Changing Impressions...

When thinking about how my view of Japan has changed... I think that I really need to look to my recent trip to Tokyo for the best inspiration. After a series of unfortunate events, I decided to take the weekend of Golden Week to take on Tokyo alone, meeting up with one of my friends that goes to school there. I had no place to stay, and intended on staying in Manga Cafes for the two nights I had to spend there. I had no expectations, and really just wanted to see the city I'd been to before again, maybe in a different light and from a different perspective. I believe that in those three days there, I accomplished this goal.

Japan may seem to have it's so-called "strange customs," a tightly run society with more oddities than seem possible, and so many historical sights and hot spots to turn to, it makes Times Square look like a joke, its the people that really strike me now.

On this short trip to Tokyo, I met some of the most interesting people by mistake. I suppose the ability to converse in Japanese fairly easily made the incidents more easy to come by, but I still found that every conversation with a new person I had, told me something about myself, and about life.

I could relate to so many of these strangers, more so than I thought I might have. I expect to relate to people at Kansai Gaidai, because like me, they have an interest in studying abroad and are around my age. These other people, however, ranged from 22 to 45 and all of them had an interesting story to share with me, and interesting advice to give me.

Even the two in the above picture, a Vietnamese artist and an English publisher, began talking to me when I was resting on the infamous Harajuku bridge, waiting for a performance to start. These two have been living in Japan much longer than I have, and had a very different and interesting perspective on Japan and Japanese culture to share with me. I just found it amazing, that so many people were comfortable starting conversations with me and so easily shared part of their lives with me.

I suppose what I wanted to get at with this blog post, is that, I no longer see myself and Japanese people as very different from each other. Culture is culture and history is history, but people are fundamentally the same I think. There are shy people and outgoing people, there are crazy people and amazing people. There is no way to label everyone in one place, and no matter how hard we may try to categorize, there will always be exceptions to the rule.

The Politics... of eating and walking

As a foreigner, one often hears the rule "do not eat/drink in public" or at least "do not eat/drink while walking. If you're going to eat/drink, stand off to the side" because it is considered to be rude. Most of us abide by this rule, for fear of getting the unsettling stares from passing Japanese. I myself, rarely see a Japanese person walk down the street with even a bottle of water in hand (I can perhaps count the times I've seen someone walking with food/drink on one hand). However, this rule seemed to be quickly forgotten the moment me and my friends stepped into Kobe's China Town.

Not only does Kobe's China Town have a rather extensive selection of on-the-go treats, food carts and restaurants pack the streets, with rather impressive lines of customers at each stand. It seems difficult to get through China Town without some how ending up buying a pork bun or some other sort of meat on a stick or fried pastry.

Inadvertently, I began taking pictures of these people eating on the go. A public act that so many Japanese frown upon, was being documented even when I didn't mean to document it. My friends and I even commented after leaving the China Town street that, once one steps foot outside the gate, food has been eaten, and people act like this "disgraceful" action was never performed. For some reason, people felt it was more acceptable to eat while walking on this one street, than anywhere else in the whole city.

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Japanese_schoolgirls_walking_and_eating.jpg

Sports and Circles: Soccer

"Soccer has become the second most popular professional spectator sport as well as the second most widely practiced sport among boys in primary schools. The Japan Football Association was established in 1921, and in 1948, the first national championship games were held. It became known as the Emperor's Cup, and by 1997, more than 3,000 teams participated in this tournament" (Soccer in Japan). Just like baseball circles and clubs in the Japanese school system, soccer clubs are heavily attended and popular. Even amateurs with no intention of continuing past their school years can be impressively good at soccer.

Initially, the league consisted of only a single division, but in 1972, a second division was added (wikipedia). Many teams are owned by different companies, and paid to strictly play soccer. Others are clubs that join the league to compete.

Whether or not these circles of soccer-loving players go on to do great things doesn't seem to matter to many of them. They join a circle to play a game them love, to network with other similar-interest guys, and to get adored by the dozens of girls who sit around and watch them play. Since I'm focusing on circles in particular, all of the above doesn't seem to matter to them. As long as they can run around and blow off some steam with their team mates, they seem happy to dedicate as much time as the circle demands to continue playing.

Gender in Japan... mothers

When I think about gender and the conception of traditional gender roles in Japan, I often think of Japanese mothers. In particular, I think of my own host mother, Kayo-san.

Kayo-san is one of the most patient and gentle mothers I have ever met. She isn't exactly the embodiment of the "perfect Japanese mother" but she is certainly something close for her family. Although she does not wake up at ridiculously early hours to make lunches, or keep a spotlessly clean house, she puts so much care and love into everything she does, and keeps life around her light hearted.


