainu.
i think this is very true. as a foreigner many people actively liked my beard, but being somewhat similar to what you would picture a viking, i could never blend in with the Japanese. shaven bald and wearing a dress i would still look more masculine then most Japanese men, so my looking even more masculine with a beard was irrelevant.
I am from Europe and had noticed few Japanese wear beards and had speculated myself on why but now I know better why! Thanks! This video left me wondering how short (stubbly) beards which are well kempt (kept short continuously ) are viewed. A very short beard can look tidy but if one looks at it as mere stubbles one could see it as untidy....
I have a full thick beard, and a few of my beardless friends enviously remind me constantly. I am visiting Japan in two years and I am going to go full beard for the trip
I too have a beard and beardless friends are envious but then I'm envious of those guys with really thick epic sized beards think French Foreign Legion Pioneers.
Shogo-san, how about the length of hair for Japanese men and the hairstyle for Japanese women. What are the ones they like the most and the ones they dislike the most? You could make an entire video series discussing what the Japanese dislike and like, it would help us foreigners when travelling in Japan and help us blend in better. About beards though, if I ever saw someone sporting mutton chops and looks like Captain Price, I'd buy them a beer automatically because I love Call of Duty and I can't grow some decent-looking facial hair. EDIT: hey, I got a like from Shogo-san, it's an honor!
As a bearded man who loves Japan and its culture, i always wondered why, while i was happy that one of my favorite Japanese, O Sensei, had a beautiful big beard. Thanks for this very interesting video, Shogu.
It is a shame that beards are considered unprofessional in many Japanese companies. A great example of an iconic Japanese beard would be Hayao Miyazaki. I think it would cool to see you regrow the beard for the 2 million subscriber special! 6:28 Also, I hope you don't mind me pointing this out, but I think you mixed up mustache and beard 😅
it's hard to enforce a look of uniformity among workers with beards, imagine if a company's dress code is "every male employee must have a short trimmed beard" that would be hard to maintain than "every employee must be clean shaven". it's all uniformity really
From the sounds of it, it depends on how well kept and full your beard is. If you don't have a well kept beard, it's frowned upon. To be fair, people in the west also usually think unkempt beards are trashy/bad looking too but more people have beards in general.
True. I think the reason is that east asians just cant really grow beards as well which is why they just dont. And the few that can stand out as being different which in east asia you dont really want to.
yea but this is something that just recently happened.. In the 90's, men in america didnt wear beards like they do now because of the hipster thing that came about in the early 00's
@@raidermaxx2324 I can't speak perfectly for the US, since I'm European, but I think in the West clean shaven vs. beard is a cyclic thing. The 50s and 60s saw clean shaven People, so the counterculture of the 70s and 80s included beards. In the 90s and 2000s it swung the other way around and now we are bearded again.
Ya exactly I have more trouble not growing a beard as…well my hair is like weeds haha but ya had tons of times living in west, even Alberta Canada (country life and cowboy aesthetic) where it is frowned upon or I’m deemed as lazy etc for not grooming it more
@@Jan-gh7qi Yeah it is. My dad was in the mustache age, and my grandad the shaven age. My great grandad was in the epic beard age which I guess came back 10 years or so, but we are also kinda seeing the mustache age trying to claw its way back now.
This was a very interesting video. Especially the part about all facial hair being just one word. There are many types of beards beyond "stubble beards".
It is very interesting to learn these points you brought up in this video and how that crossed into older European cultures, like the Romans. The same ideas of beards looking barbaric or not shaving being seen as lazy were main reasons during the Roman Republic on why most Roman men shaved their faces too. It seems like it just depends on the time and culture on the importance of facial hair, regardless of race or location on Earth. Thanks for bringing these topics up in such an academic way!
But in Italy now there's no shame at all on having a beard, because we let everyone do what they like and we prioritise what the self loves more than what others think. The problem here are the social rules some Countries still have today. Not criticism, just stating my point ^_^
But in the old times of early monarchy It was perfectly normal to grow beards, and in the later times of the empire the beard style went back as a costum with philosopher emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius...
Interesting! Thanks for teaching me something new today. As for other things westerners don't understand about Japan - why is the skin care such a big deal and why there is such an obsession with not getting a tan
Getting tanned has always been seen as a proof of being of low status since you must endure sun while working outdoors. Nobles and scholars worked indoors. Nowadays, after becoming office/cubicle rats, we're over back pedaling.
It was the same in Europe (and i guess also the us) up to some decades ago when many people were still labouring in the fields and desk jobs were regarded as upper class. E.g. in German there is the description "noble paleness" and royalty is all over Europe described as "blue blooded" as they were so pale that one could see their veins. For the same reason people used to grow out their nails (male european aristocrats usually grew out the nail on their pinkies) to indicate that one doesn't do any physical labour. You can still witness that by the way people mock drinking out of a tea cup fancily by stretching out their pinkies when taking a sip as back in the days aristocrats had to drink that way due to the long nail on that finger
I've been gone for a while. I see your sword collection has grown!! 1.3 million subs!! Job well done! And for what it's worth you look just fine with facial hair, but yeah, I don't like any on me. :)
My biggest experience as a bearded gaijin in Japan was that most people saw it as a point of interest. I do have a big but fairly well kept beard and the major reaction was everyone declaring it was so fluffy as they came over and started petting it. It was odd to be sure but I never really saw much in line with negative reactions.
Hey shogo I wanted to know why fruits in japan are so expensice because i saw multiple videos of people showing that a melon costs 100 dollars or 2 peaches cost 50 dollars. Thanks for reading
Fruits are expensive in Japan because each prefecture specializes in one or two types. They are proud of the quality and history of their farms, and it shows in the prices. Fruit is a common gift.
Fruits are only expensive if the main purpose of their production is for gift giving or prefecture novelty thing. Supermarket fruits will still cost ¥110 ish if it’s bananas or mass produced berries. If it’s something like musk melon or kyoho grape, it’s going to be somewhere over ¥1500.
@@niket527 I don't agree with the prices, just tried my best to explain their reasoning behind it. It's a bit silly to me, but I don't live there so hey.
There is a specialty fruit industry and those are very premium fruits meant to be purchased and given as gifts on special occasions. Regular produce costs much less.
My girlfriend is japanese and as you can see I have a medium lenght beard. The first dates I shaved very very short because I knew a long beard would not be ideal. After a while my beard got longer and I decided to shave again, to my surprise my girlfriend told me "What?! Why did you shave I loved it". Plot twist I now can't shave short ever again..
That’s very interesting to learn. I’d never really wondered why it was so uncommon for the scarcity. I had always assumed it was hormonal differences or dietary decisions leading to differences in beard fullness or rate of growth making it just easier to be clean shaven in Japan. Since my early teens I’ve had a rather full beard and my Nordic heritage really kicked in in my 20s . Now in my 30s having a beard less than 10cm has been rare. Even if I shave in the morning I can light matches off my face by lunchtimes.
I've got the exact opposite problem even though my dad's family was from Finland my mother's family were native Americans Of the Ojibwa tribe. Even though I look like my father and I'm over 50 I cannot grow a beard even if I don't shave for months it looks like little more than a teenager's 5 o'clock stubble.
When I was in uni I often had a beard, and people were constantly telling me that I would be more handsome without a beard. A few people told me I should just straight up shave. I was even body shamed twice for having chest hair!
It happens here in the US, as well, still. I frequently get told that I would look better without a beard and have sometimes been straight up told to my face that if I wanted employment with their company, that I would have to shave.
I bet they were all soy boys and feminists. When I was in uni I got told to shave, too. Beards are a sign of high T levels. And that creates anxiety in people. Mainly people with low T levels. Their lizard brain unconsciously understands that they are unable to reach the same level of physical prowess as you because of you superior T levels. So, by getting a man to shave means they are able to control the threat through social conditioning. Thereby proving that man is not a threat anymore through that control.
