Changing Impressions: It Never Ends

While foreign students put lots of interesting ideas on their blogs, Japanese students, the so-called "native" anthropologists tend to jump on something widely known about Japanese culture. As you see the first post of my blog, I used to draw a fixed image, what is the Japanese culture, merely from my own experiences. It might be helpful for foreign tourists to understand our culture on a superficial level like that from a text or guidebook, although ultimately that kind of touristy marketing drivel counts for nothing in the work of an anthropologist.

Obviously we have difficulty recognizing visual information here as completely new to us, because we have been exposed to it for all of our lives. However, as I have been gradually spending more time in the field, such as at the morning markets, the Tattoo Party and the careful observation of and interviews with many Osakans, I came to the realisation that I had barely scratched the surface of my own belonging. By diving into areas that I wouldn't normally go, there are full of surprising discoveries. The more I interview other people, the more I can find interesting stories and ideas. So now I am trying to go out of my way and talk with strangers. I know that there are so many stories and ideas behind visual anthropology in Japan, most of which I don’t know. This is what drastically changed of my view of my own culture.

Since I submitted “Order and Disorder in Japan” (my previous post), I have been doing additional research. Recently, I interviewed a professor in a Japanese politics class. Although I have never ever taken a single class by him before, I heard about him from a friend of mine I interviewed, that she learned something related to my research in class, I decided to see him to ask about it.
 

Dr. Kazutsura Mori, the head dean of my department, gently gave me an idea of the rules here in terms of Japanese tradition.

Postwar Japan has been westernised a lot more that people had given credit for. The government has imported a lot of western values, cultures, thoughts and things like that. In a sense, today we can regard modern Japanese society as a part of western society such as the States and Europe. That is, Japanese society is no longer necessary always different from what American scholars mention about their own their country. David Riesman, a famous sociologist in America, analyzes three types of culture in his book: 'tradition-directed', 'inner-directed' and 'outer-directed'. Some might worry about what others think, while some do not care about what others do. Although according to Riesman, cultural evolution proceeds from “..tradition-directed to outer-directed..”, when it comes to Japan, you can still see a lot of 'tradition-directed' lifestyles in rural sectors. For example, it is the post-Tohoku disaster reaction where little to no looting occurred that people in rural districts generally still have a sense of 'tradition-directed' culture, because of the conservativeness of the advanced generation. On the other hand, in Tokyo, people rushed in throngs to scrounge what they could at supermarkets and from each other. The closer to the large cities, the more people were selfishly focused on self-preservation in time of emergency. After the earthquake disaster here around the Kansai area on January 17, 1994, there was much looting, rape and other heinous crimes in urban areas such as Kobe and Osaka, rather than in the rural districts.
 

I took notice of warning labels and signage first time doing fieldwork. Now, I am going to make other more venturous research expeditions trying to draw a comparison between the big city and the countryside and more generally, the Japanese history of westernization. So I am planning to go out to a rural community near my hometown, to take pictures and interview the locals. Honestly without the push from this Visual anthropology class I would have never thought of visiting what I'd imagine would be wonderful people.

It is very important and Japanese students should absolutely take advantage of their native title including language and relationships with other Japanese people. Every single piece of Japanese culture is so intertwined that numerous ideas endlessly branch from one topic to another. I feel as if I am following a delicious bread (rice?) trail leading me to places both familiar and unfamiliar at the same time. 

Links
CNN: Orderly disaster reaction in line with deep cultural roots
http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/12/orderly-disaster-reaction-in-line-with-deep-cultural-roots/

Order and Disorder in Japan

Ads, signage, pictures, scrawls, graffiti, basically any form of visual communication. We see and experience them passively and actively, being entertained, informed, or even annoyed and complacent in our attitudes towards such images.

In fact warnings, instructions and street signs offer a clear indication of the strict sense of order in Japan, something that to foreigners might find a bit overwhelming. While being told of what you can do and can't do might sound something like what a 5 year old would be subjugated to, but still it remains a cheap and effective means of creating order.  In this post, I would like to focus on signage in particular since the letters and the warning images that we Japanese often take for granted in fact are rather confronting.

at Osaka Station (JR)

It's unimaginable how much the Japanese are bombarded with the phrases “DO NOT” and “FOLLOW THE RULES”. Although they could be common in all countries, in Japan, signs saying that are everywhere; to the point of it being a visual dog's breakfast. For example, I see this part of Japanese culture everyday at a train station. In the following picture, you can see printed sets of footprints on the platform, so that people know how to line up. Also the women-only cars that pervade the notorious rush-hour commute are a form of constraint and thus enforced by pretty pink (text heavy..) signage

If you go down the stairs on the left side, soon you will be aware of this warning.

