try and see

the Politics of public-Spaces

2009-05-10T08:53:00.001-07:00

In Japan I've noticed that there are a great many signs to guide people in their daily lives. I've relied heavily on the English translations which many of these signs have, especially in train stations, but there are many more which have no translation. I think these passive guides are one of many vectors for the famed non-verbal communication of the Japanese.

They often just convey the mundane things which make life go smoothly.

photo by author, 7 May 2009

At intersections in Tokyo, it is not uncommon to find a helpful reminder for cyclists to "Stop!" painted on the left side of the road.

photo by author, 7 May 2009

On the right side of the road is a corresponding graphic to instruct pedestrians that they should "Stop!" also.

These are just like any other stop sign or graphic in any other place, but they are almost always found in pairs. I see them as a reminder to cyclists and pedestrians of which side of the road they are legally supposed to travel on.

Side Note: Cars travel on the left in Japan.

photo by author, 7 May 2009

"Please grasp the handrail!"

This is written along the moving handrail of the escalators throughout Tokyo Terminal train station (the hub of transportation in Tokyo). According to one of my Japanese friends, these special handrails are new. Some of the escalators to train platforms there are very tall, so the danger of not holding on should be obvious, but...

photo by author, 15 Apr 2009

"Firefighting Tap"

In case the sign isn't visible in a hallway full of billowing smoke, it's accompanied by a red flasher light on the wall above it.

photo by author, 15 Apr 2009

"Push button for Blind People"

At crosswalks in Hirakata I often see these buttons installed in columns attached to telephone poles. There isn't always braille accompanying them though. There are also textured tiles on the ground to guide the blind safely on sidewalks.

photo by author, 5 Mar 2009

"Please do not enter beyond this point."

This sign was in the stairwell of the library near where I am living. The top floor was being renovated, but since I took the elevator all the way up I ended up passing this sign as I confusedly made my way down the stairs.

photo by author, 15 Apr 2009

"Register Momentarily Closed

We beg your pardon, but please use a nearby register."

This sign was on the counter at a store in a Japanese "departo" (department store). Departos are really buildings with several stories in which many separate stores occupy small plots without walls on each floor. This store had no other registers, but I was still able to purchase my electronic dictionary at a nearby clothing store without any problems.

photo by author, 22 Apr 2009

"Please take from under this dish."

At this restaurant there was a stack of small dishes for customers to use with whichever sauces they liked. This dish sat at the top of the stack, keeping the ones underneath from getting dusty, and making sure customers knew the dishes were for anybody to use.

photo by author, 6 May 2009

"Smoking on the road is Prohibited"

Smoking is very common in Japan, but in the interest of public health it has been disallowed in many various public spaces. Here is a sign at Shinjuku train station requesting that pedestrians refrain.

Religion in Japan

2009-04-02T07:14:00.000-07:00

Do you see the resemblance?

Elaborate decoration of the main gate to the Ueno Toshogu shrine in Tokyo; 1627 c.e.
photo by author, 17 Jan 2009

Varied turrets of the Mediterranean Harbor Fortress of Exploration at Tokyo Disney Sea; 2000 c.e.
photo by author, 12 Jan 2009

How about now?

Houzoumon gate, people, and incense at Sensouji Buddhist temple at Asakusa in Tokyo; 645 c.e.
photo by author, 13 Jan 2009

The Tower of Terror viewed over the shops and houses of the Mediterranean Harbor in Tokyo Disney Sea; 2000 c.e.
photo by author, 12 Jan 2009

What it's all about...

I came to Japan during the busy and difficult travel season of late December in part because I wanted to experience what my Japanese friends told me was an important and memorable celebration: oshougatsu (New Years). Most of the celebration consisted of great food and drinking, but the centerpiece was a visit to an enormous shinto shrine. Although in my experience Japanese people seem on the whole to be rather secular, it seemed like all of Tokyo showed up at midnight to ask the kami (local shrine god) for luck in the coming year.

