Kancho!

Japan! Land of the sushi, home of the tentacle porn. Japan seems to be a strange mixture of the modern and the traditional. There are certain "rules" about dating, eating, talking with elders and all sorts of stuff. And on the other side you have some of the craziest movies, music, pornography, etc etc. Japan seems to house a society of people who are somewhat bound by customs, and get relief by having really weird interests and hobbies.

I'm not exactly sure how I found out about Kancho, but when I did, I knew that A) more research was required and B) I needed to share all my findings with all of you wonderful people out there. Kancho is what's happening in this photo:



I will quote Wikipedia to explain:

Kancho is an act often played out in Japan; it is performed by clasping the hands together so the index fingers are pointing out and attempting to insert them sharply into someone's anal region when the victim is not looking.[2] It is similar to the wedgie or a goosing, although the latter acts do not involve direct intimate physical contact. A Kancho is often executed simultaneously as the offending party expresses loudly "Kan-CHO!"

Well. There are weird customs and gestures in every country ("noogies" anyone?), but this is pretty strange. I've heard of "goosing" which is when someone grabs someone else's butt surprisingly/aggressively. That's all in good fun, but hopefully everyone knows to only"goose someone they are very sure will not mind. I would've thought the same would be for the act of kancho, however as I continued by investigation, I was led to Kancho.org which is dedicated to it. There were some testimonials from people. A sample:

When I first started teaching in elementary school, I was very surprised to see some students kancho each other on the playground. At first they kept a little distance from me, I guess because they were afraid. But after the first few lessons together, the students really warmed up to me, and always wanted to shake my hand after class, or anytime they saw me. It wasn't long after that, when students started setting their kancho sites on me. Now I get kanchoed weekly if not daily. - Brian 23, Hokkaido

Now, all right, this may seem super weird to me, but I'm just a dumb foreigner. Let the people of the great country of Japan do whatever sorts of customs they want! That's how I would feel if someone tried to stop me from giving high-fives or something. But then I read this:

Foreign teachers in Japan are often the target of Kancho. This is partly due to their celebrity status in schools, as many kids want to be the one who Kanchoed the English teacher.

See, this is where I kind of draw the line. Former guest of the We're Friends! podcast D'Arcy Sarnelle teaches in Japan. Has she been Kancho'd?! If so, what do you do?! DO YOU KANCHO THE CHILD BACK?! IF YOU DID THAT HERE IN AMERICA YOU'D BE STONED TO DEATH.

Also, that's like making someone pray with you before a sports game. Shoving your customs/beliefs onto someone else who may find it totally weird and possibly offensive. ESPECIALLY WHEN THE CUSTOM IS SHOVING YOUR FINGERS IN SOMEONE'S BUTT.



In conclusion, Kancho is super weird.

-James

Now playing: Mindflayer - Cat Kids Dance Troupe