Changing Impressions

With my life at Kansai Gaidai drawing to a close, it seems as good a time as any to reflect upon what I've seen and how my views have changed. My first impressions of Japan were marked by a "less than enthusiastic" attitude, but what about now? While I'm not the type of person to use quotes to make a point, I think this line from Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities is a great jumping off point: "I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss..."

(People of all ages practice hanami. Young people are not the only ones who know how to have a good time.)

When I say "abyss," however, I don't mean it in the derogatory sense. No, I mean abyss in the sense that Japan is still an endless mystery to me. True, I've seen a lot and met dozens of people from all over Japan, but what does that count for? My opinions and views may have changed, but my experience still feels very limited.

(Club Zero's dance competition showcased the individuality of some Kansai Gaidai students. Too many people view Japanese people as a single homogeneous group.)

As for the first part of the quote, I do in fact think of Japan as a beautiful place with brilliant people. I've come appreciate Japan's literal (hanami!) and figurative (you can drink alcohol in public!) beauty. I've grown to admire the people as well. The ones I got to know personally have proved to be brilliantly flexible, independent, hardworking, and yet they all know when and how to party.

(I think Japan is one of the rare countries where a place like Arashiyama's Monkey Park could exist. The park embodies the human beauty of Japan by showcasing the country's natural beauty free of restraint.)

That being said, even now, I can't say I fully love Japan. I can say that I love the people I've come to know, and I love Osaka, and okonomiyaki, and takoyaki, but I don't see myself returning to Japan anytime soon. Maybe I'm homesick, or maybe I won't want to return until I'm gone, but for now I'm okay with leaving.

(A mural by an elementary school in Tokyo declares "we are all friends." Kindness and acceptance might not be inborn Japanese characteristics after all.)

Still, there is one thing I know for sure: I will forever miss my trips on the Osaka loop.

One foreigner's take on Tokyo

(Image borrowed from Now I'm In Japan.)

While this blog isn't exactly academic, it contains some great commentary on life in Tokyo:
"Tokyo never sleeps but the trains stop around midnight. The last trains are full of annoying drunks but the first trains at 5am are just partied all the way back to chill. When the sun comes up at the end of an epic night and you're so worn out and busted shuffling home you can't think about anything but passing out with your face in some fucking breakfast, it's like, man I really gave it my all. The first trains are full of winners. Or at least tryers!"

Politics in Japan

(The Imperial Palace by night. Home to what used to be the most powerful political entity in Japan: the Emperor.)

In February, some drunken antics forced Japanese finance minister Shoichi Nakagawa to resign from his post. He had appeared intoxicated during a televised press conference at the G7 summit in Rome. After the incident he claimed to have taken too much cold medicine, but also admitted to "sipping" some wine. His resignation speaks to the inner workings of Japanese politics.

(Is Japanese cold medicine really as strong as alcohol? Is that even a good excuse?)

While Nakagawa himself didn't want to resign, there was no hiding his performance; the video spread across television networks and YouTube faster than a speeding bullet. The people of Japan were both shammed and infuriated, which no doubt assisted the formal request for Nakagawa's resignation made by the opposing political party, the social liberal Democratic Party of Japan. In addition to this pressure, Nakagawa and his party feared the incident would shine more bad light on current prime minister Taro Aso, who at the time had an approval rating of less than 10%.

(Perhaps the scale of Nakagawa's responsibilities were getting to him.)

Setting aside alcohol altogether, I'm aligned with fellow blogger Lisa Katayama's stance on the matter: regardless of the cause, it was awful for Nakagawa to appear before the world in such a state. He did not represent the people of Japan in a way befitting of a public figure. While I cannot speak on Katayama's academic credentials, her response shows one kind of gut reaction from a native anthropologist. As such, I feel it offers an interesting insight into how some members of the public viewed this incident.

What do you think? Watch the footage and decide for yourself.


In the poorest of tastes, but also in an attempt to lighten the mood of this post, I've picked a song by NOFX. Sorry.

Sports in Japan

Last Wednesday I skipped class in order to attend my very first major league baseball game/Japanese baseball game/Japanese sporting event. It cost me 700+ yen to travel from Hirakata station to Osaka's Koshien stadium, where I (unfortunately) watched the Hansin Tigers lose by 7 runs to the Chunichi Dragons.

(One fan dressed their dog in a Tigers' jersey.)

As soon as I stepped off the train I could feel the buzz of the crowd. I saw a sea of people walking toward the stadium, about half of them dressed in some sort of Tigers garb. One man even had his dog dressed in a jersey. Everyone who was not dressed up had at least one bit of merchandise, usually a noisemaker or some sort of flag.

(Just outside the stadium you can find a treasure trove of merchandise, but each bat-shaped noise-maker sells for over 600 yen. Ouch.)

