Mizkif & Tokyo Sims under fire for “disrespecting” Japanese culture
A video of both Mizkif and Tokyo Sims, a.k.a. Kole, doing flips on a cherry tree in Japan and knocking down sakura blossoms has resulted in a huge amount of backlash against both creators.
There’s been an ongoing trend of creators getting into trouble for disrespecting the culture of other countries when they visit, intentional or otherwise.
Johnny Somali is one of the biggest examples,facing jail timefor several different charges in South Korea. He also got up to his fair share ofantics in Japanthat got him in trouble with the law.
However, in the case of Tokyo Sims and Mizkif, a video of them hanging off of a cherry tree has stirred a great deal of controversy as to whether they actually intended to disrespect Japanese culture or not.
Mizkif and Tokyo Sims do flips on sacred tree
Though the original video has been deleted, reuploads show both creators hanging off of the trees and knocking sakura blossoms down in the process.
With these cherry trees and the season in which they blossom being such an important part of Japanese culture and tradition, it’s become a hot topic in Japan.
Content creators Mizkif and Tokyo Sims are drawing criticism for doing pull-ups and gymnastic tricks on a Japanese cherry tree. One Japanese language post about it has already received over 200k views.pic.twitter.com/XEAeQO2Htyhttps://t.co/rVbSMMIr2j
Shibuya Kaho is the biggest name that called these creators out, saying that it “broke [her] heart” to see people she had engaged with doing such things.
“If you ever want to flex your muscles to show how much testosterone you’ve got… go touch your own wood,”she said.
Kaho claims that Mizkif sent her a number of angry Discord messages in response, messages he deleted a short time after sending them.
She explained why she and other Japanese locals are upset with tourists for causing trouble and urged Mizkif to address the issue and explain why he did it, being open to the idea that they didn’t intentionally try to deface the sacred trees.
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Kaho went on to reveal those discord messagesHighlights Mizkif’s excessive usage of the word “me”“Now I have Johnny Somali account on ME, you don’t realize what you’ve done to ME, please leave ME alone”pic.twitter.com/3i4wsmaM9w
His response at the time was, “Now I have Johnny Somali accounts on me, you don’t realize what you’ve done to me, please leave me alone,” to which Kaho responded, “What the f***? What did I say? It’s not about you.”
Soon after,Mizkif issued a more detailed responseon his own social media accounts. “The moment I was informed by a friend on the severity of the situation, I immediately deleted the post and regretted my decision,” he claimed.
“I’ve grown a lot here as a person, I’ve made so many friends that I truly value and I have experienced so much of the Japanese culture that has changed my life for the better. I do not want to promote my actions as proper, they were wrong, and should be seen as such.”
Furthermore, Mizkif advised any of his viewers who may be considering a Japan trip to not repeat his mistakes. “[Cherry blossoms] are sacred to the Japanese culture and are extremely delicate.
“I am ok with the criticism and understand it was wrong.”