Religion in Japan is an interesting thing. It is often pointed out that Japanese people seem to adhere to religious strictures as is convenient: They are born into Shinto, have Christian weddings, and perform Buddhist rights surrounding death. This is certainly not universally true of Japanese people, but the very idea of mixing religions tends to mystify those unfamiliar with Japan and is a reality worth exploring.

I think the mysterious place of religion in Japanese culture can more easily be understood in light of another more recent phenomenon. It's called "Dreamland" by Japan's young people, and it opened in 1983 with a second park being added in 2001. It's Tokyo Disney Land/Sea.

Sure it's fun to go to Disneyland, but it's just as important to be able to say, "We went to Disneyland for our 1 year anniversary" or "My friends and I celebrated our college acceptances with a day at Dreamland." The role it plays in the lives of young people is to mark important occasions in life. Religion here performs a similar task, and it is not uncommon to hear things like, "Were having a Shinto priest bless the new branch office when it opens," or, "Our wedding was in the Christian style."

The structures and practices found at both Tokyo Disney and Japan's shrines and temples serve to make the mere act of visiting an important one. Most of the young women and many of the young men you see at Tokyo Disney wear a character's "ears" on a hat or hairband while they are at the park. However as soon as the park is behind them and their train is headed toward Tokyo, the ears come off. It's a tradition which lends significance to the event, and it is not unlike the practice of visiting a shinto shrine to toss 5 yen, bow twice, clap twice, pray briefly, bow once more, and leave.

This is what I've gathered.

For the curious, here is a picture from when I celebrated New Years at a shrine in Tokyo. There is an enormous torii (god arch) standing over a noisy crowd just minutes before the new year.
photo by author, 31 Dec 2008

Mata ne! (Later!)

Glo[b→c]alization

2009-03-25T05:07:00.000-07:00

Upon arriving on the streets of Tokyo, you might be startled to see how many women wear knee-high leather boots with stockings and shorts even during the middle of the Japanese winter. Recently knee-high boots have been going through a "boom" in popularity here.

The archetypal style of the Converse All-Star shoe has been around for a long time in America, and at some point it crossed the Pacific. I've seen plenty of people sporting the easily recognizable design here in Japan too.

Japan is known for adopting things from other cultures and putting their own spin on it. Even so, I was still surprised to see these Converse All-Star knee-high boots being sold at a department store. It doesn't take any special ingenuity to think of combining two popular styles, but I think Japan is the only place where they'd take something like this seriously.

photo by author, 30 Jan 2009

The parfait has more than 100 years of history as a frozen dessert with custard and fruit from France, and it has made its impression on America as the Friendly's Ice Cream Sundae. Japan, however, has taken a liking like no other to the dessert treat, and you can now find parfaits in almost every restaurant which doesn't serve strictly Japanese cuisine.

photo by author, 14 Feb 2009

These are no ordinary parfaits. The one in the giant mug is probably the same volume as my head.

Incidentally, there's also a Japanese band who keeps parfaits as their namesake. Here are some samples:
WHITE SNOW

LOVE★COCKTAIL

Visual Anthropology in the Photography of Hiroshi Himaya

2009-03-08T22:45:00.000-07:00

Hiroshi Himaya [浩濱谷] was born in 1915 in Tokyo, Japan. From an early age he showed an interest in painting, but photography had a fashionable element and he was quickly drawn to it. He worked as a freelance photojournalist from the late 1930s until becoming connected with the Magnum photography group in the early 1960s.

Growing up in Ueno, Tokyo, Himaya's early work focused on the people and interactions surrounding him in Japan. Later in his career, Himaya turned his focus toward nature and landscapes. He visited many parts of the world to take areal photographs of mountains and landscapes. I don't see a strong connection between these later photos and Japanese culture, so I won't be talking about them here.

