A little piece of home?

This week's theme is all about globalization in Japan--how the Japanese have adapted elements and practices from other cultures to fit their own tastes. The best evidence for this topic takes us back to an earlier topic we discussed: Popular Culture.



Universal Studios Japan is a good place to start. Like it's counterparts in Florida and California, USJ uses cartoon characters and famous Hollywood movies as its mascots and theme rides. The park is even decorated for Halloween (my host family didn't know what Halloween was until they hosted a student).



However, in the US you can't go to the Osaka Takoyaki Museum or eat at a Mos Burger in the Universal Citywalk. Both are just a short walk from the Hard Rock Cafe and gift shop.




The "Japanese version" of Universal Studios also features different cartoon characters from its American counterpart. Instead of Bugs Bunny, Tweety, and Sylvester covering every street corner and gift shop, characters like Woody Woodpecker, Snoopy, and Elmo are popular. It seems to me that Japanese tastes in American cartoons gravitates towards those that are more like their own animation. Snoopy, for example, is drawn in much the same way as Hello Kitty (who can also be found in USJ).




USJ also features what I would consider your standard Universal Studios rides; Jurassic Park, Back to the Future, E.T., Jaws, and Spider Man. But Japan also has places like Waterworld and the Land of Oz and shows featuring Woody Woodpecker, Peanuts characters, and Backdraft.

Exactly why these movies and characters are so popular among Japanese people, I can't say for sure. I can only speculate that perhaps there are certain ideas or characteristics about each of these that relate more to the way of life in Japan than they do in America.

Visiting the White Heron

I had the opportunity to visit Himeji Castle a few weeks ago with a Japanese friend. This place is a gold mine of traditional Japanese culture. The castle, built of wood and white plaster, remained undamaged in World War II and is considered a national treasure of Japan.



When we entered the castle, we had to remove our shoes and carry them around in a bag. The floors were polished and really smooth, and it was a little scary to walk up and down several flights of stairs in socks.



Chojugiga Jinbutsu Zoshi (top left) is an ancient form of Japanese storytelling that predates manga, but tells a story using a continual flow of pictures. The other photos show some of the armor and weaponry displayed in the castle, and the shrine is located on the very top floor.



The area outside the castle is surrounded by beautiful gardens, restaurants, and tea houses. It reminded me a little of a meditation path I walked at a church retreat back home. After we'd been through the castle, we took a walk through the gardens and stopped to rest at a bench surrounded by a bamboo thicket.

"Gardens of the Edo period...were constructed to represent specific sites in other parts of Japan, so that lords and their families who were forced to spend long periods there could be reminded of their homeland."

"A theme which runs through this brief historical survey of Japanese gardens is the way they are designed to represent something else." --Joy Hendry, Gardens and Visual Culture

Cultural Window

Like the United States, malls and shopping centers in Japan are a great place to scope out what's new and what's hot on the market for popular culture. You can find everything from your general department stores to your highest fashion outlets. But Japanese malls aren't limited to clothing and shoes. Let's take a look at what else can be found here.



In addition to being exceptionally fashion-conscious, Japanese people have an apparent interest in making sure their furry, four-legged companions are also looking their best. Clothing, toys, shoes, rain jackets, strollers, bedding, accessories...you name it, they had it. See those vests in the background of the photo? People clothing right? Nope! All of it, the entire store, dedicated to dogs. Paris Hilton would be in her glory.



Game centers are one of the busiest sections of Japanese shopping centers. Here you can find every possible crane game you can imagine, plus video games, virtual trading card games, and even Dance Dance Revolution for little kids. Prizes and themes are usually manga or anime characters, as well as food and snacks. Dragonball, Pokemon, Doraemon, Hello Kitty, and Disney seem to be some of the most popular characters among both children and adults.

Every shopping center I've visited has been different, and it's always interesting to see what people are buying and the kinds of things that they enjoy doing. Malls and shopping centers aren't the only sources to find popular culture, but they are a good window into the different areas of interest Japan has to offer.

Undokai

My host brother and sister's undokai was postponed because of the rain on Sunday and I wasn't able to attend the rescheduled day, but on Saturday we went to watch an undokai at a middle school down the street from our house.

One of the things I noticed was that during some of the longer relays was that if one team fell far behind the other three, it only drove them to try harder. More often than not this lead to an exciting comeback and made the race more exciting. In this kind of situation in the US, I think sometimes that we accept the fact that we can't possibly catch up and so we settle for just finishing the race. I never got this impression from the students at the undokai. They fought hard until the end. It seemed that as long as they did their best, they could be proud of themselves.



I found that after watching the undokai it reminded me less and less of the physical fitness tests I talked about last week's preview, and more of my high school's winter carnival. It was all about fun and friendly competition. Even students that had been defeated happily high-fived and congratulated each other.




In addition to footraces and relays, there were also different game-type races. For example, there was a relay in which the participants had to pick up a slip of paper with an object written on it. The students had to go into the crowd and find that object (be it a flag, a teacher, another student, etc.) and run with it to the finish line.



The festival was a big family event, and even the parents got to participate. They called everyone out into the middle of the track for a parents vs. parents game of tug-of-war. It was interesting to see the group mentality and team spirit mirrored in both parents and children.