@@scottcantdance804 I actually straight up challenged one of my psych professors. She was ALWAYS on my a$$ about it (she was also the worst militant feminist on compus. Go figure.). Telling me it looks like I'm a hobo and it's "professional". This was almost a full year of this. I told her we can go to the campus gym, grab one of the coaches for the football team, get gloves on, and go at it. If she wins, I shave. If I win, she STFU about it and she raises my lowest exam grade up to the next letter grade up. She declined and reported me. But the disciplinary board didn't do anything. They thought it was hilarious and just told me to get through the rest of the class and I'd be free of her.
I'm 50 and STILL (due to testosterone deficiencies and/or genetics) cannot grow a full beard. It's gotten fuller but still too thin to grow something nice. My oldest son (23 years old) is like me at his age and only needs to shave about once fortnightly. And NOW with beards being trendy in the U.S. and Europe, I stick out even more than I used to. Hopefully someday, before I die, I'll be able to grow one that looks nice...BUT, I will never be "unshaven". Meaning that, it will always be trimmed and tidy and never allowed to be bushy and gross looking like some kind of hobo or troll.
2 weeks…I envy you. If I want to keep clean shaven, I have to shave at least 2 times a day. I get tired of shaving so I keep a beard at least 7 months out of the year. If you’ve seen a picture of Kenny loggins back in the day that’s basically what I look like after about 3 weeks. Yes I had the long hair too for a long time….finally cut that off.
A schoolmate here in the states, when I was going to university, is from Japan, and probably the only man I had met who had a beard and mustache. It could be that he just wanted to do something different, but I never saw him shave it off. As far as I know, from Facebook photos, he still has facial hair and he moved back to Japan some time ago.
Coming from an Army family I know that In the United States military it's required to shave one's beard for the purpose of uniformity and cohesiveness (among other reasons). Perhaps this would have been another reason why beards were unpopular in Japan right before, during, and shortly after WW2 as well?
At 3:05 you talk about a law was passed making it "legal" to grow a beard where you meant to say "illegal." Also, I love watching your videos. Thank you for sharing you Japanese experience with us.
I came across your channel late last year while browsing the youtube shorts. I really enjoy your channel and it's incredibly informative and I plan to keep a lot of the information in mind when I travel to Japan
The native indigenous Ainu people of Japan have Beards and it is part of the Ainu culture and tradition. I hope you wold make a video about Ainu People and the connection with the Samurai traditions… thank you!
I agree, I was surprised he didn't mention Ainu and the Japanese history of discrimination towards them, probably part of the opinion in regards to beards
That'd be cool. I'm ethnic Okinawan and have read that Ainu share some DNA with Okinawans. Makes sense, since I'm pretty hairy too. Those warlords' beards are not impressive for me. So I'd love to see anything on this topic.
I'm an Orthodox Christian, my faith requires me to grow a beard. I remember going to Japan for the first time last year and people were looking at me as if I was from another planet.
Maybe big beards were also associated with the Emichi in the past and with the Ainu more recently, helping with the idea of "barbarian", as these groups were sadly viewed as. When I got my first arubaito in a nikuya, I went there with a big beard and I asked the boss if I should shave. She said there wasn't need for it and her son even came came by and said "I also don't shave" caressing his beard on the chin.
Maybe they just don't like beards on Japanese men. I occasionally let my beard grow in Japan and so far every Japanese girl I've dated has loved the beard. My current long term girlfriend of 3 years loves my beard and actually hates it when I shave it off. I'm the first westerner shes been with. So I asked if she always like beards. She said no before me she hated them. But now she loves the look and feel of a beard.
They love your beard because you're White, and most of European descendant men have an appropriate facial frame and plenty of beard hair unlike East Asian men
As another expat living in Japan, I concur that as long as the beard is short and neat, people do not care. Although, it does limit one's dating opportunities. So, if you are single, you might want to shave or put off growing one. Other than that, it usually is not an issue.
@@mullinz305 its very obvious, cant you tell? the expat comes from space. Just look at his profile picture, he's clearly from star trek. Looks like captain kirk to me, at least at that shitty resolution, but who knows!
@@AlFredo-sx2yy Ha ha, nice. Actually it is a picture of Lt. Dave Bailey in the episode "The Corbomite Maneuver." Hold on I need to tape up my glasses some more...
@@mullinz305 One has an awesome song by Led Zeppelin and the other doesn't. In all seriousness, an immigrant is someone with the intention and/or permission by the state to become or is a permanent resident in a country. An expat is a person who has temporary residence in order to work in a country. An expat can become an immigrant.
Very very cool presentation on beards! In the US many special forces operators returned from the Middle East with beards simply because when dealing with the Arab ally, in their culture it was difficult to accept their consultation because a man without a beard is seen as a kid or inexperienced. They were not well respected as warriors, once they grew beards they were immediately accepted. They returns home and suddenly because US men admire our soldiers so much, saw them with beards and it’s one reason beards have returned in fashion. I am Filipino with full beard to make up for my thin hair, it’s better than having a full bald head! I get compliments on my appearance all the time because it’s very rare. Sometimes when I see a male Filipino acquaintance, they’ll comment on my beard, then when I see them the next time around, they tend to appear as though they’re trying to grow one.. 😂
I grew up in the South and none of the men in my family have had beards. It wasn't that common during some decades, I think the popularity of beards in the US is a more recent trend of the late 2000s. But it's starting to fade with the times.
I also wonder if you have ever watched the US miniseries "Shogun"? I liked it because the Japanese actors spoke Japanese. It gave me a look into Japanese history. I would like to know if it was accurate.
I think Japanese men with beards look *very* cool. From the small ones like Hideo Kojima to large ones like Toshiro Mifune. And, unfortunately, my own beard grows extremely fast and it's very dense - it's painful to shave it, my face ends up as big and red as a tomato, so I always keep trimmed. I'd have a hard time working in Japan for certain companies I believe
Why was I implored to turn on captions at the beginning of the video? It appeared to be just the same content as the regular video. Was it just that he was concerned that he wouldn’t be understood? For portions of the video I just listened to the audio, and I understood him just fine.
His beard was relatively modest for the time. He's really only famous for his beard since he was the first president to sport one (and there aren't many others who had them).
Because of my non-adherance to "standards" set aside by others for personal appearances as prejudice for character... I will most likely intentionally grow a beard prior to visiting Japan.
In Germany working for a bank had similar strict rules as Japanese Businesses. They usually have had to wear their hair short, no piercings nor tattoos, I don't think I have ever seen a man with a beard working in a bank before, it's welcome if you are settling at a young age; meaning you marry young and make a family (simply put: don't be a risky person) Lately I've seen that this etiquette has shifted. I saw a tattooed man with a bun and beard working at the bank. Not the stereotyp you would expect to handle your money. But times change, I suppose. This time for the better, even :D I think there are many Japanese men who can wear a beard with their face. They just have to chose a beard that fits the shape of their face. And sometimes facial hair grows very slowly. So in the beginning it seems like you only have three hairs in your face, but if you are staying persistent and not waver during the "ugly-phase" you'll be rewarded with a magnificent beard!
@@koschmx Customer service in Germany unfortunately isn't a thing. And while the company has certain rights to fire employees, the latter are usually strongly protected by law even if they are are nitwits. So many people who are unhappy with their life keep being jerks on their jobs instead of trying to change their life for the better.
i enjoyed your video. my parents got married in Japan (dad was in the air force, mom in the army) and they had 2 priests (1 Shinto and 1 Christian) perform the ceremony.
To those that can't grow beards I am envious of you as a person whose beard grows very quickly do you know how much barber prices rised in my country as of late!!!!!!
this is honestly what i think, not that EVERY japanese guy cant but most cant so it became more culturally common to have hairless more feminine look on the face of a man.