Words are usually powerful enough to fulfill all of what people want to say when it comes to signage. However, in order to get peoples' attention more effectively, some managers seem to create unique signs by means of including images and pictures. After I took above pictures, I accidentally encountered quite an interesting thing at Umeda on my way home. There were some small pictures of Torii (Japanese:鳥居 A gateway, commonly found at Shinto shrines) around a hedge in front of a convenience store. They appeared pretty odd because no one would Torii to be there, and they were also too small to spot from a distance.

In Kyoto, where I was born, Torii are often used to discourage those who urinate in the street, as Torii is a very sacred symbol from the ancient times. So the pictures there naturally reminded me of it, and I thought it would never be possible to do that on a busy street. Soon I decided to stop by the store and asked an employee about who put them and for what. Then, he answered laughing, “That is the store manager’s idea. He put them there last week expecting it would decrease the amount of litter.” “I think there has been less litter these days, it could be just imagination, though.” After I interviewed him, I carefully looked at the area around Torii pictures again; unfortunately it was still dirty with cigarette butts.

While you can see various order/rules, by the same token, you might see a part of disorder such as lack of manners in Japan. For example, illegally parked bicycles. I went to Kyobashi to see how many bicycles that have been carelessly left on sidewalk despite the countless signs warning against that. Nothing but utter chaos.

No Parking (Japanese: 駐車/駐輪禁止)

So why do people not follow the rules? Meanwhile Japan seems to be regarded as the most policed and orderly nation. I suppose that Japanese people are not interested in 'the concept of the rule'; that is, the 'rules are to be obeyed, neither to be changed nor to be challenged.' Takao Aoki, who wrote about the difference of the rules between Japan and America, mentions this in his book.

“Most Japanese think that the rules are created by governors and by virtue they endeavour to make the best under the given regulations. One of the biggest problems is lack of principles. Because people do not have their principles, it is relatively difficult for them to keep following the rules especially when they feel inconvenienced by them. So they do not try to change it nor challenge it.” (Aoki, T. Zurui!? Naze Oubeijin ha Heiki de Ru-ru wo Kaeru noka, 2009, Discover)

Jiro Shirasu, who contributed to the constitution of Japan after the war, also criticizes the absence of independence among Japanese people. “I am really unpleasant when I hear the word, taking well-mannered action in Japanese (Original: 筋を通す). Although that is a matter of course, Japanese people applaud each other. This indicates that they are lack of principles in daily lives.” (Shirasu, J. Principle no Nai Nihon, 2006, Shincho) I think the point here is not that people should change it if they do not like it, but to make it simple and clear why they decide to follow the rules.

 You are sometimes required to turn off your cell phone in a certain car for patients with heart disease especially who use pacemakers (otherwise railroad workers will rush to caution you against using it), although mobile phones now have less negative effects on pacemakers.

Looking through warnings and instructions in the street, you can see both "the requiring side" and "the required side". Then Japan could be completely a well-ordered society as you consider it from the view of those who ask others for obey, and some non-Japanese might think much of Japanese order. 

However, considering the amount of regulation and orders that's present in everyday life here in Japan, it is no surprise that being humans (and not robots) there is a tendancy, while subconscious, to rebel. This sounds very contradictory but I feel reflects the current state of Japanese society well. As reflected in my last post (about the Underbelly of Japan), that for all the rules, traditions and dogma that has been so intertwined with the Japanese historically, modern Japanese society is not surprisingly grappling with herself in which direction to follow. And unfortunately there's no rulebook for shaping society.

References

Aoki, T. 2009, Zurui!? Naze Oubeijin ha Heiki de Ru-ru wo Kaeru noka (Japanese) [Is it unfair? Why do western people often change the rules?], Discover twenty one, Tokyo, Japan.
Shirasu, J. 2006, Principle no Nai Nihon (Japanese) [Lack of Principle in Japan], Shinchosha, Tokyo, Japan
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The other interesting signage that I have met as follows..

