Japan, changing impressions:)



Automn Leaves-Kobe



In a day like today, four months ago, I made it safe from my country to Japan carrying  more  than 20 kg of  in my hands and tons of stereotypes in my mind. Since then, I have met tens of people, watched many documentaries, observed around me and read a lot of article. Thanks to all of this I was able to recycle all the misconceptions I had in mind and tried to draw a more accurate image of Japan. I have also learned not to view Japan as a mass but instead view it as a big image divided into many pixels,  in a way the sum of all the pixels represents real Japan.





A view from Arashiyama

From these thousand of pixels, I have chosen some that I am going to discuss in this post. This are the things I didn't know initially and that played a major role correcting my previously stated misconceptions. I believe that the things I am listing here and that impressed me and helped me build a new image about Japan are relative in a way that my background plays a role in what I consider "different". Different people might have different experiences as they have different background.





The first thing I noticed since I came to Japan was  the high literacy rate. People in different walk of life are literate. Seeing a grandmother reading a newspaper in the train is not unusual. This sound weird to me as the literacy rate in where I came from is less that 50%.Therefore, I strongly believe that literacy has greatly helped the exponential economic and social development Japan has known.

The second thing I would like to discuss is the strong link between Japanese people and nature. Some might relate it to the Shinto background that is predominant it Japan but  still it is awesome how the Japanese people care about nature. Since I came to Japan, we had two days off for nature-related events. Two weeks ago I went to watch the tree leaves changing their color. This is something I do for the first time. In Morocco, there is no special day dedicated to watching the tree leaves or any kind of nature-related event. I was impressed when  I went to Arashiyama by the number of people coming there to enjoy seeing nature.

Kobe by night

The third thing I think that is good to mention is how Japanese are attracted by western culture. A brief section in "The Japanese Version" discusses the variety of odd expressions English found in Japan, also known as Japanglish. This is a phenomenon immediately apparent to an English-speaking visitor confronted with expressions ("Store My Ducks", "I feel Coke", "Good Notebook for Vegetarian") that appear to make no sense. Let's Sport", "Let's Healthy"are very common expression that one might fight anywhere.

The fourth thing me and my friends noticed what that the Japanese women became mums quite early. We met several times young couples in their late twenties having children. This seemed quite normal for me as it is not very different from where I came from however, my American and French friends found this unusual. This explains somehow that even though Japan is getting developed, the gender roles are still the same. Therefore, even thought a women receives good education and occupies a very good Job, fulfilling her social role by getting married and having children is still a priority.

A train car reserved for women during rush hours

The list is still long. I strongly believe that the different movies and discussions we had in visual anthropology class strongly participated in helping me have a better visualization of Japan.

To conclude, I think that the best thing about knowledge is transferability. Now that I now that the stereotypes I had about Japan are completely inaccurate, I should get rid of all the misconceptions I have about different parts of the word. I should not take anymore the documentaries as source of information without being critical toward their purpose and targeted audience. All in all, I hope that our blogs will help people interested about Japan have a closer image of the country and the people.

のみましょか

 

              Drinking has always been a way to strengthen human social relationships. It is also considered as a good icebreaker in quite formal situation. However, there is a whole anthropology behind drinking as it differs from country to country and sometimes even from region to region. Therefore the action of drinking encompasses more social aspects that the act of drinking itself. for instance, in Morocco, when someone invites you to stop by his house to have a cup of tea, this means that this person  has the willilness to strengthen your relationship or revitalize it.

     The First informal thing I discovered after the "formal" campus and seminar house tours was the "beer park". This place was a meeting point for all the Gaijin drinking community. It allowed them to get to know each other and became friends. Therefore, in Japan as in any other part of the world, there is a whole etiquette for drinking and a whole social aspect behind it. Let's zoom it in:).

              Our ancestors said centuries ago "In wine is truth", we will see how this applies to different situations within the Japanese society. In Japan, drinking is present in the professional and networking situations, business deals as long as in dating situations.

First, in a professional context, bosses generally invite their workers to the Isakaya, a restaurant bar or a all you can drink. The idea is to remove inhibitions and create a fluid and friendly environment for social interaction, free from the strains, anxieties, and rigid order of the workplace, the classroom, and society in general. Essentially, what happens in nomikai stays in nomikai, so participants are free to talk and bond in ways that would normally be impossible in the Japanese workplace, without fear of repercussions when they return to their daytime lives.




A night of drinking. By jamesjustin CC License

 

The second situation where the "nomoucommunication" is present is for business deals. If nommunication is a powerful tool in the hands of a salesman, it is sometimes the cause of pressure and stress for those junior employees who feel obliged to accept their superiors' invitation. Male employees are more exposed to this kind of pressure as they are expected to be heavy drinkers.

