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The story
On the September 6 broadcast of “Beat Takeshi’s TV Tackle,” Beat Takeshi shared his opinion on nuisance behavior surrounding riverside barbecues. The show covered how Kanuma City in Tochigi Prefecture had enacted an ordinance banning open-flame cooking and noise in certain areas, prompting Takeshi to ask, “Why do we just accept this total rip-off of the West as-is?” The remark drew a wide range of reactions on 5ch, from arguments that the real issue isn’t cultural importation but the manners of a few users, to pushback on the assumption that barbecue originated in the West when Japan has had its own version for ages, to debates over whether comparing it to tea ceremony or flower arranging even makes sense.
Beat Takeshi questions riverside barbecues plagued by nuisance behavior: “Why do we just accept this total rip-off of the West as-is?”
TV personality Beat Takeshi appeared on the September 6 broadcast of TV Asahi’s “Beat Takeshi’s TV Tackle” (Sundays at noon), where he shared his personal views on nuisance behavior in the great outdoors.
That day’s episode covered how, as more people enjoy barbecuing on riverbanks, illegal dumping of trash into rivers and disruptive noise have become rampant — leading Kanuma City in Tochigi Prefecture to enact an ordinance banning open-flame cooking, including barbecues, and noise that disturbs the surrounding area in certain parts of the city.
Source: news.yahoo.co.jp / Read the original article here
What people said
It's poorly-mannered foreign visitors who've brought all the problems — this has nothing to do with "copying the West."
Real men just quietly cook rice in a mess kit, lol (hangou suisan — the classic canteen-cooking ritual from Japanese camping trips)
got nothing to do with ordinary people.
Apparently the underlying philosophy is the same
for regular folks and the upper crust alike.
Like how the logic behind Shichi-Go-San (a traditional coming-of-age rite for kids aged 3, 5, and 7) is the same logic behind flower arranging.
Why bring tea culture into it?? Are you saying they should go hold a tea ceremony by the river?
Japanese people doing it in their cramped little yards is pretty funny too
a completely different mindset from the West.
I get why they set up designated firewood/barbecue zones, and I respect the people managing them, but
as long as you follow the rules and don't leave trash behind, there's no problem at all.
As for the noise — in an age where people get worked up over kids' voices in residential neighborhoods, "just don't let it bother you" probably doesn't fly anymore, huh
Trash is a non-starter regardless though
Trace tea ceremony back far enough and it's Chinese culture too
Barbecue culture exists all over the world.
African hunting tribes used to grill game over a campfire and drink, having a good time. That's basically African barbecue, lol
The hassle IS the point — it's for making a fun racket with your friends
But then they copy the surface without looking into it properly, and end up bothering everyone around them.
It's not just "doing it because it's cool"
If that were really the only reason, parkour would be way bigger in Japan, and so would RIZIN and power slapping (guessing at the reference here)
Actually, what kind of mindset finds barbecue "cool" in the first place??
Background and Key Points of the Debate
The ordinance enacted by Kanuma City in Tochigi Prefecture bans open-flame cooking and noisy behavior in certain riverbank areas, driven by a rise in complaints about illegally dumped trash and noise. It’s worth noting that barbecue itself existed in Japan even before the Showa era, and similar outdoor-cooking traditions exist worldwide — so Takeshi’s “total rip-off of the West” line reads less like a historical claim than his own characteristic turn of phrase. Within the thread, opinions split between those who saw “cultural importation” itself as the problem and those who blamed the behavior of “a poorly-mannered minority of users” — with the latter camp often sliding into baseless generalizations about specific nationalities. This article excludes that kind of unsubstantiated commentary. As for the comparisons to tea ceremony and flower arranging, these were figurative rebuttals from thread participants rather than claims made by Takeshi or stated in the original article, and their accuracy can’t be verified.
*This article is compiled from excerpts and a summary of the 5ch (Geinou/Sports News+) thread “[Entertainment] Beat Takeshi questions riverside barbecues plagued by nuisance behavior: “Why do we just accept this total rip-off of the West as-is?”.”
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