the difference is in the eyes

of course, being here it is much easier to notice the differences than the similarities. I had already made a list and discussion about many differences in my travel notes from last summer. however, the list keeps growing, and many interesting new things pop out at every moment.
for example, the difference between the shape and use of emoticons.

in the western world, we use "horizontal" emoticons, like the well known :-) :-( ;-) :-D :-P :-* etc. it turns out that the japanese (and most other asians, like china, korea, vietnam etc) use instead "vertical" emoticons, like these:

(n_n) (-__-) (;_;) (T_T) (@_@) (O_O) (*^*) (^_^) (=_=)
smile sleepy tears sad dizzy amazed astonished happy bored

the parentheses (...) describing the face are often omitted. what it is worth noting, however, is that while in our western emoticons the attention is concentrated on the expression of the mouth, oriental emoticons rather concentrate on the eyes. subtle as it is, this appears to be a major difference.

some psychology studies have suggested that the cultural interpretation of facial expressions results from a combination of the emotional openness and the challenge of controlling certain facial muscles (see doi:10.1016/j.jesp.2006.02.004 , pdf available here): "Given that the eyes are more difficult to control than the mouth when people express emotions, we predicted that individuals in cultures where emotional subduction is the norm (such as Japan) would focus more strongly on the eyes than the mouth when interpreting others’ emotions. By contrast, we predicted that people in cultures where overt emotional expression is the norm (such as the US) would tend to interpret emotions based on the position of the mouth, because it is the most expressive part of the face."

in that study, youngsters from Japan and the US were presented sketches of faces expressing different emotions. Japanese students consistently rated those pictures in which the eyes were happier than the mouth, as being more happy overall than their American counterparts. In contrast, when the mouth had a happy expression, US students rated the overall expression as happier, regardless of what the eyes were up to.

so, the message is, when you come to Japan let your eyes speak, not your mouth!

highlight of the day: the new AllStars I bought in the ABC Mart in Shibuya... new model of the spring 2009 (Japan-only), about 45 euros :-) ^_^ (emoticons of both worlds allowed here!)