Examples of Himaya's early photography:

(These links will open in new windows.)
Ex. 1 (1937)
Ex. 2 (1954)
Ex. 3 (1959)
Ex. 4 (published 1957)
Ex. 5 (published 1957)

I think that Himaya’s early work captures an interesting slice of what Japan was like at one time. He took many street-scene photographs in Tokyo, and then traveled to some of the more rural areas of Japan to photograph the lifestyles of the people who live and work there.

Examples 1, 2, and 3 are representative of the kinds of city scenes Himaya photographed. Example 1 is a mashup of the traditional and modern, featuring two Geisha walking down the street near modern vehicles. Example 2 represents to me the uniquely Japanese need to veil affection for one's sweetheart in public, an aspect of the culture which is beginning to change recently with the shift toward individualism. Finally, example 3 is still strongly remincent of Tokyo today, with a large crowd patiently waiting at a crosswalk.

The next two examples create a harsh contrast to the zippy industrialized life of the city. Example 4 is a rural dwelling in western Japan, where farming was the people's main livelihood. Example 5 strikes a discordant note with Example 2. Here there is pictured a group of men and women perfectly comfortable to bathe together. With my background, this scene is particularly confusing. It makes me wonder more about how Japanese culture functioned before the shift toward western ideas and indivitualism.

Sources:

Much of Himaya's biographical information and personal views come from a translated November 1988 interview with Frank Horvat located on a personal website for Frank Horvat's Photography.

Examples 1, 2, and 3 and a little biographical information comes from a November 2008 article Tokyo Stories: vintage photography exhibition in an online photography magazine lens Culture.

Examples 4 and 5 come from a listing for one of Himaya's books Back Coast Japan [裏日本] at a Japanese photography book sales website Book OGA.

Additional biographical information comes from Himaya's entry in the PhotoWho'sWho list located at an English website PhotoGuide Japan! about photography in Japan.

Japanese Pop Culture: Cellphone Straps

2009-03-02T22:24:00.000-08:00

This weekend I interviewed two friends about their cellphone decorations. This might not be a familiar idea to people from America, but in Japan I've rarely seen undecorated cellphones. I wanted to find out what they are all about.

photo by author, 27 Feb 2009

Interview 1: Emiri
The first of my two interviewees decided after the interview that she didn't want me to post her voice online. Here's a transcription, with some annotations in [] and translations in ().
Me: ええ　(Ehh)
Emiri: 何を　何を　。。　何を喋ったらいい？　(What should I say?)
Me: The.. I’ll just ask questions.
Emiri: お　お　わかった。　(Okay.)
Me: The decoration on your cellphone, what is it called?
Emiri: Ehh... Ninja. Ninja Cupie.
Me: Ninja Cupie. What kind of decoration is it?
Emiri: It’s the Cupie. Which is from... Which is [a] Japanese mascot. Which is from [the] mayonnaise [called] Ajinomoto. Ajinomoto is a brand name of the food. And this disguise, disguise?
Me: Clothing.
Emiri: Uh yeah, clothing is dress[ed] like [a] Ninja. It’s like a Japanese traditional costume.
Me: Why do people have decoration on their cellphones?
Emiri: I don’t know. I think Japanese [people] has... Ehh... I think Japanese want their own cellphone [to be] outstanding. That’s... I think that’s the reason why.
Me: What kind of things do you think are important about this. What does it mean to you?
Emiri: (to her sister) Ehh? こせいで英語、何と言うなの？ (What is "kosei" in English?)
Sister: Personality.
Emiri: Ah oh... Personality. It describes my personality.
Me: You’re a ninja?
Emiri: Yeah, my ninja. ‘cause my nickname is ninja. [laughs] That’s why I bought it.
Me: ありがとう。 (Thanks!)
Emiri: はい。 (Yes.) You’re welcome.

Interview 2: Daisuke
My second interview was interrupted halfway through - because I had forgot to start the audio recording. This is the second half, where he talks about the character hanging from his cellphone. Please press the play button (black triangle) to start the recording.

Here is the character he talks about:

photo by author, 27 Feb 2009

Daisuke had a little trouble with which words to use here, but I'm grateful to him and the other interviewee, Emiri. Thanks guys!