If you park without permission, you will be charged one million yen (≈12500$) for parking fee.

When I was writing the draft of this post, I accidentally saw the odd name of network popping out as the lowest list.

. "It's you again!? (Japanese: またお前か!?)"

The Weird Underbelly of Japan

This was the first time I experienced an interesting piece of Japanese underground culture. The party, which my friends and I enjoyed, was called “Far plane Night”, and is held annually at Namba. It is very popular with those who are involved in tattoo culture. The event manages sold out completely, and by the end of the night more than 2000 people attended.

Lots of attendees dress themselves up in unorthodox costumes, showing off their tattoos. Some of them rather seem to be excited to show themselves off, sometimes barely wearing anything to hide their nether regions. Also, there were some foreigners coming from the American Village in the center of the Southern Osaka. This kind of popular underground movement, which is expressed through party, tattoos, westernized costumes and club music, in a sense, might be influenced by American culture.

The content of the party was the mixture of entertainment shows including jazz song and dance performance, a strip show and things like that. What I was most shocked in particular among those shows, was what was called a "Psychic Show", a kind of daredevil performance. The performers were suspended from the ceiling by hooks that were directly attached to their skin without any support. Believe it or not, the first performer, pictured above, looked really happy to perform, and she sometimes even tried to dance while suspended, although, the other people naturally screamed covering their faces with the hands in shock and awe.

I am pretty sure that this type of culture is a small minority, a small yet colourful part of a much deeper underground whole. However, their enthusiasm at the time, and their extraordinary passion for their art and culture overwhelmed me. Needless to say, the party was filled with comparatively young people, and they enjoyed interacting with the many western people in Japanese. It was quite interesting to see not only a purely domestic kind of extravaganza but rather a big melting pot of different cultures helping to put on a fantastic show.
 

The Japanese Person

No doubt my mother knows me best, as her life has revolved around my life since I was born. So far I have lived apart from my family for almost one year, although, they welcome me with the familiar home whenever I get back home.
 

My mother turned 56 years old just yesterday. Therefore, last weekend I returned home to celebrate her birthday. She looked a little bit younger than she is, but also, as if her age had no affect on her spirit, it seemed as though she was as lively as a 20 year old. This is not only said by me but neighbors as well. When we visited to the local exhibition, which was held in the neighborhood, our neighbors would glance at us and say, “I did not think that you had such a grown son like him because you look so young.” Then she answered them, “Thank you, but I don’t think about that. I only think about my family.” She often says that she is of secondary importance compared with family members. She has been a full time housewife since she got married. She has devoted herself to the family.
 

However, recently she has started setting aside time to do some things for herself, as she has been getting a lot more free time and has less need to take care of her matured sons. Last year, she decided to take a correspondence course in law. She had a longing to be a college student for a long time, as on leaving a high school she got a job, but quit as soon as she got married. “I have been pondering the pleasure of studying these days, which I should have realized when I was much younger. Of course, everything in textbooks, such as legal jargons for example, is very tough for me since my memory is becoming weaker. But still I am so happy with the challenging days.”

My mother is a typical Japanese wife. She not only goes about chores everyday, but also gets along well with the people in the neighborhood. Although she never walks three steps behind my father, she is filled with affection toward her family.

Neighborhood Hotani

Hotani, where I live now, is not so far from the center of Hirakata, and it is conveniently located on a hill overlooking several towns of three prefectures: Osaka, Kyoto and Nara. So, this provides opportunities to go out to any urban area or famous tourist spots in the Kansai region, such as Todai-ji temple in Nara and Gion in Kyoto. However, because Hotani is not so much a quiet residential area as a very small settlement, there is little chance to see many local people with exception of students who are temporarily living there. Therefore, the community in Hotani is relatively limited, with mostly elderly residents, while some locals have contact with others from outside the prefecture. 

