井の中の蛙 大海を知らず
A frog in a well knows nothing of the great sea
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| Doguu by Daiki Aabye |
On a hot day, there's a cool grid to wander through half a world away from Europe and on a very different planet, culturally. It's the Japan Open Grid, called JOG for short.
The main part of JOG is the great square continent, with the region Jog Central at its heart and all kinds of builds surrounding it, those closest to the middle have a permanent feel, like the 5 year anniversary Grand Staircase, the shopping regions and JOG Meet...
...and of course Dejima, 'Exit Island', as it was called, the one point at which, during the Edo period, the West could interact with the Japanese culture and economy. We are talking the long period from the mid 1600's to the 1800's. 'Exit through the gift shop' comes to mind.
This, of course, was a period when Japan was trying to have as little as possible to do with outside cultures, in a bid to preserve their own culture and to repel the less attractive effects of western culture. It meant, however, that the traditions and philosophy of the country were protected while a bit-o-bartering could go on undisturbed.