Culture Clash

It has been a while since I posted a blog...

Anyway, I have been here in Japan now for seven years and my life had settled into a routine whereby I really didn't notice much in the way of culture differences.

When Rieko and I got married we had a western style wedding so it was not that different to weddings I had attended in England.

However, as the birth of our first child comes closer, I am beginning to notice some very different ideas about how to raise and look after a baby. Some of the more interesting differences are things like naming the baby, looking after the baby and the role of the father and mother.

In England we choose names by their sound. They have no significant meaning. Thinking about names here is so much more difficult. You have to decide on kanji to represent the name and then must consider the number of strokes in the kanji. I assume the strokes issue has something to do with religion. However I can't understand the importance of this or whether it is really that important to Japanese people. Do people really believe the number of strokes in a child's name has some kind of effect on the child's life?

I am also hearing some strange ideas which I am finding hard to understand. I have heard a couple of times now that after Rieko gives birth she shouldn't watch television or read a book or her eyes will become bad. I can't understand why. Is there a scientific reason for this or is it a superstition?

As it comes closer to the time "mame" is going to be born I expect there will be some more culture clashes to deal with.