Once inside the stadium I was surprised to see exactly how overpriced the food and drinks were. A single cup of beer was 400+ yen, so I was really glad I stopped at the conbini before taking my seat. Another thing that surprised me was the cheering section for the Dragons. I wasn't surprised to see Dragons fans at an away game, but I was surprised to see how few showed up. They took up a small block of seating that couldn't have fit more than 50 people. My guess is that the game was too early in the season, so only the hardest of hardcore fans showed up.

In light of Hansin's loss I'd like to direct your attention to the title of this song by The Kickdrums.

And now, more pictures.

(The stands appeared to be packed before the sun went down.)

(This is the view that 1,900 yen buys you. The woman in pink was selling beer for 400+ yen. The man in pink? He sold team spirit for free. Good guy.)

(Someone spilt a soda, so this security man came over to clean it up.)

(When the Tigers went up to bat in the 7th inning, the fans let loose a torrent of whistle-equipped balloons.)

Rock-n-Roll in Osaka

This blog has some nifty stuff, including this video of a rock-n-roll dance party held in Umeda a couple months ago.

Gender in Japan

Since arriving in Japan I've noticed a bit of a gender bias in the workplace, but I didn't realize it was so extreme. As of 2008 Japan was ranked 58th (out of 108) in the United Nations Development Program's Gender Empowerment Measure, meaning they're behind Australia, Germany, the United States, and many other countries in terms of the number of women involved in politics and business. I've seen some of this myself here in Hirakata. For example, I've only ever seen women working at Mister Donuts, and men working at Komatsu. Whats more, all of the police officers and security guards I've seen have been men, while most of the Kansai Gaidai service workers and Seminar House housekeepers are women. Just take a look at this graph from a 2005 issue of Time Magazine.

(Image borrowed from TIMEasia.)

So the workplace is obviously tipped in favor of men, but what about gender roles in the entertainment industry? You don't have to be an avid watcher of anime to be aware of the rampant female subjugation that can be seen in even some of the most successful shows. I'm talking about women with exaggerated physiques, minimal clothing, child-like features, and diminutive demeanor. There's even a whole range of products and shows for viewers who prefer their women a little subservient.

(A display case full of anime models. Most of the men look heroic while most of the women looks subservient.)

This phenomenon seems to carry into real life in the form of maid cafes, which are coffee shops where men are waited upon by young women dressed as maids. It's the maids job to flatter her customer by paying him compliments and calling him master. If you stop and think about it, maid cafes aren't all too different from Hooters, where you're welcome to ogle an attractive waitress who simply smiles back.

(Two female singers entertain a crowd entirely composed of men. Where at? Akihabara. The anime industry seems to have no shame in capitalizing on the perverse nature of some male viewers.)

In the realm of sexual equality, I think Japan could use some change. And who better to motivate and inspire the country than The Artist?

Religion in Japan

(A Niō statue at Sensō-ji, a famous Buddhist temple in Asakusa, Tokyo.)

During spring break I spent a few nights in Tokyo with some Gaidai friends. We stayed in Asakusa, which is home to Sensō-ji, one of Japan's most famous Buddhist temples. Since we had to walk through Sensō-ji on a daily basis, I was able to see who gathered on what days and when. During the week there were large crowds of mostly Japanese people who seemed more concerned with shopping than worship. About 1/3 of them enter the temple and prayed, while about 3/4 of them shopped and took pictures. At first I wondered if any of them would call themselves Buddhist, and then I thought about Notre Dame de Paris. I'm sure plenty of catholics visit Notre Dame in a similar fashion, but I don't feel I have the authority to make such a judgement, let alone such a comparison.

(A group of men performing the March 18th golden dragon dance at Sensō-ji.)

One of the more exciting sights I saw at Sensō-ji was the golden dragon festival celebrating the origin of the temple. Held annually on March 18th, the festival starts with a small parade up to the temple and under the Hōzōmon (inner gate), and then a dragon dance just outside of the temple. It seemed as though not many people knew about the festival until it began, so it was hard for me to judge whether or not anyone had come to Sensō-ji that day to celebrate the temple's origins. Regardless, everyone was entranced by the parade and the dance itself, but who wouldn't be amazed at such a spectacle? Unfortunately, it seems as though most of my observations at Sensō-ji are inconclusive in terms of whether or not they are descriptive of religion in Japan.

(These are the lamps from the background of the previous picture. They set them up a few days before the 18th, and kept them lit the night of.)

(More people than usual stopped to inhale incense on the day of the dragon dance. Is it possible that the dance brought more religious people out? Or maybe the dance made them all feel particularly religious?)

And now it comes down to the song. I wanted something relevant to this week's topic, and the best I could come up with was Out In The Streets by The Shangri-Las. Get it?