Final Impressions of Japan

So, it is time to come to an end as a International Student at Kansai Gaidai. Outside of learning the muzukashi, difficult, language of Japanese, I have learned a lot from the society around me. The definite do's and don'ts while being a foreigner in Japan.

I began this journey, thinking that I knew more about Japan than the average Joe, thinking that the outside is always tale-tell of what is ahead.


(Photo at the 1000 Tori Shrine in Kyoto by Rochelle R.)

But the longer I lived here, the more I saw that there is something, seemlingly hidden, in the Japanese culture in which even Japanese people didn't have a quick answer for why things were. My inquisition of the culture had not only myself wondering, but the native people wondering. The explanation of everyday life to a Foreigner, had also made the Japanese people, I asked, reflect upon their own lives.


(Photo by Rochelle R.)

Questioning everything became one theme of my study abroad here in Japan. Without it, I would still be completely ignorant and really shallow in my knowledge of the REAL JAPAN.

(Offering to the Horse God Photo by Rochelle R.)
(The subject in this photograph confused me too until for the many times I went to shrines, but when I finally asked about it, it made sense)

Now as I pack, I have changed my attitude about Japan. Instead of being the Foreinger, who thought she knew more about Japan than most visitors, I am now the more humbled Foreigner, who does knows a bit more than she did before, but who understands that what she does know is nothing compared to the knowledge of the entire reality of Japan. Questioning is the key to understanding. Questioning is the key to leave the world of ignoriance. Questioning is the key to better understanding.



(Where's Waldo? Photo by Rochelle R.)

Politics in Japan

When I first got to Japan and started walking around various shops, I have quickly realized just how lenient Japan is in regards to sex and pornography. Walk into your closest konbini and you will find all sorts of pornographic magazines right in front of bathroom section. “The enormous sex industry in Japan is socially accepted” (1), and the laws seem to follow the trend.
For example, despite prostitution being outlawed in 1956 (1), it is easy to go to Osaka and find stores with posters of half naked women and signs proudly exclaiming “half an hour, 2500 yen!”

But one the other hand to express this sexuality out in public is another thing! When it is not your jobb, one in Japan does not express, these fantasies or tell them out loud. Public show of affection, until recently was looked down upon. Most people like to keep their lives private from the rest of the world (2 and 3).

References

1. Hughes, D., M. (ND). Factbook on Global Sexual Exploitation: Japan. University of Rhode Island. May 13, 2009 from http://www.uri.edu/artsci/wms/hughes/japan.htm

2. Japanese Student at Kansai Gaidai

3. 34, year Japanese woman

Sports in Japan: Karate and Kumite

(Figure 1)

When directly translated, Karate means empty handed. Karate is a a sport with both disicpline in kata, form, and kumite, a form of hand to hand combat. The origins of Karate have been traced back to China, and the monks of Sholin, but is "believed to have traces from India (1). What is known is that Karate came to Japan through Okinawa (2). A Karate master, by the name of Funakoshi, brought Karate form Okinawa to Japan in the early 20th century (1). He was also responsible for changing the Kanji and the meaning of Karate from the Chinese word for Tseng Fist to the Japanese word Empty hand (3). From there the martial art has flurished in practice around the world.

What has made it Japanese was the adoption of the Dogi, borrowed from Bushi-do, marital arts of Japanese origin, which is also practice around the world today. It also was once nationally, in Japan, installed in schools before World War II (3). Karate in now.

My interest was sparked in the sport by my host family. My two host brothers though eight and ten have been practicing Karate since the age of 4 years old. Though they prefer the kumite aspect of the sport, one must learn the form, kata, before advancing to the next level of expertise.


(A kumite match photographed by Rochelle R.)


(Awards ceremony after all Kumite Shiai, photo by Rochelle R.)

Kumite is a fast-paced match between two opponents who are striving to get 2 points before the 1 and 1/2 minute time limit. To recieve a point one must make complete contact with a foot or hand on the opponent unguarded area.


(Video borrowed from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6euRSjH9Lg)

1. http://www.americanblackbeltacademy.com/dojo/MartialArtsHistory.htm
2. http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Karate_-_History/id/5202043
3. http://www.experiencefestival.com/a/Karate_-_History/id/5202043
Figure 1 http://www.deonandan.com/images/karate.gif
Video 1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T6euRSjH9Lg

Gender: Working Woman

During the past few months at Kansai Gaidai, I have met a whole variety of Japanese students, many being soon graduating students currently beginning their shuushokukatsudou, or a job search. As I talked with my friends about their different experiences and aspirations, I realized I was painted two different pictures varying by their gender.
Japan has in recent years passed an equal employment opportunity law. And just as the other developing countries, it is still struggling to enforce it – “despite two revisions, the law includes no real punishment for companies that continue to discriminate” (1). The females are oftentimes stuck with odd, almost impossible work hours (2) and dead end jobs as “office ladies,” (3) pleasing the eyes of the male bosses.
Contrast to the western society, the Japanese gender discrimination seems much harsher and much more engraved into the culture. Whereas in the US the “single mother” is slowly gaining in numbers, the “Japanese work customs make it almost impossible for women to have both a family and a career” (1). It is no surprise, then, that so many of my female friends are studying English in hopes to move abroad after finishing their education.


