Changing Impressions - Part 2

In the name of wrapping up this blog, talking about culture, and most of all having fun, I have chosen not to do something terribly academic for my "changing impressions" topic this week. The good news? You get two posts. As I will be leaving Japan in less than three weeks, I thought I'd try to wrap up my stay and my blog at the same time. What better way to do it than a top 10 list? How about two?

This time I’m focusing on the positives. Again, remember that they're in no particular order and they're purely opinion-based, so feel free to disagree. I'll still try to be anthropological in my explanations for what some of these items are. Now, the list:

Ten Things I Will Miss About Japan
1. The Amazing Friends I’ve Made
2. Plum and Cherry Blossoms

3. The Transportation System

4. Gyoza, Okonomiyaki, Yakisoba, Otabe, and other Delicious Foods

5. 100 Yen Shops that Sell Stuff Worth Buying
6. How There’s Always Another Matsuri to Attend

7. Temples and Shrines

8. Engrish
9. How Riding a Bike Isn't Considered a Death Wish
10. How there's Vending Machines Everywhere and They Sell Everything

And now for the discussion:

The Transportation System
What struck me first about Japan was the fantastic transportation system and why in the world don’t we have something similar in the US? The trains are convenient, fast enough to get you to pretty much anywhere within the region in a reasonable amount of time. And, if the normal train isn’t fast enough for you, then take the shinkansen (bullet train). And, best of all, the normal train is much cheaper than the gas it would cost to go there by car.

100 Yen Shops that Sell Stuff Worth Buying
The equivalent of a 100 Yen shop in the US is the Dollar store, but they differ greatly in one key way. Both shops have a large variety of merchandise, but you never go to a US dollar store. Reason? It’s all useless junk that will break within the first five uses. Not so in the Japanese 100 yen shop. In fact, for most items, it is advisable to go to the 100 yen shop first to see if they have it. They have everything from dishes to school supplies to organizers and storage containers, to hair accessories that won’t break, and I’m pretty sure I saw the kitchen sink in one of them.

Changing Impressions - Part 1

In the name of wrapping up this blog, talking about culture, and most of all having fun, I have chosen not to do something terribly academic for my "changing impressions" topic this week. The good news? You get two posts. As I will be leaving Japan in less than three weeks, I thought I'd try to wrap up my stay and my blog at the same time. What better way to do it than a top 10 list? How about two?

This first post focuses on the negatives since that was the harder of the two lists to come up with and because I want to get all the whiny, complaint stuff out of the way first. They're in no particular order and they're purely opinion-based, so feel free to disagree. I'll be anthropological in my explanations for what some of these items are. First, the list:

Ten Things I Won't Miss About Japan
1. Practically Towering Over Everyone When in High Heels
2. Fish for Dinner with the Head Still Attached and Staring at You
3. Constantly Having to Explain Where Arkansas is, Even to Americans
4. Keigo
5. The Rarity of Mexican Food, Real Cheese, and Peanut Butter
6. The vending machines that sell tickets to be redeemed later
7. Japanese style toilets
8. ATMs that are closed at night and sometimes on Sunday
9. How there’s never a garbage can when you need one
10. Having NO Heat in the middle of winter.

And now for the discussion:

Mexican Food, Real Cheese, and Peanut Butter

As I have mentioned before, I am from Arkansas where the three main food groups are Mexican food, cheese, and peanut butter. Please don’t get me wrong—there’s a fantastic Mexican restaurant in Shinsaibashi and you can occasionally find real cheese and peanut butter at over twice their American price in some of the larger supermarkets. And it’s not that Japan doesn’t have fantastic food substitutes—it does! It’s just that I prefer to eat Mexican food at least twice a week, not once every two months; and at home I eat cheese and peanut butter nearly every day. I suppose you never realize how much you like something until it’s gone.

The reason, by the way, that these three items are so difficult to find in Japan is that all three must be imported. Japan, as a small, mountainous country, does not have the space needed to raise cattle or corn, so any products requiring large quantities of such foods must be imported, making them rare and expensive. The only one of the three that confused me was the peanut, because I thought those could be grown anywhere. A little research proves that they are, in fact, grown in China, which is problematic as my China post shows.

Vending Machines that Sell Tickets to be Redeemed Later

This is probably best explained through a story. To buy our textbooks at Kansai Gaidai, we must go to the main office building, put in our money, and receive a ticket from a vending machine. The ticket is then redeemed at the CIE building for the book. If, say, during that two minute or less walk from one building to the other, the ticket becomes lost in your wallet… Well, you just have to go back and buy another ticket.

It’s actually a fairly intelligent idea of the part of whoever thought to have vending machines that sell tickets—because it eliminates the need for a register and money earned is stored in a much safer place. Many institutions, such as the Kobe Port in the photo above, use these kinds of machines for ride tickets, food tickets, book tickets, etc... I can understand the reasoning behind it, no problem.

Japanese Style Toilets
I heard about these before I came to Japan, but I wasn’t expecting them to be as prevalent as they actually are. Go to any train station, temple, shrine, or nearly any other public place, and you’re sure to find these. Sometimes that’s all there is. It’s essentially an elaborate hole in the ground.

ATMs that are closed at night and sometimes on Sundays
Most bank ATMs in Japan are actually inside the bank, so when the bank closes, so too do the bank machines. The ones that are within train stations or within their own little booths on the side of the street close shortly after darkness sets in. And the ones in your local convenience store? Well, as far I have seen, they just kinda turn themselves off. Maybe in some convenience store I haven’t been in, they stay open, but in all the conbini near my house, the machine just is not working after it gets too late at night.