@ERRATAS 0202 not full ones, and compare them to modern day men of those countries. I don’t know if it was artistic liberties or if men just could grow them a little more back then.
Before retiring, when was I in the military, I had to shave everyday and it let my skin sore and irritated. However after retiring now I shave about once per two months plus beards seems to be back in fashion.
@@Otes Your beard must be reaching your navel by now 😁Well, in my case, wen my beard starts to get really big it also annoys me, because I have thick facial hair thus I still shave about once every two months, as I said before.
Humble in a business setting definitely bolsters sincerity and honestly. It's actually scary negotiation business with people, even your own staff if they also have a say but even more so if you're negotiating with another business.
Alright now for a question on on hairy chest? When I was living in South Korea I remember an old man at the local farmers market was amused by my chest hair even going so far as to touch it and point for his wife to notice it too, my girlfriend at the time explained that hairy chest are not common in Korea and that while she liked my chest she said it was best to cover it up(out of an appearance of hygiene or her trying to keep curious girls farther away I have no idea) I just want to know what the Japanese think of them
I feel like the notion that beards represent sloppiness is kind of a misnomer. I understand if the person just lets their hair grow without proper grooming, but properly maintaining a beard is far from sloppiness. Properly maintaining a beard means you need to trim it down and shave off any undesirable hairs quite frequently. Of course, I know keeping a clean shaven face takes more effort, especially if you grow really thick and dark facial hair, but we cannot let that discount the effort put into properly grooming and maintaining a beard.
Moustache: the facial hair that grows between your upper lip and nose Beard: the hair that grows around your cheeks and chin. The style of beard which only grows on your chin is called a goatee and isn’t really called a ‘full’ beard in the western world. Still a beard none the less
The potential for beard is really different between men in Japan. In my sharehouse one Japanese guy had a LOT of beard growth that needed to be shaved every day. His face was very "green" from the beard showing underneath his skin. I think it would be better for him to have a beard than to shave so often.
From watching these videos I have gotten a vibe that many Japanese people hold these stricter standards to other Japanese but not so much to westerners. I get the vibe that people understand other countries have other standards and don't hold as strict of a prejudice on these issues to foreigners. Is this true?
I mean, I feel like that is relatively common everywhere. If someone is from a different country you don't expect them to have the same customs as you. I am sure the Japanese are no different.
Just subscribed. Would really appreciate more historical videos about samurai. I know there are a bunch of videos out there but I feel like you break down the context of everything better for us westerners.
Kon'nichiwa, Shogo. I worked in maintenance for an international Japanese hotel chain in Amsterdam and had to shave daily. Japanese personnel didn't mind (get it fixed, Arigatōgozaimashita), but HR ... Can't believe the Japanese still use the term "Barbarians", I hope you will have a video on the special role of the Dutch in the Edo-period of isolation.
I taught English in Japan for an English conversation school. I have always worn a beard and the branch manager hated it and kept trying to force me to shave it. I refused. She eventually got the head office involved and got into trouble herself for badgering me about it.
bravo 👏
Did you interview with your beard for the job or were you clean shaven then? I'm asking because I'm studying to be language teacher, and knowing the cultural nuances would help.
Yeah but does she shave her "you know what"?
@@niket527 probably not according to my research
I assume your Western then?
You say Japanese people don't suit beards, but those Meiji era guys you showed looked pretty smart with them I think.
@ERRATAS 0202 East Asians. Many men from South Asia to Middle East have magnificent beards
@@zainmudassir2964 because of ancient Aryan admixture.
@@zainmudassir2964 But those people are not Asian.
@@vids595 they're literally Asian honey they're not east Asian. Asia is a huge place with a lot of different kinds of Asian people. Duh doi
@@vids595 they are Asians as well but of Caucasian race, while East Asian and Southeast Asian are mainly Mongoloid races
I live in Japan with a beard. The main advice I can give is people WILL notice it. But keep it nice and people shouldn’t give you too much grief. At least if you’re a foreigner. I can’t speak for native Japanese people.
I was gonna say, if you keep the beard cleanly trimmed, and well kept, then it won't look sloppy and probably wouldn't cause too many issues
How about Asian foreigners who can pass as Japanese?
Plot twists he's PewDiePie
Interesting, 🤔 seems decent
"Native"
When I worked at a large multi-national Japanese corporation, they required men be clean shaven, and even the office workers like myself had to change into uniforms: blue for men and pink for women. Now I work for a small startup company with a young CEO. No restrictions, no uniforms, etc. Only criteria is how well we can perform our jobs and increase sales. The facial hair issue really comes down to corporate culture, type of industry, and of course personal hygiene/tidiness. Nowadays I wear neatly trimmed beard and mustache.
Even in the US, beards were frowned upon for many years in business and its only recently started to reverse. I have noticed this trend to be most prominent in engineering, where in my graduating class, there were more men with beards than without. You will still be frowned upon if it is unkempt. Uniforms/dress code is exceptionally common, but it is never down gender lines as that is illegal here.
Basically as your last line said, it comes down to who you are working for, the industry and how nice you keep it. And the rule of thumb is, if you can't grow it, don't wear it.
Translation: Japanese are shallow people who focus more on appearance than depth of character and substance.
And I bet it looks great 😃 I think Asian men with beards are pretty snazzy
I’m from rural west Texas. Growing up we where taught to have clean shaven faces. Some of the reasons are the same, but the main reason was in the oil fields we had to have shaved faces for safety. We had to use SCBA air equipment and with a beard the mask would not make a proper seal. Now oil field safety standards have changed and also beards have become socially acceptable within the last decade.
I am also from West Texas. Beards seem more common now.
I grew up in West Texas also, no one had beards. They were thought of as something a dirty hippy would have, so why would a proud fella with a straight backbone want one.
I’m also from rural West Texas. And a clean shave and short hair had zero to do with the oil fields back in the day. I also lived a few years in rural western Japan, and the reason for a neat kept appearance was exactly the same as the panhandle. It’s in group and out group dynamics. Scruffy beards and ugly - mostly meaningless - tattoos are a declaration of rejection of social norms.
@@avenuex3731 maybe you could have got away with scruff on a Rocker A or a Unical lease, but we had to carry razors on the trucks as did my dad back in the day. Amoco, Chevron, Oxy etc. didn’t mess around with safety. Just until a few years ago they stopped mandating shaving.
@@jakenicholson926 understood. But again, not the primary focus of the custom. Long hair and beards were the stuff of hippies and white trash….. and frankly, my last time or two through my hometown confirmed this as a fact. The only folks that still maintained a kept appearance were driving F350’s with Mexican plates. Just…uh….say’in.
"Many Japanese actors have beards"
I literally can't imagine Ken Watanabe without a beard.
Or Pat Morita (Mr Miyagi)
@@IngTomT That's an iconic beard
@@panqueque445 And perfectly suited for a man of his caliber. May he rest in peace.
Ken Watanabe is a great example of masculinity in Japanese men, even with a shaved face 😍
Mifune!!
I like Shogo-san's consistent delivery template he uses in almost all of his videos: Tell us what you're going to say, say it, tell us what you said. I learned it as a training method when I was in the military.
This is also the method I was taught in my public speaking class in college. It does give a presentation a very polished, structured vibe.
I fastforward, feel it is treating me like an imbecil 😂 just say things once, thats enough
i was about to point that out. it felt like a and c school for a moment.
His format reminds of a textbook, and since I'm always learning something from the videos I have taken to thinking of them together as an 'interactive textbooks'. Which I suppose is the point, but it was still a minor revelation for me!
I never knew about this method, thanks for sharing, I got inspired.
In Thailand, I don't think this would be our critical issue, many Thais (including me) grow beard for fashion only and I love it a lot.
This is a japanese culture shock for me
@Fahim Ali cringe
@Fahim Ali that's not nice.
@@dordly cus its not, its a fact
@Fahim Ali how dare you say ladyboys cannot grow beards?
