Introduction

Our team for this project was Nobuki Yaso, Ying, Sharon Sherpa, and Gabrielle Sarao

 

Methodology

The goal of this project was to compare and contrast two different Japanese websites and see the different types of vocabulary each utilized to effectively convey information to their intended audience. In analyzing the websites differences, we hoped to better understand each portrayed a different imagine to their intended audience

 

To pick out websites that we wanted to analyze, we first chose a category that seemed to interest everyone in the group. For our group, after much debate, we chose museums in Japan as our main category. To find different museum websites, we searched up a list of museums in Japan, looked at their websites, and picked the two we felt had very different writing styles and vocabulary choices. The two amusement parks we chose were the Ghibli Museum in Tokyo and the Cup Noodles Museum in Yokohama.

 

Ghibli Museum: http://www.ghibli-museum.jp/exhibition/

Cup Noodle Museum: https://www.cupnoodles-museum.jp/ja/yokohama/about/

 

The Ghibili Museum webpage we chose describes one of the exhibitions that opened at the museum and details the heart behind why this exhibit was chosen. In it, we see that this exhibition is all about the work behind the museum’s creation along with Miyazaki’s pictures and text that helped shape the museum to what it is today. At first glance, we can see a lot of kanji being used, with much 和語 and 漢語 being used. We will go further in our analysis in the next few paragraphs.

 

The Cup Noodle Museum webpage we chose also goes into the background of the museum’s creation, as we see why this museum was created, as well as the intent for this museum. In this web page, we learn about Momofuku Ando, the founder of instant ramen, and also see how the cup noodle and cup ramen creation came to be. At first glance, we see a lot of 和語 and 外来語 being used, and in the next few paragraphs, we will focus on how both web pages utilize the three different types of words (漢語、和語、外来語）to create a certain image to target their audience.

 Analysis and Discussion

 

Cup of Noodle Museum Website Analysis:

 

Found on the Cup of Noodle Museum’s website, the combination of native Japanese, Sino Japanese, and foriegn loanwords seem to be pretty evenly distributed throughout the section we chose to analyze. Since Cup of Noodles is a brand of instant noodles manufactured by Nissin (a large corporation that manufactures instant ramen noodles in cups) that are distributed internationally around the world, the「ミュージアムについて」webpage utilizes loanwords to potentially appear as more modern and to appeal to a younger demographic.

In this section above, the amount there are some foreign loan words such as ミュージアム,　クリエイティブシンキング、コンセプト、インスピレーション that could have been written in Wago but are written as Gairaigo for the purpose of appealing to younger demographics. By utilizing words written in Gairaigo the museum’s website conveys a modern image and is inviting. This section also provides Kango words with the translated Gairaigo words, which allows readers from different age groups to understand the main idea.

 

The sections above display the biographies of Momofuku Ando, who was the inventor of instant noodles and the creator of Top Ramen and Cup of Noodles and Kashiwa Sato who was the graphic designer that designed the Cup of Noodles packages. There is a fair amount of sino-Japanese words located in these sections because the biographies include very refined information about their education and occupational backgrounds, which allows readers to comprehend how successful and crucial the roles of these men were in the process of creating Cup of Noodles.

 

Overall, the website for the Cup of Noodles Museum had a mix of Wago,Kango,and Gairaigo words that were utilized to appeal to multiple demographics by providing Gairaigo translations for Kango that was used which allows younger demographics to understand the main points. When using Gairaigo for the purpose of creating a modern and forgien image, they are targeting younger audiences who are more likely to be family with these foriegn loanwords and utilize them in their daily life more than older audiences.

 

Ghibli Museum Website Analysis:

 

This particular website for the Ghibli museum depicts and explains current and past exhibitions of the museum. The current exhibit showcases past special exhibitions that Miyazaki was involved in. In addition, it tells the story of how the animation production company Studio Ghibli decided to create a museum through illustrations of imageboards depicting the various ideas of how it should look.

 

[The multi-talented Miyazaki not only dedicates himself to feature animation productions, he is also a graphic novel artist, a designer of buildings and space, and a creator of exhibitions. Through this exhibition, visitors can discover that his fundamental mindset and approach to various projects are identical to those applied to film production. We sincerely hope that our visitors will enjoy this exhibition.]

 

I find the phrase of Miyazki’s fundamental mindset interesting, as it implies why most of the characters are wago, the native Japanese script.

 

Another reason why this is interesting is because websites relating to pop culture typically have more garaigo due to foreign influence. However, Ghibli movies are made in Japan. Furthermore, the subject matter of Ghibli movies tend to focus on traditional Japanese themes, including, nature, Shintoism, Buddhism, friends, and family. Therefore, the strong presence of wago makes sense, and allows the museum to appeal to both older generations, and younger generations that likely start off with learning wago writing. This is in comparison to the Cup of Noodle’s aim to appeal to younger audiences.

 

Overall, the website is mostly composed of wago, which is much different from Cup of Noodle’s mix of wago, kango, and garaigo. The use of wago is used to appeal to both older Japanese, generations as well as younger generations, as mainly using one type of writing to make it simpler to read for those generations. The use of wago likely also emphasizes the presence of traditional Japanese themes in ghibli movies, which is a stark contrast to Cup of Noodle’s focus on modernity.