Fushigi no Kuni no Bird - Vol. 1 Ch. 4 - Nikko (1)

[MangaDex]

 

[smartz118]

To call a man a monkey in his native country, how audacious. Have you considered that the fact that Commodore Matthew Perry essentially put a literal cannon against Japan's metaphorical head to force them to trade with the outside world? That the rapid introduction of Western ideologies and technologies would inevitably clash with their traditions and culture, creating a schism among their own people? Simply put, yes, the West was the cause of the civil dispute in Japan during the Meiji era.

 

[mkilki]

Don't her actions in this chapter directly contradict the translator's note from chapter 2? Somehow doubt that the woman who wrote "unless one can live on rice , tea , and eggs , with the addition now and then of some tasteless fresh vegetables , food must be taken [on my journey], as the fish and vegetable abominations known as "Japanese food" can only be swallowed and digested by a few, and that after long practice", would refuse some anglo food like that.

@smartz118 pretty sure there are tourist like that to this day lmfao

 

[katajaton]

It's quite interesting how the author took the quite ugly racist parts out of IRL Bird's character and placed them on the rude British man. Way to still show the attitude of the Brits of the era while allowing manga Bird to focus on the wonders of travel.

 

[toriaezu]

It's quite interesting how the author took the quite ugly racist parts out of IRL Bird's character and placed them on the rude British man. Way to still show the attitude of the Brits of the era while allowing manga Bird to focus on the wonders of travel.

To be fair to the real Miss Bird, she is remarkably liberal minded for the era. Other travelogues from the same period are so egregiously racist and colonialist I've given up using them as a primary source because I can't be sure what's true, what's a mistranslation, what's willful misunderstanding, and what's the native people intentionally dicking around with the jerk.

 

[katajaton]

To be fair to the real Miss Bird, she is remarkably liberal minded for the era. Other travelogues from the same period are so egregiously racist and colonialist I've given up using them as a primary source because I can't be sure what's true, what's a mistranslation, what's willful misunderstanding, and what's the native people intentionally dicking around with the jerk.

Yeah, she has her good moments in the real book but is still incredibly unlikeable by 21st century standards. I like how the author has ways to not whitewash how brits saw the japanese but still keep Bird a likeable character.