Cause they cant grow a beard!
I lived in Japan for 30 years. I didn't have a beard, but had a fairly substantial moustach. Other foreigners told me that it would be a problem and that I should shave it off. Japanese people never had a problem with it.
Feel like a mustache is different tho.
Or the Japanese people were too polite to tell you.
@@GothamClive probably the right asnwer
Maybe they were too polite to say anything? Ah, beat me to it.
A few Japanese women in Japan in their 20s/30s told me they associated beards with homelessness.The Japanese men that I saw with prominent facial hair tended to be self employed or worked for niche small businesses that had a retail front (hiking shops, clothes shops, skate shops, bike shops, music shops, coffee shops).
Sounds like some materialistic whamenz.
I fell like the rule of not having a beard is less stricter in the creative industry. I have heard and watch videos before where Japanese guys grow a beard because of freedom of expression and freedom of stylizing themselves. Even some of the co workers I work with, I have seen them have one before. So, for me, it really depends on the industry that you are going to and what type of rule your company sets when it comes to cleanliness.
It seems to be the case, I've seen seiyuus, people in the videogame industry and mangakas with them
It's really no different then the West 20 years ago, or even today. Young people with too much facial hair was definitely not accepted in main society until very recently. In the 70's only hippies grew out their facial hair beyond a mustashe. And even today you're probably not gonna get an entry level job at a bank or something with a bushy beard. And if you look at US presidents, honest Abe started a bread trend but we had no bearded president since 1893 and zero facial hair on all our presidents since 1913.
It feels like beards in Japan can be likened to colored hair/piercings in the West in this respect. While it's still a detriment to ~employability~ in a lot of industries, certain industries and companies encourage self-expression so you'll find a lot more people with those things in those places
I think this is correct in most countries. I'll second Danny's response.
Miyazaki!
I honestly believe that it is the patchy and thin nature of Asian beards compared to European beards that has discouraged beards in Japan. It is extremely rare that a Japanese man can grow a full thick beard.
"Asian beards"? Wt...
@@musamusashi asian people have thinner beards
@@fedorkochemasov4533 and Aaron, i am sure that you are both aware, that Asia stretches from Palestine to Japan, that most of Russia is in Asia, for example, and that you find all typologies of men, from the thickest beards to totally hairless in the very large and diverse Asian continent. And the same happens in Europe and Africa. And even if you meant east Asia, you would still not be accurate. A lots of Japanese men could grow a nice beard, but they simply choose not to, for some of the reasons Shogu explained, or for some other reasons. We all have access to maps of the whole world in our pockets: being ignorant or casual in geography is no longer excusable.
@@musamusashi I'd feel embarrassed writing this long reply to your much shorter reply but you did the same thing so...
East Asian, South Asian and SE Asian could be referred to as "Asian" because the ethnic groups have "Asian" in their names, not because they are in Asia. All these other groups in Asia do not have "Asian" in their names. For example, Slavic . It is not "casual geography" as it has nothing to do with Geography. Saying "Asian" as short-hand for East Asian is like saying "pardon?" when you don't hear someone even though what you mean is " pardon me for not hearing what you have just said could you repeat it again?". The word pardon has come to mean this due to repeated use and a common understanding of the person's intent.
This is language and criticising someone for using a word to have a different meaning that both you and them understand is silly as if we followed that logic for the rest of the English language it would be littered with intentional mistakes. How about we criticise the word "English", or do you mean
Anglo-Saxon? Even then, they call them Anglo-Saxons, but what they actually mean is the Angles, Saxons and Jutes. But England was actually made up of the Romano-Britons as well. We have access to the history of the whole world in our pockets: being ignorant or casual in the history of the language you're speaking is no longer excusable
That's the snobby high horse you're on.
@@hrtp9821 Completely went off topic but ok.
When I lived in Japan, I often saw well-dressed elderly men (mainly in Tokyo) with fine and well-groomed beards, which made them look extra fancy 😊
Agreed! Most elder Japanese men that I've seen with beards looked far more dignified than most westerners.
Beards are like fashion for men. Trendy in periods of time and serve as different status symbols. Shaved beards symbolize feminine, subordinate, clean (professionalism in workforce) in my opinion. And a full beard as mentioned can be a symbol of strength and masculinity and a status symbol. It also can be a sign of rebellion or outcast of society/system.
And well groomed goatee etc is a mix of both 😃
I think it's not just an opinion, but fact. You can just see in Japan that people who have beards are usually CEOs or people who have artistic or self-employed jobs.
Japanese men with beards tend to be more individualists and that makes sense considering how Japan has a collectivistic culture.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Hardly any man in the top levels of U.S. government has a beard or any type of facial hair. Name the last U.S. president with even a mustache? Also, Beards are not allowed in the U.S. military, even for officers. Bring up a picture of Fortune 500 CEOs. Hardly any of them have any sort of facial hair. You think they symbolize "feminine and subordinate"?? 🤣🤣🤣
Here's more: Look up a picture of the EU leaders. How many beards do you see? Even mustaches? Athletes like Michael Jordan, Christiano Rinaldo, Klyian Mbappe don't have beards. Mike Tyson in his prime didn't have a beard. I dare you to go tell him that he looked "feminine and subordinate" in his prime 🤣🤣🤣🤣 I can go on and on and on.
@@cobbs
You must be one of those Men who can’t grow a beard. 😂
I don't know if this has been pointed out to you, yet, but for some perception correction: "Beards" are grown on or around the Chin; it's the "Mustache" that grows under your nose. I noticed you had it reversed there when you described your own adventure in facial hair. 😊
I think he was engaging in a little levity with that comment.
This made me laugh out loud at this point so funny he had to do it on purpose.
Just to let you know. In English will call the hair above the mouth a moustache and the hair on the chin is a beard. We also have different names for different shapes of moustache and beards. When you have a small vertical stripe of hair down your chin we call that a goatee.
....and a postage-stamp size beard under the lower lip (and above the chin) is a "soul patch". ;-)
Girls call the beard about our lips a landing strip lmfao 🤣
@@kirannicolebuckhannon1492 🤣
If it's only on the chin and there's nothing on the cheeks or jaw it's a goatee, not a beard
@@nef36 yeah I know, didn’t want to take forever explaining, but shogo said moustache on chin in video.
Thing is, you look absolutely badass with your beard, Shogo. I mean it.
Yeah, let that goat beard grow.
I thought it gave off coolness into it too
yeah shaven Shogo is cool but bearded Shogo i feel I could trust with my life
Yeah, I thought he rocked that goatee pretty well too.
Totally agree you would look powerful
How do I keep myself from offending anyone simply by complimenting them? I live in the Midwest of the USA and have always been taught that compliments and kindness are respectful. So I do it a lot.
Don't bother trying to please everyone only ends in pleasing no one
Well in the US people tend to take things how they wants so it's not really possible. Something like "have nice day!" Can be seen as mean simply cause that person was in fact having a bad day.
Offend, just offend everyone, it's far easier than trying to please that people that don't give a 💩 for you in the end.
@@nosotrosloslobosestamosreg4115 yeah. I'm still confused why people think Americans are friendly like most every thing and we say is either sarcasm or just us lying.
A side note not related to this very informative and enjoyable video...Shogo, your traditional clothing is STUNNING! Absoluty gorgeous! I enjoy just viewing such beautiful traditional clothing!
thank you for your insight on beards. When I was in Japan in the mid 60's, I saw no one with a beard. What a change in concept there has been in Japan on something as insignificant as facial hair. But it's not for me to judge what people want.
It seems interesting to me that a similar thing seemed to happen in ancient Rome and Greece, in which in the earlier periods, beards were considered manly and associated with a strong warrior or a man of authority, but later on, being clean shaven was seen as more civilized, compared to the barbaric Gauls who kept long moustaches on their lips and Germans who grew their beards long.