When interacting with her children, she never raises her voice, and doesn't even scold them when they hit her in anger. Since her children are still very small, she lets them play in any room they want, and toys are always free to lay around anywhere. I find it very intriguing how few rules she upholds in her household for her children. The strictest rules are for her five year old son, whom she often has to remind to hold his bowl correctly at the dinner table.

When talking to her, it was also really nice to hear that she sent her five year old son to the kindergarten across the street from their house because it was known to be a fun pre-school, rather than one that forces children to study all the time and write essays. She told me that it was important that her son was able to play with his friends, dance, draw pictures, and sing every day, and that she is proud that he has pursued learning kanji and how to write on his own.

Like this article has found, she doesn't consider herself a large part of the type of people her children turn out to be. Just like she believes that the number of strokes in one's name does not determine one's personal luck, she thinks that self-motivation and perseverance will get you far in life.

Religion, A Thing of Beauty...

(Picture Link)

Religious places in Japan top the charts for the most beautiful places in the world, in my opinion. Even the smallest road side shrine adds beauty to the area around it. Not only are the structures themselves beautiful in construction and shape, but they so beautifully mold the nature surrounding them into something truly magical.

Although surveys and studies have proven that the Japanese as a whole do not consider themselves religious, and instead pass off their "religious" activities as merely "tradition", there is something truly wonderful about the structures that they built, in many instances, hundreds of years ago. These shrines and temples that tourists and followers alike visit everyday, are so well aligned with the nature that surrounds them. Two that I think are particularly well situated in nature, are Koya-San and Fushimi Inari.

"Kôyasan is home to an active monastic center founded twelve centuries ago by the priest Kûkai (posthumously known as Kôbô Daishi) for the study and practice of Esoteric Buddhism. It is the headquarters of the Kôyasan sect of Shingon Buddhism, a faith with a wide following throughout Japan. Situated on a small plain at the top of Mount Kôya is the sacred area known as the Danjô Garan, a complex of temples, halls, pagodas and Buddhist statuary that welcome visitors to this serene and hallowed place" (Koyasan Homepage).

The way the graves in Koyasan's ancient forest harmonize so well with the trees that rise above them is beyond stunning. Although many people may come to Koyasan purely for pleasure rather than religious reasons, appreciating the beauty of the mountain top and the harmony of man with nature is something that few would be able to go without doing.

Fushimi Inari displays a different sort of beauty. Instead of naturally aged stone graves lining a stunningly beautiful path in the woods, the Tori of Fushimi Inari carve a path into the mountain that accentuates the mountain's natural lifts and falls, while the bright orange Tori separate the path from the forest and intertwine the surrounding nature with the shrine. Although many people come to pray at the small family-owned shrines on the mountain, others come to see the beauty of the mountain and challenge it's height so that they can gives thanks at the top.

Globilization.... english

Although it is probably rather cliche... I am choosing to look at Japan's unique and strange use of the English Language.

I have begun to notice that, when talking to my host mother or my speaking partner, English words begin to be slipped into conversation, words that have a Japanese equivalent, and are relatively elementary, in my opinion.

I once received a text from my speaking partner in which everything was in Japanese, except from the word "lunch." Lunch is not a very difficult Japanese word, but for some reason, among the Kanji and other words in the text, my speaking partner chose to spell out "lunch" in English.I suppose I find it interesting, because I have seen so many signs that Japan's language is applying more and more of the west's influence to itself. Since quiz shows are so popular here, I have seen many shows where english-influenced words are the topics of various quizzes. In one game, the shortened version of a longer english-turned-katakana-word was being questioned about (since the Japanese also seem to really enjoy shortening their words as much as possible).

Also, there are many shows in which kanji are the main topic of conversation. It is baffling to see people struggle when using their own language, because these ancient characters (taken from China in the first place) are so difficult and there are so many to learn. There has even been a test created, where kanji readings and recognition make up the entire test.

All in all, I wanted to point out something I have been noticing that goes a little further than silly engrish on t-shirts and miss-spelled store front signs. I think that there is something else going on in the Japanese language, and the way that it is evolving and changing as the world gets ever smaller.
On a slightly related note, I found this wikipedia article about "Franponais" to be rather interesting as well... although not as wide-scale as Engrish.

Special Blog Post... Photographer: Kyoichi Sawada

photo credit

Kyoichi Sawada was born February 22nd, 1936 and died October 28th, 1970. He is a Pulitzer Prize winning photographer who took many gruesome and painful documentary-style photographs during the Vietnam war (bio).

photo from world press

The photo above is one of his two photos selected as the "World Press Photo of the Year" in 1965 (world press). The other photo won in 1966 and was the image of a Viet Cong being dragged behind a personnel carrier.