A night of drinking. By jamesjustin CC License

              Drinking is a very good catalyst for the "Kompa" that refers to the Japanese blind dating. In Japan, one hand it is not good for a girl to be single by the age of 30 and arranged family marriages are not very common. On the other hand, the professional context is not a good plane to find the potential husband. Therefore, having a drink with a stranger might me a good way to get married and fulfill the socially imposed roles.

Finally, drinking plays different roles within the Japanese society. It is the only occasion for the Japanese to show their real personalities considering how professional they should be within a work framework.

Japan, Perfectionland!

        Since I came to Japan, I was wondering what makes these people different from the rest of the world. What was the secret behind there exponential economic success. I was really considering the existence of this magic potion that they drink to be able to balance between conservatism and innovation. I lived in Japan for three months now and I feel that I started to notice what makes those people different from the others or at least different for us, Moroccans.

       The first week I came to Japan, I went to the bank to get change and this was the first time I face the Japanese perfection. First of all, the lady took the Euros I carried and straitened them as they were messy according to her standards. Then she started copying the number of each single 20 one and then she checked many times and then finally told me that we can change your money. The second thing I had noticed in the same bank was that the way they stamp the papers is so faultless. This might seem weird but seriously I was impressed by how those people stamp their papers, the bank officer was doing it slowly and perfectly. This made me think of the Moroccan banks and administrations where the only sounds you hear there is the one of agents stamping papers. They stamp so hard as if stamping hard and making a lot of noise proves that hard work.

         The second time I faced Japanese perfection was when I went to buy Ice-cream in Osaka. I told the vendor that I want to take it away and she asked me in how long exactly  I will eat it. I wondered why she asked me such a question but basically she did so to know who much ice she should put on it to keep it from melting. I was really impressed. However she said she was going to put ice, isn’t this ice going to melt and everything will be messy by the time I get to my destination? Of course no, we are in Japan and the ice doesn’t melt but evaporate instead. My knowledge in chemistry is quite modest to understand the process, all I did is smiled and left.

      The third scene where I was impressed by the perfection was when I saw my host sister’s Obento which was amazing. It really looked like a work of art. The colors, the way food was presented it this little box. It looks so nice that you hesitate before eating it.

These things might be very futile but it seriously made me think for days.

A perfectly made Obento

  Wednesdays night I used to go watch the tea ceremony club. I am really impressed by how complex the protocol of this ceremony is. I strongly believe that this ceremony shows how  the Japanese care about perfection. If you move the spoon from right to left it is not good, If you move it little fast it is not good. Every single detail counts, the posture, the smile, the way you present tea, the way you serve it. This in really unbelievable!



Japaneese Tea Ceremony



    It is really impressive how getting things done well can change many details in one’s life. I strongly believe that this care about the details the Japanese people have, participated in a way or another in making from them on of the most developed countries in the world.

Pictures 'Sources:

1.Obento:http://www.google.co.jp/imglanding?imgurl=

2.TeaCeremony: http://www.google.co.jp/imglanding?=tea+ceremony



    



かわいい

I have heard the word kawaii thousand times since I landed in the country of the rising sun. Iｔ didn't  take me long to understand that kawai is much more that a word, the kawai is the representation of the Japanese cute pop culture. Initially I tought that this culture is  a passing  trendy pop culture that youth adopt in order to proof their existance. However after I met Minnie－chan I understood that this kawai culture is  much more than what I imagined. My friend just as her last name indicates is a fan of the Disney character Minnie. Therefore from her clothes,phone,bag to her toaster, everything is carrying the picture of her cherished character.

I was really amazed when I saw her house that seriously was a miniaturized Disney land.
I like that culture in a way that it tells you a lot about the person without sharing any words. I also appreciate the fact that this kawai gadgets give a tender and human and cute touch to every household, train station,school, hospital and wait for it.....prison.yes prison;) I visited a Japanese prison two weeks ago and the first impression I had after entering it was that it looks more like a high school  than like a prison and that's mainly due to the presence of colorful pictures and gadgets at the entrance of  this "kawaii" prison.

I also  believe that by embarrassing the kawai culture the Japanese girls want to distinguish them selves from the mass especially after spending 12 years of their lives wearing standarized school wear.

The hugeeconomy behind the Kawii culture is very flourished. The profits of Sanrio Corporation, the creators of Hello Kitty are exponentially increasing. Their products are now spread worldwide and Sanrio Coporation reaps approximatively 3 billion dollars annually. Therefore the  Japaneese Kawaii culture is a representation of how consumerism can introduce new social proctices in a very conservatist milieu.

Finally I believe that the Japanese kawai culture have spread  worldwide and Pokemon, and hello kitty characters are found in the most remote aereas of the globe. However can we start considerating the Japaneese kawai culture as the new global word trendy pop culture?

