Japan: Changing perspectives

I'm not quite sure what I was expecting when I came to Japan, but I can say that I didn't experience any giant culture shock that most people expect. After a few days, I mostly forgot that I was half a world away from home. I guess what I did come to understand is how Japan compares to other countries. Japan is said to by high-tech, fast-paced and modern. This is really only partially true. While quick to grow in some areas, Japan is slow to change in others. Take a look at my other posts on homelessness, gender equality, social flexibility and insulation in houses.

Society aside, what did I learn? Well, that's difficult. My years of interest in Japan, as well as lack of any other goal, led me to learn about most of the vastly different or "perspective changing" areas. I could say, however, that my perspective on Japan changed once I started looking seriously into studying here, and the act of coming to Japan really just solidified what I had learned. In high school, my only real exposure to Japan was through Japanese TV, movies and music. I thought it would be fun to study in Japan, but I had no idea what it was really like here. Once I got to college and started seriously studying Japanese life and culture, I tried seriously to understand the “reality” about Japan, not just the bits and pieces that somehow make their way to the US. It seems that there is a giant invisible filter in the Pacific that only lets the weird and exciting things about Japan through. I find a lot of people have some strange ideas about what it is like here. Now I can really say that Japan isn't that weird, a least no weirder than other places. Things are just different, and usually even with the craziest thing you find here, I'm sure if you think hard enough, you can match it with an equally, or stranger, example from your country. Go ahead, try it.

Entertainment in Japan

Since I came to Japan, I have watched TV almost everyday. From this, I have made a few observations about what I have seen. To say that all Japanese TV is the same would be wrong, though I can't help but think every time I see a new show "Isn't this the same thing that was on yesterday?". Aside from the usual news, sports and kids programs that almost every country has, I have noticed three types of shows that dominate a good portion of the airtime, especially during primetime.

1. The comedy show.
A panel of well known comedians sitting around in a crazy decorated set in front of an audience. Video clips or some type of crazy competition are shown and the panel members give funny responses, then cut to the reaction of the other hosts.

2. The amazing fact show.
Again, a panel of well know TV personalities view video footage of strange foreign customs, historical events or other amazing, but not well known sights. An announcer or the host will pose a question to the panel/viewer "How are they able to make such a thing?" or "Where did this idea come from?" etc.. The panel then explains their theories which range from clever, to comically stupid. Then, queue a video explaining the answer along with a little box showing people going "eeeeeh!?".

3. "Food porn"
The same formula as above, but instead with slow motion close ups of various food and the preparation. These shows always seem to come on during dinner time. While in the US, there is an entire network devoted to food, it is more focused on information about cooking, how to make it, or the drama between chefs in high stakes competitions. Not so much about the drool factor. I can understand the popularity of such shows here, as I have found that Japanese people really like eating, and often in quantities I can't compete with.

Sports in Japan: Tenkara

The majority of popular sports in Japan today were imported from the west. However, while searching for an interesting topic for this post, I found an unusual connection between Japanese and western sports. This would be fly fishing. Today, fly fishing is usually thought of as a largely American or British past time, that emerged as a popular activity in Scotland and Northern England in the 19th century. Since then, the hobby has spread to many other countries. In Japan however, the method of tenkara fishing ("from heaven") is very similar to it's western counter-part, yet dates back almost 430 years. During the Edo era, tenkara was a popular hobby of samurai, who were not allowed to publicly practice martial arts. The sword becomes the rod and the action and strategy of fooling the fish becomes more important than actually catching one. With only a small amount of materials needed and the solitude and connection with nature, I can see how the Zen aspect of tenkara would be appealing to the samurai.

It's no surprise that fishing is an important past time in Japan. Afterall, fish is essential for food here, but with tenkara, eating the fish is of little concern.

Jewelry with a Samurai Spirit

TenkaraUSA

Religion in Japan

While most Japanese do not practice religion regularly, 84% identify with more than one religion, mainly a combination of Buddhist and Shinto beliefs. Religion does not seem to be a main concern of many Japanese, but on certain occasions such as new years, matsuri or funerals, traditional rituals are performed by many who do not normally practice religion.