Why is this? Well, in the case of the bank machines inside the bank, it makes sense that when the bank closes so do they. In the case of all other bank machines, I guess it is to discourage theft. But, is this honestly a problem in Japan, which prides itself for having one of the lowest crime rates in the world?

How There’s Never a Garbage Can When You Need One
Though Japan has an over-abundance of vending machines, it does not have near as many trashcans. They seem to have very specific habitats, such as restrooms (though not always), classrooms, and train stations. But on the street, you won’t see any trash cans. Even on trash day, you won’t see trash cans. Instead, what you’ll see are piles of plastic bags on the side of the street for the garbage men to pick up and throw in their trucks. And what kind of trash is in the bags depends on the day of the week (for instance, yesterday was newspaper and beer can day, in separate bags of course). Which, while I think that it is awesome that most Japanese seem to separate their trash and recycle certain things, sometimes you just need a trashcan and there isn’t one.

Having No Heat in the Middle of Winter
A few things about Japanese houses: first, they are not as insulated as US houses and second, they do not come with central heat and air conditioning. This is fine for most of the year, except in the hottest months of summer and the coldest months of winter. Summer was not so bad; so long as I had my fan, I was alright. But then again, I come from Arkansas, where temperatures are much hotter, and I don’t have air conditioning there either, so I’m quite used to dealing with the heat. It’s the winter that is unpleasant. There is no central heat, so instead we use electric heaters and electric mats. Or, well, my host family did. I was not quite so blessed. They only gave me the electric heater and mat in February, just in time for the snow. Previous to that moment, all I had to keep me warm were hot baths and three blankets.

Surprisingly though, the little heater kept my room rather warm and the electric mat made easier to sleep at night. This, according to the host family and to other friends with host families, is the way that most Japanese spend their winters and, in all honesty, it’s not bad at all. Would have been nice to have the first semester, though.

China - A Political Issue in Japan? What?

Please excuse my sarcasm; anyone who has studied Japan for any length of time probably already knows that Japan and China don't exactly get along. I'd like to talk, therefore, about some recent issues out of China that I have experienced in Japan, and my host family's reaction to them. So, I have a few stories for you...

1)China Airlines
So, when I arrived in Japan back in August last semester and arrived at my home stay, here's what greeted me immediately. My host mother freaked and asked me randomly (or so I thought) if I had flown in on China Airlines. I had not. She was immediately relieved and told me that the news had just recently said that there was an explosion in China from a malfunction in the aircraft. But that's not all. She then said that after she heard this, she wasn't even going to buy food from China (I wonder how she managed that). Because, clearly, food and airplanes are intimately connected.

2)China's Toy Industry
Or, take for instance when we started hearing how lead was found in products sold in the US (and other places) that were made in China. It was the top headline for oh, three or four weeks, and the whole time I had the pleasure of enduring "and why isn't the US outraged about this?" Oh, and once again, our family would be boycotting anything Chinese for the time being.

3)Food Poisoning from China?
So, in January, there was an account near Hirakata of a person who had gotten food poisoning from eating gyoza. This was most disappointing news for me, because it meant yet another boycott of all things Chinese and gyoza is, quite possibly, my favorite food in Japan (we cannot get it where I’m from in Arkansas). To make matters worse, when I went and had made-in-Japan gyoza after a month of being deprived, you would have thought I’d tried to commit suicide by the way the host mother fussed. Just this past week, we finally started to have gyoza in the home stay again. Japan-made only. And oh it was so good.

4)Beijing Olympics
This brings me to the latest topic in Japan-China relations: the Beijing Olympics. Anyone who has been watching the news at all knows that Beijing is certainly under international attention. So it isn’t surprising that this has come up in Japan. What surprises me, however, is that the issue is much less charged within Japan than it is outside of Japan. I guess there are economic reasons for this. The host mother hasn’t yet spoke of boycotting Chinese products again. In fact, Japan’s stance on the issue has so far been much more traditional, meaning that at least in the case of the torch relay, the actual route (citing the probability of riots) is the only thing that will change. Prime Minister Fukuda himself has also said that Japan will not boycott the opening ceremonies either. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t protests in Japan either.

The point is that just in the time that just I have been here, Japan and China haven't exactly been on the best of terms, and that doesn't look likely to change. Please don't take this to mean that I am saying that China=bad and Japan=good; Japan has done its fair share of evils to China. But both sides seem to sensationalize the issue and take it too far (boycotting food months after the poisoning incident was over?). Such, unfortunately, is the nature of Japan-China politics.

Is that who I think it is?

I've been keeping this topic for a while now, just waiting for the "Open Post" week to get here. Today's post is about a certain someone I've seen lurking in Shinsaibashi...

Do you recognize this person? Found in Shinsaibashi-suji, directly across the street from the Subway and directly above the Mos Burger. Yes, it is indeed who you think it is. Complete with ridiculous mustache and everything. The only thing missing is the Nazi flag (that's inside the store). The question is, what in the world is Hitler doing in Japan?

Well, in this instance, he's advertising for a military clothing store. Him and good ol' glory. Two things that, according to the culture in which I grew up, should never ever be seen together. So is this a political statement? No, I don't think so. First, they are more easily associated with what is inside the store than with each other. If they are meant to be associated with each other in any other way than that, both countries represent the most powerful militaries Japan has seen on its shores in recent history. Japan’s own military pre-1945 was based off of the Prussian Army (found via my Japanese Fashion book that chronicles Japanese fashion from Meiji era to present). The post-1945 Japanese self-defense force, on the other hand, is heavily influenced by the American model. Also, Japan’s greatest ally pre-1945 was Germany, whereas Japan’s largest political partner post-1945 is the US. But I don’t think that’s why this shop has Hitler and the US flag just hanging out in its display.

