Traditional Japanese Culture

Just as pop culture is nigh impossible to avoid in Japanese, the same can be said for traditional culture. It can be in-your-face, or very subtle. For me, the traditional aspects that stand out the most are architecture and food.





I love traditional Japanese architecture. One of the best places I've found to see some examples of this are the various shrines and temples that are scattered across Kyoto. Tori gates, stone lanterns, intricate carvings, bright paint colors, and large buildings with curved rooftops that are made entirely of wood are only some of the things that come to mind. The natural surroundings are also often pruned and manicured to look neat and clean. The overall effect is beautiful and calming. The above photos were taken at Fushimi Inari in Kyoto.




Food is another one of my favorite aspects of traditional Japanese culture. Noodles, in particular. I am a huge fan of udon. I am also a huge fan of sushi, nigiri zushi in particular. These are traditional foods, of course, but it's not just the food itself that contains culture. The presentation is part of the meal, and I've found the presentation of food in Japan is just as much of a part of the food culture as the taste. Arranged just so, perfection in presentation makes for a feast of the eyes as well as the mouth.

Japanese Pop Culture

It is almost impossible to avoid Japanese pop culture. It's everywhere (a good amount of it makes it overseas too), and because of this, I feel that for most people Japanese Pop Culture is a "gateway drug" of sorts that gets foreigners interested in Japanese Culture as a whole. It certainly was that way for me (and judging by the other international students I've talked to here), the same can be said for a lot of us.

I was out a few weeks ago with a relatively new friend of mine. We went to a CD store, and while we were in there she was telling me all about her obsession with Japanese Dramas and J-pop. Then she turned to me and said "So what's your sort-of embarrassing Japanese thing that you like? C'mon, everybody's got one."

Well, mine would probably have to be video games. I've loved them ever since I was little, even though I didn't get into Japanese ones (like Nintendo) until I was a bit older. My video game interests run about 50/50 in regards to western and Japanese games, so I've always enjoyed playing both and spotting the differences in game design and focus between them.




One thing I immediately noticed upon coming to Japan, however, was the arcades. In America, the arcade is pretty much dead compared to how big it was in the 80's and early 90's. Here, it's also not quite as big as it used to be (arcade popularity in general has tapered off since home consoles were introduced) but it's still somewhat thriving. The picture above is of an arcade game called "Taiko Drum Master" that requires a giant plastic Taiko drum and plenty of room to play, so it's not something that could be done easily on a home console (although I heard there is a version for the PS2 because the arcade game was so popular...). Japanese arcade games also sometimes feature cool little extras that are completely absent in the States, such as being able to download your score using a cell phone bar code. The pictures below were taken outside of an arcade in Osaka, where Sega shows us they are not shy about using their main mascot Sonic to advertise.

Japanese People

I'm going to be honest here-Japanese people are still largely a mystery to me. This is mostly due to the fact that there is a huge language barrier between me and about 99% of this country. Of course, language isn't everything, there's still a lot that can be learned through observation. But I feel that my own incompetence in the Japanese language is obscuring a huge portion of my interaction with the people. Hopefully this will change as I get better at Japanese and bolder about speaking.



Two random observations:
-Public transportation is quiet. Most Japanese seem to keep to themselves and not bother anyone else when on trains and buses. Some of my own experiences in the U.S. have been similar, but not quite to this extent.
-Umbrella sharing doesn't have quite the same attitude, at least in my experience. In one case, I was walking back to the dorms in the rain along the bike path that runs by the komatsu plant. I didn't have an umbrella with me that day, and as I was walking this middle-aged guy came up to me and shared his umbrella. He started making small talk (turns out he works at the plant) and held the umbrella over my head until I had to make a turn towards my seminar house. Another time, one of the girls that had been in my Kyoto tour group insisted on holding her umbrella over my head as we walked back to Kansai Gaidai in the rain, despite me telling her several times that I didn't really mind getting wet.

The thing I've learned from these so far? It seems to me that Japanese people can be extremely open or extremely closed off, depending on the situation. There's probably many other examples of this that I haven't experienced yet. Or maybe I'm completely misinterpreting things based on only the encounters I've had. Either way, I still want to learn more.

PS.- I changed the blog name.

Neighborhood Hirakata

Hirakata is a very residential place. Houses as far as the eye can see, or at least that's been my impression walking to and from campus each day. Sure, there's the university (and the Komatsu plant, and probably a ton of other stuff I haven't seen yet) but I like residential Hirakata. I love the houses, the statues and trees in the tiny parks, plants that line the street, and the pretty decorated manhole covers. One thing I don't like, however, is how narrow some of the streets are. This is something that normally wouldn't bother me, but add motorcylists and cars to the mix and it can be a treacherous path for a walker at times.



On my 2nd weekend here, I had a encounter with some of the locals. It was evening, and I was walking back from the grocery store. A middle aged couple turned a corner and ended up walking a short ways in front of me. I thought nothing of it, until I noticed the woman had been glancing back at me. The woman kept looking back at me, until they slowed down cause they wanted to talk. They asked me if I was American, and the man asked if I was from California. I said (in Japanese, these people didn't speak a word of english) that I used to live there but now I lived in NY (which is indeed true). They also asked me if I was good at Japanese, to which I replied "ehhh, chotto... ( a little...)" The woman gave me a candy, and then they said "bye bye!" (towards the end the guy started saying other stuff, but I couldn't understand cause he was talking too fast. I just giggled awkwardly, and he asked 'wakaranai'? [you don't understand?] a few times.) I'm disappointed I couldn't converse a bit better, but they kind of caught me by surprise as I was zoning out while walking back to my seminar house. Oh well. Very nice little encounter, but random. Guess I'm just not used to friendly strangers.

Japan: First Impressions

First Impressions? Well, one difference I immediately noticed about Japan (vs the U.S.) is how obscenely clean everything is. Seriously, I felt like I could practically eat off of the floors of the trains (not a good idea, but still...) Anyway, things here feel more compacted and less spread out. Which is pretty much expected, considering the size of the country isn't anywhere near as big as what I'm used to. Still, I find it charming. At home, if you want to get around, a car is pretty much required. Here, a bike is required, but you could hoof it if you have the time and energy. Also, the train system (which I haven't figured out yet...) is convenient to have access to.

I also like how some of the bigger houses in the residential neighborhoods of Hirakata have pretty gardens and traditional style wooden gates. Some houses are just really pretty, I already have a few favorites along the route I walk to the Kansai Gaidai campus.

All of this can be summed up in one sentence: I don't really know what to make of Japan...yet. There are a lot of nice little (and some bigger) differences I have noticed thus far, but I'm not sure what to think. I still wake up in the mornings and have to remember where I am.

On a lighter note, I was surprised that Japanese McDonalds is better than it is in the states. I do not eat fast food in the states (think it's gross), but after being almost forced to eat it here, I was pleasantly surprised that it was...okay. Not disgusting! Anyway, I found these Japanese McDonald's Ads and thought I'd share. They're extremely creepy, but that's why it's funny.

New Blog

Hello! This is Tessa G.'s blog for the class "Visual Anthropology of Japan". Hopefully some interesting things will turn up in here...