Kyoichi was killed October 28th, when the car he and his news bureau's chief were riding in was shot while riding through Vietnam. Both were dragged to a field and shot repeatedly (journalists memorial).

This photographer was a journalist/documentary style photographer and did not directly represent Japan with his photography work. Although one might want to point out that by taking such direct photographs of victims during wartime, he himself is a criminal for not helping the individuals that are the subjects of his photography. However, in no way does this represent Japan. From previous photo-history study, I have come to understand that there are many photographers from around the world who do this exact same style of hands-off photography. He tries to act as the un-seen force documenting the actions and events of the Vietnam war. His subjects are the victims of the war, the innocents that have been infamously harmed by the events and mistakes of both parties taking part in the war.

I believe that this type of photography work is extremely difficult, because the photographer has to be torn between capturing the perfect shot and helping the people he is victimizing by taking pictures of them. It is cruel, in many ways, to be the hands-off photographer who takes the picture and lets "nature take its course." It provides the public with solid image of the horror of war, and yet, leaves the photographer with a sense of guilt. That is to say, only if the photographer really is completely hands-off.

Pop Culture... The Fashion Scene

Although widely covered in books, magazines, and plenty of photography books, The Japanese fashion scene is something worth delving into over and over again. Since fashion trends and fads change faster than the seasons, there is always something to look at and critique. In fact, the next Tokyo Fashion Week is coming up this month from March 23rd to the 29th, where new textures, fabrics, and styles will be announced to Japan and the rest of the world.


It isn't enough to look at the wacky styles that come out of Harajuku and call it a day. There are plenty of interesting things going on in Japanese fashion that are not quite as noticeable as a bright pink Lolita dress, or the dark blacks, blues, and purples of the gothic lolita style. I have found that even the stores that carry these different styles wear what they sell themselves. Like the above picture shows, this store in Hep5 mall (in Umeda) had a definite Indian theme to is. Scarfs were draped from the walls, which were adorned with the same types of images and much of the clothing was modeled off of how saris look on a human form or designs and colors inspired by them. Much of the jewelry even had an Indian flair to it.


Another very popular style among young people (especially in the Kansai region, according to the following link) is the African/Jamaican/hiphop influenced style of clothing and appearance. Hip hop, r&b, and rap music have seen a large increase in popularity within the United States and with this, much of the musical pop culture sent over from the US includes this type of music and style. As Mica Powers states on the site Kansai Scene (link above),

"Mention the name of literary great Junichiro Tanizaki to any young Japanese person and the chances are they will have only the vaguest notion of who you are talking about. Mention Beyonce or Bob Marley and they are right with you. Take a walk down pretty well any street in the Kansai and you see the local kids are dressed in the latest hip hop gear or in shirts display-ing Jamaican great Bob Marley, all the while listening to the latest hip hop music from America and Jamaica."

"The imitation of certain elements of Black culture is present in Japan because it is popular in the American media at the current time.” While this is definitely the case, and it is very logical that people in one foreign country use the media of another country to get up-to-date fashion clues, she also says, “However, I am not sure if the Japanese have a true understanding of what these images represent and their impact and role in Western society as a dominant subculture...I think the imitations of rap music are amusing, as most of the 'rap' here is based on love, whereas a lot of American rap is born out of strife, discrimination, etc." (Kansai Scene Magainzine).

Related Article: BBC News Japan Grows Its Own Hip Hop

Perceptions of Japanese College Students...

The population of Japanese college students that come to universities like Kansai Gaidai are, what stereotypes might call, differently minded. What I have come to perceive as the average Japanese college student, is one who has their mind set on one job, one job that they will have until they retire, and that is the only thing they are working toward.

However, today and especially at schools with an international language focus, a lot more Japanese college students are looking abroad for careers. Minds have seemed to turn from in to out and a lot more students seem eager to leave Japan and investigate what the rest of the world has to offer. If they don't have any intention of leaving the country, however, coming to a school that has an international focus gives Japanese students an opportunity to study with and speak with people of cultures near and far from Japan and its own culture.

Although this picture is silly, I'm trying to prove a point. (Although some may know him, I'll leave out his name..) My friend here is one Japanese student who really surprised me when I first met him. He takes class with the exchange students because he plans on studying abroad in the US next year, but has also been taking Spanish. Whenever he speaks about his own culture, he says that he is tired of it, and wants to go some place new and fresh. Most of the time these complaints are jokingly made, other times they seem a little more serious.