This store is two stories of military uniforms. Those of the US style are fairly modern and are accompanied of images of soldiers in a desert, holding some serious weaponry (photos from Iraq? Naaaaah, course not). Most of the US style uniforms are Army camouflage, with the exception of one small group of coats. The only other style of military uniform I found within the shop was German, designed to look like something straight out of the 1940s as well as more recent variations. They aren’t really separated by floor so the US camos and German military uniforms from all eras just kinda hang there together, separated only by hand-made signs that say where the clothing originates from. Other merchandise in this store includes combat boots, army tents, nets, and just about everything else you might consider military memorabilia. The only thing missing from this shop was a gun department, but this is Japan so we can’t have that… On the second floor, you aren’t allowed to take photos, so I don’t have a photo of the Nazi flag hanging over the entrance to the staff room. The sign was in English, so I couldn’t exactly use the “I’m sorry, I couldn’t read it” excuse.

< P>
US Army coats for cold climates. In the corner where you can’t see are the German variation, according to the signs.

I’m just reporting what I saw. Again, though I don’t think there is much of a political statement to this store—the point of the store is fashion, not politics—I’m still not sure I’m exactly comfortable with the two very different ideologies presented here. You certainly would never see this sort of thing in the US, but then again, Japan doesn’t have a history of several years in which it was at war with Hitler and his atrocities. If I wore a 1940s replica Nazi uniform in the US, that would be suicide, but in Japan the point is that it is fashion. It’s not a political statement; it’s not an affiliation thing (except that you’re affiliating yourself with other people who dress this way for fashion reasons). It’s fashion, which means it’s part of that group of materials that both does and doesn’t make a statement at the same time.

And it’s an expensive fashion to follow. This was one of the cheapest prices I found in the entire store.

It feels really weird to me to see US army jackets in Japan (real or not) for sale.

Volleyball in Japan

One of the very few sports that I can play with any frequency of accuracy at all is volleyball (I'm a bit of a klutz). But, after high school, except for those few who are either on the volleyball team or know someone who is, volleyball is not really a sport talked much about in the US. It has it's small nitch, it's relatively small group of dedicated fans, but it certainly doesn't get broadcast on the national news, not when there are more "appropriate" things to watch, like American football, basketball, or baseball. Furthermore, though there ARE men's volleyball teams, they get even less press coverage. Why? Because something about the American psyche stereotypes volleyball as a sport that is somehow less manly than, oh, say, football? We generally tend to think that if there isn't a possibility that you could break a bone, or if it doesn't involve a slam-dunk or a homerun, or if it doesn't involve cars, then it's just not a man's sport.

That's why it surprised me so much to find out that Japan has a National Men’s Volleyball team that gets national attention. Last semester, during volleyball and soccer (excuse me, football) season, all that was on at my host family’s house was the latest game. And volleyball had priority over soccer. What was even more amazing was that men’s volleyball took priority over the news, which until volleyball season had previously enjoyed number one priority in the Yuasa family’s list of acceptable programs. The usual cartoons (even Yoshi’s adored pokemon and Aki’s adored maruko-chan) were pre-empted, there was a significant decrease in the family’s knowledge of current events, and all the family’s activities would be rescheduled according to the schedule of the Japan National Men’s Volleyball team. Aki would skip juku on game night, Yoshi and her friends would reschedule their band practice, Hiroko-san (the mother) would come home unusually early from teaching at her English school. In fact, the only person who seemed unaffected by volleyball in the Yuasa household was Katsu-san, who would come home later than usual and bring a newspaper to read, having come to terms a long time ago with the fact that his usual news hour would not be allowable on game night. Even yours truly was caught up in the volleyball madness, though I had my own ulterior motives—both the games and the conversation in the commercial breaks were fantastic Japanese practice!

There is nothing that defines volleyball as strictly feminine in Japan. The men’s team had just as much (if not more) coverage as the women’s team. Neither was preferred over the other. And if there wasn’t a game, you could almost be guaranteed to see the team members on all of the regular game shows. And heaven forbid that the international home-stay student forget the names of the team members! The normally very quiet Yuasa household would erupt in loud cheers of joy whenever Japan won its match. It was like football season at the University of Arkansas; complete with cheerleaders, fanatics in the stands, everything, and all over volleyball.

Consequently, the current shrine at the Yuasa house is not to any kami and it is not a butsudan. It is a small placard, signed by Panasonic and Aki’s favorite member of the volleyball team.

Kanashibari

I know that kanashibari is a medical condition, not a religion. But how I came to find out about kanashibari is through the church that I attend in Kyotanabe, hence, I'd like to do my post on religion about the information as it was told to me at my church.

Two pieces of background information. First, I occasionally attend a bilingual church in Kyotanabe, along with a few other Kansai Gaidai students, both International and Japanese. I have been attending off and on since November and we have two hours after the message to talk to each other about anything and everything. During the course of conversation, we drifted to kanashibari, and to former and current members of the church who had experienced kanashibari.