There does not seem to be any festivals or remarkable events but the weekly morning market. On Sunday the agricultural group, consisting of less than twenty farmers, hold the vegetable and flower markets at 7:45 in the parking lot near the shrine. Many people come from both the neighborhood and the surrounding community in the early morning. Customers are supposed to take a number card in order of arrival, as products are limited in quantity. The number cards are color coded and separated into three parts, and each part has twenty to forty cards, although, I am not sure if the sellers really need more than 100 cards. The cards are also in very bad condition as they are quite old. 

The most evident characteristic of the market is what they sell; which is all organic vegetables. Those grown without any agricultural chemicals are very popular because of their good taste and safety. Of course, there are situations in which winter yields significantly decrease. Because of the unstable supply, the market cannot be held during these times. Quite a few people rush to the market from comparatively far areas, which take them nearly one hour by car. They feel the value is worth their time. An elderly man who often comes to the market said, "Once you eat a vegetable sold here, you will not eat others like the ones in the supermarket any more." 

The market is also a valuable place for communication among neighbors. As I mentioned above, because all vegetables or flowers are sold on a first come, first serve basis, people tend to arrive very early, before 7:00 a.m., to take a number. Therefore, some of them, including, not only customers but also the sellers will chat together sitting around a stove until the market starts. They know much about each other, even things such as the other’s family members, hobbies, and details about their lives. They are so organized and have such a strong connection. When an elderly person comes to the market to sell their goods, some customers stand up and offer help. This shows that the market is more than just a business for the neighbors.  

Hotani is a really nice place to live in. Compared to Nakamiya in Hirakata, in which lots of international students live, Hotani is much smaller and calmer. There are no theme parks or exciting spots like karaoke, but you cannot imagine how much I can relax there. Going to the market to buy good vegetables and communicating with local residents, you can feel a sense of a warm community and strong connections, not because of the stove, but merely from conversation.

What is Japanese culture?

When I think about what is Japanese culture, I think of the boundaries between inside and out, specifically, between the home and outdoors.

Taking off shoes is one of the most symbolic Japanese practices. Entrance halls (Japanese: 玄関 Genkan) are made one step lower than other floors in houses so that people can take off their shoes. Because of this, Japanese people often invite their guests saying "Please come UP" (Japanese: お上がりください Oagarikudasai), while western people say "Please come IN."

Shigeru Uchida, the Japanese interior designer, who has been engaged in designing popular buildings in Japan, mentions about the origin of this culture. "Although there is widely the same custom of people taking off their shoes in Asia, Japan's case is relatively different from that of the others. Generally, it came from raised-floor houses in the monsoon regions, in order to combat the humid seasonal winds and floods. However, Japanese people rather made it a mental part of living which clearly separates housing and the outside because they have been considering that the ground was unclean since the ancient times." (Uchida, S. Interia to Nihonjin, 2000, Shobunsha)

Among spaces called Genkan, a dirt floor (Japanese: 土間 Doma) also has been very popular with Japanese traditional houses for a long time. Although nowadays it is only used as a comparatively large entrance hall, people in the past used to take off their shoes, cook meals and mend fishing tackle or farming tools. Hiroshi Minami says, "Doma was formerly a border zone to remove stains, wash their feet and to meet guests for a short moment. It is understandable that it was necessary because of heavy rainfall and tatami-floored rooms." (Minami, H. Nihonjin no Seikatsubunka Jiten, 1983, Keisoshobo)

In addition to the above, during the Nara period, natural hedges (Japanese: 生け垣 Ikegaki) were purposefully planted to create a physical boundary to private land. Also, thresholds (Japanese: 敷居 Shikii) of Shoin-zukuri in the late Muromachi period and Agarikamachi (上がり框), a piece of wood at front edge of Genkan, were all used to create boundary lines in traditional Japanese architecture.

Modern Japanese homes have incorporated a lot of the features and design ideas present in historical architecture. The idea of a Genkan, the raised step, along with a partitioned section of concrete all have roots that go back hundreds if not thousands of years, and while modern cramped 5m/sq apartments don't have the same grandeur as the mansions and estates of feudal Japan, the idea of separation and boundaries remains in its design.

References

Uchida, S. 2000, Interia to Nihonjin (Japanese) [Interiors and Japanese People], Shobunsha, Tokyo, Japan

Minami, H. 1983, Nihonjin no Seikatsubunka Jiten (Japanese) [Encyclopedia of Japanese Lifestyles], Keisoshobo, Tokyo, Japan