References:

1. Ariishi, T. (2007). Career Women in Japan Find a Blocked Path. The New York Times. Retrieved May 13, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/world/asia/06equal.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=japan%20gender&st=cse

2. Pollack, A. (1997). For Japan's Women, More Jobs And Longer and Odder Hours. Retrieved May 13, 2009 from http://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/08/business/for-japan-s-women-more-jobs-and-longer-and-odder-hours.html?scp=5&sq=japan%20women&st=cse

3. Beech, H. (2005). The Wasted Asset. Time Asia. Retrieved May 13, 2009 from http://www.time.com/time/asia/covers/501050829/story.html

Figure 1. Picture From http://www.japaninc.com/files/mgz-85_female-entrepreneurship_illustration_400x399.jpg

The SGI: Not a Religion but a Organization

(Photo Taken from: http://www.camnet.com.kh/cambodia.daily/Land_Mine/sgi.gif)

The SGI, Soka Gakkai International, is not a religion, but is an organization in which its members practice the same religion, Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism. There are members of the SGI in about 190 different countries and territories. The origins of the practice come from a Japanese monk, by the name of Nichiren Daishonin, who read the texts of the Lotus Sutra (The teachings of the Buddha himself, Sidhartha Guatama). The leader, whom is living in Japan, is Daisaku Ikeda.


(Picture taken from: http://sgi-houston.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/daisakuikeda.jpg)

Daisaku Ikeda is "an honorable man that has received over 250 honorary doctorates from universities around the world, (1)." Through the leadership of Mr. Ikeda, the Soka Gakkai was able to spread around the globe(2). "The core philosophy of the SGI can be summed up by the concept of "Human revolution." This is the idea that the self-motivated inner change of a single individual positively affects the larger web of life and results in the rejuvenation of human society, (3)."

However, in Japan, some may see it as a cult. Because of its rapid growth and many slanders in the media, some Japanese people have become weary of the SGI (4, 5). It has become reality that "some people in Japan will not marry a person if they are in the SGI. My friend quit because she wanted to marry and have kids, (6)."

Though there is controversy surrounding the SGI, many in Japan still practice Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism with the SGI. "I practice because I know that this Buddhism works for me. I know there is a lot of controversy about the SGI here in Japan, but it is libel. Time and time again, the people who circulate the libel end up to be proven Libelists in court, (7)." When asked why they decide to practice this Buddhism, most answered that they felt that this practice, with the SGI, works for them.


(Picture Taken By Rochelle R. at a Children's SGI Meeting in Hirakata City)

What exactly works for them? Who knows? The only way to find out is to ask the lay-practioners themselves, and not only believe what the media tells you.


Footnotes: (Sites to Visit about the SGI)
1. SGI member in Kansai, Hirakata City, Japan
2. http://sgi.org/president.html
3. http://sgi.org/philosophy.html
4. http://buddhism.about.com/od/nichirenbuddhism/a/sokagakkai.htm
5. http://www.sokaissues.info/home/media.html
6. SGI member in Kansai, Katano City, Japan
7. SGI member in Kansai, Kuzuha City, Japan
8. Japanese SGI members at Kansai Gaidai

We all Scream for ICE CREAM: A Globalization/Glocalization

Fig.1

I scream, you scream. WE ALL SCREAM FOR ICE CREAM.


Ice Cream has been linked to Nero(1,2,3,4) and even in Ancient China 3000B.C. (3&4). Variations of an iced dessert has been found in countries all over the world, from China to Italy, and from India to Greece. Adding a sweet taste to ice has been love "as early as 3000 B.C." (1) Though the true history of who invented the version of iced dessert that we now call ice cream may have been lost in translation, the product itself has found it's way into the hearts and society of the Japanese people. This Global treat has made it to the country of Japan and has been changed to different flavors that have become popular with the Japanese people.



Though many people fear the Globalization, thinking that the world is leading to a total Westernization Movement, they also seem to fail to see the adaptations of "Western" things brought to a different country. There is a fear of a culture losing its identity through the influence of others. What isn't seen is that culture's adaption to fit its own criteria. For example, the ice cream that we, as Americans, know today has been thought of as a Western Idea, linking the invention to a carnival food merchant(3&4). However in Japan, along with the "regular" flavors of ice cream, there are flavors have been adapted to the Japanese taste and culture, such as Green Tea, Sakura Blossoms, and even Black Seasame Seeds. The modification itself seems to be a Glocalization of a Global dessert, changed to fit the taste of the Japanese Culture.



Bibliography

Fig 1 taken from: http://www.jewelryexpert.com/The%20Jewelers%20Blog/graphics/Ice-Cream-Cones.jpg

(Other photos were taken by Rochelle R.)

1. Marshall, R.T., Goff, D., & Hartel, R,; Ice Cream: Sixth Edition; http://books.google.com/books?hl=ja&lr=&id=DN9Ju6oiSWkC&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=History+of+Ice+Cream&ots=ph5wo9DKxv&sig=Uxb2l6wOC8Ka4SpEzeMC1vnZz00#PPA2,M1
2. http://whatscookingamerica.net/History/IceCream/IceCreamHistory.htm
3. http://www.foodtimeline.org/foodicecream.html
4. http://www.makeicecream.com/hisoficecrea.html