Nah. Alexander the Great was clean shaven and everybody copied him. Philosophers retained their beards, coz it was a sign of maturity and wisdom.
I also heard one of the main reasons greek and roman armies abandoned beards, is because on the thick of battle the beard (if long) could be grabbed and pulled by the enemy, making the soldier vulnerable.
Really, you see a similar pattern repeat itself throughout Europe. You look at old photos and paintings etc, you'll see periods where prominent men are heavily bearded, then clean shaven, then carefully groomed and shaped. First they're seen as symbols of strength and fertility. Then they're seen as uncivilized. Then they're posh again.
And some nations have had military cultures around beards and mustaches.
You know why the Amish in the US have beards but no mustache? Because when they were immigrating to the new world, mustaches were associated with the military, and Amish are conscientious objectors. They basically don't believe in the validity of militaries, they don't join, they don't sign the draft, and to this day, they don't grow hair above the lip because of that old connotation
And I read somewhere long ago that the Romans would grow beards in periods of mourning. The Greeks would shave. Or maybe I have it backwards.
@@zednotzee that's interesting, I never knew all that about the Amish. Muslims keep beards and shave their mustaches, but for the opposite reason. During the wars, they had a hard time determining friend from foe since all the men were bearded, so an order was issued to shave their mustaches.
CDawgVA said in one video he went with someone in Japan who said he should shave. Only afterwards saying he looked better with a beard than without one
Yeah. He went on a date and the girl said he should shave cause women in Japan don't like beards. Or something. 😂
That's the typical girl which doesn't know what she wants, that's not specifically japanese.
He has shaved his beard on multiple occasions while working in Japanese bars and such also.
Then you told about barbarian beard, I immediately thought about Toshiro Mifufune role in 7 samurai. It would be cool if you made video about cultural historical references in classic Japanese movies!
A Man of Culture I see
Like Harrison Ford, Toshiro Mifune was always cool even when he was scruffy-looking.
Toshiro Mifune was the hottest japanese man that ever lived....at least to me 😳
Yeah. Mifune-san's beard is the mark of badassery since Yojinbo.
If Shogo promises to grow a beard, he can reach that 2M milestone much sooner. Say you'll do it. Shogo, and we'll campaign for you like a raging motherbeast!
Yes please. Beards make you look more masculine.
He looks very brave wearing beard 💪😎
I doubt he can
@@timmyg316 there is no can or can't....only do...!
If he does I’ll literally unsubscribe
i grow my beard out seasonally and met my girlfriend during winter while i had a full beard. come spring i cut it down to a victorian style van dyke and again grew it out for the following winter. apparently she's become quite taken to stroking my beard. last spring when i suggested it may be time to shave as the weather was warming, i was met with several rapid slaps to the chest while being told i can't shave because she likes the beard. finally cashed in on the comprise of cutting down to the van dyke while keeping the beard long enough for her to run her fingers through. everyone's happy.
I really, really don't care about your personal life.
"Look at me, guys. I have a girlfriend!" ...
@Older_Mountain-goat_1984wouldn’t his comment be seeking external validation
This video made me realize that I have no idea what I would look like without my beard, I've had it for just over a decade. I don't think I could ever shave it completely off at this point.
when I occasionaly shave and look in the mirror I feel like another bad looking man, beard is our make up😂
I understand completely. I've had my beard since my facial hair started growing at twelve. I'm 44 now. I have no idea what I look like without one.
@@patrickmartin7692
I was about to say this same thing. I think I shaved ONCE back in my very early 20s and never again. It's been decades since I've seen my naked chin.
Yeah, I shaved my beard off once a few years ago, felt like I was looking at a potato when I was done. Grew it back immediately.
I shave once a year for this reason. I'm almost always universally bombarded with people telling me to grow it back.
As a half Japanese I'd like to see more Japanese men with a beard. Because I don't think beards doesn't suit them. In the contrary, I find most of Japanese people look younger than what they really are. Even myself, and I think beards could make men look more manly. I remember I really loved seeing Japanese actors with beards in the old Japanese movies.
But I think there's a lot to do with the taste of Japanese women who prefer young looking men 😐
I'd rather say japanese women prefer a business executive look on men. I think that's the image of success in Japan, the corpo, unlike in West, where even the Californians try to look like a dragon slayer or a lumberjack.
Men with beards are sexy.
Totally agree. I think it suits them quite well
I actually have never liked that facial hair is discouraged there because I find it attractive.
Those spoiled young ladies. D👺n't listen to them.
Shogo with facial hair actually looks REAL COOL. a very Mature and refined look.
I actually feel bad I have to shave more often due to my more sensitive skin, because it popular for many men to not shave for a month out of solidarity for raising awareness for Men's Health Awareness Month in November or "No Shave November".
I agree
You could get electrolysis, it’s painful but so much easier than shaving daily
I was going to post the exact same thing, but you beat me to it. I even said it aloud, “But you look so COOL with hair!!”
@@scintillam_dei I'm a MAN and I shave it literally just for hygienic reasons.
@@Cr4z3d as long as you wash yourself it‘s not unhygenic. Body hair exists to keep sweat away from your skin.
You got the words for "beard" and "moustache" mix up with one another at 6 minutes into the video. "Beard" is regarded as the either the hair on the chin or the entire facial hair as a whole, while "Moustache" ONLY refers to the hair growing on the upper lip.
I was going to point out the same thing
Common thing to mix up, in Japanese moustache and beard are interchangeable, unless you specify location then facial hair
Thank you for the captions! It's a big deal when people do the captions like this, on TH-cam, when you're hard of hearing.
This was very informative as a Westerner who loves having a big beard who wants to see Japan.
I'm surprised you haven't mentioned the male Idol culture because those pretty boys are clean with no facial hair. I have facial hair that grows pretty quickly(about three days) after each shave so I have to pick and choose when to shave my facial hair which is usually for special occasions. I guess when I decide to visit Japan I'll just get my beard and mustache trimmed so I don't have to worry about it growing out of control while I'm over there.
Is that quick?
Like Rippa?
@@AsecasJavi .....very
mine is on average 4 or 5 days to pass the midnight shadow stage.
@@eugeneoisten9409 I might just be Mediterranean and European cause the midnight shadow for mi is the shadow that appears midnight when I shave in the morning
I find the idol men very effeminate and unattractive . I have absolutely no idea why women like this. I'm a woman.
Is it possible that also it could be about this Japanese cultural idea of avoiding to stand out? Since most Japanese man doesn't grow beards, one that grows one stands out too much. I was watching a video from a guy in my country and he said that the owner of the company he works for is Japanese and that his boss has never shown objection regarding his employees using beards, having tatoos or piercings. I believe it's because he realized that here companies have become more relaxed in terms of the appearance of their employees so sometimes you can encounter male cashiers at a bank that are wearing beards, have visible tatoos or have long hair, to name one example. Another thing, maybe this is a thing between Japanese themselves but what do Japanese think when a foreigner has a beard? I remember I saw a video from a guy that went to live to Japan and after a while he stopped shaving and started to grow a beard and his boss, instead of scolding him told him that the beard suited him and even he started to grow a beard himself.
I think the boss was jealous and maybe that's why he grew a beard.
"The nail that stands out gets hammered down"
That too but a lot of Japanese don't want to look like a barbarian.
The beard can easily be perceived as an attribute of self-willingness and power. Old Japanese movies show us that the beard is ok for an image of a bandit, or a lone samurai, but not for a man of a corporate structure. Also, well-grown beards were quite common among Japanese aristocracy, which can be seen in Meiji-era photos. Also, their Ainu neighbours (genetically very different), which were gradually driven to north through the ages, had magnificent beards. There's an assumprion that those Japanese men able to grow thick beard have a prominent DNA track from Ainu.
i think this is very true. as a foreigner many people actively liked my beard, but being somewhat similar to what you would picture a viking, i could never blend in with the Japanese. shaven bald and wearing a dress i would still look more masculine then most Japanese men, so my looking even more masculine with a beard was irrelevant.
