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