Changing impressions
Is not that I think that Japan doesn't have interesting things, but quite the opposite. I felt that I'd need several years to start realizing how Japan really is. As for what I could experience until now, I felt very comfortable with Japanese lifestyle, in some aspects even more than in my own country, but I also felt that I wasn't able to experience Japan as much as I would have liked. The international student routine has much to do about it, since it generates some closed circles and schedule limitations difficult to break through.
Luckily, since I'm extending my stay for the next semester, I'll have a long break to travel, observe and get immersed into some new aspects of Japanese society, and I'm really excited about that, because my working field as an amateur anthropologist will widen in a high degree. Now I'm just glad to have learned how to improve my observation skills and use the adequate techniques to understand better my surrounding. I'm sure that these things will be very useful to me from now on.
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Politics in Japan
Even using thick opaque glasses in their windows, the Japanese households probably show much more of themselves than what would be expected with a single look. This is the way they present who they are, and seeing symbols of different believes or political tendencies side by side can be understood as a symbol of tolerance. At the end everyone has the right of express themselves and the duty to respect others, that's what coexistence is about.
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Seasonal sightseeing in Japan
Within the holiday periods, probably spring and autumn stand out because of two of the major natural events in Japan, the cherry tree bloom (桜) and the red leaves (紅葉). Those acts of appreciation of nature are very important (at least more than in most of western cultures) and are tied to Japan's national essence, culture and tradition. By admiring these annual phenomenons the Japanese somehow, consciously or not, pay tribute to their shinto roots, based on the worshipping of nature, and also to the buddhist heritage that gives a special value to the fleetingness and imperfection of all things: like the falling petals or leaves, everything will perish in this life, and this condition holds a sense of beauty developed in Japanese culture and arts during centuries, giving birth to well known literary concepts as mono no aware or wabi sabi.
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Religion: Saint Young Men
Even knowing this, I was amused when some time ago I saw in a Tsutaya shop a stand and several posters advertising a manga with a cover showing Buddha and Jesus Christ shoulder by shoulder, dressing in a casual way and behaving as tourists.
When thinking about the theme for this post I thought I could give it a chance and buy a copy to see what was it really about, and the result wasn't less amusing than my first impression. 聖☆おにいさん, or "Saint Young Men" by Nakamura Hikaru brings us a humoristic view of two of the most important religious figures of history changing all the context without any kind of reservation.
The initial plot is simple: Jesus and Buddha are tired of living so long in their respective paradises and decide to take a break by living in the modern Japan like two ordinary young men. They share an apartment, go shopping to the konbini, use the subway and ask themselves which cell phone should they buy among a lot of other "ordinary" activities. Their personalities are also very human and ordinary, and the only things that makes them different are they physical traits (crown of thorns, long hair and beard for Jesus, and big ear lobes, cranial protrusion and third eye). Jesus even seems proud for being mistaken for Johnny Depp by a group of schoolgirls, while some mistake Buddha's hairstyle for a punch perm. Typical traits attributed to these characters, like patience or generosity are also continuously parodied in this manga.
While such a harmless work would be probably criticized and condemned by a number of religious authorities for being blasphemic, in Japan it appears as one more product with no more aim than amusing the young readers who, like most of the Japanese, don't really care about religion. No one cares if the main character of a comedy manga is based on Jesus, Lenin, Schwarzenegger or Mickey Mouse, because all is about aesthetics. However, Japan's tendency to break taboos, even being more clear than in most of western countries, still finds difficulties in some national subjects like the Imperial Family, remaining still now as one of the more strong cultural taboos of contemporary Japan.
聖☆おにいさん is published by Kodansha under the label Morning KC with 4 volumes at the moment, enjoying a considerable popularity, having printed 13 editions of its first number since its publication in January 2008.
A scanned and translated version of the manga can be read here:
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Gender in Japan: Fast money for girls
Last weekend I was walking near the Tôji temple in Kyoto when I found one of these stands. Without paying much attention, I took a couple of magazines out of curiosity, since some of their names (like "Collon") sounded just funny. When I took a few steps away I noticed the "18" symbol in the cover. "That's strange..." I thought, "Wait, porn for free in the street!?" that's impossible...
Out of prudence I waited to get home to take a look (they were wrapped with plastic) to see what the hell were they about, and I finally understood. One of the magazines stated "Superwork-magazine Collon for girls" as a clue. Then, a quick look was enough to know that the content of these magazines (almost the same in both) was mainly about job offers in all kind of night clubs ranging from waitresses to almost prostitution, but mainly focusing to the hostess world as depicted in the descriptions below.
Behind this bunch of euphemistic terms hides (even though it is more than evident) a whole world of adult entertainment and sex industry similar to the one depicted in the "The Great Happiness Space" documentary, but on the girls side. All the advertisements in these publications highlight the ease to earn lots of money in short periods of time, and even provide some kind of "warranty" that the job doesn't imply further obligations to their employees than those strictly necessary.
A parallel can be drawn between hostess clubs and pachinko parlors. Even though the latter are more numerous, both have an important presence in adult entertainment in Japan and both challenge the legal bounds, since gambling as well as prostitution are forbidden by law. Beyond the moral discussion that this subject can lead to, I think that the most important thing to be taken into account is the position that Japanese society and its main powers adopt towards this tendency in the entertainment world. Does it help people (workers and costumers) to fulfill their needs and hopes, or rather make them get inside a spyral of dispair as it was depicted in the aforementioned documentary? This certainly needs lots of discussion that a single blog post can't provide...
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Globalization: The Japanese Version
In the 20th century this behavior was not only kept, but was boosted by the industrialization: electronic devices, fashion, cultural traits, all was imported but transformed into a Japanese version. In some way globalization (or an advanced version of it) inhabits in the core of Japanese culture. That's why today we can see things like Teriyaki Burgers at McDonald's or rockabilly inspired gangs (among thousands of others examples) coexisting in harmony with genuine national creations in modern Japan.
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Sports fandom in Japan: The Barça case
In Spain, where I come from, if there's a popular sport that stands out from the rest, it is soccer, and more specially Barça and Real Madrid, the main national teams. In Japan soccer has been becoming more popular in the last years, but it is still far from the king of the kings: baseball. However, since I arrived to Japan there's not a week I don't see somewhere some representation of the team from where I come from, Barcelona. I've never been a soccer fan and, to be honest, I find it extremely boring, but I can't help drawing a smile when I see such a familiar symbol in the most unexpected places.
I knew that Spanish soccer league is famous in a lot of different countries, but I didn't know it was to that extent. As an example I can say that in the last weeks I've seen much more Japanese people wearing Barça T-shirts or backpacks than those of the Hanshin Tigers. Even without leaving Hirakata, I could find a Mickey Mouse Barça themed lamp and a PS3 bundle pack with the picture of the famous player Leo Messi printed on the box, both in a popular shopping mall near to Hirakata-shi station.
A part of this popularity owes to the team itself, who has done a lot of efforts to promote their image in Japan in many different ways, but who really made it work are the Japanese fans, who always receive with enthusiasm the things they like, no matter where they come from. It is hard to tell where all the passion of Japanese fandom (not just in this case) comes from, but it has something special that makes a difference with what we are used to see.
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