I'll love to see a video on the history of hair prosthetics, or just hidden beauty tools in general.
I am from Europe and had noticed few Japanese wear beards and had speculated myself on why but now I know better why! Thanks! This video left me wondering how short (stubbly) beards which are well kempt (kept short continuously ) are viewed. A very short beard can look tidy but if one looks at it as mere stubbles one could see it as untidy....
Listen, I came for the beard discussion, but STAYED for the *fun deep-dive into Japanese history* . Thank you!
I have a full thick beard, and a few of my beardless friends enviously remind me constantly. I am visiting Japan in two years and I am going to go full beard for the trip
I too have a beard and beardless friends are envious but then I'm envious of those guys with really thick epic sized beards think French Foreign Legion Pioneers.
Anyone who tells you to shave off is definitely Jealous of them, personal experience 😂
"Some people don't have beards.
They are called women"
Just keep it groomed should be OK
Shogo-san, how about the length of hair for Japanese men and the hairstyle for Japanese women. What are the ones they like the most and the ones they dislike the most? You could make an entire video series discussing what the Japanese dislike and like, it would help us foreigners when travelling in Japan and help us blend in better. About beards though, if I ever saw someone sporting mutton chops and looks like Captain Price, I'd buy them a beer automatically because I love Call of Duty and I can't grow some decent-looking facial hair.
EDIT: hey, I got a like from Shogo-san, it's an honor!
"EDIT: hey, I got a like from Shogo-san, it's an honor!"
But editing your comment removes it.
I’m a foreign guy living in Japan and I have long hair, I get plenty of beautiful women. Just have confidence in yourself and be stylish and cleanly.
I was told that it also had a lot to do with stigma of the Ainu
A Man of Culture, I see.
I love how you summarize the content of each chapter. That, for me, means you care your public to be clear of what you transmit.
Arigato
You should not change yourself for anyone just be yourself. In time you will attract the people that love you for who you are.
As a bearded man who loves Japan and its culture, i always wondered why, while i was happy that one of my favorite Japanese, O Sensei, had a beautiful big beard.
Thanks for this very interesting video, Shogu.
It is a shame that beards are considered unprofessional in many Japanese companies. A great example of an iconic Japanese beard would be Hayao Miyazaki.
I think it would cool to see you regrow the beard for the 2 million subscriber special!
6:28 Also, I hope you don't mind me pointing this out, but I think you mixed up mustache and beard 😅
it's hard to enforce a look of uniformity among workers with beards, imagine if a company's dress code is "every male employee must have a short trimmed beard" that would be hard to maintain than "every employee must be clean shaven". it's all uniformity really
Maybe uniformity is the problem...?
I've had the opposite response. My Japanese wife almost forbade me to shave off my beard. Obviously she didn't, but she greatly prefers it.
So there is hope?
i really like how its not a joke to adjust playback speed, you really have to do it, but shogo is not stressed about it even promotes it, cool :)
That was kinda random to find, but very interesting and wholesome! thanks for sharing!
From the sounds of it, it depends on how well kept and full your beard is. If you don't have a well kept beard, it's frowned upon.
To be fair, people in the west also usually think unkempt beards are trashy/bad looking too but more people have beards in general.
True. I think the reason is that east asians just cant really grow beards as well which is why they just dont. And the few that can stand out as being different which in east asia you dont really want to.
yea but this is something that just recently happened.. In the 90's, men in america didnt wear beards like they do now because of the hipster thing that came about in the early 00's
@@raidermaxx2324 I can't speak perfectly for the US, since I'm European, but I think in the West clean shaven vs. beard is a cyclic thing. The 50s and 60s saw clean shaven People, so the counterculture of the 70s and 80s included beards. In the 90s and 2000s it swung the other way around and now we are bearded again.
Ya exactly
I have more trouble not growing a beard as…well my hair is like weeds haha but ya had tons of times living in west, even Alberta Canada (country life and cowboy aesthetic) where it is frowned upon or I’m deemed as lazy etc for not grooming it more
@@Jan-gh7qi Yeah it is. My dad was in the mustache age, and my grandad the shaven age. My great grandad was in the epic beard age which I guess came back 10 years or so, but we are also kinda seeing the mustache age trying to claw its way back now.
Hayao Miyazaki has a beautiful beard..
He goes agaisnt the grain in alot of ways. Like for example he was former communist durring his youth.
I was recently wondering about this! Thank you for the educational video 😁
This was a very interesting video. Especially the part about all facial hair being just one word. There are many types of beards beyond "stubble beards".
It is very interesting to learn these points you brought up in this video and how that crossed into older European cultures, like the Romans.
The same ideas of beards looking barbaric or not shaving being seen as lazy were main reasons during the Roman Republic on why most Roman men shaved their faces too.
It seems like it just depends on the time and culture on the importance of facial hair, regardless of race or location on Earth.
Thanks for bringing these topics up in such an academic way!
But in Italy now there's no shame at all on having a beard, because we let everyone do what they like and we prioritise what the self loves more than what others think. The problem here are the social rules some Countries still have today. Not criticism, just stating my point ^_^
But in the old times of early monarchy It was perfectly normal to grow beards, and in the later times of the empire the beard style went back as a costum with philosopher emperors such as Hadrian and Marcus Aurelius...
Interesting! Thanks for teaching me something new today.
As for other things westerners don't understand about Japan - why is the skin care such a big deal and why there is such an obsession with not getting a tan
Getting tanned has always been seen as a proof of being of low status since you must endure sun while working outdoors. Nobles and scholars worked indoors.
Nowadays, after becoming office/cubicle rats, we're over back pedaling.
This was the same in Europa so long ago
@@grille-pain3686 that's why I wrote "back pedaling."
It was the same in Europe (and i guess also the us) up to some decades ago when many people were still labouring in the fields and desk jobs were regarded as upper class.
E.g. in German there is the description "noble paleness" and royalty is all over Europe described as "blue blooded" as they were so pale that one could see their veins. For the same reason people used to grow out their nails (male european aristocrats usually grew out the nail on their pinkies) to indicate that one doesn't do any physical labour. You can still witness that by the way people mock drinking out of a tea cup fancily by stretching out their pinkies when taking a sip as back in the days aristocrats had to drink that way due to the long nail on that finger
Lighter skin = more beautiful in most cultures.
The exception is albinism and being pale.
I've been gone for a while. I see your sword collection has grown!! 1.3 million subs!! Job well done!
And for what it's worth you look just fine with facial hair, but yeah, I don't like any on me. :)
Thanks for the info, I'll make sure my beard is impeccably tidy when I visit Japan next year!
Great video Shogo. Just to note (at 6:27), a moustache always grows on your lip, whereas a beard grows on your face and chin.
My biggest experience as a bearded gaijin in Japan was that most people saw it as a point of interest. I do have a big but fairly well kept beard and the major reaction was everyone declaring it was so fluffy as they came over and started petting it. It was odd to be sure but I never really saw much in line with negative reactions.
You do know white guys get a free pass
You know Gaijin is offensive, right?
Hey shogo I wanted to know why fruits in japan are so expensice because i saw multiple videos of people showing that a melon costs 100 dollars or 2 peaches cost 50 dollars. Thanks for reading
Fruits are expensive in Japan because each prefecture specializes in one or two types. They are proud of the quality and history of their farms, and it shows in the prices. Fruit is a common gift.
Fruits are only expensive if the main purpose of their production is for gift giving or prefecture novelty thing. Supermarket fruits will still cost ¥110 ish if it’s bananas or mass produced berries. If it’s something like musk melon or kyoho grape, it’s going to be somewhere over ¥1500.
@@balmung37 More like common grift...
@@niket527 I don't agree with the prices, just tried my best to explain their reasoning behind it. It's a bit silly to me, but I don't live there so hey.
