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This weekend, while attending my host brother and sister's karate shi-ai, I was faced with the same choice that has resulted in the punishment of over 388 Japanese school teachers. I had tuned out the speeches during the opening ceremony, so when I looked up from my Nintendo DS screen and saw everybody standing, I did the natural thing and copied everyone else. At first I was confused, but once the music started and I saw the flags being raised at the front of the room I knew instantly what it was.
I didn't know what to do. Should I sit down? Should I just follow the culture norm and stand? Nobody was singing, and I did spot two people across the stadium who were not standing. At the same time, I was here with my family and I didn't want to insult them or make the day into a political debate. Incidentally, before I could make up my mind about what to do, the song ended and the ceremony broke up so the shi-ai could begin.
A bit unrelated, but interesting nonetheless. These are some videos I took at the shi-ai. The first is a group kata competition, and the second is a sparring match between some of the older students.
2 comments:
I don't think you faced the same choice as the teachers or any other Japanese who have reservations about the flag and national anthem. These are internal Japanese political issues. The reservations arise because of the symbolic meanings of the flag and song. While you can sympathize with the teachers, your own cultural interpretations are different. Thus I think you did the right thing by standing. It was right in that it didn't offend your host family or tough karate types that might beat you up (half-joking...). As anthropologists I don't think it is necessarily our place to get involved in this fight. But if we were, I think it would be better to protest the people who use the symbols in a questionable way rather than the symbols themselves.
Interesting videos. Do they really compete on a hard surface? Does anybody ever get hurt?
I dramatized the situation a bit, perhaps, but the situation just came as such a surprise to me that I had this tiny, miniscule moment of panic. I know that the issue has nothing to do with me and that it's not my place to get involved in the issue, but I didn't know my family's views on it beforehand and I was really worried about offending them. I guess it all worked out though.
And yes, there aren't any mats on the floor to cushion a fall. There was actually a match before the sparring started between two teams of older boys, and they wore no helmets or padding. One guy got knocked down by a punch and they had to carry him off the court. I guess he was okay, but his team ended up losing. It was really interesting to watch.
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