Despite the outward turned gaze of many Japanese college students these days, people like my friend still surprise me. They don't just want to explore other places, they want to get away from the culture that raised them. I also know of many exchange students that feel the same way about their own cultures and study abroad to get away from what they are tired or fed-up with. Both these Japanese students and exchange students can see the flaws with their culture, and want to try something else; perhaps something that they feel works better than what they are used to.

The only reason it seems so much more surprising from Japanese students is because of long-standing stereotypes. With values emphasized on family and community, internationality and globalization don't seem to always have a place among these other, stronger values. It is nice to see these stereotypes challenged by open-minded college students, ready to brave the world and see what they will find. Changing views of the outside world can only strengthen the move toward global acceptance and a more global community.

My Hometown Hirakata...

When thinking of a typical Japanese landscape, I have to admit that sometimes my mind jumps directly to the tight, and narrow streets in a seemingly over-crowded neighborhood. The beautiful snowcapped mountains, rice fields and streams come second.

So when my host family and I drove home for the first time, I was pleasantly surprised to see small rice paddies and vegetable fields dotting the landscape, hidden among the tightly packed together apartment complexes and tiny houses.


In doing a little research, I found out that many towns accumulated a number of these part-time farmers around WWII to help stabilize the price of rice and get more food out to the Japanese people. In 1950 there were 6.18 million farming households, 3.09 million of them full-time. Today, 23% of farmers are full-time, 16% are part-time type 1 (primarily farm) and 62% are part-time type 2 (primarily don't farm) (The Tokyo Foundation). All farmers were a part of an organization called the JA (Japan Agricultural Cooperative Associations) which marketed the crops and began as small organizations.


The addition of these small rice and vegetable fields scattered about suburban towns is quite beautiful and really significant. Farming food for people is not only a difficult and time-consuming job, but its something that not many people want to do. The number of farmers in the US has decreased quickly over the last few decades, to a point where the government must pay farmers to continue doing their jobs. In Japan, you can physically see the evidence of farming everywhere. This tradition has continued for generations and has left Japan beautiful and alive.

Here I am providing a link to a Japanese farming blog (in japanese) which has some lovely pictures, and here is a link to an interesting site about Satoyama, Japan's hidden water garden. A BBC special was done on this area of Japan and a youtube video can be accessed through this site about Satoyama.

(From Satoyama: Japan's Amazing Rice Fields and Farms)

Impressions, but not necessarily the first....

To have a first impression, one should be encountering an object, person, or place for the first time. This first encounter leaves a mark on one's mind and, thus, one has an impression of the first time they have been to, or seen this person, place, or thing. I have now been to Japan three times and I don't think that this post will be about a first impression. I have long since had my first impression of Japan. However, because of this, I have had some time to look at Japan, and find things that have surprised and interested me. Instead of first impressions, I will enlighten you with a couple of break-throughs of mine. My first break-through came while sitting and eating dinner with my host family. We were watching a quiz show where famous actors and singers sat at brightly colored desks and buzzed in after various clues and video clips had been shown. I asked my host mom what was going on, because the language was moving too quickly for me to catch much. She told me that they were answering a question about a business man's hotel where the bath doubled as a toilet. I'd always thought Japan was resourceful and practical, but this was bringing it to an extreme, and almost unsanitary point. Putting aside personal preference, however, I do appreciate Japan's innovativeness and move towards a greener, more compact future. The fact that my host mother uses the finished bath water to wash our clothes everyday is smart and totally resourceful! Why through away nearly clean water? It's not like our clothing needs to be washed in purified water. Most water touches soil anyway. Its simple stuff like that, that other countries don't think about or would consider unsanitary but actually saves some of our quickly depleting resources. My second break-through also happened at dinner time with my host family. We were watching a show where celebrities sit around, watch video clips and talk about various topics (pretty standard it seems) when the host brought out some food that was being shown in the video clips. Of course, we all followed suit in saying "ah, that looks good..." and only once I had said it did I realize.... Japan has a strange obsession with food. Every talk show, music show, news show has someone make interesting food, talk about it, and then everyone on the show eats it and exclaims about how amazing it is. Not only that, but food is made into more than just plastic replicas like in restaurant windows or for children to play house with. Bags, keychains, and pencil cases are made in the shape of food or with food plastered all over them. Food is even alive here! I always thought "How cute! A strawberry with a mouth and eyes!" but really.. it's kind of interesting. In a country where food, especially fruits and vegetables, are so expensive, they use the image of food on everything. People dangle food from their cellular phones! Although I don't have much of a conclusion for this point, I do find it something worth noticing. Kanako Enomoto on a food show in 2002 Model Kanako Enomoto, appears on a food show in Japan in 2002. (from youtube.com)