What does "peace" sign mean to Asians?

[tei3rn]

I see a lot of asian players given the "peace" sign. Does it have a different meaning in the Asian countries?

Just curious...

[dragon]

I see a lot of asian players given the "peace" sign. Does it have a different meaning in the Asian countries?

Just curious...

Not that I know of.

[gocchin]

Japan and the V sign

During the 1972 Winter Olympics in Sapporo, figure skater Janet Lynn stumbled into Japanese pop culture when she fell during a free-skate period—but continued to smile even as she sat on the ice. Though she placed only 3rd in the actual competition, her cheerful diligence and indefatigability resonated with many Japanese viewers, making her an overnight celebrity in Japan.

Afterwards, Lynn (a peace activist) was repeatedly seen flashing the V sign in the Japanese media. Though the V sign was known of in Japan prior to Lynn's use of it there (from the post-WWII Allied occupation of Japan), she is credited by some Japanese for having popularized its use in amateur photographs.

Through the 1970s and 1980s in Japan, the V sign was often accompanied by a vocalization: "piisu!" This gairaigo exclamation, which stood for "peace", has since fallen into disuse, though the V sign itself remains steadfastly popular. It is especially popular in photography, especially of the amateur sort, as it is a favorite pose of both teens and adults.

The V sign is also commonly used in anime and Japanese live-action shows. When characters show this sign, it is often accompanied by an exclamation of "Vui!" (pronounced /vɯi/ or /bɯi/), an approximation of the English pronunciation "vee" which differentiates it from "bii", the Japanese name of the letter B (as many Japanese speakers hear the voiced labiodental fricative as being the same as the voiced bilabial plosive, see Engrish). A more common phrase is "kachi" which means victory (V for Victory) or luck. Several anime characters incorporate the V sign into their poses, including Ash Ketchum of Pokémon fame, both Sailor Moon and Sailor V, as well as video game characters such as Mario.

Perhaps due to the overwhelming Japanese cultural influences in the region, the V sign in photographs has become popular with young people throughout East Asia and Southeast Asia. The sign is ubiquitous in Taiwan and is closely associated with the English word, "happy". Print and television advertisements read "happy" with hands waving while displaying the V sign, and the average Taiwanese person will invariably give that word as the meaning of the sign.

[ClubHoUno]

Wow, exciting reading for me

The japanese people also have a favour for cartoon figures and and a lot of signs in general, I think. Maybe because of the written sign language - I don't know.

In Europe and USA you wouldn't be able to find i.e. Como Come headcovers with small pandas, wine gum and pink pigs on - but I find it kind of cute and funny and in fact like this. But I think it's very Asian/Japanese to have these kind of colorful animated figures on golf headcovers.

I can relate this to the use of the V sign - Gocchin's Girlfriend almost look like a cute animated cartoon figure in the photos of here doing the V signs - it's makes me smile and feel positive

The euro guys and US guys lacks this kind of use of signs and cartoon figures, which I think is more common and prevalent in Asian countries - especially Japan and Korea.

I also visit this golf forum because I'm a bit fascinated by japanese and asian culture.

I would like like to read a lot of websites from Asian, Japan, Korea and Thailand - but even loading the websites is a problem for the Firefox and Explorer browser