There is a specialty fruit industry and those are very premium fruits meant to be purchased and given as gifts on special occasions. Regular produce costs much less.
My girlfriend is japanese and as you can see I have a medium lenght beard.
The first dates I shaved very very short because I knew a long beard would not be ideal.
After a while my beard got longer and I decided to shave again, to my surprise my girlfriend told me "What?! Why did you shave I loved it".
Plot twist I now can't shave short ever again..
That’s very interesting to learn. I’d never really wondered why it was so uncommon for the scarcity. I had always assumed it was hormonal differences or dietary decisions leading to differences in beard fullness or rate of growth making it just easier to be clean shaven in Japan.
Since my early teens I’ve had a rather full beard and my Nordic heritage really kicked in in my 20s . Now in my 30s having a beard less than 10cm has been rare. Even if I shave in the morning I can light matches off my face by lunchtimes.
I've got the exact opposite problem even though my dad's family was from Finland my mother's family were native Americans Of the Ojibwa tribe.
Even though I look like my father and I'm over 50 I cannot grow a beard even if I don't shave for months it looks like little more than a teenager's 5 o'clock stubble.
@@Etymon-jt3zw sounds like my dad. He could barely grow a mustache in his 20s/30s and now in his 60s he can grow a decent goatee. But that’s about it.
When I was in uni I often had a beard, and people were constantly telling me that I would be more handsome without a beard. A few people told me I should just straight up shave.
I was even body shamed twice for having chest hair!
is because body hair is for the unevolved
It happens here in the US, as well, still. I frequently get told that I would look better without a beard and have sometimes been straight up told to my face that if I wanted employment with their company, that I would have to shave.
I bet they were all soy boys and feminists. When I was in uni I got told to shave, too. Beards are a sign of high T levels. And that creates anxiety in people. Mainly people with low T levels. Their lizard brain unconsciously understands that they are unable to reach the same level of physical prowess as you because of you superior T levels. So, by getting a man to shave means they are able to control the threat through social conditioning. Thereby proving that man is not a threat anymore through that control.
@@smithsmith1956 You should only cave to their demands to shave your beard if they first defeat you in physical combat.
@@scottcantdance804 I actually straight up challenged one of my psych professors. She was ALWAYS on my a$$ about it (she was also the worst militant feminist on compus. Go figure.). Telling me it looks like I'm a hobo and it's "professional". This was almost a full year of this. I told her we can go to the campus gym, grab one of the coaches for the football team, get gloves on, and go at it. If she wins, I shave. If I win, she STFU about it and she raises my lowest exam grade up to the next letter grade up. She declined and reported me. But the disciplinary board didn't do anything. They thought it was hilarious and just told me to get through the rest of the class and I'd be free of her.
I'm 50 and STILL (due to testosterone deficiencies and/or genetics) cannot grow a full beard. It's gotten fuller but still too thin to grow something nice. My oldest son (23 years old) is like me at his age and only needs to shave about once fortnightly. And NOW with beards being trendy in the U.S. and Europe, I stick out even more than I used to. Hopefully someday, before I die, I'll be able to grow one that looks nice...BUT, I will never be "unshaven". Meaning that, it will always be trimmed and tidy and never allowed to be bushy and gross looking like some kind of hobo or troll.
Try Minoxidil.
2 weeks…I envy you. If I want to keep clean shaven, I have to shave at least 2 times a day. I get tired of shaving so I keep a beard at least 7 months out of the year. If you’ve seen a picture of Kenny loggins back in the day that’s basically what I look like after about 3 weeks. Yes I had the long hair too for a long time….finally cut that off.
A schoolmate here in the states, when I was going to university, is from Japan, and probably the only man I had met who had a beard and mustache. It could be that he just wanted to do something different, but I never saw him shave it off. As far as I know, from Facebook photos, he still has facial hair and he moved back to Japan some time ago.
Coming from an Army family I know that In the United States military it's required to shave one's beard for the purpose of uniformity and cohesiveness (among other reasons). Perhaps this would have been another reason why beards were unpopular in Japan right before, during, and shortly after WW2 as well?
And forget not the need for gas masks to fit tightly on face during WW1 so facial hair was deemed as a no-no.
Military doesn't believe in rights.
Soldiers shave primarily to ensure that their chemical masks (gas mask) will seal.
Makes sense. A conformist culture doesn't want individuals standing out above or apart from the herd.
As someone with Bosniak (Slavic) and Persian ancestry, I feel like it's my duty to develop a gas mask that can be used with a beard.
At 3:05 you talk about a law was passed making it "legal" to grow a beard where you meant to say "illegal." Also, I love watching your videos. Thank you for sharing you Japanese experience with us.
I came across your channel late last year while browsing the youtube shorts. I really enjoy your channel and it's incredibly informative and I plan to keep a lot of the information in mind when I travel to Japan
The native indigenous Ainu people of Japan have Beards and it is part of the Ainu culture and tradition. I hope you wold make a video about Ainu People and the connection with the Samurai traditions… thank you!
I agree, I was surprised he didn't mention Ainu and the Japanese history of discrimination towards them, probably part of the opinion in regards to beards
That'd be cool. I'm ethnic Okinawan and have read that Ainu share some DNA with Okinawans. Makes sense, since I'm pretty hairy too. Those warlords' beards are not impressive for me.
So I'd love to see anything on this topic.
I'm an Orthodox Christian, my faith requires me to grow a beard. I remember going to Japan for the first time last year and people were looking at me as if I was from another planet.
Ooh the irony... 😂
@@Atrigraphy what irony?
Which Orthodox Church? I've never encountered this beard requirement, unless your a clergyman or monk...
@@saveliysotnikov2383 it's strongly encouraged, but not required IIRC.
Yeah I think the orthodox guys with beards are too cool, ..................and I am a hard core atheist
Maybe big beards were also associated with the Emichi in the past and with the Ainu more recently, helping with the idea of "barbarian", as these groups were sadly viewed as. When I got my first arubaito in a nikuya, I went there with a big beard and I asked the boss if I should shave. She said there wasn't need for it and her son even came came by and said "I also don't shave" caressing his beard on the chin.
Great info! I am sure glad my ancestors came from the Scandinavian countries and that many Vikings wore beards! I feel naked without a beard now.
THANKS for a "magnificent" presentation/exposition on why beards are NOT popular in Japan. IMPRESSIVE! :D Ken, Toronto, CANADA
My neck beard sense is tingling…
Maybe they just don't like beards on Japanese men. I occasionally let my beard grow in Japan and so far every Japanese girl I've dated has loved the beard. My current long term girlfriend of 3 years loves my beard and actually hates it when I shave it off. I'm the first westerner shes been with. So I asked if she always like beards. She said no before me she hated them. But now she loves the look and feel of a beard.
They love your beard because you're White, and most of European descendant men have an appropriate facial frame and plenty of beard hair unlike East Asian men
Thats because we look funny when we shave. At least for a mature woman. We look like babies xD
As another expat living in Japan, I concur that as long as the beard is short and neat, people do not care. Although, it does limit one's dating opportunities. So, if you are single, you might want to shave or put off growing one. Other than that, it usually is not an issue.
What's the difference between an immigrant and an expat?
@@mullinz305 its very obvious, cant you tell? the expat comes from space. Just look at his profile picture, he's clearly from star trek. Looks like captain kirk to me, at least at that shitty resolution, but who knows!
@@AlFredo-sx2yy Ha ha, nice. Actually it is a picture of Lt. Dave Bailey in the episode "The Corbomite Maneuver." Hold on I need to tape up my glasses some more...
@@mullinz305 One has an awesome song by Led Zeppelin and the other doesn't. In all seriousness, an immigrant is someone with the intention and/or permission by the state to become or is a permanent resident in a country. An expat is a person who has temporary residence in order to work in a country. An expat can become an immigrant.