Unfortunately, my friends didn't really dig as deep as I had hoped they would. They both explained that the cellphone decorations are a method of personal expression without words. I had hoped they would mention the reasons for the need of this form of expression. Sometimes cellphone straps aren't small and convenient, but people use them anyway. Maybe next time somebody will explain why they are willing to inconvenience themselves to keep several bulky decorations hanging from their cellphone.

Japan and English

2009-02-23T02:56:00.000-08:00

In Japan I often see signs written in English, and although it is helpful to me as a foreigner, I think the intended audience are the many Japanese people who see these signs on a daily basis. In case you can’t read the text in the following pictures, I’ve included transcriptions below them.

photo by author, 31 Dec 2008
"Pasco Special Selection; PASCO’s special selection will make all people who are thinkining of their health, happy with the most delicious taste."

photo by author, 2 Jan 2009
"Welcome to Sakazen Ikebukuro B1F POWER SALE"

photo by author, 13 Jan 2009
"190m To Summit Observatio Deck"

These uses of English aren't really wrong, but they aren't exactly right either. They are functional, but peculiarity and errors like these are very common. For some reason using natural sounding or correct English just doesn’t seem to be important. This perplexed me, so I talked to a Japanese friend recently and she explained it – English is just fashionable.

This idea seemed strange to me at first, but it corresponds well to a common trend in America. Consider the artistic use of Chinese or Japanese words on product labels, advertisements, and even tattoos. There is an urban myth among young people in America about a man who gets what he thinks are the Chinese characters for “inner strength” tattooed on his arm, only to find out later from a friend who can read Chinese that the actual meaning is entirely different.

So although seeing these signs for the first time made me laugh out loud in public, now I understand their strangeness better than many other cultural differences between Japan and America.

Whats in a neighborhood?

2009-02-16T02:00:00.000-08:00

photo by author, 30 Dec 2008

During my first month in Japan I lived in one of the many divisions of the expansive Tokyo metropolis, Itabashi-ku. Just 10 minutes walk from my host-family’s house there is a roofed shopping street called Happy Road. The covered area of the street forms the top half of a Y-shape, with more shops in the lower half. At the center of these three roads is a train station from which one can easily reach Ikebukuro, where many of Tokyo’s youth spend their evenings. Lining the sides of Happy Road are the kind of small shops which I find everywhere in Japan, and give this metropolis a small-town feel. Small businesses seem to prevail here.

photo by author, 31 Dec 2008

Nestled in between apartment buildings, next to houses, and under bridges all over Tokyo are automated parking spaces for cars and motorbikes and bicycles. I was really surprised when first saw one. It requires that you don’t think twice about entrusting a large and expensive investment which is your main form of transportation to a small anonymous vending machine. And if you don’t have the cash on hand to pay the fee upon returning, tough luck! To me, this hints that Japanese people have a great deal of trust in their businesses and the others in their society.

The first things I noticed in Japan...

2009-02-08T03:55:00.000-08:00

photo by author, 30 Dec 2008

On my second day in Japan a friend brought me to a typical variety store. The thing which struck me about this store was its layout. The aisles were just wide enough for me to navigate, and products were packed onto shelves from floor to ceiling. It seemed to me to be a good analogy to something which is a constant reminder of where I am: Japan is a place without much space. Its population is about 125 million people (more than a third of the size of the USA) but they live on islands with total area less than that of California, and more than 70% of that area is uninhabitable mountains. These are things I've learned from talking with Japanese people.

photo by author, 30 Dec 2008

I arrived just in time to celebrate New Years with a Japanese family. They are happy people, and they wanted to heighten my culture shock with food they thought a westerner couldn’t eat – boiled octopus. I ate it in two bites. I had to do it before they got their cameras out. The experience highlights something which I find strikingly different from my own country. In America, it’s rare to eat meat which still resembles the animal it came from. In Japan, this kind of food is common. They expect westerners to be too appalled to eat it!