I write often about how the Japanese love it when foreigners take an interest in their culture, and nothing is more fascinating to them than seeing a gaikokujin who knows more about a certain subject than Japanese do themselves. I recently caught another TV show that introduced these kinds of unique foreigners called “Like! Japan” First there was a traditional enka singing competition in New York followed by a spirited trivia contest because hardcore foreign fans of AKB48, then a father-and-son combo in Italy who love Japanese trains and could name all the train stations on Tokyo’s Yamanote loop line. Finally there was a competition between four Americans who could best be described as “Japanese history otakus,” possessing a huge amount of knowledge of Oda Nobunaga, one of the most famous names in Japanese history. They were able to answer such tricky questions as, “When Akechi Mitsuhide brought his army into Kyoto to assassinate Nobunaga, what did his say to his troops before fighting?” (The answer was Teki wa Honno-ji ni ari! “The enemy awaits at Honno-ji temple!”)
How’s your knowledge of Oda Nobunaga history?