Secondly, kanashibari is the Japanese word for a medical condition called "Sleep Paralysis." Kanashibari can also mean “night-terrors” but the discussion I had with members of my church on kanashibari sounds much closer to sleep paralysis. What happens in sleep paralysis is quite simple: you wake up and though your mind is conscious, you simply cannot move your body. This is not lucid dreaming (where you are aware that you are in fact dreaming DURING a dream) because sleep paralysis does not happen while the mind is asleep.

Now how does this tie into religion? As you probably already know, the percentage of Japanese who claim to be Christians is in the one-digits. The predominant religions in Japan are Shinto and Buddhism, followed by other “new religions,” while Christianity enjoys even fewer proclaimed practitioners. The church I attend is small and the building is never completely full (though we came rather close to filling the sanctuary on Easter Sunday, but that’s to be expected). And yet, repeatedly, someone who experiences kanashibari will come to the Kyoto International Chapel, talk with a pastor, convert to Christianity, and never have the problem again.

It’s such a frequent phenomenon in converts at Kyoto International Chapel that they have even created a manga about it, containing two testimonies of people who suffered from kanashibari and were cured upon conversion. The manga is short, sweet, and simple and is published in both Japanese and English. I have since given my Japanese copy away but the pastor is currently searching for the English copies so that I can post photos here.

The story, as explained to me in English (since my Japanese is not the most fantastic in the world), goes something like this. The individual (both testimonies in the pamphlet-manga are female) will begin experiencing kanashibari and the reoccurring feeling is that they are being held down, like something invisible is crushing them and keeping them from moving or even blinking their eyes. They try to solve it in the traditional Japanese way (go to a shrine or a temple), but that does not work. Eventually, in a completely unrelated event, a friend will invite the afflicted individual to Kyoto International Church. They will come and eventually they will talk to the pastor and convert to Christianity. They will also tell the pastor about their experiences of kanashibari and, after praying about it with the pastor and converting, the experiences will never happen again.

Just thought it would be interesting to share. I was surprised by how many members of the church experienced this. I’ve never heard of anything like this before. (photos as soon as I have them)

Flower Viewing

You know, I usually try not to do what everyone expects me to do with these topics we’re given, but for this one I just couldn’t help myself. Like many people in the Visual Anthropology class, I decided to write my entry on Arts and Entertainment on hanami (literally “flower viewing”). The most basic way to explain hanami is it involves going out and looking at flowers (most importantly cherry-blossoms) and (depending on who you go with) drinking sake. Well, except for the drinking sake part, I thought we pretty much had that in the US. It’s spring, I see a flower, I take its photo, I stare at it and smile and if I like it enough, I might even pluck the flower out of the ground and put it in a vase at home to enjoy for up to two weeks if I play my cards right (Example: actually watering the thing). Throw in some alcohol and you have hanami, right?

Not exactly. For starters, it’s illegal in Japan to take any still-growing cherry blossoms (according to nearly everyone I spoke to). It’s still frowned upon to take what’s already fallen to the ground, and besides, who wants a flower that’s been walked all over anyway. Except me, of course.



Secondly, it’s perfectly acceptable (if not outright encouraged) to take an entire weekend simply to go hanami. You can do it with anyone, though most people in Japan do it with their family and friends. And that’s all they do all day long--they sit under the cherry blossoms, have a picnic lunch, drink some sake, and just sit and chat. All day. Maybe get up to go take some photos of particularly impressive cherry blossom trees in the immediate area.



What if you forget to pack a picnic lunch/dinner? No problem! Just stop by one of the many little booths all around wherever it is you’re going hanami (assuming you’re going to a fairly well-known place) and buy some Japanese snack food. You can get takoyaki, squid and octopus on-a-stick, eggplant fries, and candied fruits of all sorts (my personal favorite is the candied strawberries). Sounds like a fantastically nutritious meal to me.



The interesting thing about hanami though is that hanami is also an acceptable corporate outing. How do we know? Because they come in their business suits, reserve a length of blue tarp (I wonder if they stole it from a homeless person--Osaka Castle park was remarkably homeless-blue-tarp-tent-free the day I went…) and sit, still in business apparel, and enjoy hanami while grilling fish and eating other snacks under the cherry blossoms. I wonder why we don’t have this in the US. You know, take the company out to the park, give everyone the day off, sit under the magnolia trees or on a hill full of daffodils (hey, that’s what we’ve got in Arkansas), drink some beer… It would definitely boost employee moral.

On my weekend of hanami, I saw many corporate groups like the one above, most in Osaka park, but a few in Kyoto. I also saw several clubs (noticeable by their matching jackets) and a choir (noticeable because they were singing) at yasaka shrine in Kyoto, and in Ise…



There was a harley-Davidson biker group, all the way from Kyoto! Oh how it makes me smile. They were there to enjoy cherry blossoms at the inner shrine, just like us, and they were doing it in their leathers and Kyoto and Harley biker patches. All in all, my favorite find of the day. And I was beginning to worry that Japan didn’t have biker groups.

So, as you can see, hanami is a highly sophisticated form of entertainment in Japan that stretches across all sorts of networks within Japanese culture.

Toji Temple Market and Kimono

During Spring Break, I also went to the Toji Temple Market. It’s a famous flea market that has been going on for a very long time and it is huge. I arrived at 7:30am (yes, on a Friday; I hate crowds) and it took me until 10:00am to walk the entire thing. All sorts of goods are sold there from food (try the dried strawberries, they’re fantastic) to arts and crafts sold by artisans to antiques to cheap kimono and yukata to “junk” (Friday’s theme seemed to be broken cameras and dust-catching figurines).