Very very cool presentation on beards! In the US many special forces operators returned from the Middle East with beards simply because when dealing with the Arab ally, in their culture it was difficult to accept their consultation because a man without a beard is seen as a kid or inexperienced. They were not well respected as warriors, once they grew beards they were immediately accepted. They returns home and suddenly because US men admire our soldiers so much, saw them with beards and it’s one reason beards have returned in fashion.
I am Filipino with full beard to make up for my thin hair, it’s better than having a full bald head! I get compliments on my appearance all the time because it’s very rare. Sometimes when I see a male Filipino acquaintance, they’ll comment on my beard, then when I see them the next time around, they tend to appear as though they’re trying to grow one.. 😂
I'm a number 4. Beards Of I Got Lazy After A Few Weeks And Will Get To It When I Get To It.
In most Southern States in the U.S. it's a tradition to have a beard.
I grew up in the South and none of the men in my family have had beards. It wasn't that common during some decades, I think the popularity of beards in the US is a more recent trend of the late 2000s. But it's starting to fade with the times.
@ERRATAS 0202 That is not true in any way.
@ERRATAS 0202 said the Californian Starbucks rat.
Being from Mississippi I disagree. Beards are rare and only became more popular with duck dynasty.
I think it's more of a rural/country thing, not necessarily a southern thing
I also wonder if you have ever watched the US miniseries "Shogun"? I liked it because the Japanese actors spoke Japanese. It gave me a look into Japanese history. I would like to know if it was accurate.
I think Japanese men with beards look *very* cool. From the small ones like Hideo Kojima to large ones like Toshiro Mifune.
And, unfortunately, my own beard grows extremely fast and it's very dense - it's painful to shave it, my face ends up as big and red as a tomato, so I always keep trimmed. I'd have a hard time working in Japan for certain companies I believe
Why was I implored to turn on captions at the beginning of the video? It appeared to be just the same content as the regular video. Was it just that he was concerned that he wouldn’t be understood? For portions of the video I just listened to the audio, and I understood him just fine.
You always make me smile .............Thanks for your Intelligence and dignity.
Imagine Abe Lincoln lived in this era, he will become a legendary beard guy for sure.
Funny enough , Lincoln didn't really wanted a beard . (and he only have an half one , which look cool on him) .
His beard was relatively modest for the time. He's really only famous for his beard since he was the first president to sport one (and there aren't many others who had them).
Because of my non-adherance to "standards" set aside by others for personal appearances as prejudice for character... I will most likely intentionally grow a beard prior to visiting Japan.
In Germany working for a bank had similar strict rules as Japanese Businesses. They usually have had to wear their hair short, no piercings nor tattoos, I don't think I have ever seen a man with a beard working in a bank before, it's welcome if you are settling at a young age; meaning you marry young and make a family (simply put: don't be a risky person)
Lately I've seen that this etiquette has shifted. I saw a tattooed man with a bun and beard working at the bank. Not the stereotyp you would expect to handle your money. But times change, I suppose. This time for the better, even :D
I think there are many Japanese men who can wear a beard with their face. They just have to chose a beard that fits the shape of their face. And sometimes facial hair grows very slowly. So in the beginning it seems like you only have three hairs in your face, but if you are staying persistent and not waver during the "ugly-phase" you'll be rewarded with a magnificent beard!
@@koschmx Customer service in Germany unfortunately isn't a thing. And while the company has certain rights to fire employees, the latter are usually strongly protected by law even if they are are nitwits.
So many people who are unhappy with their life keep being jerks on their jobs instead of trying to change their life for the better.
i enjoyed your video. my parents got married in Japan (dad was in the air force, mom in the army) and they had 2 priests (1 Shinto and 1 Christian) perform the ceremony.
To those that can't grow beards I am envious of you
as a person whose beard grows very quickly do you know how much barber prices rised in my country as of late!!!!!!
A Japanese friend of mine told me it’s because Japanese men can’t really grow beards
I think the same.
this is honestly what i think, not that EVERY japanese guy cant but most cant so it became more culturally common to have hairless more feminine look on the face of a man.
@ERRATAS 0202 not full ones, and compare them to modern day men of those countries. I don’t know if it was artistic liberties or if men just could grow them a little more back then.
It’s seems they could in the Meiji period
@ERRATAS 0202 So portraits equal modern reality, huh?
Hello, I have a related question: What are Japanese people's opinions on men with long hair?
Thank you for your videos.
Before retiring, when was I in the military, I had to shave everyday and it let my skin sore and irritated. However after retiring now I shave about once per two months plus beards seems to be back in fashion.
I got out in 2012 and I haven’t shaved since (with the exception of one job for a few months) best decision of my life
@@Otes Your beard must be reaching your navel by now 😁Well, in my case, wen my beard starts to get really big it also annoys me, because I have thick facial hair thus I still shave about once every two months, as I said before.
Humble in a business setting definitely bolsters sincerity and honestly. It's actually scary negotiation business with people, even your own staff if they also have a say but even more so if you're negotiating with another business.
That tiny goatee/beard looked great on you man! The 'stache was rockin' too. Would be nice if you could grow it back.
Alright now for a question on on hairy chest?
When I was living in South Korea I remember an old man at the local farmers market was amused by my chest hair even going so far as to touch it and point for his wife to notice it too, my girlfriend at the time explained that hairy chest are not common in Korea and that while she liked my chest she said it was best to cover it up(out of an appearance of hygiene or her trying to keep curious girls farther away I have no idea) I just want to know what the Japanese think of them
I feel like the notion that beards represent sloppiness is kind of a misnomer. I understand if the person just lets their hair grow without proper grooming, but properly maintaining a beard is far from sloppiness.
Properly maintaining a beard means you need to trim it down and shave off any undesirable hairs quite frequently.
Of course, I know keeping a clean shaven face takes more effort, especially if you grow really thick and dark facial hair, but we cannot let that discount the effort put into properly grooming and maintaining a beard.
Moustache: the facial hair that grows between your upper lip and nose
Beard: the hair that grows around your cheeks and chin.
The style of beard which only grows on your chin is called a goatee and isn’t really called a ‘full’ beard in the western world. Still a beard none the less
This made me laugh. I was wondering if there was a cultural or language barrier.
I thought it was only in English-speaking countries where that style of beard is called a goatee.
Thank you for your research on this topic. Btw at 2:45 "a fine beard" is the same as a thin beard in English.
Those Japanese men in the historical photos looked awesome with those beards! Y'all gotta bring that style back
I asked a saleslady when I was in Japan regarding beards and she told me beards were a sign of laziness. How true is this Shogo?
The potential for beard is really different between men in Japan. In my sharehouse one Japanese guy had a LOT of beard growth that needed to be shaved every day. His face was very "green" from the beard showing underneath his skin. I think it would be better for him to have a beard than to shave so often.
From watching these videos I have gotten a vibe that many Japanese people hold these stricter standards to other Japanese but not so much to westerners. I get the vibe that people understand other countries have other standards and don't hold as strict of a prejudice on these issues to foreigners. Is this true?
I mean, I feel like that is relatively common everywhere. If someone is from a different country you don't expect them to have the same customs as you. I am sure the Japanese are no different.
shoot. turns out to have been exactly the explanations that I've always heard talked about. Thought I was gonna be in for a surprise.
Just subscribed. Would really appreciate more historical videos about samurai. I know there are a bunch of videos out there but I feel like you break down the context of everything better for us westerners.
Especially westerners like me who get info from TH-cam and movies 😅
Kon'nichiwa, Shogo. I worked in maintenance for an international Japanese hotel chain in Amsterdam and had to shave daily. Japanese personnel didn't mind (get it fixed, Arigatōgozaimashita), but HR ...
Can't believe the Japanese still use the term "Barbarians", I hope you will have a video on the special role of the Dutch in the Edo-period of isolation.