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Good evening, everyone. My name is Ruben.
I haven't had a chance to practice Japanese in a long time,
so forgive me for... speaking... slowly.
I lived in Japan for two years, in Nagano Prefecture.
That was until the year 2000, so it's been a while.
This is the first video I've made in Japanese, so I'm a little nervous, but I'll give it my best shot.
I have a question in this video that I want to ask or make for everyone.
The question is this: why do foreigners [non-Japanese] love Japanese stuff so much?
That is, compared to other countries, I think there's a greater interest in Japan.
Several Japanese things are interesting to gaijins [foreigners].
For example, martial arts: ninjas, samurai,
karate, judo, that sort of thing.
Like, I bought this beautiful katana in San Francisco.
It can't cut you. Don't worry.
But it looks dangerous, doesn't it?
I love it.
Besides that, Japanese art is popular. For example, Hiroshige's paintings
and Hokusai's wave painting are popular.
Manga and anime are also extremely popular.
For example, from my collection, [Neon Genesis] Evangelion. I love it.
Also, this is a manga about Musashi called Vagabond.
Video games also are popular around the world, I think.
In the US, PlayStation and Nintendo are really popular.
I really like Final Fantasy and Taiko Drum Master.
Besides these, music and books are not really that popular among foreigners, I think.
My favorite singer is UA. This is her CD called Ametora.
And this is Dorobou. I love it.
But my number one favorite is "Turbo." This is truly awesome.
Check it! Let's open this and see.
Here's Hokusai's wave.
Also, strange lips.
But I love the music. I listen to it every day.
Movies are more popular than music.
Samurai movies, and... oh!
Miyazaki's anime, and Akira Kurosawa's videos are very popular.
Also, "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
I'm joking! That's a Chinese movie.
But that's an American joke.
Also, books... other than Haruku Murakami, I don't think they're very popular.
That "Wind-up Bird Chronicle" is pretty popular in the US.
I can't read this kind of thing in Japanese, but I enjoyed reading it in English.
Right now, 1Q84 is what I'm in-the-middle-of-reading, reading, while reading, no, in-the-middle-of-reading... I don't know.
Other than that... Nothing else from my collection.
But I want to ask all of you: why do you think Japanese culture and Japanese stuff are so interesting and popular for foreigners?
Is it the sort of beauty in Japanese art?
Or is it their balance?
Or is it that sort of strength in Japanese culture?
I really don't know, but I want to know.
I want to learn what the root of the popularity is.
If you have a response, please tell me.
Thank you so much for watching this long video.
I haven't really done much practicing in Japanese over the past ten years, so I want to practice Japanese again.
I want to read it and speak it.
Well, that's it. Thank you so much. See ya.