Toji Temple at 7:30 in the morning, as seen from the outside. The area was relatively peaceful when I arrived, but I have no other pictures to show for my outing because shortly after entry I’d already bought a wooden box and a birthday present for a friend. Not that it would have mattered because the place was soon so packed with people that you could hardly stand still for two seconds without someone bumping into you…

This is my prized buy of the day and why I recommend that you go to Toji temple. For the set (kimono, haori, obi, and obi-jime), I paid 4,000 yen. But that brings me to my “traditional culture” topic, so we’ll end my experience here and start talking about something a little more anthropological...

Kimono are (of course) the traditional Japanese clothing. Kimono are best seen in Kyoto or in large train stations along the Keihan line. They come in many different forms, patterns, and colors, but no matter what kind of kimono you are wearing, you should never, ever wear your kimono right side over left. Always wear it left over right. Reason? The only time that a kimono is put on with the right side over the left is when dressing a corpse. Thus, to dress that way conveys death.

All of these are types of kimono, though I'm aware you can't see them very well, but this is the only photo I have that does not show the individual's faces clearly. The photo was taken at the international festival last semester. From left to right, the first three are yukata, which is the more casual form of kimono which is usually made of a light-weight material to be worn on casual outings. You generally see these in the summer. The next two are kimono that are usually worn by young men and women, in particular those who are not yet married. For the girl’s kimono, you can tell that it is this type because the sleeves are almost as long as the kimono itself and it is also brightly colored. The last two are a style of formal kimono generally worn to parties and (in the girl‘s case) by older or married women. My kimono is of this third style.

Though the fanciest of kimono are usually made with silk, there is no specific fabric that all kimono are made of. Like I said earlier, yukata are generally made of light, sturdy, breathable fabric (i.e. cotton). I’m not sure what fabric my particular kimono is made of, but at such a cheap price, I’m positive it wasn’t silk. Kimono fabric are generally decorated in patterns that vary from incredibly simple, such as a geometric pattern with little variation in color, to incredibly intricate, such as a pattern that depicts an elaborate scene. Naturally, the more elaborate and colorful the pattern, the more expensive the kimono will usually be.

In modern fashion, the kimono has made a reappearance. In Japan, this new kimono fashion usually looks just like the traditional version (example: kimono seen in Kyoto) and the only modern thing about it is the date in which the kimono was made. But in fashion centers in the west, the kimono is taking new forms. Any shirt that has two panels on the front that cross is now considered “asian inspired,” though the panels may be crossed the wrong way, the neckline is usually lower than the traditional kimono, and the shirt bears little other resemblance to what inspired it. Though these are not “kimono,” they are worth note because they are indeed inspired on the traditional Japanese garment and are bought by westerners as something different, exotic, and perhaps even “oriental.” They re-enforce the West’s stereotypes of the East, and though the stereotypes might seem as harmless as how people dress, they are still shaping how we think…

Ocean, You Meet Engrish

Now that we’re back from Spring Break, it’s time to address a less than pleasant topic--midterms… So, I’ve included an extra post in which I can reminisce my spring break, discuss an aspect of Japanese culture, and avoid studying for those Japanese exams all in one go (yes, I know I’m horrible). It’s too late to count this as my “spring break post” but I thought I’d throw it in anyway to have a temporary (and fun!) distraction.

Found on the front page of the English version of the Kaiyukan aquarium information pamphlet. I ended up staying in the Kansai region over the break, so one of the things I did was go to the aquarium. The entire pamphlet features absolutely fantastic engrish, including “Please enjoy playful sea otters being popular among children,” and “Since large amount of plankton arise, schools of fish swim in this area to look for their foods.”

I want a tasty life. This store has branches all around the Kansai region and they sell all sorts of trendy stuff, from clothing to plants to dishes, to objects that would be in the “home” department of most US department stores. They have a pretty good advertising campaign going, I mean, who wouldn't want a tasty life?

A typical engrish shirt. Engrish is fashionable in Japan, much like kanji is fashionable in the US. I’d like to note that I’m not here to make fun of Japan for their bad English; after all, English is a very hard language to learn and I really have no right to talk since my own English grammar can be just as bad and my Japanese could use some work. The point is that in Japan, English is fashionable to the point where it’s not so much the meaning of the words that matters but the fact that English is on the item in question at all. And in all honesty, our kanji-fied clothing is usually just a whole bunch of pretty kanji slapped together with no consideration to the kanji's real meaning anyway, and what the Japanese are doing with English is no different. The only difference is that in Japan, english as fashion has expanded outside of clothing and onto other objects as well, such as information pamphlets, home decor, and store mottos.

Hello Kitty!

When I was very little, I used to love going to the mall to visit the Sanrio store. They had all sorts of wonderful things to catch the interest of a very little girl. They had cute and colorful pencils that captured the mind of a kid who was just learning to read and write, school supply sets that matched and were decorated with a cute little kitty-cat with a red bow, and stickers. I remember the stickers the most because they were only 15 cents for twenty of them and they were shiny and they were decorative and they were of ponies, and oh goodness how much I loved them. And all the time, I had no idea that I was visiting a store that had it’s origins in Japan. Quite honestly, at that time I had no idea that there even was a country called Japan.

