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I've been searching but have found no solid info on what exactly is the cultural influence of the Tau race. The only reason they seem like they were based on a Asian country is because of DoW they all have that accent. The names don't sound like any Asian language.

Tau seem to have their own culture and keep it separate from their "allies". Codices suggest the other species have no influence on them culturally.

The source GW drew from could be mostly asian, like the clean techy rounded design, the concept of castes and 'earth/water/fire/air' used prominently.

Yeah I was just wondering where GW got the influence from.
You know:
SM = Knights in space
Chaos = Chaos in WFB
Eldar = Elves
Orks = orks
so on...

It seemed that the players were the ones that made the assumption that Tau were based off of Asian culture.

Not to sound mean, sarcastic or being a troll, have you read the codex? It has some good fluff background about the Tau. While there is a strong Asian theme, the tau in my opinion also have a strong atheist and scientific feeling to them. They do not worship and gods and venerate the "greater good" ideal. Please do not think they are communist as they are not, more of a technocracy and directorship.

Don't want to sound mean but you seem to be saying that Asia is one unified culture. Its not, Asia is the biggest continent on the planet and comprises more than 60% of the human population and 48 countries with other 100 cultural groups. So by Asian, do you mean japanese?

Castes, naming conventions based on deeds are found in multiple Asian cultures. Devotion to an ideal is common in multiple Asian counties (in history and present day). The warrior honour system present in the fire caste are common in multiple asian countries. The mecha style of the Tau army is very reminisant of present day Japanese/Korean pop culture of anime and toys.

BluntmanDC wrote:Don't want to sound mean but you seem to be saying that Asia is one unified culture. Its not, Asia is the biggest continent on the planet and comprises more than 60% of the human population and 48 countries with other 100 cultural groups. So by Asian, do you mean japanese?

Castes, naming conventions based on deeds are found in multiple Asian cultures. Devotion to an ideal is common in multiple Asian counties (in history and present day). The warrior honour system present in the fire caste are common in multiple asian countries. The mecha style of the Tau army is very reminisant of present day Japanese/Korean pop culture of anime and toys.

Yeah I know it's different, but I was just saying Asian in general because I wasn't sure if it was based off of a specific one such as China or Japan.

DickBandit wrote:

BluntmanDC wrote:Don't want to sound mean but you seem to be saying that Asia is one unified culture. Its not, Asia is the biggest continent on the planet and comprises more than 60% of the human population and 48 countries with other 100 cultural groups. So by Asian, do you mean japanese?

Castes, naming conventions based on deeds are found in multiple Asian cultures. Devotion to an ideal is common in multiple Asian counties (in history and present day). The warrior honour system present in the fire caste are common in multiple asian countries. The mecha style of the Tau army is very reminisant of present day Japanese/Korean pop culture of anime and toys.

Yeah I know it's different, but I was just saying Asian in general because I wasn't sure if it was based off of a specific one such as China or Japan.

It takes several elements from both.

The whole for the greater good thing is very red china whereas the samurai influence and mecha suits are clearly Japanese.

I think some of the caste system ideas are based loosely off of India, with Ethereals being reminiscent of the Brahmin caste, Kshatriyas being the fire warrior caste, and Shudras being of the earth caste.
The notion of the 'Grater good' gets dumbed down to being 'omg space communists lol' but shares more with the notions behind Confucianism.

Slick wrote:I think some of the caste system ideas are based loosely off of India, with Ethereals being reminiscent of the Brahmin caste, Kshatriyas being the fire warrior caste, and Shudras being of the earth caste.
The notion of the 'Grater good' gets dumbed down to being 'omg space communists lol' but shares more with the notions behind Confucianism.

The Tau are really all of the Asian stereotypes blended together with a good dollop of 40k.

Forced sterilisation? China AND India.