Like the US, Japan has freedom of religion, as well as separation of church and state contained in it's constitution. Consequently, as in the US as well, the reality is often more complicated. Soka Gakkai is a shinshuukyou, or "new religion" based off of Nichiren Buddhism. Founded in the 1930's, it is Japan's largest religious organization and since the 1960's has had questionable connections to the political process. The New Komeito party was created by Soka Gakkai in 1964, though now they are tecnically two sepperate organizations, many criticize New Komeito members for their connections to Soka Gakkai. Many Japanese people are suspicious of shinshuukyou religious, fearing cultist behavior and fundimentalism. Though Soka Gakkai is more or less a peaceful organization, other, more strange groups have given the public reason to fear some new religions. An obvious example is Aum Shinrikyo, the doomsday cult that carried out the 1995 sarin nerve gas attacks in Tokyo.Survey on religion
Statistics
Crazies

Gender in Japan

Recently, at Kansai Gaidai there was a showing of the Vagina Monologues. A few of my friends were in it and I decided to go; not so much because I wanted to see the play, but because I was curious about some things. At first I was surprised that they were able to perform the play at all. Even in America some people feel uneasy about it, but then again is was written in such a was as to cause controversy. The second thing I was curious about was what kind of reception it would get. Would many Japanese students come? What would they think about it?
While fairly common on college campuses in America, the Vagina Monologues have only been performed a handfull of times anywhere in Japan. The show was performed half in Japanese, half in English and I would say that given the language barriers,(many of the english portions were done by non-native speakers in addition to the Japanese parts) the performance was a good one. There was only one Japanese performer however and I think the significance would have been much greater had their been more participation by Japanese students. For those who do not understand the reason why such a production is so strange here, the answer is simple: Japanese people in general just don't talk about these kinda of issues. While in America, the typical reaction to something offensive or uncomfortable would be protest or "Think of the children!" outrage, in Japan the response would be censor it, ignore it or hide it. I discussed this same idea earlier in my post on the homeless. Even the Japanese translation of the name was deemed by the traslator, Keiko Itoh, too offensive, thus the Katakana title (ヴァギナモノローグ）. I asked several Japanese students what they thought about the show and found it difficult to get a response more than "it was interesting...". Japanese that attended the show were mostly all college students studying foreign culture, so it is not surprising to me that I did not find anyone who disliked it. Some say Japan is not ready for this kind of in-your-face discussion of sexuality and gender, but it certainly can benefit from the message.

The first showing in Japan
MORE..
For those who haven't seen it.

Politics: Homeless in Japan

Since the economic decline during the 1990's Japan is forced to deal with an increase in unemployed and homeless in it's major cities. Osaka has the largest number at around 7,000 by the official count, but the real number is closer to 10,000. Most people not familiar with Japan would be surprised by this fact. The government is taking steps to deal with this increasing problem, however it seems that it is treated more as an aesthetic problem rather than a social one. When I first arrived in Japan, I didn't seen any signs of homelessness. The fact that I live near a major metropolitan area, yet didn't see these things intrigued me. I knew that there had to be a good deal of unemployed people in the Osaka area just like any other large urban center. It turns out that local governments try their best to keep the homeless out of sight and out of mind. With the lack of government aid, an interesting thing has happened; Large groups of homeless people have joined together to form a sort of co-op style of living in the shanty towns of Tokyo and Osaka. They have their own elected officials and night time safety patrols. With the growing size and complexity of these shanty towns, public officials worry about the the image of the areas in which these people live. Often times the inhabitants of these shanty-towns are forced to relocate or consolidate in out of side areas. Public officials claim that park renovations and public beautification projects as grounds for eviction.
As global recession looms, Japan must come to terms with a social problem that will only get worse with time. Simply putting these people out of sight will accomplish nothing


Osaka Shanty Town
Al Jazeera english report


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