I guess Sanrio wasn’t getting enough business in Eastern Tennessee (everything but the stickers seemed overly expensive, but that might just be the impression of a little girl just learning how to count money) and they eventually shut down all their shops. As far as I know, Sanrio stores don’t exist in America anymore (at least not in the cities I’ve been to). Now, Hello Kitty is best found in a cutesy store that sells Breyer horse figurines, collectable dolls, beanie babies, angel figurines and those collectable miniature buildings that most people just display around Christmas, or in garage sales and flea markets, if you don’t mind your Hello Kitty second-hand. But in Japan…

Hello Kitty occupies a much wider market in Japan. Go to any city in Japan and there will be a Hello Kitty keitai strap to commemorate your visit to that city. Some are easier to understand, such as the Osaka Hello Kitty, while others require a little more thought, for instance, Hiroshima Hello Kitty is riding on a dove. But this isn’t just any dove, this dove has a green plant sticking out of its mouth. So, to me, the Hiroshima Hello Kitty seems more like a Noah’s Ark Hello Kitty than anything else, but when you visit Hiroshima Peace Park, the dove suddenly makes sense. Hello Kitty keitai straps aren’t limited to cities though; there are plenty of other varieties…

I bought this the day I arrived in Japan and I had no idea what it was except that it had Hello Kitty on it. But, I liked how it looked. I’m sure someone will give me the correct Japanese name for this thing, but this is basically the instrument used at temples and shrines in Japan to give you your fortune. Whenever I shake it, it always gives me the “best” fortune so I thought it was rigged until someone else tried it and got a different fortune. Maybe it just likes me.

Your local Sanrio Store, found in Shinsaibashi. This picture is a bit old (it's decked out for Halloween) but it illustrates my point. I have never seen a sanrio store on this sort of scale before. The Shinsaibashi branch has three stories of Hello Kitty stamped on everything imaginable. I’m pretty sure I saw the kitchen sink in there too.

I bring Hello Kitty up in relation to Japanese culture for a two reasons. First, Hello Kitty is obviously from Japan and has been exported all over the world (globalization!). But secondly (and perhaps more importantly), after exportation, Hello Kitty takes on a slightly different meaning (at least in America). For instance, after Sanrio decreased their number of stores in America in the early 1990s, there was a period of time in which Hello Kitty or any Sanrio products could be found. When Hello Kitty resurfaced, most Americans remembered her from their childhood and thus think of Hello Kitty as a child’s product. Though adults in America still buy some Hello Kitty products, this is mainly done out of nostalgia for our childhood and having too many Hello Kitty products is generally seen as being really childish and almost immature. Several other items from our childhood suffer the same fate (I’ll cite My Little Pony, Littlest Pet Shop, Polly Pockets, and several other toys as my examples); most have been revived because the generation that played with them as kids are beginning to have children of their own and want to pass on the joys of their own childhood to their children.

In Japan, there wasn’t a temporary disappearance of Hello Kitty, so Hello Kitty doesn’t strictly occupy the childhood niche she holds in America. It is perfectly acceptable in Japan to be collecting the Hello Kitty City Keitai straps even as an adult, to have a Hello Kitty eyeglass case (such as the eldest of my two host sisters), to proudly carry a Hello Kitty handbag (as I saw someone doing this morning) or to own other Hello Kitty products.

When in Doubt, Just ask... in Japanese

(edit: completed April 15th)

So, I’m a little behind on this post because I had so much trouble trying to make a huge statement about Japanese people in general. I just couldn’t think of any true statement for all forms of Japanese people. Hence, for this post I’m not trying to make some all-encompassing statement about all Japanese people (I feel that’s impossible). Instead I’d like to just talk about how really helpful most Japanese people have been to me during my travels.

Now I’m sure that most of us have the same basic horror story. You’re lost, trying to find your way to Kyoto station from Gojo station on the Keihan line, and you stop to ask for directions in Japanese. The nearest person is an old lady but when you speak to her, her automatic response is “I don’to supeeku engrish!” You tell her a few times (in Japanese) that Japanese is okay. She repeats her remark in English and finally runs away so you feel bad because you scared some poor obaasan because you spoke to her. It’s not pleasant and it’s certainly not helpful. Though it would be interesting to find out why she reacted like that. Unfortunately, we can’t ask her because “she doesn’t speak English.”

Fortunately, most of the people I run into while exploring Japan are not at all like this woman. Most of my interactions with Japanese people outside of Kansai Gaidai have been positive.

For instance, whenever I go somewhere with a friend and start taking photos, inevitably a complete stranger will come up and ask if we would like them to take a photo for us. This never happens in the US. That’s not to say that people in the US are mean and wouldn’t take a photo for you, it’s just that I have never had a person come up to me in the US and offer to take a photo for me. Instead, you usually have to ask someone yourself. But in Japan, almost anywhere I go and start taking photos, someone will ask me if I’d like their help. And the photos usually turn out pretty good too.

On top of that, if you know how to ask in Japanese, a Japanese person will usually be more than willing to take a photo with you. Maybe that’s because I sometimes go to some touristy places (What? Kyoto and Osaka Castle? Touristy? Of course not!) where people are used to being asked if they’ll take a photo with you. I’d rather think it’s because in general, most Japanese are just really friendly people.

I hate to say it, but not sure why these girls are dressed this way. Heather and I were too busy being excited about the fact that the one girl is wearing a top hat with her kimono that it was only ten minutes after leaving that I thought we should have asked why they were dressed as such. But they were most gracious to give us a photo anyway. Told us (like most Japanese people will if you speak in Japanese, even if you just say thank you) that our Japanese was good. We of course denied it.

