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.

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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.