The three pictures were taken from:

http://www.google.co.jp/imglanding?q=hello+kitty+world&um=1&hl=ja&rlz=1R2WZPC_jaJP387&biw=1895&bih=737&tbs=isch:1&tbnid=4rvau_VLUGucIM:&imgrefurl=http://www.freshbrainz.com/2007/08/boys-toys-and-new-hello-kitty-world.html&imgurl=http://www.evaair.com/NR/rdonlyres/FBD79435-E1A2-4711-8567-4E33D2ED49AC/1926/kt_plane1.jpg&zoom=1&w=300&h=255&iact=rc&ei=KsTaTN2dOomxcaKvxMMG&oei=KsTaTN2dOomxcaKvxMMG&esq=1&page=1&tbnh=141&tbnw=173&start=0&ved=1t:429,r:32,s:0

Leibovitz & Natchwey

      Natchway and Leibovitz do share the same passion of photography. They are both famous photographers whose pictures have towered the world. The difference is their pictures intended impact regarding the targeted subject. Natchway , as a war photographer, is more interested in showing the atrocity of war and injustice in the world's war-torn aereas. From Bosnia, Rowanda, Palestine, Indoniesia and Darfur, to name few, he was able to convey a very strong peace message throught war pictures. On the other hand , far from war, famine and booldy scenes,Leibovitz lense captures another world full of VIPS, stars and luxury.


 


Leibovitz

  



   

            Disney Dream Portrait Series by Ann Leibovitz





 

I believe that participatory methods either used in photography or antropology play a major role  in taking pictures and help draw conclusions that are closer to reality. Therfore, both photographers were very immersed in the environments they were taking pictures in.

I do prefer Natchway though. Truth be said, I initially was reluctant toward this type of photography . I always believed that photographers can never be objective while capturing reality. Each single person has a biase that sometimes is not even aware of. Following this logic I can conclude that Natchway does have a bias. Still, his bias is not seeking  political or capitalist ends. I believe that his humanism is his only biase.

Check this out:)

James Nachtwey's searing photos of war | Video on TED.com





West Bank, 2002 - Digging out the ruins of a shop in Jenin refugee camp (Natchwey).

 

After I have seen these two documentaries I kept wondering  if the two photographers were picturing the same world. The gap is so big to the exent that  it is hard believe that their shots are taken in the same planet.

Right now,while thinking about this, I can conclude that I do not prefer one photographer more than the other. They both are doing wondeful job linking the two distant "worlds" together. How could Jennifer Lopez know about the atrocity of war in Darfur without shots of  a war photographer and how could a little girl in Albania or Rwanda entertain herself looking at  pictures of Disney characteres without  a photgrapher such Leibovitz.

 I am looking forward  to discovering more photographers that picture other worlds of which I might ingnore the existance .

 I  strongly believe that every photographer is a gate to a new world!

Pictures:

1.Vanity Fair Magazine: http://pdngallery.com/20years/editorial/09_annie_leibovitz.html

2. Diney world picture by Leibovitz.

IA



Japaneese People

Her Nickname is Baby and she is my Nihonjin Friend. Technically she is my Piano Sensei and I am her

Arabic, French and English Sensei. Unexpetedly,just after our third meeting, our relationship transcended formality. Baby is a professional photographer.Her  photos are art which  testify moments of joy, fear and  love in the lives of hundreds of people. Today it was her turn to be photographed. I didn’t expect her to be  so reluctant to my request of taking a picture;she didn’t seem very enthusiastic. I wondered it that reaction were personal to her or if all photographers don't like having their picture taken.Even with her fine skill with photography she elected to make herself blurry in her own photographic portrait. 

Hirakata...

I am living in Hirakata neighborhood; the neighborhood where most of Kansai Gaidai seminar houses are located. The first day I walked to school, I kept staring at a fancy house and I was impressed by its architecture, its well designed door as well as it’s pretty little Garden.

 However, not all the houses of the neighborhood are the same. Some are very tiny like two rooms apartments; others are extremely huge with several floors. 

Some have gardens others not. I  was impressed by this because in my home country houses of the same neighborhood might look the same or at least belong to the same category single  apartment building, Villas or any other type of housing as long as it fits the city’s urban plan. This does not apply in Japan or at least in Hirakata.

Another thing that I found ABSOLUTELY unusual is that outside the house belongs to the house which means that people leave their belongings such as shoes , umbrellas and bikes at the entrance of the house which technically means in the street. I am impressed by how safe it is.

In the two first weeks, the neighborhood represented for me a set of buildings I cross on my way to and back from the school.A place where I  had to be quiet when my friends and I come back late at night not to disturb the neighbors. Those people were complete strangers for us and we were living in our little island cut off from the world. Three weeks ago, I started to go jogging at 6 Am in the park next to my seminar house. The first day I went jogging I was scared not to find anyone. I was surprised once in the park as there were dozens of people running. Day after day, those people became used to me and my friends's presence. We started to greet them, they started to talk to us, encourage us to run more and invited us to do yoga with them. One day I couldn’t go jogging and I was surprised when I knew that they asked my friend about me. This changed the way I perceive my neighborhood upside down. Now I don’t feel cut off from the world anymore. I feel I belong and there is no better feeling than belonging!