And then there are these experiences that make me truly love Japanese people. This man and his wife met us (Heather and I) during our Saturday trip to Kyoto, where they asked us to take a photo of them together with Kyoto in the background. By the way, we were seated on the observatory deck at Shorennin Shogun-zuka, which is a temple located at the top of a mountain in Kyoto, near Kiyomizudera. After Heather took a photo for them, they came over and talked to us (complete strangers) for at least an hour telling us all sorts of interesting sights in Kyoto by pointing them out below and telling us the best way to get there, explaining some of the history of the temple, when the light-up would be at each place, including Shorennin, and at the very end even offered us a ride back down the mountain (we respectfully declined). I thought it was very kind of them to talk to the foreign strangers sitting in a little-known temple taking photos. Though the husband spoke some English, most of the conversation was in simple Japanese. They were very kind and helpful, and told us all sorts of interesting things without us even really asking.

I guess the point is that though we are often afraid to ask Japanese people for anything because we might be too shy or don’t have enough Japanese vocabulary, Japanese people (at least those I have met) are generally more than willing to help us. It surprised me a lot when I first came here because they seem even more willing to help than most people I’ve met in the US. Of course, you might still meet the little old lady that tells you that she doesn’t speak English even when you tell her in Japanese that you can understand Japanese and Japanese is okay for her to use, but more often than not, you’ll meet people like the couple we met in Shorennin. When in doubt, just ask. In Japanese.

Gimmie a Break! Break Me Off a Piece of That KitKat Bar!

Ever since I was very little, KitKat bars have always been my absolute favorite candy, but I never knew until I came to Japan that KitKats could come in so many different flavors. Therefore I, like a good little anthropologist, am collecting the boxes of all the different kinds of KitKats I can find. I'm calling it "material culture" but I'm considering it material culture from Japan and not the United States. There are a few reasons for this. First, despite its American origins, I have only seen two varieties of Kitkat in the United States (milk chocolate and white chocolate), whereas Japan has perfected the Kitkat artform. Second, Americans generally understand Kitkats to function only as a particular type of candy whose value of meaning depends on the individual's personal taste, but in Japan Kitkats can take on another meaning. "Kitkat" sounds like "kitto katsu" which is a phrase used between students wishing each other good luck on their entrance exams and because of this pun Kitkats have adopted the additional recognition of a good luck charm in Japan. Thus with my new mission to collect all the different flavors Japan has to offer, I'm sure to be very lucky. We'll have to wait until the next Japanese lesson exam to test this theory...

For starters, even normal kitkats come wrapped differently in Japan. Two pieces of KitKats are wrapped in traditional plastic wrapper, and two of those wrapped KitKats are placed side by side in a cardboard box, which is then sold in prices ranging from 105 yen to 200 yen (I usually see them for 150 yen). The quality of chocolate (in my humblest of opinions) is much better than their American counterparts, even if they look significantly overwrapped to my American eye. Now let us move on to my rather humble collection of KitKat boxes. I will be adding photos as I find more varieties.

Called "Vanella Beans," this is the Japanese answer to the American "White Chocolate KitKat." There is no difference in taste except possibly for the quality of chocolate used.

The "Strawberry" variety manages to blend my all-time favorite candy with my all-time favorite fruit so naturally, I am a bit biased toward this type of KitKat...

"Cookies and Milk" is another of my favorites because it is an Oreo flavored KitKat bar. Thus, KitKats have now joined the ranks of McFlurries, Sonic Blasts, and Hershey Bars in the Oreo flavor category.

The "Apple" variety is somehow more special compared to the previously mentioned forms of KitKats because it costs more, gives you only two pieces that are only slightly wider and no taller than the original (thus stealthily giving you less chocolate), and says "for a moment of precious indulgence."

The extra-special "Sakura" KitKat. This one apparently only comes out during exam times and is the preferred choice to give to your student who will be taking entrance exams this year (as explained to me by my host mother who found my obvious preference of KitKat to all other forms of chocolate amusing). It tastes pink.

Other forms of KitKats that I am aware exist but have not bought are Orange KitKats and Green Tea KitKats. I have not yet found Orane KitKats anywhere but I have heard about them. The Green Tea variety exists at my local conbini and puts KitKats with the ranks of Green Tea Mochi, Pocky, and ice cream, but I have not bought it yet because I unfortunately am not a fan of green tea. However, for the sake of research...

As I find more varieties, I will be adding them to this post. Consequently, if any fellow Visual Anthro bloggers happen to find an unmentioned type of KitKat and feels so generous to buy me one, I will be most grateful.

EDIT: More KitKat photos...

Green Tea Kitkats. I personally do not like green tea, so fortunately my friend Krissy (who loves green tea) was quite willing to eat them for me so that I could have the box.

White Kitkats are made out of white chocolate. Tastes exactly the same as the vanella bean kitkat.

Neighborhood Hirakata

(Rewritten: May 10, 2008)

I rewrote this post because I’m determined to somehow get photos in here. So, I’ll instead talk about some of the actual people in Makino.

There are two major groups of people in Makino that I am familiar with. Since my host family has two houses, I know of two distinct neighborhoods. The first is the one we actually live in, and I’ll reuse some snow photos to talk about them.

This is taken from the front door of my host family’s house. The two houses directly in front of us that you can’t really see are gone now—all that’s left are their foundations. The one directly next to the non-existent houses across the street has two sons who, when they catch me coming home, take great joy in shouting “herro” to me and get downright disappointed when I don’t say “hello” back. Instead of snow, the balcony now has those carp flags hanging from it in honor of children’s day. They still haven’t taken them down. The next house down has a salary-man who owns a little scooter and enjoys being noisy when he returns home late at night. And the house directly next door to us is owned by an older couple who (gasp) have just recently started saying “Ohayou Gozaimasu” to me when they see me. I do my best not to bother them with my music since their living room is maybe three feet away from my bedroom and I can occasionally hear their TV going.