While Tau are no 100% copy of any culture, they are certainly inspired by Asian, esp. Japanese culture:
1.) Tau sounds like Tao
2.) Strict castes as in India or Japan. Warrior caste (Samurai).
3.) Godlike worship of their ruler (Japanese Tenno)
4.) Society supports low individuality in favor for the community (Japan, also China)
5.) Pragmatic approach with low ideology (Japan, even in more or less atheist religions: Confucius, Laotse, Shinto, Buddha)
6.) Late industrial development, then racing to the top (Japan, maybe China)
7.) T'au colour scheme as Japan in WW2 (sand with white).
8.) Mechas.
9.) In first Codex even weak eyes, a racist stereotype for Japanese (often portrayed with glasses), dropped in 4th edition Codex.
10.) Violent past (around WW2) surpassed by now generally peaceful politics.

Another influence is the Grey Alien stereotype inspiring the Tau face.

corpsesarefun wrote:Forced sterilisation? China AND India.

Maybe, but certainly not Tau.

Yeah, the cliche martian face I picked up on.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems the Tau are willing to make allies with anyone, regardless of who they are. Unless, of course, they are hostile. That's what I like about them, they're aren't all about bloodlust and conquer as many planets as possible. They seem like they're more concerned about expanding in allies.

Kroothawk wrote:
1.) Tau sounds like Tao

A good point, but sorry, Tau is actually the letter "T" in the Greek alphabet. The integration of nature based castes, the small communities/outposts of distant worlds, ect. is very Daoist, though.

I like how instead of "KILL THEM ALL", they use the approach of "Turn them into our minions without them realizing it, and if they resist, THEN KILL THEM ALL".

Late 19th Century to mid-20th Century Imperial Japan seems most fitting. The "Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere" that the Japanese advocated is right up the Tau's alley.

That being said the Tau while capable of brutality don't seem so utterly genocidal or prone to atrocities. Kind of sad a 40k race actually behaves more decently then a real life counterpart did.

Could the castes fighting each other until the eathrals(sp) show up be a reference to the warring states period in china. I don't know alot about that but a people fighting each other ,with such heavy Asian influences, then some enlightened dudes show up and the fighting stops.

Harriticus wrote:Late 19th Century to mid-20th Century Imperial Japan seems most fitting. The "Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere" that the Japanese advocated is right up the Tau's alley.

That being said the Tau while capable of brutality don't seem so utterly genocidal or prone to atrocities. Kind of sad a 40k race actually behaves more decently then a real life counterpart did.

Lets not tar japan with a single brushstroke, especially with you're own country's history. Nearly ever human civilisation has blood on its hands.

Orkfantic wrote:Could the castes fighting each other until the eathrals(sp) show up be a reference to the warring states period in china. I don't know alot about that but a people fighting each other ,with such heavy Asian influences, then some enlightened dudes show up and the fighting stops.

It could be a reference to to the unification of japan as well.

Yes, but I think it is drawing too close an inference from a particular period.

Japan experienced a long period of civil war lasting nearly continuously from 1466 to 1600. Europe experience a long period of religious war, lasting from the Reformation until the end of the Thirty Years War. Warfare was common between neighbouring states in India throughout its history.

The influences behind the Tau are obvious;

Caste system = Indian/Chinese/Japanese caste system
Elemental designations = Chinese/Japanese
Armour design = Chinese/Japanese
Mecha design = modern Japanese
Collective social organisation = modern Japanese

Kilkrazy wrote:Mecha design = modern Japanese
Collective social organisation = modern Japanese

To be fair, the modern Japanese army doesn't use Mechas yet
And the "society before individuum" attitude is a common tradition to many East Asian countries for hundreds or thousands of years

They are trying to.

Japan measures very high on the individualism-collectivism scale used by social scientists. I don't know about Chinese or Indians.

GW introduced the Tau with Battlesuits about the same time they opened operations in Japan.

BluntmanDC wrote:

Harriticus wrote:Late 19th Century to mid-20th Century Imperial Japan seems most fitting. The "Greater Co-Prosperity Sphere" that the Japanese advocated is right up the Tau's alley.

That being said the Tau while capable of brutality don't seem so utterly genocidal or prone to atrocities. Kind of sad a 40k race actually behaves more decently then a real life counterpart did.

