Fall Semester Homework 1

1. Do you agree with the website's description?
I think that there is definitely something to the what the website had to say. Of course some of the things it talked about were rather obvious (even in in American suburbs we have fences wrapped around our houses), but I definitely thing the Japanese like to wrap things in layers. I'm always amazed at how everything, like food, is individually wrapped. Crackers, for example, in America, just come in one big box with maybe one plastic wrapping around 25 crackers. In Japan the same brand of crackers is divided into 4 or 5 smaller packages of 10 crackers with an extra plastic tray to prevent breakage. Sometimes it seems a bit much to me.

What do you do that could be considered wrapping?
I mentioned before about fences around houses which we use to keep outsiders out and insiders in (although now that I think about it, most homes don't have a fence or wall in the front...just my house). I think in general though, Americans are a very touchy people. We like to feel things and get somewhat closer to other people. So maybe thats why wrapping isn't such a big deal to us.

2. a)Where do you go when you die?
I don't really know for sure, but as a Christian I believe that when I die I will go to heaven. What is Heaven? I have no idea, but I assume its a nice place otherwise people wouldn't try so hard to get there. Personally, though, I try not to think of death too much because its really depressing and rather scary.
b)Explain why Japanese have ceremonies 1month, 1year, 3years, 7years, etc. after a person's death.
Of course I'm not Japanese, so I can't really answer this question like a native. But I do know from my studies of Buddhism that the ceremony which takes place 40days after a person's death is to celebrate that person's rebirth. I guess there is a transition period between death and rebirth that takes 40days.