The other half of Makino that I am familiar with is near the host family’s second house. This second house is where most of their homestay students have stayed, and it is also the location of my host mother’s English school, which I occasionally visit for all the major holidays, where I am asked to discuss how Americans spend the holiday. Because, apparently, I represent Americans as a whole. Right. But it’s also a good experience for me because I learn about Japanese holidays and the typical way they are celebrated. The children who attend this school all live fairly close by and since most of the international students my family has hosted lived in this house, the community there is much more used to seeing blond hair. They don’t stare and they aren’t too scared to talk to me, which I think is awful nice. One of the boys lives on the other side of the block so he can walk without any problems, but he brings his bike every time just to show off. Naturally, I tell him it’s the coolest bike on the face of the planet. The other two live a little further down the street and actually do need to bring a bike, and there’s a little girl who occasionally comes but her mother brings her. And you’d think it was a horrible crime that I know nothing about what to do on Children’s day!

Introduction and First Impressions (sort of) of Japan

Perhaps if someone had asked me last August what were my first impressions of Japan, I might have had an easier time coming up with an answer. But it has now been quite some time since first stepped off the plain at Kansai International Airport (one semester to be exact) and I've slept since then, so when I was told that I was to create a blog for my Visual Anthropology class and that I was to talk about my first impressions, it took me a long time to think back on what I first thought.

I live on this street (and this is also supposidly the most snow that Makino has seen in 11 years) and I remember being very surprised by the nature of the streets in Japan. For starters, streets in Japan are smaller mainly because Japanese cars in general are smaller and don't need the space. There are also a significantly higher proportion of streets in Japan that are one-way (at least compared to my home country) and the street I live on is one of them. There are also several alleyways that are just barely large enough for a small Japanese car but see a great deal of traffic (I ride home on one of them). And most importantly, most streets in Japan either do not have any sidewalk at all or have a sidewalk that is so old and ridden with potholes that it makes it exceedingly difficult for a person in a wheelchair to manuver. As you can see from the picture, my street doesn't even have any noticeable bicycle lane and stairs leading into each of the houses open right into the street. Absolutely no handicap accessiblity. I think about these kinds of things because my older sister has been in a wheelchair for as long as I can remember and things like handicap accessibility have been drilled into my head since day one. I remember thinking "how does the disabled community (of which I'm sure Japan has one) manage in these conditions?" And you know, I haven't found an answer yet because I certainly haven't seen anyone in a wheelchair around Makino. But I'm sure they are there; they must be.

This is Kiyomizu-dera where I had my very first experience with a temple in Japan. I went on the Kyoto Tour during Orientation Week at Kansai Gaidai University and liked it enough that I went back a second time in November. This picture is from the second visit, but I remember what I thought of the first visit very well. I remember wondering if temples tend to be up the mountain or if that was just Kiyomizu. Further investigation during the previous semester has proven this theory to be fairly true not only for temples but also for shrines. Kiyomizu-dera inspired two initial thoughts about Japan. The first was the reinforcement of the lack of handicap accessibility, and the second was that Japan seems to have an awfully large amount of their land devoted to religion in a place where I was told most people don't really follow a religion and was in significant need of space due to overcrowding. I found out later that one of the reasons for the handicap accessibility in what you would think were the most public of places was because Japan has had a long tradition of (mainly shinto) beliefs that said that illness, ailment, and other handicaps were an impurity and thus had to be kept away from ritually pure places (i.e. all shrines and temples and some other public places as well). This would come from the class on Shinto that Dr. Elizabeth Kenney teaches. I also found out through other classes at Kansai Gaidai that in general the Japanese are proud of their history and seek to preserve it. This explains the unusual amount of space still devoted to temples, particularly in Kyoto and Nara, and the huge amount of land devoted to the Hiroshima Peace Park. Perhaps one of the most interesting things about Japan is exactly what history actually gets preserved, but that's another post for another time...

I shall now end with probably my most memorable impression of Japan. I am staying with the same host family as last semester and though I love them dearly, sometimes they worry me in the same way I’m sure I worry them. This photo is of one of those times. Not but maybe two weeks before this photo was taken, I had gone to Hiroshima and Miyajima. At Miyajima, the tide was just right so that if you walked along the shore, you would find all sorts of interesting sea things (hermit crabs, fish, seaweed, shells…). I am from a state that is a good two day’s drive from the ocean. On the very rare occasion that my mother and I do go to the ocean, my mother disappears for a day and I find her at about sunset with buckets upon buckets of seashells that she’s picked up. So, I looked down at my feet, noticed that the seashells at Miyajima were purple, and thought of my mother. I’ve never seen purple seashells before so I picked up a whole bunch, did exactly what I probably should not have and brought them back to the house, washed and dried them, and put them in a container, telling my bewildered host mother and host sisters that it was going to be a Christmas present for my mother and why. So, on this particular day about two weeks later, we’re having our usual dinner of a traditional Japanese dish and miso soup. So my host mother hands me my miso soup, and I hear something clinking around and wonder “what is in my miso soup??” So I looked and… it’s seashells... with purple inside them. No wonder my host mother thought I’d lost my mind, and of course I sat there for a moment and wondered if she lost hers. I did eat what was in my soup though.

So after a semester of living in Japan, those are my most memorable "first" impressions. Japan is a very different and interesting world from my home country and I’m looking forward to another semester of being surprised by this country I currently live in.