Lets not tar japan with a single brushstroke, especially with you're own country's history. Nearly ever human civilisation has blood on its hands.

Orkfantic wrote:Could the castes fighting each other until the eathrals(sp) show up be a reference to the warring states period in china. I don't know alot about that but a people fighting each other ,with such heavy Asian influences, then some enlightened dudes show up and the fighting stops.

It could be a reference to to the unification of japan as well.

Don't try to gloss over the massive atrocities committed by the Japanese on indigenous populations across Asia and the Pacific, as terrible as the United States has been in the past it's really not even close

Retribution wrote:Don't try to gloss over the massive atrocities committed by the Japanese on indigenous populations across Asia and the Pacific, as terrible as the United States has been in the past it's really not even close

WOW after two atomic weapons that mostly killed civilians (and weren't even needed to win the war), the genocide of an indiginous race, internment camps, the exploitation of multiple external nations (leading to pro-US goverments that kill their own populations), using 3rd world countries as chess peices during the cold war, and multiple other wars. I believe you have some pretty rose-tinted glasses on, get a grip.

You know what's funny? The atomic bombs are really insignificant in terms of overall casualties when looking at the whole war; but please, don't take my word for it, go read about what occurred in China during and before the outbreak of WWII. I'm not a huge pro-American person, but equating them to the Japanese during WWII is...ignorant, at best. Rape of Nanking, anyone? Fun fact: the Nanking massacres led to more civilian deaths than both Atomic bombings combined, huzzah?

And not to mention, Hiroshima and Nagasaki WERE military targets. Hiroshima was the Headquarters of the army that was responsible for the defense of Southern Japan in case of an American Invasion and was a major transportation hub. The destruction of the city did accomplish a military objective. Nagasaki was home to major weapons productions factories, and as such was also a major military target.

Furthermore, you're right that the A-Bombs weren't needed to win the war, but they did make the war less brutal for all involved. The Japanese were prepared to fight the last man woman and child, to and past the last bullet and sharp piece of metal. They were issuing children sharpened bamboo stakes, and demo packs to use against American tanks. If the Americans had invaded, it would have been a bloodbath for both sides.

Of course, you're right in that the US had blood on its hands for its history, but so does every nation in the world. It's only idiots who learn history through propaganda that think one nation has a perfect history, while all others are evil. That being said, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, Japan did some horrible, horrible things. Things arguably worse than Nazi Germany. If you want examples, look up Unit 731, and read the book Flyboys.

The other option would have been for the US to continue Operation Starvation and keep droping herbicide on the rice fields, mining the harbors, and sinking any ship flying a Japanese flag on the Pacific Ocean. When you compare the atomic bombings with the possibility of an entire nation slowly starving to death, you have to realize that the atomic bombs were almost a mercifully quick end to the war when compared to the other possibilities.

ChrisWWII wrote:Of course, you're right in that the US had blood on its hands for its history, but so does every nation in the world. It's only idiots who learn history through propaganda that think one nation has a perfect history, while all others are evil. That being said, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, Japan did some horrible, horrible things. Things arguably worse than Nazi Germany. If you want examples, look up Unit 731, and read the book Flyboys.

The other option would have been for the US to continue Operation Starvation and keep droping herbicide on the rice fields, mining the harbors, and sinking any ship flying a Japanese flag on the Pacific Ocean. When you compare the atomic bombings with the possibility of an entire nation slowly starving to death, you have to realize that the atomic bombs were almost a mercifully quick end to the war when compared to the other possibilities.

I know about the actions of Japan in China and other countries, its in history books and was even taught during my GCSE'S years ago. This is the problem with the editing done post war, US didn't need to do anything to win the war against Japan, it was the breaking of the no conflict pact between Russia and japan that would have lead to the allies winning, the actions of the US were wrong.

I know nearly every nation has blood on its hands (including japan) but i was rather annoyed by someone saying their country only has a few spots of blood, totally ignoring history.

Retribution wrote:You know what's funny? The atomic bombs are really insignificant in terms of overall casualties when looking at the whole war; but please, don't take my word for it, go read about what occurred in China during and before the outbreak of WWII. I'm not a huge pro-American person, but equating them to the Japanese during WWII is...ignorant, at best. Rape of Nanking, anyone? Fun fact: the Nanking massacres led to more civilian deaths than both Atomic bombings combined, huzzah?

Exactly, I'm part Japanese but I'm not about to deny what my culture did during those times which often times is overlooked because of what the Nazis did. The Japanese were just as bad as the Germans were back then. He's right that America has a ton of blood on their hands too but what country doesn't? The atomic bombs were terrible yes, my grandmother survived the fire bombings in Tokyo in fact during those times as well, but unfortunately it was probably the best way to end the war as quickly as possible.


Back on to the topic now, I agree with most of you here that the tau represent Asian cultures of sorts. I always kind of saw the Tau as modern post WWII Japan, rising from horrible destruction, unifying and rebuilding for the greater good, and then quickly becoming one of the most advanced cultures around. Charting Japan's technological rise in both the post Meji Restoration and post WWII are very similar to the Tau's rise.

BluntmanDC wrote:
I know about the actions of Japan in China and other countries, its in history books and was even taught during my GCSE'S years ago. This is the problem with the editing done post war, US didn't need to do anything to win the war against Japan, it was the breaking of the no conflict pact between Russia and japan that would have lead to the allies winning, the actions of the US were wrong.

I know nearly every nation has blood on its hands (including japan) but i was rather annoyed by someone saying their country only has a few spots of blood, totally ignoring history.

Even with the Soviets rampaging through Manchuria, you failed to get the point that while the war would still have been won by the Allies, the damage to Japan and the Japanese people done by the war was lessened incredibly by the atomic bombs. So, no, the atomic bombing were not wrong. If anything, the firebombings were wrong, but even those are justifiable based on the nature of Japanese industry at the time.

But at least we agree on the point that everyone has skeletons in their closets, and blood on their hands.

The Kilted Samurai wrote:
Back on to the topic now, I agree with most of you here that the tau represent Asian cultures of sorts. I always kind of saw the Tau as modern post WWII Japan, rising from horrible destruction, unifying and rebuilding for the greater good, and then quickly becoming one of the most advanced cultures around. Charting Japan's technological rise in both the post Meji Restoration and post WWII are very similar to the Tau's rise.

Makes sense now that you mentioned it.

I was curious to know encase I ever got any elaborate ideas for artwork on my models. Just to make sure the inspiration is correct.

I appreciate all the input.

BluntmanDC wrote:

ChrisWWII wrote:Of course, you're right in that the US had blood on its hands for its history, but so does every nation in the world. It's only idiots who learn history through propaganda that think one nation has a perfect history, while all others are evil. That being said, IN THE CONTEXT OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR, Japan did some horrible, horrible things. Things arguably worse than Nazi Germany. If you want examples, look up Unit 731, and read the book Flyboys.

The other option would have been for the US to continue Operation Starvation and keep droping herbicide on the rice fields, mining the harbors, and sinking any ship flying a Japanese flag on the Pacific Ocean. When you compare the atomic bombings with the possibility of an entire nation slowly starving to death, you have to realize that the atomic bombs were almost a mercifully quick end to the war when compared to the other possibilities.

I know nearly every nation has blood on its hands (including japan) but i was rather annoyed by someone saying their country only has a few spots of blood, totally ignoring history.

America is no global saint, but equating their past actions to those of Japan during WWII is the true ignorance here; there is not a singular American atrocity in history that equals or surpasses the rape of Nanking. You can argue about the hostilities toward the Native Americans, but even then...the scale is not even close

Let's stop this "your war crime is worse than my war crime" debate, as it leads to nothing.

On topic:
First pic is an Urban Mammoth miniature, I will use as my old general, second one is a nice conversion by someone else, just to show some examples of how Japanese culture can be included in your army.